1. I'm not concerned about speed, and I never pay attention to that. It's about not ending up as roadkill.

2. They are usually as pictured above- empty, except occasionally at one of the intersections that has a bus stop and bench. Nobody really walks in L.A.

[Edit: Here's another way to look at them- it's like this when I ride, unless I happen across another bike.]

Horsepucky again. Does it somehow make you feel superior to put down people who don't ride on the roads as we do? Dude, get over yourself.

It's funny because I'm in the road for a good chunk of my ride. Just not this particular 0.3 mile stretch.

I think most of the cycling world does get off on looking down at others and it's not unlike Prius drivers enjoying the smell of their own flatulence.

https://www.southparkzone.com/episode.php?vid=1002

Marginal may mean some sleezy characters you sometimes meet riding a bike, i dont know. And believe there is plenty of "junk" around

True, except for city centers and downtown area, where you couldn't ride a bike on the sidewalk even if you wanted to I agree with you, i find the roads much more comfortable, safe and fast, but there are times where the sidewalk is the better option, like i said in my post on page 1.

I ride on the sidewalk the entire length of my commute. The road it runs next to is very busy and has a speed limit of 55 mph, however the average driver does around 60-65. When I drive this road there are times I myself am doing 70 and still getting passed. There is no way I am going to bike down a road with no bike lane and traffic moving at 55-70 mph. As far as endangering peds; in the two months I have been biking this route i have come across 3 other people using the sidewalk, one of them was another biker. There is plenty of room for us to pass each other without collission. I feel it is my job as the bike rider to watch out for the cars not the other way around, when I cross a street I stop and look before proceding. A little common sense goes a long way.

tough call but as said in some areas the volume and speed of the cars makes it more dangerous to be in the street. Sucks when you are playing it legit though

I've noticed this as well.. the sad part is most cyclists aren't jocks, they are nerds with serious complexes. None of these labels really matter, but then you have a nerd beating everything with a stick to let them know he's a jock, then theres a problem

^ Didn't know riding a bike meant you have a serious complex. I thought it was for fun but hey what do i know, i've got issues. Apparently.

I think you missed my point. If you are confident in yourself you don't look down on other people. "You just are" would be one way to put it. Its similar to the "if they have nothing to hide they won't lie" concept. If you are looking down on other people the truth is you aren't a winner. You are some nerd or whatever derogatory term you want to attach who is a bad word / negative term.

edit: I should not have used the word "most" in my previous post. I should have used the term "a lot" in its place.

What are you doing here then, talking with all these nerds?

HUH? Anyway.. I guess what i'm saying is..
Don't assume because someone says they are a baseball player that they know <bad word> about baseball or playing it for that matter.
Don't assume because someone says something about cycling or being a cyclist that they really are one this is all relative

Because some of us just love the idea of getting on a bike and going somewhere, anywhere. We're not biased on what we wear, what we use or how we do it.

We take the good with the bad.. which in this particular instance means more negativity than positivity. No biggie.

Whoa. Someone's cranky today.

Folks who ride on the sidewalk, or riding against traffic, or cycling without helmets and not signalling... these things drive me up the wall, but these people are all cyclists.

The definition of a cyclist is someone riding a bicycle. It's that simple.

I don't really have anything to add that Chip hasn't said already, other than 'horsepucky' is a terrific word, and I plan to start using it more in daily conversation.

I understood that the first time you said that, really. I'm concerned about speed, as I said, because there's a certain minimum speed below which I can't operate a bicycle -- and if I rode on the typical sidewalk around here, I'd have a hard time staying above that speed.

Why do you have those nice big wide sidewalks, then?

(that thing about nobody walking may change in the coming years...be interesting to see what happens then)

Which is why I'm not advocating it for the group. I'm just pointing out a particular circumstance in which I feel it's necessary and do-able.

...then we'd just have fewer cars on the road and possibly more bikes instead. I wouldn't have to ride the sidewalk if the bike/car ratio was closer to 50/50 and not 1/99 (as it is now).

I think it's funny that some people judge you by where the he** you ride your bike. Just get out and ride.

I won't judge a cyclist riding on a sidewalk as long as the sidewalk allows it and the bicyclist takes it slow and respects the pedestrians.... I've taken a sidewalk on occasion when I want to get around a traffic jam or just relax and coast at a slow plodding pace. I saw something this morning that made me mad though: I was biking along one of the main roads in downtown, traveling between 15-20mph and stopping at the stop lights. For a couple of blocks this guy was riding his mountain bike on the sidewalk just to the right of me at the same speed... not even slowing down at crosswalks (he hit the green "walk" sign at the right time). Our downtown sidewalks are clearly marked, "NO BICYCLES!" The rider was someone who looked to be in his 20s or 30s and dressed for work. I thought about catching him and pointing out one of the many no-bicycle signs, but I was late for work and had to turn another direction.

what some of you guys don't seem to understand is that in many large western cities, at least in the suburbs, the sidewalks are deserted, or largely so. people don't walk. anywhere. period. it's true for CMY in parts of Redondo beach, it's true for me in tempe. we're not mowing down pedestrians here. and it's legal to ride on them in many places, so what's the harm?

Obviously, when I say it's inappropriate to ride on sidewalks, I'm not talking about isolated cases. I mean, if you ride in a suburb where nobody ever walks, and there's rough road, construction or whatever, of course, there's nothing wrong with taking the sidewalk occasionally. There are always exceptions to any rule. I'm just talking about people who make a habit of it, as many do. In my experience, most adults who ride on the sidewalk think they own it. Pedestrians (and who isn't a pedestrian now and then) should not have to depend on some joker on a bike to avoid them. Bike go too fast for that.

You must see things very different than I do. Sidewalks in all parts of Tempe have pedestrians on them, often enough that one would frequently have to get to walking pace to pass them. No they are not like the sidewalks in NT, SF, etc. but a pedestrian every 50-100yrds is enough.

I also know walking near my house (Southern/McClintock) on those streets that I can't go far without being buzzed by some sidewalk cyclist. My wife was hit by one who came from behind unannounced about a year ago. If one is going to stay on the sidewalk when passing peds, at least slow to their pace.

Al

Are you new to the planet? Everything about you affects the way others perceive you.

For instance, I assume that someone who always rides on the sidewalk is scared to ride in the road. Seems like a safe assumption considering how 95% of the comments from sidewalk riders reference the danger.


I don't like seeing it [sidewalk riding], will discourage it, but would not necessarily try to deny you the ability. If you're so comfortable with the choice though, why be so defensive when it comes up?


I also don't like when people use the "you're reflecting negatively on me" argument when referencing running red lights, lane splitting, whatever... BUT, every time some JAM yells sidewalk at me, I'm equally pissed at them and you.

which I do. I maybe see 2-3 peds along the sidewalk part of my commute on Broadway. Keep inj mind my commute times are not rush hours.

There's no getting around it no matter how much you rationalize it, where adults are concerned, riding a bike on the sidewalk is the same as driving a car in a bike lane. We can't have it both ways. If you aren't using training wheels, keep off the sidewalk.

Says you.

Oh, they added a new smiley to the quick list on the right. Nice! I think I've got a use for it in this thread: