Berkley, MA

Later during the day on Saturday, we got to the town of Berkley, MA. Now, I know that we were probably toward the rear of the group, and maybe the town had had some issues with some of the earlier riders blocking traffic or something like that (if they didn't, well, then that town must just be plain evil). But as we were pedaling along, suddenly there was a motorcycle cop standing on the side of the road about a foot and a half out from the edge of the pavement. His feet were spread, hands pointing to the LITTLE space between him & the edge of the road, and we was yelling at every rider that passed him - "THIS IS WHERE YOU BELONG - ANYONE CAUGHT RIDING DOUBLE WILL BE ISSUED A CITATION". I can actually understand why he would do this, as I get really upset at cyclists who lollygag along riding double - it isn't safe. And it makes passing them even more dangerous, whether you are a cyclist or a automobile driver. AND when you are a cyclist behind the guys riding double, all the cars that can't pass them are stuck next to you, putting you in danger - you never know when a pothole will pop up and you'll be stuck between, say, a moving vehicle and a giant tree trunk or stone wall.

However, the manner in which this officer chose to issue his direction was a) offensive and b) dangerous. This was not a tall guy, and you could not see him standing there above the helmet of the rider in front of you. I saw several cyclists who were forced to swerve out into the road to avoid hitting him because he came up so suddenly. It was completely unsafe - in his, uh, eagerness to show us who was boss in HIS town, he was creating a very unsafe situation both for us and for him. The final straw: it was all for naught - I didn't see a SINGLE car on that nice, wide, empty road before we crossed into Freetown. The only thing that I took out of that portion of the ride is that everyone should stay the **** out of Berkley, MA. Judging from the reaction and comments I heard from other riders, they heard the same message as me: "your kind isn't welcome here." Otherwise, it looked like a nice town. Which is too bad, because the name of the town now conjures up the image of a petty motorcycle cop on a power trip.

And, for the record, I thanked every single police officer helping to direct traffic along the route. Every single solitary one, even when there were more than one at an intersection, even if they had us waiting for several minutes while they let traffic through (as they should, periodically), and even if I didn't hear them reply to anyone else who thanked them. But I did not thank the motorcycle cop in Berkley. I wont thank anyone for threatening me (or my spouse) or putting me in a potentially dangerous position. Especially not while doing a charity ride. I still can't figure out whether he volunteered to detail the ride, or was there of his own volition while on duty. I didn't dare take his photo either...