Coverage on Vandeman Trial
Some of you might remember a post I wrote last Fall about an exchange he was having with Lynn Valley Bed & Breakfast. In that post, I referred to his recent assault with a deadly weapon charge.
The trial started March 4, 2011. If you’re interested in knowing the outcome, please check out this blog I found by Peter Frick-Wright. Peter is a writer from Portland, Oregon who has been attending the trial and providing daily updates. Thank you Peter!
It is commonplace for speeding mountain bikers to run into pedestrians (or dogs) on the trail. The only reason there is a trial in this case is that mountain bikers are trying to punish Mike Vandeman for exposing their illegal activities.
So you’re saying that acts of vandalism are suitable forms of retaliation? Mike had become a vigilante, he’s well known to the mountain bike community for his posts on forums. Not all trails are illegal and yet he verbally attacks people who use those as well. There’s much more to this story than meets the eye, which is why it’s before the courts.
It’s true that there are rude mountain bikers who ride like idiots, no denying that. However, the behaviour of one idiot does not dictate how everyone else should be treated. If one idiot mountain biker can be used as an example to set policy affecting all other mountain bikers, then Mike Vandeman’s behaviour can be used to set policy for all other hikers. Is that what you want, Terri?
Hi Terri,
Up here in BC we have to worry about speeding motorbikes and atv’s running down people and dogs.
Our runners and hikers even participate in multi-sport events together with mountain bikers!
Mike did nothing wrong. I heard the testimony in court. The mountain bikers all were riding illegally and speeding. They ran into Mike. Mountain bikers only wish they could accuse Mike of a real crime when it is they who are the violent ones.
Well Terri, it’s fairly telling that the court did not agree with you in the slightest. The judge did, in fact, believe that Mike’s actions were illegal. You think your opinion has more weight than that of a real judge?
I think I can speak for many when I say I am glad you are not a judge.
This guy is crazy. He spends his entire day on the internet (when not out harassing bikers) finding articles about mountain biking. He recently wrote a letter to the editor about a story in our local paper about a trail festival and IMBA visit. We are a town of 800 people that he lives nowhere near. http://ouraynews.com/index.php/bicycles-should-not-be-allowed-in-natural-areas
“Well Terri, it’s fairly telling that the court did not agree with you in the slightest. The judge did, in fact, believe that Mike’s actions were illegal. You think your opinion has more weight than
that of a real judge?”
Mountain bikers are such idiots! No one knows what the judge thought, because he didn’t decide the case. That’s the jury’s job. DUH! But he gave a good hint by COMPLETELY IGNORING the D.A.’s idiotic request for sentencing me to 240 days in jail. He gave me the minimum sentence allowed by law, and allowed me to do it via community service (mostly picking up trash), which he knew I do anyway, on my own. That was a slap in the face to the D.A. and the scofflaw mountain bikers who were trying to punish me for telling the truth about mountain biking. In other words, the mountain bikers only shot themselves in the foot, advertizing for the whole world to see that they are willing to lie in order to put someone in jail — one of the lowest acts I can imagine.
Thanks for the laugh, mtnbikinggirl! It takes such a special person to be so utterly oblivious to the fact that he was convicted of a violent crime.
My favorite part is the utterly insane logic that putting a violent person in jail is, to Mike, a “low act” - worse than said person acting in a violent and aggressive manner. He really needs to be kept away from other humans…and I have no doubt that he’ll end up in that situation someday.
I just received an email from Peter and Bike Magazine will have the full story in their November issue, which should be hitting the shelves in the next couple of days. It won’t be available online. He’ll also be adding some extras to his website over the next few days so check that out as well.