Police get BMX to 'break down barriers' with youths

You will not see this happening in Singapore anytime soon

The article is from Bike Radar and is located here

Police on mountain bikes are a common sight in many cities around the world, but Leicestershire Constabulary reckon they've found an even better tool for urban crime fighting – the BMX.

While it may not afford officers the same dignity as a larger wheeled bike, the force reckon their new Haro F3 will "break down barriers" when police meet young people on the streets and in parks.

PCSO Vince Preston, from Oadby and Wigston local policing unit, said: “It's a size the children can get on, and it helps build a rapport with them. Kids are more open to speaking to you than if you're on a larger bike or on foot patrol."

The marked-up blue and white machine will also be used for school safety sessions – and officers reckon it'll come in handy for catching criminals too. PCSO Preston said his experience using mountain bikes showed how valuable they were for tracking suspects, and he reckons that in the majority of cases a BMX is quicker and easier to manoeuvre.

“In a car, they can hear you a mile off, but on a bike you're virtually silent," he said. "This area has lots of alleyways which I know and can use, so often I can get to an incident at least as quickly as colleagues in a car. And while you're on patrol, you can communicate with members of the public and you can see and smell more than being in a car.”

Haro Bikes' UK distributors have supplied the bike free of charge. Brand manager Adam Garner said: “Moore Large and Co are delighted to be involved in this fantastic project. We're hoping it will help gain respect between the police and Leicestershire’s youth. I'm looking forward to supporting Leicestershire police over the coming months and watching the project make a positive influence on the local community."

It's unclear how the F3's stunt pegs and 360-degree gyro will aid crime fighting; maybe officers hope to stun offenders into submission with a succession of grinds and barspins, or maybe they'll use the pegs to give colleagues 'backies' when chasing more than one suspect?

Frank Lampard gave schoolboy £200 after running over his bike

More often than not, many people will not give a hoot if they run over people's or kids bikes. My respect for Frank Lampard just went up a notch. You are OK in my books Frank!

The article is from The Mirror and is located here

The Chelsea midfielder struck the 14-year-old's BMX as he reversed. Then Lampard jumped from his Range Rover, convinced he had run over the lad in a London street. But the boy, who was not on the bike, was unhurt - and Lampard gave him the cash to get a new BMX.Lampard's agent Steve Kutner said:

"All sorts of things were going through Frank's mind. "He saw the bike in his mirror and was sure he'd run the boy over. "Frank checked the lad was OK and asked how much the bike cost. "The boy said it was worth £100, so Frank gave him £200 in cash. It was the least he could do. "If anything, Frank was more upset than the boy."

BMX racers in Singapore now can learn from this

A friend of mine posted this in Facebook. It is a sad reality but these kids are WAY better than many of the kids here in Singapore. It seems sadly ironic that Singapore, as the host of the YOG, do not even have a BMX team that can even handle what these kids can do!

The nerve of some people

We get all kinds of emails. Some ask us about BMX in Singapore, which we are more than happy to oblige and we do our best to answer all questions that they have. Some are curious about BMX and we try to help them as well by answering their queries. And then we get emails like this one:

I’m (name with-held), a Student Producer for (name of company with-held)

An introduction of our show

(He went on into a long introduction of what the show was all about)

We will need 2 sets of protective gears. This are for the 2 hosts who will be learning the stunts together with the instructor. Please note that there is no payment for this project. However, we are able to provide a text credit for your company.

How about that? He seems to think that money grows on trees. At least a token sum for the instructors, who need to take time off work to help them. In any case, I have taken the liberty of giving them a "text credit" and I did not even reply to their email

Thanks guys but no thanks.

Why do we only have one BMX track?

There was a very good article in The Straits Times today about land use in Singapore. We have space for 22 golf courses and only one BMX track. Why in the heck do we have 22 golf courses in Singapore?? An island of slightly less than 700 square kilometers? The article in the Forum page is located here:

IN HIS letter, 'Land, not money, is the primary problem' (March 30), Mr Andrew Williams bemoaned the dearth of permanent spaces for recreational sports in Singapore. In the light of increasing enthusiasm for these pursuits among the young, he reasoned that more land, rather than money, needs to be found to meet their needs. We may not have to look far for such land. In a report last year ('Plots of greenery for recreation and friendship'), 300 plots totalling 582ha of open spaces were made available for recreational use free of charge. This is roughly the size of 892 football pitches. There is no indication that this area will be enlarged in tandem with the increasing popularity of sports. Yet, in contrast, to date we have built 22 golf courses, most of which are 18-holed oases to cater to a sport whose following is a mere 2 per cent of all regular sports participants, according to the Singapore Sports Council's National Sports Participation Survey in 2005. Discounting the driving ranges, these 22 courses occupy about 1,400ha of land, if one makes the conservative calculation of pegging each course at an average of 65ha each. The 1,400ha of land is equivalent to 2,200 football pitches. Given the disparity in space allocation for sports and recreation, it is easy to conclude that golf courses, especially in the context of land-scarce Singapore, are hogging far more state land than is necessary. The old rationale that the land cannot be used for other developments strains credulity. Regardless of the innumerable justifications, ranging from health to economic well-being, for turning vast stretches of premium land into golf courses for the pleasure of a small minority, the question that must be asked in the context of a land squeeze for sports is: Do we really need 22? We must free up in stages some of our golf courses for the sake of the growing number of sports-loving children who need the space to play and grow into robust and health-conscious adults. The extent of benefits far outweighs those that golf can provide.

Lee Seck Kay

Jay Miron sells his BMX businesses

By Mark Sutton from BikeBiz

Industry legend leaves the industry

20-INCH wheel legend and the owner of MacNeil Bikes, Ten Pack Distribution (US) and Metro Events, Jay Miron has revealed that he has sold the former two companies to his business partners Darcy Saccucci and Jamie McIntosh. The latter, Metro Events, will reportedly be closed down.

Having started the firms just over ten years ago, Miron announced that he will be passing the torch on, largely as a result of having to stop riding himself due to injuries, commenting in an interview with TheComeUP.net that it has been “difficult to stay around the sport, watching everyone else enjoy BMX so much.”

Miron added: “After spending my entire life either on a bike, or working in the bike business, I’m walking away from it.

While it’s pretty scary leaving it all behind,
I’m super excited for the new life that lies ahead. I haven’t yet decided what that life will be. I’m going to take a while to relax and see what comes up.

“I want to thank everyone whom I’ve ridden with, partied with and worked with over the years. I especially want to thank Darcy, Jamie and everyone else who has worked with me at MacNeil and Ten Pack. It’s been amazing.”

http://www.bikebiz.com/news/31983/Jay-Miron-sells-his-BMX-businesses