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GameBikes on Patrol | Send Feedback
I've always thought that being a bike policeman was one of the coolest jobs on earth. Just think about it. You're on a high tech bike eight hours a day which means that you are in great shape. You get to know the people in the neighborhoods where you patrol because you're cruisin' along on a bike rather than a car and this encourages folks who live and work there to yak it up with you. Plus, when you need to apprehend some scum-bag perp (sorry...too much "Law 'n Order" and reruns of "Hill Street Blues" for me) you can move faster than an officer on foot and go into areas that are too small for a car.
Plus, did I mention that they get to ride on the coolest bikes on the market?
Putting aside the fact that I could never pass the psychological or the physical exam to become a police officer, the reason for my rhapsodizing about the bike cops comes from my reading a recent review of GameBike found on the International Police Mountain Bike Association web site found at www.ipmba.org. The product review was written by Denver police officer, John Medford.
To quote officer Medford:
"GAMEBIKE picks up the speed at which you pedal and translates it into acceleration on the screen. You can make the ride as hard or as easy as you want. The first time I used the GAMEBIKE, I had only planned on a 30-minute ride. I was pedaling along to "Gran Turismo" and began to notice that I was drenched in sweat. A quick glance at the clock revealed the reason. I had been riding hard for 40 minutes. The time just flew by. I had become so involved with the game I completely lost track of time. GAMEBIKE has made my trainer fun and when I teach that early-spring bike school, I will have many more miles under my belt than what our Colorado weather would normally allow."
"If your trainer doesn't see much action, the GAMEBIKE will cause you to dust it off. It is fun to use, but if you have kids, watch out - you may never get a chance to use it!"
You can read the entire review at http://www.ipmba.org/reviews-gamebike.htm.
After I read officer Medford's review, I decided to spend a little more time on the site and came across some very interesting and quirky stuff about the International Police Mountain Bike Association. For example, since it's founding in 1991 the IPMBA has trained over 20,000 police and EMS personnel. They offer a training curriculum that is nationally and internationally respected. This IPMBA course is POST approved for police and EMS personnel and this course can be reviewed on the IPMBA web site at www.ipmba.org.
More than 3,000 active bike patrol officers and EMS personnel belong to the IPMBA. This represents more than 2,200 agencies in 43 states and 4 countries. That's a lot of police officers, talking to a lot of neighborhood people and most likely stopping a LOT of crime before it comes to yours and my doorsteps.
The current Board of Directors for the IPMBA supplies some of the most interesting and funny facts about the day-to-day life of a bike cop. For example, the current president, Jim Bowell, an EMS with the Troy, Ohio fire department who as been on bike patrol for 13 years says that his most memorable moment on bike came when lightning struck a tree and three people standing underneath it. Everyone survived because there were four medics on their bikes in the immediate vicinity. Or, a "most memorable" from University of Wisconsin police officer, Kurt Feavel who remembers busting a couple of dope smokers in their car and having one of the articulate lads say, "Dudes. We just got busted by the bike cops. Cool." (I think I went to college with that guy).
One of the best stories from the officers on bike patrol comes from Charlie Summers who has been an officer for 15 years and a bike patrol dude for the past 10 years. Charlie works for the Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois. While on patrol one day, Charlie was apparently on the wrong end of razzing from some fellow officers who were making fun of his bike patrol status. This continued UNTIL a law breaker took off running and left the officers on foot in his dust. This perpetrator didn't count on the speed of officer Summers' Enduro bike. Charlie overtook the crook, made the arrest and got the last laugh on the officers who had mistakenly made light of a cop on a bike.
Now that had to be sweet.
Thanks for taking care of our neighborhoods and businesses officers in the International Police Mountain Bike Association. And thanks for using GameBike to get in shape!
So, have you got a bike patrol story that you want to share?