Road Cycling - HELP!!!!! I "got hassled by the man" today

Today i was going to add 10 - 15 miles to a 30 mile route. I proceded out and went to a large bridge near my house called The Dames Point Bridge. this bridge is souposed to be the largest suspension bridge in the eastern hemisphere being apx 250 ft above the water. Well i successfully went over it the first time and on my return trip up the bridge a little further than 1/2 the way up the Florida Highway Patrol pulled me over. He advised me i was in violation of the law by riding on the bridge ( but i have witnessed numerous biker on the weekend on the bridge as well as seen bike races which routes go over the bridge). Then he proceded to tell me to go back down the bridge (not finish since i was so high up, or give me a ride to the other side) and find alternate means of getting over the bridge or i would be jailed for not following the warning. Due to time restrictions i could not go an alternate route or i would have done so. Thus this left me in violation of another law by having to beg a ride from a guy in a pick-up I.E. hitchhike. My question to all of you is has anything like this ever happened to you? What did you do? And does anyone the laws reguarding biking in fla.? Thus my biking route takes me over numerous bridges now and one is over the intercoastal waterway another large bridge. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE help with any input.

i got the wind taken out of my tires
Rob
:mad:
:mad:
:mad:
:mad:
:mad:

Oh by the way sorry for any gramerical errors in the post.

Angry at the world today!!! ok just FHP

Rob
:mad:
:irritated
:cry:
:fight:

well I'm not too sure of the laws, but it seems to me that the police have a little too much time on their hands if they are hassling a cyclist. (are there no drug dealers or bank robbers to go hassle?) in any rate, I don't see why riding on a bridge would be illegal, if it had been me however I would have carried my bike across just to stick it to that police officer... (or is there a law against walking on the bridge). The only advice I can give you is to try to get the laws changed so cyclists can use the bridge.

I'm not familiar with the bridge but there are some Florida bridges where cycling is prohibited. Of course it should be clearly posted. Check with the Florida Freewheelers Bike club. They have the lowdown on the bridges in question.

As for the trooper, obviously he's got some problems in the authority department. Just remember, karma is real.

Kathy

Well, my name isn't RoAdRaGeR for nothing. This stuff happens to me all the time! (check out my old Roadrage thread) I would advise you to not listen to the AUTHORITY. The coppers usually don't care if you break the cycling laws, as long as you don't cause an accident, etc. In your case I probably would have told the FHP officer to F**K OFF! Then I would have made a speedy get away on my bike, eventually hiding in the woods after getting over the bridge. I am very hot tempered when it comes to people disturbing a good bike ride! Or you should have told the officer to start cycling and stop eating so many donuts!:beer:

I replied to your e-mail NCFR69. Those damn highway troopers think they own the road. Hey, you should have not pay'd any attention to the FHP officer and just taken off on your bike. How cool would it be to see a police chase invovled with a bike!!!:D

I'm not sure what the law is in Florida, but here in Oregon, if a road is "restricted access," meaning no foot or bicycle traffic, the road has to be CLEARLY marked.

Consult the books, and if this is the case, look for the sign. If the sign is not there or is hidden, then ride the bridge again, and if a cop pulls you over, point out the lack of signage and refer him to the law on the books. That should cool him down.

You had to hitch?? You should have made him drive you. Afterall, you are in violation of the law and it is his job to remedy the situation. You cannot fly.

If no signs are present, I would be going through channels to see if that jerk was abusing his authority. Hope you got his name. There are methods available to cause internal investigations, should you find out he was in the wrong.

Had you not hitched home, how round about would your route have to have been? What are the Florida state laws about access for bikes when another route is not available? Most people here in CA do not know that, according to state law, when no other route is available, even freeway shoulders are open to bicycle traffic. There are 5,000 mile of freeways open to bicycles. Around here, if you are crazy enough, you can cycle over the Santa Cruz Mountains to the San Jose area on the Hwy 17--no bike lane, twisting mountain road, and continuous traffic racing by at 60 mph. So CA seems to guarantee the cyclists' right to get to where they want--at their own risk.

From my limited experience in FL, it seems that having access to ways over bodies of water is real important to cyclists. I'd be curious to know what cyclist access rights are there.

Rich

Yep. Somebody dropped the ball. Find out the law w/regard to the bridge, and then register a complaint where appropriate. If FL law makes the bridge restricted access and it's unmarked, complaint to the FL DOT. If it is not restricted access, complain to the FL state patrol. Even if you didn't catch the officers name, you can still point out that, apparently, there are patrolmen out there that are unfamiliar with the law. Ask them to inform the officers that patrol that bridge. (And in any case, why couldn't he help you across the bridge??)

Present your complaint calmly and logically, and ask how the situation will be addressed. Reason with the person. I've found that many of these organizations are pretty consciencious and will respond if you give them a chance. Don't assume they won't until they've shown you otherwise. So, call back in a week or two to check on the status... has the problem been remedied? How? If not, restate the issue and be persistant. You're a taxpayer. The DOT and the state patrol work for you.