Back when I served on commission the first time, the two main complaints I got from constituents were barking dogs and messy neighbors. Now the number one complaint I get is about all the bicycles on the roads.

Recently, I contacted the county attorney to see if we as the county commission could take any action to regulate bicycles on county roads. His first question was "is there a particular road where there was a problem?" I said yes, every road in Loudon County that's too narrow, hilly and curvy for bicycles to be on. That seems to be where they like to ride the most.

Unfortunately, according to the county attorney, the commission can not regulate where bicycles can travel. Fortunately, there are already laws that regulate how bicycle riders will conduct themselves while on the roads.

Did you know that bicyclist can not impede traffic? Did you know that bicyclist can not ride more than two abreast? Did you know that bicyclist must obey all the same traffic laws as vehicles?

The definition of impede, "to delay or prevent (someone or something) by obstructing them; To hinder." I'll ask you, have you ever been impeded by bicyclists? Ever gotten behind bicyclists riding more than 2 abreast? Ever seen bicyclists completely ignore red lights, stop signs or any other traffic laws? If you have ever driven a vehicle on a Loudon County road, you likely would answer yes to all the above.

Here's the rub. All the issues mentioned above are traffic violations and such could/should be dealt with just like vehicle traffic violations. That comes down as enforcement by the sheriff's department.

From my investigation, it appears that the vast majority of the bicyclists in Loudon County, especially here on the north end of the county are from west Knox County. It's not uncommon to see twenty to twenty-five bicyclists riding in a cluster. Apparently they like to ride our rural, county roads. Problem is, while their just out joy riding, they're holding up a lot of commerce and folks who have places to be.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for bike riding. Just do it in appropriate places, bike trails, roads with bike lanes or at least roads with a shoulder wide enough to accommodate bicycles. Not our narrow, twisting country roads. Personally, when I see these folks wobbling down Hickory Creek, Beals Chapel, Williams Ferry or any other narrow roads, I figure they must have a screw loose to put them selves in such danger just to ride a bike. I wouldn't ride a bike on the road even if I didn't have a car.

I guess what we can do as citizens is to encourage law enforcement to enforce the laws that are on the books especially the "shall not impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic." Maybe a few tickets handed out to these bicyclists would help them to find better routs to ride their bikes.

As a foot note, I looked closely at the bicycle laws and I couldn't find anything that required them to wear those silly looking shorts and shirts. You just got to wonder why they do if they don't have to.

Below are the relevant laws governing bicycles on roadways.