Quote:
Originally Posted by Xist
Of course, we do not have consistent side walks or street lights, either.
I have had people insist that sidewalks are safer for riding bikes, but have also read that about two-thirds of all accidents involving bicycles occur on sidewalks, with the explanation that cars and bicycles are oblivious to each other in driveways.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Grant-53
Only small children should ride on the sidewalk and then under 6 mph. Everyone else is operating a vehicle on the highway.
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In Michigan it's specifically legal to ride a bicycle on [the right side of] any road with speed limit 35mph or below. Bicycles are not considered "vehicles", but they are "traffic". Presumably, that would mean that since traffic is allowed on all roads, bicycles are too. Conflicting laws are fun.
However, most people around here are too ignorant to respect other road users, let alone bicycles, so I ride on the sidewalks of the main roads. Seriously, when you ride on the main roads legally, (many of the through roads are not "legal" to ride on) people act like you're carrying a nazi flag and spitting in their faces. It's insane- honks, jeers, threats.
About a month ago, I saw a guy riding COMPLETELY LEGALLY on a 35mph section of Van Dyke Ave at 12 Mile Rd, and a Police Caprice slowed down behind him, got on the loudspeaker, and yelled "GET ONTO THE SIDEWALK!" or some such thing. It was absolutely bizarre. If the cops are too ignant to allow legal operation of a bicycle, why would I risk it? Warren can't be the only place in the nation where bicycling on the street is de jure allowed but de facto prohibited.
I do about 10mph usually, but slow down and give a verbal signal to peds. However, most have earbuds in and couldn't hear a car horn a foot from their face, in which case I just cruise on by.
Technically, on average, with the little data we have, riding on the road is supposed to be safer. And I see where they're coming from, because I almost got run the f*** over twice in the past week. One, a woman was gawking at a cop car that was turning onto the street she was exiting, and she
of course rolled right through the stop sign, about ten inches from my barely stopped front tire.
The other was just today. I was on the sidewalk going with traffic, with my blinky taillight on, and she turned onto a street right in front of me with no intention of yielding. I hit the brake as hard as I could, and barely missed her as she honked at me. I gave her the one finger salute.
Then a couple miles later, AS I ENTERED THE CITY THAT NOW HAS BIKE INFRASTRUCTURE, at least two people actively backed their cars out of the crosswalk at intersections! Awesome! It's amazing how simply adding bike lanes and "bike route" signs can make such a difference in people's attitudes toward cyclists.
With the road planning around here, and with the way people are used to driving, it can be hard to see cyclists. I get it. But on the flip side, people pay more attention to their phones than the road, and I don't want someone running me down in the street, intentionally or not. At least on the sidewalk, my exposure to cars is limited. I ride residential streets when possible, but most tee into major roads within a couple miles, so they're not viable options for actual transport.
To be fair, I am halfway through a wheelset build right now and only have a rear brake. It makes stopping quickly a challenge. However, I'm so used to the dumbassery of drivers around here that I can usually predict what they're going to do. Pull into the crosswalk? Cut me off? Stop/yield properly? Hold up traffic and wait for me for 15 seconds because they can't judge distance? All common behavior around here. It's just been a rough week! Time to get that front disc spacing figured out.
