Nice post! Hi! I'm John in Corpus, and it now strikes me as funny how after a few years reading these posts every so often, I only now thought to join in. The "catalyst" which now compels me to join in?... Well,... no cop has ever before, thoughout the years, ever expressed anything negative about my gas motor-assist bicycles, in fact,... they (typically) merely laughed, and asked a couple of friendly questions. Ater all these several years, I finally encountered, the other day, a "busy-body"/bored cop, way out on a country road outside of Corpus, who wanted to make a big/negative deal about the 48/49 cc "China Girl" on my mountain bike. I had pulled out of the driveway, driving, as normal, usually for me, on the shoulder, when he (Nueces County Constable) stopped ahead on the shouler, and waited for me to catch up to where he was sitting. He eventually got back in his patrol car after I pointed out that the motor is 48-49 cc, hence, under U.S. Federal law, still legally just a bicycle,... and Federal Law, in the abscence of ANY specific Texas statute, is the only concievable law that specifically could be applicable to a gas motor assist bicycle under 50cc displacement... Texas has never bothered to codify ANY specific GAS powered bicycle assist statute. As he got back into his car, he said I should have a helmet on, to which I expressed feigned dismay, bleating out,... "When did they pass THAT new statute for bicycles!?!", to which he mumbled that their isn't one, but that it's a "good idea" anyway... Whereupon,... he then drove off from whence he came... HA! "Creeping authoritarianism!" Of such little increments are suffocation of our innate freedoms inexoribly suffocated!... ALL hail "The NANNY STATE with the mailed fist!... Police officers have the LEGAL authority to enforce codified laws, NOT their own paticular pejudices,... whether pro or con,... on ANY particular issue. ...
