Perfect Powdery Parkway

perfect parkway powder ride from Bikesafer on Vimeo.

Got a quick ride in before the snowpocalypse. The conditions were perfect. You can watch my ride on the blog here or on Fox 6 News.
Bikesafer
Jeff

If You See This Guy...

Do your best to stay out of this guy's way. His license number is 658304. It's pretty scary to think that we are sharing the road with this guy. Listen to the video and you'll understand.

658304 from Bikesafer on Vimeo.

Whether he will actually follow through on his threats I don't know. At least now if he does there is this evidence that he threatened bodily harm to cyclists who get in his way.
I'd love to get the authorities involved since he admitted on video that he was threatening to use his truck as a weapon, but given my recent experiences, I don't think that will happen.

When The Truth Doesn't Matter

I'm left wondering what to do when the truth doesn't seem to matter to those sworn to uphold the law and dispense justice. That question has me at a crossroads.

The question arises from the latest incident in which my hand was hit by a car. The report for that incident says that I hit the car rather than the other way around. Not only that, but the report says I admitted that I punched the car. My statements say nothing of the kind. My only solace is that my statement was recorded, so what I said should not be in dispute. Therein lies the problem, the New Berlin Police Department says the report will not be amended. This, even though they know it contains incorrect statements.

When I started this blog 2 years ago I never imagined I'd run into a such a wall of contempt thrown up by those people who are supposed to protect the public. I've run into that wall repeatedly, not just in this case and not just in this jurisdiction. I persevered thinking it would have to get easier. I was wrong. This latest incident has led me to the end of this road.



I believed that I was doing the right thing by calling the police when someone committed some violation of the law that affected me. Judging by the reaction of most, but not all law enforcement officers I've contacted, apparently I was not. I don't know what action I was supposed to take or what action I will take in the future, but involving the police will be a last resort, rather than a first choice.

In the beginning I really thought that if I had proof, video evidence, of just how bad some drivers treat bicyclists, law enforcement would have to help me, that they would have to treat me fairly. That is just not the case. Contacting the authorities usually results in me getting lectured about my riding, but results in few, if any, consequences for the offending driver.

I will continue to roll the cameras every time I ride. I will post the videos on the blog, although I don't hold any illusions that the blog will generate enough publicity to shame drivers into doing the right thing. At least if a driver I encounter should injure or kill another rider there will be a record that they were reckless around bikes in the past.

Unfortunately, the question is still nagging at me as I think about future rides. What happens next time I'm hit by a car, and they hit more than my hand? What happens when the people who will investigate are some of the same people for whom the truth doesn't seem to matter?

Bikesafer
Jeff

The Waiting Is The Hardest Part

I know it's been a while since I updated regarding the car that hit me.
I'm at a bit of a loss as to what to write. I've written and re-written posts about the November 3rd incident numerous times but haven't published any of them. I have a lot to say about my citation and about how the incident has been handled up to this point. Since the matter is not settled yet, (The ticket won't actually be dismissed until July), I am limited in what I feel comfortable sharing. For now I can only say that I committed no violation on November 3rd. Beyond that I have to keep in mind that anything I say could be used against me. I'm trying to get some things ironed out so that I feel comfortable talking about the incident further here. I can say I'm looking forward to this whole thing being over. I guess you could surmise by the tone of this post that I'm not pleased with the way things have gone. Thanks to those of you who have sent supportive emails and comments.
Bikesafer
Jeff

Dismissed!

I had my first court date for my ticket from November 3rd last night. The city prosecutor dismissed it under the condition that I not get any more tickets for this same infraction in the next 6 months. I have a few things to say about all this but that will have to wait until I have more time to type. Just wanted to get the update out there.

I Got a Ticket For Christmas

Actually it came in the mail a few days before Christmas. It was for "failure to keep right" and it was from the November 3rd incident. I understand that the driver got 2 tickets, one for the illegal pass and the other for swerving and stopping short in front of me. I plan to fight my ticket. I'll have more info when the case is resolved.

The school bus driver from a few weeks ago apparently got a good talking to by his bosses and some retraining. Those darn funny shaped signs with the word stop written on them can be pretty confusing.

IFR

For the non pilots among us that's Instrument Flight Rules. IFR conditions are when visibility is so bad you have to rely on your instruments to figure out where you're flying. The only problem is on a bike there are no instruments, so I was riding by feel most of Tuesday night. In my 10+ years of riding in snow, I've never experienced problems like Tuesday. Into the wind, my glasses would cake with snow or the snow would melt just enough to refreeze into ice, and with the wind the inside of the glasses would fog up. So it wasn't the best winter ride ever, but I did test out some new lights that worked well.

IFR from Bikesafer on Vimeo.