Jealous Sundays

Since I can't ride on Sunday, I fill my cycling jones by watching others ride. It's mainly several different groups that come through Beach Dr. after the D.C. line into Mont. Co. I do get a kick out of watching the different types of reactions I get. As a police officer, most people assume when they see me sitting in the cruiser that I'm doing some type of enforcement. Maybe waiting for one of you lawless bikers to roll through the stop sign so I can chase you down in my pretty, white, heavily modified Impala or maybe waiting for one of you to stray from the required two-abreast law or not give the proper hand signal before making a turn. Those ones who recognize me just give the friendly wave and keep on moving.

I wish there was some kind of way you let all of you know that I am affiliated, so that you don't have to be paranoid as you cycle past or so you don't think that I'm just some lazy cop sitting in the car, eating a donut, drinking coffee and polluting the air by leaving the engine running (we have gotten that complaint before). And while those stereotypes do reign true throughout some of the department, I am one of you. Maybe I should hang my Artemis jersey from the passenger window, or get one of those cool license plate covers that says "Share the road" with a picture of a bike on it. I could leave my collection of Velonews magazines scattered about my cruiser but that wouldn't give the impression of cleanliness. But, if you look closely they are there, and sometimes I'll even go as far as having my bike in the back seat of the cruiser.

I see all the riders out early on Sundays and I wish I could be out there too, but come Tradezone, I'll be taking days off work to come lay the smackdown on the Cat 4 field.