The witness said a few moments later they noticed the cyclist “rapidly turn” his bike around and start pedalling in the opposite direction towards oncoming traffic.
In a post on Reddit, they claimed the keen rider was seen “swerving” and “being pretty reckless”.
“The kicker of this situation was there was a police car tucked away about 10m ahead doing speed camera stuff,” the witness wrote.
Police confirmed a motorways unit was carrying out speed checks on the North Western Motorway around lunchtime on Monday, near Patiki Rd.
“The officer noticed a man riding his push bike on the motorway in citybound lanes, who on seeing the unit turned around and rode back westward,” police said.
Police caught up with the man at the Te Atatū Rd on-ramp a short time later, where he was stopped and spoken to.
Police said they had a prevention discussion with the man and he was advised of the dangers of his actions.
He was then directed to the nearby North Western Cycleway and advised to use it.
Commenters on Reddit were puzzled by the incident because the cycleway was so nearby.
“Wrong bike for that, come back when you got an engine,” another wrote.
Other cyclists caught on North Western Motorway
In 2019, a cyclist was caught riding dangerously on Auckland’s Northern Motorway during peak-hour traffic.
A video of the cyclist showed him riding in the left lane, approaching the Auckland Harbour Bridge, while motorists had to change lanes to avoid hitting him.
“Cars were yelling at him, and he was yelling back, defending himself,” a witness said.
In 2017, another cyclist also took a ride on the wild side and pedalled without a helmet along the North Western Motorway.
At least 10 people called police to report that the man, in his 20s, was cycling in the bus lane of the motorway.
Sign up to The Daily H, a free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.