Free Republic

A rookie cop - the son of a highly respected New York City detective - has been stripped of his badge and gun after being caught on video viciously attacking a bicyclist who was part of a Times Square demonstration. ' The startling YouTube video shows Officer Patrick Pogan, 22, apparently setting his sights on - and then tackling - a bicyclist as he pedaled along Seventh Avenue as part of last Friday's controversial Critical Mass ride. Christopher Long, 29, was among a throng of riders as he whizzed toward the corner of West 46th Street at 9:30 p.m. and...

SIERRA VISTA — The cyclists involved in the tandem-bicycle versus-deer accident on Oct. 12 are still recovering from broken bones and a concussion. The couple attribute their survival of the crash to their helmets, and expressed gratitude to the Huachuca City Police Department and Fry Fire District first responders, as well as the assisting motorists and the Sierra Vista emergency room staff for their quick and competent help. And while they recover, they would like to remind the motoring community to respect and be courteous to the bicyclists and motorcyclists that share the road. About 6:20 a.m. on Oct. 12,...

It's your typical "only in San Francisco" story, one that pits cars against bicyclists, politicians against planners -- and right-turn bans against reality. The issue: a $26 million Central Freeway on-ramp, at the foot of the newly built Octavia Boulevard, that you can't turn onto from the city's main drag, Market Street. It took 14 years of debate, three ballot measures and a dozen designs before Caltrans crews set to work demolishing the earthquake-damaged Central Freeway and turning Octavia into a $62 million, tree-lined boulevard. Once work got started, bicyclists -- a potent force in city politics -- took aim...

When the United States refused to ratify an international treaty that would impose limits on emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases, four twentysomething Pittsburghers decided to take action. They formed Car Free Pittsburgh which, for now, promotes walking, bicycling and public transportation. The group is part of the World Carfree Network, a loose-knit coalition of more than 40 groups dedicated to eradicating cars, which they say hurt the environment, the economy and society. The car-free movement is growing in the U.S., although more slowly than in other countries. An estimated 100 million people participate in International Car Free Day...

August 26, 2004 -- The "Bike National Convention" may have just had its tires slashed. The NYPD yesterday announced a crackdown on a group that promotes monthly mass bike rides and has promised traffic-disrupting events during the GOP convention. The group, Time's Up, founded the so-called "critical mass" rides on the last Friday of each month. The crackdown was spurred by Time's Up's planned Bike National Convention, timed to coincide with the Republican gala. On Tuesday, the riders evoked Paul Revere's famous ride, with bicyclists chanting, "The Republicans are coming!" along Lexington Avenue. A police source said that caught the...

NOTE: I did not write this diatribe, I will voice out in the "afterward". This weekend lots of folks are gonna be tearin' it up in NYC at the Republican National Convention, showing not only the country, but the rest of the world that not all of us are "united" behind the Bush administration and their "War on Terror." "Bring the war home," went a slogan for the Weather Underground. Similarly, Fugazi said, "There will be two wars." As long as the power elite wages war abroad, we will inevitably feel the effects at home: immigration restriction, and hightened racism,...

CLEVELAND - Bicyclists are demanding that the nation's largest radio group be punished because disc jockeys at three stations made on-air comments they say encouraged drivers to throw bottles at bike riders or hit them with open car doors. They say the morning show hosts at Clear Channel Communications stations in Cleveland, Houston and Raleigh, N.C., also suggested motorists blast horns at cyclists, and speed past them and slam on their brakes in front of them. "DJs encouraging the masses to hurt people in any form is insipid, and should not go unpunished," said Edwin D. Reeves, 30, a cyclist...

Why A Naked Bike Ride? Every day we are bombarded with countless messages demanding our obedience to the corporate dictates of a consumption dependent society. Little regard is paid to the future of our planet and generations left with a legacy of waste and environmental contamination. How many countless times each day do our media masters spin the same message: Unless you buy this, you are not worthy. Unless you look like this you should be ashamed. By cruising naked down the spending frenzy capitals of the world, we are saying.NO! ...a fancy new car is not a mark of...

SAN ANTONIO -- Authorities said a thong-wearing bicyclist committed suicide when he fell 100 feet to his death at Big Bend National Park in June. Joseph Gottschalk, 52, earned the nickname "Thong Man" by showing his buttocks during leisurely bike rides around San Antonio -- first near his southeast San Antonio home, then into other neighborhoods. His death was ruled a suicide Saturday due to "a preponderance of evidence," Brewster County Justice of the Peace Shirley Williams said in Sunday editions of the San Antonio Express-News. Gottschalk's naked body was found by passing hikers June 21 below a cliff at...

Joseph H. Gottschalk, whose habit of riding a bicycle while wearing only a thong brought him both local celebrity and notoriety, was found dead over the weekend in Big Bend National Park. Park officials said hikers spotted some clothing near the edge of a cliff some 30 feet from the South Rim trail Saturday afternoon. Peering down a sharp drop, the hikers saw Gottschalk’s naked body on a wide ledge about 100 feet below, park spokesman David Elkowitz said. A search-and-rescue team used pulleys to raise and retrieve Gottschalk’s corpse, and a Brewster County justice of the peace examined it...

Bill would exempt bicycle riders from stopping at stop signs (Salem-AP) - A bill that has passed the House would exempt bicycle riders from coming to a full stop at stop signs and flashing red lights. They would still have to ride at a safe speed and give the right of way to vehicles or pedestrians approaching an intersection. Cyclists had complained of the inconvenience of getting in and out of toe clips at the signs and lights. The bill goes to the Senate.

Jefferson, Colorado- A group of bicyclists in Colorado may have incurred a record fine recently if dollars per mile are counted. Violating a well-posted closure of a National Forest and ignoring a monitor yelling for them to stay out, a group of bicyclists chose to continue on their ride over a short section of trail from the top of Kenosha Pass to Jefferson Lake in Park County, Colorado. The Colorado National Guard, summoned by the monitor, met the cyclists at Jefferson Lake after a ride of less than five miles, according to local sources. Fines for closure violations are currently...