It shows up every Sunday morning, bright and early. Reliable. Lean in the winter, it grows fat in the summer. The peloton feasts on the quiet country roads and hills of Pasco County.

Cyclists from all over Florida make their way to "San Ann" every weekend to train and race. The Sunday morning group rides can attract anywhere from 50 to 75 cyclists. A group of bicyclists riding together is called a peloton.

"It's just something people have done for 30 years," San Antonio Mayor Tony Lister said. "We have hundreds come up each weekend. We sure appreciate them being in our community."

But some locals say it's too much of a good thing. The group rides are out of control. They take over the roads and ignore traffic laws. It's just a matter of time before someone gets killed.

The Pasco County Sheriff's Office has been getting more and more complaints – so many they started cracking down on cyclists.

"They complain that the cyclists run stop signs," Sgt. Steven Eastmond said. "The biggest complaint is that they take up the whole lane. When they're going up hills, they're hardly moving."

It's legal for bicyclists to ride two abreast as long as they're not impeding the flow of traffic, Eastmond said. On Jan. 30, sheriffs' deputies ticketed five members of the University of South Florida racing team for impeding traffic.

"I had one of my deputies go out the park and talk to the cyclists. After that, if we saw violations, we cited them," Eastmond said.

Rather than pay the $67.50 tickets, the cyclists pleaded not guilty and hired a lawyer. Their case goes to traffic court in April. None would speak to The Tampa Tribune about the case, but several other cyclists applaud the five for taking a stand.

"If they feel like they weren't doing anything wrong, I understand the decision," said Dina Farag, a coach for Chavez Cycling. "I would fight it, too."

Farag said cyclists are drawn to San Antonio because of its unique terrain. "The hills pose a challenge for us, so that makes it a good place to train," she said. "We pick Sunday morning because we figure people don't have to rush anywhere."

Randy Myhre, owner of Oliver's Cycle Sports in New Tampa, lives nearby and is a frequent participant in the group rides. "Do the riders take up more space than they should? At times, yes," he said.

Myhre understands why some motorists complain. "As a rider who takes part in a lot of group rides, I feel like for the little amount of inconvenience we cause, people can afford to wait a couple of minutes to get to where they're going," he said. "I mean, it's Sunday morning, it's the least crowded time to be on the road.

"They said the sheriff's offices should be just as diligent about ticketing motorists who illegally pass bicyclists. "A lot of people try to cut us off," Farag said. "Cars zoom by, and people honk at us."

Cycling advocate Alan Snel said motorists often pass illegally, failing to give cyclists the required three feet of clearance. "The mindset has to change," he said. "The road is for all kinds of users – not just cars."

Myhre wants cyclists to have equal right to the road, but said they deserve special protection.

"They expect every cyclist to stop at the stop sign – that would essentially kill the group ride," Myhre said. "The peloton should be considered one vehicle. The group is a single entity. If the wind blows in from the right, we're all going to drift left. "

That type of riding is precisely why more motorists are losing patience, according to sheriff's spokesman Doug Tobin. "Our goal is to get voluntary compliance," he said. "If we don't have compliance, we're going to end up with a fatality."

That's what happened in 2007 when 22-year-old Joshua Kuck, a founder of the USF racing team, was struck and killed while riding in an open race called the "Hilly Hundred." Kuck ran a stop sign and turned left onto County Road 41 when he collided with a pickup truck.

Tobin said the sheriff's office has issued some verbal warnings to cyclists, but hasn't ticketed anyone since January. Lister also has tried to mediate between the cyclists and law enforcement.

"I am a cyclist – I love to cycle," he said. "I want people to feel like they're welcome in San Ann." Snel also has met with the sheriff's office. "I think it's a minority of bicyclists and a minority of motorists that are causing problems," he said. "These country roads are narrow, but it will work out if everyone is courteous. I don't see any reason for it to escalate."