About University Avenue and why we need eight lanes — because they're used! Have you been there during rush hour? On the same token, why do we need bike lanes? We're lucky to get one cyclist every two hours in most of them.

Automobile drivers aren't addicts, you're once again demonstrating how twisted your (cyclists' ) view of the world is. How many people could realistically bike in from Pickering with a briefcase in the middle of winter? You're telling me that, given the choice, they'd rather pay the exorbitant costs of owning a car rather than free/healthier transportation? They *must* be evil!

I'm sure you'll be going by them at 90 on your bike — breaking the law as usual (speed limit is 40 on must downtown streets). Hypocrisy wins again. Sheppard was an asshole and even his dad wasn't surprised that this happened. I hope you run into someone like him one day and then you can tell him what a wonderful saintly person he is as he's beating the shit out of you for using his roads in a way that he doesn't approve of. (Oh, wait, it's okay for cyclists to do that, right? — I forgot)

The case never made it to court because Michael "Richy Rich" Bryant's family made sure it didn't. This is obviously a good example of the racism still present in our society. In the slave days the white man made the laws – thus if a white man killed a slave he got a 15$ fine, and it was legal for the white man to rape his slaves. Completely "legal".

Nothing has really changed has it… white man kills an aboriginal man and pays good money to "make it go away".

Two questions remain:

1) Have you walked or riden down Jarvis since the bike lanes were installed? It is so much safer now, pedestrians are buffered from the traffic, the street is visibly and physically quieter… it's wonderful… all this because the traffic engineers put in a mechanism to stop impatient motorists from changing lanes every two blocks (get real – it's true.)

2) And tell me, why again do we need eight lanes on University Avenue?

Automobile addicts are like the smokers of the 1980's – you'll get yours (when your lazy bones seize up at 65, and you sit in your wheel chair crapping your pants, while I whiz by on my bike at 90!)

*****

Rest in Peace Al Sheppard – you were a good man, and a good friend. Your family misses you dearly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fbdwQTq1Ws

You obviously have a rather large chip on your shoulder when it comes to cyclists, I feel sorry for someone who doesn't see the sadness in someone having their life taken so brutally, it speaks volumes about you character.

And at the end I want to tell you that I admire Patrick for his courage to show the true no matter what it is about. I believe that he does his home work before he write something, it always has firm base and clear and logical points.

And not Mr. Bryant is coward. I would pass this word on you guys because you keep focused on something evidently wrong, support it and refuse to even try to see the problem from the other side. The only action you master is threatening Patrick because of lack of proper arguments. And this is real cowardice. But it could be lack of proper education and ability to be impartial. Well nobody's perfect right?

1. Yes, many times. I live downtown and have had more than my fair share of close calls. The majority of them because of asshole cyclists, not motorists. Your fact is precisely the kind of thinking that's so wrong: it's "always", 100% middle-aged assholes. No prejudice, huh? Good, clear, unclouded judgment. And by the way, Sheppard rolled in front of Bryant — not the other way around. Have another look at the video. Seriously, open your eyes for God's sake — it's RIGHT THERE!

2. The grandmother had "guts" for driving away? Huh, okay, if that's what you call guts. But, hold on, doesn't that make Sheppard a coward then? Or does that not apply to cyclists? After all, he refused to leave. If you look at the video, Sheppard prevents the car from a "heroic" getaway (not for lack of trying) so it's not fair to call Bryant a coward. Look at the video, it's obvious. Sheppard pulls in front of Bryant and tries to keep him from moving. Then again (ending up on the hood as a result). And then, grabbing the side mirror, in idiotic final attempt to prevent the car from getting away. By your own definition, Sheppard is the coward in this situation, time and again. And your myopic arguments obviate exactly what's wrong with cyclists' thinking; the grandmother had "guts" for leaving but Bryant was a coward for trying to do exactly the same thing? At the same time, Sheppard was a hero for staying and the grandmother had guts for leaving? So Bryant was a coward for leaving AND also if he had tried to stay? In other words, it doesn't matter, Bryant's an asshole, case closed. The rules you define apply arbitrarily as you see fit — one way to cyclists, another to everyone else on a case-by-case basis depending on if you like their hairstyle, if they're driving a convertible, etc. etc. And other Sheppard supporters say that Bryant is a coward for trying to leave. Maybe the other motorists Sheppard interacted with "deserved it", maybe they didn't even exist. It's "always, 100%" middle-aged assholes who are the instigators, despite anything to back this claim, but video-tape evidence of Sheppard being a dick over and over again is inadmissible (http://news.nationalpost.com/2010/05/25/darcy-allan-sheppard-taunted-other-drivers-before-michael-bryant-photos/). It's evident that you're so wrapped up in your own muddled thoughts that you can't even agree with your own arguments let alone other cyclists'. Despite this you're all convinced that Sheppard could do no wrong. I rest my case.

3. Mostly for the tail.

You keep starring bleak reality in the face and denying it: violent, aggressive, arrogant asshole repeatedly picks on a motorist and his wife and you think that's just peachy. He did it to other motorists but "maybe they deserved it" (the cyclists never deserves it, of course). Sheppard was ready to beat the living snot out of anyone fitting the bill (driving a car), you think that the best thing to do would've been to stand there and take it. But hey, you're welcome to try that the next time someone comes at you aggressively. Try this: cut off someone who's visibly raging (as Sheppard was — and he wasn't even cut off), then just stand there as you keep suggesting. Try it with a cyclist because they're so meek and harmless, you're sure to walk away without a scratch. They'll respect you as a fellow cyclist, for sure. Maybe try to have a pleasant chat. Of course, I'm sure you'll have some bullshit excuse why your situation is unique and why only you should feel threatened while no one else has that right (especially if they're in a car, or on foot, or anything other than a bicycle) and blah blah blah.

Sheppard had multiple opportunities to leave, just as Bryant was attempting to do (obviously being prevented by asshole Sheppard). Why was it okay for Sheppard to attack Bryant but not the other way around? Because Sheppard was on a bike or some such bullshit? Putrid reeking hypocrisy, pure and simple. And an example of the rotten "me me me!" cyclist mentality out on the streets.

And it goes on and on. Worse still, when pedestrians pull these kinds of stunts — running out from between parked cars, for example — cyclists give them the same level of vitriol. Apparently it's perfectly fine for cyclists to be assholes, just no one else — OR ELSE! It's "ME ME ME! MY RIGHTS!" all the way down the road. And anyone can stand on any downtown city corner and witness this for themselves — in fact, I urge people not to believe me and see just what pricks cyclists can be for themselves. It's all out there in the broad daylight.

It's sad you're such a pacifist that you wouldn't lift a finger to defend yourself or your family no matter what. I hope it never comes to it but one day you'll either prove your conviction right and end up dead (hopefully not), or, I believe, will finally realize what nonsense you're spouting and will also vigorously defend yourself and your family — with anything you have at hand. There are plenty of situations when using a weapon — a car, a gun, a knife, etc. are perfectly justifiable. The situation between Bryant and Sheppard was one of them.

But I'm sure you'll keep insisting that Bryant had no right to use violence while at the same time defending Sheppard's repeated raging aggression. One rule for cyclists, another for everyone else. But only as you see fit.

I, on the other hand, will fight back and use any weapon available to me. If Sheppard had pulled that kind of shit on me he would've been lucky to get off the hood of the car in the first place.

You basically said it, it doesn't matter that Sheppard was a raging, aggressive alcoholic who had done that in the past and was clearly ready to beat up on anyone again — it was incumbent on Bryant to stand idly by and do nothing. Or maybe get out of the car and fight back? Oh, but I forgot, violence is wrong. But wait, only if it's used by a motorist. Of course it was okay for Sheppard to be violent. etc. etc.

Shall we flip-flop a third time or are we getting to the meat of the issue here? You're pissed off that a biker got killed; you don't care that he was an asshole, you don't care about circumstances, the law, etc., It doesn't matter that due process was carefully followed, it didn't turn out the way you wanted so it's wrong. Cyclist mentality 101.

I didn't bother wasting a lot of time trying to figure out who you are because after reading your claim that Darcy FELL off his bike I could see that you were not someone whose column I would bother reading again.

To anyone interested: there is a Facebook group: Justice Ontario, in Memory of Darcy Sheppard. We have a petition asking the gov't to assign a new prosecutor to review special prosecutor Richard Peck's handling of this case. This isn't over yet.

You seemed to have attempted some smear job against cyclists. You invoked the "cyclists don't follow the rules of the road" stereotype. Well, I hate to break it to the self-righteous driving community, but on the roads it's typical to see drivers exceeding the speed limit, changing lanes without signaling, rolling through stop signs, parking illegally, running reds, etc. But these fools (poorly raised children?) always insist that only their form of transportation be accommodated despite how wasteful it is in terms of road space, non-renewal energy, and land for parking and service facilities.

I think you'll get what's coming to you. (More bike lanes.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8UKQW225gI

First off, I have watched the video dozens of times. I can see that the driver of the car, for whatever reason, repeatedly drives closer to the cyclist. The driver is either a jerk or is incompetent. The car was checked and no mechanical problems were found with it.

Some witnesses described Bryant as being belligerent towards Sheppard. Bryant is known for his impatience and his pugnacious personality. Whatever was going on, there is NO EXCUSE ON EARTH for knocking a cyclist onto your car, driving 30 feet, then trying to flee the scene. Nothing can justify that.

If someone ever did that to me, I certainly would not just stand there watching the person drive off.

The stories regarding past incidents involving Sheppard are questionable. No one knows for sure whether it was really Sheppard they dealt with. And the stories all involve situations in which the driver did something stupid to piss the cyclist off. The cycle did not just randomly start bothering the driver.

Bryant's explanation of the events make no sense whatsoever. If he was frightened of Sheppard, which would be strange in the first place since Bryant, who has been boxing since he was a young kid, was in the safety of a car and Sheppard was drunk on a bike, why would Bryant have ever taken his eyes off of Sheppard? It's not necessary to look down for more than a split second to start your car, but Bryant drove for 30 feet with a human being on the hood of his car because he was rattled and looking down and desperate to get away? That is ridiculous. I'd love to see someone like Sheppard try to get away with that excuse. Face it, if the roles had been reversed that night, Sheppard would be rotting in jail right now.

And NOTHING can justify speeding down the wrong side of the road and intentionally using a mailbox to smash a human being off your car. There was absolutely no need for that and you cannot claim that Sheppard was somehow in control of the accelerator.

No matter the circumstances regarding Sheppard's alcohol content, personality, past behaviour or judgment on that night, Bryant's behaviour was cold-blooded and criminal. First an unnecessary hit and run, then an unnecessary killing.

Richard Peck is a defense lawyer from Bryant's hometown who went to UBC, same as Bryant. They are both boxers. Bryant is a former Attorney General. It's not a huge stretch of the imagination to guess that some special treatment took place in Peck's handling of the case. Peck's executive summary outlining his reasons for dropping the charges is a joke. About 30% of it is devoted to alleged past behaviour of Sheppard's. As if any of that could excuse Bryant's actions.

1) Have you ever actually riden a bike – in traffic – and had someone "lunge" at you (because you dare "roll" in front of them)? Fact: it is always, 100%, a male middle aged asshole. And you don't have to be drunk to react in the way Mr. Sheppard did.

2) Did you notice that the old grandmother that (thinks she might have) encountered Mr. Sheppard months earlier had 100% more guts than Mr. Bryant – and (like all the others) ignored his antics and drove away – why would you defend such a publically proven coward as Bryant?

3) Lastly, Why are you doing this (blog)?

First of all, watch the video. Now watch it again. Did you notice something? Like the fact that Sheppard rolled into the path of the car before the car even started to move? Whoever produced the YouTube video even went to the trouble of slowing it down so you can clearly see the sequence of events, and who started the whole altercation. It was Sheppard who drunkenly rolled in front of Bryant, fell down, and started to harangue Bryant. Michael then tries to start his car, unsuccessfully, lurching forward. Any "normal" person would've at least moved out of the way at that point. Sheppard decides, instead, to stand in front of the car and pick a fight. Bryant accelerates at a reported (and witnessed) speed of around 10 kph (fast walking speed) for about 2 seconds. Clearly Sheppard takes this as the ultimate offense (as everyone keeps saying, Bryant should've just stopped and "taken it" ), and that's where it all begins. By all accounts, and I mean *ALL* accounts (video, eyewitnesses, forensic evidence), Bryant was just trying to get away. And if you think Sheppard's reaction was "normal", perhaps you need to see a psychiatrist yourself. Furthermore, what you claim Sheppard said wasn't what everyone else said he said. He was an enraged maniac screaming obscenities and clearly ready to beat up on anyone. He'd tried to pick fights with many people prior to this, in exactly the same way: cabbies, passengers in cabs, a 76-year-old grandmother (http://www.cbc.ca/news/pdf/bryant-decision.pdf), etc. Why would you support this violent piece of trash?

Finally, I can kind of see why you might be confused about some of the facts. Let me assist your marvelous powers of observation a bit — there are clues as to who wrote this blog entry. Newspapers use the same "by-line" trick to fool readers but if you look hard enough, you'll be able to find it. If you look even harder, you'll be able to find the facts behind this case too.

Unfortunately I didn't see the tests directly (not sure I ever will), but according to the Globe and Mail and prosecutor Peck, Sheppard had twice the legal limit in his blood: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/toro…

As a regular drinker he probably would've been more capable of handling his bike but, at the same time, regular drinking also tends to lend itself to bouts of irrational anger.

Where did you find details of the toxicology tests please?

This is why Darcy grabbed onto the car. It was a normal human reaction. His last words were 'You're not getting away that easily.'

Bryant dragged and killed Sheppard in a fit of road rage. It was completely senseless and unnecessary. Bryant is known for his impatience and pugnacious personality. If anyone else had done this we'd be rotting in jail right now.