Advocacy & Safety - Have You ever been stopped or harassed by a Police Officer while riding your bike?

How did the incident (incidences) go? Post your stories.

Yes. I was riding in the center of an 11' lane on a five lane 35 mph street. I was traveling just a bit slower than the prevailing speed.

The cop turned on his sirens and lights, and once I was sure he was serious and would follow me, I pulled into a commercial driveway/parking area where he stopped behind me.

He told me that I couldn't ride in the middle of the lane like that and that I needed to stay near the curb.

After a polite conversation, where I thanked him for his concern, listened to him carefully, and recognized his authority while very gradually revealing my connections with other officers in his department and my expertise in cycling safety and law, he came to understand why I was using the center of the lane. He told me that he had learned something. I asked him if I could continue on my way home using the center of the lane, and he said I was welcome to. He thanked me for my time.

We both got back on the road. He passed me after about half a mile. I kept up with him for at least a mile before he turned off.

Yes. I was riding in the center of an 11' lane on a five lane 35 mph street. I was traveling just a bit slower than the prevailing speed.

The cop turned on his sirens and lights, and once I was sure he was serious and would follow me, I pulled into a commercial driveway/parking area where he stopped behind me.

He told me that I couldn't ride in the middle of the lane like that and that I needed to stay near the curb.

After a polite conversation, where I thanked him for his concern, listened to him carefully, and recognized his authority while very gradually revealing my connections with other officers in his department and my expertise in cycling safety and law, he came to understand why I was using the center of the lane. He told me that he had learned something. I asked him if I could continue on my way home using the center of the lane, and he said I was welcome to. He thanked me for my time.

We both got back on the road. He passed me after about half a mile. I kept up with him for at least a mile before he turned off.

Wow! That is the best lane positioning / law enforcement officer story I have ever read.

I was traveling on this road at just about this location:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=arizona&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=38.092988,58.271484&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Arizona&ll=33.56761,-111.544704&spn=0.008868,0.028453&z=15&layer=c&cbll=33.567619,-111.544688&panoid=as0UwomKySXAdfPc_n-vCQ&cbp=12,180.44,,0,-0.16

I was riding about 4' to the left of the fog line a bit over 30mph down grade (posted 35mph road)

A car passed me going very fast, but with good clearance. Shortly after Maricopa County sheriff car came up behind me and I noticed the light bar on, I moved a bit further right about 1' from fog line, maybe slowed a bit so as to let them get on with it - I figured they had to be after the car that just passed me who must have been traveling at least 50mph. Then 'bleep bleep' they sounded their not-siren, but whatever that 'bleep bleep' alert is called and then announced thru loudspeaker to pull over. I did. I don't recall the specifics anymore but they told me I should not be so far in the roadway and needed to stay in the shoulder. When I politely started to explain why I was riding where I was for my safety and the shoulder was not ridable I felt strongly intimidated and told that I could obey them and go onward or they could arrest me now so I could explain to a judge (I swear I remember hearing the word arrest although in retrospect I am not sure if it was ticket or arrest). Meanwhile two other sheriff vehicles pulled up and there were four deputies standing around me, some stayed in their vehicle. There was also a lot of questioning of why I was there, what I was doing, why was I so far from home, etc. I mentioned I was with a group and they wanted to know the name of the group and if we had a permit. (there were only about 10 of us spread out as some, like me, decided to add bonus miles, hence the rest of the group being ahead)

Frankly I just wanted to get on with it and catch my friends ahead of me so I wouldn't have to ride the 50mi home alone. So I said OK and after they all left I went on my way 3-4' into the roadway and caught up with my friends at the meet up spot. I felt bad on one hand about not escalating this, but on the other I did not want all the extra hassle in my life at that time having a newborn, etc.

At the end of a long ride, a friend and I made a left turn toward a park in a residential neighborhood. We were both pretty exhausted ( I may have been getting close to a "bonk" or "hitting the wall" ) from several hours in the saddle and lots of climbing, especially this last one. I knew that the road we were turning on was a no-entry road, but, somehow, that knowledge wasn't "available to" me at the time ... I blanked out and forgot. A police officer was driving the correct way on the road. He stopped his car, threw the door open, got out, and yelled "Gentlemen! That sign back there says 'do not enter!' If you're going to enter, get on the sidewalk!" I think it's illegal to ride on the sidewalk - if it isn't, it should be. We got on the sidewalk until the officer turned at the end of the road, and then back into the road way. Then I thought about the situation, and went home. ( To my credit, though, the street wasn't one way; if you live there and started your journey in a driveway, you can legally drive in either direction. )

The cyclists were entirely at fault this time, and the officer was pretty charitable in his response. This has helped to cement my opinion that police, at least in urban areas, have very little interest in enforcing laws that have anything to do with cyclists.

Wow! That is the best lane positioning / law enforcement officer story I have ever read.

More details on that incident are provided here: http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?p=11177014#post11177014

I was riding on a two lane state highway in the sprawling Arkansas metropolis of Menifee. The speed limit is 45 mph within the town limits, and it is vigorously enforced by the two man police department. I was in between the tire tracks trying to encourage the trucks from an excavation contractor to give me more space as they passed. One officer passed me going the opposite direction just as I entered the town limits and waved at me to move right. I kept going, and he turned around and turned his lights on. He gave me a lecture on how it wasn't safe to be in the road because no one was looking for me and that I should be on the shoulder because someone had been hit recently riding "correctly" on the shoulder. He didn't seem to be aware the dissonance in what he was saying. I said "Ok," made a really big circle around where a gravel driveway intersected the road and continued in the shoulder for another 100 yards until I was out of the town. Once out of the town, I went back to riding where I was in the road. On my way home I passed through the same town, and I stayed in the center of the lane. I didn't see the cop again.

I was in college and loved to run yellow>red lights, ride fast and take chances. A cop pulled me over and told me I was being crazy, that he had seen lots of dead bodies, and that I could be one of them if I wasn't more careful. He never even threatened to ticket me or do anything else. I had no doubt that I deserved the warning and lecture, but I doubt that I was significantly more careful after that day until I got a bit older. Not his fault, of course.

I amazingly enough got a speeding ticket, it was my bad i passed a cop going down a hill he got me 42 in a 30, i was gonna fight it but felt it would be easier to just pay it and forget about it.

I amazingly enough got a speeding ticket, it was my bad i passed a cop going down a hill he got me 42 in a 30, i was gonna fight it but felt it would be easier to just pay it and forget about it.That is called a "Badge of Honor", not harassment.

I amazingly enough got a speeding ticket, it was my bad i passed a cop going down a hill he got me 42 in a 30, i was gonna fight it but felt it would be easier to just pay it and forget about it.

You need to post this story in the road forum, and watch a cult form around you.

Yes but it was my own fault. Cost me $350

That is called a "Badge of Honor", not harassment.
Nothing special about downhill speeding tickets. Get a ticket on flat ground in a 35 zone then start talking.

Just two encounters, both 'my fault'. Once some officers in a police car told me to get on the bike path (There wasn't any sign indicating that a bike path started of course).
The other time I wanted to go left on a multi-lane intersection with separate lights: the left pointing arrow was red and the general one was green. I only noticed the green one of course and got asked by a policeman if 'I was nuts'.
(These types of setups have been made illegal since; if one light has arrows they all need to have them, meaning I'm probably not as stupid as he thought I was.)

Once for running too many stop signs... early in the morning... Officer said "one or two he could handle, but the third one was just too much." It was very early in the morning... and the area was really asleep. I was loaded for touring and just did not want to stop for each one of these one block stops. The officer was right of course. I got a warning.

The other incident was quite similar to the Reed Bates incident... except I was ON THE SHOULDER. I was on interstate 10, just west of Tucson... Arizona Highway Patrol (or whatever they are called) pulled me over and told me I couldn't be on the freeway and suggested the frontage road. I told him the frontage road kept ending, leaving me in the middle of nowhere. He suggested the next exit would take me all the way to Tucson and that I should have no further problem.

Actually the stop was way more classic than I described... The officer got out of his car and put on his "smokey hat" and approached me and said: Ya ever had a ticket in Arizona son..." "You're about to git one." It was really classic... right out of the movies. We talked for a while and when he discovered I was touring and was only 3 days out of CA, he softened a bit and suggested the safer route. He followed me for a short while after I took off, and then blurted my speed and then he took off. ("you're doing 13 son, have a good day..." )

The only other time I have dealt with a LEO while biking was when I spent the night in the Bisbee AZ jail... but that's another story... and hardly harassment. I needed a place to stay, and they had room.

I gotta say that attitude plays a big part in how one is treated by LEOs... and as I have suggested in the Reed Bates thread... I really thought Reed was "baiting" the officer... which is why he was eventually "hauled in."

I amazingly enough got a speeding ticket, it was my bad i passed a cop going down a hill he got me 42 in a 30, i was gonna fight it but felt it would be easier to just pay it and forget about it.


That is called a "Badge of Honor", not harassment.

Exactly... you're supposed to frame those!

I stopped at a light to tell a woman who'd buzzed and beeped me that she'd done so at an angled RR xing. She proceeded to drive her Volkswagen into my knee and someone called the police on my behalf. Unfortunately, another woman who also hates cyclists wrote a statement to the police that I had "swerved" (...at an angled RR xing...)

The cop threatened to arrest me for disturbing the peace, a class B misdemeanor. Not sure how convictions and teaching work, but I'd have possibly lost my job as a teacher. For getting intentionally hit by a car.

I amazingly enough got a speeding ticket, it was my bad i passed a cop going down a hill he got me 42 in a 30, i was gonna fight it but felt it would be easier to just pay it and forget about it.

My goal in life is to get a speeding ticket on my bike. If that happened to me, I'd would retire from this silly sport and spend all my time on internet forums talking about it.

I've ridden in a paddywagon, handcuffed through the bars (bmx) and held for 4 hours in a cell. For riding on the sidewalk. I was made an example of to spook some skateboarders who were causing a nuisance where I was.

Long story short it was BS. Even looking at it know 15 years later with wiser eyes I was right to demand to know the officer's name and what exactly I was being charged with. Considering I'm an absolute teetotaller, the drug comments and search was a clear indicator of their incompetence.

I lost a lot of respect for the Victoria police that night.

I needed a place to stay, and they had room.

A wonderful way to look at it. I'll try that on the next residentially-challenged fellow I send to jail.

I was traveling on this road at just about this location:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=arizona&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=38.092988,58.271484&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Arizona&ll=33.56761,-111.544704&spn=0.008868,0.028453&z=15&layer=c&cbll=33.567619,-111.544688&panoid=as0UwomKySXAdfPc_n-vCQ&cbp=12,180.44,,0,-0.16

I was riding about 4' to the left of the fog line a bit over 30mph down grade (posted 35mph road)

A car passed me going very fast, but with good clearance. Shortly after Maricopa County sheriff car came up behind me and I noticed the light bar on, I moved a bit further right about 1' from fog line, maybe slowed a bit so as to let them get on with it - I figured they had to be after the car that just passed me who must have been traveling at least 50mph. Then 'bleep bleep' they sounded their not-siren, but whatever that 'bleep bleep' alert is called and then announced thru loudspeaker to pull over. I did. I don't recall the specifics anymore but they told me I should not be so far in the roadway and needed to stay in the shoulder. When I politely started to explain why I was riding where I was for my safety and the shoulder was not ridable I felt strongly intimidated and told that I could obey them and go onward or they could arrest me now so I could explain to a judge (I swear I remember hearing the word arrest although in retrospect I am not sure if it was ticket or arrest). Meanwhile two other sheriff vehicles pulled up and there were four deputies standing around me, some stayed in their vehicle. There was also a lot of questioning of why I was there, what I was doing, why was I so far from home, etc. I mentioned I was with a group and they wanted to know the name of the group and if we had a permit. (there were only about 10 of us spread out as some, like me, decided to add bonus miles, hence the rest of the group being ahead)

Frankly I just wanted to get on with it and catch my friends ahead of me so I wouldn't have to ride the 50mi home alone. So I said OK and after they all left I went on my way 3-4' into the roadway and caught up with my friends at the meet up spot. I felt bad on one hand about not escalating this, but on the other I did not want all the extra hassle in my life at that time having a newborn, etc.

That roadway has no shoulder.

I amazingly enough got a speeding ticket, it was my bad i passed a cop going down a hill he got me 42 in a 30, i was gonna fight it but felt it would be easier to just pay it and forget about it.
There is a steep little hill near my house that is impossible to keep at/under 30 (the posted limit) in a car or on a bike without really riding the brakes. Cops sit at the bottom and write tickets all the time. It's a total speed trap and the only reason to have it at 30 is to write tickets. Anyway, I always slow down in my car, but it never occurred to me to go slow on a bike. My canned excuse to cops (I haven't had to try it yet) is that whatever laws I break when cycling I'm only doing so that I can get the hell off this dangerous part of roadway as quickly as possible. Playing up the safety angle seems like the only reasonable strategy, but like I said, I haven't had a chance to try it. Oh, and yes, I do routinely break some traffic laws when I feel like they're a bit ridiculous. I have never had a problem with cops when doing that.

I gotta say that attitude plays a big part in how one is treated by LEOs... and as I have suggested in the Reed Bates thread... I really thought Reed was "baiting" the officer... which is why he was eventually "hauled in."
:roflmao2:

That roadway has no shoulder.
Yeah, exactly! The deputy did insist I stay on the right side of the white line. Repeatedly.

only while breaking laws! otherwise, no.

Cyclists have the right to operate FRAP in the lanes in this state, I've ridden other states and haven't had a problem yet.

I stop and harass a few every chance I get; they're the ones that used to be on bike patrol until they cracked too many frames. I think it was the department's less-than-subtle attempt to do something about a patrol force that's >50% obese.

One of them was watching the traffic around me as I went through a 20MPH school zone Monday, but most likely watching for the people who feel they just have to pass a bike even if it's going 22 in a 20. Apparently that was one of their favorite tricks when they had the bikes, since their jerseys had plain backs.

A wonderful way to look at it. I'll try that on the next residentially-challenged fellow I send to jail.

It was totally voluntary... I rode into town and asked the local cop where a good place to camp was, or if he would recommend a hotel... this was right at dusk so my options were getting slimmer by the minute. He suggested that camping wasn't too safe in the area due to the proximity of the border... and told me that the local hotel was full of bird watchers. He called HQ and then told me he had a solution. He offered the cell. I could put up my gear, clean up, and then go eat, but when I came back I would be locked in till morning, for my protection.

Sounded OK to me. There was indeed a belligerent drunk, later on, in the next cell.

That evening I went out, had a good steak dinner at the hotel ("full of people..." and indeed it was) and then went back and was locked in. Cell was opened before I was awake in the morning. I got up, thanked them and had coffee with the officer on duty... then went on my way down the road.

The Officer that offered the cell told me to tell folks that I had just spent the night in the oldest jail in Arizona. I've been back since... it is now an antique shop... new jail is down the road. Bisbee has since become something of an art community... was rather run down and dusty when I was there the first time. Cool little town, interesting history.

The old jail was in the heart of Bisbee, right down the street from the Copper Queen hotel... I've stayed in the Copper Queen since, too. OK place, if you're into historic old hotels.

Really, all I did was spend the night...

Oh, in case you're wondering... I've been to the Yuma Territorial Prison too... just didn't spend the night there. ;)

I got stopped cuz I was watching the stop lights and knew mine was about to turn green. I started forward a bit so I could clip in and be ready by the time it changed. A cop said I ran the red light. Technically he was right.

A few, though generally polite and positive conversations ensued.

One came while cycling on shoulder of Interstate 25 about nine miles south of the WY/CO border. Cycling is legal and the shoulder is 10ft and there aren't too many other routes. I was heading southbound at about 7am on my recumbent bicycle after deciding to cut short a weekend tour (too much wind). As I approached mile marker 291, there was a truck that had ridden off the highway and rolled. The trucker was out of his truck, standing there as well as two Colorado state troopers with their vehicles parked on far side of shoulder.

I figured they had their hands full, so as I approached I moved to left edge of shoulder and just intended to cycle past. However as I got close, one of the state troopers yelled out "Get off the interstate!". So, I stopped. I politely explained that the CO bicycle map indicated this was legal, that back at mile marker 293 was a yellow diamond caution bicycles sign, and ahead at exit 288 was a small sign saying "bicycles must exit". I was a civil conversation and he must have thought I knew what I was talking about, so he also apologized and said "in seven years as a trooper I haven't seen anyone out here".

The other two police interactions I can think of, I had I was doing something wrong and was politely reminded. One was in Xinjiang, province China where I was cycling on the interstate equivalent highway despite No bicycles symbols (mostly because I didn't fully trust my send of directions on the small roads). I moved to the side road after being reminded.

The other example was one where I made a right turn after a stop sign - but also briefly paused looking left for other fellow cyclists. I wasn't paying attention as much as I should and actually pulled out not too far from a police car coming from the left. He turned on his lights, stopped me and said "what was that!". I was in the wrong, apologized and indicated I wasn't paying as much attention as I should. His verbal admonishment must have been enough because he let me go at that.

Nah, they never hassle me... at least not yet. And I've run a few reds in front of them (didn't see them until well out into the intersection kind of thing). Then again... a good sized contingent of the local police

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e341/Doohickie/09BikeToWorkDay/100_3937.jpg

ride bikes too.

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e341/Doohickie/09BikeToWorkDay/100_3945.jpg

Not even a "stop", per se, more an "admonition". On my way to work, on the sidewalk of a one-way street. Side note: local ordinance prohibits sidewalk riding where the building directly abuts the sidewalk; in this case, there was no abutting building. Normally I would hop off and walk it on this stretch, or park further up and walk, or circle 'round the block "the right way", but (1) there were no peds around and (2) I was hurrying to get to my office to respond to a problem. Cop was walking the other way and "signaled" for me to get off and walk. I complied, and just walked fast. It would've taken more time to explain to him that it was legal for me to ride where I was riding. I also didn't bother to explain to him that I was hurrying to fix a problem with the program that processes his payroll check (which is exactly why I was hurrying); that would've been just tacky.

My goal in life is to get a speeding ticket on my bike. If that happened to me, I'd would retire from this silly sport and spend all my time on internet forums talking about it.

indeed. i would have been quite pleased with a cycling speeding ticket. however, i just found out that you can't get a speeding ticket on a bike where i live. apparently, the highway traffic act specifies "motor vehicle" with regard to speeding.

and, no, i've never been stopped by the police (yet). although one time i thought i was going to have to stop and challenge an officer who almost directed a car to come out into my path where the exit from the boulevard club crosses a bike path i was on.

j

No.

I did have a LAPD Motorcycle officer take off like a bat out of hell after a car that made an illegal right turn against a red that forced me to take evasive action and also resulted in a rather loud explicitive.

Some police around Baltimore think cyclists can only ride on the sidewalk (illegal here) and I get comments to that effect from time to time. Once while riding ~35mph on a 35mph road a cop runs out between cars and starts waving me down. (Good thing I can do an emergency stop otherwise him or me would have been laid out flat on the ground as I had little time to react.) He then orders me to ride on the sidewalk and I told him I would be happy to but that I needed to confirm first that he was asking me to ride in both an unsafe and illegal manner. He just walked off shaking his head and doing some sort of arm motion.

All my interactions with local city police have been very positive.

Thus far, I've never been stopped or harassed by the police

I had this CHIP Officer yell at me as I rode past.
Turned around to ask what he said.

21 mph He said:

Nice guy

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh187/10wheels/IMG_5909.jpg

I've been stopped once and when I told the cop who was off duty at the time that we did have the right to take the lane. It was his opinion that we didn't and he threatened to "seize" my bike on right there on the spot. He also started his tirade by saying that me and the bicycling groups needed to. . .Trailing off, then identified himself as being a Traffic Homicide cop and that he was "tired of 'cleaning' us up off the road." Then he goes on to mention another cyclist by name who had racked up somewhere in the neighborhood of 70 - 80 moving violations in a 7 - 8 year period.

As I'd said in several other threads, there was something about the demeanor of the officer and even though I dismounted my bike. I stayed standing over it straddling the top bar. He had also flashed his badge very quickly from the driver/traffic side of his car where I had no way of being able to tell exactly what kind of badge it was.

The next time it was a female officer who was in the left lane on a road with two lanes in each direction just pointing to the right side of the road. Then a couple of weeks after that I had a male officer get on their PA system and instruct me to either ride the sidewalk or further to the right. The irony in the second case is that the cop and me were the only traffic on the road at that particular time, and I was well lit up. So any cars coming up from behind me would have known that I was in front of them.

Also in the second case, given that I was in the right side tire track I'm thinking that the cop thought that I should have been either riding in the gutter pan, and/or hugging the curb.

I amazingly enough got a speeding ticket, it was my bad i passed a cop going down a hill he got me 42 in a 30, i was gonna fight it but felt it would be easier to just pay it and forget about it.

'sides that, think of the bragging rights (with proof!) you have. You got a speeding ticket on a bike. :lol:

There is a steep little hill near my house that is impossible to keep at/under 30 (the posted limit) in a car or on a bike without really riding the brakes. Cops sit at the bottom and write tickets all the time. It's a total speed trap and the only reason to have it at 30 is to write tickets. Anyway, I always slow down in my car, but it never occurred to me to go slow on a bike. My canned excuse to cops (I haven't had to try it yet) is that whatever laws I break when cycling I'm only doing so that I can get the hell off this dangerous part of roadway as quickly as possible. Playing up the safety angle seems like the only reasonable strategy, but like I said, I haven't had a chance to try it. Oh, and yes, I do routinely break some traffic laws when I feel like they're a bit ridiculous. I have never had a problem with cops when doing that.

See the local municipal council (or whatever the appropriate authority is) about getting that road surveyed. I guarantee that if they do it, the limit will go up.

Never

I've been stopped twice in the last five years, but I wouldn't call either case harassment. Being retired military I enjoy talking to law enforcement, and firefighters, and EMS, etc. In both cases the LEO just didn't know. I simply respectfully quoted parts of 316.2065 and the "Florida Bicycle Law Enforcement Guide". Haven't been stopped twice by the same LEO even though I've been riding these same highways in the same way for half a decade.

On my old commute back on Okinawa a LEO once signaled that I should slow down, but he didn't try to stop me. And I was deliberately and blatantly speeding. As I recall the speed limit on that particular down-hill stretch was either 40 or 50 kph and I was somewhere north of 60. :o

I take that back. I did stop again once for the first LEO that stopped me here, but that wasn't a case of him stopping me. I was a case of both of us stopping for a brief "Hey, g'mornin'." "How's it goin'?" while traveling in opposite directions on an empty and dark highway. Him working, me on my way to work.

See the local municipal council (or whatever the appropriate authority is) about getting that road surveyed. I guarantee that if they do it, the limit will go up.
I doubt they would do it because it's a very small municipality and they probably want the speeding ticket revenue. There is actually a law in TX that limits the amount of revenue that a municipality smaller than a certain size (something like 5k residents) can generate from traffic tickets. If more than something like 30% of their gross revenue comes from traffic tix revenue, everything over that amount gets forfeited to the state. There was a story in the local paper a while back about a small town that is in deep debt to the state for violating this law.

Considering how this is a real problem in TX, I doubt that any municipality would do anything to limit their revenue.

Just once, for running a red. I had, indeed, run the red, as it was 8 am on Sunday and there was no traffic around: usual cyclist excuses. No ticket, just a warning. Cop was polite, we had a little chat, and I went on.

The only time I've been stopped was back in college, around 1974. I was cycling back to campus early one Sunday morning from my summer job working the graveyard shift at a grocery store. I was zipping down the empty streets when the light ahead of me turned red. Since there was no one else in sight I blew the light.

There was a cop hiding behind a billboard who pulled me over. He gave me a warning ticket and told me to "be more careful". I don't remember that I did.

My sole experience with my local PD is HERE (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?362150-Is-it-still-called-honking-...&highlight=honking). Please note that this is only one incident, and I have been escorted by that very same PD out to the town limits on many "large group" occasions - so I don't think it's a town thing - more like a "I got shift change in 5 minutes" thing.

I have only ever been pulled over for breaking laws, so it is difficult to justify it as "harassment"- Until the officer goes above and beyond the call of duty: giving me a ticket and getting out of my life.

One time, about 2 years ago, I racked up approx $1000 in fines with a cop behind me: No helmet, run 2 red lights, Ride without due care and attention(Ipod), No headlight, No tail light, and lastly failure to stop when the lights came on. I was also probably close to or just over the legal limit for alcohol, but that never came into it.

I was having my conversation with the passenger officer, and I was being very amicable: no, I didn't have any excuses for running the red lights other than their was no cross traffic at that hour of night, and my headlight/taillight had been recently stolen. I was expecting a fine for at least one of my multitude of offences, and had adopted my usual, friendly "my bad, but I don't really care" attitude. Things were going normally untill they brought up my police record (note: not a criminal record. I have none.) and commented that "a lot of people didn't like me"- At which point I tried to read what was on the computer screen. They didn't like that. especially the officer in the drivers seat, who had repeatedly been interjecting into the conversation with the other officer with little lines like "you need to wear a helmet!" or whatever. At this point, after the computer incident they had directed me to sit down on the curb, and the driver officer said "what you need to do is obey the Motor Vehicle Act", To which I replied, not quite under my breath "What you need to do is F*ck off and Die."...... And I only got one ticket, for running a red light, and it didn't even go through so I never had to pay it. Lucky me!

I was riding on a controlled access road (that is legal for bicyclists to use). The police officer, sitting in the car, signaled for me to stop. I stopped on the driver side which was my mistake because of traffic that sped past me on my left was closer.
He mentioned that bicycles were not legal on this road and I needed to get off at the next exit.
I reminded him that bicycles were legally able to use this road (pedestrians and horses were not) and for him to check regs. This is state freeway route 55 in NJ.
He stated for me to ride safely, end of event!
Kind of scary why law inforcers are unaware of the road rules/regs!

I was traveling on this road at just about this location:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=arizona&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=38.092988,58.271484&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Arizona&ll=33.56761,-111.544704&spn=0.008868,0.028453&z=15&layer=c&cbll=33.567619,-111.544688&panoid=as0UwomKySXAdfPc_n-vCQ&cbp=12,180.44,,0,-0.16

I was riding about 4' to the left of the fog line a bit over 30mph down grade (posted 35mph road)

A car passed me going very fast, but with good clearance. Shortly after Maricopa County sheriff car came up behind me and I noticed the light bar on, I moved a bit further right about 1' from fog line, maybe slowed a bit so as to let them get on with it - I figured they had to be after the car that just passed me who must have been traveling at least 50mph. Then 'bleep bleep' they sounded their not-siren, but whatever that 'bleep bleep' alert is called and then announced thru loudspeaker to pull over. I did. I don't recall the specifics anymore but they told me I should not be so far in the roadway and needed to stay in the shoulder. When I politely started to explain why I was riding where I was for my safety and the shoulder was not ridable I felt strongly intimidated and told that I could obey them and go onward or they could arrest me now so I could explain to a judge (I swear I remember hearing the word arrest although in retrospect I am not sure if it was ticket or arrest). Meanwhile two other sheriff vehicles pulled up and there were four deputies standing around me, some stayed in their vehicle. There was also a lot of questioning of why I was there, what I was doing, why was I so far from home, etc. I mentioned I was with a group and they wanted to know the name of the group and if we had a permit. (there were only about 10 of us spread out as some, like me, decided to add bonus miles, hence the rest of the group being ahead)

Frankly I just wanted to get on with it and catch my friends ahead of me so I wouldn't have to ride the 50mi home alone. So I said OK and after they all left I went on my way 3-4' into the roadway and caught up with my friends at the meet up spot. I felt bad on one hand about not escalating this, but on the other I did not want all the extra hassle in my life at that time having a newborn, etc.

I would hope that Maricopa County Sherriff Joe Arapaio(well-known for methods of containing prisoners) would instruct his deputies to not pull a stunt like that.

Once when the battery in my tail light pooped out. I was grateful to be informed of this.

There have been some noteworthy enforcement cases here relating to lane position. Fortunately this has not happened to me yet. The cycling community here is working constructively to educate the police regarding cyclist rights and best practices, so I expect a reduction in such incidents. Now if they would just step up enforcement for the ninja salmon.

Harassed was a poor word choice on my part when titling this thread, but in my defense I did write stopped or harassed, not stopped and harassed, as a few seem to be reading it. I was trying to come up with a word for the times a police officer may have addressed you in some manner without actually stopping you. As many have noted, true harassment of cyclists seems fairly rare, and I would agree.

Personally, I have never been stopped or addressed by an officer while cycling, but reading some of the stories here has me expecting it eventually. I rarely break laws, but often ride near the center of the lane. I make a point of waving to police whenever practical, and sometimes they wave back. I am always happy to see them on my route, as they seem to have a magical effect on motorist behavior. :lol: (in the immediate area anyway)

Once, when a major intersection was shut down because of a serious car wreck, I asked the officer at the blockade if it was ok for me to ride through. He said sure, go ahead, while requiring all the motorists to turn around!