Bicycle escapades

[HotelMinion]

So lately the weather's been nice so I've been biking around for some exercise. And I've nearly got run over 3 times already and spring just started
I was waiting at a pedestrian crosswalk for the ped light to turn from red into White. It did and I pushed my bike forward. This crazy lady driver nearly runs me over, she didn't see me. Hey lady! Look left AND right before you go. Stupid.
I was going on a public sidewalk when I saw a sign saying No skateboarding, no biking, no loitering, etc. and right next to it were some bicycle stands. Okaaaaay... Are they afraid we'll run over people. They have the same signs near the subway, but I get that, maybe a biker will ride into the trains tracks. It's for their own safety. What do you have aganist bicycles huh? On a public sidewalk?
Then I was heading back home no a two way street. I was on the sidewalk. This crazy lady driver stops, blocking the traffic behind her to shout at me. I think she was asking for directions but I couldn't hear her over the cacophony of beeeeps from the cars behind her. Lady, I'm sorry you're lost, but no need to cause an accident about it!
I also noticed my bike is really slow. Runners were passing me. They had looooooong legs but still. Is it because my bike is cheap...?
Also my butt got numb and my crotch really really hurt on the seat. It made me wonder how guys can stand it.

[April]

I know in some places of the US, riding your bike on the sidewalk is illegal.

[rvdammit]

I was going on a public sidewalk when I saw a sign saying No skateboarding, no biking, no loitering, etc. and right next to it were some bicycle stands. Okaaaaay... Are they afraid we'll run over people.

More likely it's the due dilligence to prevent another http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/...nsioner-179079

[Seanette]

Tell you what, when bicyclists stop running pedestrians off the sideWALK, pedestrians will be a lot happier to share the sideWALK with bikes.

[Kittish]

Sounds like you either have the wrong type of seat for you on the bike or you're sitting on it incorrectly. It shouldn't make your butt go numb or your crotch hurt. Might want to take a look at a different style.

[Ironclad Alibi]

It will soon be illegal to ride a bicycle on any sidewalk. Can't have them getting in the way of the robot pizza delivery vehicles.

[dalesys]

My opinionation is that I'm bicycling on a sidewalk anywhere near a pedestrian (or where they could pop out of cover) I damn well better be going no faster than a slow walk (< 3mph, 5kph).

[HotelMinion]

Hmm...after reading the rules on cycling in my state there are some things I don't agree with. Like having the bicyclists share the road with automobiles. Cars scare me unless I am in one. And When I'm in a car and there's a cyclist on the road, I feel scared, like I'm going to hit him...sigh. It makes me wonder why these rules are here, certainly cyclists getting killed by cars is much higher than pedestrians getting killed by cyclists? *googles*it seems so. So why have the cyclists go with the cars. Scary.
Maybe I should just do indoors excerise.

[Mr Hero]

I don't go full speed while on the sidewalks, but I do go faster than my walking speed. I don't feel safe on the busier roads so that's why I stick to sidewalks. And it's not like I'm sharing a sidewalk with pedestrians because I rarely see them during my commute.

[PastryGal]

Also my butt got numb and my crotch really really hurt on the seat. It made me wonder how guys can stand it.

I get sore from standard seats so for my bike I bought a seat that's designed for women, wider in the back.

[April]

Hmm...after reading the rules on cycling in my state there are some things I don't agree with. Like having the bicyclists share the road with automobiles. Cars scare me unless I am in one. And When I'm in a car and there's a cyclist on the road, I feel scared, like I'm going to hit him...sigh. It makes me wonder why these rules are here, certainly cyclists getting killed by cars is much higher than pedestrians getting killed by cyclists? *googles*it seems so. So why have the cyclists go with the cars. Scary.
Maybe I should just do indoors excerise.

My kid rides her bike to school in mornings, about 1.5 miles away from the house, and I am with you. I damn well don't want her riding on the road, so she rides on the sidewalk. Considering she's almost been hit more than once while in the cross walk with the right of way, doing what she is supposed to be doing, I'd rather keep her as far away from the cars as I can. (She's 15, not small)

[BPFH]

Hmm...after reading the rules on cycling in my state there are some things I don't agree with. Like having the bicyclists share the road with automobiles.

In my state it's because bicycles are legally considered vehicles (though not motor vehicles, obviously), and vehicles should be operated on the road. My experience is that most cities here don't worry too much about that, though, except perhaps in downtown areas where you can expect a lot of foot traffic.

That having been said, in my area it's now becoming very common for bike lanes to be added to the road. (Now, if we could only convince a certain city in my area--one associated with a university whose mascot is Gulo gulo--to actually put the bike lanes in when they widen the street to add bike lanes...)

[Jetfire]

If/when I want to bike to/from work, thankfully it's on the path network through the city for the most part; so I don't have to bike on the road or sidewalk much.

Part of my trip would take me across the bridge over the river; and for that part I take the sidewalk. The bridge is way too damn busy for any but the most (IMO) insane bikers to bike across with traffic. (and some do do it, even in winter. /boggle)

The city does have bike lanes on many roads; but I find that many times they just slapped a line a metre or so from the edge of the pavement/curb and called it a bike lane, even if the pavement is all chewed up, with drain grates and other obstacles. (And inevitably the bike lane ends about 2 car lengths before any intersections).

So generally, when I do bike, I take the trails as much as I can, use the bike lanes/side of the roads when the roads aren't too busy and the lanes aren't too bad, and I'll use the sidewalks when I feel the roads just aren't safe even though that's technically illegal in my area. And of course when I do bike on sidewalks, I stay alert for pedestrians and usually slow down a lot if there are any around.

[notalwaysright]

Here I believe riding on sidewalks is legal except in business districts. Sometimes as a driver of a car I wish bicyclists would ride on the sidewalk. There's a street I drive on to go to school... It's narrow, with street parking and NO bike lane. The sidewalk is not heavily used, so in that particular case I see no problem for people to ride on the sidewalk, and they legally can.

Of course, not hitting pedestrians is important. I remember reading about a bicyclist who ignored a construction worker (with a stop sign) the worker held the sign out and the biker hit it and hurt him pretty good. People fail no matter what form of transportation they're using.

Now that we're getting some good weather I keep thinking about getting a bike, but then I hear the stories. I should though, I live in a good spot for it, and have a designated storage hook in the basement. Blerg.

[Chromatix]

The European Continental standard is that bike lanes go on the pavement, away from the cars. Sometimes it is a shared space with pedestrians, sometimes there's a dividing line. Either way, it works well, and is a model worth copying elsewhere.

There are several reasons why a bike might seem "slow". The most common (and easiest to fix) is under-inflated tyres. You want them as close to the rated maximum pressure as you can get. If you don't already have a pump with a built-in pressure gauge, get one; I use a stirrup type which I keep at home. The compact hand-pump type is for emergencies only.

You might also have the wrong type of tyres. Unless you spend a lot of time on rough, muddy tracks, you want tyres that provide a smooth interface to the road. They don't have to be ultra-skinny racing slicks, just not covered in knobs. If you can hear a humming noise while moving, that's bad.

Other possibilities revolve around heavily-worn or unlubricated mechanical parts (though if they're bad enough to actually impede your movement, you may have bigger problems). Get some chain oil (not WD-40) and give the chain a good coating with it. Spray a bit on the gear and brake pivots too, carefully avoiding the *intentional* friction surfaces, and work the mechanisms a few times.