Welcome to Anna?

I've lived in Collin County for the past 18 years or so and yesterday I made my first visit to Anna.  My wife and I have been making an effort to lose weight and improve our health.  To that end, we've been exercising including bike riding.  We've made several round trips from Richardson to McKinney often stopping to have lunch in the McKinney square.  Wanting to further explore the County we live in and in an effort to find less congestion, we targeted a bike ride from Richardson to Anna.

Our ride north through Plano, Parker, Allen, Fairview, McKinney, and Melissa was pleasant.  There are a few congested areas along the way, but we do our best to stay off main roadways and avoid cars.  As we arrived in Anna we were greeted by kids trying to earn money for their year book by washing cars at the Sonic.  They offered to wash our bikes.  We declined their offer but gave them a few dollars for their cause anyway.  We rode through the older sections of Anna then refilled our water at the convenience store across from Sonic.  We asked a couple of local Anna citizens how we might make our way back towards McKinney without using Rt. 5.  They advised us to take FM455 back to the highway US75 service road.  They cautioned that FM455 can  be congested, but we only needed to go a half mile or so.

On this little half mile trek through Anna on Farm-to-Market road 455, another Anna citizen decides that I'm impeding her, so she passes us with zero clearance while slamming on the horn.  It scared us both and we almost crashed. But apparently she was not in too much of a hurry because she then made a left turn into  the grocery store and parked.

Feeling assaulted, scared, and with my adrenalin  flowing, I approached the parked car and knocked on the window.  I was expecting to find an aggressive young male, but that's when I learned my assailant  was a middle aged woman.  Angry and without my phone, I asked her to call the police.  She really didn't want to make that call so I completed what I had to say to her which included a highly offensive term that was deliberately intended to insult her value and importance; and we went on our way.  I guess I was persuasive enough because an Anna police officer greeted us a short time later on County road 367.

We returned to the grocery store and one of the officers encouraged me not to press charges and we could all "go back to enjoying our Saturday" - so we did.  The US75 service road was very pleasant back to McKinney.  My visit to Anna?  Not so much.  I don't think I'll make another bike trip to your rural town.

Welcome to Anna?

The next time, I might be carrying a consealed handgun and return fire at an assulting vehicle.  A county judge might find me justified too. 

I appreciate your comments, though.

I am not defending or condoning what Craig said, but Chilli I believe his intent was not to "shoot someone for honking the horn" I understood it to mean that if someone tried to run him down just be cause they did not like him riding his bike. But I am curious why the APD "encouraged" him not to press charges.

Don't worry.  I'm not going to shoot anybody.  But I do appreciate you guys thinking out it.

The police did a good job and they kept the piece.

I'm not sure and filing charges might still be the right thing to do.  People need to understand that they can hurt a vulnerable vehicle with their car or truck.  My mistake was not to fully take the roadway.  Have I made my point or should I continue?

Don't worry.  I'm not going to shoot anybody.  But I do appreciate you guys thinking out it.

The police did a good job and they kept the piece.

I'm not sure and filing charges might still be the right thing to do.  People need to understand that they can hurt a vulnerable vehicle with their car or truck.  My mistake was not to fully take the roadway.  Have I made my point or should I continue?

You were breaking the law regardless of how much of the lane you took.   Your mistake was riding your bike on that road at all.

DraxOr,

From Texas DPS Driver Handbook Page 9-7:

SHARING THE ROAD WITH BICYCLES
Bicycle Rules For Motorists
1. A bicycle is a vehicle and any person riding a bicycle has all of the rights
and responsibilities as a driver of a vehicle.
....
d. The lane is of substandard width making it unsafe for a car and a bicycle
to safely share the lane side by side. When this is the case, it is best
for the cyclist to take the full lane whether riding single file or two
abreast.

---------

I don't dispute that taking FM455 was a mistake.  If I could go back in time, I certainly would not have taken that route.  Please consider the intersection at Rt5 and FM455.  There is not an indication to warn bikes there and FM455 appeared to us at that point to have less traffic than RT5. 

If I passed a sign from Rt. 5 to Rt. 367, I did not see it.  In either case Page 175 of the Anna city ordinances does state there is a Temporary Restriction of Bicycles on FM455 (Issued in 2006), so yes, I'm mistaken for not fully understanding the city ordinances.  That carries up to a $200 fine should I be found guilty - Not a death sentence.  And it doesn't give anyone the right to assault me.

Thanks for your thoughts.
 

Fred,

Do you know if I had a motor assist on my bike?

Because "TRANSPORTATION CODE - TITLE 7. VEHICLES AND TRAFFIC - SUBTITLE C. RULES OF THE ROAD" specifies the following:

Sec. 551.106.  REGULATION OF ELECTRIC BICYCLES.  (a)  The department or a local authority may not prohibit the use of an electric bicycle on a highway that is used primarily by motor vehicles. The department or a local authority may prohibit the use of an electric bicycle on a highway used primarily by pedestrians.

That means there are circumstances where a bike may be completely legal traveling on your road.

The point is that people should not take the law into their own hands.  Because you see a bike where there is a sign that indicates they are prohibited does not necessarially mean it's against the law.  For a motor vehicle to assult a bicycle is wrong! 

Don't get me wrong; I've seen pleanty of bikers breaking laws.  The point is we need to all live together.  I'd really prefer not to die because someone thinks I'm making a $200 bike violation.  They might not even undersand the law.

Fred,

Do you know if I had a motor assist on my bike?

Because "TRANSPORTATION CODE - TITLE 7. VEHICLES AND TRAFFIC - SUBTITLE C. RULES OF THE ROAD" specifies the following:

Sec. 551.106.  REGULATION OF ELECTRIC BICYCLES.  (a)  The department or a local authority may not prohibit the use of an electric bicycle on a highway that is used primarily by motor vehicles. The department or a local authority may prohibit the use of an electric bicycle on a highway used primarily by pedestrians.

That means there are circumstances where a bike may be completely legal traveling on your road.

The point is that people should not take the law into their own hands.  Because you see a bike where there is a sign that indicates they are prohibited does not necessarially mean it's against the law.  For a motor vehicle to assult a bicycle is wrong! 

Don't get me wrong; I've seen pleanty of bikers breaking laws.  The point is we need to all live together.  I'd really prefer not to die because someone thinks I'm making a $200 bike violation.  They might not even undersand the law.

Entitlement...