rocdoc

I just thought this was funny/interesting enough to share. The other day, on a busy bike path in the DC area (the Capital Crescent trail), a portly, important- and competent-looking police officer, was busy aiming a radar gun at cyclists coming down the path. There is a 15mph limit. On empty stretches, it is easy to ride faster safely. I understand the need to keep some hot headed pretend racers from endangering other path users, but this just seemed a little funny. The Bethesda area in Montgomery County is, in fact, one of the lowest crime areas anywhere in the US, so I guess we need to keep our police force busy somehow... I squeezed my brake levers when I saw him in the distance and escaped the long arm of the law. For now...

Kindaslow

If at my age I got a ticket on my bike, not including a MUP, I would frame it.

Shuffleman

First of all, calling him portly is rude. Perhaps he is just an enthusiastic eater. Secondly, Really? They are ticketing people for exceeding the speed limit on a bike trail? How does the officer stop one that is traveling too fast? What is the fine for such a serious infraction?
I am sure that the officer would rather not be there and has been assigned a lousy task. He/She probably got on somebody's bad side. Either that or some influential person in town has a bee in their bonnet.
It really would be fun to blow past their stopping point just to see what happens. Actually, it would be more fun to watch somebody else try that.

Marcus_Ti

Hell, I'd go one further...Would it be a further ticketable offense for me to want to pose for a photo op with the cop and the citation on site?

Retro Grouch 

I feel sorry for the poor cop being assigned radar gun duty on a bike path. I'm thinking he must be taking a lot of kidding in the station house locker room. Maybe that's a task they assign to cops who were bad. Harry, a man's got to know his limitations. The only gun you're using today is a radar gun on the bike path."

Kindaslow

Thanks! I will remember to ask!!!

Retro Grouch 

50 yards up the trail there might be 3 "chase" cops with black and white Madones and flashing red lights.

GovernorSilver

Wow!

There are folks that wouldn't mind seeing some enforcement on the VA side - especially the Mt. Vernon and WO&D trails, where double- and triple- passes at high speed before a blind corner are common.

Marcus_Ti

I'm thinking a photo pose like this, with citation in frame:

rumrunn6

hey don't forget stuff like this is probably the result of injuries, and maybe not just complaints

one4smoke

Too funny!

trailangel

What is rude about referring to somebody as portly? How about just saying he was fat?
Are you fat?

Shimagnolo

fietsbob

Because there are so Many, they radar speed limit test and cite/ticket MTB riders on Mount Tamalpais https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Tamalpais

rocdoc

I hear you! I don't mind the trail rule enforcement, I just don't think this is the way to do it. And the anachronism of the whole situation was funny, made me smile. I did wonder what would happen if I had been booked - as it happens, that was the one day I completely forgot to bring any kind of ID with me. Going to jail for biking too fast would definitely be a story for the grandchildren
That said, I wish there were some sort of monitors on some of the trails, and indeed the Mt Vernon seems to be worse than others with either clueless people walking across the path headphones in ears, oblivious to the bikes barreling down on them, or racer wanna-bes, speeding down yelling "on your left" at a four-year-old who is toddling along holding on to grandma's hand (real example!). As annoying as the former category is, the latter is a lot more dangerous... But a simple speed gun won't pick dangerous behavior out.

no motor?

I wonder how accurate the radar readings would be. I've rode past some of the big brother boxes they use that show your speed and don't register on them half the time.

Shimagnolo

The ones around here usually don't even light up until you are at, or above, the speed limit.

no motor?

When they do work I'm usually doing 15+ mph - a good 10 mph under the limit. Othertimes I ride by them at the same speed and they don't display a speed. Maybe I should try riding by at 88 mph during a thunderstorm and see what happens.

Leebo

Are bikes legally requires to have a speedometer? Seems a slippery slope. I too see my share of stravatards on the MU.

Agent Cooper

Wow. Crime in DC must be at record low levels for the city to feel they can afford to assign a full time police officer to speed trap duty on an MUP. Consider yourself blessed and lucky to live in such Mayberry-esque tranquility.

/obvious sarc

big chainring 

I was riding on the local MUP and two guys passed me at 20-22mph, I would estimate. It was on a section of path that starts getting a little congested as it skirts along a residential area. You get joggers, walkers, and strollers in this particular area and the path takes a few sharp blind corners. It wasnt more than a minute after they passed me and I hear a loud WHACK!

I rode past them, a woman with a stroller, and the two cyclists onthe side of the path. The one guy was pretty well shaken, jersey torn, bloodied arm and leg. He had veered off the path to avoid hitting the woman and stroller. Hit a tree at 20mph. The other guy was able to avoid the woman.

So some policing around areas like that is a good idea.

Cougrrcj

Be glad that the speed limit on your trail is that high. Here it is 8mph. I doubt I could ride that slow! My cruise-all-day pace is something around 17-18mph. I'd like to know how they are going to enforce that 'law' since bikes are not generally equipped with speedometers.

When our Cleveland Metroparks path was first built in the '70s, it was NOT a Multi-Use Path (MUP) It was installed strictly as a bike path. Next thing we knew, the joggers and walkers took over. Worst is the people who walk their dogs - either without a leash or those confounded reels. I never knew when Fluffy was going to suddenly dart to 'my side' of the path. Then along came the Walkman. People blundering on and no amount of bell/horn or "On your left!" could get through. People walking four abreast so they can have walking conversations. Now it is gaggles of people looking down at their phones, web-searching or texting. Now the bikes are 'a dangerous nuisance' and must be regulated or otherwise slowed down. Aaaaugh! The whole point of the path was to get bikes off the road!!! Now they are forcing us back ON to the road!

To be honest, I gave up riding on the path some 25 years ago. I think the last time I was on one was back in 2000, when my employer had a 'Y2K Olympics' and I had signed up for the bike riding event. Not a race, but a timed event. Each rider had to sell in advance how long it was going to take to ride 10 miles along the MUP. The closest to their projected time estimate was the winner. Again, I have a certain cadence that I fall into naturally. The path is level. No watches, computers, or timers were allowed. My daily commute to work (I rode my bike at least three times/week) was 10.4 miles so I had a pretty good idea. I was off by 8 seconds! Yes, I won.

Hypno Toad

We had a similar situation in Hopkins, Minneapolis suburb. A few years ago a cop was speed-trapping a bike route that has no speed limit. Nobody got ticketed, that I know, but many saw the police doing this... and based on the position, the cop wasn't speed-trapping a road.

Minneapolis, on the other hand, just voted to continue a 10 mph limit on some recreational trails; however, they made it clear in the press release that they have no interest in enforcing the speed limit. What the What ?!?

This all reminds me of the SF story about enforcing a complete stop at all stop signs. IMO it boils down to people in decision-making positions in government that are totally clueless about bikes.

ShortLegCyclist

They day before the Woodinville Wine Ride in metro Seattle, there were cops hanging out on the Burke Gilman Trail (Seattle's busiest MUP) handing out tickets to cyclists who did not completely stop at a stop sign.

They were in plain view, and still were doing a lot of business.

We saw them in plenty of time to come to a complete stop, but for some reason plenty of folks just blew right on through the stop sign with four cops standing right there.

TheManShow

Think the DC Cops would make bigger busts if they went under cover on bicycle looking for muggers, and drug dealers.