Teens on bikes take over Bridgeport streets Group may be linked to Bridgeport appearance by BMX stunt rider

As many as 100 youths ride through the streets of Bridgeport, Conn., on Saturday May 2, 2015. As many as 100 youths ride through the streets of Bridgeport, Conn., on Saturday May 2, 2015. Photo: Fausto Giovanny Pinto Buy photo Photo: Fausto Giovanny Pinto Image 1 of / 8 Caption Close Teens on bikes take over Bridgeport streets 1 / 8 Back to Gallery

BRIDGEPORT -- Swerving through traffic doing wheelies, riding across town in the streets to the ire of motorists and evading police trying to stop them, the latest group to cause mayhem on two wheels in Bridgeport wasn't a pack of dirt bike riders, but a bunch of kids on bicycles.

Over 100 teenagers took to the streets Saturday afternoon for a cross-city bike ride, blocking traffic and irking motorists.

"They shouldn't be out here doing that," said a motorist who got stuck behind them on John Street. "They can cause an accident."

Police received the call Saturday afternoon that more than 100 kids on bikes were heading west on Boston Avenue.

It's not the first time a pack of people on two wheels snarled traffic in the city. In November a pack of dirt bikes, along with quads, rode recklessly across Bridgeport. It was much harder for cops to stop the pack then, with their revved-up motors, as they zoomed around cars and on and off state highways.

A Connecticut Post reporter followed the bikers Saturday for more than an hour, and no police could be seen trying to stop or divert them off city streets. According to one of the bike riders, two police cruisers attempted to stop them earlier.

"They can't catch us," 14-year-old Omar boasted as the group rode over the Stratford Avenue Bridge and into downtown Bridgeport. "They want to arrest us because they got nothing better to do."

It's not uncommon in Bridgeport to see packs of kids and teenagers ride bikes, but the reason for the large group, according to the riders, was the visit of New York City-based BMX stunt cyclist RRDBlocks.

Omar said the national figure had called some of the teens in the city and announced his visit.

On an Instagram page for RRDBlocks, which boasts nearly 130,000 followers, a photo of the words "Bridgeport Ct" were accompanied by the caption "You riding or you hiding."

On his page are videos of the rider weaving in and out of New York City traffic on his BMX stunt bike while popping a wheelie.

As the group stopped at a grocery store in the Hollow for snacks, the stunt rider refused to answer any questions from a reporter, only saying, "I just ride bikes."

During the day, the group went across Boston Avenue, around Bridgeport Hospital, up to the Stratford border by Two Roads Brewery, down Connecticut Avenue, across the Stratford Avenue Bridge, through downtown Bridgeport and up Park Avenue before a reporter lost them in the Hollow.

One of the bikers, 17-year-old Alfonso, said the crew known as "hotboys" was comprised of kids from all over the city just looking to have fun.

A police spokesman did not return a request for comment Saturday on what the department was doing to curb the bikers who, according to a police scanner, continued riding into the early evening.

"It's just kids riding bikes," said one passerby. "I used to do that as a kid."

Fpinto@ctpost.com; @FGPreporting.com