Bridges

[surgtech1956]

Do you ride over bridges - on the sidewalk? I want to ride over this one bridge, its 4 lanes(2 in each direction), about 1/8th of a mile in length, there isn't a bike lane, so I'd have to ride on the sidewalk going over the bridge. Whats the correct way to cross a bridge, walk the bike or ride on the sidewalk? I really don't like the idea of walking over, especially with my cycling shoes. Its not safe to ride in the road.

[nscrbug]

I often cross a few bridges on rides, but most of them are concrete bridges. I ride on them, just like on the road. Heck if I'm gonna get off my bike and walk it in my cycling shoes...one of them is like a 1/2 mile long, and the sidewalk is only on one side.

[OakLeaf]

If you're on the sidewalk, walk your bike.

If there are no pedestrians in sight, I might cheat, but the minute you see a pedestrian, dismount and walk.

I'm lucky that there are no bridges in my area that aren't safe to ride (even though I often see cyclists on the sidewalks ), but I'm aware that there definitely is such a thing. If you're in doubt, you might talk to some other cyclists.

[KnottedYet]

If you're on the sidewalk, walk your bike.

If there are no pedestrians in sight, I might cheat, but the minute you see a pedestrian, dismount and walk.

Ditto.

We've got a lot of draw-bridges here, with open metal grid in the "road" and cement filler in the sidewalk. I do not ride my bike on the metal grid, and I generally walk my bike in the sidewalk as there are almost always pedestrians on the sidewalk.

Nobody needs to be pushed off the bridge and into the water... When I see bikes weaving through the peds I want to scream at the cyclists. Very very very dangerous. For everyone.

Surg - IIRC you've got recessed cleats in mtb shoes. It won't hurt anything if you walk over that bridge. You'll hear crunching noises, but your cleats will be fine.

[Velocivixen]

It depends on the law where you are. Is it legal for a bike to ride on the sidewalk? It is here, but bikes have to go "walking speed" close to pedestrians and provide an audible warning when passing. The problem is that sometimes pedestrians don't hear or don't move - nobody questions what the responsibilities of the pedestrians are.

[PscyclePath]

It depends... Most of the bridges around here don't have sidewalks as such, and they certainly don't have bike lanes, so I ride the traffic lane. It's a lot easier that way. The Highway 49 bridge over the Mississippi River can get a little scary at times, but so far I've survived the crossings ;-)

[ny biker]

Most of the bridges over the Potomac River here in the DC area have bike/pedestrian paths separated from the motor vehicle lanes. (At least I think so -- I'm pretty sure Chain Bridge has one, and I know the Key, 14th St, Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson bridges all have them. The Memorial Bridge doesn't have barriers along the sidewalks but they are pretty wide.) Cyclists are not required to walk on them.

The Wilson Bridge is the new and improved bridge that opened a couple of years ago. It carries I-95/495 over the river to the east of DC. IIRC, there is a 15 mph speed limit on the bike/ped path. Some cyclists complained about that when it first opened, but really it is appropriate given the presence of pedestrians. I haven't ridden over this bridge yet, though I'd like to check it out, since I think it has some great views. One of these days...

[OakLeaf]

That's the difference between "sidewalks" and "MUPs," and it's definitely true that the distinction could be clearer in some places.

You can't even really differentiate by width, because obviously sidewalks in downtown cities are wider than most MUPs in a lot of places, and just as obviously you shouldn't ride a bicycle on them.

But the OP characterized it as a sidewalk, and if that's the case, sidewalk rules apply. As I posted in the other thread, as a runner I've been run into traffic by people on bicycles more times than I can count. I don't want anyone to even marginally feel that I've done that to them.

[DebW]

There's always the strategy of crossing with another cycling side-by-side so you take the whole lane and cars can't squeeze you into the railing. That's ocassionally proved to be a good strategy, depending on the bridge.