pueblonative

I want to amend my vote on the bicycle in the road vs. bicycle on the sidewalk. I originally said that it was 50-50. Now, I have to pretty much put it as 95-5 in favor of riding on the cycle. I can say that I am the only person that I see riding regularly in the road. Adults, teens, it doesn't matter. They're usually on the sidewalk.

My question is why? Is it just that these people we're taught that somehow? Is it laziness, fear?

uke

Maybe they don't see any more of a need to ride on the road than you see to ride on the sidewalk.

I ride where I get the best combination of speed and safety. Sometimes that's the bike path. Sometimes that's the sidewalk. Sometimes that's the road.

On the way to class, I use all three at different parts of my route. I pass some cyclists on the path. I pass some cyclists on the walk. I pass some cyclists on the road. It's no big deal.

Lizzylou

The only people I ever see on the road are cyclists in full roadie lycra. If you aren't wearing lycra around here, chances are you are on the sidewalk (without a helmet). I passed about 6 other folks on bicycles today. 1 was a roadie, the other 5 were teenagers on BMXs on the sidewalk. What makes me nervous about them, is they have a nasty habit of randomly leaving the sidewalk and crossing the street. You neverknow where they are going to go. A bike on the sidewalk is unpredictable.

I believe that the sidewalk is acceptable for younger children but teenagers and adults should be using the street. Sidewalks are for pedestrians.

I will only use them when I get to where I want to go, and I'll ride up onto the sidewalk before I dismount. So I generally ride about 10 feet of sidewalk every day.

recumelectric

Sidewalk riding is pretty common where I live. Honestly, I don't think that everyone knows that they have the option of the road. I also think a lot of folks feel safer on the sidewalk, as opposed to being "out in traffic." I have been in both categories (ignorant and fearful) at different points in time.

Now my category is to take the route that is safest for me. Sometimes, it includes some sidewalk riding when the road is absolutely hellish and I know that drivers totally don't expect me to be on it. Usually, the street is better. It's smoother, faster, unobstructed by peds, and makes me more visible to cars.

What occurs to me is the fact that most people will never take a bicycle education class, so they will never know what they are supposed to be doing. Is any cycling information included in driver's education? (I don't know, since I missed driver's ed, too. )

cyclokitty 

I stay off the sidewalks but today I did ride up a side walk for about 20 metres because the road was blocked by construction. There was no one on the side walk, otherwise I wouldn't have done it.

On one of my routes home is a section of street that is waaaaay too busy to ride through so I have ridden on the sidewalk to get to the next street. It's quite wide and I am very careful but I can never tell when a pedestrian may suddenly stop or swerve into my path. I don't feel comfortable doing it but I also hate the momentum lost getting off my bike and walking with it over the next street.

Most people ride on the street. I do see children riding on the sidewalk (perfectly fine of course), and sometimes I see adults. There is always the chance that the person is new to commuting and feels uncomfortable with the traffic, so I give them the benefit of the doubt. When I started commuting by bike I walked a far bit of my route at first. I never feel comfortable on the sidewalk -- too narrow, pedal really slowly, drive ways -- and riding on the street is much faster.

Wildcatnj

I think it is that people do not know where they should ride and they feel safer on the sidewalk. On my commute there are not a lot of sidewalks, but if there were I would not normally take them. Today, after commuting for 18 days, I noticed that one section of my route has a sidewalk that I never saw before. I only take the sidewalk at one section and that is going over a bridge. I have gone over the bridge a few times, but do not really feel safe doing it. I feel the bridge gets narrower at one end. At this bridge I would say I see half and half, some on the bridge and others on the path.

Grim

Some times it is about self preservation. I'm mostly in the street but I have a couple long steep hills with blind curves that people run 50+mph on and I will ride the sidewalk at times. I have been clipped by a mirror on that curve. Last post on this page is a good example why. https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...=453872&page=2 Original comment on first page has a picture at the worst spot.

I actually have figured out the traffic pattern and now can time hitting that curve between major groupings of cars if I really pump up the hill and get past where the visibility is bad but I am tore up to to the point where I have to rest for a minute in a turn lane and catch my breath. Some mornings I just don't have it in me and I take the hill at 8mph on the sidewalk (i'm 42 with heart issues that include 3 stints).

I feel there is some places that warrant riding sidewalks due to the danger. Where I live the joke is the "roads were built on cow paths" and that holds a LOT more truth then people really realize. If I lived somewhere flat and grid layout I would probably never be on the sidewalk. That said there is very few other riders I see in the street and a few of them I am just fine with them being on the side walk. I have one older gentleman that I see regularly that is rarely going more then 5 mph.

BCRider

I got my shoulder clipped by a side mirror on a segment of busy road one time. The road in that area has a kink that seems to cause brain dead drivers to try to hug the curb. Once was enough. Where I see stuff like that I take to the sidewalk and ride at a jogging pace or slower when pedestrians are there. I'm here for my health and not to die because some driver won't give me my small bit of space I need.

On other roads I don't mind riding the shoulder and do it often. But where I see that there's an opportunity for drivers to misread and act like idiots I have no qualms with taking to the sidewalk for a block or so until I can get back to my quieter side streets.

norsehabanero

about both here

kajero

A car driver yelled at me the other day: "GET on the sidewalk". With that kind of idiot driving around, maybe it might be a good idea to take the sidewalk.

crhilton

Fear isn't rational, neither are most of the decisions we make in our life unless we work very hard at being rational.

People fear the cars on the road and the 6 feet of grass between them and the normal trajectory of the cars makes them feel safe. They're not realizing that every one of those cars is going to turn eventually.

DataJunkie

Who wants to live their lives entirely at the whim of what everyone else wants them to do?

Jarery

I see a lot of sidewalk riders here too, probably about 50 -50. I refuse to ride on the sidewalk unless construction forces it, I even avoid mups which are just sidewalks that veer away from the road shoulder.

Personally I added 3km and about 500 ft more climbing in order to avoid one section where the 4 lane road is too narrow and is a main truck route to travel it safely in rush hour on the road.

So my 50 km daily commute is all road. And my weekend group rides are never sidewalk obviously.

Beccaree

I'm a sidewalk rider. I only go in the road if I have to. I feel more safe on the sidewalk. I don't understand why people care if some of us ride on sidewalks. Yes, it has the word walk in it... I ride on a MUP that has a green sign with a bike on it at a crosswalk to alert drivers that bikes cross the road that point. Does that mean that pedestrians or people on inline skates can't cross there? As far as I know, it's not illegal for adults to ride on sidewalks in my area. Most people ride on them. The only people on the road are the roadie types.

slloth

I just want to go as fast as I can. The side walk has to many obstacles and bumps.

When I was a kid and riding my BMX was more about doing tricks and just cruising the sidewalk was fun. Now that I am older and my objective is to get from point A to point B as fast as I can the sidewalk is only used to pass traffic on the road.

Grim

I will warn you of this...The majority of the near misses I had when I got back into riding in the spring were cross walks.

Riding the street and acting like a car at ALL intersections (taking the lane) has greatly reduced the near misses I have had.

A mistake of riding in the street is riding the white line. The law only indicates ride as far to the right as is safe. Riding the line invites cars to wedge in without giving you a good amount of room. That is not safe. Ride the right tire track becasue that visualy makes you look like you are taking half the lane. That forces people too change lanes instead of trying to squeeze past you.

Basically you have to exert control on the drivers by positioning yourself in such a way to force them to make the safe choice of passing when they have a good line of sight and actually leave the lane you are in when passing you.

The street is often a much smoother and faster ride that wears on you less. I do conceed that sometimes the sidewalk is a good choice as my above post and link indicated but you might give street riding more concideration. I feel at intersections it is far safer then using cross walks.

Reacker

Most people simply don't know anything about the law in regards to cycling and many of them think they know that bikes should be on the sidewalk. Road is for cars, sidewalk is for everyone else. If no one told you that technically you are supposed to be in the road, how many of you would have started going there?

That said even knowing that I'm supposed to be riding in the road, I still ride on the sidewalk fairly often (thought not most of the time). Usually to avoid crossing the busiest street in town only to have to cross over to my destination two lights down, but also in some places in town where for some reason the city has decided to dump gravel over the road thus making the smooth sidewalk far more desirable.

recumelectric

Sidewalk riding is legal in my area, so it doesn't bug me to see people riding on it. I've also done it a lot over the years, so I can't judge.

I didn't get into major road riding until I came here (just a few months ago) and read the safety arguments in favor of taking the road. I'm learning that the major issue with cars is visibility, and you are more visible on the road. In fact, the most visible spot is right in the middle of the lane and not on the shoulder. I've also taken to adorning my bike with various flashy stuff in the back. I also have a rearview, which allows me to see what's creeping up behind me. There is one section of road with a few hills. When I see someone approaching from behind, I swerve back and forth a couple of times before moving to the right to let them pass. The swerving is for visiblity, as well.

I will take a bike lane, if it's offered, as the drivers in my area know to not cross into it. The lanes tend to be on the major streets with higher speed limits. On the smaller streets, with 20-25 mph limits, I'm in the middle of the road.

To each his own, and all. I do understand the feeling of safety on the sidewalks, especially if you are going at lower speeds. Just be extremely careful at crossings. Get eye contact from drivers before crossing an intersection. And please don't go against the flow of traffic on the sidewalk. A huge percentage of bicycle accidents happen when a biker crosses from the sidewalk on the wrong side of the road. A friend of mine was tossed 6 feet in the air, knocked out, and had her back messed up for months doing that. As I recall, she was given a ticket shortly after she regained consciousness. She was lucky.

Again, no judgement passed on anyone who rides sidewalk, especially since I do it for a couple of short sections on my route now. I'm just saying that I am preferring the road lately, for its many advantages.

Sci-Fi

If you are cruising along or there is a genuine safety concern on the road you are riding on, sidewalk riding is fine. But if you want to go fast, take it to the street/road. Pedestrians, children, retirees, etc share the sidewalk, so one has to adjust their speed accordingly to keep everyone safe. It also depends on what part of the country you live in. In some areas the sidewalks are not taken care of and pose a greater problem to cycling in general than the roads. Also the sidewalks may be too narrow.

How many have a bell or yell out to warn others early enough that they are there or are going to pass? Posters at this forum may say they do, but the reality of it all is that you won't see many cyclists warn anybody and just speed on by or give a last moment notice that makes people jump (sometimes right into their path) or freeze up...not very nice and makes enemies of otherwise bike friendly people.

recumelectric

I've got a bell. The other day, I rang it several times in the bike lane, while motioning to the pedestrian that was walking the wrong way down the bike lane. Guess she thought it was an extension of the sidewalk. There needs to be some education here.

Neil_B

+1.

pueblonative

Did you respond, "You first!"?

I understand the whole self-preservation angle. I've done it myself. But I'll see people on roads for lengths where there is no cars coming for as far as you can see. Do we need to educate people more? Is this something just inherent that they got from being kids and riding?
Thankfully Pueblo, Colorado is either so friendly or so apathetic that I haven't run into that attitude. . . yet (cross fingers).

Belazriel

When I started out commuting I rode purely sidewalk wherever I was able to do so. It was a much safer place for getting back into biking. Over time I've slowly moved onto the road more and more. I started changing mostly in the morning because I'm more comfortable with the fewer cars and being more visible due to my lights. Except for a small stretch at the end of my morning commute I'm now all on the road.

Going home I ride on the sidewalk for a slightly longer stretch due to the increased traffic and how narrow I feel the road is. If I am picking up my daughter I also ride on the sidewalk of Route 20 until I get near to the high school where there are too many pedestrians getting out at that time, but at the same spot the road switches to one lane each way with a center turn lane so I feel much better about cars being able to go around me.

I think riding on the sidewalks is fine as long as you are aware of what you're doing. Most sidewalks I'm on have very few pedestrians to bother and most of them are daily people I say hi to now. I don't agree with the studies claiming that sidewalk riding is inherently more dangerous. Keep aware of intersections and expect that every car is still there to hit you, they're just waiting for an opportunity.

BarracksSi

I also think that not all sidewalks are alike. In my neighborhood, sidewalks are narrow, very bumpy, often bordered by short brick walls and two-foot-high iron fences (imagine tumbling onto one of those ), and constantly crossed by driveways, store entrances, and walkways to houses. It's definitely safer to be on the street here.

Jim from Boston

I totally agree, when there is at least a 6 to 12 inch paved shoulder to the right of the white line for some room to maneuver. If not, and the road is busy, I will ride a sidewalk if available. I also practice a technique I call "bolus riding," most often on busy commercial streets with stoplights. Using my rearview mirror, if the road behind me is clear, I ride in the street. When a group of cars ( a "bolus") is released from the stoplight and starts to approach I go onto the side walk and return to street after they have passed. It works well on commercial streets because driveways are pretty frequent to access the sidewalk. (For Detroiters, I thought of this technique while riding Gratiot Ave in Roseville inbound with AM rush hour traffic.)