Originally Posted by Minerva

Well, I took the bike out this morning to get some coffee in town and decided to sit by an intersection for a while and observe how other cyclists dealt with the difficulties of car traffic.

In one hour, I observed 23 cyclists. Here's the results:

1. Only two cyclists attempted to turn left by getting in the left-hand lane behind the cars. All others turning left crossed at the cross walk either on or off their bicycle. Very disappointing.

2. Everyone riding a 'walmart bike' (cheap MTB variety) either rode on the wrong side of the street, or rode on the sidewalk (mostly on the wrong side of the street).

3. I saw two people with commuting gear; both riding on the sidewalk.

4. About 2/3 of people observed were riding with their saddle too low.

I saw only two people who seemed to negotiate both the intersection and the car traffic correctly: a college-aged girl on an old touring bike, and an older gentleman with a hybrid.

Another thing I noticed was there were cops everywhere (we have a click-it or ticket campaign going on), and none even took notice of the cyclists on the sidewalks or on the wrong side of the road. Granted, old colonial towns like mine have bike-unfriendly roads, but...

Is it like this everywhere? How can I educate my community on cycling laws?