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A little birdie pointed us to a forum post about this on another website and at the time we thought it was too good to be true. Well, according to the police report the story is legit. Read on:
On Friday, May 28, 2010 UCPD received a report of an assault with a deadly weapon which had occurred around 6 weeks earlier. The assault occurred on a Sunday on the East-West Fire Trail located in the hills above campus. The victims, two non-affiliated White males, reported the crime after hearing of similar incidents occurring to bicyclists on the fire trail. The victims were riding their bicycles westbound on the trail when they encountered the suspect walking in the opposite direction. The suspect was holding a handsaw and cut one of the victims across the chest with the saw. The victims asked the suspect why he had attacked them. He told them they should not be riding their bicycles on the trail. The victims positively identified the suspect from a photograph. UCPD contacted the suspect who admitted to holding a saw in front of some bicyclists on a trail and contacting one of them with the saw. The suspect was subsequently taken into custody. One of the victims suffered minor injuries during the assault. Additional charges may be filed from similar incidences on the fire trail including one reported in a crime alert on May 6, 2010.The suspect is described as:
VANDEMAN, Michael J., a White non-affiliated male, 67 years of age.
For those who aren’t familiar with Mike, here’s a good run down of the situation. You may have also seen one of Mike’s rants on a recent blog post here on singletracks.
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I saw that, and all I can say is "Cheers!" 😄 😄
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trek, do you have the link to his posting on singletracks?
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"sevendaysoff" wrote
trek, do you have the link to his posting on singletracks?
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if anyone ever comes at me with saw while Im riding………well, it wouldnt be good for one of us. 😆
However, the bikers had no reason to be on a hikers only trail but that gives NO ONE the right to damage a mtb or the rider.
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That lunatic has been outspoken for years and the local MTB crowd were ecstatic with this development. Berkeley has it’s fair share of foil hat wearers and some are eco-terrorists.
Who in their right mind attacks someone with a hand saw???
There are tales of booby traps on trails in the local area, I’ve been trashed by one and have witnessed another rider being injured….beware….these people aren’t just here in Berkeley. Too bad the riders didn’t have helmet cams. -
LOL. What can you do? Haters gonna hate.
And I have to say, seriously, anyone who tries to handsaw me in the chest is going to get a cleat in the face.
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Something tells me that this guy won’t be deterred by a couple days in jail. Sounds to me like he is on a crusade and is willing to make lots of personal sacrifices in the pursuit of his fantasy.
And back to his rant, Are you kidding me? Have you seen the dirt that gets churned up when a group of hikers wielding trekking poles goes up a trail? I bet that causes way more erosion than some knobbies rolling over the same trail.
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"bonkedagain" wrote
Something tells me that this guy won’t be deterred by a couple days in jail. Sounds to me like he is on a crusade and is willing to make lots of personal sacrifices in the pursuit of his fantasy.
And back to his rant, Are you kidding me? Have you seen the dirt that gets churned up when a group of hikers wielding trekking poles goes up a trail? I bet that causes way more erosion than some knobbies rolling over the same trail.
Bonked, I was thinking the same thing. We have not heard the last of this guy. First offense, he will probably get suspended or light sentence and come back hating mountain bikers more than before (if thats possible). Best thing the judge could do is have him stay off of trails and away from moutain bikers totally.
From his rants, only mountain bikers scare wildlife. Funny, when hiking I have never been able to get that deer/turkey/bear group hug I so desire. The only difference is do you scare them fast or scare them slow. The effect is the same. In non-hunting areas like Carvins Cove, the deer really don’t pay much attention to mountain bikers or hikers. -
This story, to me, just goes to show how important it is to mark ALL trails.
Here in British Columbia, it’s pretty rare to find trails that arn’t marked stating the usage of the trail. If the trails are not marked, they are usually an animal trail that has been widened out by hikers and riders or fishers and hunters even. So if it’s not marked, well you can come across anything and expect anything.
I didn’t read the blog, but I did read the paper story and the comments on that, who were mostly hikers who are not fans of mtbers. This bring me back to why it’s so important to post to usage purposes of all trails at trail heads and intersections. I understand that all municipallities and counties don’t want to fund projects like this but that’s were local cycling groups and outdoor groups come into play.
Even riding on multipurpose trails, when we come up on hikers, dog walkers and so on, I have never been cused out or yelled at. It’s usually a nod and a smile and carry on. Even if you roll up on them with alot of speed unexpectidly ,it’s a round of sorrys from both party’s and carry on. I’ll get flamed on this but I think alot of this has to do with where in the world you are. Some parts of the world just breed people how get it more than others.( reacreation use of land )
We also have a local frizbee golf course that is full of bike trails, no problems. Sure we joke about "if you hit one it’s a birdie" But we gladly share the land.
On a side note, what enviromentalist walks around with a hand saw?
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"garbanzo" wrote
On a side note, what enviromentalist walks around with a hand saw?
When I saw Berkley I thought, well this guy probably protests at soldiers funerals too.
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Scary. I can’t believe people do this
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Just read about another instance of eco-terrorism targeting mountain bikers, though in this case the culprits claim it was an accident. Fishing line at neck level? Ouch. And that stuff must have been high strength to knock the woman off her bike!
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On a side note, what enviromentalist walks around with a hand saw?
First off he is not an enviromentalist, he is a over-zealous nut case. Its unfortunate that there are people who decide to take these actions in the name of doing good for the planet. All they do is turn folks against the true enviromentalists who are trying to do the best for our enviroment within the confines, and sometimes changing, the law. There are a couple of groups out there that really give reasonable enviromentalists a bad name.
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She’s honestly lucky something like this didn’t happen. I think it could be a accident, but if the line was tight like a guitar string she could have been killed out there.
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"Badcrow" wrote
[quote="garbanzo":3kikwy7i]On a side note, what enviromentalist walks around with a hand saw?
When I saw Berkley I thought, well this guy probably protests at soldiers funerals too.[/quote:3kikwy7i]
I pretty much thought the same thing Badcrow…. This guys seems like he’d have the mindset of well the military trains in the woods, and that hurts Bambi’s feelings; so I’m gonna lie in wait and ambush a soldier or Marine with my mean hacksaw…..I actually just smiled at the thought of that… 😆 Some kooks never cease to amaze me.
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I ride with a handsaw almost all the time. Use it to clear downed trees. I’d imagine that’s why this guy had a saw as well.
Not defending him…glad he got busted, and no one got hurt.
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wow and I was worried about a mountain lion attacking me. IT’s Counter Assualt time!
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I invite this guy to come at me when I’m riding. I’d really enjoy it. If you want to come to Florida I’ll let you know where I’m riding next.
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