The Situation

Reed Bates's troubles began only a week and half after mine did and followed a very similar pattern. For almost a year, Reed (also known as ChipSeal; formerly of Ennis (Ellis County), Texas; currently of Dallas, Texas) has been terrorized by the Ennis Police Department and the department of Ellis County Sheriff Johnny Brown because they disapprove of his assertive cycling technique. His technique accords with both Texas law and well-established principles of cycling safety and furthermore constitutes the safest and most efficient possible cycling behavior. Not only have they repeatedly harassed him by stopping and detaining him without cause while he was traveling, and not only have they they issued him citations for violating non-existent regulations, they have gone so far as to arrest him and hold him in jail on three occasions for a total of three weeks and to charge him with the crime of reckless driving, a charge that is extremely rare even in cases where a collision occurs.

In March, he was convicted of violating the prohibition on "driv[ing] so slowly as to impede the normal and reasonable movement traffic, except when reduced speed is necessary for safe operation or in compliance with law (Texas Transportation Code §545.363)," despite the facts that no traffic was substantially impeded and that he could not reasonably have traveled any faster, in a highly flawed jury trial (recounted here by Steve Averill) that was later invalidated. The charges are still pending, and he expects to be retried. In August, he was convicted of reckless driving in a bench trial (recounted here by Steve Averill) that can only be characterized as a kangaroo court. Acccording to PM Summer, Judge A. Gene Calvert, Jr., in announcing his verdict, said: "You may be right that it is safer to ride in the middle of the lane instead of the shoulder, but it is reckless of you to do so." ("What?!" Yeah, you heard me.) So, in defiance of logic, Reed's behavior, despite being safe and legal, was nevertheless reckless and criminal. Like me, he is in a state of virtual house arrest because the danger of interference from police officers renders travel impractically dangerous for him.

Like me, Reed and his friends and supporters appealed to state and national cycling advocacy organizations for help. Neither the Texas Bicycle Coalition (BikeTexas) nor the League of American Bicyclists was willing to provide any support. In fact, it seems that many "cycling advocates", including leaders of these organizations, worked to conceal and obscure the issue: to spread false information about it so as to cast suspicion on Reed's cycling behavior, legal decisions, credibility, and even sanity and to downplay the merits of his case and the severity of the consequences of it to him and to cycling in general. Having no connection to Texas myself, I do not closely monitor BikeTexas's activities. However, I do know that the League did not even publicize his ordeal (or mine for that matter) to aid him in gathering support from other cycling advocates. This would have been the least it could have done for him, but it should have done much more. It should have treated Reed's experience as a crisis of the greatest magnitude, a potential catastrophe for cyclists throughout the country. It should have helped him collect money for legal fees. It should have supplied him with an expert witness on cycling safety as he specifically asked for. It should have called on everyone who had any influence: law enforcers, politicians, bureaucrats, journalists, cycling advocates, civil rights advocates, League members, cyclists. It should have made a strong and clear statement of righteous indignation at Reed's treatment. It should have constructed and executed a plan to mobilize and coordinate support. But it did none of this.

After Reed's conviction of reckless driving, the frustration of his friends and supporters expressed to the League and particularly to its president, Andy Clarke, grew to such a level that the League's leaders felt compelled to comment publicly on the issue. Andy Clarke posted a letter on the League's blog. I recommend that you read this letter as well the comments made by PM Summer (Clearly Unhelpful) and Keri Caffrey (Who Will Speak Up When They Come For You?) on their respective blogs. PM and Keri express many of my thoughts quite well. However, I have many thoughts and feelings about this situation that others have not yet expressed to my satisfaction. I attempt to express there here.

I hoped that this article would be more timely, but it took a while to collect and organize my thoughts and to choose my words so as to express my thoughts clearly, precisely, and thoroughly. I found the heap of issues, facts, and opinions and the wall of hateful and anti-rational rhetoric so overwhelming that I eventually gave up on the "thorough" part. I settled on making a few points about Andy's letter. In the process, I did compile an extensive index of articles that I have included at the end.

My Thoughts

As PM explains, Andy makes the following false claims in his letter.

• For his first trial, Reed freely decided to be tried by a jury in defiance of others' better judgement. (In fact, he was pressured into it by a judge. He did not have an attorney to advise him and advocate for him in court at the time, being unable to afford one.)
• The League has been in close contact with Reed and has been monitoring the case.
• The road on which Reed was cited had a "perfectly rideable shoulder". (In fact, the shoulder was in relatively poor condition. Its surface was covered with sand, gravel, cracks, patches, and a rumple strip, and its width varied erratically, in some places being very narrow.)
• Reed insisted on arguing at trial, in regard to his position on the road, that "that’s where he and everyone else should be riding," rather than restrict his arguments to the position that his behavior was entirely legal.
• The League offered to help Reed with his case under the condition that he restrict his arguments in court to those concerning the law, but Reed refused to abide by the condition.

Andy also implies that Reed's failure to appear in court when summoned was due entirely to Reed's negligence and not to any factors beyond his control (like, for example, his attorney not being notified and his mail not being forwarded as he expected. He makes the following insidious implications as well, and other "cycling advocates" have even explicitly stated them).

• Reed's position on the road was unreasonable.
• Reed's concern about the hazards and impediments of riding on the shoulder were unreasonable.
• Reed's position on proper cycling technique is unreasonable.
• Reed was rudely and severely inconveniencing other drivers.
• Reed was deliberately provoking the police
• The merits of Reed's case are weak.
• The consequences of the case to Reed are not very serious.
• The consequences of the case to all cyclists in Texas are not very serious.
• The consequences of the case to all cyclists in this country are not very serious.
• The consequences to all cyclists in this country of the refusal of the League and other "cycling advocates" and advocacy organizations to support Reed are not very serious.

ALL OF THESE CLAIMS AND IMPLICATIONS ARE WRONG. Reed's behavior was entirely safe and legal. In a court of law, one in which decisions are actually based on law and reason rather than prejudice and ignorance, Reed's case is rock solid. He did nothing to inconvenience or provoke anyone. His only crime was refusing to show sufficient deference, to prostrate himself before the motorists on that road. At the risk of being insensitive to another group of people who have suffered discrimination, I think that Reed's crime can best be characterized as "being uppity".

Regardless of the condition of the specific shoulder in question (which, contrary to Andy's claim, was extremely poor), I strongly object to any characterization of a "perfectly rideable shoulder". Riding on a shoulder ALWAYS imposes hazards and impediments beyond those of riding on the road proper (unless the road proper contains a specific exceptional hazard or impediment). Sometimes those hazards and impediments are unreasonably high. Sometimes they are low enough that riding on the shoulder could be considered okay. I myself sometimes ride on the shoulder, albeit very rarely, on some occasions when I deem the risk and inconvenience to be low. However, it I find it extremely offensive and threatening that a police officer or Andy Clarke or anyone else would deign to decide what is an acceptable risk or inconvenience for me or Reed or anyone else to accept, and that is exactly what is done by characterizing a shoulder as "perfectly rideable". The condition of a shoulder can be bad or not so bad but can almost never be such that there is no advantage to avoiding it.

From what I have read, I believe that I would insist on taking the same, middle-of-the-lane, position as Reed did on that road and would strongly advise others to do so as well, assuming that my current impression of the road is verified by direct observation. I would eagerly defend my reasons in a civil and rational manner with anyone who would engage me in a discussion in the same manner. I would willingly consider contrary opinions as well, if presented in a civil and rational manner. I strive to convince, not to confuse or coerce. I would never attempt to prevent another cyclist from exercising his or her own judgement. To do so would be manipulative and controlling and would likely lead the cyclist to make worse decisions, since I would be pressuring him or her not to think for him- or herself. I would never be satisfied to passively allow another cyclist to suffer arbitrary punishment for exercising his or her judgement, even if I disagreed with that judgement. To do otherwise would be weak and dishonorable. To undermine the freedom of a cyclist to exercise his or her own judgement, whether actively or passively, would undermine the cause of cycling advocacy and the pursuit of a free and just society.

No one should be permitted to scrutinize and micromanage a cyclist's lane position. Very few police officers have the expertise to properly evaluate the merits of taking different lane positions on a given road. Neither can someone who has never traveled on a particular road competently evaluate the merits of different lane positions on that road. It would be a detriment to all cyclists to set a precedent of allowing politicians, police officers, judges, or jurors to scrutinize and micromanage a cyclist's position on the road. No one is subject to such intense scrutiny and control when driving a vehicle of any other type. How can anyone accept the idea of being always vulnerable to imprisonment for not being in the exact position that someone else thinks is appropriate? It is unacceptable that cyclists currently receive inferior treatment under the law, and it is unacceptable that those who claim to advocate for cyclists accept and even defend this treatment.

Even for those cyclists who would have preferred riding on this particular shoulder, a bad outcome to this case could leave Texas law in
a limbo where a cyclist would have no way to know whether an attempt to avoid a hazard or impediment (even one that would be widely recognized) could deliver him or her into legal hell. (Limbo? Hell? Get it?) He or she could only cycle with the constant fear of a police officer stopping him or her and ordering him or her to change positions or change routes or even just go back home and stay there (as I was ordered by Joseph Reed shortly after he had arrested me).

And YOU MUST DISTINGUISH between the danger of being stopped and possibly cited for violating traffic regulations and the danger of being arrested and/or charged with committing crimes. If Reed had not been arrested and had not been charged with reckless driving, we would not be having this conversation. As someone who is currently in the aforementioned hell myself, I admonish everyone reading this not to take the possibility lightly. Do not underestimate the impact on a person's life, and do not assume that it cannot happen to you! I have never been a risk-taker. I had never had trouble with the law before this. I did not at all anticipate what happened to me. Trouble can find you just as easily as it found me (in the state whose Declaration of Rights precedes the founding of this country).

And who will support you if and when it does happen to you? After all, that is what we expect cycling advocates and advocacy organizations to do. An organization that would readily abandon any one of its charges in a time of need would readily abandon any other as well, and that includes YOU. That is why, for example, free speech advocates must vigorously defend even offensive speech: because you never know when your speech, which you consider innocent or even righteous, will be tagged as offensive by those with the authority do so. This case has the potential to set a dangerous legal precedent of allowing police officers to arbitrarily order someone off of the road and to use the courts to arbitrarily punish them for refusing. But the attitudes and actions of cycling advocates and advocacy organizations has the potential to set another precedent, not a legal one but a political and social one: that cyclists cannot rely on each other for help when they desperately need it. There seems to have been a recent surge in cases of illegal persecution of cyclists by police officers and judges. There also seems to have been a recent surge in anti-cycling legislation throughout the country that goes beyond the long standing anti-cycling laws that also exist in some form throughout the country. I believe that the outcome of Reed's case will be influential in encouraging or discouraging this discrimination. The League of American Bicyclists has been silent and passive in the face of even the most aggregious discrimination.

Personally, I would very much like to see vehicular cycling principles put on public record. Those principles should be viewed as critical to
all of us, and they are just as much on trial in this case as Reed himself. That is the crux of the reckless driving charge. Reed was taking the safest possible position. The prosecution is claiming that he was taking an unnecessarily dangerous position. Regardless of whether some arbitrary person believes that the additional risk of riding on the shoulder is acceptably low, it is important to acknowledge that Reed's position was entirely safe, that it was safer than the shoulder, and that, regardless of how small the difference might be, the law and its agents should not be permitted to force anyone to accept that additional risk. The advantage or disadvantage to Reed's case of arguing about cycling safety principles should be evaluated by a skilled attorney who is familiar with the particular court and who understands and appreciates Reed's position. It is one thing for such an attorney to criticize Reed's proposed strategy and another thing for someone else to do so without the proper skill, experience, and understanding.

Andy and others have also failed to acknowledge the fact that someone, like Reed (and me), who cycles as a primary mode of transportation cannot afford to make decisions and movements as frequently as a recreation or sport cyclist might expect. Recreation and sport cyclists can afford to take long and indirect routes. They can afford to travel only in good weather and good spirits. Recreation cyclists can afford to travel very slowly. Sport cyclists can accept maintaining a hyper-alert state while cycling because challenge and thrills are a welcome part of sports. An ordinary traveler, who must travel in all conditions, internal and external, who just needs to get somewhere with a minimal expenditure of time and energy cannot afford the burdens of delay, effort, stress, danger, unreliability, and inflexibility that many others are willing to accept. A transportation cyclist must establish reliable habits and policies so that he or she can avoid unnecessary decisions and movements. This is taken for granted with regard to travel by vehicles of other types, such as cars and motorcycles. Anyone who would travel in a timid manner, as many expect Reed to have done, day after day, rain or shine, light or dark, hot or cold, on familiar or unfamiliar roads, while tired, while upset, while stressed out, while preoccupied, needing to preserve the energy, physical AND mental, to perform some task at his or her destination that might be difficult or unpleasant or stressful and still have the time and energy to get back home and eat dinner and get to bed so that he or she could get up in the morning and have a day, then he or she would quickly find his or her life to be hopelessly difficult or severely limited. There are only so many decisions a person can make in a day. There is only so much of the day a person can maintain an athletic level of alertness. Many people adapt to the expectation of timidity (what John Forester has dubbed the "cyclist inferiority complex") by either giving up cycling as a practical form of transportation or imposing severe constraints on their lives to make timid cycling practical. If motorists had to follow these expectations, you would quickly see either an surge of collisions beyond imagination or you would see about as many motorists on the road as you see cyclists now.

Me and Reed were not the first cyclists to be bullied off of the road by police officers. There have been many others. In some cases, cyclists have even been physically attacked by police officers. I hear those more experienced than me that there was time when cycling advocates were thoughtful, passionate, and loyal defenders of the right to travel freely, who would rally together to defend against these attacks. I have hope that this thoughtfulness, passion, and loyalty can be rejuvenated and that the right to travel freely can be reaffirmed.

Resources

Structured Websites

• Let Him Ride - Protect cyclist's rights in the City of Ennis, Texas and Ellis County, Texas.
• LAB Reform - Coalition to Reform LAB Return Control to Members and Restore Traditional Cycling Values
• John Forester - Fight for Your Right to Cycle Properly!
• North Carolina Coalition for Bicycle Driving - Bicyclists are drivers of vehicles. Every street is a bicycle facility.
• Cycling Savvy - A Cycling Education Program of the Florida Bicycling Association
• Cyclist View - The following PowerPoint presentations have been converted to online slides with flash video:
• Reforming Bicycle Traffic Laws - Yes, you can fight city hall** and your state legislature.
• Sheldon Brown's Bicycle Technical Info

Blogs

• Baltimore Spokes
• BicycleLaw
• Bicycling is Better
• Bicycling Matters
• Bicycling Traffic Engineer
• BikeForums
• BikePortland
• ChicoER
• ChipSeal
• CommuteOrlando
• CYCLES
• cycleSMARTdallas
• dailybreeze
• DFW Point-to-Point
• Eyeteeth: A journal of incisive ideas
• HOW WE DRIVE
• Ironton Tribune
• LEAGUE OF AMERICAN BICYCLISTS
• NEWS5
• North Texas Vehicular Cyclist
• Road Rights
• STEVE MAGAS BIKE LAWYER
• STREETSBLOG
• STREETSBLOG NETWORK
• The VEHICULAR CYCLIST
• Tulsa Alternative Transportation Examiner
• VeloNews
• WashCycle
• Windermere Roadies

Articles

When I first tried to write this article, I became overwhelmed by the tangled rat's nest of issues involved and the ocean of text that those issue were hidden in. (Please forgive the mixed metaphor.) I began compiling this list of articles, with the intention that it be a comprehensive archive of information on Reed Bates's saga, so that I could sort sort out the overwhelming heap of facts and opinions in preparation for my article. However, I could not decide on a standard for an article to be considered related this saga. I decided to err on the side inclusion. That is why the list is so long. That is also why I needed to classify the articles by topic as well. Please let me know if you know of any articles or other resources are not currently included in this list but that seem to belong on it. If you are the creator of this resource, please don't be modest.

DATE	TOPICS	SOURCE	TITLE AND LINK
	Discrimination	Sheldon Brown's Bicycle Technical Info	Cyclist Inferiority
	Traffic Safety	Bicycling Matters	High Speed Bicycling
	Traffic Safety	LAB Reform	Why Cyclists Should Stay Out of the Gutter
	Cycling Education	Cyclist View	Integrated Traffic CyclingTM Introduction
	Status Update	Reforming Bicycle Traffic Laws	The Trials of Reed (Chipseal) Bates
09/26/2001	Traffic Safety, Traffic Law, Discrimination, Education	North Carolina Coalition for Bicycle Driving	The Science and Politics of Bicycle Driving
04/20/2006	Traffic Law, Discrimination	VeloNews	Legally Speaking – with Bob Mionske: To impede or not to impede, that is the question
07/25/2007	Police Encounter	Eyeteeth: A journal of incisive ideas	Cyclist tasered for riding bike at MSP airport
11/11/2007	Traffic Safety, Traffic Law	Bicycling is Better	How Wide is a "Share-able" Lane?
12/31/2007	Letter, Cycling Advocacy, Traffic Safety	Bicycling Traffic Engineer	Bicyclists and the basic speed law
01/29/2008	Police Encounter	ChicoER	Bicyclist tased when he runs for minor infraction
06/11/2008	Police Encounter	BikePortland	Man on a bike is tackled, then tasered by Portland Police
10/04/2008	Cycling Education	CommuteOrlando	Take the Red Pill
02/04/2009	Police Encounter	CommuteOrlando	Impeding Traffic
02/17/2009	Police Encounter	CommuteOrlando	Impeding Traffic: The Audio
04/22/2009	Police Encounter, Legal Analysis, Status Update	Road Rights	When the Cop Says Stop
04/23/2009	Repost, Police Encounter, Legal Analysis, Status Update	Windermere Roadies	Road Rights: The Right to Disobey Cops
04/27/2009	Cycling Advocacy, Cycling Education, Discrimination, Traffic Safety	CommuteOrlando	Police Have it Wrong: Traffic Flow vs. Safety
04/29/2009	Commentary	Road Rights	A “Cop” Responds
05/06/2009	Traffic Law	Bicycling is Better	Impeding Traffic Is…
05/13/2009	Commentary	BicycleLaw	"And the hell with the law"
05/19/2009	Discrimination	CommuteOrlando	New Frames for New Ages
08/03/2009	Traffic Law	North Texas Vehicular Cyclist	Impediment
08/04/2009	Discrimination	CommuteOrlando	The Culture of Speed vs the Culture of Trust
08/10/2009	Traffic Law	STEVE MAGAS BIKE LAWYER	BIKE LAW 101 – An Overview of Bike Law
08/25/2009	Traffic Safety, Discrimination	Bicycling is Better	Give and Take; Control and Release
09/24/2009	Status Update	Ironton Tribune	Tasered biker sues in civil rights case
09/25/2009	Status Update	STEVE MAGAS BIKE LAWYER	Ironton Tribune reports on Tasered Cyclist case
10/01/2009	Police Encounter	ChipSeal	Nice Meeting You, Officer Watson
10/01/2009	Cycling Advocacy	Bicycling is Better	Which Cycling Politics: Doom or Possibility?
10/10/2009	Police Encounter	NEWS5	Teen’s Death Prompts Taser Ban
11/19/2008	Cycling Education	CommuteOrlando	Adventures in Traffic: College Park to OIA
08/25/2009	Discrimination, Cycling Education	Bicycling is Better	Give and Take; Control and Release
10/04/2009	Police Encounter, Legal Analysis	ChipSeal	It Is More Important To Me Than to Them
10/06/2009	Discrimination	DFW Point-to-Point	Steve Does Principles
10/20/2009	Traffic Safety	DFW Point-to-Point	God Bless Potholes
11/15/2009	Traffic Safety	ChipSeal	The Steps of the Dance
11/16/2009	Traffic Safety	CommuteOrlando	A very fine essay…
11/30/2009	Traffic Law	ChipSeal	Slow Vehicles and Lawful Lane Position
12/09/2009	Status Update, Discrimination	STEVE MAGAS BIKE LAWYER	TASERED Cyclists – An Update
12/15/2009	Traffic Safety	ChipSeal	MOTORISTS NEVER THINK
12/18/2009	Police Encounter	ChipSeal	It Is Hard To Plan For Traffic Stops
12/18/2009	Repost, Traffic Safety	cycleSMARTdallas	Motorists never think
12/23/2009	Legal Analysis	ChipSeal	Oops!
12/24/2009	Cycling Education	CommuteOrlando	Book Review: CycleCraft, by John Franklin
01/01/2010	Discrimination, Cycling Education	Bicycling is Better	The Conch Republic Battles the Tyranny of Speed
01/06/2010	Traffic Safety	cycleSMARTdallas	Why Shoulders Make Bad Bike Lanes
01/09/2010	Cycling Education	DFW Point-to-Point	For Family and For Law
01/19/2010	Police Encounter	ChipSeal	While Minding My Own Business...
01/22/2010	Police Encounter	ChipSeal	Perilous Journey
01/23/2010	Police Encounter	ChipSeal	You Are Under Arrest!
01/24/2010	Police Encounter	ChipSeal	Nice Meeting You Again, Officer Watson!
01/25/2010	Police Encounter	ChipSeal	A Tale of Two Jails
01/26/2010	Commentary	ChipSeal	Repercussions
01/26/2010	Discrimination	CommuteOrlando	The Enforcement of Imaginary Laws
01/27/2010	Discrimination	dailybreeze	LA council studies ways of protecting bicyclists
01/28/2010	Traffic Law	STEVE MAGAS BIKE LAWYER	OHIO’S BIKE LAWS
01/28/2010	Discrimination	DFW Point-to-Point	It Starts With the Law
02/02/2010	Comment Feedback	ChipSeal	Back-talk
02/03/2010	Court Appearance	ChipSeal	A letter came in the mail.
02/04/2010	Status Update	ChipSeal	Court Date
02/05/2010	Traffic Safety	CommuteOrlando	Mythbusters on Highway 535
02/06/2010	Repost, Traffic Safety	cycleSMARTdallas	For Ennis the Menace
02/10/2010	Status Update	ChipSeal	Correction
02/12/2010	Status Update	ChipSeal	Ellis County Demands a Public Showdown
02/13/2010	Inspiration	DFW Point-to-Point	Inspiration and Fear
02/14/2010	Status Update	DFW Point-to-Point	New Case
02/14/2010	Commentary	DFW Point-to-Point	What Have We Come To?
02/15/2010	Status Update	DFW Point-to-Point	Scarlet Pimpernel
02/16/2010	Status Update, Police Encounter, Traffic Safety, Commentary	ChipSeal	Sometimes Motorists Do the Darndest Things
02/16/2010	Status Update	DFW Point-to-Point	High Noon
02/16/2010	Status Update	cycleSMARTdallas	ChipSeal
02/17/2010	Court Appearance, Commentary, Status Update	DFW Point-to-Point	Looking Back Looking Forward
02/19/2010	Comment Feedback, Traffic Safety	ChipSeal	My Formal Reply To Larry
02/19/2010	Traffic Safety, Legal Analysis	DFW Point-to-Point	Fine Lines and Smart Riding
02/20/2010	Traffic Law	DFW Point-to-Point	Daily Violation
02/22/2010	Traffic Safety	DFW Point-to-Point	Things to Think About From a Different Direction
02/23/2010	Status Update, Legal Analysis	cycleSMARTdallas	In a nutshell
02/24/2010	Traffic Safety	DFW Point-to-Point	This is Going Somewhere
02/25/2010	Police Encounter, Court Appearance, Legal Analysis, Commentary	STEVE MAGAS BIKE LAWYER	TROTWOOD v. SELZ – A GREAT VICTORY FOR CYCLISTS
02/28/2010	Police Encounter	cycleSMARTdallas	ECSI: Ennis Crime Scene Investigator
03/01/2010	Legal Analysis, Discrimination	cycleSMARTdallas	30 MPH. Think about it.
03/01/2010	Cycling Education	CommuteOrlando	The Dance on Video
03/02/2010	Discrimination, Inspiration	cycleSMARTdallas	First they ticketed...
03/02/2010	Discrimination	cycleSMARTdallas	Should these police officers ticket themselves for impeding traffic?
03/02/2010	Discrimination	cycleSMARTdallas	Crime Watch.
03/02/2010	Discrimination	cycleSMARTdallas	What does "share" mean to you?
03/05/2010	Traffic Safety	cycleSMARTdallas	The American Association of State Highway and Traffic Officials comes to ChipSeal's defense.
03/06/2010	Cycling Advocacy	Bicycling is Better	A New Myth for Cycling
03/07/2010	Fundraising	cycleSMARTdallas	Special New Higher Prices in the Cycle*Dallas Gift Shop!
03/08/2010	Cycling Advocacy	Bicycling is Better	Blue Collar Jedi Cyclist
03/08/2010	Fundraising, Commentary	CommuteOrlando	Let Him Ride
03/08/2010	Commentary, Status Update	DFW Point-to-Point	Some Battles Choose Us
03/09/2010	Fundraising	cycleSMARTdallas	Save the baby ChipSeals! Look to the right... and donate
03/09/2010	Police Encounter	CYCLES	The Hadley Encounters
03/09/2010	Police Encounter	CYCLES	The West Springfield Encounters
03/09/2010	Legal Analysis	CYCLES	The Police Report
03/09/2010	Legal Analysis	CYCLES	Laws that are Relevant to My Situation
03/09/2010	Court Appearance	CYCLES	The Court Appearance
03/09/2010	Status Update	CYCLES	The Attorney General
03/09/2010	Status Update,Discrimination	CYCLES	Bill Newman
03/09/2010	Status Update	CYCLES	Letters to the Chiefs of Police
03/09/2010	Traffic Safety, Comment Feedback	CYCLES	Questions and Answers on Vecular Cycling / Bicycle Driving
03/09/2010	Traffic Law, Traffic Safety	CYCLES	The Need for Cyclists to Use Assertive Lane Position
03/09/2010	Cycling Education, Discrimination	CYCLES	Advice for Cyclists when Stopped by the Police
03/09/2010	Comment Feedback	CYCLES	Other Comments from the Facebook Note "my legal troubles".
03/09/2010	Discrimination	CYCLES	The Right to Travel
03/09/2010	Fundraising	DFW Point-to-Point	Bare Bones Night
03/10/2010	Cycling Education	CYCLES	Frequently Asked Questions about Bicycle Driving
03/10/2010	Status Update, Traffic Law, Commentary	cycleSMARTdallas	BULLETIN!!!
03/10/2010	Repost, Fundraising, Commentary	BikeForums	ChipSeal needs our support
03/10/2010	Letter	cycleSMARTdallas	Contacts
03/11/2010	Contacts	cycleSMARTdallas	Pen Pals
03/12/2010	Comment Feedback	cycleSMARTdallas	What they are saying...
03/13/2010	Police Encounter	ChipSeal	First, Stop Digging
03/13/2010	Status Update	DFW Point-to-Point	ChipSeal/Reed Bates Update
03/13/2010	Legal Analysis	DFW Point-to-Point	A Way Out for Ennis
03/15/2010	Cycling Education	DFW Point-to-Point	Birth of a Yeti
03/17/2010	Fundraising	cycleSMARTdallas	Attention shoppers! Save ChipSeal, not money (bump).
03/17/2010	Inspiration	cycleSMARTdallas	Oooo! I like that quote.
03/17/2010	Legal Analysis, Traffic Safety	cycleSMARTdallas	Why doesn't he operate on the shoulder?
03/19/2010	Inspiration	cycleSMARTdallas	Franz Kafka goes to Ennis looking for a Kolache...
03/19/2010	Link, Status Update	HOW WE DRIVE	Kafka in Texas
03/21/2010	Police Encounter	CYCLES	The Third Hadley Encounter: Relapse
03/22/2010	Police Encounter	ChipSeal	Impede Traffic, Pull Over a Cyclists!
03/22/2010	Court Appearance	DFW Point-to-Point	People Versus Bates
03/23/2010	Link, Court Appearance	cycleSMARTdallas	The People vs. Bates
03/23/2010	Discrimination	cycleSMARTdallas	Why do cyclists eat their own?
03/24/2010	Traffic Law, Traffic Safety, Cycling Education, Comment Feedback	CYCLES	Response to Maureen's Comment
03/24/2010	Traffic Law, Traffic Safety, Cycling Education, Letter	CYCLES	Letter to Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood
03/24/2010	Discrimination	CommuteOrlando	Another traffic/delay reality check
03/25/2010	Inspiration	cycleSMARTdallas	Welcome back.
03/26/2010	Traffic Safety	cycleSMARTdallas	Why lane position is important, and how it works.
03/26/2010	Discrimination	cycleSMARTdallas	Impeding traffic?
03/27/2010	Traffic Safety	DFW Point-to-Point	Looks Like a Sideswipe Weekend — Sigh
03/27/2010	Traffic Safety	DFW Point-to-Point	Go Steady Yeti
03/27/2010	Legal Analysis, Traffic Safety	cycleSMARTdallas	Absolutely, positively, not representative of the normal and reasonable (but variable) shoulder conditions of Highway 287 between Ennis and Waxahachie
03/29/2010	Status Update	cycleSMARTdallas	Ellis County has decided the charge (not to be confused with the City of Ennis)
03/29/2010	Discrimination, Fundraising	cycleSMARTdallas	Back to Basics regarding why Reed Bates matters to you.
03/30/2010	Commentary, Legal Analysis	Bicycling is Better	Thoughts About Reed Bates
03/30/2010	Link, Commentary, Legal Analysis	cycleSMARTdallas	Mighk makes right (sense)
03/31/2010	Inspiration, Discrimination	ChipSeal	What Codger Said
04/01/2010	Discrimination	cycleSMARTdallas	Separate but equal.
04/02/2010	Traffic Safety	DFW Point-to-Point	Cyclist Choice
04/02/2010	Status Update, Legal Analysis	CYCLES	Charged with Disorderly Conduct and Unlawful Wiretapping
04/06/2010	Link, Cycling Advocacy	Tulsa Alternative Transportation Examiner	The League of American Bicyclists misses the point
04/06/2010	Cycling Advocacy	cycleSMARTdallas	Red Dirt truth.
04/07/2010	Discrimination	cycleSMARTdallas	A reminder.
04/07/2010	Status Update	ChipSeal	Local Road Work
04/07/2010	Discrimination, Cycling Education, Comment Feedback	CYCLES	Response to Racerx's Comment
04/08/2010	Link, Traffic Safety	cycleSMARTdallas	Why the gutter is a bad place to hang out.
04/15/2010	Discrimination	cycleSMARTdallas	Is this legal?
04/19/2010	Traffic Safety	ChipSeal	Sign, Sign, Everywhere a Sign
04/20/2010	Cycling Advocacy	cycleSMARTdallas	Oh me oh my oh, look at Miss Ohio!
04/23/2010	Traffic Law	ChipSeal	Part of Chapter 13 of the Texas Driver Handbook
04/25/2010	Traffic Law, Traffic Safety	ChipSeal	Bicycle Rules For Motorists TDH
04/07/2010	Court Appearance	CYCLES	The Arraignment
04/27/2010	Traffic Safety	STREETSBLOG	Tom Vanderbilt Talks “Traffic”
04/27/2010	Cycling Education	DFW Point-to-Point	Follow Up Report on Yetiness
04/29/2010		CommuteOrlando	A good discussion of traffic culture & justice
05/04/2010	Traffic Safety, Discrimination	DFW Point-to-Point	Shoulders Make a WORLD of Difference
05/23/2010	Commentary	DFW Point-to-Point	Discretion and Valor
05/27/2010	Traffic Safety	DFW Point-to-Point	The Dark Side of the Land Rover Rule
06/12/2010	Discrimination, Status Update	CYCLES	Undue Process of Law
06/24/2010	Inspiration	CommuteOrlando	Accept No Limitations
06/25/2010	Cycling Education	cycleSMARTdallas	Readers write rightly.
06/25/2010	Status Update	DFW Point-to-Point	Beyond the Pale
06/26/2010	Discrimination, Status Update	cycleSMARTdallas	Cow Creek Country Classic Justice
06/26/2010	Status Update	DFW Point-to-Point	First Order of Business
06/26/2010	Police Encounter	DFW Point-to-Point	Historic Waxahachie
06/28/2010	Cycling Education	CommuteOrlando	CyclingSavvy Website Launched
06/30/2010	Discrimination	CommuteOrlando	Promote a healthy community, or pander to the sentiments which destroy community?
07/14/2010	Status Update	cycleSMARTdallas	An open letter from Reed Bates.
07/14/2010	Status Update, Traffic Safety Discrimination	cycleSMARTdallas	Take your lane, or risk this.
07/15/2010	Traffic Safety, Cycling Education	CommuteOrlando	Stop the madness! We can do so much better.
07/17/2010	Status Update	STEVE MAGAS BIKE LAWYER	TASERED CYCLIST SETTLES CIVIL RIGHTS LAWSUIT
07/20/2010	Status Update	ChipSeal	Trial Date Changed From July 29
07/22/2010	Cycling Education, Traffic Safety, Discrimination	CommuteOrlando	Trust and the "Substandard" Lane
07/23/2010	Cycling Education	Orlando Sentinel	Bicyclists, motorists: Can't we all get along on the roads?
07/23/2010	Link, Cycling Education	cycleSMARTdallas	Integration vs. segregation.
07/23/2010	Inspiration	cycleSMARTdallas	Don't be a "traffic cockroach".
07/24/2010	Cycling Advocacy, Traffic Safety, Cycling Education	cycleSMARTdallas	Why doesn't he ride on the shoulder?
07/28/2010	Status Update	ChipSeal	New Trial Date Set
07/29/2010	Status Update, Inspiration, Discrimination	cycleSMARTdallas	Ellis Country has set a NEW court date for Reed Bates.
07/30/2010	Traffic Law	cycleSMARTdallas	This is interesting...
08/04/2010	Link, Cycling Education	cycleSMARTdallas	Orlando-area bike advocate wants to share roads with cars
08/11/2010	Cycling Education, Traffic Safety	cycleSMARTdallas	Would you like to be the new marshal of Dodge?
08/11/2010	Status Update	CYCLES	Case Update: A Distant End in Sight, or at Least a Middle
08/13/2010	Link, Cycling Education	cycleSMARTdallas	Something old, something new. Something borrowed, something true.
08/17/2010	Status Update	DFW Point-to-Point	Conduct Lawful and Admirable
08/18/2010	Status Update, Legal Analysis, Fundraising	cycleSMARTdallas	Reed Bates found Guilty of 'Reckless Driving'
08/18/2010	Court Appearance	DFW Point-to-Point	People Versus Bates
08/19/2010	Repost, Status Update, Legal Analysis, Fundraising	Baltimore Spokes	Reed Bates found Guilty of 'Reckless Driving'
08/19/2010	Status Update	STREETSBLOG NETWORK	Texas Judge Deems Cyclist Guilty for Riding on the Road
08/19/2010	Link, Court Appearance	BikeForums	Jailed for riding in accordance with the law
08/19/2010	Cycling Advocacy, Status Update	LEAGUE OF AMERICAN BICYCLISTS	Picking Your Battles: The League & The Reed Bates Case
08/20/2010	Repost, Cycling Advocacy, Status Update	BikeForums	LAB vrs Strict VC... the Reed Bates issue.
08/20/2010	Cycling Advocacy, Discrimination	cycleSMARTdallas	Clearly unhelpful.
08/20/2010	Cycling Advocacy, Discrimination	CommuteOrlando	Who will speak up when they come for you?
08/22/2010	Status Update	WashCycle	Cyclist Found Guilty for Riding in the Road
08/29/2010	Police Encounter	CYCLES	My Encounter with Eric Perkins and Adam Bartlett
08/312010	Status Update, Discrimination, Cycling Advocacy	CYCLES	Persecution, Abandonment, and Betrayal: Comments on the Reed Bates Saga
09/01/2010	Police Encounter, Commentary, Court Appearance, Legal Analysis	STEVE MAGAS BIKE LAWYER	The SELZ Case – Revisited
09/10/2010	Commentary	Road Rights	Listen, Obey—and then Act
09/26/2010	Traffic Law, Discrimination, Cycling Advocacy	STEVE MAGAS BIKE LAWYER	“SHARE THE ROAD” Stinks…
10/01/2010	Discrimination, Traffic Safety, Cycling Advocacy	CommuteOrlando	The Cost of Being Different