Rocky Hillside

Image by Nick Bohnenkamp at a year of bike commuting.

Amusing story about a pedicab and the SWAT team.

Some nice "bikey" photos at Cycle Jerks, too.

Image by Kit Seeborg. Some rights reserved.

The VERY bright side . . . bikes are everywhere in Denver! Plenty of people sport Freewheel!n cards. Many people on the free Freewheel!n bikes were tooling up and down the mall, Cherry Creek Bike Path, and romping around downtown. Freewheel!n has organized rides every day, too. And, trash and recycling is being collected by tricycles - typically driven (ridden?) by people with grins on their faces.

The real hipsters are on New Belgium bikes. They are available out in front of The Big Tent. (Inside The Big Tent, New Belgium beer is available for free.)

Image by Nathan Acks. Some rights reserved.

. . . why are police officers such assholes? Not all of them, but maybe 80% of them.

I have spent a good part of the day interacting with Denver cops. My job put us on the same side for several hours today - weird - I must confess. So, first, they nearly arrest me for not riding in a bike lane that is blocked by construction and overlaps many right turn only lanes. (My driver friends call it the "bike lane of death.")

Then, while I am helping "secure" an access area for VIPs escorted by the Secret Service - in the parking lot of a building we own, they nearly run me over. Their careening, unmarked van stopped within two feet of my chest. Then their next van made an effort to come within inches of me.

And, where were they rushing to? Some terrorist attack? Some effort to intimidate free speech? Nope. They were on their way to cadge a free meal from Dixon's.

To the great disappointment of the fifteen or so officers, Dixon's was closed for a private function.

=> Read more!

Photo by Timothy K. Hamilton. Some rights reserved.

Denver's bike "planner" is no longer working on bike projects! This opens a spot for a real bike advocate! Yahoo!

Original image by Kyle Wegner. Some rights reserved.

From the Washington Post:

On Wednesday, eight people, including two children, were killed when a U.S. helicopter opened fire on a group of Iraqis traveling to a U.S. detention center to greet a man who was being released from custody, Iraqi officials said.

Since late March, the military has fired more than 200 Hellfire missiles in the capital, compared with just six missiles fired in the previous three months.

The military says the tactic has saved the lives of ground troops and prevented attacks, but the strikes have also killed and wounded civilians, provoking criticism from Iraqis.

Translation: It is American policy that the lives of American invaders are worth more than the lives of innocent Iraqis. Or, put another way: the lives of adult Americans who have volunteered to kill people and are pursuing a stupid, unjustifiable war of choice are more important than those of innocent Iraqi adults and children.

The killings are certain to do more than "provoke criticism."

Those civilians include people like Zahara Fadhil, a 10-year-old girl with a tiny frame and long brown hair. Relatives said she was wounded by a missile on April 20 at approximately 8 p.m. in Baghdad's Shiite enclave of Sadr City. The U.S. military said it fired a Hellfire missile in Zahara's neighborhood at that time, targeting men who were seen loading rockets into a sedan.

Her face drained of color and her legs scarred by shrapnel, Zahara spoke haltingly . . .

. . .

One of Zahara's uncles, Dhia Rahi Shaie al-Koreishi, 34, a taxi driver, and her grandmother, Um Fadhil al-Koreishi, were killed by the blast.

"The heart of this family has been ripped out," said Alaa Rahi Shaie, 29, another uncle, who was stoic in describing the death of his brother. "This is his blood," he said, indicating red splotches in front of his home. "And the remains of his head are over there."

I am ashamed.

=> Read more!

Once I had passion but no balance. After hard work I found balance but lost the passion.

I think I like my life best when it isn't what it is.

Memorial Day from dusk to dawn. Lots, lots more information at CycleJerks.com, including information for out-of-towners. Here are the basics:

Registration: 7:30 PM Location TBA (Thanks Jen!)
Race Starts: 9 PM
Race Ends: 5 AM

From the NYTimes:

Here on Earth:

At the fund-raiser in San Francisco last Sunday, Mr. Obama outlined challenges facing his presidential candidacy in the coming primaries in Pennsylvania and Indiana, particularly persuading white working-class voters who, he said, fell through the cracks during the Bush and Clinton administrations.

“So it’s not surprising then that they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations,” . . . .

In some galaxy far, far away:

“It’s being reported that my opponent said that the people of Pennsylvania who faced hard times are bitter; well, that’s not my experience,” Mrs. Clinton told an audience at Drexel University. “Pennsylvanians don’t need a president who looks down on them; they need a president who stands up for them, who fights for them, who works hard for your futures, your jobs, your families.”