Mountain bike patrolling comes to Norfolk

By Veronica Burns

Pedal pusher: State Trooper Greg Naylor gives his mountain bike a brief test run.

State Trooper Greg Naylor assures us he will not be doing any wheelies on his recently acquired mountain bike, a 27-speed Stumpjumper. “No no,” he emphasizes, “we tell kids all the time not to do that.” Naylor will also be sure to wear a helmet when he goes on patrol. He is looking forward to seeing how kids are going to react. “I think it will really help in our bike safety programs.”
The mountain bike was purchased for Naylor from federal grant money. “Thanks to Sue Dyer and the selectmen,” he says, “we were able to apply for it with their full support, which was great.” The town had to show a need for the bike. Big public events, such as the parades on Memorial Day and July 4, the annual road race and the summer music and arts festivals at Yale proved the point. Naylor says that bike patrol is also more effective in public hiking areas, such as Dennis Hill and Haystack.
As an example, Naylor mentions the various summer events in the grounds of the Battell Stoeckel Estate. “Sometimes we have reports of kids misbehaving there or at the ball field,” he says, “but they can see the police cruiser coming. This way, I might be able to take them by surprise.”
Mountain bike patrol has become popular in city and suburban areas and is credited with helping to improve relationships between community and police. “It’s all part of community policing,” says Naylor. “It’s much more interactive. To me it’s just common sense and it works.”
The new bike, tuned to perfection by a Bristol company, Bikers Edge, is state-of-the-art and emblazoned with “Norfolk Police.” It has shock absorbers, disc brakes, flashing LED lights and, of course, comes with a siren that sounds just as piercing as a smoke detector.
Naylor who next takes a course in Prospect, Conn., to get his mountain bike patrol certification, is already an avid mountain biker so he is not intimidated by all those Norfolk hills. “The technology is amazing,” he says, “they have made it so easy to get around. It’s a lot of fun.”

Photo By Bruce Frisch