the legend of homos in the wilderness

if youre an outdoor enthusiast in lincoln, more specifically an avid biker, and even more specifically a mountain biker, Then you will know of the Legend of Wilderness Park and (homo)sexual activity. you may not know where you heard the legend, but somewhere it was spoken to you, and there it remained: in you mind, while riding those brilliant trails day or night.

i have never been too worried about it.
a) im on a bike
b) i go fast
c) i wear a helmet
d) if molested i can release my seat post from bike frame and beat on the molester and
e) i am stong (like dwight from the office)

but today i read in the lincoln journal star that theyve been caught. legend turns to truth. and such a sad truth it is. i think i might start carrying a paintball gun with me on my bike rides. i would love to read in the paper the next day that a flasher admitted himself to the hospital after unexplained paintball wounds to certain areas.

and so the story goes:

Undercover police officers spent the day at Wilderness Park Wednesday.

What they found may seem surprising.

Police say they arrested 10 men during the day-long detail intended to keep sex in public parks in Lincoln from becoming a problem.

They ranged in age from 39 to 73. Seven were from Lincoln. The others were from Omaha, Seward and Kearney, Police Chief Tom Casady said.

“In these 10 cases, basically undercover police officers in the park were approached by men who either groped the officer or exposed their genitals or both,” he said.

In two cases, he said, men were masturbating in a place where they could be seen by other park-goers.

It’s no secret to police some people go to certain Lincoln parks looking for an anonymous sexual encounter, Casady said.

“Wilderness Park is not the only place in Lincoln that’s had this kind of a problem from time to time,” he said. “We try to do a little bit of enforcement on occasion to keep this from becoming a problem.”

He said it started happening at Wilderness Park in the late ‘80s, and even before that at Van Dorn Park and the Interstate 80 rest stop. Cities around the country deal with the same problem, Casady said.

In Lincoln, it’s illegal to have sex in a public park, he said. If both participants are willing or not, it’s still indecent exposure.

Casady said it’s not a victimless crime.

“What I get concerned about is that people do, from time to time, stumble across these things going on inadvertently... They’re there to ride their horse or go for their run or ride their bike or just use the restroom and they get confronted by this kind of a situation.”

It happened to him once, years ago with his son.

They’ve had complaints, including one during the detail, at nearby Standing Bear Park, Casady said.

The man was on his lunch break when a stranger took his pants down in front of him.

In the detail Wednesday, 10 men were arrested — six on suspicion of third-degree sexual assault and four on suspicion of public indecency.

Third-degree sexual assault is a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year imprisonment. Public indecency is punishable by up to six months in jail.