I’m telling you, the bicycle folks in this town are relentless. For many of them, riding a bike is a religious experience, which may explain why you see so many of them pedaling furiously along our country roads on a Sunday morning.

The other day a dedicated cyclist named Jim responded to something I wrote about the fear I experience while walking when I hear a voice from behind call out “on your left.” My fear is based mostly on an inability to instantly know my right from my left when not saluting the flag, and I certainly don’t wish to leave this planet flattened on a greenbelt path with narrow tire marks running up my back and over my scalp.

Jim’s simple solution is to require a bell on every bike, not to mention having everyone — walkers and cyclists alike — exercise some common caution and courtesy.

Well, the response to Jim’s proposal was swift and certain.

David Takemoto-Weerts, who takes this bicycle safety business seriously in his role as Bicycle Program Coordinator for Transportation and Parking Services at the U. on LaRue, writes to say “When Lois Wolk served on the Council, she suggested a mandatory bike bell ordinance.”

Funny, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Lois Wolk on a bicycle. Of course, now that she works those late hours in Sacramento, it’s probably difficult to ride a bike back home across the causeway after dark. I am pleased to learn, however, that Lois was ahead of the curve when it comes to a bike bell ordinance.

David then explains that California Vehicle Code Section 21 prohibits just such an ordinance, which proves once again that legislators have far too much time on their hands.

Says Section 21 (a): “Except as otherwise expressly provided, the provisions of this code are applicable and uniform throughout the state and in all counties and municipalities therein, and a local authority shall not enact or enforce any ordinance or resolution on matters covered by this code, including ordinances or resolutions that establish regulations or procedures for, or assess a fine, penalty, assessment, or fee for a violation of, matters covered by this code.”

OK, I get that the Vehicle Code applies equally to people in Modoc, Modesto and Middle Davis, but I don’t see anything in there about bells on bicycles.

David, who may be an attorney in his spare time, explains: “In short, because bike bells (or other audible devices on bicycles) are not required under the CVC, they can’t be required by local authority.”

Even when the very lives of our mostly intelligent citizens are on the line? At the very least we need to challenge this law as a clear constitutional violation of “equal protection,” or, as they say in the NFL, backside protection.

Adds David: “A broad uniformity of rules and regulations is important so that pedestrians, cyclists and motorists throughout the state can have a reasonable expectation that they will not encounter unknown or unexpected rules as they travel from place to place between jurisdictions.”

Makes sense to me. I mean, just imagine the confusion settling over poor Fred and Frieda from Fresno when they stop to take a stroll on a Davis greenbelt.

“I think I just heard a bicycle bell, dear.”

“No, it can’t be, we’re still in California, aren’t we?”

Notes David, with the ever-inventive solution: “Perhaps Davis could circumvent CVC 21 by mandating that all residents wear cowbells at all times around their necks, whether afoot, astride a bike or driving a vehicle. Or would that be more appropriate for Vacaville?”

It would, indeed, be more appropriate for that Solano County town named after cows, but I like the idea of circumventing the law.

Our new Official City Motto can be: “Davis — A Chicken in Every Pot, a Cowbell Around Every Neck.”

I think your proposal has considerable merit, my friend.

— Reach Bob Dunning at [email protected]

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