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He Broke the law and we all lost

© Joseph Pucci

This story was passed along to me at a ride, I was riding on the Greenbelt at the time. We'll just call him John Doe, these are his words.

"I am a conservative, middle class mountain biker. In my area on Long Island there are several excellent bike trails. I generally ride at Rocky Point, Eastport or the infamous "Greenbelt" hiking trail. Working in the city, I don't get home till about 7PM. In the winter it's dark by that time. I recently came from work and decided to go for a night ride at the DEC trail at Eastport. This is a great single-track trail owned by the DEC. The DEC requires a free permit and you must wear a helmet and eye protection. They also don't allow night riding. Everybody around here rides at night once in a while. I ride these trails year round and have never been hassled once, except a warning note on my car once for not "displaying my permit. The Eastport trail is in a rural area and is not ridden a lot. It is one of the quiet gems on Long Island. I parked in the lot and prepared for the ride. In my "rush" from home I forgot my helmet. After a twenty-minute drive I wasn't going to bail out now and Off I went. Riding at night and not wearing are helmet both "felony" DEC crimes.

About fifteen minutes into the ride a scream from behind startled me to the point I almost lost my balance, "Forest Ranger, get off the bike please!" a mountain bike police officer yelled. Nervously I got off the bike, dreading my misfortune. I never heard or saw the Ranger coming. He was riding with out a light. In the last five years I had never seen a Forest Ranger. He was pleasant and professional but I knew I was doomed. He asked for my permit, which I could not find in my camelback. He lectured me on why he was upset and made me feel guilty. By not wearing a helmet, he informed me, I was jeopardizing the trail for all the users. If I got hurt the trail could be shut down. Mountain biking although permitted was in a precarious state on DEC property due to a lawsuit. I understood his point and begged not to get a ticket. He informed me that I had three violations, no permit, no helmet and riding at night. He wrote only one ticket, for not wearing a helmet. With that the Ranger and I rode back to my car. I was still shocked I had gotten a ticket. I mean it's not like I did anything really wrong, did I? Each of us have to answer that question on our own, but on Long Island these regulations are actually enforced. Tread lightly on the DEC trails. From John Doe"