Agreed. The soccer mom that plows you over in her Suburban while texting won't even know you were "taking the lane."

+1 nothing beats the whole road to yourself...

I think if a lane is there, use it. Although, I can understand why at times some people ride on the sidewalks. I do occasionally to avoid really nasty pothole filled roads.

Thanks, Don. You describe our town's situation well, and sidewalks that are clear of pedestrian traffic are a whole lot safer than competing with cars and trucks on the street at certain times.

I've had close calls on the street recently from drunks or cell-phone addicts. When the goin' gets ugly, I'll move to the safety of a sidewalk. It isn't cool by diehard cyclist standards, but I'd rather be a jackass than a dead dumbass.

I love it ^^DX-MAN. Yessir, I love it. Your brand of common sense has helped me get this far down the road, and I'm not about to abandon it now.

If there isn't a bike path or a decent bike lane, I will always ride on the sidewalk. Whilst doing so I ride slow and give way to pedestrians within reason (i) I once encountered a guy and his wife who must have been foreigners in our city and the guy tried to prevent me from entering the sidewalk so I stopped my bike right in front of him and gave him the facts - his wife dragged him aside (ii) another time a guy and his wife also seemingly out-of-towners and the guy tried to obstruct my progress - got off the bike and simply eyeballed him so his wife also dragged him out of the way. I can see their perspective having been somewhat intimidated by cyclists myself, but I am not going to risk my life when I have a legal right to be on the sidewalk.

If there is an acceptable, maintained bike lane, I'd take that over anything.

If riding on the sidewalk is legal (or not enforced?) and there are few, if any pedestrians, and the road feels unsafe to you, I don't see a problem riding on the sidewalk as long as you ride slowly and are watching closely for cars coming out of driveways, and children, and pets. Personally I generally try to avoid sidewalks but I can picture times where I would take advantage of them.

What if there is no bike lane, path, or sidewalk? If you lived around here you wouldn't be getting very far because there is a distinct lack of all of those - no bike lanes whatsoever, no bike paths whatsoever, very few sidewalks, and many 2-lane roads with no shoulder.

Unfortunately, there are cities like yours that make decisions about where and when to ride more difficult. Good judgement in evaluating the risk variables (time of day, route availability, weather, etc.) might limit the riding opportunities. Or, you could ignore the risks and ride 'because you can'.

With my Tern Link C7 folder it is nimble enough to ride on the side walks when traffic is to slow, but i try to stay on the bike lanes when possible.

"All it takes from them is a little patience and a punch on the gas pedal and they are past you (except for that type of driver who is scared to pass someone on a bike, but that's another topic)."

It is funny that you said that, because before I started getting into cycling (last summer - commuting), I used to be one of those drivers who was scared to pass cyclists. Now, I just cautiously do so. However, today, I did see some cyclists, training for a race, I would assume by their bikes/gear (more power to them, I don't think my knee could hold up to that), and the driver behind them held up six other cars, because he was obviously very nervous to pass them. Finally, they just pulled over to the side of the road, and let the vehicles pass. Oh well, that's what you get when you don't live in a very bicycle-friendly place, and people tend to think that those of us who use a bicyle for transportation are nuts. *sighs*

Thanks. Luckily in Ann Arbor, there are lots of designated bike lanes, I guess I just need to get used to taking advantage of them with confidence, and not being nervous.

Thanks guys!

Yeah, it's not like you're opinionated or judgemental.

Oh, wait -

On my commute there is a shortcut that requires taking a path for about 5kms along a river. I find that the pedestrians are more aware of cyclists there as opposed to when there is an alternative. Still need to use the bell a bit. Ill always pick a bike lane where I can though.

This is one of the times I take to the sidewalk as well. I figure if I'm going walking speeds, I'm just as safe on the sidewalk. One hill in particular I used to gather speed and power up it, but now the MUP that I use prior to that hill feeds in at the bottom, so I'm pretty much at a dead stop at the bottom of the hill and, unless I want to hop the curb, I'm already trapped on the sidewalk until I begin my ascent.

Another situation is when a sidewalk takes you somewhere the road doesn't. One of my routes has a sidewalk that connects two parking lots. By taking the sidewalk for a few feet, I avoid a very busy main road. Parking lots are also not great places to ride, but at least people are usually going slow and watching for other vehicles.

Also, if I'm downtown and need to take a left and then turn left a block or two ahead, I may opt to take to the left sidewalk rather than cut across traffic twice. If the sidewalk is in use by pedestrians, though, I will try to stick to the street.

And this is the thing I keep in mind on the few times I do get on the sidewalk. I'm pretty sure the statistics on bike/car collisions show that riding on the sidewalk puts you at greater risk of collision, so when I do it, I am extra vigilant about vehicles cutting across the sidewalk. If you're keeping to the sidewalk for safety, you may be fooling yourself. When I do, it's almost always a matter of convenience, and I try to be aware of the increased risk.

I never ride on the sidewalk, even if its convenient. Drivers need to be patient with us and sacrifice a few seconds of their time to share the road with us. We need to do the same with sidewalks. Not to mention its usually illegal, and its bad form.

Here is an example of a route I take often,
http://i39.tinypic.com/3146kw9.png

This is a 3-way intersection, green is MUP bikepath, red is sidewalk, red stick with circle are stop signs. I will be on the road with the cars vs sidewalk or MUP any day. The MUP forces you into a ped crossing where you basically emerge from trees and nobody knows if you'll stop (no physical sign for the MUP user to stop), you risk being hit by a car or ped. The sidewalk is interrupted by a very large crossing (with one of those stupid/useless medians), and there are multiple crossings like this so you have to put yoursself in the risky situation each time you go through one...so the chance of getting hit by a car running a stop is pretty high, or a right/left hook is also high.

If you're in the road, you're visible because you are where the cager should be looking (at the other cagers). Stop at the stop sign, proceed. Easy. On a 50kph road like this, there is no way you are impeding traffic and absolutely nothing to be afraid of. This is how you should be taught to ride. Every time I see a parent riding on the sidewalk teaching their kid to ride a bike on the sidewalk, I cringe. That's wrong, that's dangerous, it's illegal and its stupid.

Only time I'm on a MUP is when its completely separated from roads and cars and sidewalks. There are people on them but that's why you have a bell on the bike. A MUP beside a road is usually funneling you into a dangerous situation as shown above.

And as said above, never on the sidewalk.

Back when I lived next to my [crowded] college campus, I used to always ride on sidewalks where available...I wasn't in a hurry, so I never ran over any pedestrians in over a year of sidewalk riding. The main reason I rode the sidewalk is because the lanes on the main street were very thin and there were cars parked all along the right side, and my fear of getting door'ed got the best of me. According to SC law, riders must remain to the right-most part of the lanes unless preparing for a left turn, and since most of my campus had tons of walkways to avoid car traffic, I took those walkways (but was always considerate of pedestrians). In that one year of riding, I only ever collided with a van (University courier who was pulling out of a gated drive; I was flying downhill towards my apt and he obviously couldn't see me...I raised no issue with/laid no blame on him...I was an idiot).

As another post stated previously, if the sidewalk is not crowded and you're not trying to set a new time trial record, I don't see a huge problem with sidewalk riding (please check the laws in your local area regarding this)...the only minor quibble is that, in an indirect way, you're basically telling auto drivers "You own the road, and I can fare just as well on the sidewalk", and we all know that's not true in all cases. I'm not saying that to sound militant or overbearing--ride how you want, but around here drivers do tend to "overlook" cyclists, much to the cyclist's calamity...and getting out there and being noticed helps, albeit slowly, towards getting drivers to look for and respect cyclists.

uhh, what? I ride on the road, and when my kid is old enough and experienced enough, he will ride on the road with me, but TEACHING a kid to ride a bike while out in the street? No sir, that is simply dumb and stupid.

My brother and I both learned to ride bikes on the sidewalks running in front of our house on our street in our neighborhood in the 1980's. Absolutely nothing wrong with that. Actually I think some of the learning took place in the back yard, but yeah the sidewalks, too.

I don't believe for a minute that you ride full time in the traffic lane. I don't advise anyone to try and emulate your example. Thankfully, as I bike around town, cyclists mostly ride like cyclists, not like motorcycles, or children on toy cycles for that matter. Here in Hillsboro, OR (Portland West) bicycles are legal on sidewalks except in the downtown commercial area. They are NOT permitted to cruise in traffic lanes. Nonetheless most cyclists do not ride on the sidewalks, they ride adjacent to the right hand traffic lane. Even when there is no marked off bike lane. And mostly they do ok.

H

Yeah, I too find it hard to believe that anyone's kid who is learning to ride is somehow going to hit a pedestrian and kill/gravely injure them. Not to mention the fact that children are smaller, and therefore less likely to be seen on the road until it's too late.

You know... I have to observe... American's are some of the most fear driven people on the planet. Afraid of getting doored, afraid of getting hit, afraid of storm drains, afraid of not being visible... ... so you ride the sidewalks, wear your helmets, festoon your bikes with all manner of attention getting festoonery... My doctor is raising a little girl... she was telling me that her daughter has more balls and will take more risks than all the boys she knows put together because she is raising her to be a real human being, not some wussified fear driven thing that will develop a mental illness early in life. She should know...she is treating the children of the overprotective, state of fear mongers for all sorts of mental and physical maladies related to their paranoia. I mention this because, when you check the statistics, Americans die from interactions with automobiles and fixed objects and what not at a much greater rate than in Europe where helmets are nearly unknown and most of the flashing or reflective what-nots considered so essential to survival are outright illegal. So, go figure... ...

H

You learn how to drive a car on the road. Putting hundreds of horsepower and thousands of pounds of metal under the control of a complete n00b is just "normal", yet riding a bike is dangerous? If its dangerous, maybe you should get involved in your community and change it.

No residential streets should be too dangerous to ride on.

Being overprotective or paranoid is one thing. Not using common sense and taking certain precautions is quite another. Do you also support ninja-riding in dark clothing with no lights or reflectors? I don't endorse sidewalk riding in most cases, and also do not demand that everyone should wear helmets. But I ride on the road, with flashing lights and a helmet, and high-vis clothing because it give me more confidence and peace of mind that the dumb@$$es around me will see me and not run into me.

As for the stats in the US vs. Europe, I'd be willing to bet that a big part of that difference comes from the fact that most roads generally have lower speeds than in the US, and also that most people in the US just plain SUCK at driving mainly because there is almost no real training when it comes to operating a motor vehicle in the US. At least in Europe they give real tests and it actually costs a good chunk of change to be given the privilege of operating a car.

In my neighborhood there is more than one blind curve, houses on both sides, and half the houses have cars parked on the street outside. So around that curve it's forced down to one lane and you can't see if anyone is coming the other way. EXTREMELY dangerous. I have asked the city to allow parking on only one side of the street, or none at all right there, but nothing has been done.

Just the other day I was coming around that curve only to find several kids playing around on their bikes right out there in the middle of the street. I thought "damn didn't their parents teach them anything??" I was going slow so there was no danger (20 MPH speed limit), but I REGULARLY see people doing 30 MPH around that curve.