Peter Frick-Wright
Found guilty on three of six misdemeanor charges three weeks ago, Mike Vandeman’s long dance between various Alameda County courtrooms came to a close this morning at his sentencing.
I wasn’t there, but here’s how it all shook out:
Vandeman was sentenced to 30 days on the Sherriff’s Work Alternative Program (S.W.A.P.). Those are the folks in the orange jumpsuits, you’ll see them working on the side of the highway sometimes, though there are 30 possible work sites around the county.
Thirty days is the maximum sentence allowed in the S.W.A.P. program and with the eight days he served in jail after his arrest, Vandeman will end up working 22 eight to ten hour days in the program. He’ll be free to go home each night.
Vandeman will also be on probation for three years, which includes a “Stay Away” order for trails in the Claremont Canyon Reserve and the UC Berkeley hiking trails. If you see him on the trail, it will be in violation of his parole.
Word is that the DA asked for a much greater sentence and the judge cited Vandeman’s age and lack of any kind of previous record in his decision to forego more jail time.
Also, the fact that the handsaw charge resulted in a hung jury and the DA declined to pursue it further means that the charge wasn’t taken into consideration during sentencing.
You could call the sentence a slap on the wrist, but it may be even less than that. Throughout this process, local mountain bikers said they’d like to see Vandeman get some sort of ironic community service—building mountain bike trails or teaching kids to ride off road—but it seems he may have gotten just the opposite.
Twenty-two days on a work crew is no picnic, but you get the feeling that for a guy like Vandeman, putting himself and his life on display during the trial was more punitive than picking up litter will be.
Great Gazoo understands this trial also served to prove mountain bikers are not such an innocent lot, putting themselves and their lifestyle on display — initially causing a mistrial!
Nothing more to discuss here. Go and ride your bicycles, kiddies, and try to stay off any trails your bikes are not welcome on. “Toodle-loo, dumb-dumbs, too!”
GG, why do you bother? You know only mountain bikers are reading this. You know they are laughing at you, laughing at your pathetic lack of trolling skills. You keep saying “good bye, idiots,” but you keep coming back. Mike Vandeman was convicted by people that don’t even own bicycles. That’s what you just can’t get over.
The Great Gazoo probably drives a car, therefore is a hypocrite. (I know several mountain bikers that do not own cars on principle)
Sell your car, Gazoo, and “tweet” a photo of the receipt, then you might be taken seriously. Attacking mountain bike riding is just tilting at windmills, laughable if you own a car. You point out a splinter in my eye, while you sit on the burning log.
The Great Gazoo has not stopped deforestation.
The Great Gazoo has not stopped extinction.
The Great Gazoo has not stopped motor vehicle dependence.
The Great Gazoo has not done anything to stop “global warming.”
The Great Gazoo has not published a single argument that has resulted in the “curing” of a single mountain bike “addict.”
The “Great” Gazoo is anything but.
One More question for Your Greatness:
Why would you choose an “avatar” that was exiled from his home world for inventing a doomsday machine? Please explain what this has to do with mountain biking:
“The Great Gazoo is a tiny, green, floating alien who was exiled to Earth from his home planet Zetox as punishment for having invented a doomsday machine, a weapon of immense destructive power. His invention was a button which would destroy the universe if pressed, though he insists he made it on a whim with no intent of using it. Gazoo was discovered by Fred and Barney when his flying saucer crashed. He is the secondary antagonist of the series.
“Gazoo refers to Fred and Barney as ‘dum-dums’ and constantly causes problems for them. Even when he attempts to help out Fred and Barney, he usually ends up causing even more trouble. The only people who are able to see him are Fred, Barney, and the children, because they believe in him.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Gazoo
We’re not “dum-dums.” Nobody believes in you. You are a fictional cartoon character. Invisible. Tiny. Insignificant. Arrogant. Narcissistic.
Peter, thank you for providing that bittersweet coda to the gripping epic. I wish that V were doing more time behind bars, but I can take some sweet solace in knowing that the trails in Strawberry and Claremont Canyons will be safe now, at least for the three years of his probation.
I served on the Vandeman trial jury and it’s interesting reading the sentencing information of MV after sitting through all the evidence and the deliberations.
I hope MV uses this experience to do something positive with his life and lets go of the anger it seems he has towards bikers (or at the very least his anger towards mountain bikes).
Gazoo, man up like Terri and post as yourself. I probably won’t agree with your message, but I’d at least respect you.
Thanks for doing this, Peter. Everyone appreciates it.
Looks like Great Gazoo has been very successful annoying mountain bikers on this blog. Thank you, MTBers. Nothing more to do here. Justice has been served.
Justice has been served indeed. The jury has spoken.
Come on in Terri! We’re all waiting for you to spew the hates!
FEEL the HATE coursing through your veins… it is the WARMTH that keeps you alive! Curse them all, YOU are the one who alone is RIGHT! Let them FEEL your WRATH!!!
That, or just going on acting like a crazy MV apologist / anti-MTB loon desperate to rile someone up…
As long as we’re thanking people here, I’d like to thank Great Gazoo and Terri for providing some very entertaining posts. It’s funny that something so harmless to the environment, and so beneficial to legions of youth and adults alike, so seriously offends you.
A jury of peers shaped by both sides of the issue agrees that MV went too far, it seems to be the objective truth here. Yet GG and TA’s pride is too much for them to admit it, like all the other falsehoods they hold so dear.
Have been reading the trial blog with interest and am aware of MV from when i used to read usenet in the early 2000′s. I am from the UK and enjoy both mtbing and hiking, which I am sure holds true for much of the mtb community over here.
What I find so strange in all of this is the issues surrounding shared use. Other than purpose built mtb trails (which are legal and usually have some form of forrestry commisions/ local or central govt financial backing), the rights of way are very clearly defined. Although footpaths (hikers yes, bikes & horses no) are sometimes used by bikes either by mistake or otherwise, I have never heard of confrontations of the like that have occurred here. Whilst undesirable, there are far bigger issues that need to be addressed such as the damage done by motorised vehicles. Compared to the US, the amount of suitable countryside for biking/hiking/horseriding/whatever in the UK is tiny, which leaves me dumbfounded as to why the arguments over who-can-access-what appears to be such a big issue on your side of the pond. Surely the point is that everybody wants to get out and enjoy the countryside and a bit of mutual respect would go a long way. The best way (so far as I can see) for this to develop is to actually try the other activities and see the issues from a different perspective.
I just don’t understand the trolling of the likes of Terri and MV as to me it does far more harm than good and only serves to raise tensions between the different groups.
The comment raised by the jurors that MV is a bit odd rings true with the various posts of his that I have come across over the years. I think he would do far better to enjoy the remaining years of his life rather than pursuing an irrational crusade of the activities of others.
Peter, very interesting, so thank you for posting.
Enjoy.
David
Wow. We just got the honors of a reply from MV to a story of a bike park very dedicated people built for Kids on their time and money (+many donations, thanks to the sponsors). So I started reading a bit more about this individual. At this point in time a response from him pretty much means we are doing the right thing.
Thank you so much MV !!!! Your vote became a benchmark now.
I pray to meet you one day – preferably on the trail.
It is very apparant there is only one very distinct way you understand the world surrounding you.
You are so coоl! Ι don’t believe I have read something like that before. So wonderful to find somebody with some genuine thoughts on this topic. Seriously.. thanks for starting this up. This web site is one thing that is required on the web, someone with some originality!
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