I knew I was in trouble again, when I saw the police car backing up the highway on the opposite side of the barrier separating the lanes. Sure enough he backed up the whole two kilometers to the exit and jumped on and crossed over to my side. And then as certain as the sunrise, he pulled in behind me and hit the sirens and lights.
Now you need to understand that I am on a bicycle, and the policemen are in a new SUV. I am seriously outmatched here, or I might have tried to make a run for it. Riding a bicycle on the newest, nicest, least used, slice of asphalt in Macedonia is simply not permitted, if you are riding a bicycle. Mind you there is not a single sign anywhere, that prohibits it. There is not a law anywhere that prohibits it, just the police go rabid when they see my bike on the ring road around the city.
So I stop my bike, just to get him to cut the siren if for no other reason because it was damaging my eardrums. I am breathing hard, sweating like an overweight guy out in the desert, and the fat policeman rolls down his window and lets me feel the nice cool air conditioning from his SUV, and asks me why. Really? I am a 52 year old grandfather, riding as hard as I can in interval training on a hot sunny day, and you ask me why I am breathing hard and sweating? He tells me that it is forbidden to ride bicycles on the ring road. I point out there there are no such signs or markers anywhere that state that it is forbidden to ride a bicycle on the ring road. He tells me to go read it on the internet! I try to control my snort of disbelief.
He begins the typical interrogation of "who are you?"and "what are you doing here?" and "how much money do you make? etc etc. I am well accustomed to such interrogations. He decides that I make enough money to pay the "fine" for having a bicycle on the ring road (which he quoted as $565!). I am incredulous! While this interrogation is taking place, lawbreakers where screaming past us regularly, as well as cars with damaged equipment and illegal passing, etc. etc.
So I said, "let me get this right, you plan to fine me for a law that is not really a law and is posted no where anywhere, while watching these lawbreakers go whizzing by, clearly breaking all the POSTED signage?" He said "yes" just as a motorcycle tore pass us doing at least double the posted speed limit. I said "why don't you go stop that motorcycle and stop harassing me?" He says, "we can't catch him (haven't they ever heard of radios and roadblocks?) but we can catch you."
How can you argue with that?
