tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2727235105309015172.post329144114937172567..comments2023-09-17T08:18:37.849-07:00Comments on AZ BluesCat: The Solidly Safer SidewalkBluesCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14131717718194330990noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2727235105309015172.post-37664633883857248162010-09-13T13:07:18.185-07:002010-09-13T13:07:18.185-07:00JRA, I agree with you on virtually all of your poi...JRA, I agree with you on virtually all of your points, especially the part about "most sidewalks are not designed for 15-20mph cycle traffic in terms of visibility to risks entering from the sides."<br /><br />I much prefer riding in the street, especially with <i>Bluetiful</i> and <i>DutchGrl</i>. And the reason has nothing to do with Pinheaded Pedestrians or California Stoppers. Even on the "nice" sidewalk of the road in the picture, those expansion joints are <i>murderously</i> rough! The suspension forks, and the lower tire pressure, of <i>The Roadley</i> and <i>Hardiboi</i> mitigate the rough ride, but the high-pressure tires of the other two bikes ... OMG!<br /><br /><i>Bam, Slam ... Blam, Bam ... Bang, Slam ...</i> etc., etc. JEEZ! It's enough to knock yer fillings loose!BluesCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14131717718194330990noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2727235105309015172.post-27982852489202994392010-09-13T06:57:34.417-07:002010-09-13T06:57:34.417-07:00Bluescat I ride short sections of sidewalk every d...Bluescat I ride short sections of sidewalk every day for more or less the same reasons you mention, so I tend to agree. I have some caveats though. You mentioned the first: driveways. Most drivers appear to assume that whipping out of the driveway across the sidewalk is okee dokey. Some walks by chance give you enough vision to watch for them, but it's clear that most sidewalks are not designed for 15-20mph cycle traffic in terms of visibility to risks entering from the sides. Then again, a lot of bike lanes have the same problem! Second is pedestrians. I've come to the conclusion that a cyclist should give five feet of space to a ped when passing or overtaking. That's more or less not possible on many sidewalks. Else slow down to a snail's pace. Which I do, but who wants to do that? On the other hand, many cyclists who don't try road riding are concerned with being hit from behind, which, if you take the correct lane position to avoid being squeezed out on the right, which is entirely up to you to disallow, being hit from directly behind is a very rare type of car-bicycle accident.John Romeo Alphahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01289456379789026152noreply@blogger.com