Tensions flare between drivers, cyclists in Colorado

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — In the feud between motorists and cyclists, the hour was high noon.

A lawman stopped two visitors on a county road and warned them their behavior wouldn't be tolerated. Their transgression: riding their two-wheeled steeds side by side instead of falling into single file when an automobile approached.

"Don't let the sun set on your behind in my county," is how the cyclists heard the deputy's warning.

Or maybe he said, "If you stay in Dodge, be prepared to follow the rules or suffer the consequences," as the sheriff later would say.

Either way, they were fighting words that shook a fragile truce between Colorado motorists and bicyclists and asked anew if the two groups can coexist on the state's roads.

As in other parts of the country, tensions between cyclists and motorists are considerable. Drivers complain about cyclists whizzing down mountain roads, oblivious to nearby cars. Riders say drivers veer dangerously close and toss soda cans at them.

The northern Colorado county of Larimer draws cyclists by the hundreds for its solitary country roads winding through fields and canyons, and around beautiful lakes. Larimer's largest city, Fort Collins, is a college town lauded for being bike-friendly.

But in the county's rural areas, some residents have grown weary of the spandex-clad athletes who fill the roads every weekend, said Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden, who stands accused of sharing their prejudices.

This spring, Alderden's traffic deputies stepped up their efforts to rein in those they saw as violators: cyclists who rode two abreast, requiring motorists to edge into oncoming lanes to avoid them.

Among those stopped in May were two riders from Boulder. They said Deputy Brian Ficker told them he didn't appreciate Boulder cyclists riding in his county and told them to return there or face a ticket.

Alderden disputed their account. "It wasn't 'Get out of Dodge,' " he said. "He told them, 'This is the law. You might get away with it in Boulder County, but in Larimer County, we enforce the statutes.' "

In the ensuing coverage, barbs flew. Some accused the sheriff of being an overweight, lazy man jealous of the cyclists' fitness; Alderden called cyclists arrogant and said that spandex affected their sense of humor.

But the flap also revealed a division of opinion on the law. State law permits cyclists to ride two abreast, as long as they don't impede the normal flow of traffic.

To Alderden, that meant they should move into single-file if a car approached.

Bicycle advocates, including the author of the bill, see it differently. It's OK for a car to drive around two cyclists, just as it might for a slow-moving farm vehicle, said state Sen. Greg Brophy.

Despite a recent meeting called to find common ground, the two sides reached no consensus.

Brophy said the law should be clarified, something he intends to address next year. Until then, Alderden said he would continue to enforce the law as he interprets it.