No Safety In Numbers For Outlaw Cyclists
by Mark Reiter

At one time in our two-wheel lives we have been guilty of slipping through stop signs or red lights or otherwise breaking laws that apply to bikes as well as cars. 
It was these slightly illegal acts that got a pack of riders who were training on the back roads near Hygiene, Colo., in trouble two months ago.
Boulder County sheriff's deputies nabbed about 60 bicyclists who were out for a 70-mile ride on a Saturday in April. Deputies in unmarked cars followed the cyclists and videotaped them as they allegedly glided through stop signs and ignored red lights.
In the town of Hygiene, deputies in cruisers stopped the bikers and corralled them into an elementary school parking lot, where they were given tickets for running a stop sign. On a different Saturday, deputies from the same department handed out a dozen tickets to riders who allegedly ran stop signs.
For the officers, it was probably like shooting fish in a barrel. The covert operation is analogous to police parking outside an Irish pub on St. Patrick's Day and following patrons as they pull out of the parking lot.
Among the cyclists ticketed in Hygiene was professional cyclist Ryan Guay. He and others plan to fight the tickets in court. "They have to be somewhat lenient when there are so many riders," he told a Boulder newspaper.
The riders were targeted, officers said, after a 67-year-old woman was struck from behind by a car and killed as she cycled with three friends along a state highway. Law enforcement officials also said they received complaints from drivers about bicyclists hogging the road and disregarding stop signs.
Sgt. Tom McGrath, operations traffic supervisor for the sheriff's office, said more and more motorists and cyclists use roadways in the county. "They're all antsy to be outside, and they're fighting for space on the road," Sergeant McGrath told the newspaper.
The sergeant added that the cyclists in Hygiene were given a break and charged only with running the stop sign, even though they committed several other infractions, such as impeding traffic.
In the weeks following "operation pedal pack", Boulder County Sheriff George Epp has had to answer to bicycling advocates who argue, sure bikers sometimes irritate drivers and flout the rules, but what about motorists who threaten and harass riders. At one time or another, a cyclist has been the victim of sideswiping, bottle-hurling, and finger-waving drivers.
An outcry about driver anger from riders has led Sheriff Epp to propose a program that he hopes will educate two-ton bullies. Sheriff Epp, who is a mountain biker, might put deputies on bikes to wait for tormentors on country roads. The bike-riding deputies will call for nearby cruisers to have the offenders stopped.
Chris Grealish, who owns a Boulder-Denver courier service and spent years organizing bike races, welcomes the cops-on-bikes program.
 "If they're willing to put themselves in our shoes for a while, it'll become apparent that it's a two-way street," he said.

Last Updated 03/19/08