Bryce Barker Guilty
Sat, March 5, 2011 
Most bullies are cowards at heart; 24 year old Bryce Barker (Left.) fits the stereotype exactly.
Last July three cyclists were enjoying a Sunday ride near Berthoud, Colorado; one of the cyclists was celebrating his 65th birthday with a 65 mile ride.
Barker pulled alongside the cyclists and honked and yelled at them, one of the cyclists admitted giving Barker the one finger salute.
Barker then stopped his truck and when the cyclists tried to ride by, he threatened them with an aluminum baseball bat. Joseph Stevens held his bike between himself and the bat wielding Barker.
When Barker struck the bike, Stevens dropped it and stepped back; where-upon Barker proceeded to destroy the carbon fiber bike.
Now this is why I say Bryce Barker is a coward. When he is later arrested, which is what usually happens to thugs who use baseball bats to threaten people and destroy property, he tells a totally different story.
His version; as he drove past the cyclists, (Get this.) one of them threw his bike at the truck hitting it on the side. He stopped to see if the cyclist was okay, and he was surrounded by the three cyclists.
He feared for his life, and that’s when he took the baseball bat to defend himself. But he attacked a bicycle; was he defending himself against an inanimate object?
Maybe Barker watched too much “Transformers” as a kid; he must have imagined the carbon fiber bike would transform into the Trek monster and would eat him. That could have been why he beat the crap out of Joe’s bike.
Yesterday, (February 4th 2011.) the 24-year-old Berthoud man hyper-ventilated and was unsteady on his feet as the verdict came in late Friday. After nearly eight hours of deliberation in 8th Judicial District Court, Bryce Barker was found guilty of felony menacing and misdemeanor criminal mischief.
The maximum penalty for the felony is three years in prison, but prosecutors said they expect Barker to face probation instead of incarceration. He will be sentenced April 26.
Many of you will think probation is too light, but in this case none of the cyclists were physically injured. Bryce Barker now has a felony conviction on his record that will follow him for the rest of his life. He will have to mend his ways or face serious consequences in the future. He will have to be particularly careful when driving around cyclists.
The good thing is this young thug was brought to trial, and the publicity the case has generated will I hope act as a deterrent to other potential cyclist bullying, bat wielding cowards
Reader Comments (13)
Thanks for the update. I was truly interested in the outcome of this case.
I wonder if there's a civil suit as well?
Shall I say it? Strike one!
-g
I've enjoyed your blog for several years now, and what initially was great about it was not only your coming out of "retirement" to ride again, but also great stories about earlier cycling days as well as technical information about older bikes. But I've followed not only your own accident but now a shift on the blog to car-cyclist confrontations, deaths and legal cases. Having just nearly been taken out yesterday by an SUV being piloted by a teenage boy going way too fast (I'm convinced teenage boys think that being a "good driver" means driving as fast as possible and just missing stuff by the smallest possible distance), I am sympathetic. But I've seen the tone of your blog become more and more negative.
I'm curious if you might write more on that... did your return to cycling after so many years off simply become a negative experience? Do you regret trying to ride again? Has cycling become largely so dangerous that our rides become nothing but anxiety?
Where I live, we have miles of bike paths that allow you only to contend with cars at cross -streets; right now the path is still covered with ice so I'm on the road, and it seems a succession of near-misses. if I had to ride on the road regularly here I think I'd likely retire. Even at cross streets I see many a woman (Yes, mainly women and teen girls, sorry) with her head down to her text messaging as she cluelessly runs the stop sign, never even noticing me trying to cross. In other words, I hear you, but...
All this is with good cheer and best wishes...
Ed,
Everyone likes the history and the tech articles but after more than five years it is tough to come up with stuff I haven’t already covered.
I try not to put a negative spin on the content, but I believe reporting some of these cases is important. I try to add comment, my take on it, add humor; stuff you would not get in a straight news media article. I try to promote discussion on the issues.
The recent Critical Mass incident in Brazil did not make it into the mainstream US media until about 3 or 4 days after it happened, I wrote about it here on Sunday just 2 days after the event. And I would not have heard of it unless a regular reader of this blog from Brazil had not emailed me the YouTube link.
In August 2008 I quit writing here; that was a huge mistake and I started writing again six months later. I quit because people started complaining about the content. It takes a lot of time and effort to write here on a regular basis, it is like a non paying job at times.
I will NOT quit again unless the readership starts to fall; at the moment is back up close to where it was prior to August 2008. The stuff I write here I know is mostly “Preaching to the Choir,” but the more popular this blog becomes, the more some of its content will reach the mainstream media and hopefully public opinions and attitudes will change. This is one of the reasons I continue to do this.
Above all what I do is try to entertain the reader. So ask yourself this, does the content entertain? If it no longer entertains you, I suggest you leave quietly, but please don’t heckle or boo the entertainer on your way out. If and when there is no longer an audience I will know it.
Dave
Please keep on preaching!
And you are completely right ... I did think that probation was too light, but read your explanation, and now agree with you. That's why we have an independent judiciary!
Dave, Please continue to write about whatever you want. I for one enjoy all the different subjects that you blog about. Yes, not all will be about historic or technical subjects and some people will be offended, but I believe most of us enjoy it and like to reply with "our take" on the issue. Yes, lately maybe there have been many stories about car / bike encounters, but you are right in that by bringing up the subject and voicing sensible ways to make cycling a safe and fun activity whether commuting, racing or just out having fun is a very positive act and I for one appreciate your unpaid work and effort. On your subject, this "loser" got off light. I hope there's a civil suit to pay for the bike. Too bad he wasn't made an example like the Dr. here in LA who's doing five years for deliberately running into cyclists in Mandeville Canyon. Unfortunately in today's world people don't pay attention unless they're wallet is opened or they sit in jail.
Jose and Brian,
Thanks for your support; actually I try not to preach, but rather say, "This is how I feel about an issue, do you agree or disagree?" I do not look for negative stuff to write about, but unfortunately negative things happen and I feel they should be discussed and our views as cyclists need to be expressed. Otherwise if we pretend these things don’t happen and say nothing, will anyone else care?
Sentencing in this case is not until April 26th giving Bryce Barker time to think. His best course of action would be to voluntarily pay restitution to Joe Stevens for the bike he destroyed, show some humility, admit he fucked up, and apologize.
If he keeps up this charade of being the victim who feared for his life, then I hope the judge gives him some jail time. This could happen, it will be up to the judge. It appears the prosecution will not push for the maximum, but my view is at least he was prosecuted and found guilty. This is progress.
So often in cases like this where there is only property damage and no one is hurt, the police will not take the time or go to the expense of prosecuting; so kudos to the Larimer County Sheriff’s Dept.
Dave
Keep on keeping on. You're not purposely negative, you're simply writing about the realities cyclists must face and how our society allocates rewards and punishment.
This guy, like most who bully and preach hatred, will probably be too lightly treated by a culture that often prefers to see each incident as isolated and not part of a larger pattern. Until the rest of society, our elected leaders and the front line of law enforcement are exposed to these outrageous events, I fear for other cyclists and my young sons. Brian is right in suggesting that only through monetary fines/costs and/or jail time will our public begin to take notice. Truly sad...
I've really enjoyed this blog since finding it. Can't even recall now, how I did. I've recommended it to lots of friends and, hopefully, some of them are your regular readers. As a new comer to this site, and not in the least anywhere near bike-geek level, I've enjoyed the more general discussions that, perhaps, ED finds less engaging. I was about to say something really stupid like, maybe some of the reading numbers the site is receiving might be because of "all thumbs, and no mechanical skilz" folks like me. But, then I see an article like this and I'm relieved that I kept that witless thought to myself. :-)
I have my own deterrent now, after a drunk guy grabbed my bike over the summer. he backed down when I told him "i'm going to spray you and then kick your fat ass".
I was accidentally on his property, (By law that doesn't mean he can assault me)
it's quite simple. Come within 12 feet and you get pepper sprayed. The trick is whipping it out fast enough. Bar mounting obsession, anyone?
Mace makes mini guns that will spray 25 feet for 39,99 online. Legal in 46 states, I want a shoulder holster.
I live in Hartford, gun violence capitol USA. I don't care.
Anyone who comes running at me is fair game now.
Dave - keep on writing - on whatever subject you feel is worth mentioning. You have a great blog going here, very interesting to read.
Of course, the intent of a blog is a place to express what you wish to, with instant feedback and comments. That's partly what makes blogging so interesting. Your blog (along with a few others) inspired me to start my own. I'm just a hack, but have kept at it for 2 years now. I really enjoy it.
You're a great writer with lots of cycling history and background. Keep the posts coming, with positive and negative feedback along the way.
Dave:
In my ten years of serious cycling, training and racing, there have been quite a few instances where I was in a similar situation. Most of it was more like heckling than harrassment. I have given drivers the one finger salute about six times over the years (usually after getting buzzed) and always suspected it was a bad move even though it made me feel a lot better. After reading this, I will NEVER do it again. We can now get a license number and call it in to the cops. There IS a state law against it. While they may not do a whole lot, simply a phone call or visit by police will probably have more effect than the bird.
Mike
Dave: Keep on telling it is as it is. That is why we come here, no bullshit and to the point.
Robert Graves: A few days ago I was threatened with a stun gun by some idiot in a car, if I had been able to spray him, he would have been in trouble. I want long distance pepper spray functionality!