Quote Originally Posted by Trek420
Just back from walking the dog and got into it a little with a neighbor. There's this ol' guy and many of us who walk here have commented on him that he rides his bike on the sidewalk. For some elderly neighbors who walk there too it's a problem, he won't give peds the right of way.

He's super slow, no helmet (no brain no pain) huge headphones over both already deaf ears and I dunno where you guys live but here in CA bikes are traffic. We have a bike lane and that's where he should be.

I feel sorry for the guy. What will I do when I can't ride with the flow/speed of traffic? Ride inside? in a park? take up knitting I guess.

There is a park nearby and he could ride there. So we had this awkward impasse where I took Mae (dog) to the side to wait for him to pass but he won't go because he's afraid of the dog and...he won't give peds the right of way.

So I explain that my dog is used to bikes, I ride and I need him to proceed because Mae is trained to deffer to people and that people get the right of way so he needs to go first.

Again he still won't move, finally he goes.

As he passes me I say "you know it's illegal for you to ride on the sidewalk and it's safer there" pointing at the bike lane. He points at the cars, traffic, says he can't. I quote him the California vehicle code "Bikes, cars, same rights rules responsiblities: I can't drive my car on the sidewalk, right?"

He says "I know the law, lady" mutters something I don't want to hear and rides off.

the way you describe him, perhaps he's mentally disabled? ( is that this year's correct term?) We have a guy around here who rides an adult trike on the sidewalk. This particular sidewalk is next to a bike lane on a major arterial. I think it's great he's out riding his bike on the same one mile stretch of sidewalk.

~Irulan