Straight from the pig's mouth

A recent memoir by a police officer in Minnesota who did undercover surveillance of civilians planning protests the 2008 RNC. His book is full of juicy facts, and this lovely excerpt on Critical Mass is a highlight:

We met at Loring Park, straddling bikes scrounged from the police bicycle impound garage. Like the ugly, rheumy-eyed dog from the pound that nobody wanted, these were unclaimed bikes that would be auctioned off or given away. They were not in terrible shape, but neither were they modern, well cared for, or tuned up. A bike aficionado from our department lubed up the gears and checked the brakes. He probably saved our lives.

After some encouraging words from Minneapolis Police Chief Tim Dolan, we sat off on the streets of downtown Minneapolis with the Minneapolis Bike Cops as escorts. The beautiful late-August day was warm and sunny. Five hundred riders filled both lanes of traffic for about five or six city blocks. The bike cops made sure that cars sharing the roads yielded to us. Some of these drivers had to wait five minutes to wait for the entire group to pass. Forcing drivers to wait for us felt rude but hurtling down the road and upshifting through red-light intersections empowered us as we took over the streets. Maybe there was something to this Critical Mass this after all. I leaned over to Leigh who peddled beside me and whispered, "We're getting paid for this!"



Even cops can enjoy riding bikes together. Too bad NYPD can't afford to refurbish a few impounds and get the officers assigned to police the rides to shed a few pounds.

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