Crack down on Bike Night
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Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 90
From: orlando, florida
Crack down on Bike Night
hahahahaha look at what orlando sentinel article say about bike night in orlando florida
A parking-policy change launched Thursday may have driven off motorcycle enthusiasts who gather weekly along the block of Orange Avenue just south of Colonial Drive.
For more than a year, the busy street has become a hangout for motorcyclists each Thursday night.
Hundreds of motorcyclists have arrived on sport bikes with matching color schemes for the riders' helmets and the plastic fairings encasing the frames.
But Thursday, after no-parking signs were posted, only a few dozen motorcyclists had pulled up and not many remained long. Patrol officers on bicycles inspected their motorcycles and shooed them off. By 11 p.m., the street was empty, and the officers were alone.
The Thursday-night parking prohibition along the road was the first action taken by Orlando. The city Parking Bureau posted signs at midday Thursday, announcing that parking of all vehicles was prohibited between 6 p.m. and 4 a.m.
Four-lane Orange Avenue is typically the second stop in a Thursday night of riding, cyclists said. Bikers gather at a Hooters restaurant in Cassleberry, ride south to Orange Avenue and then head west to a gas station on Kirkman Road.
At Orange Avenue, they park in tight rows along both sides of the roadway. For the most part, their owners compare gear, meet friends, and watch other riders perform stunts in traffic.
Cyclists also pop wheelies, run red lights and occasionally wipe out. They frequently get away with it.
"They're just doing crazy stuff out there, and when we go to stop them, they just run from us," Orlando police Lt. Jim Marchione, the downtown night commander, said of motorcyclists riding on one wheel in the wrong direction and blocking off Orange Avenue for drag races. "They'd rather die than get a ticket."
Orlando's pursuit policy prohibits police officers from chasing motorists for traffic infractions to avoid the danger of high-speed crashes and collisions with other motorists.
"It's just getting out of control," said Marchione. "My official guess is that there are hundreds, but how many there are I don't know."
Some of the bikers welcome the crackdown. As Justin Stewart, 25, and Brian Russell, 28, both from Clermont, stood along Orange Avenue waiting for the action to begin, they said bikers were getting reckless.
"We'd see innocent motorists going 15 miles per hour next to a bike going 100," Stewart said.
Last summer, a motorcyclist who refused to stop for Orlando police died in a crash on Robinson Avenue that was unrelated to the weekly "Bike Night." Police did not know of any deaths associated with the gatherings.
The willingness to flee has made policing the gathering difficult, officials said. This led to brainstorming recently on how to limit the riders' potentially deadly antics, according to police officials.
Marchione said the parking ban simply may encourage the riders to move one block south on Orange, so officers will observe what happens. His prediction was on the mark.
On Thursday, some set up shop a block to the south and others parked at a convenience store a block away.
They've moved down the road before, said Joe, a speed biker who would not give his last name. During the past few years, the riders have met in front of a bar and a pizza restaurant farther south on Orange Avenue, he said.
"Every time the cops move in, we'll find a new place," Stewart said.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/orl-m...,1263400.story
A parking-policy change launched Thursday may have driven off motorcycle enthusiasts who gather weekly along the block of Orange Avenue just south of Colonial Drive.
For more than a year, the busy street has become a hangout for motorcyclists each Thursday night.
Hundreds of motorcyclists have arrived on sport bikes with matching color schemes for the riders' helmets and the plastic fairings encasing the frames.
But Thursday, after no-parking signs were posted, only a few dozen motorcyclists had pulled up and not many remained long. Patrol officers on bicycles inspected their motorcycles and shooed them off. By 11 p.m., the street was empty, and the officers were alone.
The Thursday-night parking prohibition along the road was the first action taken by Orlando. The city Parking Bureau posted signs at midday Thursday, announcing that parking of all vehicles was prohibited between 6 p.m. and 4 a.m.
Four-lane Orange Avenue is typically the second stop in a Thursday night of riding, cyclists said. Bikers gather at a Hooters restaurant in Cassleberry, ride south to Orange Avenue and then head west to a gas station on Kirkman Road.
At Orange Avenue, they park in tight rows along both sides of the roadway. For the most part, their owners compare gear, meet friends, and watch other riders perform stunts in traffic.
Cyclists also pop wheelies, run red lights and occasionally wipe out. They frequently get away with it.
"They're just doing crazy stuff out there, and when we go to stop them, they just run from us," Orlando police Lt. Jim Marchione, the downtown night commander, said of motorcyclists riding on one wheel in the wrong direction and blocking off Orange Avenue for drag races. "They'd rather die than get a ticket."
Orlando's pursuit policy prohibits police officers from chasing motorists for traffic infractions to avoid the danger of high-speed crashes and collisions with other motorists.
"It's just getting out of control," said Marchione. "My official guess is that there are hundreds, but how many there are I don't know."
Some of the bikers welcome the crackdown. As Justin Stewart, 25, and Brian Russell, 28, both from Clermont, stood along Orange Avenue waiting for the action to begin, they said bikers were getting reckless.
"We'd see innocent motorists going 15 miles per hour next to a bike going 100," Stewart said.
Last summer, a motorcyclist who refused to stop for Orlando police died in a crash on Robinson Avenue that was unrelated to the weekly "Bike Night." Police did not know of any deaths associated with the gatherings.
The willingness to flee has made policing the gathering difficult, officials said. This led to brainstorming recently on how to limit the riders' potentially deadly antics, according to police officials.
Marchione said the parking ban simply may encourage the riders to move one block south on Orange, so officers will observe what happens. His prediction was on the mark.
On Thursday, some set up shop a block to the south and others parked at a convenience store a block away.
They've moved down the road before, said Joe, a speed biker who would not give his last name. During the past few years, the riders have met in front of a bar and a pizza restaurant farther south on Orange Avenue, he said.
"Every time the cops move in, we'll find a new place," Stewart said.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/orl-m...,1263400.story
RedruM
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 2,315
From: tulsa, ok
Re: Crack down on Bike Night
1) As Justin Stewart, 25, and Brian Russell, 28, both from Clermont, sound like ***** bags
2) joe who refuses to give his last name is a " speedbiker "
aaaaaaaaaaaaah that is the funniest ish i've ever heard they sould change the web site name from stuntlife.com to speedbikerlife.com
2) joe who refuses to give his last name is a " speedbiker "
aaaaaaaaaaaaah that is the funniest ish i've ever heard they sould change the web site name from stuntlife.com to speedbikerlife.com
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