BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

I can't tell if that's a bike or a duck.

rsprake, i just snorted.

i think it's a concept bike

It's a BMX bike that's been converted to a highracer recumbent with under-seat steering, with a small fairing (wind screen) on the front.

looks like bull horn handle bars to me.

is the saddle on the right or left?

it's funny how difficult it is to draw a bicycle from memory for most people. it's an ice breaking exercise i do whenever i've taught bike mechanic's classes at free ride. it inevitably gets a huge laugh.

I'm glad traffic is moving on the bridge...I'd find it awfully ironic if the commute home on my zero-emission vehicle was inhibited by people promoting reduced CO2 emissions...

Yo! downtown protesters, I'm really happy for you and ima let you finish, but Greenpeace has the best protest of all time.

@sloaps

LOL!

If it rolls like a duck, and derailleurs like a duck, and folds up like a duck ...

Great banner, great photo. Wonder how long it was there before it got pulled down. My guess is seconds.

And so much for my suggestion about using the downstream sidewalk of the West End Bridge. (Anyone for hoisting a kayak on their bike? Might be easier than finding a bridge you can cross.)

it was there for a while... like hours... this is a really effective banner drop method that they've used before.... people hang off of the banner so they can't just cut the banner... it's pretty great

Stu, I think it's up for longer than that. What is hard to se in teh pic is that there are people hanging from there -although it seems more next to the sign than on the sign. One is to the right of the sign at water level, one is underneath the N in emissions and one is right below the end of the arch of the Ft Duquesne bridge and look like part of the submarine.

Go Greenpeace!

Mick

@dmtroyer

Great pic! Nothing says "welcome center" like 8 foot high metal fencing!

I wonder how many petrochemicals were used in teh creation of that sign and the polyester rope they were using?

@netviln not to mention the plastic water barriers

@scott just had to one up me, huh

I'm glad they all rode their bikes here, because to drive or fly would kinda defeat the purpose.

tee heehee.

I rode downtown today to check it out, and saw absolutely nothing of interest, unless you're interested in law enforcement. I saw one protester, I assume, riding a bike around with a huge rucksack on his back. He was generally making a menace of himself. At one point he was weaving up the wrong side of Allies trying not to fall over.

Saw a lot of pudgy guys in khakis with .45's on their hips.(feds?)

I didn't get any pics cause nothing warranted doing so. Going back to ride thurs and fri afternoon if any thing interesting happens I'll post pics and story here.

That sign white sign on the fence says walkway to north shore closed.. How are you supposed to get to the other side of the river?

You have to take Clemente bridge, I was thwarted trying to get back over from the north shore.

@cbobc I was moseying around near the convention center over lunch taking pictures. I stopped at the corner of smithfield and 7th to decide where to head next. In the course of 30 seconds, 6 different huge russian dudes in street clothes came up to two other russian dudes at the corner, shook hands and walked in separate directions. weird.

Of course now your mind is concocting all sorts of scenarios that could cause this.

That's a lot cooler than the six homeland security agents I saw meandering through Giant Eagle. I know now that feds do not like generic coffee creamer. Had to push my way through their slow tour of southwestern pa grocery establishments.

Three "bike cops" downtown last night had great headlights but evidently hadn't ridden a bike since they were kids. They were weaving all over the road and standing out of the saddle so they could push their biggest gear. Wish I'd had an IPMBA card to give them I don't think they were locals, as the bikes looked different than what I've seen the Pittsburgh cops using. And the Pittsburgh cops are usually smoother riders than this.

Also saw one huge russian dude in $200 jeans being a dick to a huge russian dude in $100 jeans and cowboy boots. Evidently the Putin crew pay their bodyguards better than we pay the Secret Service. Or maybe these were just boytoys and not security.

There are out of town bike police riding around. Saw a school of them while I was having lunch at Harp and Fiddle.

Dude in the cowboy hat was Chechyan, accents sound the same to the untrained western ear.

Point State Park sign is now up for vote on failblog.org.

Page 2 or 3

Now we really are in the world spotlight.

Direct link: http://cheezburger.com/View.aspx?aid=2654649088

Where is "forbes road"? http://twitter.com/g20pgh

Around noon there were folks tossing a football on Penn Avenue in the Strip. Very eerie...

Bike police were in evidence and came from EVERYWHERE. I didn't know, until today, that the PA State Patrol had a bicycle unit.

Ran into cops from all over (not all bicycle cops), including Tucson and Baltimore. US Park Service has a big contingent of police on horseback. Impressive to see, but watch out for the doo doo left behind.

It's nice that after a summer of unremittingly pleasant weather, nature herself has decided to be overcast and muggy for the Big Theives Meet.

Mick

Dumb Protesters

#1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naE-yy-9j88

#2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8ieiYCMMYk

there are ways of telling whether it's a bike...

does it float?

dumb protesters? really?

why are they dumb, because they aren't complacent sheep?

There's a difference between being "complacent sheep," making your voice heard, and being a public menace.

the corporations which came here and caused all of this bullshit on the taxpayer's dime are a public menace. are you going to have the police attack *them*?

protest pics from the last few days

Community Gathering Tuesday at Friendship Park:

http://www.jonpratt.net/gallery/9725278_Nh5XE

Couple from downtown yesterday:

http://www.jonpratt.net/gallery/9734014_yw7wP

March from Arsenal Park today:

http://www.jonpratt.net/gallery/9745518_Yn645

I'll have some more tomorrow from the Thomas Merton March.

I was all over Downtown and the East End today, tweeting and pointing my cheap cell phone's camera.

Here's my favorite from the day:

This gets you to the set. Somehow I lost all the comments/captions I typed, though.

Found this: Arrest in Oakland

I smell a lawsuit.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2336771&id=14220698&l=94b7d3a853

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2014727&id=148800459&l=fd8d01599f

i give up... for some reason photos won't post... here's a link http://sahcer.com/G20

I like the pic with the pens banner. Nice. Dude has a gonzo shirt on also.

Canadians; they gave us hockey and they gave us bloody seal slaughter. I always thought they were supposed to be so polite.

Tangentially referencing the "cops-hitting-cyclists" video, does anyone have a decent picture of the alien invader-style gas masks the bike cops were wearing?

I wonder what happened to this protester... and why was he "arrested" by soldiers instead of cops? scary.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8CNa_viKg0&feature=player_embedded

Everything I have read and seen says those are not military.

Then why are our cops dressed like soldiers?

http://rawstory.com/2009/09/video-appears-to-show-us-troops-kidnapping-protester/

Were those cops?

2 things stand out as suspicious:

1) No gear, just camo fatigues. I find it hard to believe that official security forces are gonna go into the midst of a protest after stripping off their harness. Mano-a-mano, fair-fight-fisticuffs is not in the playbook for the G20 security forces.

2) Unmarked sedan, used by men who were emphatically not plainclothes. Why?

3)Not really meaningful, but I'm surprised that the camera didn't catch the license plate.

I'm not saying that it was staged; I am saying that I have no idea what we're looking at here. Cops, soldiers, stupid vigilantes, kidnappers hired by pissed-off parents, or a staged demonstration...I can't tell.

[EDITED TO ADD: I missed the prior post...I'll shut up now]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNyV7UQJpyY

Everything I read yesterday said it was the reserve that kidnapped that kid, but today people are saying they were police.

By the vehicle and the way they acted, I'd say they were reserve.

BTW, anyone get a pic of the "G20 special edition" white bikes some of the cops had?

I loved how they mounted a tear gas cannister in the water bottle cage - that would be one hell of a mistake to make if you got thirsty...

I don't know what bike I saw Downtown Tuesday night, or who was on it, but its headlight was soooo bright I had to look away. Looked like it had four, maybe five or six main beams, each one brighter than the typical five-LED systems you can pick up for $25 most anyplace. I swear it could've lit up the side of a building a block away.

Scott, they're wearing camo. That doesn't mean dressing like soldiers. There's a lot more to dressing like soldiers than that.

http://confederateyankee.mu.nu/archives/292825.php

And, as pointed out upstream, the cops have owned up to.

Plus:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posse_Comitatus_Act

Yeah, not all the protesters are dumb maybe just the ones that decide to roll dumpsters down hill at the police are.

I won;t claim to know what is going on here, but there are a few problems with most of these theories.

The National Guard often is behind active duty with equipment upgrades, I would not at all be surprised if there was still some of the old woodland camo in circulation.

If these were police, where was their gear? badges?

I really really doubt this is a hoax, but I'll be damned if I know who these goons are.

Thomas Merton March pictures, you may recognize one or two people in the shots.

http://www.jonpratt.net/gallery/9754015_wDFmV

Great photos as always Jon!

I'm especially into "Obama is CIA"

um... what?

Thanks for the wonderful slideshow, Jon. I posted a link on my Facebook page (and credited you).

Those photos of police Downtown with fingers on triggers are chilling.

I was in Bloomfield last night (Little Italy Days!!) and noticed some guy with an "Obama is CIA" shirt on. I pointed it out to a friend who was with me, and she had a similar reaction: "Huh? What's that mean?"

I didn't see any pictures of police with their fingers on the trigger - I saw police with their fingers *off* the trigger, outside the trigger guard. And all the weapons I saw were "less-lethal". All in all, I would have to say that the police were relatively restrained -- at least, relative to my low expectations . Overwhelming force gives them that option, but they might not have taken it.

That said, I share Scott's concern about the increasing militarization of our police. There is little PRACTICAL reason for the cops to be wearing camouflage. Therefore it is a fashion statement (dressing like soldiers), and it's not terribly ambiguous. What it says to me is "we are not peace officers, we are here to conquer."

I don't remember if these guys had their fingers on the trigger, but there were about 6 of them pointing their weapons at a crowd of anarchists about 3 feet away. It all stemmed from an officer in the back yelling to watch out because someone was carrying a bucket over his head near them. I guess the officers were concerned he was about to throw something on them. It was, however, just a guy collecting donations in the crowd.

Of course we all know there were indeed officers shooting all types of less-than-lethal weapons at protesters. Sound, gas, pepper spray, pepper paintballs, heard reports of rubber bullets (didn't see that)...etc.

And I'm glad you enjoyed the photos...I really had a great time being part of the whole thing.

Could have been a bucket of excrement, obviously. Isn't that what liberal-socialist-anarchists use to fertilize their liberal-socialist-organic gardens?

The use of bean bag rounds was confirmed (orange shotguns). No rubber bullets that I know of.

To my untrained eye, anyone not in an "at ease" position is an immediate threat. Had I been there, seeing that would have scared the hell out of me, knowing the weapons are loaded with something.

Sorry folks, some of us lived through Kent State and Jackson State, and images like that don't go away easily. Sort of a virtual PTSD moment. And I suspect I'm not alone.

does anyone else find this erie?

cops had a special G20 Limited Edition bikes

and the detail:

at least they're made in the usa

You know how after the US Open or All Star game events, the local car dealers sell the "Official Whatever" cars that they loaned to the pros? I wonder if we're going to see any of the Official G-20 models (driven by the pro's) for sale at the local shops ...that *is* a sweet setup -- disk brakes, nice luggage, cool pepper spray gizmo. That's be a cool commuter rig.

That's be a cool commuter rig.

Of course, switching out the pepper spray for an air horn or water bottle.

()

I dunno...I think the crazy guy in a red pickup truck might think twice about buzzing too close if you've got a half-gallon jug of pepper spray and a cool G-20 bike -- the action at the next red light could be seriously different

I wish I could see the front. Those lights I mentioned were amazing. In terms of size, they were about the size of a VHS tape, maybe a little thicker.

Whoa.. IBIS, who made those bikes, is based in Butler.

http://www.iforcebikes.com/

Also, from the post-gazette about halfway down the page.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09262/999246-482.stm

i like this one, using the bike lanes:

BikePGH, leading the charge

stolen from another board, but thought ya'll would appreciate it

here's some from the pg with bikes in them

Whoa.. IBIS, who made those bikes, is based in Butler.

At first, I was thinking "Ibis is now in Butler, and making police bikes? Whoa."

Then I clicked the link.

you can see some of the light in this pic

Best one yet?

Hard to discern, but I'm pretty sure the cop on the far right is smiling.

is he singing "stop in the name of love?"

Stulin's right, kent was far worse than this.

These gents were the undercover bike cops. I watched them leave a line of riot police, let in like old friends at the bar.

The pink back pack I take as a smear on protesters and bicyclists , um, mini pink back pack, mmmmm, uh, no!

More pictures from the People's March:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2337183&id=14220698&l=887c6efa8f

A few from Friday night:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2337105&id=14220698&l=83f836a369