Why are you not afraid?

[sbhikes]

I just got back from a ride with some folks that I've been riding with for about a year or so. Lately they switched the place where they meet and a different person is leading the rides. Now we're always riding on the sidewalk, sometimes wrong way! It's really making me mad. I do not believe in riding in a manner that promotes the idea that bikes belong on sidewalks or that they are toys (which is what being on a sidewalk seems to say.) Plus it is too dangerous.

Everybody in that group thought I was nuts for not wanting to riding on the sidewalk. They were trying to argue with me that I'll get killed by somebody on a cell phone if I'm out in the street. They even brought up how all the cars honked at me when I refused to get on the sidewalk as proof I'm in the wrong and being unsafe. (I tried to whip out my copy of the law that says bikes have all the rights and responsibilities to the road, but I didn't seem to have that page with me.)

Well, it got me wondering. Why aren't you guys afraid of traffic? Were you ever sidewalk riders who learned it was better off the sidewalk? What made you lose your fear of riding in the streets?

Please no anti-bike lane stuff. Please just focus on the topic of the fear of riding in the streets and how you got off the sidewalk and over the fear (or how one could help others to do the same).

[Mehow]

I ride VC now that I realized that riding on a sidewalk is much more dangerous than riding on the street. The only way for you to win them over would be by having them try riding on the street.

-Good Luck

[Brian Ratliff]

I learned to ride on a country road with no shoulder when I was a teenager. It's all about getting used to having cars pass you and trusting in the notion that nobody really is aiming at you.

[randya]

The sidewalks were I grew up were all buckeled from tree roots. The first time I went down the sidewalk solo, without training wheels, I feel and busted my tooth.* That was the last time I ever rode on the sidewalk.**

Seriously, if you want to go anywhere real on a bike, at a decent pace, the sidewalk is not the place to be...I just learned to ride in traffic and that's all there is to it.

*true
**not true

[timmhaan]

i don't ever feel *too* safe on the road. some roads are obviously better than others, but after i had an accident, i had to regain my nerves a little before i ventured outside of the park and back into the streets. i hate traffic and always will, but i love riding my bike more.

[San Rensho]

I feel safe on the road because I usually ride on streets where I can keep up with traffic. This means I blend in with traffic and have the whole road to manuever and avoid any problems, rather than being stuck on a narrow sidewalk with no way out.

Its also very dangerous crossing at intersections from a sidewalk because cars aren't looking for you. To ride safely on the sidewalk, you should be going as fast as pedestrians and who wants to ride at walking pace?

You might want to consider riding with another group.

[Artkansas]

My first real road riding was at about age 7, riding along the Tamiami Trail to get more Kool Aid powder for my koolaid stand. At that time it was the biggest road on the Gulf Coast of Florida. I was a little scared then, but it passed. I was much more scared trying to cross the highway to get to the other side to start the return trip.

That baptism of fire made me fearless and soon led to a range of 5-6 miles on big highways and narrow bridges. I was always mindful of traffic and always careful, but never timid. If my parents knew how far I went, they'd have had a cow.

[patc]

Why aren't you guys afraid of traffic? Were you ever sidewalk riders who learned it was better off the sidewalk? What made you lose your fear of riding in the streets?

Who said I'm not? I don't have shaking knees and I don't break out in a cold sweat, but there is some fear. I think that's pretty healthy! I never rode on sidewalks, not counting a shortcut now and then. It has nothing to do with fear or feelings of safety, sidewalks are too uncomfortable and slow. Besides, I spent years as a pedestrian yelling at cyclists to get off the sidewalks and threatening to call by-law enforcement on them, so I had to take a dose of my own medicine! As I educated myself I came to see sidewalks as potentially dangerous, but that came later.

I have never done group rides. The few times I have been tempted, something about the group would be a turn-off. Policies about never going on roads, for example. Or a bunch of people who didn't know the first thing about proper lights and reflectors at night. I just decided that most group cyclists saw cycling as something akin to cross-country skiing, a recreational sport and not a mode of transportation. I'm not saying that view is invalid, but its apples and oranges. A person who cycles for transportation talks a completely different language from one who cycles for weekend fun.

[Caspar_s]

Interesting question - I haven't gotten to that place yet.

I have started riding in my lane on the way to work - less cars at 5 in the morning. Coming home I don't come by the same route - I go in the lane through the residential side streets.

If I do HAVE to go down the main road - I ride on the bike path or what the local town council decided should be one - they basically took the grass from between the sidewalk and the road and paved it over. So you have a bumpy surface that has telephone poles, fire hydrants, guy wires etc. So I ride on the bike path/sidewalk when the road is really busy, but don't do it very far - too many cars.

I don't trust cars with my life - they kill each other despite their protective measures.

Also when I am on the path, it is a lot slower (which is why I originally got off it) and I know that I have to watch out for cars. I am normally not going anywhere close to fast - no faster than a skateboard or rollerblades that should be on the sidewalk.

I guess you just have to get experience - you ride on the streets in your neighbourhood - and then quiet streets and then busier streets. Also might be because the ones who are on the sidewalk just don't have the fitness to ride on the road at a safe speed. A car blasting by you at 40mph is scary but if you are going 20mph instead of 5 then they are not going by as fast.

[thebankman]

If you use an electric saw for a living or as a hobby, you have to have a healthy amount of fear of the appliance. You better respect that blade if you want to work safely, realizing that if you ever get cocky and don't fear getting your fingers chopped off and lower your guard, the results might not be good.

Riding safely on the street is no different. You have to have a healthy amount of fear for everything around you, that includes for car doors, pedestrians, etc. The little bit (well i guess big bit of fear for some) of fear or whatever you see it as, it reminds you to keep your guard up and put everything into what you're doing at the time. Along the lines of defensive driving, you have to fear the problems in order to navigate them.

[peregrine]

I'm young and stupid ;)


But seriously... Obviously I've never had a problem riding on low-traffic neighbourhood streets but I started riding on high-traffic roads and making left turns from the left turn lane... etc, when I started commuting regularly, and as a concequence got into cycling seriously. That's also when I learned about the rules of the road as applied to cyclists :o. I'm much faster than before and more confident.

[cooker]

I got hit and knocked down by a kid on a bike riding on the sidewalk. I stepped out of a bus shelter and she was barreling by. At over 200 lbs I don't go that easily. She was lucky she didn't careen into the street since it was a narrow sidewalk right next to a busy lane of traffic. Had I been an elderly person I might well have been killed and certainly would have sustained major injuries. I got a bruise on my cheek from her helmet and broke the plastic buckle on my trench coat which was quite irritating as I had to keep tying the belt after that. So tell your friends they are hazard here, not the ones who should be scared.

[slagjumper]

I’ve ridden so much and long, that the multitude of things that help with street survival have become second nature. Even though I ride on the road tons, it is not like I am at peace there. I know that the truck that is 200 feet behind me, is going to pass me going 20 mph faster that me, but likely wont kill me. I am simultaneously aware that it is coming and that it might “take me out”.

There are few times when I’ve really felt at peace on busy or fast roads. Two examples that come to mind is some portions of a Critical Mass ride or when I know that I am going to go faster than any car could do on the road in question..

I never liked riding with newbies, because they really don’t know their own limits. I would hate to see them get hurt, just following me.

I do ride with the family on the MUPs, but then I am in a different mind set and have my heaviest bike.

I think that the perception that sidewalks are “safe” and the streets are dangerous is one of those things that seems right, but isn’t. Both are dangerous to the unaware.

[MicheleC]

Well, it got me wondering. Why aren't you guys afraid of traffic? Were you ever sidewalk riders who learned it was better off the sidewalk? What made you lose your fear of riding in the streets?


I was never a sidewalk rider, except maybe as a child on my tricycle.

When I was in my early 20s and pregnant, someone in a big pickup tried to run me off the road, and that scared me because I wanted the baby so much, so I didn't ride for several years.

When my son started preschool, I decided to go back to college. The bus took 45 minutes and it was 30 minutes by bike, so I overcame my fear of riding in traffic because I wanted the education so badly.

When I moved to Hollywood, my (locked) bike was stolen. I bought another bike when I moved to Glendale, which was also stolen (lock cut through). That's the last time I rode for close to 20 years.

Last year, I started riding again for crosstraining (I'm running the LA Marathon, which is March 19th). Since May, when my husband totalled his car and started using my car to get to work, bicycling has become my means of transportation, so I have to just deal with fear of traffic.

On Thursday, the cable company turned off my internet because of lack of payment, so because I work at home and had to work, I rode 5 miles to the bank to transfer some funds from savings, rode another 4 miles to the cable company office, and then home. Because of this, I rode on some streets I would have been afraid of riding on before. By the time I got to the cable office, I was proud of myself for working through that fear and for just dealing with the roads and traffic. It also happened to be a beautiful day and by the time I got to the cable company I was feeling so good from the ride that I couldn't be mad at myself for not paying the bill or at the cable company for turning off the cable. I was actually happy about the opportunity to ride.

I guess that joy overrides fear or at least mitigates it.

[-=£em in Pa=-]

They even brought up how all the cars honked at me when I refused to get on the sidewalk as proof I'm in the wrong and being unsafe. (I tried to whip out my copy of the law that says bikes have all the rights and responsibilities to the road, but I didn't seem to have that page with me.)


People that dont utilize the sidewalk in an openly hostile environment like the one you mention
have just been lucky. Eventually they will use the sidewalk and my wishes are that the
episode that occurs to make them come to that realization is one they will recover from quickly.

[TRaffic Jammer]

I thrive riding in traffic. I knock on the windows and panels to move cars over when riding downtown. On the more open roads you have to mentally mark your spot. You belong there. Bike...road ... it's perfect. I have no fear whatsoever of riding on the road and frankly would be terrified by the hurt I could cause on the sidewalk. Side....walk ... the names say it all. Not unlike surfing, skiing, skateboarding or any other "soul" sport a healthy respect for one's playground is absolutely neccessary. Fear in any situation always makes things worse. If your afraid of dogs, it'll bite you. If you're afriad of the vert you will eat it. If you're afraid of the cars they will sense it and your ride will suck.

I don't cower at the cars...if someone wants to get into it then I can calmly explain why i every legal right to be there and their ignorance of that fact is unfortunately thier problem alone.

[Map tester]

I think a little fear is a good thing--it will keep you from doing stupid things. When I ride, I make mental calculations (some conscious and some not) about how safe my route is. Some day I feel strong and willing to assert my right to the road, other days I take quieter roads because I don't feel like fighting it out with cars. I think I fear how bad off physically I would be if I didn't bike--I know that would kill me quicker than riding.

[geog_dash]

I took the League of American Bicyclists Road I course. After the discussion and practice rides, I was a VC convert (mostly). I really don't see the advantages of riding on the sidewalk. It's not safer, and it's dangerous for pedestrians. Riding on the road is the only way to get anywhere, and the risks are acceptable. Now, I'm an instructor for LAB.

[TRaffic Jammer]

Don't get me wrong I ride a safe route as well, riding to one's abilities in traffic can take riding to a whole different level of sport. I pass on the left. lol With practice all the skills and senses get much sharper.

[jamesdenver]

i don't ride on state highways or hi speed arterials - my daily bike commute goes down mostly quiet residential streets. even on side streets that are heavily used traffic goes slow. my city is accepting of bike commuting. i've only been honked and a few times, and of those times most were if I'VE done something stupid.

i'm more afraid of a patch of ice or pedestrian at night i can't see than i am of traffic.

[closetbiker]

... it got me wondering. Why aren't you guys afraid of traffic? Were you ever sidewalk riders who learned it was better off the sidewalk? What made you lose your fear of riding in the streets?

Afraid? Lose my fear?

I've never been afraid ever since I was 7 years old riding my bike in the streets of my old home town.

I suppose I've had few incidents that would make me think twice (I have had my share of wipe-outs) but nothing was any more serious than what's happened to me when playing either hockey or football or even tripping over my own 2 feet. Frankly, I was more afraid playing rugby than I've ever been in traffic. Just keep your eyes open, head up and don't do anything anyone wouldn't expect.

When I'm out in my car, I grit my teeth at the risks other drivers take in getting around other cars. When I'm riding my bike, I don't see as many risky situations as I do when I drive (and keep in mind, I drove a cab for years).

In over 22 years of commuting to work on my bike, my co-workers have had more injury driving in in their cars than I've had on my bike.

I ask, how do those in cars have no fear driving the way they do?

[Bekologist]

I'd stop riding with that group, Diane!

Fear. always good to keep some healthy respect for danger. "Deep Survival" is an excellent book about the survivor instinct and what happens when people cave into fear in emergency situations.

I have respect for danger, and sometimes AM afraid. Like when a sucession of loaded double dump trucks pass you on wet highways with a crumbling fog line a little too close for comfort. But don't let the fear control the situation.


I used to ride a hobbyhorse in the streets of my neighborhood when I was 3, and got a bike soon afterwards. I was riding to school and going fishing, all on the roads, on my bike when I was 7. Crashing bad enough to get stitches around 2nd-3rd grade. Rode a 50 miler for charity when I was 10.

Several decades later, I've crashed countless times, been hit by a taxi, sideswiped by drivers, road raged, threatened with bodily harm, threatened with a firearm, hit trees, park benches, run into cars, broken a hip, buckled a windshield with my head, and still I ride.

Why am I not afraid? sometimes I am, but I don't let it control the situation.

Biking rolls deep in my heart.

[randya]

Side....walk ... the names say it all.
I believe the Brits call it the 'pavement'. Probably from a time before motor vehicles, named for a paved surface, used first by walkers and animal-drawn carts, followed by bicycles, and finally motor vehicles...in the US, after all, it was bicyclists who first advocated for paving. In other words, the public ROW wasn't divided into sidewalks and roadway until the motor vehicle came along. And, IMO, way too much of the public ROW has been dedicated to those motor vehicles.

But afraid? No. Sometimes angry, but not afraid.

[Roody]

One thing I realized early on is that drivers do not want to hit you. Period. There's too much paperwork, and their car might get scratched. As long as they can see you, and predict your course in traffic, they will not hit you.

I just don't see any evidence that riding in the street is dangerous, anywy, compared with many other things that people do perceive to be low risk activities. According to statistics I'veread hereand other places, cycling is as safe as driving in traffic, safer than walking in traffic, but more dangerous than taking a bus, train or plane. That's just the facts.

[bigskymacadam]

Please just focus on the topic of the fear of riding in the streets and how you got off the sidewalk and over the fear (or how one could help others to do the same).

Too answer your question, my fear of riding in the streets was confronted by doing it. Like the others have mentioned, fear keeps me alive. In control. What's that phrase? Use your fear to your advantage? Anyways.

Hold your line and be predictable. Be aware. Adjust to your surroundings. Look for an escape route. Be focused. Control the distractions during the ride. That's pretty safe. As social as riding in a group is; you can't blah, blah, blah yap yap the whole time and still be safe to yourself and others. Better to go for a walk if you feel the need to converse a bunch (not that YOU do that, just in general).

In short, there's some etiquette involved when riding a bike ESPECIALLY in a group. These people are putting themselves and others in danger more than they know. The mental image of this group makes me shudder with concern. Well ... not that bad. I'm over it now.

[straightedge]

I've never really had a fear of riding the street. When I learned to ride a bike, I learned on a sidewalk but we lived in a high traffic area. The next two places, including where I live now (I've really only lived in about a 10 mile radius) mostly didn't have sidewalks. The newer areas do, but they are the really narrow ones where two walkers could barely pass next to each other. Sidewalks have the dangers of people, untrimmed branches/brush and the worst is cars parked over the sidewalk.

I think another aspect of it is where you live or ride. The two times I've visited NYC, I put a lot of miles on my bike. The gridlock to me is a blast to ride in, but I hardly felt like I was in too much danger. The people there are much more used to bike and foot traffic. Around here, cars seem confused when they come up on you, as if a bike is completely foreign to them. That kind of makes me nervous, when a car is afraid to pass you even though you are at the very right edge and there is no oncoming traffic, usually the wave around works fine though.

sbhikes, assuming that's you in your avatar picture, recumbant trikes would be a lot different riding in traffic being lower and less visible. My Dad has one and pretty much only uses it for trails, but they are a lot of fun to ride.

[Helmet Head]

I distinctly remember realizing the value of riding a straight line and looking predictable to passing motorists... I was 11 or 12 years old. It was explained to me by some members of a bike club I started riding with. I haven't really been "afraid" of traffic ever since, though I've always had a healthy respect for it. I liken it to my wife's attitude towards the ocean, where she swims regularly.

But there's a difference between not being afraid of traffic because you know you're riding straight, predictably and as out of the way as is reasonable, and not being afraid of impeding faster traffic when it is safe and reasonable to do so. The former is necessary to ride effectively on roads at all. By shedding that fear, you might not enjoy traffic, but you can get through most situations okay. The latter is needed to master vehicular cycling, and to learn to enjoy cycling in traffic, with much less stress.

[rmwun54]

Why because I have been riding on the streets since I was 11 years old. I'm 52 now and well I do ride faster now than when I was 11 and I am aware of the fact that there are more cars and lousy drivers on the road now adays, so why am I not afraid. I personally think that the answer is I ride like everyone on the road is out to injure my rear and with that in mind I look for any senario of danger that can possibly arise. I look for possible cars coming out of the driveways, car doors opening, cars behind me, and you name it; you might say you have to ride paranoid and always on high alert. Yeah that can be annoying but I'm here alive and not broken up yet. But I will say that I have been in a situation where a car has cut me off and I had to crash right into the side of it and managed to roll off safely. Then there was that time a catering truck passed by me so closely that the counter that sticks out from it clipped my elbow causing me to crash. I did not get hurt but I could have and yeah that was scary. But that wasn't enough to stop me, because I learned something from that experience, I learned that not only do you have to watch out for crazy drivers; I have to look out for situations that can endanger my person ahead of time. That situation that the catering truck clipped me well I looked at the road space that it was driving through where I was at at the time; it was narrow. So now I am more cautious of any situation that can create a hazardous zone for my safety. My motto is; you can't ride if your not alive, so watch out for those irrisponsible drivers or else you will be dead.

[atbman]

People that dont utilize the sidewalk in an openly hostile environment like the one you mention have just been lucky. Eventually they will use the sidewalk and my wishes are that the
episode that occurs to make them come to that realization is one they will recover from quickly.

Sorry, my friend, but you are wrong. You are between two and three times more likely to have a collision if you ride on the sidewalk than on the highway. Since a large porportion of bike/motor vehicle collisions take place at junctions, sidewalk riding doesn't remove the risk.

In any case, drivers honking may be ignorant/ill-mannered/stupid but it does indicate that they've seen you - honkers rarely hit cyclists. So changing your behaviour and where you cycle on that basis is not sensible.

Regardless of whether or not you take every word of Effective Cycling as gospel or not, riding your bike as a vehicle on the highway is the safest way of proceeding. Fear is only useful if you need to speed up your reflexes in an emergency. From what I've read on this forum, US drivers are more ignorant of the rights of and the traffic laws pertaining to cyclists thatn most, so I accept that the traffic environment may be slightly more risky than in the UK - but regular riding, esp. commuting will reduce your chances of dying from heart disease by a much greater factor than it increases your collision fatality risk by road riding (UK figure is 20:1 in favour of cycling.

[-=£em in Pa=-]

^^^^ No. As a utilitarian commuter here in the NE-US, I respectfully
disagree........
These differences must be geographical because in the places
I have ridden you WILL most assuredly get hit by a car or the
mirror of a truck. Its just a matter of time. Im sure people in Eugene
Oregon or NorCal, Washington state etc experiences are going to be
very different than people in the angry, overly congested NE corridor
states of Jersey, PA, NY, CT, etc....
I have written much stuff on this and there is nothing, or no VC
theory that will change my mind. I only want to get to work safely....
not to make a statement or be a martyr. The small distance I
ride on the sidewalk is for my comfort and safety. Unlike the openly
hostile road environments I have found myself in on some of my commutes
I have never had anyone show contempt for me being on the sidewalk,
even going so far as to exchange pleasantries with the people I pass
in the morning. I think if people from North East Philadelphia and North
Jersey etc were responding to this they would be in agreement with me.
Nobody wants to ride on the sidewalk but as a survival tactic it is
necassary to be open to it or risk serious bodily injury as happens all the
time in the NE-US.

[TRaffic Jammer]

Here In Toronto, as an adult you would most likey get kicked off your bike into the road here if you were riding the sidewalk. Honestly i can't see any reason why you'd want to. Maybe it's the slower road speeds, but the peds will not stand for biking on the sidewalk.

[Cycliste]

I just got back from a ride with some folks that I've been riding with for about a year.... Now we're always riding on the sidewalk, sometimes wrong way!

Now I hope this didn't happen for the entire ride... :eek: But just the first and last couple of hundred yards. If so, then it musn't have been a very exciting ride :( . Or was it on and of, I hate this kind of riding, it just ain't worth it and rather be on a trainer ;)

If they are not comfortable with the busy traffic at start and end, then I think you should suggest changing location again or revert to the previous one if it was better.

There are busy areas I usually avoid (though I would still be able to ride them, and no I am not afraid just ride more defensively) and would definitly not pick as start/end of ride.

[banerjek]

Why aren't you guys afraid of traffic? Were you ever sidewalk riders who learned it was better off the sidewalk? What made you lose your fear of riding in the streets?
Riding in traffic is like working on a roof. If you understand and manage the risks, you'll be fine. Let fear get ahold of you, and you'll screw up.

There is a reason why riding on the sidewalk is illegal in many places -- if you ride at any speed that is much faster than a walk, you are a threat to others and yourself. Besides, it's rude to blow by pedestrians at normal biking speeds.

Riding on the sidewalk is dangerous and a bad idea for many reasons . Aside from the fact cars that won't notice you when turning onto or off the road, the ones that do will expect you to yield, and people might suddenly exit a building or step in front of you because they didn't see you.

Although I believe that there are a few sections of road that are so dangerous it really is suicidal to ride there, this is the exception rather than the norm. Surfers don't tend to obsess about getting attacked by sharks, and when it happens, they don't leave the water forever. It's the people who don't understand who are the most afraid.

[sbhikes]

Thank you everybody. The Buddhist probabaly made the point best: I can't change anybody. It will be up to them to change on their own time.

I don't really understand the change in the group. The previous locations were close to bike paths, too, but we also road on the streets. Some of these streets had traffic volumes I wasn't used to, too. We even ride on the freeway, which was very frightening to me (afraid a big truck would break loose a bots dot or shed a tread at just the right time to send it flying into my face.)

The new location starts at a big recreational park and is nearby to all these new housing developments that have these very pleasant sidewalks along the back perimeter. So we head out to ride on these sidewalks. Those sidewalks aren't so bad, but these folks have figured out ways to connect it all buy riding on the sidewalk along some of the busier streets. To be fair, there does appear to be faint bike path markings on these sidewalks, but we're riding the wrong way on them. At one point, this wrong-way adventure took us along a very busy road with a freeway overpass. So we were crossing on/offramps. It was insane. I finally got sick of it and got on the road. A few people followed me and said they liked my idea. But it was short-lived because soon we were back on the pleasant sidewalks behind the houses.

It was frustrating. I don't think I'll go back. Maybe some local group would accept a trike and not be a bunch of speed demons so I could keep up. And no, the trike is not harder to see than a regular bike. It's actually much easier to see.

[Brian Ratliff]

Ha Ha. Diane, go with a group that does long distance rides, if you are up to it; 30-50 miles or more. They'll accept you because deep down, they know that you will be the one dragging them home the last 20 miles into the wind. ;)

Just stay away from the afternoon hammerfests. Those involve very large groups at times and very high speeds. Those people might not appreciate a trike amongst them.

[cooker]

Eventually they will use the sidewalk

Im sure people in Eugene Oregon or NorCal, Washington state etc experiences are going to be very different than people in the angry, overly congested NE corridor states of Jersey, PA, NY, CT, etc....

I understand that conditions and attitudes can vary greatly from region to region, and from urban to suburban to rural, but I think you are misperceiving the risks. People don't die in car-bike accidents because of hostility, they die because of circumstances. In an urban environment, the sidewalk is completely impractical and dangerous because of potential right-of-way conflicts with pedestrians or vehicles. At every intersection, and every driveway, and with every pedestrian you overtake, you have no right-of-way as a sidewalk cyclist, and you put yourself (and the pedestrians) at risk of collision since there are no rules or conventions on who goes first, or who goes left or right. When you cycle on the road everyone knows who has the right of way at every moment. Sure a car might rear-end a cyclist on the road, which may be what you fear, and that won't happen on the sidewalk; but most car-bike collisions occur at intersections due to cross-traffic or turning vehicles, and there the sidewalk cyclist surging unexpectedly into the street is at far greater risk then the cyclist who is already in the street.

[closetbiker]

...and far, far more people who are riding bikes on sidewalks are hit by cars, than cyclists who are riding on the road following the rules of the road.

[Daily Commute]

I learned to ride in traffic confidently keeping within my limits and stretching those limits. I started on the family driveway, moved up to a vacant parking lot, then to quiet residential streets, then to less quiet residential streets (I was riding residential streets to school when I was eight), etc. When you've been doing something since you were eight, it seems natural.

I think some get afraid because, after not riding for years, they jump on arterials.

Two other key factors to feeling comfortable in traffic are:
Don't worry about slowing down other traffic from time to time;
Don't get too annoyed when other traffic slows you down.

[randya]

So how about Japan, where the bicycle mode split is something like 50% in many cities, and almost all that bicycling is done on the sidewalks? Or Barcelona Spain, where most bike routes are also on the side walks?

[Roody]

Too answer your question, my fear of riding in the streets was confronted by doing it. Like the others have mentioned, fear keeps me alive. In control. What's that phrase? Use your fear to your advantage? Anyways.

Hold your line and be predictable. Be aware. Adjust to your surroundings. Look for an escape route. Be focused. Control the distractions during the ride. That's pretty safe. As social as riding in a group is; you can't blah, blah, blah yap yap the whole time and still be safe to yourself and others. Better to go for a walk if you feel the need to converse a bunch (not that YOU do that, just in general).

In short, there's some etiquette involved when riding a bike ESPECIALLY in a group. These people are putting themselves and others in danger more than they know. The mental image of this group makes me shudder with concern. Well ... not that bad. I'm over it now.
You make it sound like riding is an activity that requires silence and Zenlike concentration. Sorry, I disagree.

Riding a bike is almost always pretty easy and doesn't require much in the way of concentration. Little kids do it! And survive the experience! :)

I think it's perfectly safe to ride and converse, just as it's safe to drive and converse. Of course there are circumstances, riding and driving, that require more concentration. In those rare cases, like icy roads or road construction (or a squirrely riding partner!), you can shut up for a minute and concentrate more on riding. Also, if you are new to riding in traffic, you will probably want to stay more focused on the task.

[Slow Train]

Everybody in that group thought I was nuts for not wanting to riding on the sidewalk. They were trying to argue with me that I'll get killed by somebody on a cell phone if I'm out in the street. They even brought up how all the cars honked at me when I refused to get on the sidewalk as proof I'm in the wrong and being unsafe. (I tried to whip out my copy of the law that says bikes have all the rights and responsibilities to the road, but I didn't seem to have that page with me.)

Well, it got me wondering. Why aren't you guys afraid of traffic? Were you ever sidewalk riders who learned it was better off the sidewalk? What made you lose your fear of riding in the streets?



It is human nature to be afraid of the unknown. If these were adults I'd say they were very inexperienced cyclists. Up until 3 years ago all my riding experience had been on country roads alone or in groups and commuting to a work location on the edge of DC. I had never done any hardcore downtown weekday riding.

So when I decided to become car-free and moved downtown to facilitate it I was apprehensive about riding in dense urban traffic. Now, 3 years later, I can't imagine what I was worried about. All in all I find riding through DC much, much safer than riding alone along a narrow country road.

If these are fellow trike riders maybe you should volunteer to lead the next ride - that is if you haven't already ruined your reputation with them! Plan a route that is to their liking EXCEPT that it includes a small segment of a quiet road. Gradually expose them to more and more varied cycling experiences just as you would for a child
;)

[UmneyDurak]

Because you can't do 40+ miles ride on a sidewalk, because it's ride can't go 15+ on a sidewalk, because there are no sidwalks in the hills outside the city, etc?

[bmike]

.

Everybody in that group thought I was nuts for not wanting to riding on the sidewalk. They were trying to argue with me that I'll get killed by somebody on a cell phone if I'm out in the street. .



Looks like its time to find new riding partners...

Fear is a big motivator.
Why not offer to lead a ride. Pick a nice, safe set of roads, maybe easy at first, with more traffic later on. Choose a route that take you to a favorite spot (ice cream, waterfall, etc.) that sidewalks will never get you too...

[srrs]

I always feel like an antelope in a herd of elephants when i'm riding with cars. To the degree that sometimes I actually feel like the cars theselves are the creatures, not the people inside of them. Anyway, it doesn't seem like people in cars are malicious, at least not in the places I ride, several of which are relatively busy with no shoulders. I don't go all that quick, but people just go around me either way. It's all about getting used to it - I've always ridden in the street, but for awhile I'd avoid busier areas like the plague, even if it meant going 5 miles out of my way. Now I'm fine going wherever I need to, within reason. Being confident should not be equivalent to being foolhardy.

[John Wilke]

Not many sidewalks here ... but I ride them only if I'm going into a store.

Afraid of traffic? HELL YEAH !

:rolleyes:

jw

[Daily Commute]

I always feel like an antelope in a herd of elephants when i'm riding with cars. . . .
Great line.

['nother]

It's always seemed fairly obvious to me that a vehicle moving at 3, 4 or more times the speed of pedestrians on a sidewalk is quite a danger, no matter the maneuverability nor confidence of its operator. Also, I did not have sidewalks where I lived as a kid and learned to ride a bicycle, so riding on the street was the only option. Just seems natural to me.

If your goal is to "convert" these people, well, you've got a tough row to hoe. However, you have an apparently inexhaustible supply of fodder right here in this forum for educational material. Sign them all up for BF accounts!

If your goal is to ride with people that share your outlook on sidewalk riding, I think I'd be looking for another group next time out -- don't waste any more time with these turkeys. Why not start your own group, lead the rides yourself?

[jwc]

I didn't have a choice really. Most streets in my town do not have sidewalks....even peds use the streets. "Downtown" does have sidewalks, but they are all posted with "No bicycles/skateboard" signs. After living and riding in Northern California, where it seems cyclists get more respect, NC was a challenge. My first bike purchase in NC was a mountain bike because I thought I may have to abandon the road on occassion due to some idiot in a pick-up. That fear was, as it turned out, unfounded.

(Just to clarify, I had to replace my bikes because the EX-WIFE SOLD MY BIKES AT A YARD SALE AFTER I MOVED. And kept the money I sent to to have the bikes broken down and shipped.) :mad:

[sbhikes]

I think I'll just skip the rides from that group unless the route is the Ojai bike path or some of the other Western Ventura/Oxnard/Port Hueneme rides they do.

There ain't no way in heck I'll even attempt to show up at some hammerhead type group ride. I'm not an antelope. I'm more like a giant tortoise in the midst of the elephants of the road.

As for the sidewalks they ride, either there are no peds, or if there are peds they all smile when they see us so apparently it must be "the way things are done" around there. Phooey on that! It's a nice sedate middle-class way to live but I'm into it.

Oh and as far as leading them, well they came to Santa Barbara and I led them part of the way and since most of them only ride around flat Oxnard they either didn't know how to shift gears on hills or else they simply died on the hills and had to get off and push. They don't like Santa Barbara. It's too hilly. There are so many great rides here but they won't do any of them because of the hills. And darn it if going down hill isn't the major reason to ride a trike. You can go so fast and have so much fun doing it.

Some people are afraid of hills. Some afraid of traffic. Some both. If you are afraid of both there's not much I can do to help.

Hills is a topic I never see on BF.

[Momtothreeboys]

I'm in the minority here because I haven't even gotten my new bike yet (just a few more days), but I have been having this talk with my hubby in the past few days because of a small bridge that I would have to ride over in order to open up my riding options to more than 10 miles or so. It has a very small lane next to the car lane (probably about 4-5 feet wide).
Here's my dilemma--I trust myself...I don't trust everyone driving. Some of this is due to personal experience. I have a friend who lost one of her legs when she was 20 because she was running on the side of the road and a car swerved and hit her. She saw him coming, but only managed to get one leg over the guard rail--the other was crushed. Obviously this was not her fault and she said she was a very cautious runner---you just can't control what other people do (talking on phones, text messaging, putting on make-up, driving drunk etc..)
I'm still not sure about crossing the bridge when I finally do get my bike. I guess some of it will come with time and confidence, but there's always my friend Chris in the back of my mind and what her life is like now (she's 35).
I also know that anything bad can happen at any time, but I also think that sometimes we do put ourselves in more danger than we need to be in.
I'm just "talking out loud" now but I would love to hear what others think of this type of situation!