Guy Rides Bicycle Down I-694 During Morning Rush

When I worked in a TV newsroom, we used to say, "You just can't make this stuff up," when a particularly weird story would develop. Kind of like the guy who was stopped by the Minnesota State Patrol for riding his bike down the right lane of I-694 in New Brighton during rush hour yesterday morning. Really!

According to KARE-11, Twin Cities dispatchers began receiving 911 calls "shortly after 6 a.m. reporting that a man was riding his bicycle in the right lane of I-694 not far from the junction with I-35W."  MnDOT cameras picked up the dark image of something in the right lane, as various cars and trucks then slammed on their brakes and swerved to avoid hitting the bicycler.

The story goes on to say that responding troopers found a 58-year-old "normal, decent guy out on a bike ride," who they said honestly didn't know it wasn't legal to ride one's bike down an interstate. He wasn't cited because, the story says, troopers felt he really didn't know he was doing anything wrong.

Which I find a little hard to believe. I mean, I've been riding my bike for around 23 years now, and while I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer, even I know it's not legal to ride your bike on the interstate. Forget about whether it's legal; it's just not safe. Think about it-- you travel around 12-14 miles per hour on your bike. Traffic on the interstate is moving at about 70 miles per hour-- or higher. Does that even remotely sound like a good idea?

Here's the story KARE-11 ran on it...