BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

I want to see this so bad. It's like the Weiner Mobile of bicycles.

often in the basketball court behind the firestation in east lib... this place is a goldmine for bumper bike sightings.

I dunno, the Weinermobile was a base, profit-oriented scheme.

This? It's like some holy mission!

Mick

That looks like the parking lot of Wendy's on baum blvd. (I am very observant).

You would be correct, I found the photo on Twitter and the person said it was the Wendy's parking lot. I saw it earlier in the AM just after the Bloomfield bridge.

This guy bombs down Liberty in rush hour traffic with that bumper. If you re in front of the Crazy Mocha in Bloomfield, you might catch a glimpse.

Haha, I've seen that before parked. I always thought it was some type of sculpture piece but not that anyone actually rode it. Awesome!

Will this work?

love this dude.

I am glad to see that he has multiple bikes TOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

is it the same guy? i'm hoping for a whole slew of bumper bikers starting some sort of revolution.

I met the guy, he calls that his Ferrari, talks about the gull wing doors and etc. He ran up to me when he saw a cargo trike and said he was gonna go to the atm to get one. I want to give him one, I figure he would trick it WAY out.

He had a bike with aluminum foil in the wheels, and a hubcap duct taped to the front, I think I have a pic.

I spotted him on penn ave. (point breeze) about a month ago I think it was the mountain bike.

I really don't think this is that safe. If a car hits the edge of the bumper I would make him fall but, it is a good make to make sure cars follow the 3' rule.

I really don't think this is that safe

Agreed, but I somehow doubt safety was high on the guy's priority list when putting that beauty together.

Yeah, those bikes are all about style. And he's got it in 5' doses. I think I might spend my holiday weekend watching Penn from my balcony just to catch a glimpse of his pimpin' paneling. :¬]

Makes me kind of want to get neon lights to go around my bike rims...kind of like some cars have under the running boards or just on the undercarriage. Or something....

More than style, he's making a very adamant *statement* to motorists to give cyclists both room and respect. And he's doing it in a very ballsy manner.

Two thumbs up!

he's one-upping the scraper bike scene for real

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQGLNPJ9VCE

Driving is the new smoking...

he offered to trick my bike out. i considered it for a minute

spotted him a minute ago at baum and penn circle west. he's got rims too.

I saw him riding through the east liberty home depot parking lot at 6am last sunday. I had just woken up so it took me a minute to realize that it was in fact a dude with a bumper attached to the front of his bike.

I need to track this guy down and interview him.

LOL....this is awesome...I have to keep an eye out for this guy.

yeah the dude rolls early. I saw him coming up liberty at 7am one morning

There should be a tweet of his location. Like the Kogi truck.

http://kogibbq.com/

Should we start a new thread, or can we "sticky" this dude?

wow..simply beautiful. do you have it with a wood grain frame?

I want one of those whenever printing starts.....

How to Avoid the Bumper Life

Someone sent me a pic of him headed down Penn:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3535/3708026450_1befe8ee9e_o.jpg

Does the bumper help him keep his balance at red lights? Or does it have magical properties?

Does the bumper help him keep his balance at red lights? Or does it have magical properties?

Not an either/or question, methinks.

I bet it works admirably well at keeping him from hopping on the sidewalk, splitting lanes of traffic, or edging up on the right...heck, it promotes vehicular cycling better than any other bike accessory I've ever seen.

salty, that pic is great.

i'm waiting for him to fill that up with a full dashboard

Put this on the uni, now that would be impressive!

This is the original photo erok posted 2 months ago. I figured this is a good place for it.

he has been witnessed riding on sidewalks unfortunately.

We definitely need some bumper bike t-shirts

I need to meet this guy so bad.

Just hang out along Penn Ave in East Lib/Garfield and you'll see him. I'm on my third siting.

Lemme work on that uni idea. Thanks Buck!

How many smoothies at Quiet Storm will be consumed during my bumper bike stake out? Time will tell...

Is this the same guy who also has a bike with hubcaps all over the front of it? I see that guy a lot too.

i love the idea of a 'bumper guy stakeout.'

those pictures are amazing.

- Is this the same guy who also has a bike with hubcaps all over the front of it?

Ive seen this guy by the bloomfield bridge. Mostly during the morning commute. I have also spotted him sporting a rather nice viking helmet.

!!! I'll offer a free beer to the first person to produce a picture of the bumper bike guy with the viking helmet on.

I got a post about this on bikehacks.com

Awesome! I had to spread the word.

http://bikehacks.com/rides-like-a-bike-looks-like-a-car/

that's great!

bump

My brother used to live next door to this lunatic. He would talk to us for a half an hour and just keep repeating the same three ideas over and over. 1)Didn't you know you could turn a bike into a ferrari? 2) Do you believe people just leave these alloy rims (hubcaps) layin on the street? 3) (looking at my bike with a huge smile) MAN that is a real sweet bike!

lol. I saw him ride the bat bike right down the sidewalk in Garfield just smashing the bumper off of everything

You know what? I think I have an old bumper....

OK, I have a solid plan for the unicycle. It's not a bumper, but is an immediately recognizable car part. If you'd like to help me assemble it, esp. in attaching some struts to hook a 15-to-20-pound part to a unicycle, please PM me.

Bumper bike encounter today in E. Liberty. Dude's name is Arron and has 3 or 4 of these. The idea behind the concept is to claim space on the road. He offered to totally hook me up with one too. Told him I'd think about it.

No lie, this guy is my hero.

http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/214689

saw him today on liberty ave at crazy mocha. it's his birthday today.

I like their style. Aaron's experiment on spacial awareness is ahead of its time.

has anyone personally invited him on any rides or to the bikefest party? i will pay for his ticket.

Was lurkin around bikeportland.com and they had a funny/unusual bike pic thread. Considered posting bumper bike but i'm to lazy. If someone has more initiative....

Some people take this bumper stuff too far and it goes to their heads.

IHeartPgh has a sighting which looks to be on Fifth Avenue in Oakland. He's branching out, geographically!

http://twitpic.com/q8hbx

we need to invite his guy to ride...no, lead critical mass this month

Saw him by the zoo, a few weeks ago.

Just spotted him this morning making a left turn onto Herron Ave from Bigelow Blvd. Had a huuuuuge line of pissed off cars behind him. This made my morning!

whoa, he was riding on Bigelow?

Posted 25, as I recall. hahaha. yeah, right.

I believe Bigelow is 35 from what I saw last Critical Mass.

I think it is 35...maybe 40, but probably 35. However, I have seen people likely going 70mph on it.

Wow. we really need some t-shirts or something.

25 both ways from oakland to herron avenue, then 35 both ways from herron to dahntahn.

that pavement is sound as a pound. if there were ever the opportunity to have an urban car race around town, like they have in miami, that stretch would be epic. Achieving 3X the posted speed limit is well within reach.

Achieving 3X the posted speed limit is well within reach.

3X? 75 mph? I'm guessing that happens every day.

Or at least every day that bumper bike isn't there to prevent it!

Mick

3x on the stretch towards downtown = 105. still pretty easy to do - um, or so i heard... really nowhere for cops to sit either.

BUMP!

bumper bike just rolled past my office

ahhh spring rolling in again. the sun is out, the buds on the trees are budding, birds singing and bumper bike a-rolling

BB at Frankstown & East Liberty Blvd. this am, chatting up the crossing guard.

I saw him in person for the first time! Going up S Craig at like 2:30 today.

I saw him a few days ago.

I was riding through an ally. He turned onto the ally, coming towards me. He was wearing all black, including a black leather jacket, and he was rapping to himself. I rang my bike bell at him. He kept pedaling past me, but stopped mid-rap and said, "How you doin' beautiful," and then picked up the rap where he left off.

Dang! Like Batman, but smooth with the ladies.

Ventos Pizza by Home Depot, Wednesday March 10, 8:30am

for archival purposes, i have to post ian's photo in this thread.

like riding off into the sunset

He came into the shop asking for $2 the other night.

Thinking he was a random skeezer I stonewalled him. It was only when I turned around that I saw the bike parked outside. Bumper bike, if ever need $2, I got you from now on.

He'd probably just head for Pep Boys and spend the $2 on "Bumper Shine".

Spotted a nice shiny black bumper laying on the sidewalk on Chislett St. this morning... might have to pick it up on the way home.

I saw this dude with a new bumper (black & shiny) riding on Liberty Ave this morning going out-town! I was going the opposite direction and at first-glance I had to almost scratch my head at the sight! He was very polite and yelled good morning! Haha

My other half, having never read this forum, asked me last night "have you heard of this guy who rides around with a bumper on his bike? they were talking about him on the radio today". She can't remember what station, but apparently people were calling in with stories and such. Amazing.

saw him downtown yesterday morning.

I'd love to see a bumper-bike Critical Mass! Perhaps a new trend is brewing, maybe we'll soon be seeing clip-on bumpers at our LBS.

my friend Lau & little Max ran into BB at Liberty & Baum yesterday...

great photo

I saw AGAIN bumper dude during the Spring Roll Alleycat yesterday! He was outiside Yen's Gourmet Restaurant in East Liberty talking with some people.

Keepin' it classy with that VW hubcap too. Nice!

Is there a Facebook fan page for Bumper Bike? If not, there should be....

Yeah someone at Spring Roll yesterday said they ran into him and told him he should stop by at the afterparty. No luck there though.

Spotted toolin' up Liberty from Baum today around 1 PM. Appeared to be having an animated conversation with thin air, such that he didn't notice the peace sign I flipped him...I'm gonna assume BB was rocking the Bluetooth headset.

I need one of those headsets, just to stick in my ear, so people won't know I'm just talking to myself.

On Walnut a few minutes ago: http://img52.yfrog.com/i/1fj.jpg/

Dan: He was still chatting quite animatedly when I saw him.

saw him on Fifth two days ago, leaving Pitt students utterly bewildered.

Is there a Facebook fan page for Bumper Bike? If not, there should be....

Here you go!

I was standing on Penn Avenue at the GA/GI festival this evening, and who rolls by but the object of our affection and wonder, the Bumper Bike himself. I spring into action, grabbing my bike and getting my camera out from my backpack, and pursue him, determined to get a good-quality photo. He turned down South Millvale Avenue, where I was able to snap a few pictures.

I'm posting more--including a rare video--on the Facebook page.

I talked with him briefly at the intersection with Friendship Avenue, and learned his full name. Should I post it here, and thereby ruin his Batman-esque mystique? I'll defer to the wishes of the board.

You don't tug on Superman's cape

You don't spit into the wind

You don't pull the mask off the old Lone Ranger

And you don't mess around with Jim, da do da do...

Couldn't have put it any better, Marko.

@rsprake: THANKS!!!

I didn't see Bumper Bike yesterday, but I did see some guy with this Amsterdam-style city bike (i.e. Velorbis or something) complete with chrome fenders and motor. Way classier than the Jeep with chrome hubcaps the next block over.

I saw motored-bike guy going around the lake in Highland Park the other day... took a second to figure out what was going on.

I saw this guy for the first time about a week ago on Liberty downtown... I didn't realize he had such a following, but I'm not surprised given his sheer audacity. I love it.

spotted last night on center in the hill heading toward north oakland. the man gets around.

also kudos to the croce reference. i love that song.

Saw him this morning at the intersection of Penn & Negley. Now he's got the entire bike, bumper, AND hubcap spray-painted entirely yellow... tires and all. Pure visibility!

Saw Mr. Bumper Bike at Art All Night yesterday evening. Took a picture, but it's blurry - just take my word for it... he was totally there.

Facebook page. Like.

Yes! http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bumper-Bike

Saw him yesterday morning at the Intersection of Frankstown and East Liberty Blvd. Using the bike with the dark colored bumper on it. He gave us a big smile and thumbs up as he rode by.

what happened to the facebook page?

It's still up there....it's just a different link since Facebook changed all their privacy settings to "sell your info." Hopefully this works: clicky!

Caught him last week on my way to the Post Office.

Throwin' the horns.

What did you say? "Hey Bumper Bike Man, raise your seat about a foot..."

I blew a whistle at him for not wearing a helmet.

I wonder if he even realizes what a celebrity he is in the biking community, or is he just doing his thing because that the way he rolls?

Not just the biking community...they've apparently been discussing him on the X morning show, per a comment I caught this morning when I (gasp!) drove to work.

He asked me for a job this week!

Maybe I can at least sponsor the bikes with a big logo?

Brad, I love that picture. How could one go about getting a print of it?

Or at least a high res copy? Not to steal your art or anything.

Brad - maybe you could interview him and put the results in the Urban Velo "I love riding in the city" section.

Saw a riderless Bumper Bike parked at the corner of Penn Circle and Sheridan Square...3:40 pm this afternoon.

Brad - maybe you could interview him and put the results in the Urban Velo "I love riding in the city" section.

+1. When I last saw Bumper Bike, I had my camera out to document the occasion. He said he wanted to give me an interview, some other time, when he had the time to spare. So he's probably a "go" for an interview... if you can find him.

photo by poster robjdlc

too good to not have in this thread

He cheered me on at the marathon this morning! In Bloomfield around mile 22!

He was in Shadyside on Saturday morning, first cruising down Walnut and then stopping in to get his bike detailed at Shadyside Detail.

Nice, Erok.

Saw him this morning, walking a bike I've not seen before along Penn Circle N. I'd like to call it the "white knight" bicycle: pretty much completely white with a white car bumper and a Harley-Davidson style banana seat: black leather with silver studs.

We asked him how many bikes he had. I'm pretty sure he said "eleven thousand".

Aaron came in to the shop the other day, told us that he loved our business and that he wanted to help us out, and gave us a paper bag filled with 3/4 sized photocopied money.

It was amazing. I will post pics of the money bag when I can take a photo.

Aaron came in to the shop the other day, told us that he loved our business and that he wanted to help us out, and gave us a paper bag filled with 3/4 sized photocopied money.

Reading this made my day.

It was amazing. I will post pics of the money bag when I can take a photo.

I am sooooo looking forward to this.

After work tonight he was rolling up Liberty right before Bloomfield bridge on the sidewalk...

If BB is on the sidewalk, you know there are problems at that juncture.

The leering shadow at the bottom of this photo looks like a haunting foreshadowing of sorts.

Hopefully nothing ominous... the sun was just at my back when I took the pic. I did tell him that his rear tire looked a little soft tho.

That is a new bike for bumper bike. I have never seen the chopper bumper bike before.

I think that's the bike I saw him on the other day.

evidently he has quite a selection.

He was riding the chopper when we rode with him at the last critical mass.

It looked really flippin heavy, especially with those massive tires. He pulled up on the sidewalk like that every other block, probably to take a breather from pedaling that beast.

Passed a bumper on Negley this afternoon...looked perfect for a new bike.

I have caught up with this guy his name is Aaron massengil like the douche lol I interviewed him and I posted the video on YouTube go check it out it's called Bumper Bike Dude or google it and the video should pop right up also subscribe to me on YouTube (sdotcream) more videos to come

http://www.youtube.com/user/sdotcream#p/a/u/0/GylXgwIw2uM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GylXgwIw2uM

Dude, this guy is awesome. I hope that one day his hopes and dreams for a pimp my bike show on MTV come true.

Oh wow! That video was awesome. Mr. Bumper Bike is the man!

totally bummed wwbbd.com is not up...

I know I'm gonna help him start one though in his mind it's up and runnin I asked him on another YouTube video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q17OKlivHP8&sns=em

who he has customized them for he said Michael Jordan & Arnold Schwarzenegger he has some in motion pictures batman beyond lol he has a very creative imagination and is actually quite intelligent

Now that you mention it, I think I found a picture of Arnold on one of the bumper bikes. Perhaps this was taken before he was Governor?

i just rolfed

BTW, if anyone is looking to follow in Bumper Bike's footsteps, there are four(!) bumpers sitting in the weeds next to the old mechanic's garage at the corner of Rural and North Negley in 'Sliberty.

I wonder what he would do if he saw a crew of 10 bumper bikes rolling up the street.

@ robjdlc that would be a dream come true for him

Oh and it's a CAR BIKE.... Bumper Bike Dude is his nickname

@dwillen already been done. http://tinyurl.com/2amhnlh

I did google it before I posted, but I figured a German show didn't count, plus, bumper bike dude isn't hosting.

There's an abandoned yellow BB on Gold Way in North Oakland (alley between Craig and Melwood / Center and Baum). It's been sitting there for at least a day, was there at 6:30pm tonight.

Oh sad! That's the one I saw him on a few weeks back during morning rush hour. Maybe he doesn't like yellow anymore...

If he doesn't have one already, I think this should serve as some inspiration for a Batman Bumper Bike: Batmobile Golf Cart

Maybe he's parked the yellow BB till July's Tour de France.

My bf is trying to find him to interview him for a Pittsburgh based blog he has... anyone have any suggestions on finding him other than the ones that aren't posted already in this thread? I know he's often seen around east lib/bloomfield/garfield.

you don't find Aaron, he finds you it seems.

Also, the yellow bumper bike (sans bumper) has been leaning against a pole by the bmw dealer on center, UNLOCKED, for well over a week now. amazing

coley - he told me i could always find him at the presby church on friendship on sunday afternoons. but good luck with that.

i've ridden past the abandoned bike and have been sad to see that the bumper is gone. maybe he took the bumper and put it on another bike...

His bike is locked up outside the church most Sundays, so that's actually a pretty good bet.

I saw the yellow bike there the other day and wondered if it was indeed his bike.

There are now at least four bumpers in a lot across from the old Texaco station on Negley Avenue, at Rural Street.

I saw a bumper bike parked here Monday night. It had a front bumper, a rear bumper and was all black. Didn't see any hubcaps, though.

rear bumper? that's new. maybe he had a run in with the bus driver too and is going for protection.

Spotted Sunday afternoon on the Bloomfield Bridge... had my good camera on me in the car.

look at that effin' motorcycle tire. STYLE.

He's been seen in the East End, primarily. I wonder how far he travels routinely, and how far out into the boonies he's ever traveled with a bumper attached.

I know I sure wouldn't want to attempt Perry Highway or McKnight Road with one of those!

You wouldn't, Stu. But we're talking BUMPER BIKE here. He's a man of steel (or fiberglass).

he very frequently visits garland park (maybe every day) in the 2-4 pm range

Photos by Swalfoort. Bumper bike downtown on Liberty Ave, June 2010.

The infamous bumper bike fellow rolled up to me at the bus stop in Oakland last night, across from Hemingways. I complimented his contraption and he gave me a little tour of it--pointed out the new rims(tin foil/aluminum) and the tiny steering wheel fashioned behind the bumper. Then he asked me on a date and told me how he was the designer behind the black Spiderman suit, and that Ice Cube's character in Torque is based on his life. Then we had a pretty awesome talk about drugs in the city and gentrification.

So where is he taking you on your first date?

Hopefully he has a bumper tandem bike

I politely declined his offer.

Then we had a pretty awesome talk about drugs in the city and gentrification.

What did he say? It's been my experience that the people with the most bizarre outward appearance have the best insight into how things work.

Go to 50 seconds in or so.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28hUwmBHRQg&feature=player_embedded#!

nice find brad!

Ah man. He was involved in a hit and run?

I really like this guy.

Also check out our own ianev in part 2 in the related videos!

i was having a grumpy day today but i read this thread again and feel immediately better.

A nice bike ride in the rain would cheer things up, too, about now.

Spotted today either taking a rest or having a chat with the police, hard to tell. His bike is behind the tree to the left, got a smile and a wave from him.

i was so excited to see bumper bike today in penn circle i forgot to take a picture.

Lots to report lately. I saw the Bumper Bike Dude in East Liberty on Friday, on Penn Avenue near Highland. Then the green bumper bike was leaning up outside St. Paul Cathedral in Oakland on Sunday afternoon--I guess he's Catholic.

My dad says he was on the highway part of Bigelow Boulevard this morning, and also today my brother reports a conversation with him where he only indirectly asked for money, but did say he wanted to find a job.

"DO NOT ride on Bigelow Blvd... unless you are Bumper Bike"

my boyfriend saw bumper bike and talked to him about his troubles. He does community treatment/case management at Mercy, so he knew exactly what Aaron was talking about with is check. etc. Then, David bought him a sandwich and a gatorade. What a guy!

top for the best sign ever

thanks pseudocris

omg

^^THAT needs to be in the next set of stickers.

Here's a short interview with Bumper Bike from last month.

wow. best.

when those signs go up i am making a sticker that will do that.

I got to talk to Aaron for about ten minutes today. Dude is Heroic. I'm attempting to integrate some of his strategies into my own operation of a two wheeled human powered machine.

Late Friday morning in Bloomfield. Happy Halloween!

I spotted him at the carnival in Oakland last night and thought he was wearing a vest of some kind - guess I was right, it was definitely the batman outfit without the mask.

does he have lights for his bike? I've just realized he might be riding around, dressed all in black, on a black bike, with a black bumper, at night. Great for fighting crime and vehicular misconceptions, lousy for traffic. I've never seen him riding around at night, and I'm sure he's fine, but now I'm going to worry until I hear or see otherwise, or can get a blinky to him. Sigh. I've turned in to my grandmother.

No reflectors or lights that I could see. And, right after this photo, he ran a red light and crossed the intersection at 45 degrees (but did look all directions first). He's pretty hard to miss in the day.

I handed him my rear blinky a few weeks ago. He clipped it on the front bumper and it immediately fell off and broke.

hmm. Are there any cool reflective stickers that might better stay on his bumpers? I shall think a spell and see if I can't find a way to help him in a useful way to be more visible at night (if he wants, of course).

A generator hub that lights christmas lights to cover the bumper. I don't even know if that makes sense.

@ejwme I've never seen him riding around at night

If you dress in black and ride a black bike with no reflectors, no one will see you riding around at night, either.

now I want to cover my bike in christmas lights when I ride through the snow. how can we make this happen?

Bumper Bike makes There I Fixed It! [link]

Several comments in is a reference to this very thread.

@RF They do make Christmas Lights that run off batteries (I've got two strands somewhere in my "cornacopia of crap" that run off AA or AAA).

RF, I just saw your comment, at a "Big Lots" store I got some, 6 foot string of multicolored LED lights that run on 3 AA batteries, the BEFORE-Christmas price was $4. I wore them around the night of the OTB meetup.

nice. I'll look into it for next christmas (or just regular use).

Folks,

Let's review the Bumper Bike situation:

1) Aaron is not just a colorful character, he's someone with mental health issues. One of the reasons you see him around Bloomfield is because that's where he goes for support (i.e., the anonymous building just west of the Bloomfield Bridge)

2) He has enough problems, to the extent that he is not entire managing to make good use of the available social services (due to the other people in his life, the limited resources in the system and his own, dysfunctional, behavior).

3) I understand (from this bboard) that his family has asked that people leave him alone, at least to the extent of not treating him as a curiosity and making him an object of interwebs attention. Keep that in mind.

If you want to help Aaron you can take a bit of time to chat with him, and maybe give him a couple of bucks. Be sure to ask him how things are going with the agency.

I agree that we shouldn't make a spectacle of the man, but on the other hand he does seem to love all of the attention he gets. He's always excited and eager to have his picture taken or to talk to people about his bike.

I have disgusted this topic at length with many people. It is a very complex situation, without an easy solution.

Last time I saw Aaron, I gave him $40 to get a room for the night, and I ran into him 2 hours later and he lost the money. He had tears in his eyes and he gave me a very long (very awkward) hug.

I think the best thing we can do as a community is take Aaron in as a friend. He seems to be a great guy at heart, but it seems nothing works out for him.

Every time I see him, I just try to remind him that there are a lot of people who are doing what they can to look out for him, and not to hesitate to ask Pittsburgh cyclists for help.

He does love the attention, but he also has the idea in his head that there are people out there making money off of him. Although this is not entirely true, it is something that we should consider.

There was talk previously about setting up a website and creating some merchandise with the proceeds going into an account for him. The issue is, (history has shown) he isn't capable of handling money, and from what he tells me, people tend to take advantage of him on the street, and he frequently gets robbed. He has also told me that neighborhood kids vandalize his bikes.

So what can we do?

-Show compassion towards him.

-Give/get him food.

-Help him with his bikes.

-Discuss his situation with other people to make more people aware.

I will get a bunch of reflective vinyl for him and encourage him to decorate his bikes with it.

has anyone seen aaron around lately? I don't usually spot the bumper bike during the winter.

Keeping an eye out but haven't seen him or one of his rides parked anywhere for a month or so.

I spoke with him Thursday morning outside Jitters on Walnut. That's the PNC branch he says is giving him problems, but he has a new account somewhere else. He says in the spring we'll have a parade and we'll all ride bumper bikes. I'm down.

A parade of 40 bumper bikes is one thing. 40 bumper bikes going in 40 different directions is something else again. I'd really like to see both.

I think the bumpers could create some unpleasant domino situations... Or else we'd have to stay in strict formation and behave less like a school of fish, more like a precise "V" of migrating birds, or a trail of ants. Trail of Anticycles? no, not quite right... If I weren't so tired I'd do better, I'm sorry.

Stu, could you bumperfy a unicycle?

I have a better idea for a car part for the wheel: a VW Beetle rear lid / engine cover. It was going to be one of my projects for 2010. It needs a paint job and some method for attaching it, but I think the idea is workable.

hey all,

i know sometimes folks wonder if aaron is out and about and doin alright, and i just talked to him outside of my office.

out enjoying the weather!

Glad to hear it! Thanks for the update.

I've been seeing him on a bumperless old road bike a lot recently. In fact, I haven't seen him on a bumper bike at all in a very long time. Has he given it up?

I saw him on it a few hours ago

Aaron update anyone?

The last I saw Aaron was on a Saturday morning in Nov 2010 on Allegheny River Blvd.

I still have the Bug lid and unicycle, btw.

I've been thinking about Aaron recently too and wondering how he's been doing

Weird...I was just thinking about Aaron a couple days ago too. Must be something in the air...

I saw him heading inbound on Liberty near 40th St one evening around 10 days ago. No bumper, but he was wearing a bandana.

Man, we need to get him a FoC invite flier thing

He pops into the office every now and again, but without the bumper bike. Says he's working on some new bikes so look out!

This is too bizarre. Within the last week he popped into mind out of the blue as no one had posted anything about for a long time. I was hopmg nothing bad had happened to him.

Anybody want to pool together to get Aaron a VIP ticket for the BikePGH Party?

I don't know if he has "mental problems". He seems like a good dude that cruises around with a bumper. Can't blame him. I think he is cool and I see nothing wrong with being visible. Hope to meet him. I ride in his areas, but ride earlier than he does most of the time. Cool post, thanks for sharing.

add another to the list of people who hasn't seen him around and was wondering how he was doing. i was riding through east liberty the other day, and he popped into my head. good to know he's still out there.

@hcurtis- as a non-medical professional, but someone who has interacted with him several times (he refers to me as the "Chinese kid") I am a firm believer he has mental health issues. In addition to the conversations that I have had with him, StefB and I also saw some of his prescriptions a few years ago and StefB said she recognized them as anti-psychotics.

add another to the list of people who hasn't seen him around and was wondering how he was doing. i was riding through east liberty the other day, and he popped into my head. good to know he's still out there.

+1

Folks, we currently have $50 towards Aaron's VIP Bikefest Party ticket

A little more support and we can personally check out how Aaron is doing with (potentially?) good food and drink.

Topping this. Help make this gentleman feel like he's part of the community. He's one of the most visible amongst us.

While the idea is thoughtful, why don't we raise money to get him something useful instead of a ticket to a party?

Why not do both?

Because I'm betting Bike Pgh could bend the rules and just invite him for free? If he even wants to go to a big ass crazy party...

From postings by people who have interacted with him on a regular basis (see earlier pages, this thread), and from discussions with his family relayed by other parties (I think youtube has some public), I'm not sure it's the best idea...

Don't get me wrong, I really like him - I like his enthusiasm for riding a bike, and he has been nothing but super friendly on the few occasions we've met, he clearly has a big heart and is a super sweet guy.

But there's more to the story, there's some darker edges that make it a tricky situation for everybody close to him. I'm not saying don't raise money for a ticket, I'm not saying don't raise money to help him (an idea I like better). I'm just saying... please proceed with respect, delicate caution, and controlled (or no) expectations.

Celebrity status is difficult in the best of situations, please tread carefully.

Exactly. Thank you for expressing my concerns so well!

My memory is not so good, but I seem to recall him being at some party before. I think it was at FreeRide, but this could be a total figment of my imagination.

I don't know Aaron's life story either, but I cannot imagine being invited to hang out with people who recognize you and are generally interested in your well being is a bad thing.

I don't know what a celebrity is or how they're treated, but I'm treating Aaron like somebody I'd like to see at a party that's about riding bikes around the city. Aaron has contributed to that.

@stefb

What do you suggest? Or what does somebody else suggest that knows his family or more about his background? I don't think it's within my power at the moment to change this guy's life, but we can give him some respite from it for an evening, if he's interested.

He's one of us.

I'd tread cautiously. Myself, I don't go to Bike Fest parties for the same reason I don't go to any other noisy parties: I don't enjoy them. I didn't in high school or college, and I haven't since.

If we really wanted to do something for Aaron, I'd first find out what he wanted, and what would do him the most good and the least harm.

Exactly.

I'm open to persuasion here. I just don't understand why going to a party with a lot of nice, mild-mannered folks is likely to harm Aaron.

Sometimes parties are too much for people with psychological issues, diagnosed, or undiagnosed.

Alright, shall we keep an eye out for Aaron and find out what he could use? I haven't seen him myself in maybe a year

Just one example, if he has an alcohol dependency problem, being in a roomful of beer might not be the best thing to happen to him.

You guys have put enough doubt into me that I'm balking. I'm super disappointed

No, just take advantage of the opportunity to help him by actually helping him, not just help him have someone else's idea of a good time. That's not something to be disappointed about, just a little more work.

For the record, I agree with your sentiments about parties in general

I was riding on Ellsworth around that new pedestrian bridge and saw a bumper on the side of the road. Hope that wasn't his, but it made me think of the bumper cyclist.

Ahlir wrote:@RustyRed: That sounds awful… I hope it wasn’t an accident. Or Aaron.