bike patrol

Fritz M

Colorado Bike To Work Day is today (Wednesday, June 23). A
photo of a Bicycle Longmont member was on the front page
above the fold of this morning's paper. You can see her and
read the article at http://www.longmontfyi.com/ if you visit
this website before 10 a.m. Thursday (U.S. Mountain Time,
GMT -0700). Andy Clarke of LAB was in Longmont this morning
to present the Bicycle Friendly Award to the city.

I met the police officer in charge of the local Bike Patrol.
This dude looks intimidating: He's about 6'6", muscular,
with shaved bald head, a goatee, and a scar over one eye.
He's straight out of Central Casting for a steroetype Bad
Dude. He rode his bike into town from about 15 miles away
wearing his Bike Patrol t-shirt. He's personable and
friendly, although when he talks about his arrests and
traffic stops he gets a wicked gleam in his eyes as he
describes the stealthy nature of bikes and he chuckles
maniacally when he talks about the shocked looked on the
faces of the perps he catches.

I also met the woman in charge of Animal Control. She rode
in from Mead, about 10 miles away. She's about mid-40s with
graying hair and does not have what many people might think
of as the ultra-thin "cyclist physique." In Longmont, Animal
Control is under the police department. They wear police
uniforms complete with a badge and a utility belt with
pepper spray and a collapsible baton. Two of the five animal
control officers patrol on their bikes. When this bike
program started two years ago there was a lot of skepticism
(how do you transport a loose dog to the animal shelter on
your bike?), but it turns out to be really effective. They
mostly patrol the trails around town telling people to put
their pets on a leash. It's community policing at its best.

RFM http://www.bicyclelongmont.org/