Anyone here ride with the club? I see where they called the cops on fellow riders who did not stop fully at a stop sign, un-clip and put a foot down. The also said that a few of the riders were racing and this caused other riders to push past their limits and were being placed in harms way.

So they call the cops to manage and write citations on their own members? I think we all agree about safety but to call the cops. Wow talk about a strange group.

Source? Where did you see this and who are "they?"

The had it on their clubs web page. Then they took the thread down. I guess they did it since it came out that they called the cops on fellow members. Crazy stuff. Do you ride with them?

I guess is should have read your post and paid attention (still to early and I need my coffee). They seem to be a club in the Woodlands area. The guy who called the cops has a son I think who is a good Jr. rider.
I have heard of them and seen them on rides but I also have heard they are saftey Nazis. I may try and ride with them just to see for myself.

You should consider that the riders could have been troublemakers who needed dealing with

Did the cops actually come? I'm sorry, but they should be fined for 911 abuse. There are better things for our law enforcement officers to do then chase down some guy on a bicycle and write him a ticket. Plus, he isn't going to write a ticket unless he actually saw the cyclist blow the stop sign. Sounds like someone needs to grow some and tell someone they can't ride with them if they don't follow the rules. That or find a way to get rid of that stress that is causing them to be anal because cycling clearly isn't doing it for them.

-Nate

Not that I work the area in question, but I would not issue a traffic ticket based on a another party's statement alone. There would have to be an actual collision, and a ticket issued based on statements and evidence. A non-911, non-emergency call might be understandable, but such calls placed against members of one's own group or club is an unhealthy form of social interaction, akin to cannibalism. Edited to add: FWIW, I don't remember ever ticketing a cyclist for not coming to a complete stop, unless it was a crack dealer or pimp; I will use any legal means to detain those bozos.

Haha, maybe they are pedaling meth to the rich kids and they don't want anyone to get to the high school before they do. There is no such thing as profit sharing in the drug industry. Makes me wonder if one dealer ever calls the cops to rat out another dealer that is more profitable on the streets. If I was a dealer, I would.

-Nate

Bicycle delivery?

Yeah, the pun sounded funnier when I first typed it.

I have never seen bicycle delivery of illicit drugs, but there are certain guys on bikes who seem to act like supervisors over the ones standing on the street corners. Nobody is usually "holding" when they are jacked up; they seem to be acting as sales reps, and will jump into a buyer's car to take them to a crack house or other location to make the buy. Ticketing these bozos for bicycle and pedestrian violations is a way to make their lives more difficult.

Disclaimer: I do not work for the PD of my listed hometown, but for a larger nearby city.

They sound like, and are, a bunch of d-bags. I was looking for a club when I first moved here and after perusing their forum I realized what a bunch of 'tards they were.

They definitely know how to make bicycling NOT fun.

"OH BOO HOO! OUR CLUB MEMBERS ARE RACING AND GOING TOO FAST"

Typical of the Woodlands, they take themselves way more seriously than they should.

+1 ice cold mug of beer. And if they called the non emergency line, they should get a stern knock up side the helmet. Perhaps with that mug(once empty).

LOL

Yep, I have to be vague, as one of my employer's rules is that I cannot comment on a whole range of topics, from policy, to safety issues, to social issues, and most certainly political issues, while being identifiable as a "member of the department." Bellaire is small enough that to say I work for a larger nearby city is sufficiently vague, I hope.

Come on, don't lie to yourself. We all know that South Side Place isn't big.

All this time I thought it was River Oaks.

My dad and brother work for HFD, I'm all too familiar with the "comment" rule.

WCC is an excellent club committed to the safety of its riders and the observance of vehicle law and what's being said on this thread is mostly ill-informed and flat out wrong. Though not a current member of the club I have ridden with them on numerous occasions and found the members to be helpful, considerate, great advocates of cycling and cycling safety and extremely supportive of the sport... It's' true that one of their sponsored rides has been discontinued.. it was discontinued as a sponsored ride because despite excellent safety briefings prior to the ride, on every occasion I rode, there were a handful of people who chose to blatantly disregard the rules of the road and routinely created hazards for themselves, other riders and the motorists we share the roads with... it was a good decision and although I am disappointed that the ride is gone, it was no one's fault but those cyclists who chose to break club rules and state traffic laws.

Since the original post, I have ridden on a few of their rides. They seem like a good group with a few people who are out of control at both ends. Some who are not safe and some who are so safe they make others not safe. The extremes at both ends can be bad. Most of the people where cool. I did ride with the remnants of the group ride that was canceled. They seemed fine, were all good riders, and seemed to be very safe. They called out everything and stopped when they needed etc. They were a good group of guys who seemed they just wanted to ride and have fun. I could never get anyone there to confirm the police were called. They had heard that but did not know. They did not care if they were. Some were members of the local club and others were not. Those who were felt that the club was good but had a few who were over the top with the issue. They said for the most part the offending parties were all about themselves and preached too much.

I did ride with a few members of the race team. Strong riders who did preach safety but even they broke their safety rules. As few of them did confirm that, they had one person who called the cops on the group because they were unsafe. They said he was proud he called and told others he did. I think Rex G said it best in an above post: “such calls placed against members of one's own group or club is an unhealthy form of social interaction, akin to cannibalism.”

Over all I would say it is a decent group who cares about safety but have a few nuts at both extremes. Both can be dangerous. I almost want to join the club just for the entertainment.

One of the Saturday riders was hilarious and this is not a shop at the police. He said the club should organize the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department Donut Ride. Entry fee could be a dozen donuts to support the men in blue. They could print shirts that say, “When it comes to cycling safety at intersections, we put our foot down. (And we’ll fine you if you don’t).”

That is a matter of perspective. I have ridden many times, yet have not noticed this. And I have been at the front, the middle and back at various different times.

All the aforementioned tweenie schoolgirl drama and gossip aside (calling the police for example), I generally like the club. There are some really nice people and skill levels both in the club and among the general riders who are continuing on with the HEB ride regardless of the WCC decision to cede it's endorsement. I believe that the WCC action was a little knee jerk and dramatic as well, but that is the nature of things when dealing with such obvious egos. Nevertheless, on their forum someone posted a link to a biker's blog that really made a lot of sense in their defence. The topic discussed was the difference between cyclists and POBs (people on bikes).



The problem that I have personally with the WCC rides is that unless you plan on practically racing 22-30mph, you are stuck with beginner rides. Perhaps I am incorrect, but there doesn't seem to be a ride for anyone wanting to average 18-22mph without the time or energy for the 50 mile trip.



Having been on the HEB ride multiple times, I can attest to it's viability as an additional option for those who like to vary their usual rides. Come on out sometime. It starts every Sunday at 8:30am at the HEB in TW Towncenter and goes about 29-35 miles, after which many of us enjoy congregating at the Jamba Juice and Starbucks in Towncenter. If you prefer the FM routes as currently riden by the WCC and don't mind the distance and/or speeds, their website is here.

As one of the past leaders of the WCC and having been involved in other cycling clubs in leadership capacity, I can provide some insight that some of you obviously don't have.

The first thing to get straight is that no one called the cops on anyone. We have a good relationship with the local law including Montgomery county sheriffs, Oak Ridge PD, and Shenandoah PD--and they tell us about various groups who are being reported through citizen complaints. It is an open dialog and information is shared both ways. Ultimately everyone is responsible for their own actions on a ride and if those actions are not in sync with the expectations from the non profit club that established them, then they will be asked not to participate with that particular club. To me this is common sense.

Secondly, there are many groups who cycle in the Woodlands/Spring/Tomball/Conroe/Magnolia etc. areas and although the WCC is a larger group, certainly does not mean it is the only group. The club tries to teach and follow through with basic safety rules and expectations on rides that fall under its insurance liability . . . does not take a genius to follow the legal ramifications of not doing a safety talk and then having someone seriously injured and then that person suing the club and so on. The ride in question became unsafe due to riders not respecting the expectations, so the club removed its name from the ride. We don't care if it continues or not, we just don't want to be associated with it if safety cannot be followed. It is that simple.

Sometimes I think cyclists as a subgroup of culture do more to harm our very own subgroups than necessary. The law is already established, but we spend more time debating how to follow the law than actually riding our bikes and having a good time with people who like to do the same! Race team, social riders, safe, unsafe, he said, she said--it is all serving what purpose? Ride your bikes within your own comfortability level and know the consequences of your actions . . . what more can anyone ask?

The spin begins.

You may want to check with your buddy KB again. It seems there is a short memory by the club leaders. He admitted he called the sheriffs department and would do it again. I ride with you guys all the time. You are good people but over the top sometimes with the traffic stuff. Just relax. I can't wait for our next club meeting. I'm sure it will be a hot topic and people will be critical of all this. Most will choose to just keep it quite or will side with the vocal minority and then go back to riding like normal people.

PFP

Hey CJ,

Good to see ya!

Sarge

Probably were the sort of unsavory types that might, hypothetically, take a group out to the middle of nowhere, stop, check the map, announce "OK... we missed a turn, we're going down to that last road we passed" and "accidentally" drop one of the riders. :-)

Calling the cops on your own members is harsh... I think the Team Cinzano approach is more appropriate amongst "friends."

And, yes, I'll be checking to see if you have a frame pump next time I ride with you...

You do realize that here I am "peacebike" . . . not the obvious "Coach J" that someone else ganked, yanked and pranked from me. If I was a betting man, 212 has a beef and started this thread & if we looked at the IP address . . . it may be the same as "coach j"; hmmmmm. he, or she even took the signature line "Pedal for Peace" which I live by--guess it serves me right for not using my own name/signature line across the board.

Oh well, negativity exists for all who seek it out.

What I still do not understand is why others want to glop an entire group into one category based on the action(s) of one individual who did or did not do? Lighten up indeed. For all of you out there that are still scratching your heads . . . it is wise not to believe that which you do not know. Now that another administration is in place for WCC, talk directly to them should you have any concerns about the decisions that THEY have made. The rest of us will continue to ride bikes and enjoy what this sport is all about. Or better yet, join at www.woodlandscycling.org