A Contest After My Own Heart: Bicycles And Art

I'll admit:  This post is little more than an excuse to display an image I like.

Is this how Van Gogh would have painted a bicycle?

Whatever the intent of the artist, it's great for promoting a bicycle-themed art contest.  (Well, it got my attention, anyway!)  "The Bicycle:  Art Meets Form" is an invitational juried show sponsored by the Theatre Art Galleries in conjunction with the High Point Cycling Classic.  Winning works will be exhibited from 30 August until 28 September.

If you're interested in entering, you have until 25 July.  For more information, go to http://tagart.org/.

Good luck!  

Off The Island With Them!

Yesterday I wrote about cops who break the law--specifically, one that forbids cycling on the sidewalks of Denver.  I also mentioned that those same officers routinely overlook violations of said statute.

Now, to balance things out, I'm going to write about two constables who broke a law pertaining to cycling--with less reason than their peers in the Mile High City--and were arrested for it.

Actually, the law isn't about bicycles specifically.  But, given its locale, it has special resonance for cyclists and makes the policemen's offence all the more egregious.

Lt. Andrew Longuski and Detective Sgt. Derrick Jordan work in the Polygraph Section of of the Michigan State Police's Biometrics and Identification Division.  Now, if any two officers know about your chances of getting busted if you commit a crime, I would expect them to be the ones.

They were attending a training conference on the Great Lake State's Upper Peninsula when they decided to go for a joyride on Mackinac Island.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, motorized vehicles are not allowed on the island, so people usually get around on foot or by bicycle.  And some of those bikes are tandems.  Thus, two guys on a bike built for one would--and, in their case, did--attract attention.

That, and the fact that the bike had a pink seat.  Longuski pulled up to Jordan and offered to let him ride with him to a watering hole. 

Now, even though a couple of cops on a bike built for one raised a few eyebrows, it probably wouldn't have gotten them in trouble had the bike not belonged to either Longuski or Jordan.  


Apparently, the cops-turned-perps didn't realize that the offenses for which officers of the law cannot be indicted do not include taking a bike that is not one's own--especially in a place like Mackinac Island.  Oh, and immunity doesn't extend to Disorderly Conduct, a charge that most likely stemmed from their heated exchange between them and the Island's law enforcement officers.  

Both officers pleaded "not guilty" at their arraignments on 30 May and were released on bond.  They are due back in court in July and face up to 93 days in jail in addition to fines.

Hmm...This is an interesting "not guilty" plea from a couple of polygraph experts.  Perhaps the truth is subjective, after all.

Fighting For Scraps At The Edge In The Mile High City

When I was writing for a local newspaper, a kinda-sorta-somewhat high-ranking (Is that vague, or what?) police officer admitted that  he didn't make arrests or even give summonses for some low-level offenses.  "Is it because you want to spend your time and energy on more important things?"

He shook his head.  When I reassured him that our conversation was off-the-record, he admitted that he doesn't give tickets or arrest people for some of those minor infractions because, well, he has committed "most of them" himself at some point or another in his life.  

Now, as I understand, here in New York, as in many other places, police officers are exempt from some of those charges.  The same holds true in Denver, where they cannot be charged with an offense they rarely ticket:  riding a bicycle on a sidewalk.

The Mile High City's statutes on this matter are similar to those in many other places:  The rule doesn't apply if the sidewalk is part of a designated bike route. Also, police who are riding their bikes as part of their uniformed duties, as well as other uniformed city, state and federal employees are exempt.  So are newspaper deliverers.

Denver police officers on the 16th Street Mall during the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

Oh, one other group of cyclists is allowed to ride on the sidewalk:  Those within one block of preparing to dismount their bikes.  That alone is probably a reason why cops don't enforce the policy:  How are they supposed to know that a cyclist is going to dismount on the next block?

But the vagueness of that part of the law is not the only reason why it's infrequently enforced in Colorado's capital. According to a recent report, the officers themselves admit that cycling on some of the city's streets is simply unsafe, and the sidewalk is the only viable alternative.  

One officer added that his exemption from the law is not the only reason he violates it.  "I'm not going to get hit," he explained.  He, perhaps not surprisingly, admitted that he has never ticketed anyone for the violation.

Jill Lancatore, Executive Director of the nonprofit advocacy group WalkDenver, says that officer's perception hit the nail on the head.  Though she acknowledges pedestrians are frustrated, she cautions against making the issue one of pedestrians vs. cyclists because "So much of our public right of way are dedicated to cars that everybody else is pushed to the fringes and we're fighting for scraps at the edge of the roadway."

I have not cycled in Denver but, based on what I saw in other parts of Colorado, I imagine it's more spread-out and car-centric than my hometown or places like San Francisco or Portland. From reports I've read, streets are particularly narrow, probably as a result of constraints of construction in the mountains.  That, in and of itself, is a reason to make cycling safer and thus more enticing to more people.  

But there is another reason:  In part because of its altitude, Denver has some of the worst air quality among major American cities.  So, working to make cycling safer can only help to improve residents' health as well as safety.

Until then, cyclists, pedestrians and other non-motorists will "fight for scraps at the edge," as Lancatore says.  And cops like the one I mentioned will look the other way.