This is very sad and tragic. Poor guy starting out in life and obviously enjoying it.

I have been riding on that stretch of road at least four times per week for the past 15 years - sometimes on a motorcycle but more often on my bicycle. The accident occurred on a straight part of the road with excellent visibility and it was a beautiful sunny day. Most of the potholes in that section have been fixed so I fail to understand how he could have lost control even with a car coming in the other direction. As a local rider he would know the road very well, you know where you need to slow down and where you can accelerate. I know every little bump and crack in that pavement. The biggest danger is just west of there at a sharp turn where there is often gravel spilling over from a driveway.

I wonder if there was some sort of mechanical failure.

Be careful out there.