ON MY BIKE!!! It was quite possibly the defining moment of my cycling career. It happened like this...nice strong tailwind...slight downhill...full out sprinting...cop car is in the left line beside me (i was in the shoulder of the right lane) and I wasn't paying attention to the speed on the computer as I was trying to keep pace with his car...suddenly he swerves into the right lane and puts on his lights and almost runs me off the road. This big fat guy gets out of the car and I could tell he wasn't amused by the look on his face. He walks over to me and says:

"son, do you realize that I paced you back there at 41 mph!"
Me:"really!?!" (Secretly inside I was rejoicing because that is pretty damn fast
usually sprint in the mid 30s on this same route).

COP: "the speed limit is 30 mph....can I see your driver's license please?"
Me: I don't carrry one sir, i don't have any pockets (complete bull****, carry my license and insurance card in my seat bag)

COP: "Well i'm gonna let you off with a warning this time, but next time you are subject to a $186 fine...you need to slow it down."


I clipped back in and took off making sure to keep in right at 30 as he stayed behind me all the way to the end of the street. What a jerk!!

Congrats, man!!!

You shoulda begged for a written warning at least.

Where in Nashville?

Sweet! I would've gone for the ticket and framed it

Awesome.

Belle Meade Blvd. Out by Percy Warner Park. The cops are always out there pulling over cars but I've never seen them pull over a cyclist. I wish I had thought to get a paper copy of the warning....but I was having an amazing ride and just wanted to keep going...

Okay....you were speeding...cop pulls you over....doesn't give you a ticket...and he is a jerk.......hmmmmm.
Maybe I am just not seeing this right.

That would be worth the fine... Wonder if it would effect your insurance though...?

You have lived my dream. I usually pick up the pace in front of speed traps, but have never met their 'expectations'. Congrats. Too bad you don't have any physical trophie.

Jeez, don't Metro cops have anything better to do?

LOL...i thought i was flawed for wanting this to happen...now i realize that it is just the mindset of all of us ehh?

Really....speeding on a bike is far different than speeding in a car. If I hit another car....i'm going to die....The only person that I am endangering is myself and possibly a pedestrian or a squirrel... As far as destruction goes, a bike would do far less damage than a car going 41 mph. I've seen this same guy before and harasses alot of motorists and joggers. You can tell he really dislikes his job and dislikes what he would probably call "babysitting cyclists"

It does down here (well, points on your license). Same with running stop signs/lights, etc.

+1

not at Percy Warner!!! You know all they do out there is pull over cars and drive around in menacing numbers. I swear I don't understand why you have 5 cars patrolling a 6 mile loop. That is rediculous. You know they are really out there to watch all the hot triathlete girls on their bikes.....as am I!!!

I've secretly wished I'd be pulled over for speeding one day so I'd have a story to tell. I'm jealous!

That's when you wish you had a cell phone with picture capabilities... so you could have a passer-by take a picture for a souvenir. (Don't forget to photoshop the donut in to the cop's hand later on.)

I got nailed for doing 57 kmh in a 30 zone. That was downhill on Stanley Park drive in Vancouver. I disputed the ticket and won as the cop didn't appear to present evidence. Apparently the radar gun of the time was not accurate enough for such a small target. This success made me dispute other moving infractions, and I learned that illegal left-hand turns only require an accurate interpretation of the law. Had to pay that one!

Do you need a license to ride a bike in the US?

Ricardo

What I would like is to get a ticket in a 55mph zone...hehe...

JFC - yes, the cop was an a$$hole - he's on a f-ing bike you safety conscious freds. God. Do you guys never run red lights or roll stop signs (or have sex w/ the lights on)? A cyclist speeding is not a big deal compaired to someone in a car. You should have said "busy evening officer?" What a putz. The ticket would almost have been worth it just to go to court and rip the cop in front of a judge - however, in the south - that might not be such a good idea....

Congrats! That is awesome.

Me too!! actually, the highest i've hit is 52mph but that was on my cannondale caad 7 frame which was squirrely over 40mph. I just got a new pegoretti and it is much more stable on the downhills. I'd need a pretty big hill to top 55 though. I'll do it one of these days.

A license is not required (in most states?), but if you possess a vehicle driver's license, in many cases traffic violations on a bicycle will be counted against it whether you were in a car, truck, bicycle, walking, etc.