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My 20 year old and my 15 year old both love their bikes and it scares me to death, as their mom. We have "bike lanes" in town that people think were put there for extra parking. Car drivers are horrible with respect to cyclists. I have known three people on a personal level who were killed on motorcycles, not due to speeding or reckless driving, but purely because the cars that hit them were not paying attention.. and a motorcycle should be more noticeable than a bicycle!
Scares me to death when my kids go out on their bikes.
So would a 40ft Gillig LowFloor, but at least two or three are hit a year, over here.. Even the city busses arent completly safe and that 400+ hp bus could take out a line of traffic if it decided it wasnt going to stop.
Theres a thin line between defensive riding and offensive riding. Although things like riding the sidewalk and running lights can get you in trouble, following the traffic laws can too. Cagers complain about cyclist daredevils on the streets when they are one factor for such riding style. They dont want to share the streets with us, yet demand we follow traffic laws accordingly. Doesnt make sense to me. Treat a bicycle as you would a motorcycle. Youd be surprised to find hitting a bike could do almost as much damage to your car as hitting any type of motorbike. It also has more chances of going under your car and taking out parts of your undercarrige such as radiators or brakr lines. If it doesnt, it could take out your windshield and its illegal to drive without on or a severly impacted one.
A buddy of mine was ran in to a parked car by a Ram and the guy stopped and laughed at him, he tossed his heavy 90s huffy through the windshield and rode off. I think people like that nees to be court ordered to ride a bike for a year if convicted. First the cops would have to give a damn, though. Most dont care what happens to cyclist or what they do unless one is killed- they will probably blame the cyclist and not the cager playinb angry bird on his way to get a mcrib while suppliez last.
This is why I would always use the sidewalks, even if it's technically against the law.
The problem with that is it's at least as dangerous.
As a kid here in Phoenix I used to ride on the shoulders of main streets. There was a shoulder back then. In the 70s the city widened the streets. When they were done there were more car lanes but they were too narrow to share. But there were sidewalks along the whole route.
Some of the police at the time encouraged us to ride on the sidewalks. So I did. It became apparent that people in cars can't see you as well on the sidewalk. When they look at a sidewalk before pulling out they are looking for foot traffic. On the bike you appear to come out of nowhere because of your speed. What I learned was to seek alternate routes. I still mix some sidewalk riding with streets but in my opinion sidewalks aren't any safer, usually.
This is why I would always use the sidewalks, even if it's technically against the law.
In the suburb I live in certain sidewalks along busy streets are designated as bike paths....you are encouraged to use these in lieu of the street.
...however
Quote:
When they look at a sidewalk before pulling out they are looking for foot traffic. On the bike you appear to come out of nowhere because of your speed.
Yeah, Ive noticed this too. Big issue at curb cuts/driveways into businesses.
Yeah, Ive noticed this too. Big issue at curb cuts/driveways into businesses.
Especially if you are on the sidewalk going in the direction against traffic. People pulling out into traffic aren't even looking in that direction for oncoming traffic.
If you think riding a bike with cars is bad, you should try walking! Don't push any buttons, they're only there at crosswalks to sucker you in for the punch.
Far worse are "cyclists" who think anyone using a sidewalk is simply in the way.
More "cyclists" run red lights in one minute than car drivers do in an entire day.
"Cyclists", the scourge of pedestrians the world over.
In my experience it's better to drop the road bike and get on a mountain bike. You get to enjoy the trails and the only thing you have to watch out for is the hikers and the horses. It's an interesting change because you go from being a road cyclist demanding your rights to the road etc. to being a mountain biker where basically you have no right of way on any trail. So I recommend it highly and Santa Rosa has some of the best trails in the state. Check out Annadel you will love it. In fact you don't even need to go the full on mountain bike route you could just get a cyclocross bike and you might be a little more comfortable.
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