Wes Johnson

WJOHNSON@NEWS-LEADER.COM

With a brisk north wind howling down his street, David Rice set out to show just how outrageous he thinks Rep. Jay Houghton's bill is.

Houghton, a Republican from Missouri's 43rd District, proposed a bill requiring bicyclists to fly a fluorescent orange flag that's 15 feet above the ground if the bicyclist is riding on county roads. The flag would make bicyclists more visible to motorists, Houghton has said.

Rice affixed such a flag to his road touring bicycle and pedaled down the street. The flag whipped back and forth in the wind, leaning far into driving lanes and snapping close to Rice's face when he turned.

"If you make it light enough it just flaps around and is going to be something that hits people," Rice said. "You make it sturdy enough it's going to be heavy and act like a lever on your bike, moving it back and forth. It's going to create more harm than good. It's going to actually hurt cyclists."

He said the flag is so tall it's conceivable it could hit highway bridges or utility lines.

Rice plans to protest Houghton's bill during a two-day ride at the state capitol building in Jefferson City April 9 and 10. So far, 55 other bicyclists have expressed an interest in joining him, and by protest day Rice hopes to have 200 bicyclists from around the state. They'll begin their ride at 8 a.m. each day, hoping to convey their belief that there are much easier ways to make bicycling safer on Missouri's roads.

Houghton has acknowledged his 15-foot flag requirement is "extreme," and said in January he only wanted to spark a conversation about ways to improve bike safety. He indicated he would amend his bill to remove the 15-foot flag, but as of Monday he still had not.

House Bill 2046 isn't yet scheduled for a legislative hearing, meaning it has made zero progress toward becoming a law.

“So I think they are protesting for no reason,” Houghton said.

Rice, frequently rides his bike from Republic to Cherokee Middle School in Springfield where he teaches. He said Houghton's bill is a thinly disguised effort to keep bicyclists off county highways in Missouri.

"We belong on the road just like everyone," Rice said. "What he's suggesting, that's not trying to start a conversation — he wants to start a fight. If he wants to make us more visible, why propose something that no one thinks would work?"

Rice said bicycle shops already sell gear and clothing that make bikes and riders more visible to cars. He wears a bright helmet with a bright-green reflective cover, wears clothing with reflective material sewn into it, and has a brilliant red flashing light affixed to his bike frame designed to catch the attention of motorists coming up behind him.

His bike also has a blue light on the rear wheel, as well as a main and backup headlight on the front of his bike.

As baby boomers age, more are turning to bicycling for exercise and transportation, Rice said.

"I'd like our representatives to understand that cyclists are already out there on the road, so let's consider passing legislation that keeps bicyclists safer, like requiring motorists to move a full lane over when they pass us."

Missouri law currently states motorists "shall leave a safe distance, when passing the bicycle, and shall maintain clearance until safely past the overtaken bicycle."

The Missouri Bicycle and Pedestrian Federation is tracking Houghton's bill. Spokeswoman and MoBikeFed lobbyist Rachel Ruhlen said she is disappointed that there seems to be an ongoing effort among some state lawmakers "to ban bicyclists from certain roads in Missouri."

"I dream of the year when we don't have to waste our time fighting off these anti-bicycle bills," Ruhlen said.

If they truly want to make it safer for bicyclists and motorists to coexist on Missouri roads, Ruhlen said lawmakers should expand the no-texting ban to include all motorists, not just people age 21 and under.

"They should also look at improving our road infrastructure and widen paved shoulders, which would make it safer for everybody," Ruhlen said. "Even motorists, because on many Missouri roads there's no place even for cars to pull over if they have a problem."

Statistically, Missouri remains a relatively safe place for people to ride bikes.

An analysis of bicycle fatalities by Governing Magazine, using National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration data, found that Missouri ranked 45th lowest in the country in bicycle fatalities, in 2012.

Florida had the highest fatality rate, with 5.7 bicyclist deaths per million residents. Missouri had 0.8 bicyclist deaths per million residents.

Although the numbers are small, Rice said he plans to honor the bicyclists who have been killed in Missouri in recent years during his state capitol protest ride.

"What I'm going to do, along with other riders, is ride around the capitol building, a total of 250 times — that equals 98 miles," he said. There have been 98 cyclists killed (in Missouri) between 2000 and 2015. My goal is to recognize those who have died. And I would like Missouri legislators to consider passing a proposed law that requires motorists to move over three feet.

"Currently in Missouri, motorists don't have to give three feet of distance between a cyclist and a car," he added. "I would like them to even go further with that and require motorists to change lanes completely."

Who can top this fish? Paddlefish season opens Tuesday

Jury orders Mercy Springfield to pay $751,000 in wrongful termination lawsuit