Road Cycling - Why do you ride on the street?

Ok; I don't drive yet (I'm 19; just never felt the need to) and I do ride a good amount of bike.

However; why do bike riders ride on the street; when there is obviously a sidewalk or other area only feet from the road? Am I missing something or is it a "because you can" type thing? I'd feel safer on a sidewalk then a road, with cars, etc.

Just thought I'd find out why ...

Sidewalks have pedestrians, poles, dips and whatnot. It just isn't fun (or really safe) to ride on them. It would seem safer, but as long as the driver has the least bit of skill, you're probably better off riding on the road where the cars can more easily see you.

Statistically you're actually safer on the road than the footpath/sidewalk. One of the problems with riding on the footpath is the constant intersections with not only roads, but also driveways and other entrances. The fact is that cars using these are not looking for traffic on the footpath as readily as they are looking on the road - hence your chances of actually being hit are greatly increased on the footpath. Contrary to popular belief, most bike/car collisions are the result of these side-on interactions rather than car hitting bike from behind.

The other fact is, the number of bicycle accidents that involve cars is surprisingly small. The most common form of cycling accident leading to serious injury is simply falling off. For the reasons posted above - this is more likely on the footpath than on the road. Again, the road is safer.

It is also illegal to ride on the footpath.

If there is a quality bike path (I know that Chris doesn't believe they exist:D) then it's worthwhile getting off the road.

I have a wonderful, wide, smooth bike path with no intersections for a large section of my commute. I love riding on it but when what is meant to pass as a bike path is lumpy and winding, I'll stay on the road.

Originally posted by MediaCreations
It is also illegal to ride on the footpath.

Not here it's not. Well, maybe it's yet another of those things that could only happen in Queensland.

The road is by far the safest place to be if you ride your bike like a road vehicle.
Even dedicated on-road cycle lanes produce more danger than they prevent.
Sidewalks are mostly illegal to ride, and they put the cyclist in conflict with cars at every junctin. Conflict = potential crash.

It's illegal to ride on the pavement (sidewalk ) here.

Also, by riding in the street I maintain the right to do so.

when you start riding on the street just remember to always take up more lane space than you'd have too, especially if the road has two lanes going one way... this would prevent drivers from passing you too close... except of course if they're over 60...

I weigh 212 pounds and my bike and commuting gear weighs another 50 pounds. Imagine that mass zipping down a sidewalk full of people, pets, and poles, while moving at 14-18MPH. Also remember that sidewalks don't exist in many areas, often lack cutouts, make a left turn suicidally dangerous, and are illegal for adult riders in many places.

Paul

Its illegal here too.

I saw a guy riding the other day with a small flag that came out horizontally from his bike (about 18 inches). At first I thought what a neat idea...it'll warn the cars off.
Then I realized it would just piss them off and make me more of a target.

...ken

SIDEWALKS ARE FOR WALKING!!!!!!

Anyone ever try riding 25mph on the sidewalk? That would be some kind of frightening experience I'd think.

Much better pace on the road!! :D

When I was a kid in MA we used to ride our BMX bikes downtown all the time, sidewalks, streets, whatever.

Then, a kid cranking a wheelie crashed into a cop coming out of a store and that ended the legal use of sidewalks for bicycles. Although, they never really busted our stones about it, just passed a local ordinance.

PJ

Yep, illegal here too. Some guy actually got a ticket for riding on the sidewalk near my house.

you are pulling our collective legs, right ???

Originally posted by greywolf
you are pulling our collective legs, right ???

Nope, actually happened. The kid was biking really fast. Guess the cop thought it was unsafe.

I ride on the street and I definitely think it's safer than sidewalk. One day, as I was riding along the usual route, I saw this car waiting to enter the street from a parking lot. The driver definitely saw me and waited for me to pass. Her car almost blocked the sidewalk. In the mean time, there was this guy on a bike (definitely not an avid cyclist), riding on the sidewalk, from the opposite direction, stubbornly trying to squeeze his way through the almost-blocked sidewalk. As I passed them, *BOOM*, the car hit him. I stopped, looked back and I saw the guy stood up holding his badly tacoed bike. No one was hurt, so I continued riding. That guy must have thought that it's safe to ride on sidewalk. Boy, was he wrong.

Illegal in NYC!

Originally posted by EagleEye
Nope, actually happened. The kid was biking really fast. Guess the cop thought it was unsafe.
I was refering to the original post but it would be unusual for a kid to get a ticket for rideing on the footpath here especialy if it was a busy road , the cops would turn a blind eye but they would pull him if he/she had no helmet !

Illegal here too. And more importantly, almost always unsafe.

I find it a more uninterrupted ride on the road, and much less stressful/far safer not having to constantly pass pedestrians and dogs, and not having to worry all the time about cars coming out of driveways. Sure there's the added danger of fast moving cars, but I'm pretty careful about what roads I ride on. I'll happily ride on a shared path, though.

Most of my riding is early in the morning, so the traffic is light on both the roads and shared paths.

1) It is illegal to ride a bike on the sidewalk in my town.
2) Even if it was legal, my 20 min commute to work would turn into 60 min on the sidewalk.
3) On our weekly training ride, can you imagine 150 riders on the sidewalk????
4) Mr. bbtm.........hope you learned something new today.
5)
6)

Well I am not sure why I am saying this again but...

Sidewalks are way too dangerous rough for a road bike. A MTN bike is a different matter... sometimes I like riding mine on sidewalks where there are not people walking.

cAPS

Ride on the road. If you do so, you reinforce our rights as vehicles to use them.

If we scurry onto the sidewalk with our derrailleurs between our legs, how will car drivers treat us with the respect we need?

It isn't illegal for me to ride my bike on the sidewalk here but it's definately more dangerous both to myself and pedestrians. I generally treat the sidewalks as having a speed limit no faster than the average human being can run which is somewhere around 12MPH to 15MPH. That's pretty slow for me on a bike. Additionally, sidewalks aren't consistant in terms of traffic control. A lot more things can spring up on you when you're riding sidewalks.

I would only ride my road bike on the streets.....Tried to ride today on a bike course along the So Cal Beaches and ate crap big time because of a dumb pedestrian walking out in front of me....big mistake on my behalf..should have stayed on the street! I take it as a rookie learning mistake, although I'm very sore right now :( . The sidewalks are illegal in my area too.

There are walking/bike trails at Kiawah Island, S.C. and we have a place there. In some areas the island won't let you out on the road and you have to ride on the trails. I tell my hubby all the time that I am in a lot more danger on those trails because of pedestrians, biker families & roller bladers than I ever am on the road. It's always an adventure.

In my area (Raleigh) people seem to know that you AREN'T allowed on the sidewalks and if you try to ride there you get the dirtiest looks. It seems to be much safer in the roads! Don't want a gang of angry stroller pushing pedestrians attacking!!

As for ticketing riders, I use to clerk court and in NC they WILL ticket you for riding above the speed limit! (sorry, I know it's off topic, but thought I'd share).

I not only ride in the streets only but I like to find the narrowest windy mountain roads where there is no shoulder just the road and a cliff and ride with the cars. I love the rush of cars passing inches from me all the time ;)

Well, you ride on the road because it is safer.

Forester in "Effective Cycling" found that cyclists had much lower accident rates on the road then on bike paths or sidewalks. Interestingly enough, the cyclists with the lowest accident rates were cyclists who commuted to work and who therefore rode in heavy traffic.

Interestingly enough, cycling on the road is less hazardous then being in a motorized vehicle on the road (about 1/2 as dangerous). I know it doesn't feel that way. But I thought about it. Most motorists kill themselves by driving under the influence, falling asleep at the wheel or driving way too fast for conditions. It is hard to ride a bike when you are plastered and I don't think many people even try. Most cyclists are awake when they ride. And it is pretty hard to ride fast enough on a bike to put your life in danger with excessive speed (except for monster downhills of course).

I recall, doing a multiday tour on the roads from Lansing MI to Saint Ignace - about 400 miles. At the end of the tour, we did a 7 mile ride around Macinaw Island which has no cars and lots of bike paths. At the end of that ride, my nerves were shot. I had far more near misses from dern fools on bikes on the narrow paths then I had in 4 days on the roads. The interesting thing was the horses on the trails were far more predictable then the idiot humans! I swore that I was going to stick to the roads with the semis where it is safe! Our only accident on the tour happened on Macinaw Island. A kid on a bike T boned one of our riders on an intersection - the kid had built up a pile of speed on a downhill. Our guy was not hurt - just a bit of road rash and bruises but his bike frame was bent.

Originally posted by sherpa
I not only ride in the streets only but I like to find the narrowest windy mountain roads where there is no shoulder just the road and a cliff and ride with the cars. I love the rush of cars passing inches from me all the time ;)
Dang......I like that....
I think I'll free-wheel cog my fixie and scream down Angeles Crest Hwy.

Originally posted by cAPSLOCK
Sidewalks are way too dangerous rough for a road bike. A MTN bike is a different matter... sometimes I like riding mine on sidewalks where there are not people walking.

You're a braver man than I am. My MTB has seen some shocking corrugated dirt roads, but I won't take it anywhere near a footpath.

See my avatar?
<----

Where else would one ride a "road" bike but in the road.

Riding on the sidewalk is against the law around here unless you are 12 or younger.

I ride in the street because I feel safer, I get to where I want to go faster, and it's my right.

Definition from Black's Legal Dictionary:

highway

A free and public roadway, or street; one which every person has the right to use. ... Its prime essentials are the right of common enjoyment on the one hand and the duty of public maintenance on the other.

Drivers seem to expect traffic to be on the street rather than a path, sidewalk or anywhere other than on the street. I feel as though I am more likely to be seen and thus feel safer. I do not however take for granted I'll be seen. I thus ride defensively - very defensively.

I used to live in Charleston, S.C. where I attended college. I had an mtb and almost always rode on the street (unless it was just too too dangerous). I had a friend who broke his leg because he was doing about 15 down a sidewalk and hit some lady stepping out of a store front... Remember, they're called SideWALKs, not SideRIDEs...

Lord, I can't see how anyone could ride a bike on the sidewalks in Charleston! Way too many shoppers! :)

the most dangerous place i ride is along 'the strand' bike path (along the beach) in Los Angeles. it's absolutely ridiculous how many people cross that path without looking either direction. or they stand in the middle. or they stand there until i'm almost upon them and then move the wrong direction. and it takes two seconds (which is a long time when you're going 20 mph) from the time i yell until the time they realize they're not where they should be. two seconds! roller bladers, joggers, comfort-riders...they at least have a sense that they're on some sort of road. but beachgoing path-crossers are really horrible.

the worst are surfers. they're either so excited about the waves that they're running flat out across the path, tunnel vision on the surf, or they're ambling across and don't think to look until their longboard is extended across the entire bikepath. but they mostly cross at a few known points, and one can be prepared for them.

on the road to and from the beach however, i feel much safer. everyone's thinking about 'traffic' on the road. (well, almost everyone)

Someone explain this to me: They'll be a ped waiting to cross the street. They're looking directly at me. They'll still walk out in front of me. This happens a few times a week.

I don't understand it. I know they've seen me but they still step out into the street like I'm some type of mirage..

Is it that they figure I'll just go around them? Do they figure most bikes are poking along at 10 MPH and that they have plenty of time to make it?

Originally posted by Laggard
Do they figure most bikes are poking along at 10 MPH and that they have plenty of time to make it?

That in my opinion is most often the case. This occurs with both pedestrians and motorists alike. People see a bike (if they see it) and that's what instantly registers in their brain ("Bikes are slow") without using further resources to determine the actual speed. I find that a lot of people are incapable of accurately judging speed. As a matter of fact, police officers undergo special training on how to visually judge speed. Most people have not been privy to such education and thus rely only upon object recognition to determine if something is fast or slow... bike-slow, car-fast, jet-really fast... etc.

BTW, as Chris L has pointed out in some previous threads, sometimes it helps to downshift and spin at a higher cadence. People will see your legs moving faster and get the impression that you're travelling faster. Sometimes you actually do travel faster. :D

Sidewalks are for KIDS, literally. In my town the legal age cutoff for sidewalk riding is 15. The worst riders are on the sidewalks--no helmets, going too fast, taking too many chances, dodging in and out of driveways and passing pedistrians too close or without warning. I would be embarrassed to be seen riding on a sidewalk. Very unprofessional!

In the state I live, a pedestrian has the right of way. It is up to the moving vehicle to be on the lookout for pedestrians wanting to cross the street. They (pedestrian) don't even need to be in a marked crosswalk. Since in my state, a bicycle is considered the same as a motor vehicle if on the roadway, I pay close attention to what is going on around me when riding on any surface. If I am riding in an area where pedestrians are present, I always slow to a speed in which I am able to come to a stop in order for them to cross. I obey traffic laws, do not blow through stop signs, signal when turning and most importantly use extreme caution when riding the city streets. When it comes to cars-well, it doesn't really matter who has the right-of-way. If a cyclist impacts with a vehicle, chances are the result is serious. Right or wrong, I let the car have its way. I'd rather be on my bike than in the hospital. Cyclist do make an impression on others-it's up to us whether it be positive or negative. Just my thoughts on the subject.

Originally posted by dibot
In the state I live, a pedestrian has the right of way. It is up to the moving vehicle to be on the lookout for pedestrians wanting to cross the street. They (pedestrian) don't even need to be in a marked crosswalk.

Are you saying that pedestrians can cross anywhere and cars have to stop for them, or that they can cross when it says "don't walk?" Weird.

Where I live, crossing mid-block or against the light is called J-Walking and is illegal.

Originally posted by Laggard
Are you saying that pedestrians can cross anywhere and cars have to stop for them, or that they can cross when it says "don't walk?" Weird.

I think dibot meant at intersections.

http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/walk/Laws.htm



Originally posted by Laggard
Where I live, crossing mid-block or against the light is called J-Walking and is illegal.

The same is true here...

http://www.leg.wa.gov/RCW/index.cfm?fuseaction=section&section=46.61.240

If crossing the street between lights is not considered jaywalking, I.E.-there is no yellow line down the middle of the road, then pedestrians do have the right of way. The are no jaywalking rules in residential neighborhoods, you can cross the street anywhere. Posted rules on most multi-use paths also give pedestrians the right of way over cyclists.
It's also a possibilty that the person starting this thread is against bicycles on the road, and is just trolling to see what type of responses he/she will get. Go back and see if you detect any attitude in the original questions. There is no indication that this person has ever ridden a bicycle anywhere.
A Mrs Morrison in southern Illinois wrote an article not long ago espousing bicycles staying on restrive paths, and not "blocking" her roads. This sounds like something she would do.

Originally posted by Dchiefransom
It's also a possibilty that the person starting this thread is against bicycles on the road, and is just trolling to see what type of responses he/she will get. Go back and see if you detect any attitude in the original questions. There is no indication that this person has ever ridden a bicycle anywhere.

It's a possibility but I wouldn't necessarily jump to that conclusion. I know of many people (of all ages young and old) who bike solely on the sidewalk because they honestly do feel that they're much safer there. Obviously they don't have or have not yet gained the skills to feel comfortable riding on the roads in traffic. For many of them, the sidewalks and segregated bikepaths are the only place they will ride. Of course these same riders are usually not going very fast either (under 12MPH).

Well - uhhhh- here in central Bluegrass of KY, were I live, nearest sidewalk is in the 'big' city about 12 miles away. Local subdivisions don't have sidewalks generally, they just take up space, Those in the 'big' city are uneven, and subject to ruining your tires.

This just happened yesterday...

http://www.kingcountyjournal.com/sited/story/html/141722


BELLEVUE -- A 24-year-old Bellevue woman was rushed to Harborview Medical Center in critical condition Thursday afternoon after she was run over by a truck in a Crossroads intersection.

The woman had been riding her bicycle east on the north sidewalk of Northeast Eighth Street at 3:53 p.m., said Michael Chiu, spokesman for the Bellevue Police Department. She attempted to cross 156th Avenue Northeast with the green light when a Rabanco Dumpster-hauler began a right turn from southbound 156th.

The Dumpster-hauler, which was empty but weighs a maximum of 26 tons when fully loaded, struck the woman at low speed, knocked her down and ran over her pelvis, Chiu said. She was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries to her crushed legs and pelvic area, he said.

The bicyclist was technically a pedestrian, because she had been on the sidewalk, Chiu said. He acknowledged, however, that it's more dangerous for a fast-moving pedestrian -- a bicyclist, in-line skater or skateboarder -- to ride on the sidewalk facing traffic.

``People coming out of driveways and side streets instinctively look to the left for oncoming traffic,'' he said.