California Highway Patrol and San Francisco Police Department officers thwarted nearly 100 bike riders from “taking over” the Bay Bridge on Saturday, the two agencies announced.
In a minute-long video shared on the agencies’ social media accounts, dozens of bicyclists can be seen racing through downtown San Francisco, swerving around cars and popping wheelies. In a Sunday post, CHP said that the bicyclists were riding “recklessly on city streets” and getting dangerously close to pedestrians, posing a safety risk for everyone involved. Eventually, the group traveled up the exit ramp on Harrison Street and made it to the bridge, where they were greeted by several officers, who issued citations, footage shows.
“Do you see where you are right now?” one officer said to a cyclist. “You’re on a freeway!”
“What we saw yesterday was not harmless fun,” said CHP San Francisco-area Capt. Tim McCollister in the post. “This is no place for games or risky behavior. Riding the wrong way on the freeway poses a serious danger not only to cyclists but also to the motoring public traveling at freeway speeds.”
Over the years, several mass rideouts have disrupted travelers on the Bay Bridge, drawing the ire of officials and residents alike because they can seriously disrupt traffic — although some sponsored rideouts have been celebrated in the past. In 2017, NFL star Marshawn Lynch hosted a massive rideout in Oakland, SFGATE previously reported, bringing hundreds of joyous riders together in the East Bay.
Eighty-five people were detained, cited and released on Saturday, CHP said. Footage and photos show an SPFD-branded truck hauling dozens of technicolored bikes away.