Quote Originally Posted by Muirenn View Post
A good number of the people I work with are avid cyclists. But one woman, who doesn't ride, asked me why we didn't ride of the sidewalks when they were provided. She is in her mid 50's. I explained that it was illegal, and also tried to tell her that walkways weren't always suitable for roadbikes because of debris, cracks, etc.

She stopped me at the illegal part; she didn't need to know anything else. Or care about the further explanation.
The last day of school, someone in my daughter's math class said to her "What do you think the sidewalks are for?" because he'd seen her biking to school. She was mad about that for a full 2 weeks! We practiced answering it, because this question will come up again. I recommended that no matter how scornful the tone of voice, treat it as a genuinely curious question. We decided on this answer:
"Bicycling on sidewalks is dangerous. Many car-bike collisions happen where sidewalks cross driveways, alleys, and roads. It is illegal to bicycle on sidewalks."

The main road to school has new sidewalks as part of a Safe Routes to School grant, and lots of people praise them because now kids can bike to school. The busiest street in town has sidewalks, and people routinely tell me that is the safest way to get to anything on the north side. So sad and frustrating.

What a weird experience, about that video.