President of Columbia Bicycle Club responds to motorist comment

Jill Mackey, president of the Columbia Bicycle Club, has a letter to the editor in today's Columbia Daily Tribune:
I am compelled to respond to the letter appearing in a recent edition of the Tribune stating that cyclists should ride the Katy trail and not on the roads. The writer suggests that because the state of Missouri built the Katy trail using tax dollars, cyclists should use only that trail and not traverse the roads of Missouri.

The writer’s assertion reflects a profound misunderstanding of the many facets of cycling. The Katy trail meets one facet and is suited to one kind of bicycle - a trail bike. It is unsuitable for mountain cyclists, who cycle up and down mountains on specialized bicycles, and for road cyclists, whose bicycles are built for riding on smooth pavement. Cyclists break no laws when riding on the roads. See Missouri statute 307.190.
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