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I mingled with the crowd, and then I accidentally ended up in another country.

I’d been bicycling to the border for a drug run, and when I got to the turnoff on 8th Avenue, the police were rerouting traffic to the truck crossing a mile or so east.

“What happened?” I asked, imagining bombs or terrorists at the border. But it was nothing like that. The border and neighbouring Peace Arch Park were where a large event called “Hands Across the Border” was being held, so the Peace Arch border crossing was closed for this event.

Travelling by bicycle has its advantages. Today, instead of being sent along 8th Avenue to the truck crossing with the motor vehicle traffic, I was told to ride down to the border and go left on Zero Avenue so that I could avoid riding in traffic. “Just head down to Customs, and when you see kids playing in the park on the left, cut across to Zero Avenue.”

Zero Avenue is a quiet road running along the Canadian side of the border between Canada and the US. It starts at the Peace Arch border crossing south of Vancouver and parallels the line between the countries.

I rode towards the border with crowds of people on either side of the road — adults, children, band members carrying their instruments, police officers. I kept looking for Zero Avenue on the left, but I didn’t see it. I moved to the other side of the road, where traffic would normally be coming from the other direction. The only other road I could see was a one-way road merging into the main road.

I cycled down it. A police car and two police officers were blocking it at the other end, but there was room for a bicycle to get past the police car, so I rode past the police officers and onto what I hoped was Zero Avenue.

A US flag in front of a house, gas priced in gallons instead of litres, centre spelled center…I’d just crossed the border illegally in front of two police officers. And when I was on my way to get drugs.

Coming back to Canada, I crossed the border legally. The Customs officer asked what my nationality was and what I’d bought, and then he said I could go. No bag search, not even a request to see my ID. My drug run was successful.

I still have that innocent face.