I usually post several links to interesting bike news stories I come across each morning on my Twitter feed. But, if you don’t follow @BikePortland, here’s a few things you might have missed recently.
“Diez was apparently incensed by Alan Simons carrying his 3-year-old child on a seat mounted on the back of his bike.”
— From a story about shooting incident in the Citizen Times newspaper
The web is buzzing about a firefighter in Asheville, NC who shot his gun at a man who was riding his bike on a busy road. I still can’t fathom the who/why on this one. Reports say that the firefighter, Charles Diez, pulled over to talk to the man because, “he was upset that the victim was bike riding with his child on the heavily traveled Tunnel Road.”
Diez’s shot struck the man’s helmet, and barely missed his head. Diez is charged with attempted first-degree murder. The story has led to the usual editorial in a local paper (followed by scores of comments) about the “uneasy road” shared by “cyclists and motorists.”
Multnomah County Bike Fair.
(Photo © J. Maus)
Moving on to happier topics… Former Portlander, Scott “#1 Badass” Nowicki (he got that nickname for winning the Zoobomb Badass Challenge, an event where riders do a reverse bomb, and climb up to Washington Park from downtown Portland) has been featured in a story in the Las Vegas Sun. Scott, a regular at Portland bike events, commutes 23 miles (one way) from Boulder City to UNLV where he’s studying mapping and transportation systems. Like every good Portlander, he’s spreading the gospel and helping Las Vegas become more bike-friendly. Good luck Scott!
Finally this morning, Alabama has decided to ban a wine label that features an artistic, vintage French bike advertisement. The “Cycles Gladiator” image of a voluptuous naked woman flying behind a bicycle has been licensed by Hahn Family Wines in California to adorn one of their wine labels. The image debuted in 1895, but according to an article on DigitalCity.com, over 100 years later in Alabama it’s simply too racy:
“The cartoon lady could be considered artistically tasteful but the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board doesn’t think so. The board decided to pull the the wine from liquor store shelves statewide, deeming the label as inappropriate. Letters were sent to stores all over the state, announcing the ban on sale of the product.”
I should warn anyone that visits the BikePortland office in Southeast Portland. This image hangs in a frame right above my desk.
OK, that’s all for now. Back to your regularly scheduled programming.