Dozens of times each year automobile drivers find themselves travelling along at highway speeds on our back country roads, only to come across a slow-moving caravan of bicyclists riding three or more abreast in their lane of traffic, requiring the car to slow down to a snail’s pace as the cyclists painstakingly climb a hill, chattering amongst themselves. When you finally can accelerate past the lethargic group of bikers, they look at you as if you don’t understand that bicycles are given the same rights to possess the roadway as automobiles under Wisconsin law.

This is why your car has a horn. Let me explain.

I am no stranger to cycling. I have cycled both competitively and for pleasure in four states over the last 35 years. Cycling becomes my main source of cardio-vascular training during our abbreviated summer months and each year I log over 1,000 miles between April and October here in Wisconsin. I have over a dozen riding routes mapped out in my head in Ozaukee and Washington County - ranging from 8 to 80 miles. I have been hit by inattentive automobile drivers twice - including the latest on Pleasant Valley Road just last summer - and have had many other close calls. I understand and value the rights of bicyclists and the need for drivers of cars to understand those rights so that both can enjoy the beautiful Wisconsin roadways and countryside. But it is the cyclists riding three abreast who fail to fully understand both Wisconsin law and common courtesy.

While it is true that Section 340.01(5) of the Wisconsin Statutes defines a bicycle as a vehicle and grants cyclists the same rights to possess the roadway as any car or truck, that is not the end of the story. Section 346.80(2)(a) requires cyclists to ride as far to the right side of the road as is practicable, safe, and reasonable. That section further provides in pertinent part:

(3)(a) Persons riding bicycles ... upon a roadway may ride 2 abreast if such operation does not impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic.

(b) Persons riding bicycles upon a roadway may not ride more than 2 abreast.

The next time you come across a trio of riders sauntering down the road side-by-side and taking up the entire lane of traffic, requiring you to slow down to 10 mph because of oncoming traffic or an impending hill and lack of visibility to pass, roll down your window and politely remind them that what they are doing is illegal. It is even illegal for two bike riders to ride abreast if it impedes the normal and reasonable movement of traffic. If you can pass them safely, don’t worry about it. Give them a wave and consider trying the healthy and enjoyable option of cycling yourself.

What bothers me about bicyclists riding abreast and blocking traffic isn’t so much that it is illegal - it’s that it is just plain inconsiderate, not to mention unsafe. I came over a hill at the posted limit in my large, carbon dioxide-spewing SUV on Cedar Sauk Road last summer and literally had to hit my brakes hard to avoid a group of three bicyclists riding slowly side-by-side. I honked my horn only to be greeted by the international symbol of love flashed by the biker nearest the center line. While I didn’t have the time to stop and give them a civics lesson in common courtesy and biking safety, I often wish I had.

Part of the problem with such knuckleheads is their simplistic understanding of Wisconsin law. Hopefully they will read this article and realize that three abreast is illegal and two abreast is illegal if they are impeding traffic for any reason, such as when the car behind them cannot get by due to oncoming traffic, poor visibility, or a hill.

The last thing I want to do when riding my bike is trust that the semi travelling at 55 mph behind me is going to see me and slow down in time. It makes my safety the complete responsibility of somebody else - never a good idea. I also don’t want to inconvenience somebody driving a car by making them slow down to my pace while waiting for a safe opportunity to pass.

Make no mistake about it. Bicyclists have long been the victims of inconsiderate and inattentive vehicle operators. Cars passing bicycles are required by law to exercise due care and clear them by a “safe distance.” I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve been “buzzed” by cars at high speed - including once in Texas when the car actually hit the handle bar mirror on my bike. In today’s world of cell phones, texting, and iPods, drivers must pay attention and watch out for bicycles, which are even less visible than motorcycles. The woman who hit me on Pleasant Valley last summer was talking on a cell phone.

Mutual respect, defensive driving, and common courtesy are the keys to allowing thousands of cyclists to safely share the natural beauty of Ozaukee County’s country roads during our gorgeous summer months. That respect is lost, however, when inconsiderate cyclists defiantly flaunt the law and their inconsideration for others by riding two or three abreast, requiring cars to patiently putter along behind them until it is safe to pass.