On the eve of the democratic roll call event, I could feel the electricity and tension in the air as I walked down the streets of downtown Denver. Although Sen. Obama was expected to receive the majority vote and formal nomination for the Democratic presidential ticket, there existed the possibility that Hillary Clinton could somehow snatch the nomination from him.

And there were rumors of protests and riots by angry Hillary supporters, vets against the war and other groups outraged with the Bush Administration.

So I wasn’t surprised to find myself in the middle of a standoff between the Denver police and a group of bikers. Although I am not certain how the protest began, but when I arrived the police had already set-up a barricade to prevent at least 100 bikers from continuing their ride down Wazee Street near 16th street mall.

I stopped David, a biker in the protest, and asked him to explain the situation:

“We wanted to bike through. We are not bothering anybody. We just wanted to bike through the city. It’s our city. We pay taxes. We aren’t contributing to the air pollution. We are even increasing our fitness.”

The DNC in Denver has earned its reputation as the greenest and most environmentally friendly convention ever. So it was surprising that bikers weren’t allowed easy access to the city streets during the convention. The Freewheelin’ organization even provided free bike rentals to DNC attendees to reduce the amount of driving and air pollution during the convention. The event attracted a lot of resident bikers, many of whom had traded their cars for bikes for environmentally conscious reasons.

“I gave up a 2007 Dodge Magnum that got 12 miles to the gallon for this bike to be a conscious citizen of this planet,” said David. “It’s time for all of us to get the tenacity to do what is right. That is why I am voting for Obama.”

When the protest appeared to settle down, one angry participant walked up to the police and spit at them. He was then pushed to the ground, hit with batons, sprayed with mace, handcuffed and escorted off by the police. And the crowd and protesters chanted: “The world is watching.”

See the events unfold here.

Interview: Brooke-Sidney Gavins
Multimedia Producer: Sharifa Johka
Video editing & Photography: Brooke-Sidney Gavins

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