Braighs

I couldn't find a decent FAQ section...

I am new to biking in the city, but I have a long history of mountain biking. I am fit, but my mtb isn't the fastest thing on the streets.

I would apreciate some quick answers to the following questions:

1. Police cars and delivery trucks are ALWAYS parked in my campus's ONLY bike lane. This lane helps cyclists go both ways on a one way road. Instead, I have to go down the wrong way or take a crowded sidewalk. Do they have the right to park there?

2. What roads am I not alowed on? I KNOW what roads I don't feel safe on.

3. Refering to # 2, Is there a minimum speed I have to maintain?

4. I know that a helmet is only required for ages 12 and under, does this apply in all situations?

P.S. I am in Knoxville, Tennessee.

I see many cyclists (this includes spandex clad and helmeted road bikers) who take sidewalks. I am of the minority who makes use of roadways whenever practical. Though I must admit (coming from the 'country') that this is often more frightening than pleasant.

Thanks for your time. Cheers!

Hawkear

You can go around them in the regular traffic lane.
Generally only controlled-access highways, like interstates and freeways. Check your local laws, though.
As long as you're upright, you're fine.
It is not required by law - it is your choice to wear one or not.

Good luck, have fun, and be safe!

ignominious

1. Police cars and delivery trucks are ALWAYS parked in my campus's ONLY bike lane. This lane helps cyclists go both ways on a one way road. Instead, I have to go down the wrong way or take a crowded sidewalk. Do they have the right to park there?

Chances are they probably do have the right. However, if your lane is obstructed then the expectation, if not he law, is that you will move around the obstruction in a cautious and safe manner.

2. What roads am I not alowed on? I KNOW what roads I don't feel safe on.

Any interstate highways, to which the entry ramps are likely to be marked with a no cycling/pedestrians sign. Anywhere else where a specific prohibition is posted. Best to consult your local/state ordinance to be sure though, or at least with someone you can trust to know it and tell you accurately.

3. Refering to # 2, Is there a minimum speed I have to maintain?

It depends on the local view on whether or not you are a vehicle and then it depends on teh requirements for that road. If no minimum is posted then you should be fine.

4. I know that a helmet is only required for ages 12 and under, does this apply in all situations?

Helmet laws vary from state to state and sometimes from municipality to municipality. Consult with your local civic authority who should be able to inform you further about yours and neighbouring areas regulations.

Check the local sidewalk laws before you get busted. Remember that spandex, lycra and helmets dn't make you a better cyclist. Experience, education and confidence will.

Helmet Head

Based on your questions, I would highly recommend that you pick up a copy of the book Effective Cycling from amazon.com (read the reviews there if you don't believe me) and study it.

While waiting for the book to show up, you want to get a brief intro to some of the concepts by clicking on the "every lane is a bike lane" link in my signature.

Blue Order

No surprise there then.

I would recommend against this bit of bad "advice" from Effective Cycling's zombie cult members.

ken cummings

See if your city or a local cycling organization has poblished a bike route map. Until you really know your way around they can be helpful. Ask at a bike shop about local activist groups. A helmet is an intelligence test. Intelligent people wear them.

chipcom 

Perhaps a warning to all noobs to beware of the BF 'high priests of the inquisition' should be in the FAQ.

chipcom 

Intelligent people know better than to sit in judgement of the intelligence of other people...especially based on what they wear while riding a bicycle!

ignominious

Another piece of advice is to try and look past the perpetual petty infighting that pervades this board. For the most part it's confined to the Advocacy & Safety forum. For answers not based purely in theory try and get questions into other areas of the board where more reasonable/considered and less self-indulgent answers will be forthcoming.

Blue Order

Instead of a zombie cult book, try reading The Art of Urban Cycling.


You'd have to check with the campus traffic rules for an answer to that question. If they're parking in violation of campus rules, start filing complaints with Campus Security. If they're parking legally, take the lane. Ride in the lane just like any other vehicle.

I assume you mean in your city, rather than on campus. That would depend upon the traffic regulations of your state. Tell me which state you live in, and I'll send you a link. As a general proposition, you're considered a vehicle, so you're allowed on most roads. The exceptions would depend on your state, and perhaps on a local ordinance, but generally speaking, bikes usually don't have access to highways-- not someplace you'd want to be riding anyway.


Not unless one is posted. Here's a link: Impeding Traffic


Not sure what you mean, but if State law requires minors 12 and under to ride with a helmet, then yes, that would be at all times. Conversely, there would be no time that someone over the age of 12 would be required to ride with a helmet. One equipment requirement to keep in mind is that it's likely there's a requirement to have LIGHTS on your bike if you ride at night.

I spoke too soon. OK, Ill post the TN traffic regs a bit later tofday.


Sidewalks are for walking. And maybe for low speed cycling. But you have to be careful not to cause collisions with pedestrians, because you can be held liable if you're riding negligently. In some municipalities, sidewalk riding may be illegal, at least in certain parts of town. Also, there seems to be quite a bit of consensus here that sidewalk riding is more dangerous for the cyclist than riding in the road. As far as being frightened, choose your routes. Not every street is a major thoroughfare. If a particular street seems dangerous to you, choose a different route.

Braighs

Any other vehicle would be given a ticket by the police sitting in the bike lane...
But thanks for all of your replies!
As for books...I just need to be aquainted with the law. Common sense will have to do for now hehe.

WalterMitty

So ticket them:

https://www.fakecrap.com/products/par...kets_fake.html

Just be quick about it!

I-Like-To-Bike

Common sense will take you far, it already has given you the right idea about the value of book learning about cycling in your area.

As far as police in the bike lane. Don't let it worry you. And I will buy you a beer the day you see a police officer write a ticket for a police car, anywhere, or for anything.

noisebeam

It is important to learn and undertand your local traffic laws, especially ones pertaining to cycling:
https://198.187.128.12/tennessee/lpex...s-main.htm&2.0

In AZ law enforcement can park and drive all they want in the BL:
"E. Subsection D does not prohibit the use of the path or lane by the appropriate local authority. "

Al

rando

What Al said. check your local laws pertaining to cycling. Maybe find a local club and ask some questions. read the forums and ask questions here. That's what I did. people are really helpful.

Blue Order

Take the lane, then. Look at the lane before you do. If it only looks wide enough to allow a car, and nothing else, between the lane and the bike lane, then ride towards the center of the lane. If you ride close to the bike lane on a lane that's too narrow, you'll only encourage drivers to pass too closely. On the other hand, if the lane is wide, and can safely be shared by a bike and a car, there's no need to ride in the center (but don't get doored). Whatever you do, DON'T weave in and out of the bike lane-- you'll get nailed by a passing car. The exception is it's posssible to do if you have a mirror and can check for approaching cars in your mirror. Even if you have a mirror, don't weave in and out of the lane on a constant basis. It's sort of OK if you only have to go around the occasional cop car AND you have a mirror. On the other hand, if the bike lane is regularly taken up by numerous vehicles, it's better to take the lane than to weave in and out.


Well said. You'll be fine.

chipcom 

I would agree with you, as the son of a cop and a former police commissioner myself. But out west, New Mexico, Arizona and a few others, the state cops won't hesitate to write a local cop or county sheriff. I wish you would have offered that bet when I was living back there...you would be buying me a beer!

JRA

Braighs, your questions are direct and to the point. As a good buddy of mine used to say, "you show signs of intelligence".

What you need to know is state law and local law. Local law shouldn't conflict with state law. In many cases where local law is different, there should be signs somewhere describing the difference.

For practical purposes, if you use common sense, you shouldn't be stopped by the police - the reason is that bicyclists are generally not high on the list of police priorities.

Confidence will come with experience.

Common sense will not only do for now, but it will put you ahead of people who have book learnin' (among other things) up the ying yang but haven't got an ounce of common sense.

And now for my long-winded response:

You may have guessed from some of the responses that there are some on-going debates (a.k.a. feuds) in this forum. Don't let that concern you. The debates are mostly about advocacy, not so much about safety.

Ignore the infighting. The issues they concern are pretty much irrelevant to the everyday life of a bicyclist.

As an alternative to the books you're not interested in for now, I'm going to list some websites which are free.

Read them whenever you have nothing better to do. Or don't read them. Whatever.

Enjoy riding.

Street Smarts by John S. Allen

How Not to Get Hit By Cars by Michael Bluejay

Road Vogue by Wayne Pein

Where to Ride your Bike? by Bob Bayn

Bicycle Traffic Safety by Ken Kifer

For something a little more philosophical, there's
Freedom from Fear by Mighk Wilson

Those websites don't all say the same thing although they say somewhat similar things. A couple are written by people who probably have public policy agendas that I oppose. I'm not endorsing everything on all of these sites (my personal favorite is the first one) but a person with common sense should be able to discriminate between good advice and bad advice. Most of the advice is reasonable.

Reading those sites is a place to start. It won't hurt. You can always read books later. Robert Hurst has a lot of common sense. My reason for not recommending that anyone fork out a nickle for Effective Cycling (written by The Great One and recomended incessantly by The One Who Knows All) has more to do with my strong opposition to the advocacy of the author and his followers (coupled with my opinion that some of his social and psychological theories are patently absurd) than with any major disagreement with the advice The Great One gives about cycling technique.

A simple warning that there's a resident zealot might suffice.

Beware the snake oil salesman - and the zealot, and anyone else selling the one true answer. There is no miracle cure-all and, despite what the zealot would have you believe, no miracle secret in any particular bicycling book. (There is a brief history of the snake oil salesman at Avoiding quacks). What's true in the medical field is true in other fields, too.

Daily Commute

Others have covered your specific questions well. As to other resources, the John Forester site is www.johnforester.com. Forester doesn't have all the answers. He can be as cranky as his critics. But many if not most of the authors and sites on JRA's list borrow heavily from Forester. The LAB bike class is based on his.

The book is controversial, but read the site and the book, then judge for yourself.

Of all the books mentioned in this thread, I like Hurst's the most. It's well written by a guy who clearly loves cycling. Allen's Street Smarts is short but covers a lot of grounds. Some state DOT's use it as a cycling guide.

I-Like-To-Bike

How 'bout a beer bet on a far more important issue (related to the OP since it relates to Institutions of Higher Learning)? The Mighty Nittany Lions will whiteout the Buckeyes, AGAIN! This fall. In Columbus. Just like last year in Happy Valley when the Buckeyes got dumbstruck by Joe Pa's wizardry.


Pretty Sweet, eh?

I-Like-To-Bike

Well you know out west some of those guys like to make pretend they are Jack Webb or Adam-12. Of course West Coast Law and Order of the past is being revealed to me in the works of James Ellroy.

Keith99

The only time people I know ride on the sidewalk with any frequency is leaving and/or arriving at coffee houses. One in particular is in the middle of the block and on the way out we almost all take the sidewalk to the first driveway. Other than that the only other time I can remember in hte past year was when they were repaving a street and it was a disaster, so we bailed to an empty sidewalk.

That said sidewalk riders are a clear majority from what I can see, at least in numbers. By miles we might win.

JRA

Aw, Daily Commute, you edited your post before I could quote it. Be that as it may, I want people to read John Forester's website, as I implied in this post.


The more people with common sense and a little knowledge who read John Forester's theories the better. He impeaches himself. What's scary is that he has a following.

I particularly recommend Forester's Sociology and Psychology page

especially the classic:
The Existence of the Cyclist-Inferiority Phobia

Some of the other pages are pretty good, too.

The Great One is a professor at Cornell University but, all holders of degrees from Cornell and everyone else can hope, not in either the Sociology depatment or Psychology department.

Blue Order

FYI for a noob, Hurst's book is The Art of Urban Cycling

I-Like-To-Bike

Are you sure Cornell in Ithaca, NY? I didn't realize Cornell offered degrees in Science Fiction Writing.