Quote Originally Posted by moderncyclista View Post
Also, on a funny note - sort of thread-drifty. I rode yesterday and got yelled at to "Get off the street!" Sometimes when drivers get aggressive I move to the sidewalk. Maybe 10 minutes later a man I biked past on the sidewalk yelled at me to "Get off the sidewalk!" In my state if you ride on the street, you act like a car. You can ride on the sidewalk (but not downtown) if you act like a pedestrian. Drivers get so mean sometimes. There needs to be a cycling awareness campaign in my state. IMO. *Sorry, needed to vent...back to your regularly scheduled thread.*
When I first started cycling, I couldn't figure out if I was "supposed" to ride on the sidewalk or the road. Motorists yelled "Get off the road!" and I was absolutely mortified when a pedestrian said "Bicyclists belong on the road" as I passed her. I was so mad: why can't "they" figure out which way it should be? Didn't she realize the only way to access the bike racks is by sidewalk, which implies that bikes use the sidewalks?

Now that I am a seasoned cyclist and I have taken Traffic Cycling 101 (was Road I when I took it) and am an LCI to boot, I know what is wrong: there is no consensus, no "they", no "supposed". The Bike League is generally regarded as the expert but not everyone knows about the bike league or agrees with them.

The best thing I got out of the bike class was confidence in my choices. I choose the road. I choose when to share the lane or take the lane. I choose to observe the signs, lights, and rules and regulations that apply to me. That power to choose made everything else much less stressful, like the mixed & hostile messages.

And to get to the bike racks, I have to use the sidewalks. I ride slowly & quietly behind the pedestrian traffic (if any).