Huckleberry said:
1. This is actually a concern of mine. I like the idea of using a bike for transportation, but I'm not sure how to ride one safely on the roads. I've asked a few people and they tell me it's the same rules as riding a car. I find this hard to believe. I don't see bikes on the highway. Sometimes there are bike lanes and other times there aren't. Is it ever legal to ride on the sidewalk? Are there some kind of biking laws or is it just etiquette?
It is rarely legal to ride a bike on the sidewalk. Some cities allow it, but most don't. Even if it is legal, though, it's terribly, terribly dangerous. People do not expect vehicles to be going 15-20 mph on the sidewalk. When people pull out of driveways, they don't look up and down the sidewalk. You will almost certainly get into some kind of accident if you ride on the sidewalk, unless you're basically riding at a walking pace.
Bicycles generally have the same laws as any other vehicle, at least in regards to signalling, stop signs and lights, etc. The only additional rule (in most municipalities) is that bicycles must be ridden as far to the right as practical. Please note that this
does not mean you must or should ride your bike in the gutter, or on the edge of the pavement, or anything else. Give yourself a good foot of pavement to the right. Bike lanes take precendence over shoulders,
if the bike lanes are well-designed. (Sometimes they're terrible and I just don't use them.) If the road does not have a good shoulder, ride right out in the middle of the lane, right where a car would.
You will notice that people will pass you with much more care (and much more passing distance) when you ride in a relatively prominent position on the roadway, not barely on the edge of the pavement. You will also get more respect if your speed, lange changes, signals, and overall bike handling appear skillful. (This is perhaps the worst catch-22 in existence: motorists give little respect to people who appear to not know what they're doing, even though those people need respect the most.) I find that I can give many hand signals to motorists (pointing to the pavement when I want to change lanes, holding up a flat palm when I need them to wait for a second, etc.) and at least 50% of them respond to my directions immediately.
Never weave in and out of parked cars. Keep a steady, predictable line and speed, and let cars negotiate passing, without trying to "help" them by dodging in and out.
You will find that riding a bike in traffic is a terrifying experience at first, but gradually becomes pretty easy -- just like learning to drive a car on a freeway. It takes time, and practice.
2. Shopping for anything could be a pain. I usually stop at the supermarket on the way home from work and get what I need and just throw it in my car. This would not be possible on a bike.
Unless you get a rack, or panniers, or a messenger bag. You'd be surprised how much you can carry.
I'm also worried about keeping my bike safe while I'm in the store. I've never noticed if there are places to lock up a bike at most stores in the Portland area.
Most city codes require some form of bike parking in front of many businesses. Look around a bit. In the worst case, you can usually find columns or other features to lock a bike to. In some cases, stores will even allow you to leave the bike inside the building while you're shopping.
I can't really help you solve this problem directly, because I don't know exactly what the situation is where you shop.
Another mildly crazy idea is to simply rent a car for a day every couple of weeks and do all your shopping in a couple of large trips. Many cities have some kind of car-sharing system (ZipCar, etc.) where you can easily rent a car for a few hours to do your shopping.
3. Getting to places out of town would be difficult. I don't go out of town very often, but there are times where I might want to visit a place that I can't reasonably ride a bike to. I'm not very familiar with the public transportation system here in Portland. I might want to go to Multnomah falls or MT. Hood or the Wilson River to go fishing and camping. I can only rely on friends so much for these things. They have their own busy lives and I wouldn't want to impose on them for a ride if they didn't want to go to these places. I've enjoyed the ease of travel that my car has provided for a long time now.
You would rent a car for out-of-town trips, unless you know of some other convenient method, like train or bus. You can rent a car every single weekend for less out-of-pocket expense than owning one full-time. Get AAA or some other discount program to make rentals even cheaper.
I looked at a few online sites for biking groups in the area and they all seem way too professional for my tastes. I didn't see any that were for beginners. A friend mentioned that the bike shops might have some recommendations for beginner bikers. Hopefully I'll get around to asking them this weekend. Anyone here have any ideas on this?
You might want to go to bikeforums.com and ask people in your area what they do to get around. I bet you could find some local people who have solved all your problems for themselves, and can give you very good advice.
Man, when I was younger I would go anywhere and everywhere on my bike. I don't understand why this seems like such a task now.
It seems like a task for one simple reason: you have become a part of car culture, and now find it frightening to think of doing things any other way. People instinctively fear change. It's only scary for a while, though, I promise. It took me about a month to really become confident. After that, it quickly becomes liberating.
- Warren
