No, this isn’t going to be a post about some great band that rides bikes, or some bicycle/music festival. It’s about another clueless individual who’s now dead because he rode with his iPod or MP3 player.

Don’t get me wrong, I really love my music. For some folks, it’s a great motivator when you’re out riding, or a bit of company in your head for those long training grinds. But let’s be sensible here. There’s a huge difference between riding out in the mountains, or an a bike path/MUP, and riding through the city. I’ve heard some guys say that they just use one earphone, or that they keep the volume really low, so they can hear what’s going on around them. Fair enough. But how loud would your music have to be that you couldn’t hear a train? A f**king train? By the way, trains are found almost exclusively on train tracks. Active tracks generally have a lot more trains than abandoned tracks. It’s not any big secret that vigilance and attention is required when crossing the tracks.

This week, a guy was riding his bike across the TRAX train tracks in Sandy, just south of Salt Lake City, enjoying his music, and BAM! Now he’s dead. There’s no way to sugar coat it. And it’s not that I lack compassion for his family and their loss, but now he can be a lesson to walkers, joggers, skaters, and cyclists everywhere. If you choose to listen to your music while out and about, at volumes that block out everything else, you’re putting yourself at risk. The cyclist mentioned above left behind a family and a nine year old son.

Think about it.

I spent the last week in Las Vegas with my wife, and couldn’t help but notice the cops on bikes. The ones I saw were on flat black Cannondales, with some mods for police duty. While I commend them for riding in 100+ weather with kevlar under their bright yellow shirts, some of their actions disappointed me. They were threading between cars, then lining up three abreast at lights, and probably made better time than even the most determined cabbie. (We saw a taxi mini-van mount the curb and make a right turn on the sidewalk) But they rode right past a disabled vehicle blocking a lane and causing congestion as well as an unsafe situation, yet they didn’t bother to stop and push it off the street, or even radio in for assistance.

To me, that was clearly a failure to perform their duties when it comes to public safety. Just as bad, they missed a great PR moment - what could be better than three bicyclists (cops, even) pushing a dead car out of traffic? Hopefully, that was an oversight, and they normally do something besides harass drunks and pose for photos with tourists.

Salt Lake City will never be Portland, but it gets a little closer every day.

Recently, the City Council approved a resolution that would allow all of the 150-175 unclaimed bicycles that the police collect each year to be donated to the city’s nonprofit bicycle collective. Usually, they would be kept for 90 days, then auctioned off by the city, raising a few thousand dollars. But the city is willing to forgo that money. Instead, the bikes will end up going to low income residents who might not otherwise be able to afford a bicycle.

For anyone not familiar with the bicycle collective concept, it’s very simple. They sell used bikes outright, for less than the current market value. For anyone that can’t afford to buy the bike, they can donate their time at the collective, learning a skill while earning a bike. If they’re already donating their time at another non-profit, they only need to provide documentation of that in order to qualify for a free bike.  Obviously, this only works if there is a constant source of donations, either complete bikes or parts, and people to fix them.

This resolution by the city is a big step towards ensuring the sustainability of this very worthwhile program. Let’s hope this takes hold in other cities, as it’s pretty much a win-win for everyone.

As a closing note, if you have the time, or some spares you don’t need, please look into donating to your local collective.

By now, I’m sure most LA cyclists have heard about the trial of Dr. Christopher Thompson. He’s the guy that cut off two cyclists on a downhill stretch of roadway in Brentwood, then slammed on his brakes, sending one of the cyclists through his back window.

Yes, you read that right. A doctor, an emergency room doctor no less, is now facing charges that include assault with a deadly weapon and reckless driving causing injury, for intentionally causing this pointless accident. His attorney, Peter Swarth, is trying to put the blame on the cyclists. Good luck with that. I wonder if you have to be hard up for cash to take a case like this. It’s not like he’s defending a child molester or rapist, but certainly, it’s gotta be difficult to defend a client who uses a car as a weapon against men on bicycles.

Dr. Thompson, described as a “pudgy” 60 year old, is apparently offended by gentlemen getting exercise. But his behavior probably makes some of us long for the good old days of rednecks throwing empty beer cans at us. They were downright polite by comparison.

At a time when cyclists are becoming even more visible, and fighting for more facilities, this trial will likely have effects reaching far beyond some doctor doing jail time. Should be interesting to see how this one turns out.