I rarely, i.e. almost never, ride on a sidewalk. However, sometimes, since my life is centered around the university, it is impossible to avoid sidewalks. Here's what I do if I am forced to use one:

I think like a pedestrian. Ride slow. Don't blow past pedestrians or scare them in any way. Take the grass if need be to avoid peds.

Treat all driveways and intersections as a good pedestrian would. (Although peds generally assume right of way in a crosswalk, I always slow and look first.)ad nauseum...

When I was employed by the university, I often drove large and small vehicles(trucks and trailers and golf carts) down the sidewalks and across common areas through crowds. Same rules apply. Always be defensive and in control.

The crash was your fault. You should've been moseying at 5 mph.

edit: I know I didn't explain my whole thought very well. Perhaps I'll try again later.

You should add a front brake. Sheldon had a good article on this:
Braking and Turning Your Bicycle

actually, I have an earlier version of that stand, and it's served me very well and was well worth the money.

Yep, riding on the sidewalk in a neighborhood where the houses abut the walkway, allowing no visibility whatsoever, is insane. There's no way a car can pull out of most of those driveways to check for cyclists without blocking the sidewalk.

Looks like you were riding on the sidewalk and he was coming out of an alley.

Just jogging on a sidewalk is dangerous enough at driveways.

scott s.
.

I've ridden all my life in an urban area, and I know what I do, and I know what I've seen many other people do, and one of the most suprising things to me being new to this forum is the number of people with strong opinions about riding on the sidewalk. I typically ride in the road because I find it more convenient (it gets old bumping up and down curbs, and I feel I can responsibly go faster), but there are rare instances when I want to be on the sidewalk. If I'm near pedestrians I slow down to pedestrian speeds, but I do this on MUPs as well. In fact I avoid MUPs in my area on nice weekends because they're populated enough I don't feel responsible riding fast on them. I've seen many elderely folks get frightened and nearly hit, and children nearly getting hit by pacelines. It's very, very rare, but if I approach a crowd on sidewalk or at event then I do get off and walk. I've seen "the driver" the OP appears to describe and he would just as easly hit a pedestrian particularly a small child because he's not looking period. I had nearly the same incident as OP however I WAS in the road with right of way and nearly T-boned driver blowing stop sign, he never even saw it. I locked them up and couldn't reproduce the manuever to avoid clipping him and not crashing in another 1000 tries. Contrary to other posters I've never had incident with pedestrian or vehicle due to detour onto sidewalk. The majority of incidents I've had are road rage over me being in the road. I think as long as it's legal and you ride to the conditions it's ok to ride anywhere you want.

Not considering the law, there's nothing really wrong with riding on the sidewalk. But, when doing so, one must be aware that the law offers you little protection there.

In the case of the OP, it might be different (might be, not is) id the car had hit him. But it didn't it only blocked his path, and the only consequences were the direct result of his speed on a sidewalk where he shouldn't have been in the first place.

In most parts of NC it is illegal to ride a bicycle on a sidewalk, MUP (multi-use path) is a different story. In NC bicyclists are required by law (yes I used that word) to ride on the roads. There are very few dedicated cycle paths in NC and most of the bike lanes are substandard and don't meet the minimum requirements set out in the MUTCD, not that NCDOT follows it...

Aaron :)

The OPs bike is only equipped only with a rear coaster which obviously isn't good enough. Quote: "I have brakes... You push your foot down" Adding front brakes as was suggested by another reply would require replacing the front fork and adding a complete front brake set. You have just doubled the cost of the OP's bike. It is certainly true that having only a coaster brake is very "old school." I read that 60% of the stopping power on a modern bike resides in the front brake. As I remember from my pre-adolescent days, slamming on the rear coaster brake often resulted in a sideways skid. Lots of fun if you weren't a couple feet from slamming into the side of a car,

I forgot to say i was also pulling my trailer with my dirty laundry on it when this happen...

Bicycles DO NOT belong on sidewalks. Period. In CT if you hit a pedestrian while cycling on a sidewalk you would be in deep ****.

Is it possible to eat too much popcorn? I think yes.... Darn you BF!

what????

You sound like the guy that just crashed into me on a skateboard speeding (holding a beer as well) and then said "What are YOU Doing man!? Just because I didn't have time to come to a stop and have him swerve around me. I told him pedestrians have the right of way ALWAYS esp. on the sidewalk

Prolly wouldn't need a new fork. Depending on the fender mount hole,it will either take a brake,or could be drilled for one. Would also be a good idea to Dremel brake tracks through the paint on the rims. Could be done with CL parts or at a co-op/bike kitchen for less than $50.

Why do you constantly tell use what happens in CT when few to none of the threads deal with a cyclist in CT?

Is there a skateboard speed limit in LA or California?

Sidewalks are pretty rare in Lebanon Ct, Bruce. I've ridden a lot there, my GF lived on Village Hill.
Casio in my city riding on the sidewalk will get a $75.00 ticket if you can find a cop that wants to get out of his cruiser .

Why is it you who is always engaging in personal attacks on other posters?

It is note a personal attack. It is a valid point with you always having to say, well in CT...

CT really does not matter when the poster is in another state. Maybe you could discuss the law in the state applicable to the thread.

Imagine how it would be if in each thread there were 49 other people trying to tell everyone what their state law says while ignoring the actual law that applies.

See how much better that works.

It's not just me you attack. I guess you have no ability to self reflect. Worse than I thought. You're not just annoying you're delusional.

Well there ya goooo