Trouble in the Hamptons

So Helen and I were cycling through Southampton for the very first time, curious of what the hub bub was all about – and we get stopped by a young gentleman in a light blue shirt telling us that we have to dismount our Bromptons because it’s illegal in the town center to ride a bicycle! Of course, we were dumbfounded at first; eventually, we became extremely disturbed.

The police officer told us it was very dangerous for us to be biking there. I mentioned I bike in Manhattan daily. He insisted we dismount and walk our bikes. It just didn’t seem worth the trouble to mount an impromptu civil disobedience action – we were on a fun day-trip, for goodness’ sake – so instead we stewed for a bit and then soldiered on to Shelter Island with the help of a route provided by a friendly local organic farmer sited at one of the farm stands in the town car park for the Sunday Farmers’ Market.

Suffice it to write we won’t be returning to the Hamptons any time soon. Shelter Island? That’s a different story . . .

The sign indicating the ban on all human powered conveyances in town