A Doorway To Easier Bike Repairs

Basically, there are two kinds of bicycle repair stands.

One, which you see in most well-equipped shops, is strong and stable.  It allows for a great degree of adjustability of the bicycle's position.  They are not, however, feasible for most home mechanics as they are heavy, immobile, impossible to store--and expensive. They also take up a lot of space.

The other kind, is smaller, lighter and less expensive. Not surprisingly, however, it's less stable and adjustable and not as strong. 

The Altangle Hangar Connect aims to combine the best features of both types of racks.

Constructed of high-quality aluminum tubing anodized in orange or black, this new rack can be set up "in almost any standard doorframe," according to the manufacturer.  The tubes have rubber feet to protect the finish of the doorframe, and the Hangar stays securely in place. The clamp offers 360-degree rotation with 12 lock-out points, which allows the bike to be angled into whatever position is most convenient for the task at hand.  The clamp also adjusts to fit a wide variety of seat post diameters.

Best of all, the Hangar Connect folds to 4.5" x 4.5" x 19.5" and weighs only 7 pounds.  So, I could store it in my closet with my cycling shoes and stiletto-heeled sandals (which I haven't worn in I don't-know-how-long). The only feature of a big repair stand the Hangar Connect doesn't capture is its strength:  The HC is not recommended for bikes that weigh more than 50 pounds.

Its regular retail price will be $340, but Altangle--which also offers other bike tools and acessories--is offering it for $272.  They promise:  "We commit to a 30-day, no questions asked, return policy.  Decide the Hangar isn't for you?  No worries. Get a full refund.

Only He Could Catch Me

In earlier posts, I mentioned that a long, long time ago (apologies to Don McLean) I raced.

Few people saw my meteoric rise because...well, because I was meteoric.  I rode so fast that nobody could catch a glimpse of, let alone catch, me.

Except for sculptor David Gerstein.  How he managed to capture me in my moment of glory, I don't know. 

From Bicycle Offense To Jail-Cell Suicide

Perhaps not surprisingly, the most common cause of death in jails and prisons, for inmates and employees alike, is suicide.  Perhaps equally unsurprising is this: About half of all inmates who take their own lives were convicted of severe violent offenses including murder and rape. My guess is that such detainees off themselves because they are facing the longest sentences--in some cases, life without the possiblity of parole--or realize that if they are released, they will be very old or have few prospects for the future, or both.

I mention all of this because Isiah Mitchell was not charged with any such crime. (At 26 years old, he was also half the age of a typical inmate suicide.) 

Last Friday, he rode his bicycle into traffic near North Barnes Avenue and Interstate 44 in Oklahoma City.  Bryant Hodge, an OKPCD police officer, pulled him over.  "You're a bike," Hodge explained.  "Ya gotta follow the rules of the road."

But a stop for a road violation took another turn.  According to Bryant, Mitchell was on his way to buy Fentanyl.  The drug "ain't something we need to be playing with," the officer admonished.  "That stuff's going to kill you."  According the arrest report, Mitchell "was happy that I kept him from making a very bad decision."

While holding Mitchell in the patrol car, Bryant found a Driving While Intoxicated warrant from 2016.  And this:  "You didn't appear for your court date," Hodge revealed.  Mitchell claimed that he wasn't fleeing justice:  He couldn't make his appointment because he'd been shot in the leg.

Three days after his arrest, Mitchell was in the Oklahoma County Detention Center, awaiting his transfer to the Garfield County Jail.  The county sheriff said there weren't enough deputies available to transport inmates.  Just before he would have been moved, staff members found him attempting suicide in his cell.  About an hour and 20 minutes later, he was declared dead in a local hospital.

So...while we can debate how appropriate was the law enforcement officials' response to Isaiah Mitchell's bicycle offense, his admission of his intention to commit another offense and his old warrant, it's hard not to think that his riding his bike into traffic didn't have to end with with his killing himself in a jail cell.