Hains Point is something of a peaceful getaway for the area’s cyclists and runners — generally free from vehicular traffic, the 3-mile loop also known as East Potomac Park is flat and affords views of the Washington Channel and the Potomac River. And while the park is nowhere near any of the city’s office buildings or monuments, one cyclist recently learned not to assume that the U.S. Park Police that patrols it isn’t sensitive to perceived security threats.

I rode my bike down to Hains Point yesterday around 6 p.m. to do a few laps, only to be informed as I approached that the park had been shut down to all traffic. Not wanting to pick a fight with Park Police officers over what seemed like an arbitrary and unexplained end to my day, I turned around and rode back home alongside a number of other cyclists who were equally miffed. This morning, though, I found out that it was actually someone I had planned to meet in the park who was responsible for the shutdown. He wrote:

I went there straight from work so I had my bag with me. I didn’t want to do laps with my bag so I locked it to a fence post. I got back on the bike and saw [name redacted] almost immediately. We did a lap and then found that the road was closed when we got back to the top of the loop. We did a few more laps and then decided to leave. I went to get my bag and it was gone. I went to the park police to report it stolen. It turns out that my bag was the reason they shut down the street. They had come in to “clear” my bag. I guess they thought I was trying to blow up a random part of Hains Point. I did get my bag back and didn’t get arrested.

Let this serve as reminder for all you cyclists and runners out there — security is security, whether in front of a federal building or in an isolated park.