Pulled by the fuzz

You're not gonna believe this.

On a club ride out of Sheffield, into Derbyshire and back again this evening the following occured:

When we were on the road between Hathersage and Calver, just after turning right at the junction in Grindleford- we were pulled over by a police car.

I say pulled over, but what actually happened was he wound down his passenger window, turned on his blues and started screaming at us that we had to ride single file- I shouldn't need to explain that we took exception to this.

So, after some exchange of words through the window of a moving police car, he pulled over and we obliged by stopping with him to see what ill-informed gems of made up law that he had up his sleeve. And gems they were.

He started by puffing out his chest and shouting "right then, who was it that had a problem?", which was (a threatening and b) wholly uncalled for. He went on to shout and spit about the highway code saying that cyclists had to ride single file and that we were in the wrong. We all know this is bollocks and tried to point this out to him, but he'd clearly made up his mind.

He then went on to say that he had it all on camera so I asked to see it, he put it on the dashboard screen and I watched the back of a bus for 3 minutes- not a cyclist in site. Apparently we were "all over the road", even though he couldn't actually see us and we were riding 2-by-2.

Then the cracker came- what I believe is a made-up story. PC ' I am the law' recently attended a coroners hearing about a car that had made a dangerous overtake move on a blind bend and killed a kid in a car on the other side of the road that it crashed into. The nugget is that he blamed it on a cyclist on the inside that had- and I quote- "made the driver do it"!!!!!!

It was eventually diffused when we pointed out that we were actually blocking the road now and that we disagree with everything he was saying. Surely, if we'd committed an offence at least one of us would have been booked?

I think this is a simple case of someone in a car (this time a copper no less) getting frustrated at being held up and taking it out on the easiest, most vulnerable target. Us. It would be nice if they'd teach our police officers the law, so that when they attempt to relay it to unwary 'offenders' that they actually got it right.

Just another case of the abuse of perceived power and the harassment and victimization of innocent cyclists.

A complaint will be duly posted with the IPCC. If the other 4 riders would like to be included I think that will help prevent this ill-informed bully from picking on any more cyclists for taking in part in the sport that they love.

More to come........