Friendly police encounter

You must be a pretty mild mannered guy to take that incident
so lightly, and that's cool. But, you said the cops actually
patted you down? That's not cool. That's harsh! I'd be
seriously [censored]! If the old lady had given you a ration
(even though you were nice about it) do you think they would
have pulled her out of her car and frisked her? I'm thinking
not. Maybe you had to be there... Glad to hear your still
upright - Peace

Badger_South <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

This morning at about 9am I was pulled in the park and
questioned about riding on the bike trail, probably b/c I
admonished an older lady who nearly caused me to T-Bone
her by making a sudden U turn passing the opening to the
parking lot.

She said she saw me and admitted doing it but felt POed
that I had the nerve. I said "I'm just asking nicely, be
more careful".

The officers were very nice. They noted I was wearing my
raincoat on a 71 degree morning and mosquito/bug
mask/balaclava, and patted me down, while I straddled my
bike, finding a bike tool in the pocket of my jacket.

I stripped off the jacket, and they saw I was wearing a
rather flattering pair of Performance Bike Men's Splice
shorts with grey accents, and a Nike Blue Bike Jersey with
a swoosh.

One said 'Oh sweating off the pounds, huh, I can totally
get behind that being a larger guy myself.' The other
asked me if I had a bell, since

there

Quoted message said:

was a complaint about me coming around corners. They gave
me no instructions, except for asking if I had a bell. One
asked me about the mask and I said "bugs", they both
laughed and said 'boy is that true'.

Feeling great at having been stopped essentially for a
'speeding' issue at age 53, only ten months after having
barely been able to 'Fred' around the trail at 8 or 9 mph.

I normally tool the trail at 11-12mph, and wait until 0530-
0600 to put in

a

Quoted message said:

fast ride - there aren't any kids or anything out at
that time.

Ironic since I've been the one harassed and chased by dogs
and having to put on a smiley face - but I'm now gonna be
extra sure I smile at everyone and say good morning -
which I do.

-B Oh, I got their badge numbers and sent an email to the
Chief offering a commendation for their friendly and
excellent handling.

To make this even more sweet, three rad bikers on road
bikes came by and looked at me and gave me the thumbs up.

Badger_South wrote:
:: This morning at about 9am I was pulled in the park and
:: questioned about riding on the bike trail, probably b/c I
:: admonished an older lady who nearly caused me to T-Bone
:: her by making a sudden U turn passing the opening to the
:: parking lot.
::
:: She said she saw me and admitted doing it but felt POed
:: that I had the nerve. I said "I'm just asking nicely, be
:: more careful".
::
:: The officers were very nice. They noted I was wearing my
:: raincoat on a 71 degree morning and mosquito/bug
:: mask/balaclava, and patted me down, while I straddled my
:: bike, finding a bike tool in the pocket of my jacket.

Was it raining? Where do you live that you have such
problems with bugs?

::
:: I stripped off the jacket, and they saw I was wearing a
:: rather flattering pair of Performance Bike Men's Splice
:: shorts with grey accents, and a Nike Blue Bike Jersey
:: with a swoosh.
::
:: One said 'Oh sweating off the pounds, huh, I can totally
:: get behind that being a larger guy myself.' The other
:: asked me if I had a bell, since there was a complaint
:: about me coming around corners. They gave me no
:: instructions, except for asking if I had a bell. One
:: asked me about the mask and I said "bugs", they both
:: laughed and said 'boy is that true'.
::
:: Feeling great at having been stopped essentially for a
:: 'speeding' issue at age 53, only ten months after
:: having barely been able to 'Fred' around the trail at 8
:: or 9 mph.
::
:: I normally tool the trail at 11-12mph, and wait until 0530-
:: 0600 to put in a fast ride - there aren't any kids or
:: anything out at that time.
::
:: Ironic since I've been the one harassed and chased by
:: dogs and having to put on a smiley face - but I'm now
:: gonna be extra sure I smile at everyone and say good
:: morning - which I do.
::
:: -B Oh, I got their badge numbers and sent an email to the
:: Chief offering a commendation for their friendly and
:: excellent handling.
::
:: To make this even more sweet, three rad bikers on road
:: bikes came by and looked at me and gave me the thumbs up.

On Sun, 23 May 2004 22:15:29 -0400, "Roger Zoul" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Was it raining? Where do you live that you have such
problems with bugs?

It was a light weight nylon - lined jacket I often wear, and
I had gone out early to start the ride, and I also had a
head cold and was getting a little extra sweating, raising
the body heat makes me feel a little less achy.

My ride is along a river and we get these dense clouds of
gnats that you run into. I've had them fly right into my
eye, down my throad and worst inhale them, causing me to
start coughing and gagging. During the spring one gets
pelted relentlessly with summer mosquitos, gnats, flying
beetles, a various smorgasbord, unexpected, and makes it
hard to breathe if you're riding through them on a bike.

See the 'Bugs' thread, started by Claire - we talked about
homemade mosquito nets, inhaling gnats.

Thanks for your concern.

-B

I have to ask ... is the title of this post sarcastic?

I'm asking because if it was me this happened to I certainly
wouldn't be so happy about it. Perhaps it's because the
police around my neck of the woods are not so nice and I've
seen them get away with too much over the years.

Let me just give you a piece of advice that I learned the
hard way ... police officers ARE NOT YOUR FRIENDS. They
consider you their enemy. They have to, in order to be
safe. However, they look for any excuse to mess with you
and they are looking to bust you for something. That's
their job. Don't trust them, and don't fall for their
sickly sweet smiles.

C.Q.C.

"Badger_South" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

This morning at about 9am I was pulled in the park and
questioned about riding on the bike trail, probably b/c I
admonished an older lady who nearly caused me to T-Bone
her by making a sudden U turn passing the opening to the
parking lot.

She said she saw me and admitted doing it but felt POed
that I had the nerve. I said "I'm just asking nicely, be
more careful".

The officers were very nice. They noted I was wearing my
raincoat on a 71 degree morning and mosquito/bug
mask/balaclava, and patted me down, while I straddled my
bike, finding a bike tool in the pocket of my jacket.

I stripped off the jacket, and they saw I was wearing a
rather flattering pair of Performance Bike Men's Splice
shorts with grey accents, and a Nike Blue Bike Jersey with
a swoosh.

One said 'Oh sweating off the pounds, huh, I can totally
get behind that being a larger guy myself.' The other
asked me if I had a bell, since

there

Quoted message said:

was a complaint about me coming around corners. They gave
me no instructions, except for asking if I had a bell. One
asked me about the mask and I said "bugs", they both
laughed and said 'boy is that true'.

Feeling great at having been stopped essentially for a
'speeding' issue at age 53, only ten months after having
barely been able to 'Fred' around the trail at 8 or 9 mph.

I normally tool the trail at 11-12mph, and wait until 0530-
0600 to put in

a

Quoted message said:

fast ride - there aren't any kids or anything out at
that time.

Ironic since I've been the one harassed and chased by dogs
and having to put on a smiley face - but I'm now gonna be
extra sure I smile at everyone and say good morning -
which I do.

-B Oh, I got their badge numbers and sent an email to the
Chief offering a commendation for their friendly and
excellent handling.

To make this even more sweet, three rad bikers on road
bikes came by and looked at me and gave me the thumbs up.

Q.' LostVideos-AT-hotmail.com said:

I have to ask ... is the title of this post sarcastic?

You'd think they'd have something better to do than have
three vehicles tied up sitting in the parking lot of a Park
at the far end of town waiting to 'talk' to a 53y.o. guy on
a bike, wouldn't you?

Quoted message said:

I'm asking because if it was me this happened to I
certainly wouldn't be so happy about it. Perhaps it's
because the police around my neck of the woods are not
so nice and I've seen them get away with too much over
the years.

Well nothing came of it, but I did talk to the IA
supervisor. Basically the 'dog walkers' have had this park
to themselves for many years, and act like they own the
trail, dogs running into the water and running out and
shaking on the walkers, running up and jumping on people.
Now that it's paved, more and more bikers and roller bladers
are using it and I can only see the "complaints" getting
more frequent.

I'm about to 'graduate' from riding there and go out on the
streets now that I'm more fit, so I'm getting my new bike
and heading out soon for vacation and to ride in Va Beach
with my brother. They have a pretty good path along Great
Neck, and other places you can ride, so I'll let the dog
walkers and cranky and inattentive and cranky people annoy
each other for a change.

Quoted message said:

Let me just give you a piece of advice that I learned the
hard way ... police officers ARE NOT YOUR FRIENDS. They
consider you their enemy. They have to, in order to be
safe. However, they look for any excuse to mess with you
and they are looking to bust you for something. That's
their job. Don't trust them, and don't fall for their
sickly sweet smiles.

They probably weren't looking to mess with me, and as a
result, they now know I'm a good guy, maybe. But I'm not
giving them a chance to mess with me further - I'm outta
there. ;-)

-B

Quoted message said:

C.Q.C.

Q. wrote:
:: I have to ask ... is the title of this post sarcastic?
::
:: I'm asking because if it was me this happened to I
:: certainly wouldn't be so happy about it. Perhaps it's
:: because the police around my neck of the woods are not
:: so nice and I've seen them get away with too much over
:: the years.
::
:: Let me just give you a piece of advice that I learned the
:: hard way ... police officers ARE NOT YOUR FRIENDS. They
:: consider you their enemy. They have to, in order to be
:: safe. However, they look for any excuse to mess with you
:: and they are looking to bust you for something. That's
:: their job. Don't trust them, and don't fall for their
:: sickly sweet smiles.

Maybe the police in your neigborhood act this way because
too many people there think as you do?

::
:: C.Q.C.
::
:: "Badger_South" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
:: "]news:[email hidden]...
::: This morning at about 9am I was pulled in the park and
::: questioned about riding on the bike trail, probably b/c
::: I admonished an older lady who nearly caused me to T-
::: Bone her by making a sudden U turn passing the opening
::: to the parking lot.
:::
::: She said she saw me and admitted doing it but felt POed
::: that I had the nerve. I said "I'm just asking nicely, be
::: more careful".
:::
::: The officers were very nice. They noted I was wearing my
::: raincoat on a 71 degree morning and mosquito/bug
::: mask/balaclava, and patted me down, while I straddled my
::: bike, finding a bike tool in the pocket of my jacket.
:::
::: I stripped off the jacket, and they saw I was wearing a
::: rather flattering pair of Performance Bike Men's Splice
::: shorts with grey accents, and a Nike Blue Bike Jersey
::: with a swoosh.
:::
::: One said 'Oh sweating off the pounds, huh, I can totally
::: get behind that being a larger guy myself.' The other
::: asked me if I had a bell, since there was a complaint
::: about me coming around corners. They gave me no
::: instructions, except for asking if I had a bell. One
::: asked me about the mask and I said "bugs", they both
::: laughed and said 'boy is that true'.
:::
::: Feeling great at having been stopped essentially for a
::: 'speeding' issue at age 53, only ten months after
::: having barely been able to 'Fred' around the trail at 8
::: or 9 mph.
:::
::: I normally tool the trail at 11-12mph, and wait until
::: 0530-0600 to put in a fast ride - there aren't any kids
::: or anything out at that time.
:::
::: Ironic since I've been the one harassed and chased by
::: dogs and having to put on a smiley face - but I'm now
::: gonna be extra sure I smile at everyone and say good
::: morning - which I do.
:::
::: -B Oh, I got their badge numbers and sent an email to
::: the Chief offering a commendation for their friendly and
::: excellent handling.
:::
::: To make this even more sweet, three rad bikers on
::: road bikes came by and looked at me and gave me the
::: thumbs up.

Quoted message said:

"Q." LostVideos-AT-hotmail.com

wrote in part:

Quoted message said:

Let me just give you a piece of advice that I learned the
hard way ... police officers ARE NOT YOUR FRIENDS. They
consider you their enemy. They have to, in order to be
safe. However, they look for any excuse to mess with you
and they are looking to bust you for something. That's
their job. Don't trust them, and don't fall for their
sickly sweet smiles.

Okay, I'll bite...

No, we are not your friends. Friendship entails both a
knowledge of the other person and a mutual respect/regard
for that person so while we can be friendly, even cordial,
simply meeting you does not make us "friends". But you are
not our enemy either. You are a stranger and we meet most
strangers in less than ideal circumstances so of course we
are cautious. It's not a police officer's job to "look for
an excuse to mess with you". If as you seem to imply,
you've been busted for something my only question is, did
you do it? That's rhetorical of course because I sincerely
doubt that anyone posting anonymously that *did* break the
law has the required cojones to admit they deserved the
trouble they got.

Regards, Bob Hunt

Quoted message said:

"Q." LostVideos-AT-hotmail.com

wrote in part:

Quoted message said:

Let me just give you a piece of advice that I learned the
hard way ... police officers ARE NOT YOUR FRIENDS. They
consider you their enemy. They have to, in order to be
safe. However, they look for any excuse to mess with you
and they are looking to bust you for something. That's
their job. Don't trust them, and don't fall for their
sickly sweet smiles.

Okay, I'll bite...

No, we are not your friends. Friendship entails both a
knowledge of the other person and a mutual respect/regard
for that person so while we can be friendly, even cordial,
simply meeting you does not make us "friends". But you are
not our enemy either. You are a stranger and we meet most
strangers in less than ideal circumstances so of course we
are cautious. It's not a police officer's job to "look for
an excuse to mess with you". If as you seem to imply,
you've been busted for something my only question is, did
you do it? That's rhetorical of course because I sincerely
doubt that anyone posting anonymously that *did* break the
law has the required cojones to admit they deserved the
trouble they got.

Regards, Bob Hunt

(Hunrobe) said:

Quoted message said:

"Q." LostVideos-AT-hotmail.com

wrote in part:

Quoted message said:

Let me just give you a piece of advice that I learned the
hard way ... police officers ARE NOT YOUR FRIENDS. They
consider you their enemy. They have to, in order to be
safe. However, they look for any excuse to mess with you
and they are looking to bust you for something. That's
their job. Don't trust them, and don't fall for their
sickly sweet smiles.

Okay, I'll bite...

No, we are not your friends. Friendship entails both a
knowledge of the other person and a mutual respect/regard
for that person so while we can be friendly, even cordial,
simply meeting you does not make us "friends". But you are
not our enemy either. You are a stranger and we meet most
strangers in less than ideal circumstances so of course we
are cautious. It's not a police officer's job to "look for
an excuse to mess with you". If as you seem to imply,
you've been busted for something my only question is, did
you do it? That's rhetorical of course because I sincerely
doubt that anyone posting anonymously that *did* break the
law has the required cojones to admit they deserved the
trouble they got.

Regards, Bob Hunt

As a LEO yourself, Bob, are officers directed or permitted
to stop a biker just rolling in the parking lot, and then
pat him down when he's co-operating, even if they have no
law broken, even in the complaint, if any, or look of the
rider? Just wondering, not being argumentative, from your
point of view. Should I carry ID? - the park is nearly in my
back yard, I ride off my property directly onto it?

Would you as a biker and LEO have handled it that way? What
if I had not pulled over, but had gone back into the woods
on the lower trail? Would I have had officers running to try
and intercept me? Again sincerely asking. I'm now a bit
afraid to go ride at all - shucks. ;-(

-B

(Hunrobe) said:

Quoted message said:

"Q." LostVideos-AT-hotmail.com

wrote in part:

Quoted message said:

Let me just give you a piece of advice that I learned the
hard way ... police officers ARE NOT YOUR FRIENDS. They
consider you their enemy. They have to, in order to be
safe. However, they look for any excuse to mess with you
and they are looking to bust you for something. That's
their job. Don't trust them, and don't fall for their
sickly sweet smiles.

Okay, I'll bite...

No, we are not your friends. Friendship entails both a
knowledge of the other person and a mutual respect/regard
for that person so while we can be friendly, even cordial,
simply meeting you does not make us "friends". But you are
not our enemy either. You are a stranger and we meet most
strangers in less than ideal circumstances so of course we
are cautious. It's not a police officer's job to "look for
an excuse to mess with you". If as you seem to imply,
you've been busted for something my only question is, did
you do it? That's rhetorical of course because I sincerely
doubt that anyone posting anonymously that *did* break the
law has the required cojones to admit they deserved the
trouble they got.

Regards, Bob Hunt

As a LEO yourself, Bob, are officers directed or permitted
to stop a biker just rolling in the parking lot, and then
pat him down when he's co-operating, even if they have no
law broken, even in the complaint, if any, or look of the
rider? Just wondering, not being argumentative, from your
point of view. Should I carry ID? - the park is nearly in my
back yard, I ride off my property directly onto it?

Would you as a biker and LEO have handled it that way? What
if I had not pulled over, but had gone back into the woods
on the lower trail? Would I have had officers running to try
and intercept me? Again sincerely asking. I'm now a bit
afraid to go ride at all - shucks. ;-(

-B

David L. Johnson said:

El Calaverada said:

You must be a pretty mild mannered guy to take that
incident so lightly, and that's cool. But, you said the
cops actually patted you down? That's not cool. That's
harsh! I'd be seriously [censored]!

If you had listened to the news lately, you may have heard
that there is some sort of generalized, panic-inducing
warning from the friendly folks at Homeland Security about
the possibility of suicide bombers. We are all supposed to
be on the lookout for people wearing baggy coats on a warm
day, or people disguised as pregnant women.

You probably caught their attention with the raincoat,
along with the skimask. Heck, if you had walked into a
convenience store dressed like that the clerk might well
have shot first, asked questions later.

Well someone should tell Performance Bike Shop that they
have a Terrorist on their web pages (lol):

performancebike.comlarge photo.cfmOpen ↗
38&Store=Bike

-B

David L. Johnson said:

El Calaverada said:

You must be a pretty mild mannered guy to take that
incident so lightly, and that's cool. But, you said the
cops actually patted you down? That's not cool. That's
harsh! I'd be seriously [censored]!

If you had listened to the news lately, you may have heard
that there is some sort of generalized, panic-inducing
warning from the friendly folks at Homeland Security about
the possibility of suicide bombers. We are all supposed to
be on the lookout for people wearing baggy coats on a warm
day, or people disguised as pregnant women.

You probably caught their attention with the raincoat,
along with the skimask. Heck, if you had walked into a
convenience store dressed like that the clerk might well
have shot first, asked questions later.

Well someone should tell Performance Bike Shop that they
have a Terrorist on their web pages (lol):

performancebike.comlarge photo.cfmOpen ↗
38&Store=Bike

-B

Badger_South <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

The officers were very nice. They noted I was wearing my
raincoat on a 71 degree morning and mosquito/bug
mask/balaclava, and patted me down, while I straddled my
bike, finding a bike tool in the pocket of my jacket.

I stripped off the jacket, and they saw I was wearing a
rather flattering pair of Performance Bike Men's Splice
shorts with grey accents, and a Nike Blue Bike Jersey with
a swoosh.

Are you, like, Fab's evil Fred twin, or what?

CC

I'm not a big fan of the cops. However, I do have one good story to share:

Last year, I was protesting the war in front of the local
Air Force base. Now, this is a rabidly jingoistic part of
the country, and the number of war resistors here can
probably be counted on both hands. I was getting a lot of
[censored] for standing on public property with signs that said
"Support Our Troops -- Bring Them Home" and "PEACE." Some
cops pulled up, and my initial thought was that they were
going to chase me off. Instead, they said they would protect
my right to be there and would be checking in periodically
to see that I wasn't being harassed or threatened. For the
rest of the day, they kept their word. I think that is an
example of good policing. Contrast that with big-city cops
at major protests.

--
Kevan Smith
[email hidden]

Quoted message said:

Was it raining? Where do you live that you have such
problems with bugs?

You've got to see Brood X (as in ten) cicadas, those guys
are everywhere where I live (not so far from Badger).

Literally billions of them. They aren't harmful but there
sure are a lot of them.

And they keep on coming.

--

_______________________ALL AMIGA IN MY
MIND_______________________ ------------------"Buddy Holly,
the Texas Elvis"------------------ __________306.350.357.38-

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

[email hidden]__________

Badger_South wrote:
:: On 24 May 2004 13:44:39 GMT, [email hidden]
:: (Hunrobe) wrote:
::
:::: "Q." LostVideos-AT-hotmail.com
:::
::: wrote in part:
:::
:::: Let me just give you a piece of advice that I learned
:::: the hard way ... police officers ARE NOT YOUR FRIENDS.
:::: They consider you their enemy. They have to, in order
:::: to be safe. However, they look for any excuse to mess
:::: with you and they are looking to bust you for
:::: something. That's their job. Don't trust them, and
:::: don't fall for their sickly sweet smiles.
:::
::: Okay, I'll bite...
:::
::: No, we are not your friends. Friendship entails both a
::: knowledge of the other person and a mutual
::: respect/regard for that person so while we can be
::: friendly, even cordial, simply meeting you does not make
::: us "friends". But you are not our enemy either. You are
::: a stranger and we meet most strangers in less than ideal
::: circumstances so of course we are cautious. It's not a
::: police officer's job to "look for an excuse to mess with
::: you". If as you seem to imply, you've been busted for
::: something my only question is, did you do it? That's
::: rhetorical of course because I sincerely doubt that
::: anyone posting anonymously that *did* break the law has
::: the required cojones to admit they deserved the trouble
::: they got.
:::
::: Regards, Bob Hunt
::
:: As a LEO yourself, Bob, are officers directed or
:: permitted to stop a biker just rolling in the parking
:: lot, and then pat him down when he's co-operating, even
:: if they have no law broken, even in the complaint, if
:: any, or look of the rider? Just wondering, not being
:: argumentative, from your point of view. Should I carry
:: ID? - the park is nearly in my back yard, I ride off my
:: property directly onto it?
::
:: Would you as a biker and LEO have handled it that way?
:: What if I had not pulled over, but had gone back into the
:: woods on the lower trail? Would I have had officers
:: running to try and intercept me? Again sincerely asking.
:: I'm now a bit afraid to go ride at all - shucks. ;-(

Hey - keep riding. It's your right and you did nothing
wrong. I rode my bike early Sunday am and saw a police
officer in his car along side the rode waiting for
speeders. I passed him several times, but waved at him the
first time. He waved back. It was obvoius to him that I was
no threat to anyone (and I'm a large scary looking black
dude) and was just out getting in some exercise (heck, is
about like 8 am on a Sunday morn) -- not too many trouble
makers out then. Also, I firmly believe that most police
officers DO NOT want to go looking for trouble because
there is very low payoff in that.

ps...I'm always wondering about the ID thing, too. I don't
carry my drivers license because I'm afraid I'll get it
misplaced due to moving it around. So I carry a business
car with other vital info on the back, but no picture
ID.

David L. Johnson said:

What I really want to know is how the proper authorities
will distinguish between people disguised as pregnant
women, and real pregnant women.

By the mustache. Well, maybe not...
--
Rick Onanian

On Mon, 24 May 2004 22:37:15 -0400, "Eric S. Sande" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Was it raining? Where do you live that you have such
problems with bugs?

You've got to see Brood X (as in ten) cicadas, those guys
are everywhere where I live (not so far from Badger).

The swarms of gnats are so dense (and un-seeable depending
on the light) that if you ride through them at 17mph, it's
like getting shot with BBs...ok, soft BBs.

You're not far from me? I'm in Central Va. You? THought it
was Texas?

Quoted message said:

Literally billions of them. They aren't harmful but there
sure are a lot of them.

And they keep on coming.

Yeah boy! The other day, I had all sorts of critters
bouncing off of me. The lightweight balaclava might seem
strange in the summer, but when I get home, I'm not combing
a menagerie out of my hair. I soak the balaclava in cold
water just as I put it on and then can dump water on it with
the water bottle. So if anything it's very cooling!

I'm thinking more and more - 'you don't like what I wear?
How dare they judge me by pedestrian standards!'

-B Mebbe I just need to cover the back of my jacket and
helmet with these:
animationgrove.co.ukloveya1.gifOpen ↗ That
way -I- wouldn't be annoyed, b/c I wouldn't see them! ;-p

Roger Zoul said:

ps...I'm always wondering about the ID thing, too. I don't
carry my drivers license because I'm afraid I'll get it
misplaced due to moving it around. So I carry a
business car with other vital info on the back, but no
picture
ID.

I have a folded card with a copy of my driver's license,
emergency contact info, medical insurance card, vital
medical info, and a calling card number. It comes in very
handy when I'm in the hospital or being tended to by
paramedics.
--
terry morse Palo Alto, CA bike.terrymorse.combike.terrymorse.comOpen ↗