Park police disturbs me

[ZenSojourner]

How would you suggest that the officials stop 40 riders riding in a pack through a public park after dark at over 30 mph?

Perhaps the answer is for the riders to stop breaking the law.

How about the hazard these guys represent to everyone else on the road, vehicles, pedestrians, even animals?

[denny]

How would you suggest that the officials stop 40 riders riding in a pack through a public park after dark at over 30 mph?

Perhaps the answer is for the riders to stop breaking the law.

How about the hazard these guys represent to everyone else on the road, vehicles, pedestrians, even animals?

Hey Zen- they come through at 6:15PM. It's not dark yet. However, assuming they are riding single file or double file then speed would be the factor and yes, slow down is the correct answer. I still believe that the maneuver is an over reaction and is rarely used by state and local PD unless there is an immediate danger to public. This does not rise to such a level as it is a 5 mile strip with a fairly low presence of vehichles and pedestrians pretty much stick to the designated areas.

[Zen]

Please do not confuse the original Zen with the ZenSojourner.
I offer guidance only, never admonition.

Thank you and I now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.

[Cataboo]

It's a moving violation... if you're in a car and police want to stop you, then they chase you, turn on the lights, etc... If a police officer has a speedtrap on the side of the road or whatever and steps out into the road to motion you to stop.... you stop and pull over. This isn't something that car drivers complain about.

What are the reasons that the park police are upset at the riders? I'm guessing its for riding after sunset more than 2 abreast since that's what you mentioned?

If it's after sunset, the roads are empty, and I'm in a park... I can't drive 100 mph hour just because noone's there. I can't drive on the wrong side of the road just because noone's there.

Most parks around me close at sunset. Most parks around me also have pretty anal park rangers and police, but... they're doing their jobs and they're enforcing the rules, because quite a few people think they don't apply to them.

You're afraid to complain about these incidents because bikers may lose the priveledge of biking through the park... So... why can't the bikers follow the rules that the park has set on them riding through the park?

Yes, it's unfortunate that some riders got hurt... but you also have to realize that if you're on a bike and you can't stop when there's an obstacle in the road, or you're in a pack of bikes that can't stop when there's an obstacle in the road... be it a police car or a human... Then something's wrong, you're really not biking all that safely on a public road.

[Irulan]

t is beyond me how such tatical maneuvers can be deemed necessary even if the riders were in violation of riding more than 2 abreast after sunset.

well, there's your answer right there. Perhaps if your group contacted the authorities ahead of time for an event permit or special road closure or what ever it takes to not be in violation of the laws, the cops wouldn't do what they did.

[ilima]

Isn't Stone Mountain technically a private park? They're probably not 'real' cops and they probably don't give a crap.

Now, I do think the two abreast thing is a little silly to get in a huff about as if they're going with traffic, you can have way more than two abreast in a single lane (and the cyclists should be worthy of a full lane if they're going at the speed limit), which would make the group more compact and easier to pass in the left lane.

[Irulan]

easier to pass in the left lane.

you can't always pass in the left lane. Some roads are blind, or slow or there's too much on coming traffic. Or, maybe you are like my mom, 80 years old and terrified to pass a group of cyclists on a curvy road....

[uforgot]

I offer guidance,only, never admonition.

Thank you and I now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.

You forgot to add wonderfully witty sarcasm!

[Cataboo]

You forgot to add wonderfully witty sarcasm!

I've seen her admonish a helpful shaggy man in a kilt.

[crazycanuck]

Yep our original Zen has a wicked sense of humour & plays an accordian

[Zen]

I've seen her admonish a helpful shaggy man in a kilt.

He was a hazard in himself.
But that's another story.

[Cataboo]

He was a hazard in himself.
But that's another story.

True that.

I'd've kicked him in his kilt if he'd run over my litespeed.

[ZenSojourner]

Hey Zen- they come through at 6:15PM. It's not dark yet. However, assuming they are riding single file or double file then speed would be the factor and yes, slow down is the correct answer. I still believe that the maneuver is an over reaction and is rarely used by state and local PD unless there is an immediate danger to public. This does not rise to such a level as it is a 5 mile strip with a fairly low presence of vehichles and pedestrians pretty much stick to the designated areas.

Originally you said:

even if the riders were in violation of riding more than 2 abreast after sunset.

Which makes it sound like they're riding after sunset.

The problem is this has happened twice, which seems to show a disregard on the part of the riders in this group for warnings already given.

If they're speeding, they're speeding, they need to stop doing that. If they're breaking other rules, they need to stop doing that as well.

Whatever the rules are they need to comply with them. There's no excuse for drag racing by cars on isolated stretches of road, even if there isn't "usually" much traffic there. Same rules apply to bikes. Using the same tactics to stop bikes that are used to stop cars isn't a fault on the part of the police. If you're going to fast to stop, whether in a car or on a bike, you were already in the wrong. There IS an immediate danger to the public when you've got a peloton zipping down a public access road like this.

The point is its not a race track, it's a public road, and there are plenty of reasons people might be walking along a well-lit, public road, with kids and dogs in tow, or kids might be walking along there. It's an issue of public safety. It would appear this has been happening on a regular basis, hence the concern and intervention of the local gendarmerie. In order for the cops to be there on two occasions in the right place at the right time, there must be a pattern of disobeying the rules to which they are responding.

Nobody wants anyone to get hurt. But I don't see how much choice the cops had. At the very least, the first attempt to stop the peloton should have been considered a warning, and yet the group repeats the same offense again?

[Cataboo]

We don't know how often the police have complained to the bike group or not. Or other bike groups if there's multiple bike groups that are doing this...

The faq on the stone mountain site says that you can ride a bike if you do it single file on the road.... not even the 2 abreast that seems to be the Georgia standard.

I know around here, the police routinely step out in front of your car and wave you over if you're violating HOV restrictions, don't have your personal property tax sticker, or you're driving in a shoulder to get to an exit faster in traffic.

None of those are terrible traffic violations that require a person to physically step in front of your car, but cars stop without crashing, and deal.

[ZenSojourner]

We don't know how often the police have complained to the bike group or not. Or other bike groups if there's multiple bike groups that are doing this...

I'm pretty sure the first time they stopped the peloton ought to have counted as a warning AND a complaint.

Also, a peloton is fairly anonymous - how would you "complain to the group" if you have no idea of what the group is? I'm wondering whether there have been complaints by non-cycling citizens, possibly newspaper articles . . . in any case, having been stopped once, this group apparently chose to ignore the warning and continue the objectionable behavior.

I like riding my bike on the kind of roads described here, and frankly a high-speed peloton overtaking me and passing me would scare the living daylights out of me, probably would force me off the road if I could get there without crashing . . .