Radfahren Verboten!

Took a ride over the pedestrian bridge, but instead of heading towards work I took a left and headed toward the Heartland Of America Park. The centerpiece of the park is a small lake (or large pond, if you prefer), with a nice fountain smack dab in the middle. Since it was 70 degrees again today, the fountain was in full spew.

I upgraded my cell phone yesterday. It's an LG Dare, a super nice touch screen phone and yes, I like it a lot! The phone includes an excellent 3 megapixel camera with an LED flash, so I decided I'd try it out on my ride today. And what better bike to take on a photo tour than my trusty orange Quickbeam.

As I looped around the 'pond', I noticed the path really wasn't built to accomodate bicyclists. Lots of twists and turns, 90 degree bends, etc. But there were other cyclists riding the path so I really didn't give it a second thought. Here are a couple of photos I snapped using the fountain as background:

A nice fountain shot with QB in foreground

A shot from another location and angle, with a nice view of the bike, some great fall colors, fountain in background, my left leg, and my right foot. Ansel Adams, I'm not.

...and, another shot same as the first, but at a different angle

Note the prominent sign to the right of the picture...

BIKING
PROHIBITED

I didn't really notice any signs when I hopped on this loop around the pond. And there were other bikers on the path, and I also didn't notice any bike path police...at least not in the general vicinity. I envisioned Omaha bike cops chasing me down, one hand on the handlebars and the other clutching a taser gun. Spread eagle against a tree in the park, patted down, cuffed and stuffed. Was there video surveillance in the area? I started to feel a bit paranoid about big brother watching, writing me out a big fat ticket and corresponding fine.

I felt bad about breaking the law, at least briefly. But then I felt a twinge of indignation. What's wrong with biking on the pond path? Maybe the pond path was meant for walkers and not bikers, but I felt a bit discriminated against. And why was the pond path designed for walkers only, and not cyclists as well?

And another thing, they call the new bridge the Bob Kerrey PEDESTRIAN bridge, not the Bob Kerry Pedestrian and Cycling Bridge. So am I banned from riding there as well?

Then my wave of angry paranoia passed. It was Sunday, nobody cared and neither did I. The Five Man Electrical Band tucked their hair back under their hats again looking like fine upstanding young men, and we finished our ride :>))

-Dwight