I see it both ways. Cycling is my main form of transportation but even I get furious when dudes are flying down a crowded sidewalk rather than the road or the bikelane one street away. Sometimes, sure, it’s about safety but a lot of times it feels like “but I don’t wanna go all the way to the bikelane!”
Hell, yesterday I saw a guy on an electric bike rocketing around and nearly hitting folks on the sidewalk rather than ride on the fairly empty, generally slow, two lane road.
Yeah, thats true. I see that as general disrespect though, not a purely cyclist thing. Put that ebike guy in a lifted pickup truck and they’d be driving like a fuckhead too.
There’s a two lane road near my home that clearly states the bike lane is for bikes only, under any non-emergency circumstances. I’ve seen bikers almost killed as well as almost getting rear ended or side swiped by people flying down the bike lane to make the right that I make at the intersection from the middle of the road, as prescribed. I understand the complaints but you’ll never catch me on a road of any sort in America with a bike. It’s just not worth the risk. So everyone is (except the crazy bikers that use the lane) on the sidewalk. It’s just a symptom of poor design. And unfortunately everyone will include those assholes almost hitting people on the sidewalk.
I see it both ways. Cycling is my main form of transportation but even I get furious when dudes are flying down a crowded sidewalk rather than the road or the bikelane one street away. Sometimes, sure, it’s about safety but a lot of times it feels like “but I don’t wanna go all the way to the bikelane!”
Hell, yesterday I saw a guy on an electric bike rocketing around and nearly hitting folks on the sidewalk rather than ride on the fairly empty, generally slow, two lane road.
Yeah, thats true. I see that as general disrespect though, not a purely cyclist thing. Put that ebike guy in a lifted pickup truck and they’d be driving like a fuckhead too.
Good point. Assholes gonna asshole.
There’s a two lane road near my home that clearly states the bike lane is for bikes only, under any non-emergency circumstances. I’ve seen bikers almost killed as well as almost getting rear ended or side swiped by people flying down the bike lane to make the right that I make at the intersection from the middle of the road, as prescribed. I understand the complaints but you’ll never catch me on a road of any sort in America with a bike. It’s just not worth the risk. So everyone is (except the crazy bikers that use the lane) on the sidewalk. It’s just a symptom of poor design. And unfortunately everyone will include those assholes almost hitting people on the sidewalk.