Advocacy & Safety - I'm beginning to dislike biking on this campus...

I just can't stand it! On campus, the roads are rather narrow and populated with freshman girls on cell phones. This was taken into account, and there are only a few short sections of the bike lane where it merges into the street. The vast majority of the bike lane here is on the sidewalk. In some places there's just one lane marked off in white, in other parts it splits into two lanes and is painted just like a two way street.

accidents are rather common with careless bikers and the peds, but it's not completely the bikers' faults. yes, there are many careless bikers on campus (mainly being freshman girls with their cell phone in one hand and sometimes the other might be holding onto the handlebars...no joke), but most of us are careful. Most of us just stay in the bike lane and mind our own business...AS WE WEAVE AROUND THE PEDS WALKING IN THE BIKE LANE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I cannot believe how stupid these college kids are! Why, just explain to me why the hell these people insist on walking in the bike lane! 'hey this little road thing is coool, I wanna walk in it! hey look, it's a painting of a bike! I wonder what that means?'

:mad:

*rant off

I just can't stand it! ..the roads are ... populated with freshman girls
I'd stay on the road.

Al

trust me, that would be a no no. the biker-ped relationship is just like the car-biker relationship here. I've seen enough accidents to know better than to bike in these streets, especially if the bike lane isn't in it. The places where the bike lane merges off the sidewalk and into the street, the street is wider by the width of the bike lane. Otherwise the the streets (mainly boulevards around here, and the bike lane is only in the street when it's not a boulevard) are hardly the width of two cars and have rather high curbs. People would have to switch lanes to get around, but many would try to squeeze by and there would be many problems, one of which could easily be severe injuries.
I'll stick with taking my chances of a low speed crash on the sidewalk opposed to the higher chances of being struck by over 2000 pounds of metal going over 35mph.

I've thought it over long and hard before. Thanks for the thought though, Al, in most cases that would be a good idea.

Sounds like you may have the need for an AirZounds. Thats what I'd do.

I can sympathize. I go near a campus where I have encountered walkers, skateboarders and wrong-way cyclists in the bike lane.

I'd say your worries are pretty petty, given the things that have happened.

I'm trying to work out why you're complaining about there being too many girls :D

Richard

I'm trying to work out why you're complaining about there being too many girls :D

Richard
Don't ask.

Anyone think this is a troll?

Boy that's nothing like the campus around here. Pedestrians understand they'll be killed if they walk on the bike path. They even have braille bumps at the places where walkways cross bike paths so that blind people won't walk across them without checking for traffic first. I remember not being able to walk across some busy bike paths for mintues waiting for all the traffic, and then you'd have to dart across in fear for your life.

I'm not trying to be sexist or anything, that's just how it is. Yes, there is occasionally a guy walking in the bike lane, but the vast majority are extremely ditsy girls. Again, the vast majority of males and female pedestrians observe the bike lane and keep to the sidewalk. It's just that, it is fairly common to encounter people walking in the bike lane and the majority of them are of the 'ditsy/oblivious to anything but themself/material/and so on' type. Just as many of them behave the same way on their bikes and in their cars. That's just how it is.

and for the record, I do like girls. but I'm an astrophysics major, I don't mix well with these type of girls.

I'm just so frustrated with people in general and wish I could ride in the bike lane without having to be on my keenest of senses a all times, and be ready to slam on the brakes and swerve out of the way. like riding through a minefield with the flags not showing up until theyr'e 5 feet away from you

I'm not trying to be sexist or anything

Its not really something one has to try at ;)

What is the speed limit on the roads where you might be riding? I'd think that 25mph is definitely doable. Its 25mph on my campus and cars don't go flying past me (5-10mph aggregate speed maybe).