If that's not a great description for these bicyclists invading Loudon County roads, I don't know what is.

It's bad all the time, but with spring and summer weather upon us, it's getting worse.

Have you ever wondered where those big groups of bike riders, 15-20-25 at a time, come from? It's not just a couple of yuppies out of west Knox out for a joy ride. They're organized by a bicycle business/club in West Knox County called West Bikes. They meet at the business in the Village Green Shopping Center to ride designated routes and of course, those routes bring them all through east Loudon County. See the maps.

Click Here To View The Event Website

With the bicycle nuisance continuing to get worse and worse, back in 2018, Loudon County commission passed a resolution pleading with Sheriff Tim Guider to take action against this invading hoard. The request was that he direct his officers to write tickets for the law breakers. As far as I know, no tickets have been written yet.

A violation of the bicycle law of impeding traffic is a class C misdemeanor with a maximum fine of $50.00 plus court costs. Just like any other traffic violation. With court costs, that could make the ticket about $275.00. If the sheriff would pass out a few dozen of these tickets for a few weeks, it wouldn't take long for the road blockers to find somewhere else to block traffic.

If something's not done, we're just going to have to give up the roads in East Loudon County to the Knox County bike riders all together.

If you do get behind some of the traffic impeders that refuse to get over to allow traffic to pass, you can call the NON EMERGENCY dispatch number, 865-458-9081, and report them to the sheriff's office. I don't know anything else we can do.

Impeding traffic is a violation of state law just as much as speeding is.

Below is the resolution we sent the sheriff last year.

Where as, Loudon County is one of the greatest places to live with an unequaled, high quality of life, and:

 

Where as, the Loudon County Commission is always interested in working to keep Loudon County a great place to live, and:

 

 Where as, the invasion of bicycle riders, mostly from outside Loudon County, is causing chaos, mayhem and considerable traffic problems on Loudon County roads, endangering both the bicycle riders and motor vehicle occupants with blatant disregard of traffic laws and regulations such as running stop signs and red lights, giving no turn signals and worst of all, impeding the normal and reasonable movement of traffic, and:

 

Where as, current state law, TCA 55-8-175, clearly lays out rules of the road for bicycle riders and TCA 55-8-172 clearly states that Traffic laws apply to persons riding bicycles and any violation of this law is a Class C misdemeanor, and:

 

Now therefore be it resolved, the Loudon County Commission suggests, requests, supports and pleads for Loudon County Sheriff, Tim Guider, to instruct his deputies to immediately begin enforcing existing state laws pertaining to bicycle riders on Loudon County roadways and the writing of citations to the bicycle riders who violate these laws especially TCA-55-8-175(b)(1) Persons riding bicycles upon a roadway shall not ride more than two (2) abreast except on paths or parts of roadways set aside for the exclusive use of bicycles. Persons riding two (2) abreast shall not impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic and, on a laned roadway, shall ride within a single lane. The definition of impede being; "to delay or prevent (someone or something) by obstructing them; To hinder" and bicycle riders shall ride as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway with few exceptions.