Neddog

I'm told the same thing here on a regular basis, and here it is actually ILLEGAL to ride on the sidewalk. The road is the only place we are legally permitted to ride (which is also stupid, but I digress...). Not saying that people don't ride on the sidewalk, because it's a pretty silly law, but they are not legally entitled to. When people do ride on the sidewalk, pedestrians immediately start yelling at them to get on the road. When they ride on the road, people yell at them that they need to get off the road and get on the sidewalk. People do not allow cyclists to exist.

The outskirts of town (more rural-like areas) are where people are more likely to yell at you to "get on the sidewalk", whereas the more urban areas are where people are likely to yell at you to "get on the road". Whereas those who want to take up cycling simply don't, because they have no place to go. They're scared of the drivers on the road, and they're scared of getting ticketed on the sidewalk. So they don't ride at all, even though they're taking public transit and are having a seriously hard time with it, which would be easily rectified by riding a bicycle.

There's nothing you can do but try to find some humor to laugh at their stupidity.