berlin warning...

im sure everything will be fine but just in case...from londonfgss.com...

This eMail is about the Fixed-Gear-Bike-Berlin-Police-Issue, about where we will be when and what you can do before the races kick off on saturday and some other things as well.

1. Fixed Gears and the Berliner Polizei
There are a lot of rumours, the facts are like this: If you get
stopped with a fixed-gear without a front brake, and you are unlucky,
the cops will confiscate your bike. Since April, this happened over 15
times already.

The Problem is, that no-one knows how long they‘ll keep the bike,
there has been no court-decision yet. It even is unclear, if the cops
are allowed to confiscate the bikes, but some do it anyways.

What you can do is:
(a) When they are about to confiscate the bike, say „Ich widerspreche ausdrücklich der Sicherstellung meines Fahrrades“. So they will have to call a judge, and you won‘t need a lawyer to get your bike back. You can „Widersprechen“ later. There is one guy who already got his bike back that way, but after three weeks.).

Attach a front brake.

Media covering the ECMC will definitely be interested in the Fixed-
Gear-Toipc. What we tell them is: Couriers are not interested in the
Style, Hipness and the „Adrenalin-Rush“ involved, but need a cheap,
easy to maintain ride that enables them to make as much money as
possible during the days on the streets. No courier has any interest
in smashing into cars and in hitting pedestrians, as usually both
events results in injuries and no money. That‘s what we‘ll try to
communicate, what you tell them is of course your decision.

oh-man...i would hate to get my bike confiscated. im sure everything will work out and not too much drama will go down but if you know me...well, i just needed to post something...ha! seriously...good luck to all going/attending. like i've said before...i can't wait to see all the footage/pictures from the ecmc09-berlin...peace.