“The vast majority of miles I’ve ridden in St. Louis have been happy and carefree,” Ogilvie said after this morning’s board meeting. “However, there have been a handful of instances where I’ve had drivers of cars scream, swerve the car at me, and you know, force me off the road. Luckily, I was never injured. But I don’t know, if I was a less experienced rider, if I would be able to say that.”

“Without two tons of steel protecting you, you realize you’re a lot more vulnerable than you might like,” he said.

Assault is already a crime, Ogilvie said, anticipating aldermanic questions on the need for his bill. The new ordinance, he said, would make such harassment explicit.

Ogilvie said his bill is just one part of a push by Trailnet, the regional trails and bike nonprofit, to better protect cyclists.

He said the organization had hoped to get a statewide law passed this year, but with the session ending this week, the nonprofit will instead aim to get ordinances passed city-by-city.