Pete Davis visits Querencia

Pete Davis came into Querencia while I was working today.

Pete was hit-and-run by a car in December of 2010, and his backpack saved his life. The fleeing driver was never caught. The accident hyperextended his knee (pictured), and now doctors say it needs to be replaced. C3 church pastor Ross Appleton took care of Pete for a while.

Pete’s a nice guy, and he grew up in Richardson (where I did) and traveled to California and back before ending up in Denton. I recognized him from the hit-and-run story, and he said he’s been hit four times in the last year.

It was a treat to take Pete’s photo, because he doesn’t fit the college-only bicycle stereotype.

Some people ride a bike because it’s all they’ve got. Driving is a luxury.

Oak St hit-and-run

Last week on May 6, Hilari Oller was riding home from work at 2AM when she was hit-and-run by a car on W. Oak St near Welch. She says she was in the right lane, when a car hit her left side from behind so hard that the car mirror broke off, cutting her arm open and severing arteries in the process. Eighteen stitches later, she was released from the hospital, found the broken mirror on the road, and she made a police report. The driver is still at large.

Last October, UNT teaching fellow David Gonzalez was struck only a block away. Despite a 2009 city initiative to put in bike lanes on this stretch, the proposal was tabled by the former Traffic Safety Commission. Now in 2011, the city Bike Plan routes look to have steered clear of this part of Oak St, citing fear of backlash from the historic Oak/Hickory neighborhood.

Cyclist egged

Last night around 10PM, a TWU grad student (and all around sweet person)  was egged while riding near 900 W. Congress St by someone in a black pickup truck.  The truck sped off before she could see the license plate number, and the Denton police said they’d put this assault on file.

“It made me feel scared to be riding my bike.”

The last similar incident was in May when seven Denton high school students assaulted several cyclists with bananas.  A similar incident in Portland landed the assailants in jail.

Crosswalk Sting

Ever get frustrated that motorists don’t yield when you’re using (and not riding) a crosswalk in Denton?

Check out this crosswalk sting, and contact the Denton PD if you’d like to see something like this here:

Found on EcoVelo

Bullseye Bike Shop Owner Foils Robbery Attempt

Friday afternoon, Bullseye bike shop owner Aaron accosted a thief and held him until police arrived.  The thief stole a black and orange bicycle chain, which makes me wonder if there’s a Halloween bike party in that we don’t know about.

Candace Carlisle of the Denton Record Chronicle reports:

The owner of a Denton bicycle shop was attacked after confronting a fleeing shoplifter Friday afternoon, but fought back and helped apprehend the suspect, according to a police report.

The 26-year-old owner told police he saw a young man put an orange and black colored bike chain in his pocket and walk out of his shop without paying for it, according to the report.

When the owner followed the man to ask for his bike chain back, the man threw down his bike and told him he wasn’t giving it back.

The 17-year-old punched the owner in the cheek and forehead, according to the report.

The bleeding owner then grabbed the suspect in a headlock and wrestled him to the ground. The suspect’s eye was cut by the bike chain in the tussle.

Police officers arrested the teenager for robbery and criminal mischief.

As police drove him to the city jail, the suspect kicked out two patrol car windows, bending the window frames in the process.

The teenager was taken to the jail’s intoxication tank until he calmed down, the report stated.