Bicycles

Two Camden men were treated at a hospital for minor injuries yesterday after each was attacked, in separate incidents, by a group of youths on bicycles, Camden police said. Investigators said both incidents occurred in South Camden within an hour of each other and about a mile apart. Robbery appeared to be the motive in each case, and investigators are trying to determine whether the incidents are related, authorities said. Harry Booker, 40, of the 800 block of Chelton Terrace, was found at 1:25 a.m. by Patrolman Michael Hall, at the scene of the attack at the corner of Broadway and Royden Street.

Why is it that when I pass by 15th and Market streets on Fridays there are men speaking and teaching hate, especially toward white people? I tried listening to them so I can get a clear understanding as to what they are trying to preach (and I say that mildly), but all I hear is hate toward white people. I even tried to ask them a question as to their objective but I got ignored, I guess I am the wrong color because they would not even look my direction. And why is Civil Affairs not present during their speeches?

There was an early holiday present for 12,400 Ikea employees in the United States Tuesday morning. Bicycles for all. The brand was not disclosed, nor the cost - after all, it is a gift - but the bicycles were made specifically for Ikea employees, to thank them for "great results and great team work," said company spokeswoman Mona Liss. "It has been a good year for Ikea US (and Ikea Global as well)," Liss wrote in an e-mail. Ikea's U.S. headquarters is in Conshohocken.

A suspect was arrested yesterday in what investigators referred to as the "yuppie bike burglaries": a series of thefts of mostly expensive bicycles committed principally in upscale neighborhoods. Police said that 51 bicycles were reported stolen since January in burglaries and sidewalk snatches in the Fairmount and Art Museum sections and in affluent areas of Spring Garden. In most cases, the bikes were expensive models, according to police. They estimated the total value at between $15,000 and $20,000.

Some of the typical scenarios go like this: Johnny comes home after a day of doing whatever an 11- or 12-year-old does, and tired or in a hurry for dinner leaves his bike unlocked in the driveway. The next morning, his bicycle is gone. Or he goes to a local store to buy candy or play a video game and, thinking he will be inside only a short while, leaves his bike unsecured. When he comes out, bingo, it is gone. Maybe Johnny rides his bike to a shopping mall with friends. In a hurry to get inside, he thoughtlessly shoves his bike into the rack.

Remember when your parents warned you not to leave your bicycle outside overnight because someone might steal it? Maybe you were one of the lucky ones, but even in the best neighborhoods, bicycles disappear, never to be seen again. In Ridley Park, however, 22 orphaned bicycles have turned up. Temporarily, the basement of Borough Hall is storing 22 bicycles that need homes. Owners who have been separated from their bicycles can stop by during weekday business hours to see whether their bicycles are among the unclaimed.

Small, cluttered machine shops helped build Philadelphia. But today they're as unusual as a bicycle built for two. So it is fitting that the Bilenky Cycle Works of Philadelphia, a small, cluttered machine shop, builds bicycles built for two. You will find the Cycle Works in the 5300 block of Second Street, a dead- end section that finishes in a gravel-paved hill. The shop sits at the top of the hill, to the right of several junked cars. Behind its undistinguished door is a room filled with hand tools, grinders, milling machines, jigs, torches and stocks of tubing and parts.

Into the night a curious little man on a French-made bicycle pedals along the narrow back streets of Center City. Behind him trails an odd sort of cart fashioned from a bed frame, wire baskets and the front wheels of a child's bike. A pack of teen-agers snickers as he passes. A herd of well-dressed party animals turns and stares at the strange assemblage of man and machine that homes creaking into view. Unperturbed, Timothy Arthur Collins pedals on. "I get looks," he says softly, as he turns onto Ranstead, a shadowy alley of a street that runs behind Center Square, across from City Hall.

Riding a bicycle along West River Drive and Kelly Drive in rush hour has become illegal - sort of. The Fairmount Park Commission yesterday adopted a policy to ban the bike in drive time along the two main drags that flank the Schuylkill. The rule also outlaws all biking along Lincoln Drive below Rittenhouse Street. But how and when the new bike rule will be enforced - or even posted on roadside signs - is unclear. "The degree to which it will be enforced depends on coordination with the police and the Streets Department," Alexander "Pete" Hoskins, executive director of the parks commission, said after the meeting.

About 200 cyclists from around the country are expected to parade on antique bicycles through Doylestown and then head to the Mercer Museum tomorrow. The riders, who will be grouped by home state, will be dressed in period costumes. The parade is scheduled to begin, weather permitting, at 9:30 a.m. Later in the day, the Wheelmen, a national organization dedicated to antique cycling, will demonstrate their riding skills on bicycles built in the 1880s and 1890s. The free demonstration is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. at the Mercer Museum, 84 S. Pine St., Doylestown Borough.

Why is it that when I pass by 15th and Market streets on Fridays there are men speaking and teaching hate, especially toward white people? I tried listening to them so I can get a clear understanding as to what they are trying to preach (and I say that mildly), but all I hear is hate toward white people. I even tried to ask them a question as to their objective but I got ignored, I guess I am the wrong color because they would not even look my direction. And why is Civil Affairs not present during their speeches?

As four women stepped onto exercise machines and began their workouts at Drexel University's recreation center, a small neon sign nearby began to glow. They were generating energy. And as it continued to flow, the neon turned a bright orange and lit up the words "I am a Dragon. " Never mind, nukes. Cool it, coal. This is power from the people! Say what you will about "sweat energy," people-power generation - most often from bicycles - also seems to be generating quite a bit of interest, from the Drexel gym to this week's EcoArts Festival in Manayunk.

Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren suffered broken bones in a bicycle accident in Avalon on Monday. He was being treated at Cooper University Hospital in Camden. A hospital spokeswoman said he was in stable condition late Monday night. She would not give any other information. Holmgren, 55, broke a shoulder and some ribs and required stitches for other injuries, CSN reported. "Scary, scary situation," defenseman Matt Carle said on Twitter. - Sam Carchidi

Police have identified a man they shot in North Philadelphia as 19-year-old Alex Salgado of Fairhill. Officers on patrol near Fifth and Lehigh Streets about 11 p.m. Monday saw a man apparently being chased by another man on a bicycle, Philadelphia Lt. Raymond Evers said Tuesday. Salgado, the man on the bike, pointed a revolver at the other man during the chase, Evers said. Police followed them to the parking lot of a Hess gas station, where Salgado fired several shots at the other man, who was not hit, Evers said.

1STUDENT CHARGED WITH EMAILED THREATS A Radnor High School senior has been charged with making terroristic threats in a video she emailed to a school administrator three days before graduation, according to Radnor police. Zaidee S. Harrison, 18, of Wayne, was arrested at her home on June 12, after the administrator told police he had received a threatening video, authorities said. Police would not say what was on the video or to whom it was sent. At an arraignment on Monday, Harrison was released on $20,000 unsecured bail and ordered to stay away from Radnor High.

The Pursuit of Happiness on Two Wheels Robert Penn Bloomsbury. 204 pp. $20 Reviewed by Steven Rea Dream car. Dream house. Dream lover. Just about everyone has an idealized, fantasy lust-object. Some thing, or romanticized notion of a human being, assembled from the greatest parts and attributes out there. Few of us, though, get to realize that dream. Well, Robert Penn does. In It's All About the Bike: The Pursuit of Happiness on Two Wheels , the British author - a journalist who has traveled much of the world by bicycle (25,000 miles before he was out of his 20s)

There was an early holiday present for 12,400 Ikea employees in the United States Tuesday morning. Bicycles for all. The brand was not disclosed, nor the cost - after all, it is a gift - but the bicycles were made specifically for Ikea employees, to thank them for "great results and great team work," said company spokeswoman Mona Liss. "It has been a good year for Ikea US (and Ikea Global as well)," Liss wrote in an e-mail. Ikea's U.S. headquarters is in Conshohocken.

A woman was riddled with bullets and killed early today while riding a bicycle in Chester, police said. The victim, a Chester resident in her 20s, was still astride her bicycle when officers responding to a report of gunfire found her at 8th and Sproul Streets about 2:25 a.m., police said. The woman had been shot about seven times in the torso, police said. She was pronounced dead at the scene at 2:32 a.m. Investigators are looking into the possibility that the slaying was linked to an earlier home invasion robbery around the corner at 63 W. 8th Street, Capt.

More sweltering weather will follow this morning's fog, but the weekend looks ideal for the MS 150 City to Shore bike ride and the last Phillies homestand of the season. The temperature is expected to hit 90 for a record 55th time this year, but would have to top 95 to break the record high set in 1970. Bright sun and heat also make for elevated ozone levels, and an orange alert for unhealthy air has been issued for almost all of New Jersey. The elderly, children and people with respiratory problems should avoid strenuous activity today.

I'VE BEEN following Byko's pieces about the bicycle situation and felt like expressing my support for his views with a story of my own. I was driving to Drexel a while back to give a presentation for a class. I stopped at a red light at 18th and Christian. The light turns green, and I start through the intersection. A girl on a bicycle without a helmet rides off the sidewalk and turns directly into the path of my car. She slides across my hood and my breaking windshield catches her. Thankfully, she walked away with only a few scratches.