"Women who ride"... on the sidewalk...

[Trek420]

Well, I forgot to specify that. If you send little Robbie or Suzie down the block to play with little Florence and Lorenzo they should be on the sidewalk (and walk their bike in the crosswalk). I think we all expect that.

But I figure once you've learned to drive ....

[SouthernBelle]

Essentially a bike is a vehicle, we just happen to be the motor.

Vehicles go on the road.

[Geonz]

It's *very* loosely analogical to 'separate but equal' schools. Sidewalks aren't appropriate facilities for most reasons to ride a bicycle, yet the non-cycling culture doesn't want to be inconvenienced by our existence and thus relegates us there.

[Trek420]

Essentially a bike is a vehicle, we just happen to be the motor.

Vehicles go on the road.

Yes Who here has the footer "It's my lane, it's my lane too, It's my lane"

We can't cover everything that happens, and I don't think this is anything like segregation. First of all a lot of this we riders do to ourselves. A lot of what I see here anyway is riders riding the same way they'd drive. Each time I bike to work someone says as if in one breath "good for you! I wish I could do that. Oh those rackin' frackin' riders I see "

I say "You're not seeing me or my friends running lights riding the wrong way etc. We're the good cyclists. The reason you don't see us is your first lesson in biking to work is: think sides streets, parallel roads, off the busiest streets. It's actually faster, more relaxing and scenic, more fun. Ride where the cars aren't."

It's like a light goes off over their head "Oh, I could ride, I don't have to bike down that busy road".

If there isn't an "official" bike route or path, and sometimes even if there is I make my own by finding the best side streets etc.

Now, if I can just get people to stop putting tennis balls in their spokes. Why do they do that???? Don't they know it un-trues the wheel? Is it for visibility?? Don't they know there are lights??? They are not playing tennis, I never see these tennis ball toting riders with tennis equipment or wearing white shorts.

I just don't understand them.

[SouthernBelle]

I have never seen tennis balls in spokes!

They are flourescent?!

[Trek420]

I have never seen tennis balls in spokes!

They are flourescent?!

Yes! Maybe they are minty tennis balls for dogs You know, chased by a dog, reach down into your wheel, grab a tennis ball, throw it to the dog

[nancielle]

Cycling on the sidewalk here is prohibited (as it is elsewhere) but I can understand why some people feel safer on the sidewalk. I live on a side street a stone's throw from the downtown area. Not everyone on this street has off-street parking so the street is lined with cars. That's forcing the cyclist to ride way too close to passing cars (and way too many drivers think that this street is a practice stretch for Indy or NASCAR.) Now with the potholes (some I've not so lovingly named "Jaws" ) and the general disrepair of roads that emerge after a snowy/icy winter, many still sporting icy slush, I fear for some of the cyclists I do see on the road. That being said, I do understand the safety concerns for cyclists and pedestrians on sidewalks.

I've never seen the tennis balls on spokes either.

[Eden]

I have never seen tennis balls in spokes!

They are flourescent?!

ummmmm how does one put a tennis ball on ones spokes and have it actually fit through the fork...... I don't think I have that kind of clearance on any of my bikes - not even my cross bike....

[Trek420]

We're talking mountain bikes, usually box store bikes. OK, next time I see one I'll take a picture or better yet ask the rider "why you doing this?"

[Eden]

We're talking mountain bikes, usually box store bikes. OK, next time I see one I'll take a picture or better yet ask the rider "why you doing this?"

ahhhh - yes you could fit a tennis ball through a suspension fork. Maybe its like putting beads on the spokes of your kiddie bike? Do they fly out to the rim when the wheel is turning?

[Trek420]

ummmmm how does one put a tennis ball on ones spokes and have it actually fit through the fork...... I don't think I have that kind of clearance on any of my bikes - not even my cross bike....

Ah, here is where I posted about "riders who put tennis balls in the spokes". So I saw one of these riders on the train this morning. Conversation went somethin' like this:

Trek: that's an interesting way to carry the tennis balls, do you play?
TBCR (tennis ball carrying rider): a little
Trek: don't you worry at all about throwing the spokes out of true or getting caught in the brake pads?
TBCR: no. I just do this as a conversation starter.

So far this non-scientific study shows these just to be a conversation starter. Maybe chicks dig 'em.

[GLC1968]

Ah, here is where I posted about "riders who put tennis balls in the spokes". So I saw one of these riders on the train this morning. Conversation went somethin' like this:

Trek: that's an interesting way to carry the tennis balls, do you play?
TBCR (tennis ball carrying rider): a little
Trek: don't you worry at all about throwing the spokes out of true or getting caught in the brake pads?
TBCR: no. I just do this as a conversation starter.

So far this non-scientific study shows these just to be a conversation starter. Maybe chicks dig 'em.

When we were kids, we put tennis balls in our spokes because it drove our dogs nuts trying to 'fetch' them. Of course, back then we also rode our bikes on the left, facing traffic because that's what we were told to do. And no one EVER wore a helmet. What did we know?!?

[shootingstar]

The reason you don't see us is your first lesson in biking to work is: think sides streets, parallel roads, off the busiest streets. It's actually faster, more relaxing and scenic, more fun. Ride where the cars aren't."

It's like a light goes off over their head "Oh, I could ride, I don't have to bike down that busy road".

If there isn't an "official" bike route or path, and sometimes even if there is I make my own by finding the best side streets etc.

If a person lives in an area where cycling routes have not been suggested/promoted to people living locally, then it may require helping a person to rethink their streets . Sometimes it's a just an extra 2-3 blocks away to just to remove oneself from high volume fast car routes.

[Geonz]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gcziko/...7594104077802/

Here's a photo essay of safety hazards on our bike path system. (By the way, at least here, doing this gets noticed by planners & powers that be.)

Some of these photos would still be considered almost bucolic to someone drivingt by. Happy people meandering to their destinations! It's a totally different feeling when you're on your bike actually trying to *get* somewhere.

[MauiRockHopper]

Essentially a bike is a vehicle, we just happen to be the motor.

Vehicles go on the road.

Are you supposed to walk you bike in crosswalks? It is really a hassle with clip on shoes to get on and off crossing a highway or road which has "islands" in it. I've waited for cars to yield to me so I could cross, then the decide to go when I'm still crossing. I scream and flip them off and they give me a look like they did nothing wrong. You really have to be on defense. I ride on sidewalks too sometimes and nobody ever uses them because people in Hawaii don't like getting sweaty so they all hide in their AC cars.