I’m sorry, but I can’t hold back any longer. I see more and more of these videos of people “tricking” on their fixies and it makes me want to scream the popular slogan “THE ONLY COOL TRICK ON A TRACK BIKE IS GOING FAST.”
I have nothing against fixed gear bikes. I think they are great for commuting in the city. Or if you are a true badass, you can try to put more mileage on one than Kris Rhodes, but good luck with that.
I’m just kind of sick of this whole emerging “trick” culture of fixed gear bikes. It’s not really that hardcore. At all. I used to barspin and get more air on a BMX bike when I was in 7th grade. I realize you’re on a track bike with 700c wheels and no freewheel, but if air is what you’re looking for, it just doesn’t compare to the big boys, or even Danny MacAskill.
And bunny-hopping over a curb? Please.
"You know, people say, ‘My god is better than your god.’ But how do we prove whose god is better? And this is when it gets really interesting. This is how we prove whose god is better than whose: [by saying,] ‘I’m going to kill you, or you’re going to kill me first.’ And that’s real godly. That’s real godly. Yeah. I bet you people think, I wonder who would win a fight with the Prophet Mohammad and Jesus? These are sick people. This is crazy, you know what I mean?"
— Mike Tyson, of all people
So what options remain for the cyclists once the police decline to pursue criminal charges? According to state’s attorney Julia Rietz, the victims could first file a Freedom of Information Act request to get the name and address of the driver of the vehicle for insurance purposes. They could then pursue a civil case by hiring a private lawyer.
Steve Magas, an Ohio lawyer who specializes in bicycle legal matters, confirmed that bringing a civil case against the driver is still possible, and might allow the victims to force the driver to testify. Unlike in a criminal case, in a civil case if a defendant invokes the Fifth Amendment to avoid self-incrimination, their non-cooperation can be used as evidence of guilt. While a civil case would exclude any possibility of jail time, it could hold the driver accountable for monetary damages.
Without a confession, further evidence from the driver or owner of the vehicle, or a visual ID on the driver, a criminal case is unlikely to hold up in court. However, two Chicago-area lawyers, Jim Freeman, and Christ Tracy, who specialize in bicycle-related injury cases indicated that there is strong potential for a successful civil case in each of these instances. “I’d love to have [a photograph of the vehicle and license plate] as evidence in one of my cases,“ Tracy related. And in each case, even without a physical ID of the driver, both lawyers expressed confidence that they could get to the bottom of who was driving the vehicle during the discovery phase of a civil trial.
Freeman feels that cyclists are treated better by the legal system in downstate Illinois than Chicago, but related that, regardless of location, the amount of effort expended by law enforcement is often directly proportional to the severity of the injuries of the victims.
This article is pretty disheartening. With my more frequent run-ins with drivers passing dangerously close and then becoming combative when I explain the newly passed law if I can catch up to them, I’m seriously considering getting a GoPro rig to mount on my handlebars facing traffic to document every car that passes me in an effort to protect myself should I end up smeared across the pavement.
Anonymous asked: Christwire.org is satire. Drew Magary and NBC Los Angeles just got caught up reporting a Bill Murray story they got from there.
Good to know. I figured it was from him responding to trolls, but then again, you never can be too sure when it comes to the religious wingnuts.
“Celebrity Muslim Aziz Ansari Finds Mecca of Comedy in Terrorism Jokes”
While the name may be unfamiliar to you, his face is becoming more and more common in American media today.
Pictured, of course, is Kal Penn. Compelling stuff, christwire.org.
The best part about this article is that the author actually responds to trolls in the comment section. I was pretty sure this dude was just your average racist moron, but after reading some of his comments I’m wondering whether this is serious or he’s a well-placed mole from The Onion.
Alabama, home of the News Package Meme [via ntkg, amberislazy]
EDIT: The fine folks at WAFF have an alternate version here
Lake Michigan at Sunrise, February 2007.
Better bigger.
Southwest Airlines made headlines earlier this year for kicking overweight actor-director Kevin Smith off a flight because he took up more than one seat.
Now we’re hearing the airline recently removed a 5-foot-4, 110-pound Sacramento-area woman from a plane so a hefty passenger could have an extra seat. […]
“It didn’t seem right that I should have to leave to accommodate someone who had only paid for one seat,” she tells us. (She has asked to remain anonymous for fear some may regard her as insensitive.)
Why the extra concern? The person requiring two seats was just 14 years old.
Wow.
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