Mention “bike gang” and, for most people, images of burly, bearded, tattooed (How many more past participle adjectives can I use?) men come to mind.
Some folks in Plymouth, Massachusetts want to put a stop to one. And it’s not because the “bikers” are breaking the sabbath—although I’d bet that some are playing loud music.
I doubt those bikers have beards or tattoos because, well, they’re middle school pupils. And the bikes they’re riding aren’t Harleys, Triumphs or “rice rockets.”
Some residents, however, fell as menaced by those boys on bicycles as they might by a pack of motorcycles thundering down their streets. The boys—whom police describe as members of a school “bicycle gang.”—allegedly buzz by pedestrians on sidewalks and stall traffic by riding—and popping wheelies—in front of cars.
I think the real reason why the cops want to fine the kids (or their parents) is not so much for their behavior. (What kid hasn’t popped a wheelie?) ln fact, the feelings of some parents were echoed by one who “enjoys” seeing the kids. Rather, I think people’s concerns lie with their kids performing stunts in traffic and disrupting or endangering people—whether pedestrians, drivers or other cyclists—who are simply navigating their days.
