STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK

Blaine County Sheriff Sgt. Andrew Schiers had stopped to talk with a couple women surveying users of the Wood River Trail when a man in his early 30s sped past him. Not only was the speeder exceeding the 20-mile per hour speed limit on the path, but he was riding a pedal-less cycle, which is illegal on the path.

Schiers jumped on his Trek, the word “police” emblazed on its frame, turned on three little flashing lights on his handlebars and began blowing on his whistle as he gave chase on his patrol bike, which has a top speed of about 38 mph.

“These things some people are riding are electric motorcycles—they’re not bikes,” he said.

Sgt. Andrew Schiers asks youngsters on eBikes if they practice safe bicycling skills.

Schiers is Blaine County’s only certified bicycle patrolman, although some other police officers in the valley do occasionally get out on bikes. It’s a role that’s taken on added significance this year, thanks to more traffic on the bike path from commuters trying to avoid the logjam caused by highway construction south of Ketchum and more visitors renting eBikes while vacationing in Sun Valley.

There also seem to be more youngsters riding the 20-mile path between Bellevue and Ketchum, given the rising popularity of eBikes.

Schiers begins a typical day by packing his ticket book, crash forms, bike tools and a small handheld radar gun that resembles a one-lens binocular into the pack behind him.

“Everything I need to do my job,” he said.

Sgt. Andrew Schiers uses a radar gun that locks onto a moving bicyclist while showing the bicyclist’s speed.

From the police station at Ketchum City Hall, he rode up Fifth Street and cruised through  Ketchum Town Plaza, stopping to talk to some youngsters on eBikes. Schiers quizzed one boy with a bike that can be modified to go faster than allowed on the Wood River Trail.

“My parents won’t let me do that,” the boy told Schiers.

From Ketchum Town Square, Schiers headed to Forest Service Park, where he circled the park before heading to Atkinsons Park. He wound up on the bike path by the Wood River YMCA.

There, he stopped his bike at the side of the path and pulled the radar gun out.

St. Andrew Schiers divides his bike patrol between the streets of Ketchum and the bike path.

“I’m looking for people going fast,” he said. “Typically, I don’t see the stuff you hear people complain about--I clock most people going between 15 and 17 miles per hour. You hear bikers complaining about cars, pedestrians complaining about bicyclists. It’s really just about sharing the road. If everyone was courteous, we’d get along fine.”

EBikes cannot exceed 750 watts on the Wood River Path, Schiers said.

“But I’m seeing 1,500-, 2,000-watt bicycles, which really are electric motorcycles. When I see kids on those, I talk to the parents and educate them. If I see repeat offenders, I can cite them. A ticket costs $100 plus $56.50 court fee.”

He paused.

These flashing red and blue lights stand in for the light atop a patrol car.

“I think some parents don’t realize that what they’re buying for their kids isn’t allowed. They just get it for them because their kids’ friends have something similar and they want one, too.”

He took a long look at one bicycle coming down the hill to see if it has pedals.

“If it doesn’t have pedals, it’s not a bike,” he said.

Schiers aims his radar at a steady stream of bicyclists using the path. The radar locks on them, showing numbers that indicate most of them are doing about 12 miles per hour.

“Stop, stop, stop!” he called to an older teenage girl. “You’re going 22 miles per hour—above the speed limit. I want you to keep an eye on your speedometer from now on.”

The City of Ketchum adopted new bike and eBike rules this year. But it’s waiting on Hailey, Bellevue and the Blaine County Recreation District so everyone can have consistent messaging before embarking on an educational campaign.

“Better signage would help,” Schiers said.

Right now, the speed limit on the Wood River Trail between towns is 20 miles per hour. It’s 15 miles per hour along the path through Ketchum, dipping to 10 miles per hour in Warm Springs.

Warm Springs’ speed limit will likely be raised, however, said Schiers: “I can exceed 10 miles per hour not pedaling.”

Idaho is one of the few states that allow bicyclists to roll through stop signs if no cars are coming, Schiers said. If cars are present, the bicyclist should stop with the first person at the intersection allowed to proceed first.

Bicyclists can also proceed through a stop light after stopping if no cars are approaching.

“I think our lawmakers understand that bikes are more efficient if they’re remain in motion,” Schiers said.

Schiers has been patrolling streets on a bike for a decade but recently received his certification from the International Police Mountain Bike Association (IPMBA).

“One of the things you learn is how to ride slow without falling over,” he said, making his way across Ketchum Town Square at a speed so slow that his bike quivered.

Schiers knows of no reports of injury accidents involving 10-speed bicycles or eBikes this summer. The last serious accident took place a couple years ago when two cyclists collided on Warm Springs at 2 in the morning. Neither had lights.

There’s no ordinance regarding driving a bike while intoxicated. But Schiers has taken a bicycle away from a wobbly cyclist in the middle of the night. He made the cyclist go home and pick up the bike the next morning.

“We can’t charge them with driving under the influence because a bicycle is not a vehicle,” he said. “I can, however charge someone with reckless behavior.”

Schiers had no sooner finished chasing down the bicyclist that whizzed by him at 30 miles per hour, when he received a call that there were two motorists driving recklessly downtown.

He sped away from the bike path, heading up 4th Street where he looked down each street to see if he could find cars that matched the description in the report. Unable to find them, he called the person making the report to tell them he had missed the motorists.

“If I’m chasing someone on my bike and can’t catch up to them, I can call a fellow officer to intercept them down the road,” he said. “But, usually, by the time someone calls something in, they’re long gone.”