Trial under way for driver in Madison bicyclist's death
By Mike Miller, The Capital Times
June 27, 2006

In a case in which there is almost no dispute about the evidence, jurors will be asked to decide whether opening your mouth to check in the rear view mirror for something lodged in your throat can be a crime when your car subsequently slams into a bicycle, killing the rider.

Tracy J. Sorum, 30, now of McFarland, was driving west on Hope Road near his hometown of Cottage Grove last June 30 when he felt there was something stuck in his throat. He momentarily took his eyes off the road to look at his throat in the mirror and didn't look back until he hit a bicycle being ridden by Jessica Bullen, 29.

Bullen flew off her bike and struck the windshield of Sorum's car. A severe head injury resulted in her death days later.

Sorum is on trial in Dane County Circuit Court for homicide by negligent operation of a motor vehicle. Jurors were told by Judge Patrick Fiedler that if they decide that Sorum's actions "created a risk of death or great bodily harm, and if the risk of death or great bodily harm was unreasonable and substantial," and if Sorum should have been aware that his conduct created such a risk, they could then convict him of the crime.

"I believe the evidence will show there is no doubt the defendant is guilty of the crime with which he is charged," Assistant District Attorney John Norsetter told jurors in his opening statement today. Norsetter will use a combination of accident reconstruction work by Dane County Sheriff's detective Wayne Honer and Sorum's own words to convince jurors of that, he said.

Honer will testify that Sorum's vehicle traveled 450 feet, in about 12 seconds, before his car hit Bullen. A videotape made from a squad car while Honer traveled that same route will be shown to the jurors.

Sorum told officers "this was totally my fault" when they arrived on the scene, Norsetter told jurors, and Sorum taking his eyes off the road for up to 12 seconds, and other evidence, "will unequivocally demonstrate" he is guilty, Norsetter said.

Defense attorney Stephen Eisenberg took exception to that interpretation. "He made a mistake, he did not commit a crime," Eisenberg said of Sorum.

"Ordinarily intelligent, prudent and responsible people make mistakes," he said, adding that while Sorum was responsible for killing Bullen, he was not criminally negligent as defined by the law.

"He didn't realize that what he was doing was going to kill someone. The dispute is whether what Tracy Sorum did was create a risk of death or great bodily harm that was an unreasonable and substantial risk," Eisenberg said, adding that "he did not."

The first witness at the trial was Michael Fay, Bullen's longtime boyfriend, who told jurors how Bullen had just earned her master's degree at the University of Wisconsin in urban and regional planning. She had been named by the faculty as the outstanding student, and was serving an internship with the Department of Transportation, but had recently landed a job with a consulting firm.

He and Bullen were avid bicyclists, Fay said, and had made a 1,500-mile trek around Lake Michigan before settling in Madison.

Fay's testimony caused a momentary glitch in the trial when, as he was describing how he works as a brewer at the Great Dane Brew Pub, a juror raised his hand to say that he does computer work for the Great Dane and felt uncomfortable hearing the case now that he knew someone close to Bullen worked for the pub.

The juror was excused, but because 13 were picked to hear the trial, with one to be designated as an alternate at the end, there are still 12 remaining.

If convicted of the crime, Sorum would face a maximum term of 10 years in prison.

None arrested in Milwaukee Critical Mass ride
By Annysa Johnson, The Journal-Sentinel
May 26, 2006

Friday's Critical Mass bicycle ride through Milwaukee drew what may have been its largest crowd yet, an estimated 300 riders, and it went off without incident, in contrast to last month's event in which six cyclists were arrested and 15 others ticketed for offenses ranging from disorderly conduct to riding without a bicycle license.

"It went really well," said Dave Schlabowske, bicycle and pedestrian coordinator for the City of Milwaukee, who brokered a series of meetings between cyclists and city officials after the April 28 ride.

"The police were awesome, and . . . the riders were really respectful," he said.

Friday's ride began around 6 p.m. at Riverside Park on Milwaukee's east side. Dar Ward, executive director of the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin, addressed riders beforehand, urging them to follow the rules of the road, and Milwaukee police officers made licenses available for those who didn't have them.

The bike officers then escorted riders for part of the ride.

Police and biking activists were expecting the larger-than-usual crowd because of the publicity surrounding last month's ride and the addition of as many as 80 riders from other cities in town for a conference.

Milwaukee police Sgt. Jeffrey Sunn confirmed there were no arrests or citations issued and attributed that to cyclists obeying traffic rules.

"Everyone was well-behaved," he said. "We're willing to work with these people as long as they follow the rules of the road."

Critical Mass rides, staged around the world, are intended to promote cycling and assert riders' rights to the road.

It's a loose collection of cyclists - there is no official structure or leadership - and participants gather for impromptu rides. Milwaukee's are on the last Friday of the month.

The April ride resulted in six arrests, 21 municipal citations and a dispute between participants and police about who was to blame. Police said they were enforcing a city ordinance (Milwaukee residents must license their bicycles) and riders accused officers of overreacting.

Friday's ride headed south on N. Oakland Ave. to downtown, through the Historic Third Ward to the south side, up 6th St. to Wisconsin Ave., then onto N. Lincoln Memorial Drive to the bike path and back to the park.

There was the occasional rider who straddled the yellow line, and traffic backed up momentarily as the entire mass circled the roundabout just south of the 6th Street Bridge. But most drivers appeared supportive, often waving or honking horns. A few, though, lashed out when the riders continued through red lights to remain together, which police agreed to allow in advance.

Last month's arrests were a frequent topic of conversation along the way. Rider David Coles, who believes police overreacted then, said participants behaved no differently Friday.

"It was the same spirit," he said. "Just far bigger . . . and more successful."

Officer on bicycle arrests 2 in vehicle linked to armed robbery
By John Diedrch, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
May 22, 2006

Milwaukee police Officer Manny Molina spotted a purple Toyota at noon Sunday and recalled a similar car was being sought in connection with an armed robbery the night before.

The fact that Molina was on a bike didn't stop him from investigating.

The 11-year veteran called for backup and pedaled over to the car, which was stopped at S. 21 St. and W. National Ave. The men inside were talking with a woman Molina said was a prostitute. Molina said he spotted a crack pipe, and the driver matched the robber's description.

Molina approached the car, his Taser stun gun drawn, and ordered the suspects out. The car was boxed in by traffic, and the Taser got their attention, Molina said. They got out.

Molina searched the car and found knives, drugs and a load of stolen goods, including jewelry. He arrested two men inside the car. The loot has been connected to at least three crimes: the robbery in Milwaukee as well as burglaries in Caledonia and Cudahy, Molina said.

Molina, 42, said there are times when he'll stop a car using his bike. Sunday was one of those times.

"In this certain situation, I have to at least try," he said in an interview Monday. "The circumstances worked in my favor. I caught them completely by surprise."

Fitchburg trail ready for bikes, links with Military Ridge path
By Emily Winter. The Capital Times
June 16, 2006

FITCHBURG - The Quarry Ridge Mountain Bike Trail will be dedicated Saturday [June17].

The new trail, just south of Verona Road, loops through open fields and woodlands, beginning and ending at the Quarry Ridge Recreational Area, 2740 Fitchrona Road.

According to Ed Bartell, Fitchburg's city forester and interim parks director, Quarry Ridge actually has three trails: the easy "yellow" trail that hikers can use, the intermediate "green" trail and the more difficult "blue" trail.

The distances are sixth-tenths of a mile, nine-tenths of a mile and 1 mile, respectively.

"If you stay on the green trail, then go onto the blue trail, it gets a little more challenging," Bartell said. "It goes into some switchbacks and then up some more rugged terrain with some rocky exposures and up some hills. You get into the woods and into the brush and it gets a little more challenging."

The trail took less than $2,500 to build, largely because the path is merely mowed grass that is 6 feet wide. The most expensive items were directional signs along the path.

The Wisconsin Off-Road Bicycling Association helped fund the project and came up with the idea to put a mountain bike path in Fitchburg. For more than a year, Bartell has been working with the Fitchburg government to see the plan through.

Bartell said he doesn't know how many people to expect at the opening Saturday, but said the closest off-road paths until now were the Cam-Rock trails in Cambridge and the Blue Mounds bike paths at Blue Mounds State Park.

"We've been getting calls from...bike clubs from local communities that want to use the bike trail," Bartell said.

He added that bikers might be interested in trying the trail because it connects to Military Ridge Trail, a paved bike path adjacent to Quarry Ridge.

Roger Charly, owner of Budget Bicycle stores in Madison, said his company is donating a woman's mountain bike for the event in conjunction with his sister store, Machinery Row Bicycles. Anyone who shows up Saturday is eligible to enter the free bike drawing.

Charly said Budget Bicycle employees will provide free bike tune-ups.

"It should be pretty exciting," Charly said. "There can never be enough bike paths."

Saturday's dedication activities run from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Quarry Ridge.

Theft Delays Worldwide Cyclist After 44 Years and 335,000 Miles
By Alan Cowell, New York Times
May 11, 2006

LONDON — He had been shot at in Zambia, stung by bees in Gambia. There had been volcanoes, arrests and accidents. But when the round-the-world cyclist Heinz Stücke reached Britain, he suffered the cruelest cut of all: his bike was stolen.

It is moot whether the theft made the headlines because of the appeal of his story or as yet one more bit of evidence that — even as politicians debate a wave of serious crime in Britain — a lesser tide of pilfering washes the nation's shores.
Mr. Stücke has been pedaling, on and off — but always on the same bicycle — since 1962, when he left Hövelhof, in western Germany, at 22 rather than contemplate a lifetime as a tool-and-die maker.

Since then he has pedaled an estimated 335,000 miles across 211 countries and territories. In long-range cycling circles he is something of a celebrity, a kind of two-wheeled Forrest Gump who never decided he had said all he had to say about cycling.
From 1995 through 1999 the Guinness Book of Records listed him as the world's most traveled man. Friends and supporters had donated cash to keep him going. Even Haile Selassie, the longtime emperor of Ethiopia who died in 1975 — "whom I had the honor to meet" — was listed as a donor of $500.

In recent years, though, Mr. Stücke has been obliged to look for ever more remote places to visit as he has filled his wish list. So he decided to head from Le Havre, France, to Greenland, via Britain.

On Monday he landed in Portsmouth, England, pitched his tent and tethered his ancient bike with string, canvas and bungee cords outside. "I even left my door open so that I could see it, but when I awoke at 3 a.m ., it had gone," The Times of London quoted him as saying.

In these days of multispeed, titanium-framed, shock-absorbing mountain bikes, his had a modest three speeds and a hub brake. It weighed 56 pounds because its frame had been reinforced against fractures, and its spokes had been thickened for the rugged terrain, said a Web posting by Mr. Stücke ( http://bikechina.com/ct-heinzstucke1z.html).

It had an extra set of handlebars so he could modify his riding position to ease shoulder pain. It had crossed the Syrian desert to set a personal record of around 200 miles in 12 hours "with the help of strong tailwinds." It had been to high altitudes in India and Tibet, across Afghanistan (in 1978) and above the snow line in Lesotho, a mountainous nation in southern Africa.

"All that matters to me is traveling on my bike," Mr. Stücke, 66, told the BBC. "That bike has sentimental value. In the past I have cycled up to 100 kilometers a day on it," or 62 miles.

He did not lose hope that his trusty two-wheeler would be returned, and it was. An unidentified person found it abandoned in a park, and the police returned it Wednesday.

"Hallelujah, praise the Lord — I have got my beautiful bike back," Mr. Stücke said. "Now I can rejoice and my journey can continue."

"I will be locking it up for at least the next few years," he added. It was not the first crime he had experienced. An unidentified trickster offered him a lift near New York as he struggled to return to Costa Rica, where he had left his bicycle in safekeeping, he wrote in a Web posting.

"After some time," Mr. Stücke wrote, "he stopped in front of a drugstore in a shopping center, gave me 30 cents and said,

'Would you be so kind as to jump out and get me two cigars, Dutch Master blond?' I said, 'Sure.' By the time I came out, he had driven away with all my belongings," he wrote.

"At such a time I remembered my motto: Every blow that does not kill me only makes me stronger."

Chicago planning 500-mile bike network by 2015
Associated Press, June 11, 2006

CHICAGO -- To encourage more people to bike to their destinations, the city of Chicago is about to unveil a plan for a 500-mile network of designated bicycle routes, one that would include elevating bike lanes slightly above street level in a bid to make the city a bicyclist's heaven.

Realizing the biggest danger to bicyclists are car doors and right-lane passers, city planners looked around for safety ideas and decided to adopt a practice in Geneva, Switzerland of putting a layer of pavement above street level and below the curb, the Chicago Tribune reported in its Sunday editions.

The city hopes to experiment with raised lanes in several locations by 2010. By 2015, planners say they hope 5 percent of all trips shorter than five miles will be made by bicycle.

"It's truly putting Chicago on the forefront of improving cycling across the country," Andy Clarke, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based League of American Bicyclists, said of the city's track record of delivering for cyclists.

Chicago's Department of Transportation is putting together the 500-mile network of bicycle routes. The current plan does not say where in the city the new miles of bike lanes and improvements will be located.

When the city and its consultant, Chicagoland Bicycle Federation, began researching a plan to replace one released in 1992, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley encouraged them to seek inspiration from other cities.

Next year, there are plans to shut down several streets for biking on Sunday morning -- something that is already done in Bogota, Colombia and Guadalajara, Mexico.

A key to encouraging bicycling, experts say, is to make riding safer.

Ben Gomberg of the city's transportation department said the city hopes to try teal markings at 10 intersections. The color could catch the eyes of motorists who may not be paying attention, said Joseph Schofer, a professor of civil engineering at Northwestern University.

Then there's the raising of bike lanes to see if it discourages motorists from entering the lane.

One potential drawback is that the raised lanes might make it harder for bicyclists to merge into the center travel lane to turn left, said Christopher Hagelin of the Center for Urban Transportation Research at the University of South Florida.

Chicago planners are also considering specially marked boxes at intersections where cyclists can line up ahead of cars. That gives them a head start when the light turns green and makes them move visible to motorists.