mzeffex 

Just wondering what people do.. I usually ride on the road, but near where I work the traffic is awful IE people seem to get hit there at least once a week on bike.. so I use the sidewalks. Now that I do this, I've noticed I seem to get yelled at by pedestrians just as much as I get honked at by cars. I feel safer on a sidewalk though, since a person generally won't kill me.

So anyways, I guess they should build bike-specific-paths everywhere, as even when there is a designated bike lane, I STILL get honked at by cars.

*this is not a rant*
*It is legal in my city to ride on both sidewalks and roads, and I do obey traffic laws and alert pedestrians and slow down before I pass.*

So, what do you do? Sidewalks or roads?

Rosso Corsa

Road always
sidewalks bad!!!!

mzeffex 

Well the main problem I have with sidewalks.. is not a problem on my hardtail mtb. That said, no suspension + 25 mph + going up and down the sloping edges of sidewalks at cross street = getting about 2 inches of ground + wet wheels = failure, if you get my drift.

joshandlauri

only in the city when traffic is really bad and I don't feel safe lane splitting I jump on the sidewalk only for about 1/2 mile if that, on the side walk I got really slow and treat pedestrians like they have the right of way (pretty sure they do in MD), no one yelled at me yet. I usually ride all road any other time.

Machka 

1. Riding on the sidewalks is illegal where I live now, and where I lived before (you might want to double check your laws)

2. Riding on the sidewalks is dangerous ... unless you are willing to stop the bicycle at every intersection, alleyway, driveway, etc., to check for vehicles.

3. Riding on the sidewalks is rude to pedestrians ... it's alarming to have a bicycle sneak up on you and fly past.

If I am in a situation where I don't feel safe riding on the road for a short segment of my trip, I'll go up onto the sidewalk, then get off and walk my bicycle. Walking is good for the bones anyway.

Jay-W

It's illegal where I live too.

I wouldn't ride on the sidewalk anyway.

mzeffex 

I do stop at intersections, but primarily ride on the roads. And like I said I slow down for pedestrians. Yesterday there were two walking towards me, one behind the other, and when they saw me up ahead they moved and purposely blocked the sidewalk.

Kurt Erlenbach

You are more likely to be hit by a car riding on the sidewalk than on the road, so long as you ride legally, assertively, and predictably. If you're on the sidewalk, you can get hit at any driveway or intersection you cross.

mzeffex 

Suppose so. Well. Know what's more fun? Off roading

DrPete 

Sidewalk = fail.

Retro Grouch 

I do whatever's functional.

When I ride up to the convenience store on the corner, I generally use the sidewalk on the trip up to the store and ride in the road on the trip back. That saves me from having to cross a reasonably busy road twice and the sidewalk is lightly used anyway. If I ride my bike to work I use a combination of roads and sidewalks whichever seems safer and easier. I pretty much use all streets on the way to work and a combination of streets and sidewalks on the way home.

In my town (St Peters, Missouri) many of the main streets are listed as having a "sidewalk" on one side and a "trail" on the other. I assume that the sidewalks are just for pedestrians and bicycles are legal on trails. In practice, nobody seems to care and there are no markings to distinguish one from the other.

If I'm out riding for enjoyment, I choose a route that's all roads. The huge majority of my riding is on roads or designated bike trails.

umd

Are you sure about that?

Jay-W

Roadcycling.

Sidewalk.

mzeffex 

Yes I'm quite sure about it being legal. Just not in certain areas.

umd

Edit: Interesting...

DrPete 

https://www.massbike.org/bikelaw/dclaw.htm#1212

IIRC there's some funky law somewhere that if there's a MUP paralleling the road you must use the MUP. Pretty sure that doesn't count sidewalks.

mzeffex 

Hey the link you titled as interesting hit my point dead on. Like, if I go down to China Town then yeah, its illegal, but many places it is fine; one in particuarlar being my working/living district.

Fastflyingasian

its legal here i believe. i hate running on the sidewalk never mind actually riding on it. alot of the sidewalks around me are terrible.

mzeffex 

Oh man, where my grandparents live in new jersey, there are so many large tree roots pushing sidewalks upwards, I don't think I could ride them on a road bike. well, not if I like my rims/fork/butt.

JohnDThompson 

Riding on sidewalk =

ptle

I would ride on the road as much as I can but I sometimes go on the sidewalk when I feel that it would be safer and I wouldn't piss off as many drivers. However you want to be really careful on the sidewalk. Cars will easily turn or pull out into/infront of you because they won't notice you or won't anticipate how fast you are going down the sidewalk.

I remember hearing a story a woman who drove the same route and took the same turn for three years. She would always look before taking the turn for cyclists on the sidewalk/road or other cars. One day though she ran into a cyclist even though she looked. They were saying it was because she was just so used to not seeing anything for those three years that even though she checked it didn't register in her mind. I think we learned that in Psychology or maybe I saw it on BF some while back.

mzeffex 

hmm. Chance of being hit by turning car </>/= chance of being hit by car while in the road?

DScott

I rode on the sidewalk to get to a Chipotle burrito today.

Nobody died.

Chicken Fajitas. Yum!

ILUVUK

My former neighbor....I lived in St. Charles from 2000-2005..not that this is relevant to the thread in any manner whatsoever.

mkadam68

Yeah, out here in Cali, we're only required to use on-road bike lanes (a class II path, I believe) if available (and safe & clear, yadda, yadda, yadda). I laughed real hard when the lady told me I was supposed to ride on the bike trail.