Two items for bicyclists, from the Bike Delaware blog:

1) UD police are looking for the public's help in identifying this man, wanted for questioning in the recent disappearance of several bikes from the campus:

He is suspected of taking at least 6 bikes, and in one video is seen slowly cruising downtown Newark on a bike, apparently looking for suitable wheels to steal.  "He is described as 30 to 40 years old, heavy set, with tan skin, dark hair and facial hair."  http://bikedel.blogspot.com/2011/06/ud-police-seek-help-in-identifying-bike.html


2) The Delaware general assembly has just passed a bill earmarking 5 million dollars for bicycling.  This will mean more bike lanes, and generally making the state a better place to take your Schwinn for a spin.

What I'd like to see, actually, is a crackdown on adolescent boys who purposefully dart into traffic on their bikes or razor scooters.  I know kids always did risky things at that age, but I don't remember seeing this particular behavior much until the past couple of years.  Now I see it at least once a week: a group of 3 to 5 boys, 11-14 years old, who ride in circles from one side of the street to the other, darting into the street repeatedly; not to get from point A to point B, but to show off their bravado.  The last time I saw it happen was at a busy Kirkwood highway intersection, at rush hour.  4 boys were taking turns literally dodging cars to get to the thin median strip, and back.   A few times a year we hear that a kid was killed on a bike at a busy intersection, and there's a public outcry about the safety of those intersections.  Maybe the cases are unrelated, but I am not surprised it happens when I see kids more and more often doing these daredevil moves.  If there is any law enforcement reading this and wondering where this is happening frequently, watch the intersection of Kirkwood Highway and Milltown Rd in the afternoon. 

That said, am I complaining about this out of a deep sense of concern for the adolescent boys of Delaware?  Not at all.  Not to be cold-hearted, but such behavior is how most species rid their gene pools of overly-risky rogue members.  But when it puts other people at risk of an accident, and possibly means some poor shmo having to live with a child's death on his conscience when he was just trying to get home from his 9-5, then yes, I wish a cop would drive by and talk to these kids when this is going on.  /old person rant.


http://bikedel.blogspot.com/2011/07/delaware-general-assembly-votes.html