That if you ride a bike, you must be into racing.

Most don't even have that much credibility. The guy I was talking about doesn't ride at all. He sees it as very low class.

Fenders are for wussies.

Lycra is for poseurs.

:)

Bicyclist don't belong on the road. That's what bike trails are for.

Real cyclists wear spandex.

Real cyclists ride clipless/steel/carbon/fixed/multigear/road/trail/BMX/fast/hard/crash/don't crash/etc...

That seems like smart riding. I'd likely do the same in that situation.

The sidewalk riding I typically see around here, in contrast, consists of bombing down the sidewalk and involves close passes of pedestrians at cruising speed. Presumably, in your context, that would be legal as well, but not particularly smart.

Actually, it is illegal to pass pedestrians without an audible signal, and illegal to bike anywhere without a bell, so maybe. And I see a lot of road riders up here without lights or reflectors out at night, running stop signs, riding the wrong way, and unwilling to wait out red lights. Riders can be stupid anywhere; sidewalk, road, and MUP.

I am pretty sure they got that one right. You have to be a little looney to ride your bike in the winter.

Myth: Bikes are cheap.
The bigger the saddle the better

Dude, we get very little light here in the winter. If I were to add a lack of exercise to that, I might kill someone. My lady would definitely kill someone. The bike is what keeps us sane.

Around here ( Calgary Alberta ) Technically not legal past the age of 13. In practice, police have been told to ignore it in areas of high risk, so I have been told. The only 4 block place I do it, came across 2 officers taking pictures for some other incident, ignored me.

You all missed one of the biggest, although asok came close.

"There's no difference between a Huffy and a bike-shop bike except the price."

Also:

"Bikes are just toys."

"2 MILES!?! I can't ride that far!"

And, one that's just come around in the last decade:

Anybody who rides an expensive bike is a Lance Armstrong wanna-be.

Johnny Paul said if you put a horse hair into stagnated water, it'll turn into a snake.

Well, I didn't say "legal," I said "ok."

Proper seat height should allow you to place your feet flat on the groung while sitting on the seat.
or
You should have an inch or two clearance over the top bar while standing.

I do have a 1/2 mile section of sidewalk I ride in 1 direction on the way home. It is a heavily traveled road with no shoulder and the sidewalk is set back a good 10 - 20 feet from the road.

Put a lil WD-40 on your chain to lube it up.

As if your "OK" has some sort of special significance for anybody else.:rolleyes:

You are the Joker, eh? :lol:

I would have thought of that in the summer, we're just starting to warm up around here - and I should get my first ride of the year in later today.

Setting aside "proper road usage" The biggest myth i hear repeated runs along the lines of:

The world is a dangerous/scary/unsafe place, and i can't believe you ride a bicycle 8 MILES each way through the URBAN WARZONe etc. I'm exaggerating a little but not much. So much fear in the society.

The one I like thats perpetrated within the bike community is that "You can't get a DUI/DWI on a bike"...it actually depends on state law.

That being said, I would never do it. I sometimes grab a beer or two while bowling with a couple of buddies and then ride home, but I like having my faculties about me...especially when driving at night!

In that vein, a lil WD-40 on your brake pads will get rid of screeching.

Okay, how's this one?

You need a steel bike (or rare-earth magnets on your shoes) to trip properly calibrated inductive-loop traffic light sensors.

Are you people seriously telling me you ride on the sidewalks and don't see any problem with it?

I posted the sidewalk section of my ride in post #21. jefferee quoted in post #30. Read it and tell me what is wrong with it.

Yep, I ride sections of sidewalks on my commute too. Also parking lots, railroad/utility access
roads(usually mud and ice), dirt gravel and asphalt trails, grassy shoulders and medians,
forest preserve access roads, etc.

I think some folks see the word "sidewalk' and picture a downtown big-city scenario.
Other configurations do exist.

Here's another myth: It's o.k to tell folks where they can and can't ride when you have no idea
what their route or the conditions on that route are.(Isn't that angry cager behavior?)

I have experienced the situation where I arrive at work on a cold winter day and people assume I must be just FREEZING out there on a bicycle, when actually I have to tune the clothing carefully to keep from overheating.