» Superweek has a much-needed new Web site. A second Bensenville crit is now on the schedule, but there’s still a void for Monday, July 14.
» Here’s a better video of David Millar‘s famous bike throw.
» Speaking of the Giro, find your feeds and brush up on your Italian at Cycling Fans.
After reading all the comments at the link. It’s nice to see (Connecticut) with a calm voice of reason. This incident, bad as it was could have had a far different outcome. We all remember the incident a few years ago when a cyclist and a SUV got into it. The driver of the SUV went to prison and the cyclist to the cemetery. Not too good of a deal and this incident could have easily ended up the same way.
For all of our perceived moral superiority, it never ceases to amaze my how much hostility there is on our side of the fence. I know how much there is on the motoring side of the fence. Just remember, if you decide to go head to head with a four wheeler, you’re going to come out on the short end, even if it’s a Geo Metro. You may win a moral victory but that will be of little consequence to your family and friends.
ptkelly:
1. So, you have no problem with drunk drivers being on the road? Because if we hadn’t detained the guy, he would still have been.
2. I guess you missed the part where the car was stopped. This didn’t look like the type of guy who would gun the engine from a stop and run people over with tens if not hundreds of witnesses. We made a judgment call based on information you do not have because we were there and you weren’t. And it’s funny you talk about “dealing in reality” and then suggesting we should have simply called in the plate. If you dealt in reality, you’d know NOTHING would have happened to the drunk driver then.
3. I will never allow a cop to talk to us the way this one did. Again, you weren’t there. I don’t know who you were referring to by “snot nosed prick” but I’d remind you that we were the innocent victims who called 911 on a drunk driver. And if you think standing up for one’s rights makes one a snot nosed prick, well, I feel sorry for you.
Easy, boys ...
“ it doesn’t do any good to talk shit to a cop in the field”
“The field”? You mean outside? What doesn’t constitute ‘the field” in this case? It’s not like we’re talking about ‘Nam here.
And I agree with Matt: the fundamental point of this event was that the victims of illegal (and intoxicated) assault were treated as if they were responsible for the crimes committed. That ain’t right.
Matt S.
i’m glad things worked out the way they did. yes it was good that the guy was off the road. yes i agree that a drunk guy in a car is the same as a guy walking down the street with a gun.
i’m with you here - but i’d also like to see you make it to your next race.
BUT one very wise piece of advice i’ve gained along the years is:
OUTCOMES are not repeatable - processes are.
i know for a FACT that next time you call it in you will be ALIVE. Anything else and no one knows what the OUTCOME will be next time - you live in a city, crazy stuff happens.
is your opinion of the police really that low that you consider it a FACT that they were not going to do anything about it?
hey - if you had your wits about you and calmly and collectedly reasoned out that this was some lincoln park trixie that was goign to pull over and acquiesce, my hat is off to you.
however, the next guy you put your bike in front of may not be some lincoln park resident that may actually have been a good guy that realized he was in the wrong...he may end up being the st. mary’s driver that slammed in front of XXX last year.
from the $30k a year cop’s perspective, pretty much everyone is a “snot nosed xxxx” - i wasn’t accusing you guys. i myself lived in roscoe village for 8 years. if you want to talk smack to a cop “outside” or in the “field” - or to more fully explain for our ‘nam vet in the comments section: where they feel threatened and are always on guard - you risk getting rodney king’d. if you want to be some kind of poster boy hero, go for it and “never allow a cop to talk to “ you that way again.
was this guy out of line? sure i’ll take your word for it...like you said, you were there and i wasn’t. that wasn’t right. did things turn out well...sure, this time.
as the son of a chicago cop and the grandson of 2 chicago cops - who somehow managed to graduate to also living “in roscoe village” - take my words as a friendly user-guide to citizen-cop interaction and, ultimately, survival on the road.
no hostile intentions towards you guys.
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AUG. 23, 2008
May 21
2008
11:02 pm
(Connecticut Coast Cycling)
guys, while i’m your side here my dad was a chicago cop and there’s a few things to take into account not just here but in other situations:
1.) these guys deal in reality and their reality is their lives are in danger every day. they see death and violence on a regular basis. so when they come across a situation where no one has gotten hurt and everyone is walking away, the guard comes down and they look to move on
2.) when you get run over by a car it doesn’t matter who was wrong or right...you’re still dead - would you rather yield to live or be right and dead? don’t put your bike in front of a car, especially one where you think the guy is drunk. get the plate number and call it in.
3.) they’re the cops are you’re not - it doesn’t do any good to talk shit to a cop in the field, if you’ve got a problem with one take the badge number and file the complaint. at the end of the day they are on your side but, and times have changed since my dad was a cop, but they weren’t afraid to rough up the occasional snot nosed prick or at least make life miserable by taking them in and making them show for a court date
and on a final note, i find that when you lower your overall expectations of the quality and intelligence of your fellow citizens life is much easier to accept.