When I lived in Athens, I didn't know a single cyclist who hadn't been hit or doored at least once. At least it isn't rush season on Milledge...

Give em stick, Jodi.

And remind them that they are a dying breed.

You, on the other hand, are the future.

People seem to barely be able to pay attention to other CARS on the road.. let alone bicyclists and joggers.

As another bike commuter I feel your pain. I had a 6 year old kid, a the passenger of an SUV, tell me to get out of the road once. Where did she learn that?

Philly is one of the best biking cities in the US, too. We have lanes and everything. (The lanes are great for cars to double park in.)

Here at least, it's illegal to bike on the sidewalk if you are over kiddo age. I bet it is there too.

Dude. Why aren't you wearing a helmet?

Helmets are good but I hear you on the rest. And over here is still really bike friendly in comparison to what you have to cope with. Keep riding, just don't rile them too much - killing with an SUV is not a big offence.

Helmets are definitly good. Simon was hit this year by old lady who just kept going, and the other day I saw a guy jump out of his SUV in middle of the road to pick a fight with a cyclist. Keep alert and get a helmet :) I have a new bmx style old school one that is pretty hot.

Not to mention that it's actually *more* dangerous for bikes to ride on the sidewalk, because when you cross at the cross streets you're coming at a speed that turning cars don't expect from pedestrians. Bikes are vehicles and ABSOLUTELY belong in the road. Take that lane and own it, Jodi!

i second the others:
in massachusetts it's illegal for me to bike on the sidewalks... it might be in georgia too..

it might not make it easier, but it might give you a little more ammunition to go back on them with.

and not that you know me (i'm deluking for a minute, as a fellow biker, and former bike commuter), but i also second the helmeting. yes it is your choice, but i've also had two friends with life-threatening (read: ICU for very long time) injuries due to car/bike accidents.
yes your choice. no soapboxing here(guffaw)! please excuse me! :)

Mmmmm...Krystal....

Oooo, you should come to my town and give a lecture to all the bicyclists who insist on riding on the sidewalk and breaking several laws of the road in general. Something about bicyclists in NorCal seems to make them think they can ride on the sidewalk, in the crosswalks, without lights at night, running stop signs/lights. I've stopped counting the number of times I've had bikes come flying through stop signs in front of me in my neighborhood.

I feel your pain. I commute to work on a bike (when the weather is good) AND I was hit by a car last Friday (I was walking in the crosswalk with the light.) Drivers are scary. Drivers will hit you and hardly even notice. I was lucky. The woman who hit me wasn't going very fast and I essentially walked away from the accident. I recommend making eye contact with drivers when possible.

I am afraid to ride my bike to work! The road is sooo busy and people drive much faster than they are supposed to....As an aside, I knew someone who also rode his bike around. A car came within millimeters of hitting him. So he took his foot off the pedal and gave the car a big thump with his foot on the side panel! The driver looked over and was like "what???"!!

Ah. Good times.

The drivers here are lucky that I've been wearing mittens this last week. They can't see me flipping them off all the time.

Dude. Take the lane when you need to do it to be safe. Assholes in cars will try to run over you otherwise. And be careful out there.

The woman who was talking to you about hit-and-run doesn't know that crap is ILLEGAL? Jeezopete.

Okay, that just scares me...
I've been biking to work since I started about 3 weeks ago and I'm not very comfortable riding on the road, but you're right and they don't want people riding bikes on the sidewalks.
I will dig out my helmet. It's not like my hair can get any flatter , but better it than me!
This is St.T, town of cars and idiots...