I_like_cereal

Monday:
Heading to and from work and I have to bike through a sewer project where the road is torn to heck and back. Gravel everywhere, steel plates, wet mornings, people that do not slow down.
Going home in a residential area a van came up behind me, revved its engine and proceeded to squeeze me over into the parked cars. His lane and the lane next to him was wide open. Once he squeezed me over and I stopped to avoid hitting a parked car. He slowed and "waited" for me to continue. At which point he continued to be a pain and exhibited the same behavior. Culminating with him parking on the wrong side of the street facing the wrong direction.
An SUV with a driver that was not paying attention nearly ran me over in the bike lane as I was coming home. He was going to make a right into a parking lot and did not check his mirrors nor did he have his signal on.
Another SUV driver decided to block the cross walk on a busy intersection and refused to back up so I could pass. This caused me to miss the signal and force me to finish the cross against the light.

Tuesday:
I know that is "wrong" for a cyclist to use a sidewalk. I only do it when my safety is at risk and I always give the pedestrian the right of way. Anyway, this morning a lady that was out for her walk was in front of me. I unclipped and single peddled next to her and asked if I could pass. She asked why I was on the side walk. A fair question. I responded that the road to the left was too narrow and that I had been nearly hit several times. She said I still should not be on the side walk. I apologized to her saying that I just wanted to make sure that I got home to my family at night. She said that she wasn't saying that I should not be safe but that it is not fair that she is restricted to the sidewalk and that I should use the road. I told her that Oregon law does allow for a cyclist to use the sidewalk. She was still upset and I apologized again for inconveniencing her and slowly sped up to pass her. All this time I am single leg stroking the bike. Oregon law does in fact allow me to use a sidewalk as long as I act as a pedestrian, slow speed, and give deference to a pedestrian.
Finishing my ride to work I got squeezed again by four cars trying to get to a stop sign as fast as they could. All the while I am running out of bike lane and quickly heading for a retaining wall. I fought my way over and another passed me over a double yellow line.

Really, really. Its only Tuesday people.

pallen

I find that taking the lane helps with the squeezing. That may or may not apply in your situation. When I'm riding to the right and someone passes me close, I will usually move to the center or even left of the lane after they pass.

Its been raining nonstop this week, so I drove mon and tues

chefisaac

and its only tuesday........... I feel for ya!

Rick@OCRR

In CA it's not legal to ride on the sidewalk, and I don't know of any exceptions . . . One morning I was, however, riding on the sidewalk of Imperial Highway and ended up at a stoplight parked right next to a Norwalk Police Officer. So, I asked "Is it legal for me to ride on the sidewalk?"

His response, "No, it's not. But I don't want you out here with this traffic, so just be careful and watch out for pedestrians."

Of course, if this had been a road/highway with a bike lane, or even space for a bike alongside the motor traffic, I probably wouldn't have gotten that response!

Unlike the OP, I've never had any negative reactions from pedestrians at all. To the contrary, I've gotten a couple of "cool bike!" comments while waiting for the light to change at a cross-walk.

My Tues. morning commute was delightfully uneventful. Boring, but in a good way!

Rick / OCRR

erg79

Actually, the California Vehicle Code is silent on bicycles on sidewalks, leaving it up to local cities to regulate sidewalk riding. In Los Angeles, for example, it's legal, while in Santa Monica it's illegal (and until recently, it was treated as a misdemeanor rather than in infraction, so someone riding on the sidewalk was treated as a bigger danger to public safety than someone texting while driving or speeding on the streets). San Francisco allows for sidewalk riding by riders under 13.

It's a pretty fuzzy area, obviously (this LADOT Bike Blog post reviews just some of the laws throughout LA County). The Norwalk police officer could have been correct if it's illegal in Norwalk--no clue--but police officers can sometimes be no more informed on laws pertaining to bicyclists than the average person.