On Sunday my friend Susan and I cut through Union Square Park on our bicycles. It was a beautiful almost too joy filled day on the first gorgeous weekend of the year. It was great to be on bikes, until...near the east end of the park a woman stood in my way, not saying anything, just looking at me like I should know what was up. She asked if we knew that it was illegal to ride a bike in the park. We didn't. Didn't we see the signs? No.

It quickly became clear that she was a pig, and that she and the rest of her sounder had set up a trap to raise money, maybe for NYC's $1 million (Robert Livingstone, "The 100-Day Countdown Under Way," the New York Sun, March 30, 2005: page 2.) Olympic bid. Or maybe, just to drive home the city's message that bicycles are not welcome here. Especially in Union Square.

Did I mention that the ticket is for $50? I'm going to fight it, of course. The nice officers were kind enough to point out the signs that we missed. I can't imagine how. The whole sign is about a foot tall, and there are plenty of other don'ts on it. The font size is about 16 or something. Like you're supposed to be able to read that while you're riding!

Come on down for some court solidarity on July 27 at 8:30am. Legal advice accepted. Jenna

And ride in Critical Mass!

SEE ALSO: Rad Ref bikes page