Two arrested as 100 cyclists try to shut down San Francisco bridge

California Highway Patrol officers detained two people after about 100 cyclists took over the lower deck of the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge on Saturday afternoon.

Police said they received calls about the bicycles descending onto the bridge coasting eastbound west of Treasure Island, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. A photo on Twitter shows dozens of bicycles taking over the car lanes on the bridge.

The bridge’s eastbound lanes were still open, however.

Once officers arrived, they observed the group crossing the reder of the bridge and exit to the pedestrian and bike path, near the toll plaza, a spokesperson for the California Highway Patrol told the San Francisco Chronicle.

Some of the bikers kept going until they reached the West Grand Avenue off-ramp. The individuals arrested were only identified as a 46-year-old man and a 15-year-old boy. The teenager was later released to his mother following the event.

It appears to be somewhat of a yearly tradition for the Bay Area city. Something similar took place about a year ago. About 200 bicyclists took over the bridge’s lower deck, pedaling through cars. The event garnered widespread social media attention.

Bicycles are not allowed in the traffic lanes of the bridge. There is a two-way trail from Oakland to Yerba Buena Island, a piece of land sitting in the San Francisco Bay, but advocates argue that it’s not suitable for cyclists’ needs. A bigger cycling lane would take years to build and likely be an engineering challenge.