Woonsocket, RI Bike Laws

[kfergos]

Today we were riding in Woonsocket, RI, on the Blackstone River Bikeway. Nice path! Anyway, on the way back to our car, we had to ride on the road maybe half a mile. We got in the left-hand turn lane and then realized both the right and left lanes turned left. So we were too far left for bikes. We were stuck until the light turned, at which point we moved right when it was safe. That was nerve-wracking but OK, until a guy in a car drove by and shouted, "In Woonsocket bikes have to ride on the sidewalk!" or something to that effect.

My immediate response was "Ha! Nobody FORCES bikes to ride on sidewalks!" But later I wasn't sure. Woonsocket and I have a barely-on-speaking-terms relationship, and I wouldn't put it past city lawmakers to do something weird like that. Does anybody know one way or the other about this? In general can cities/states mandate bikes go on sidewalks and not roads?

Edit to add: I found this on the Rhode Island biking web site:

Every person riding [...] an electric motorized bicycle, or propelling a vehicle by human power shall be granted all of the rights and shall be subject to all of the duties applicable to the driver of any other vehicle by chapters 12 – 27 of this title, except as to special regulations in this chapter and except as to those provisions of chapters 12 – 27 of this title which by their nature can have no application. This section shall not forbid a bicyclist [...] from traveling upon the shoulders of the highway except for those highways which prohibit bicyclists

Does that mean that we can ride on pretty much any roads in Rhode Island?