SF Police Foils Bay Bridge Bike Takeover

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — San Francisco police say they seized dozens of bicycles from cyclists trying to ride their bicycles on the Bay Bridge over the weekend.

A large group of cyclists gathered Saturday in the city with what the San Francisco Police Department says were intentions to "take over" the Bay Bridge roadway.

The cyclists rode recklessly through city streets — riding directly at moving cars and swerving in and out of traffic and coming close to striking pedestrians, police said.

The group managed to get onto the bridge by riding the wrong way up the Harrison Street off-ramp, but were met by a large number of California Highway Patrol and San Francisco Police Department officers, authorities said.

Bicycles were seized from 85 riders, police said, adding that they were each issued a citation for riding a bicycle onto a freeway.

"What we saw yesterday was not harmless fun,” CHP San Francisco Area Captain Tim McCollister said in a statement. “This is no place for games or risky behavior. Riding the wrong way on the freeway poses a serious danger not only to cyclists but also to the motoring public traveling at freeway speeds."