Bike 54 Where Are You?

[Artkansas]

Better warn Francis Muldoon and Gunther Toody, the policeman's patrol car is getting serious competiton. According to this Yahoo Article, Bike patrols (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080526/ap_on_re_us/bike_police_gas)are the next big thing.

[tsl]

Ooo! Ooo! I remember that show... from when it was originally broadcast.

I run into a lot of our bike cops. We use the same LBS. And on rainy days, they're the only other cyclists out there.

[CommuterRun]

I hear that in some ways a bike is better than a car. At night you can sit and observe people, and ride right up on them before they ever know you're there.

[Smallwheels]

I want to get some silent hubs too. Imagine bicycle technology being driven by the needs of police patrol bicycles.

How do bicycle patrol officers get trained? Are sprints part of their training? I can pedal at a comfortable cruising speed daily and never get my legs strong enough for sprinting. Since getting a new bicycle I do sprint a little bit on each ride. Each time it is a little better than the previous ride.

It would be fun to see a chase scene in a movie with the criminal on a bicycle and the cops on bicycles too. Do you think directors could make that as exciting as a car chase scene?

[Artkansas]

I run into a lot of our bike cops.

I hope your front wheel hasn't gotten too banged up. ;)

[gwd]

How do bicycle patrol officers get trained? Are sprints part of their training? I can pedal at a comfortable cruising speed daily and never get my legs strong enough for sprinting. Since getting a new bicycle I do sprint a little bit on each ride. Each time it is a little better than the previous ride.

It would be fun to see a chase scene in a movie with the criminal on a bicycle and the cops on bicycles too. Do you think directors could make that as exciting as a car chase scene?

Bike officers aren't doing their job when they are riding. They don't ride that much. I pulled up alongside one and the end of his shift and talked with him. He checked his odometer- very few miles. He said the bike just makes him accessible to people in the community. What did he do all day- several "domestics", check on the teenagers in the park( bike is great for approaching youths hanging out not as intimidating as a car) and the rest of the time was "traffic". Again the bike was great for dealing with a nasty car accident that caused a traffic jam- he could be the first responder on the scene because he could cut through the traffic. All in all, very little seat time. The community police work occurs while dismounted, the bike just makes it easier to get to that point.

Aren't there silent movies with cops on bikes in chase scenes?