John C. Ratliff

Try it on a long wheel based recumbant.

John

Helmet Head

It's good that these designs slow you down, but you shouldn't be so unsteady that they make it likely for you to fall over.

Find an empty parking lot and learn to do ovals in an empty parking spot. Make sure you can do it in both directions. Then work on figure 8's.

Also, work on stopping your bike by leaving your feet on the pedals until you come to a complete stopping, then taking your foot off. Then work on stopping, counting a few seconds while continuing to balance, then taking your foot off.

Low speed stability is crucial to safety.

crhilton

Low speed stability isn't a problem. 2 mile an hour stability turning 90 degree corners while watching 160 degrees behind me for traffic then needing to make a sudden stop throws me off.

Besides that, I may not be terribly good but I guarantee I'm better at this than 50% of the trail users. The ones who ride a bike every now and then, and are worrying about things like their children (who are behind them) in addition.

The advice is appreciated though .

Bikecop921

In the small town I work in, it is actually against the city code to ride a bicycle or skateboard on the sidewalks of the city. Personally I do not choose to enforce the code as most cyclists in our area are the younger kids and I would much rather them have a close call with someone walking than I would them get hit by a car or truck on our busy main roads. But, if they are on the side walk and want to cross over the street they better either do it correctly or at a cross walk.

Now, with the majority of adult cyclists that come through town they know the laws and I have never seen any of them doing what is proper.

poprad

UNfortunately here in PDX they allow sidewalk cycling...which I detest. I hate to see the morons who bomb around here like they own the sidewalks, alienating the peds who are forced to move out of their way. If cyclists were more responsible and rode at a walking pace and said "excuse me" once in awhile it wouldn't be an issue. As a rider I don't do it unless forced to by the road conditions, and then only as long as I absolutely have to.

irabidfish

You hardly ever see someone here where I live in Northridge, Ca NOT sidewalk cycling, when I began my bike commute I too stayed on the other side of the curb. Main Artery roads can be very intimidating after all, there is a reason why commuter cyclists often wrap their bikes in reflective tape. The road is a scary place. That said, the only time I was hit was when I came off the sidewalk. The driver should have been looking, and to make matters worse decided to make it a hit and run when he peeled away after smacking into me. Fortunately for me it was a minor scrape and it taught be a valuable lesson. In truth I was in the wrong and the driver really had no reason to expect me to be coming from that direction. I now ride strictly on the road, except for the last 100ft to my apartment complex gate (oh how I hate that gate and everything it stands for!). Riding on the sidewalks is not just rude to pedestrians, its dangerous for you the rider when you come to intersections. Don't be as stupid as me!

tomcryar

Riding on the sidewalk is just as safe as YOU make it. It's no different than riding on the road, except that you have more challenges to deal with. Ride on the road, ride on the sidewalk------who gives a flying f@@@? Just ride and be safe in your own little riding world,

RomSpaceKnight

Untill you mow down some little old lady or little kid. A bicycle on the sidewalk is as much a hazard to pedestrians as cars are to us on the road. Riding on sidewalks is illegal in my town.

j0e_bik3

can anyone show me an accident where a car hit a bicyclist ON THE SIDE WALK?

so when cars stop running people over in the street, and then taking off and leaving the cyclist to die,........

then I'll stop riding on the sidewalk.

I go nice and slow, usually only for a few blocks, and I use a bell, or call out so pedestrians realize I'm there.

tumbler

This is a valid point. Despite the research and expert opinions, the issue many people will have (especially those new to cycling) is that an accident on the road will almost certainly involve a car and an accident on the sidewalk will almost certainly involve a pedestrian. Because of differences in rider skill, location, speed, distance and other factors.... I disagree with blanket statements that sidewalk riding is idiotic.

For me personally, I've been biking for a good 10 years and am perfectly comfortable riding in NYC traffic. My wife on the other hand is brand new to riding and justifiably scared about being hit by the psychotic taxi drivers. We do most of our riding in Central Park, which is about a 5 minute ride from our apartment. At her skill level, the distance we're going, and the aggressiveness of NYC drivers, I can't in good faith recommend that she ride in the street until she's more comfortable on the bike. At the same time, any sidewalk riding we do is extremely slow and courteous.

You can't ignore the fact that Streets = Cars and Sidewalks = Other People.

WrenchDevil6

Ok, so I just read through 21 pages of "opinions" about the merits of riding on sidewalks/roads.

Unless I skipped one or two posts accidentally, I didn't see where any of you have ever been hit. Yeah, some of you say, "I was almost hit.". I'm here to tell you that I've been hit while riding on the sidewalk and while riding on the street. When I was riding on the sidewalk I was fully visible and moving at about 2MPH. When I got hit on the road, I had the right of way, with a left turning arrow(green), and the woman on the other side decided that a bicycle wasn't important enough to yield right of way to. I was hit while executing a proper right of way turn. It was a hit and run. Luckily, I was watching her fully and physically saw her make the decision to disregard me. Seeing her do that allowed me the opportunity to prepare for it and I jumped upon the hood of her suv, leaving her to run over my bike. I rolled off of her hood, she sped off.

Don't give me any bull**** about what's right or wrong, or who's right or wrong, or when the best situation is right for what. I've survived and am damned lucky. I am a year round commuter and I ride where I decide is safest for me. I respect everyone regardless of whether they're on the sidewalk or in the road, but I respect pedestrians space a bit more, especially since some clown almost ran over me when I was pulling into MY driveway this week.

I live in an area where there are no bike lanes, cars parked on both sides of the street (no escape), and I am in now way respected as a "vehicle" on the road. Not even the bike cops here ride on the street, as a rule.

You guys can argue what state/city ordinance says what, or what guru says is best and what statistics provide the best evidence to support your arguments, but until you've found yourselves rolling off of the hood of a hit and run, it's all just speculation on your part.

Bottom line: ride where YOU are the safest, wear your helmet at all times(while riding), and enjoy yourselves as much as I do, regardless of where you're riding.

crhilton

How was this productive? All you just said was "ride where you are safest." If you'd said "ride where you feel safest" at least it would make sense: I can figure out where I feel safest, in the moment, with no thought.
But knowing where I am safest requires some thought. Probably fore-thought!

Since you have such grand experience to which we should all crumble would you please tell us where you're usually safest? Maybe what conditions tend to make you safer in the other place?

Or should we just all stop talking because you've been hit and therefore we can never know?

I don't mean to attack by the way. I'm simply responding with the same disrespect you're displaying. And I would really like to hear you say something useful.

noisebeam

Was she turning right?

Al

WrenchDevil6

Seeing as how she was not signaling to turn right, I had to assume that she wasn't turning right. She was also stopped across from me at her RED light, and then, yes she turned right, against her light and my light. My left turning arrow was GREEN.

I understand right-on-red and all that, but keep in mind that she went against the signal for oncoming traffic, as we had the GREEN.

noisebeam

Did she turn tight or wide? Was there room for you to turn tight too? I assume there was only one lane on the cross street you were turning into.

(I am not faulting you in anyway as you had the ROW, just curious about what exactly happened)

Al

LittleBigMan

If you want to ride the sidewalk, ok. You can do it like a pedestrian: slow and steady.

If I used the sidewalk on my commute, it would probably take me 2 hours to get home, stop-and-go. Not my cup of tea.

WrenchDevil6

She turned as if she owned the whole lane with no regard to my location. Again, I had the GREEN left-turning arrow, she had a RED. Regardless of any right-turn status:

1. She was not signaling to turn right.
2. She turned against oncoming traffic and disregarded right-of-way when she decided to turn right.

And yes, the street that I was turning onto when I turned left was only one lane.

Northendfixie

I ride primarily on the road during my commute, except for one strecth where the traffic is very heavy and fast, and there is a long vacant sidewalk with few intersections.

I think that most bike accidents occur where a cyclist riding on a sidewalk is hit by a car at a point where the sidewalk and roadway intersect. Of the close calls that I have had and seen in 2 seasons of commuting, most were exactly this. In my province (Manitoba, Canada) sidewalk riding is illegal but common.

Another point is that riding on the sidewalk reinforces the belief in motorists that bikes don't belong on the road, so its a viscious circle.

bsut

Sidewalks are designed for pedestrians, not cyclists. That's why they're hazardous for cyclists.
That's the point - roads are safer for cyclists than sidewalks.

pletcgm

I cycle in traffic where a lot of cyclists in Nashville will not. There is one half mile stretch that I will not ride on. I purposely get on the sidewalk. It a half mile of being near the projects and frankly, the drivers there don't even look and will go on if they hit you. It's the only place I have ever gotten on the sidewalk to ride.

Ron in Regina

I live in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada where it is illegal to ride a
bicycle with a wheel diameter greater than 400mm (16") on a sidewalk,
but it doesn't seem to stop anyone and this bylaw it isn't enforced. When
I'm on a sidewalk, I'm a pedestrian, and having a Mountain Bike pass me
on a 4' wide sidewalk is not a safe experience at all.
When I'm on the sidewalk, I'm usually walking my dog (70kg), and again,
having someone pass me at speed on a 4' wide sidewalk when I'm trying
haul my dog up onto someone's lawn to avoid an unpleasant situation is not
fair to those of us that obey the laws.
I'm not knocking Bicyclists, but the sidewalks are for pedestrians here &
for those bicycles with a wheel diameter of 400mm (16") or less (=Children).
Bicycles here are considered "vehicles" and must follow the same rules of
the road as other vehicles but very few bicyclers seem to do so. I personally
believe there is a great need for some educational enforcement on this issue.
I wouldn't dream of driving my CB750K on the sidewalks, or to a corner
and through a red light (even though I'm driving across the street in a cross
walk against that same red light) or in traffic in the winter, as that would be
dangerously dumb on my part. Not everyone on a bicycle or a motorcycle
or a truck is an idiot, but the ones that ignore the law are not helping the rest
of us. I'm not picking on Bicyclers here; just the ones that think the Law is just
for other people.

adamtki

Just cut across the grass. You'll slow down and avoid the cornering.

adamtki

I mostly ride roads, but I mix in the sidewalk when I feel it saves time and is safer than the roads.

You just have to keep two things in mind on sidewalks.
- When passing pedestrians, give a holler and don't go faster than jogging speed
- Look out for cars from all directions on anyplace where cars can drive through (driveways, turns, crosswalks, etc)

Some people stick by a rule too much, but you just need to make exceptions when needed.

MrZhuKeeper

I don't see any trouble with riding on the sidewalk. Over here in the suburbs of CA, the majority of people ride on the sidewalk. In the city, it's different, most people ride on the road where there are traffic jams.

I don't see any harm in riding on the sidewalk. I prefer to go 5-8 mph on the sidewalk, than going 15-20 mph on the road with cars zooming 35-50 mph past me and car doors suddenly opening on me. I say a combination of sidewalk and road is the best. I don't see how anyone could say riding on the sidewalk is dangerous.

I've always thought that riding on the sidewalk is the safest choice. I still do. Going 5-8 mi/hr on a busy sidewalk don't seem dangerous to me --haven't gotten me into any trouble yet. I only go 15-20 mi/hr on a sidewalk when there's no one.

rando

you can't say this as a blanket statement and have it be true everywhere. it depends on the location, rider, and local conditions.