It happens every weekday morning.
My daughter and I ride one block on a sidewalk against traffic.
There — I said it.
This bit of sidewalk merely takes us north on Fremont — a 30-mph collector — to the next residential street — Loren — where the real journey to MSU begins — the entire, grueling 3/4-mile trip.
When I’m riding alone, I pull into traffic on Fremont and execute a proper left turn onto Loren or Delmar. My daughter, who is still getting used to riding in traffic, doesn’t see the point. It’s just one block. It’s just easier and faster to take the sidewalk.
A few times I tried to force the issue by pulling onto Fremont and letting her go her way — thinking she’d pick up the hint.
OK, you can stop laughing now. She’s a teenager. If I want to slow myself down that way then I can just huff and puff to catch up. She’s movin’ on.
I could force the issue by forbidding such behavior. Sidewalk riding can be very dangerous. But playing the parental-power card can be counter-productive. It’s also not a good way to think about riding a bicycle. There are a few circumstances in which the sidewalk is a reasonable choice.
This morning routine isn’t one of those times, IMO, thus my embarrassment. I spend about 20 seconds each morning hoping no one sees me as I follow her lead. She follows my lead in most things now traffic-wise. So that’s a good thing.
Comments 4
I feel your pain
Actually, I know a couple competent cyclists who do that same maneuver to get into their neighborhoods because it’s simpler than making a left onto a busy 4-lane road to go one block and make another left onto their street.
I have a similar scenario at my local Target shopping center. Some times of the day it is very difficult to make a left onto the 4-lane road, then I have to making another left with no turn pocket (at rush hour, I sometimes make a box turn there). But if I use the sidewalk for one block, then cut through an empty parking lot, I can avoid all of that.
I, too, would not want someone to see me doing such a thing (I typically walk the bike when using the sidewalk), but definitely understand the “affordance” aspect of the bicycle vs the PITA of rigidly adhering to vehicular principles in certain conditions.
Posted 16 Mar 2010 at 11:36 am ¶Keri… Avoiding the 4-lane sounds like a reasonable choice to me in such cases. Fremont, however, is totally tame
And, yes, commercial zones sometimes require a bit of cycling creativity. What I call the “Hurst variation” of VC is in part what this post is about — making reasonable choices even if they sometimes violate the letter of the VC ideal.
Posted 16 Mar 2010 at 11:43 am ¶At first glance of the paper bag man I thought “Is Andy a Rams fan like me?” I can sympathize between taking the hard-line “I will stop properly” and the sigh annoyance when you’re passed on the right by someone with complete disregard for the stop sign.
It’s an interesting occurrence when you force yourself to do the right thing and then the guilt with breaking your own standards.
Posted 16 Mar 2010 at 2:29 pm ¶I met a gal the other day whilst at a local hardware store in Orlando. She lived in the area and just received a belated Christmas present….a kicking day-glo yellow-lime beach cruiser.
Interesting to note, she mentioned the sidewalks had way more driveways that she realized. I offered a copy of FL Street Smarts to help her acquire skills and confidence to get off the sidewalk and in the proper place for vehicles.
Sometimes the sidewalk is the best option in certain instances.
Posted 16 Mar 2010 at 9:31 pm ¶