Special Report: Kids On Bikes To ride bikes in New Haven. Bicycles, as devices, utilize a combination of mechanics and human anatomy to create a machine that can achieve speeds undreamed of by runners, all without the use of fossil fuels. In recent years, bicycling has become the subject of popularity, both because of the rising gasoline prices and inevitable energy crisis, and also on account of cancer survivor and national hero Lance Armstrong, whose yellow bracelets are iconic symbols of the american spirit of preserverance. But in recent months, cycling has come under the scrutiny of local officials, who over the summer and in one particular week, began passing out disciplinary citations for cycling laws which are obscure to begin with.

The police have made it clear that their main concern is that the groups that ride together are too large, often menacing and in some cases prone to exhibit destructive behavior. The laws state that it's proper to ride in the road, not on the sidewalk, but common sense has proven on more than one occasion that it requires a certain amount of personal discretion to determine where the safest place is to ride. A group known as Critical Mass sponsors a weekly bicycle ride which start by the New Haven Green on fridays at 5 o'clock. This has become nationwide phenomena, since the event takes place at cities across the country, with varying degrees of response by law enforcement. In San Francisco, for example, it is reported that the police block off streets to allow the cyclists through.

Special Report: Kids On Bikes To ride bikes in New Haven. (New Haven's mayor, John DeStafano, is a cyclist himself and has, in the past, promoted such things as bicycling to work. Alderpersons including Joyce Chen have already begun passing out petitions to relieve children of the financial burden of being ticketed for riding their bicycles in the summer. More Articles: critical mass arrests in NYC and Milwaukee (AP) Critical Mass Ends via Police Brutality (Indymedia)