D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty’s obsession with physical fitness may be about to get him into trouble with his constituents. It seems that when he’s out training with his cycling team, D.C. Velo, the mayor has been using a large motorcycle police escort that allow him to both flaunt traffic regulations and tie up traffic, WTOP’s Mark Segraves is reporting. WTOP spotted Fenty and his team as they “rode on parkways where bikes aren’t permitted, ran red lights and stop signs and created traffic backups wherever they went.” These rides reportedly occur during weekday business hours, and there’s evidence that they are responsible for a large amount of police overtime hours spent doing nothing but waiting for the mayor to show up for his ride. Plus, there’s video!
Best part of the story? This narrative about Fenty spotting the WTOP news crew and attempting to dodge them:
Last month, Fenty spotted WTOP with a video camera as he rode along Rock Creek Parkway. Minutes late, as Fenty and his teammates rode along the parkway, the mayor darted across the road and onto the bike path, where he dismissed the police escort and took off through the woods.
A few days later, when WTOP caught up with the mayor and his bike team again, they had moved their training ride to Bethesda, where more than 20 cyclists – along with a D.C. Police escort – tied up traffic along Goldsboro Road, MacArthur Boulevard and other major roadways.