jack pot 

most sidewalks where i ride are used mainly by the homeless or the poor >>> downtown's been gone for 30 yrs ... urban bike lanes are littered with glass & other crap ... cops only stop a bicyclist for moving violations as a pretext to check him (aint no fems) out SO I RIDE SIDEWALKS WHEREVER & WHENEVER I CAN because it is safer than the street ... so i guess it's not what your local laws are it 's what your local urban area is like that is the ultimate determiner of whether one should go sidewalk rideN

YoungSalt

I'm impressed in your ability to turn this into a gender issue.

Surubi

Exiting a restaurant last summer I saw an elderly woman lying on the sidewalk with blood dribbling out of her ear. About 20 feet further along the sidewalk was a cyclist in a helmet being restrained by two burly guys, one of whom was stamping on the bike's spokes. Someone was talking to the police hotline and insisting on an ambulance.
I do not know what the law is in this situation, except that riding on the sidewalk is illegal. I hope hitting this woman was a felony and the selfish cyclist gets a felony on his record, seriously injuring his chances for a good life.

jack pot 

no big deal, happens all the time in BAGDAD or KABUL or MOGADISHU or small town usa

cacher

And I will continue to ride upon the sidewalk if I wish, period. I always look far ahead, and plan for anything. Youre scare tactics, whoop tee fvkking doo.

merlinrkd

The side walk video isn't legal in California. As Joe describes above the California vehicle code states a bicycle must operate just like a car. Use arm signals for turning, ride with traffic etc. The only bicycle specific language is that bicycles must keep to the right of the road with the proviso that moving to the left is allowed in case of a road safety issue. There is some bicycle specific signage such as a bicycle can take the entire travel lane where the road is narrow and has no shoulder. And bicycles are prohibited on some sections of high speed freeway.

Stan Heinricher

Whether or not you did the right thing depends on the cycling culture of your part of town. Here in eastern Florida, roads consist mostly of straightaways with no potholes and minimal sand, and so most cyclists ride on the road with no problem. The most-dangerous road sections are those on bridges or causeways.There's a wide shoulder on causeways, but it's usually littered with debris. In addition, cars are speeding by with drivers looking at their cell phones rather than the road. My solution for city cycling (cycling over the causeways) is to ride a 20-inch Dahon folding bike, which reminds everyone of the bikes ridden in the Shriners' parades. I ride that Dahon over the causeways on the pedestrian sidewalk, sharing that space with joggers and people pushing their balloon-tire one-speeds over the rise of the bridge. My perception of how pedestrians regard me: as someone riding a child's bike that doesn't belong on the highway. So, I guess my message is that the kind of bike you ride matters. If you've got a road bike, it belongs on the road in people's perceptions.If you don't have 700cc wheels, you will be accepted as a harmless eccentric among the pedestrians.

2old

Far as I know, it's illegal in socal, but I'd rather receive a ticket than be a hood ornament and do it all the time. The only problem is the very rare instance where it's impossible to not be in the way of an oncoming pedestrian, so I just stop and let them walk by.

Surubi

The rationalizations of the sidewalk riders illustrate an attitude that is making life in the U.S. increasingly unpleasant ---- ME, ME, ME, ME, and the rest you go to hell.

livedarklions

I used to be adamant in these threads that adults should almost never ride on sidewalks, until I became convinced by a lot of other posters that they were riding in places where the conditions were very different from those I face and their riding speeds were usually much slower than mine. As usual, one size fits all is a pretty limited approach, and other people generally know more about their riding needs than I do.

I still am amused by how many people who ride in New Orleans think that sidewalk riding is legal there, though.

Leinster

The rationalization in the post above yours is that they don't want to get killed by a car. And until bicycle infrastructure improves significantly throughout the US, that is a very valid concern.

My rationalization is similar, in that I don't want my kids to get killed by a car. I don't ride on sidewalks when riding alone, but I do know there are places where I don't ride frequently that the safer option, by far, both for me and other road users, would be for me to ride on the sidewalk.

Another attitude making life unpleasant in this country is the shouting down of people expressing legitimate concerns by those who demand simple solutions for complex issues, or even those who deny that the issue exists at all.

FREEBIRD1

I got my bikes out a few months ago, and purchased a few more during the lock-down, for an activity to do, and see the sights. With the pot-hole roads here and lack of bike lanes I'm seriously contemplating getting out of bicycle riding. Sidewalk riding is not good, and riding on the side of the road here is suicide. Some areas of the country are just not good for bicycles, and others are a great environment for it. I really don't want to haul my bikes someplace to ride either. Take care out there in the streets.

Miele Man

I can see letting kids ride bikes on the sidewalk IF the kids are considerate of pedestrians and IF they no tot slow at every intersection including driveways especially if there are parked vehicles there. A drive exiting the road does NOT expect a fast moving bicycle to suddenly appear.

Intersections including driveways and entrances/exists are quite dangerous for bicyclists riding on a sidewalk. Drivers glance to see if anything's coming towards them, see nothing and pull out. Meanwhile a fast moving bicyclist rides in front of them. not good for the bicyclist.

I'd hate to live in an area where I feared to ride on a road with traffic.

Cheers

Glyndwr

"Cyclists" (I'd think especially if you are using this forum) - "bikers" are a different thing altogether and should DEFINITELY not be on the sidewalk!

Glyndwr

Entitled people who think they own the world are the best!

BEC111

Many of the “sidewalks” here in Ashburn, VA are actually multi-purpose paths where bikes, skaters, skate boarders and walkers, of course, are welcome. The only entitlement is living in this wonderful community.

livedarklions

Dude, my name's on the deed. A nice fellow at a bar sold it to me.

Digger Goreman

Two days ago, I made (for me) a long haul through Atlanta. ONLY POSSIBLE by MUP and protected bike lanes! Seriously, folks, the raging cagers will draw and quarter you, and spit on your corpse before it gets cold!

Maybe a leeeeetle exagerated....

Going NE, from home to Duluth (20 miles away)? NOT POSSIBLE (in anyway safe) without sidewalks almost all the way. All possible routes run with high speed, massively motorized through fares.

Crazies exceeding the already high speed limits?! Merde to cycling in that!!!

danlewis8

^^

burnthesheep

Local law here gives exception for when road conditions make road use unsafe. Like a commuter using a sidewalk next to a 45mph 4-lane with center turn boulevard at rush hour. But in a slow speed limit wide road neighborhood I would expect folks ride the street instead of sidewalks. In general.

I'd say the situations of incidents at stores and blind spots, the fault is that the person should have been pushing for a few minutes thru the busy or riskier area for pedestrians. Not a blanket ban on sidewalk use.

So I tread carefully also on this topic. Here we have a LOT of greenways meant for bikes that end or terminate at sidewalks for at least 100 yards to even 1/4 mile before a safe road use is available.

Just yesterday witnessed a cyclist properly utilize a crosswalk from a sidewalk. Slowly rolling on the sidewalk, dismounted, pushed button to cross using elbow, pushed bike across while walking, remounted on other side. Kudos! How rare.

ErikDaGenErik

the only time I ride on sidewalks is when I have my kids and if the bike lane is too narrow for them. As for etiquette, I will slow down as much as needed to make sure they intend to move out of the way or enough for me to pass. If it’s a tight squeeze, I will slow to as low as idle speed.

COYSpurs

I find it necessary to hop on the sidewalk to avoid traffic or cars but only for short periods. I've always wondered how frowned upon this was.

gringomojado

when riding on sidewalk DON'T wave to other riders, especially those on the street not even a nod

louisgg

when i ride on the road im constantly worried about parked cars opening their door. for that i tend to ride in the sidewalk. i always try to stay close to the rode side on sidewalk

Miele Man

And get doored by a passenger opening the passenger side door because they don't expect a bicyclist to be coming along.

Cheers