Get on the bike path, motherf***er!
I was riding up to Minneapolis yesterday, a beautiful spring day. Preparing to turn on to Pilot Knob Road from Dodd Boulevard, a car came up from behind, and a 30-something man shouted out of the window of his Jeep, “get on the bike path!” Limited in my response time, I simply showed him the middle finger. That was followed by a “bike path, motherfucker!!!” and a witty “FUCK YOU” by me.
This great exchange of the minds made me realize the need to clarify why exactly I do not ride on the “bike path.” I quote it not just because the actual term is “shared-use path,” but my personal preference is to call it what it is: an asphalt sidewalk.
This is a pretty typical use of such an asphalt sidewalk. Along a higher-speed collector street in a suburban environment, it provides a space for pedestrians, joggers, rollerbladers, and — as this driver would have it — bicycles. The surface itself is actually better than a traditional concrete sidewalk for riding, because there are not expansion gaps every meter or so. However, asphalt is also a cheaper, less stable material that often develops cracks and humps; if not maintained, it can be worse than concrete. But these are not the reasons for not riding on them. These are:
1. It is dangerous to the biker
This seems counterintuitive, because after all, you have separation from cars going much faster than you. But the reality is, very few crashes happen from cars overtaking a bicycle from behind. Nearly every car-bike crash occurs at an intersection. The trouble with riding on a sidewalk at an intersection is that you end up to the right of a right-turning car, which is a very bad place to be. Often cars are turning off a 40-55 mph (65-90km/h) road onto a minor street, and they do not slow down adequately to see bike going straight. According to the Minnesota Dept. of Transportation, you’re 25x more likely to be in a crash on a sidewalk than on the road itself. Specifically because cars do not have to deal with you on the road, they are not aware of you when they turn right.
2. It is dangerous to other users of the sidewalk
Depending on the area, there can be much slower users who are not aware of you and are not prepared for adult bicycle speeds. Small children learning to ride a bike with training wheels, the elderly, joggers — these are all other users forced into this space. You would have to significantly slow your ride or put yourself and others at risk on the sidewalk.
3. It may force you to ride on the wrong side of the road
To save money, many roads — despite very high speeds — only have an asphalt sidewalk on one side; it would be even more dangerous to ride against traffic on a bike path, as drivers are even less likely to look to their left when turning right.
4. It can be damaging to a bicycle
Since the roads are designed to prioritize a smooth ride for the motorized vehicle, not the bicycle, an asphalt sidewalk generally goes down to street level to cross (as opposed to car going over a raised crosswalk at bike/ped level). This means, at every intersection (including strip mall/gas station/etc. entrances), a bike needs to cross a curb ramp, a gutter, and an asphalt edge — and then go up the other side. Put more simply: KERKLUNK. Again and again.
There are some situations where bike paths — true paths for bikes — are very useful. They can provide a shortcut that is not possible for motor vehicles. They can provide a scenic ride through the woods. But when they simply follow the street, as a sidewalk, they are a dangerous substitute for road riding.
So, as the Jeep driver would phrase it, get off the sidewalk, motherfucker!
