Dan Moser of the Village of Osceola Hills was riding his ElliptiGo bicycle on Dec. 1, 2019 on Morse Boulevard when he received a ticket from a Sumter County sheriff’s deputy.
His offense? Riding a bicycle without a seat.
He was in disbelief when the deputy initiated a traffic stop.
“He had his lights on, and he commanded through his loud speaker, ‘Pull over.’ I immediately stopped my bicycle and waited for the officer’s instructions,” Moser said.
Moser had been riding his ElliptiGo on the streets of The Villages for nearly five years. The deputy told him he had to ride on the multi-modal path.
An ElliptiGo combines the motion of an indoor elliptical trainer with the outdoor mobility of a traditional bicycle. Many Villagers ride them for the physical benefits they offer. But many ElliptiGo owners probably don’t realize their exercise bicycles are illegal.
However, that’s about to change, thanks in part to Moser.
After getting that ticket in 2019, he decided that the antiquated law needed to change.
He began by talking to then-Sumter County Commissioner Al Butler. Moser then raised his concern with state Rep. Brett Hage, R-The Villages. Hage co-sponsored a bill “providing an exception to the requirement that a person operating a bicycle ride upon or astride a seat attached thereto.”
On Friday, Moser received the news he has been waiting to hear. House Bill 353 has passed and will take effect July 1. It includes an update to the bicycle seat legislation. In other words, Moser’s ElliptiGo bicycle will be “legal.”