Bikes in the Street

I'm from Oregon, a eco-friendly place filled with lush, green landscapes and recycle bins. The city has a "do something good for the environment" attitude about everything. So I grew up around a lot of bike lanes and Earth day celebrations. Bike lanes are something I wish I saw nowadays in Texas. I've always had a indescribable hate toward people who rode bikes in the street. People who think they are riding in cars; people who signal with their arms and stop at the light in the middle of the road during peak traffic. Yeah, those people. Too many times, I remember riding 2mph in the car with my parents behind some idiot on a bike. What was worse sometimes that idiot was riding alongside a bike lane. I don't care how much patience you have this will make you lose it one day. When I moved to Texas, I loved how no one rode bikes like that. I would never have to worry about seriously considering ending someone's life because they were holding me up riding in traffic. I've seen so many people on bikes out in traffic lately it makes me wonder. There aren't bike lanes here but there are plenty of sidewalks why don't people ride on sidewalks when sidewalks are available? Even though I'm sure it's perfectly legal for bicyclist to ride in the street among regular traffic isn't it dangerous for that guy on the bike to be riding between cars going 3o or 40 mph? As the person on the bike, I'm not sure I would trust everybody behind the wheel to respect my bike. If hit and seriously injured I could only take legal action against whoever hit me after the fact when it's too late. I would love to see people on bikes use the sidewalk when it's there instead of opting for the street. In the end, no one in a car really cares that your on a bike they just want you out of their way.