Author: CycleDog

LAB members! Help put these candidates on the upcoming ballot

(Full disclosure: I’m working with LAB Reform in an effort to put some reform-minded candidates onto the League’s board of directors. We’re asking LAB members to sign the petition to put John Brooking, Eli Damon, and Khal Spencer on the upcoming ballot.)

The League board changed their bylaws in July this year. The change permits 7 of 15 board members to be appointed rather than elected by the membership. This weakens the members influence.

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Reed Bates jailed again

(UPDATE:  Reed Bates’ bail was reduced from $5000 to $300 earlier today.  Yes, that’s $5000 for a bicycling offense.)

(UPDATE, SUNDAY MORNING: Bates was released at 4:15PM yesterday. Trial date on July 29 in Waxahachie. Possibly on all pending charges.)

The story of Reed Bates and his struggles with the legal system in Ennis, Texas, has taken on a Kafkaesque quality. Several times in the last year, Bates was arrested and jailed for the ‘crime’ of riding his bicycle on the road. Police tried to cite him for not riding in the bike lane, but discovered the town doesn’t have any legal bike lanes, so they charged him with failure to ride in the right hand lane.
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ChipSeal’s Defense

Let him ride.

I am part of a group trying to raise funds for a worthy cause, a fight against an injustice done to a Texas cyclist. Some of you may know him. His name is Reed Bates. Until recently, he penned the ChipSeal blog.

The police have stopped Bates numerous times in and around Ennis, Texas. Most notably, he was arrested and jailed for the ‘crime’ of riding a bicycle on the road. (more…)