UMassAm

city drivers do not like it when youre riding on the road when theres a bike path next to the road, huh?

questionthis

i was riding on the road when a car full of black people came up beside me and told me to go ride on the sidewalk.

009jim

Well I'd say if you were riding on the side of the road they wouldn't care, but if you were blocking traffic while the bike path was vacant it would upset a few people.

Machka 

One of the biggest problems with all these MUPs, rail trails, etc. is that they make it more dangerous (or just more frustrating) for the cyclists who prefer to ride on the road for reasons that are obvious to the cyclist, but not to the motorist.

Motorists do seem to think that if there is a bike path next to the road, the cyclists should be on the bike path and not on the road ... whether the cyclist is blocking traffic or not. And they will take a moment out of their busy motorist lives to tell cyclists so.

For example, we were yelled at by a few people to get on the rail trail running parallel to the road when we were on a tour down to Tidal River on Wilson's Prom a few years ago. We smiled and waved, and kept riding on the road. Here in Australia most rail trails are pretty bad ... especially for cyclists with narrow tires. They are gravel or dirt, and often full of weeds and debris because no one cares for them. It would have been a slow slog if we'd taken their rather aggressive advice.

When we got to Tidal River, a lady came over to us. Her husband had been one who had yelled at us, and she told us that they got thinking about it after they passed us, and it dawned on them that maybe we chose the road because the path wasn't the best choice for us ... because it was in bad condition. And she apologised. But that sort of thing doesn't always happen.

antmeeks

Where I live, the bike path is the repository for all the sh*t and debris that gets cleared off the road by the cars.

That said, I never ride on a road where the speed limit is over 35mph. I have no problem riding in the middle of a lane when the side looks perilous.

pdxtex

my rules of the road are:

if there is a bike lane, use it.

if you are riding in city traffic, make sure you can go as fast as surrounding traffic.

mups are desireable if they can get you where you want to go.

don't ride on busy roads with no shoulder or a very small one. the same goes for hilly country roads with bad visibility.

and use lights at night!!

Digitalfiend

That would eliminate practically all my routes. Unfortunately, I live in an area that has quickly encroached and converted farmland into urban sprawl. Most of the roads have maybe 6" of road after the whiteline on the edge of the lane and that's usually chewed to poop by the farm vehicles. Not fun. The worst is many of the paved roads just "end" and turn into a hellish minefield of pot-holed gravelly/muddy death. The only roads that lead to better country roads are 80km/h single-lane highways (bikes not restricted) and people take 80km/h more as a very weak suggestion. The worst are the big rigs that don't want to move over and blast you with a vortex of wind as they go by at 100km/h.

I try not to ride in the city because I don't like the traffic (or the scenery) but our mainly shoulderless country roads are all I've got, so I've learned to live with it. Generally, people are pretty decent.

Interestingly enough, the municipality that manages our roads have been adding bike lanes to some of the main country roads as they've repaved them. They are great in the summer time (except when tractors leave large mud turds to navigate) but in the spring they are strewn with gravel, mud, salt, pebbles, and other debris from the winter months and I won't use them until the rain cleans them up. Thankfully, no one has shouted at me yet...

Machka 

Your rules ... not mine.

Well, except for the lights at night.


Here's a question for you about your Rule #3 ... how do you know the MUP can get you where you want to go? We ride along and see MUPs running parallel to the road sometimes, but there's nothing to tell us if the MUP is going to take us where we want to go, or not. And there's nothing to tell us if the MUP is going to be any good. I've been on several really bad MUPs.

blacksquid

I dislike the so-called bike lanes because, at least around here, they're after thoughts; not part of the overall transportation infrastructure. They appear and disappear for no apparent reason.

baj32161

....and the people in the car being black has,exactly, what to do with this?

EdIsMe

I'm sure if the car was full of green people, this would have also been noted.

antmeeks

Maybe... but only if by "car" you mean "flying saucer"... and it was from Mars or something.

Hiro11

I love the whole concept of "riding on the sidewalk". I hear it often from non-cyclists: "why don't you ride on sidewalks to avoid cars?". It's obvious that they've no concept of what 25mph looks like on a bike and how that any sort of speed is impossible on a sidewalk. It's obvious that they have no concept of what a fifty mile ride looks like or what a group ride looks like. Yeah, I'm going to go do fifty miles on sidewalks in a paceline. Also, they ignore the fact that it's both extremely dangerous to ride on a sidewalk and illegal in large swaths of the country. These are people who last rode a bike when they were nine years old.

Bike paths are a bit different. Still, it's tough to get a good workout on a bike path and impossible to go fast on a crowded one.

bbattle

People in cars only yell at you because their vehicle is bigger than yours.

Not once has a driver stepped out of their car to discuss matters of the road with me. Some are quite surprised when I tell them it is illegal to ride on the sidewalks in Alabama.(rarely enforced)

antmeeks

On my ride yesterday, made a right at an intersection and the car behind me decided he wanted to pass at the apex of the turn. His mirror literally came within an inch of my arm.

His window was down so I hurled a rapid stream of expletives at him, but he just gave me the one finger salute as he was driving away.

I yelled for him to come back. He didn't.

I really wish he had. Does this make me a bad person?

achoo

He was satirizing all the posts that make fun of rednecks.

Yeah, that's it.

nrowensby

At least you didn't spit into his vehicle...

plasticmaam12

City drivers should stay off bike paths.

shokhead

That's not a bikepath, that's a bikelane.

2manybikes

My state offers maps of "bike paths" and roads all rated by cyclists as to how bike firendly they are.Some of the newer nicer bike paths actually have mini road signs on them. Possibly only my state (RI). The surrounding states have "bike maps" from Rubel. I would guess you have a lot more experience with Rubel maps than I do.

Just wondering, is there some kind of equivalent maps available in Canada?
Did you put much effort into looking for bike maps "down under"? Are the paths in such bad shape it's not woth looking?

brn2run

I ride on hilly, country roads where the speed limit is 55.
If I didn't then I couldn't ride at all.
I ride as close as is safe to the right edge of the road and follow all traffic
laws that apply.

Because I do all of that, my bike and I have just as much right to be on the road
as anyone in any automobile.


And let me just add, to all of the diesel truck drivers who think that it's funny to
drive by and blow exhaust in my face, and to all those that have thrown things
at me as they passed.... fu*k you.

I feel better now.

hunterr41

I general sidewalks are dangerous because motorists do not expect a bicycle to be on a sidewalk. They are rough and too much start and stop riding. My wife likes sidewalks but I don't ride them unless I have too.

Looigi

I ride on the roads. MUPs, bike paths etc., simply serve to validate drivers' belief that cyclists don't belong on roads.

pdxtex

right, my rules. you guys can ride however you please. these are just my personal limits. i prefer to stay in the city or ride bike specific infrastructure. concerning mups, i look at the bike map and see if its where i want to go.

Digitalfiend

If all I had was city riding, I'm not sure I'd actually ride. I absolutely love getting out into the country and taking in the fresh manure, er air of the farmlands. It's really great for destressing. Thankfully, I live on the outskirts of town so it's not a huge deal to get to the relaxing scenery. I'd kill for some of the roads you guys have in California, British Columbia, or heck any mountainous state/province. Unfortunately, most of where I ride is just rolling hills of straight after straight.