A middle-aged man in lycra is not an especially enticing sight – but at least those figure-hugging cycle shorts mercifully conceal a far rawer spectacle.
Thankfully, hikers in Virginia who had been routinely treated to views of a fiftysomething cyclist’s lycraless butt can now breathe a sigh of relief after cops finally exposed the man behind the crimes.
Angry bike rider David Marlowe, 55, was arrested Sunday for assaulting hikers and revealing his rear end in at least five altercations last month over etiquette on trails in Arlington County, police said.
In one incident on August 11, Marlowe allegedly yelled at a man and a woman to stay on the right side of the yellow line on the Four Mile Run Trail, the Arlington County Police Department detailed in a call for help to identify the suspect.
When the man shouted something back, Marlowe allegedly got off his bike and pulled down his cycle shorts to expose his butt, before striking the man on the arm and trying to grab the woman’s phone.
In another episode on August 15, Marlowe rode up at high speed to a man and a woman hiking along the Washington and Old Dominion Trail, according to police.
When the man pulled out his cellphone, Marlowe allegedly struck him and then added his trademark flourish, tugging down his shorts to show the pair his buttocks before getting back on his bike and riding off.
Cops are trying to establish whether the mooning Marlowe is behind any other incidents similar to the five they know about.
It’s unlikely the lycra-clad loon will be back out on the trail anytime soon: he faces charges for assault and indecent exposure, robbery and felony possession with the intent to distribute marijuana.