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Blanket statements are rarely a good idea when discussing Sidewalk cycling. it depends entirely on a rider's local conditions and laws.
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I'm not an expert either. All I have is my life experience. I have only gotten into two accidents on my bike. Both were when I was a kid and both were while riding on the sidewalk.
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Originally Posted by Fsharp3
(Post 10765022)
I'm not an expert either. All I have is my life experience. I have only gotten into two accidents on my bike. Both were when I was a kid and both were while riding on the sidewalk.
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Originally Posted by I-Like-To-Bike
(Post 10766976)
Conclusion presumably is that being a kid is hazardous, eh? Perhaps all "kids" need to be banned from bicycling until certified by "experienced" bicyclists as adults.
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You all will have to exscuse my ignorance. you all seem like quite the intellegent group. Anyways, I am just now comming back into riding a big bike again. I've been on a 20" bmx bike for the last 2 years. It doesnt matter why....... When I ride the little bike, the max speed I can get out of a 13/9 gearing is 25 at a max sprint. Not ideal for commuting I agree. Because of this, I rode the sidewalk most of the time. Apart from downtown indianapolis, I took the sidewalk. Now that I am on a bigger bike (actually purchased Friday) I am a bit skiddish on the whole ridding in the street. I rode today to work and took the street due to less trafic on sundays but am concerned with trafic the rest of the week. There isnt much road on my way to work and no shoulders, just a lot of curb. I dont envison myself riding the big bike on the sidewalk but just thought i'd share my feelings on it. I'm scared of both now.
Oh and i've been hit twice in the last 4 years once on the road and once on the sidewalk so where do I fit into the statistics? |
The unlucky part. I'd say if you're having some handling issues stick to places you won't get run over until you're doing better. After that it's entirely up to your preferences. There are VCers and hardcore seperatists and a lot of people inbetween. I never ride on the road due to my location and inability to safely keep with traffic, other people live in areas where they stick to the road all the time.
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Mostly sidewalk
I mainly use the sidewalk. The sidewalks here are mostly empty so riding along on my trike is not endangering any pedestrians besides it being legal to do so.
It definitely makes my commuting safe for me. I'm going painfully slow right now, which is a good thing since I have to get reaquainted with the rules of the road besides handling a cumbersome trike. I also have to build up endurance, speed and general comfort level. However, I doubt if I'll ever be fast enough to keep up with traffic, so the road will never be for me. This would be unsafe for everyone, especially moi.:) Although I'm a little limited in my traveling, using the trike for commuting and living car light has helped me regain some level of independence. In NYC, where I use to live, I used the trains and buses to get around. Here, in this Florida suburb, I use my trike. |
I'll use the sidewalk on occasion (going the wrong way down a one way street for a block, etc), but I find on most of my bikes (with 32c tires or thinner), it's a lot slower than dealing with traffic, simply because you're dealing with huge tree-cracks, potholes, and curbs that curl around on driveways and such.
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Personally, I don't want to ride fast on the sidewalks, coz I don't want to hit somebody and cause and an accident. If I wanna go fast, I'll just have to use the road.
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Take a LAB Road Skills 101 course, and get on the road. You'll be much safer and much happier.
Originally Posted by Observer
(Post 10814696)
I always ride on the sidewalk especially when just cruising on through. If I wish to ride fast, I ride either on a bike trail, or in the alley. From my point of view, riding in the street is far more dangerous than riding on the sidewalk, especially a sidewalk in a residential or industrial neighborhood. Street bikers face too many hazards when riding in the street, for instance, getting whacked by an opening car door, getting broadsided and/or even rear ended by a reckless driver, getting crushed between vehicles at a left turn, and getting mowed down by truckers, especially when it is an 18 wheeler. And in many of those kinds of cases, a helmet would provide no protection, as when you are on a bicycle, an impact as low as 25 miles per hour can and will still kill or maim you by breaking your neck. And I am sure that there are hundreds of quadriplegics out there who were once avid bikers and then one day while riding in the street and wearing their helmets, they got hit by a motor vehicle and the impact left them permanently wheelchair bound. Even outside of Illinois, not all drivers will watch where they are going, and in fact, Illinois travellers have driven through every single other state in the nation, including Alaska and Hawaii.
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Originally Posted by skye
(Post 10814728)
Take a LAB Road Skills 101 course, and get on the road. You'll be much safer and much happier.
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This book is a pretty good read.................. http://www.amazon.com/Art-Urban-Cycl.../dp/0762727837 ..............well worth checking out. It offers a couple of different rider perspectives and theories.
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Originally Posted by skye
(Post 10814728)
Take a LAB Road Skills 101 course, and get on the road. You'll be much safer and much happier.
wrong! |
Really? Are you thinking of this?
"Take a LAB Sidewalk Skills 101 course, and get on the sidewalk. You'll be much safer and much happier running over the pedestrians and get hit by oncoming cars." LOL! |
I didn't personally find the TS 101 course to be all that compelling. Its a good course though to learn some techniques and gain confidence for when you need to travel in the road.
In all honesty, I can't think of any place in Denver city and county where one has to travel on the sidewalk, so I can't see the big deal about riding in the road. We don't have many high speed arterials, and where they do exist, there's a parallel adjacent route... |
Originally Posted by GraysonPeddie
(Post 10821671)
Really? Are you thinking of this?
"Take a LAB Sidewalk Skills 101 course, and get on the sidewalk. You'll be much safer and much happier running over the pedestrians and get hit by oncoming cars." LOL! I doubt any pedestrians would mind if you ran over them considering the oncoming cars that are also on the sidewalk probably beat you to it. |
Originally Posted by Observer
(Post 10814696)
I always ride on the sidewalk especially when just cruising on through. If I wish to ride fast, I ride either on a bike trail, or in the alley. From my point of view, riding in the street is far more dangerous than riding on the sidewalk, especially a sidewalk in a residential or industrial neighborhood. Street bikers face too many hazards when riding in the street, for instance, getting whacked by an opening car door, getting broadsided and/or even rear ended by a reckless driver, getting crushed between vehicles at a left turn, and getting mowed down by truckers, especially when it is an 18 wheeler. And in many of those kinds of cases, a helmet would provide no protection, as when you are on a bicycle, an impact as low as 25 miles per hour can and will still kill or maim you by breaking your neck. And I am sure that there are hundreds of quadriplegics out there who were once avid bikers and then one day while riding in the street and wearing their helmets, they got hit by a motor vehicle and the impact left them permanently wheelchair bound. Even outside of Illinois, not all drivers will watch where they are going, and in fact, Illinois travellers have driven through every single other state in the nation, including Alaska and Hawaii.
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Originally Posted by aMull
(Post 10845495)
Your point of view is wrong. Enjoy getting ran over on your "safe", uncomfortable, slow, inconvenient, illegal, sidewalk.
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He can do whatever he likes, obviously he's scared of the road for whatever reason, but his view that the street is "far more dangerous" than the sidewalk is simply not true.
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It's true for him.
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Originally Posted by aMull
(Post 10845748)
He can do whatever he likes, obviously he's scared of the road for whatever reason, but his view that the street is "far more dangerous" than the sidewalk is simply not true.
But then again I'm trying to argue with facts and logic against someone that seems to genuinely consider ad hominem to be a legitimate form of argument. Think we can get a godwin next? |
I'm back to the road now. a week of good riding and getting my legs back into shape really helped. I dont have much of a problem staying infront or with traffic for a few blocks on a sprint and feel comfortable when just cruising and having traffic pass me. Much better than the sidewalk.
A funny little story a few friends and I were riding and I of course took the street, they took sidewalks. Everything was fine for them until they confronted a curb that their big beach cruisers couldnt manage. |
Ilegal to ride sidewalk in Florida. this is my story
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8AM3u7Cr9I |
Originally Posted by Observer
(Post 10867678)
It is very unlikely for a car to run over someone on the sidewalk. Especially since approximately 95% of all sidewalks are shielded from the street by the curb, and any driver that hits a concrete curb risks blowing out his tires, denting his rims, damaging his suspension and undercarriage, and even rendering his car undrivable. And not to mention other obstacles between the street and the sidewalk such as trees, street lights, and signs that can leave the car stopped dead in it's tracks.
It's especially bad in places like my town where there are narrow alleys running between close set buildings. The sidewalks do not stop for these alleys, which can make you forget about them. Even with a car moving out of the alley slowly and cautiously, there's still a good probability of a collision with a bike there. Wisely, my town has illegalized riding bicycles on the sidewalk in that part of town. |
Originally Posted by Pieralberto
(Post 10866507)
Ilegal to ride sidewalk in Florida. this is my story
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8AM3u7Cr9I (10) A person propelling a vehicle by human power upon and along a sidewalk, or across a roadway upon and along a crosswalk, has all the rights and duties applicable to a pedestrian under the same circumstances. (11) A person propelling a bicycle upon and along a sidewalk, or across a roadway upon and along a crosswalk, shall yield the right-of-way to any pedestrian and shall give an audible signal before overtaking and passing such pedestrian. That's not how people get hit, when riding on sidewalks. They get hit by people pulling out of or into driveways and side streets. Being on the sidewalk not only moves you out of the mind of a driver pulling into a driveway/parking lot/side street, because they don't pay as much attention to what's on the sidewalk, and you're moving faster than what it normally expected of sidewalk traffic, but it also makes you harder to see when pulling out of a driveway/parking lot/side street that has obscured views to the side. It's especially bad in places like my town where there are narrow alleys running between close set buildings. The sidewalks do not stop for these alleys, which can make you forget about them. Even with a car moving out of the alley slowly and cautiously, there's still a good probability of a collision with a bike there. Wisely, my town has illegalized riding bicycles on the sidewalk in that part of town. Your argument is a logical fallacy. |
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