Do more Americans ride bike on the road or sidewalk?

bluezfolk schrieb:
As for commuting, my location is not bike commute friendly, I'd like
to ride to work but getting past the highway interchange is a bit
scary.

What exactly is so scary there? Do you have to change lanes into
fast-moving traffic? What speed is driven there?

On Aug 28, 9:38 pm, Daniel Barlow wrote:
ComandanteBanana writes:
It looks like a stupid question.

It's definitely an offtopic question. The "uk" in uk.rec.cycling is
for "United Kingdom" (as in "the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland"), not for the University of Kentucky.

You might have heard of our country in history lessons at school, if
not more recently. There probably aren't enough Americans living here
to make a statistically meaningful survey of whether they ride bike on
the road or sidewalk (or "pavement" as we like to call it)

Hope this helps. Be grateful if you could amend the newsgroups line
on further posts. Thanks.

-dan

Of course UK isn't University of Kentucky. Do you really think they
have universities in Kentucky??? They'd be lucky to have high
schools.

You're the guys who drive on the wrong site of the road, eat
disgusting things, and have bad teeth; aren't you?

On Aug 29, 5:21 am, bugbear wrote:
ComandanteBanana wrote:

My recollections from various parts of America
is that there are no sidewalks in vast swathes
of housing. Sidewalks are for walking,
and Americans don't (sweeping generalisation)
walk.

Hence the issue of riding bicycles
on them is ... tenuous.

I once walked (3 blocks) from a hotel
to a business in Palo Alto.

Given the time difference, I'd woken
early, and had plenty of time.

And the weather was good.

There were no pavements, sorry sidewalks.

A police car drew up and asked me what I was doing.

So walking is considered "unusual", at least by the police.

BugBear

I was outside of Laguardia airport (NYC) and ended up at the wrong
hotel for a meeting. The right hotel was across the "street" but
since there were a number of Jersey barriers between me and the other
hotel, I ended up getting a cab for a ride that was effectively just
crossing the street. But it ended up being about a 5 mile ride. So
there you go.

On Aug 29, 8:16*am, Jens Müller wrote:
bluezfolk schrieb:

As for commuting, my location is not bike commute friendly, *I'd like
to ride to work but getting past the highway interchange is a bit
scary.

What exactly is so scary there? Do you have to change lanes into
fast-moving traffic? What speed is driven there?

Having moved from home (I still think of Cornwall as home) to the US 6
years ago I'm not sure what puts off folks from riding here.
1, The roads in general are wider than the UK.
2, Speed limits are lower and folks seen to abide by them (cops with
real and radar guns will do that)
3, Bikes are a lot cheaper.
4, There is no helmet law here in Texas ( for bicycles or
motorcycles)
5, You can ride on the road or on the pavement (oops sidewalk)
6, Drivers are terrified of being sued into bankruptcy and will
usually pass by at least 4ft.

Negative points may be.
1, 8 out of 10 cars are pickups or SUVs and they don't just nudge you
they 'splat' you.
2, Kids can drive at 15.
3, Folks carry guns and so you don't want to go mouthing off to the
driver who just cut you up.
4, Some neighbourhoods ban cyclists from the road (even though it's
technical against federal law to do so)
5, Oh and if people started cycling more in Houston, they may loose
their position as one of the fattest cities in the US.

While I do ride a lot, I don't commute because we don't have showers
at work and it's 95f outside in the sun!!!!!!

Laters,

Marz

Marz schrieb:
3, Bikes are a lot cheaper.

Does that include _good_ bikes? Are there even _good_ bikes for sales?

4, There is no helmet law here in Texas ( for bicycles or
motorcycles)
5, You can ride on the road or on the pavement (oops sidewalk)

The sidewalk is not part of the road?

6, Drivers are terrified of being sued into bankruptcy and will
usually pass by at least 4ft.

Downside: _if_ an accident happens, they don't have sufficent 3rd party
insurance, but this can be compensated by having a good insurance yourself.


Negative points may be.
1, 8 out of 10 cars are pickups or SUVs and they don't just nudge you
they 'splat' you.
2, Kids can drive at 15.
3, Folks carry guns and so you don't want to go mouthing off to the
driver who just cut you up.

Yeah, but a car itself is a dangerous weapon on its own.

4, Some neighbourhoods ban cyclists from the road (even though it's
technical against federal law to do so)

Who does that? City councils?

I really like the German § 45 (9) StVO - traffic restrictions are only
allowed due to compelling reasons, and of course you can go to
administrative court ...

5, Oh and if people started cycling more in Houston, they may loose
their position as one of the fattest cities in the US.

While I do ride a lot, I don't commute because we don't have showers
at work and it's 95f outside in the sun!!!!!!

Well, _slow_ cycling might cause less sweating than other kinds of
getting from A to B.

On Aug 28, 9:38*pm, Daniel Barlow wrote:
ComandanteBanana writes:
It looks like a stupid question.

It's definitely an offtopic question. *The "uk" in uk.rec.cycling is
for "United Kingdom" (as in "the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland"), not for the University of Kentucky.

You might have heard of our country in history lessons at school, if
not more recently. *There probably aren't enough Americans living here
to make a statistically meaningful survey of whether they ride bike on
the road or sidewalk (or "pavement" as we like to call it)

Hope this helps. *Be grateful if you could amend the newsgroups line
on further posts. *Thanks.

-dan

All I need to know about the UK I know. That America beat you in a
war, and that now you are both the best allies around the world.

Does all this familiarity extends to cycling?

On Aug 29, 12:00*am, "Jack May" wrote:
"ComandanteBanana" wrote in message

...

...Th en the issue of what
peopl e ride bikes where starts
to make sense.
.Why do 99% of Americans do NOT commute by bike? Are they
afraid of the
..road or what?

(I put in some because you make your response difficult to read
because you use crap softeware)

People decide on the mode of their commute by the perceived cost. * They
typically choose the lowest cost transportation mode.

The perceived cost has been found to = wage rate * waiting time *+ half wage
rate * travel time + dollar cost for the trip

A bike has a very high cost of time for most people. * They can not afford
the cost of time for a bike compared to the cost of driving.

Bikes and transit are far more expensive than cars for most people so they
don't use bikes or transit for their commute.

This is one of the results of Professor at UC Berkely who won a Nobel Prize
for determing how people make decision in real life including selecting
which commute mode they use.

Well, there's another factor to be determined by the polls...

HOW MANY STAY AWAY FROM CYCLING NOT TO GET HURT AND LOSE ALL THEY'VE
GOT?

I explain, here is not like in the UK or something where you are
covered by health insurance and you can afford, say, to have an
emergency operation and physical therapy. Then you lose your job, and
finally you fade away in a wheel chair.

By the way, you prefer the manual ones or the battery ones? Well, at
least it got wheels, right?

On Aug 29, 10:04*am, Jens Müller wrote:
Marz schrieb:

3, Bikes are a lot cheaper.

Does that include _good_ bikes? Are there even _good_ bikes for sales?

Oh yes, ALL bikes seem to be cheaper. For a while is seemed that for a
£1000 bike in the UK you'd be paying $1000 in the US, then the dollar
went pear shaped.

For example here's a full Ti frame with Dura Ace for probably less
than the groupset costs in the UK http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/..._teamti_09.htm

(I have no idea whether these bikes are any _good_)


4, There is no helmet law here in Texas ( for bicycles or
motorcycles)
5, You can ride on the road or on the pavement (oops sidewalk)

The sidewalk is not part of the road?

True, but is is a viable option for riding as opposed to illegal in
the UK.


6, Drivers are terrified of being sued into bankruptcy and will
usually pass by at least 4ft.

Downside: _if_ an accident happens, they don't have sufficent 3rd party
insurance, but this can be compensated by having a good insurance yourself.

Here in Texas, once your insurance runs out (all car insurance is very
limited), your home and personal wealth can be targeted to pay a
claim. And if there's any medical bills to cover it can get very
expensive very quickly. For example, 4 hours in ER for my daughter
produced a bill of $3500.

Also, I don't think 3rd party insurance exists for cyclists. Only some
coverage under Home Owners or Car insurance. (I''m still googling
this)


Negative points may be.
1, 8 out of 10 cars are pickups or SUVs and they don't just nudge you
they 'splat' you.
2, Kids can drive at 15.
3, Folks carry guns and so you don't want to go mouthing off to the
driver who just cut you up.

Yeah, but a car itself is a dangerous weapon on its own.

Very true, and hence why I'm weary of young drivers in massive SUVs.


4, Some neighbourhoods ban cyclists from the road (even though it's
technical against federal law to do so)

Who does that? City councils?

Local councils. There's a section of road I ride along, about six
miles, with two sections of about a mile where cycling is prohibited
on the street (they want you on the 3ft wide sidewalk). I usually
ignore the signs, but I have been stopped once by the police for doing
so. No ticket and just a warning.


I really like the German § 45 (9) StVO - traffic restrictions are only
allowed due to compelling reasons, and of course you can go to
administrative court ...

5, Oh and if people started cycling more in Houston, they may loose
their position as one of the fattest cities in the US.

While I do ride a lot, I don't commute because we don't have showers
at work and it's 95f outside in the sun!!!!!!

Well, _slow_ cycling might cause less sweating than other kinds of
getting from A to B.

I wish, it's also +90% humidity and I find just standing outside in my
garden I'm loosing about a pint an hour. It's not pretty. If you stand
in a sauna do you sweat? Well that's Houston from May to October.

On Aug 29, 11:16 am, ComandanteBanana
wrote:
On Aug 28, 9:38 pm, Daniel Barlow wrote:



ComandanteBanana writes:
It looks like a stupid question.

It's definitely an offtopic question. The "uk" in uk.rec.cycling is
for "United Kingdom" (as in "the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland"), not for the University of Kentucky.

You might have heard of our country in history lessons at school, if
not more recently. There probably aren't enough Americans living here
to make a statistically meaningful survey of whether they ride bike on
the road or sidewalk (or "pavement" as we like to call it)

Hope this helps. Be grateful if you could amend the newsgroups line
on further posts. Thanks.

-dan

All I need to know about the UK I know.

Funny, but I live in the US and would not dare to say that everything
I need to know about the US, I know. Each of us knows very little --
even about topics in which might be considered experts. So to say
that you know everything about a whole country -- one in which you do
not even live -- is astonishing. The wreaks of the most amazing
arrogance one could imagine. No wonder no one likes the US. (:-(

At least then I jokes about them, first of all it was obviously a joke
and secondly, it was a joke to show how un-enlightened I am. But your
response is ... well, incredible.

I hope that members of the various N.G.s that you have crossed posted
to think that all Americans are as arrogant and ignorant as you a
maybe just most of us.

That America beat you in a
war, and that now you are both the best allies around the world.

Does all this familiarity extends to cycling?

On Fri, 29 Aug 2008 08:24:17 -0700 (PDT), ComandanteBanana wrote:

On Aug 29, 12:00*am, "Jack May" wrote:
"ComandanteBanana" wrote in message

...

... Then the issue of what
peo ple ride bikes where starts
t o make sense.
.Why do 99% of Americans do NOT commute by bike? Are they
afraid of the
..road or what?

(I put in some because you make your response difficult to read
because you use crap softeware)

People decide on the mode of their commute by the perceived cost. * They
typically choose the lowest cost transportation mode.

The perceived cost has been found to = wage rate * waiting time *+ half wage
rate * travel time + dollar cost for the trip

A bike has a very high cost of time for most people. * They can not afford
the cost of time for a bike compared to the cost of driving.

Bikes and transit are far more expensive than cars for most people so they
don't use bikes or transit for their commute.

This is one of the results of Professor at UC Berkely who won a Nobel Prize
for determing how people make decision in real life including selecting
which commute mode they use.

Well, there's another factor to be determined by the polls...

HOW MANY STAY AWAY FROM CYCLING NOT TO GET HURT AND LOSE ALL THEY'VE
GOT?


How so?

As cycling is healthier by a factor of about 5 than life itself, based on
the risk of death per unit time, which it can be assumed tracks the risk of
getting "HURT AND LOSE ALL THEY'VE GOT" reasonably well, anyone who stays
away from cycling for that reason has no more congitive capacity than
TollJ.