Bike riders on the sidewalks
 

I, myself ride a bike. It is only common courtesy when riding on the sidewalks with walkers to let them know when you are coming by yelling out "On your left". Don't just assume people can hear you coming because they don't. I cant believe more accidents don't happen. And then when you ask the riders to say something, they rudely respond back. If you don't want to be bothered with warning people, then ride on the side of the road where you really belong. I wish they had a rule that all bikers are not to be on the sidewalk before 10:00 a.m. When most people are walking their dogs or walking on the sidewalks. We need to all be considerate of one another. We are so lucky in the southern area of the villages to have sidewalks and the paths on the side of the road. There's no reason for us to feel like we are taking our life in our hands when we are walking on the sidewalks. Many people I know have stopped walking for this simple reason. It's wonderful to be able to start your day off without having to worry about getting hurt while you are just trying to get some exercise.

You’re talking about sidewalks and not multi-modal paths?

Multimodal paths. There are no sidewalks. I ride on the neighborhood streets. Just easier that way.

Down South bikes and walkers share some paths which carts are not allowed. I would prefer bikes be on the street cart lanes.

Solely my opinion yelling "on your left" maybe more harmful than helpful. We are a community of seniors. Hearing loss is prevalent with age. Walkers especially on the MMP's tend to hug the right side. Why - because they know a golf cart will be coming behind them where they can't see. They also recognize the sound of a golf cart instantaneously without having to look. Thus they know the situation and are not startled and less likely to jump. So when a cyclist yells the walker needs to deductive reason for multiple items rather than go into a trained response like move over to your right. 1 no forewarning like an engine sound. 2 The yell startles them and then the concentration goes into digesting what was said not necessarily run for cover. 3 Natural reaction when startled is to seek safety. The walker is already on the side of the MMP and a natural reaction maybe moving to center is safer than spraining an ankle on the edge of the blacktop and grass. Thus they went in the exact opposite direction the cyclist wanted them to go.

Solution - maybe ? Remember when we were kids the bikes had the bell you pushed with your thumb ? If most of our cyclists were equipped with this it could be a better situation than yelling. The walker gets used to what that sound means and now instinctively knows how to react. Like how your were trained what the good humor truck sound meant. Eliminates what did they say to interrupt also. Like knowing the sound of a golf cart.

MY Point - a bell VS. yelling could make for more of an instinctive VS. interpretive situation for the walker.

Attachment 89033

Or, being the idiot i can sometimes be, hears 'on your left' , then turns around to see who is yelling, then cant decide if that means the old left or the turned around left. By then the cyclist has just run into me lol.

How different people react when you pass them on a bike.
 

A 2020 video about it on you tube- which as a biker I have met all of these scenarios.

How different people react when you pass them on a bike. - YouTube

When I ride my bike I stay off of the walking paths as I fear that one of the dogs is going to jump in front of me and I'll run into it's leash and either hurt myself or the dog, neither of which I want to do. I use the MMP's or side streets. Sometimes I have to use the paths to get from one point to another and I have a bell which I do believe has never been heard by anyone when I used it. It's just more relaxing and safer to be on the MMP's or streets. Golf cars can go right around me just like they go around slower golf cars. That being said I would not ride a bike north of 466 unless it's on a side street.

Say what?
 

of course there are sidewalks and many of the 30mph streets only have a white line marking the auto from cart/bike and pedestrian path.

Now...per Florida state law bikes are allowed on sidewalks, but must yield to pedestrians and if a sidewalk is present the law states all pedestrians(includes runners)must use said sidewalk or will get a warning or fine.

I have seen motor scooters on the MMP and they expressly forbidden. Still see them though.

normal human voice 70db average
normal human scream 88db
normal bicycle bell 90-120db

They are not sidewalks. They are called walking paths. I’ve never heard anyone call them a sidewalk.

We don't ride our bikes north of Route 44. We ride a lot on he walking/biking paths in the Southern Area.

If we encounter walkers with a dog, we slow down a lot and the walkers always pull their dog closer to them. Then we can easily get past them.

The concrete paths along the side of the road for people to walk on are no longer called sidewalks?

I think references to sidewalks, walking paths, multi-modal paths, and golf cart lanes on roads are mixed and very unclear in this thread. I would hope the references people are making would be clarified before this thread takes a turn toward nastiness which can so easily happen due to such misunderstandings.

Wahhhhhhhhht? :):) You must be referring to the MMP's.

From dictionary.com:
side·walk

/ˈsīdˌwôk/
https://www.talkofthevillages.com/fo...c+Cjwvc3ZnPgo= Learn to pronounce

noun North American

noun: sidewalk; plural noun: sidewalks

a paved path for pedestrians at the side of a road.

Example:

/// duplicate

I am going to ride where I feel safe.

The bells are nice, though. I use them repeatedly. Women generally hear them males not so much.

I have two bells (ding, ding and Brriing, Brrring) a 12 volt motorcycle style horn and a stadium horn. Yes, the walkers get the bell but many are on their phone, listening to tunes or flat out oblivious.

I'll tell you I have had to use the horn and air horn for the carts repeatedly. There are some serious idiots out there. That's why I and others avoid the carts.

I guess that picture was taken in one of the old-fashioned villages north of Route 44.

There is no place like that in the new modern areas south of 44..

Yea, lots of antique stuff where we live on the other side of the tracks, I mean 44 over in the 4-30 year old areas. You guys must have moving walkways and no peddle required bike paths down there in the new world. :1rotfl:

Don't forget the hike and bike trails.

Remember that when you are riding your bike and you shout "on your left", that hearing aids are very prominently advertised in the Daily Sun and other publications earmarked toward Villagers. Assuming someone hears you is about as bad an idea as assuming a blinker means someone is turning. Be cautious out there.

This ^^^


If you want to ride your bike at breakneck speed (hell, I know I do!) then the hillsborough/buena vista/pinellas/moyer loop is a great place to ride fast with minimal stops.

Fenny Way->Warm Springs is a pretty decent loop too if you don't want to go up north.

A decent option to stay off of the road is Hogs Eye multimodal path->Waterlilly Bridge->Meggison multimodal path up to Brownwood. Of course you need to deal with maniac cart drivers but it's probably safer than the roads.


Joe

A lot of the single walkers that I see are listening to their airpod bluetooth devices.
They may not hear a command or bell.
:pray::pray:

MMP refers to Multiple Modes Paths which means bikes, walkers and carts are welcome on them. The bottom line is everyone needs to stay alert, be polite and drive, walk or ride defensively just as we learned in drivers education many years ago.

I believe that if a bicyclist runs over a pedestrian walking on a multi-modal path, the bicyclist will usually be found to be at fault if it goes to court. One nice thing about bicycles is that they have brakes and can slow down if necessary, or even stop for a few choice phrases.

Riding onto the grass for a few yards sometimes works, but be careful and use both hands. My youngest son is an expert cyclist who likes to ride centuries. One day, however, while riding across his college campus on a sidewalk, holding his laptop computer in one hand and the handlebars with the other, he swerved onto the grass to avoid a pedestrian. His bicycle’s front wheel caught in the crevice between the sidewalk and the grass, flipped him, and he landed abdomen first on the handlebars, rupturing his spleen. Only emergency surgery and removal of his spleen saved his life. That could be you!

Walkers are supposed to walk on the LEFT side of the paths, walking into traffic coming toward them, so they can see what’s coming at them and can step aside.

But they are all over the place and are rarely on the left facing traffic.

Many complain about cyclists riding on the road with cars and many complain about cyclists riding on the multi modal paths and now many complaining about cyclists riding on the sidewalks. This is ridiculous.

Nice Profile Pic my PB friend!!!!

Simple but excellent point. The problem should rarely be encountered on MMP's and sidewalks. No reason not to walk on the left on those. Giving this a little further thought the OP mentioned dog walkers. Most people are right handed and it likely be natural to hold the dog leash in the right hand. If you were doing this you might be inclined to walk on the right side such that the leash does not cross your body and be a trip hazard. In this case it is the dog walker that has put the cyclist in a bad situation.

Its illegal to ride bikes on any sidewalk.

It’s really getting old. People hate cyclists no matter where they ride. I had thought that the 30 MPH roads with the diamond lanes were places where we wouldn’t get yelled at, but I found out I was wrong a few days ago. I was leading a group of eight and came upon a lone rider who was doing about 1-2 MPH less than us, so we moved into the main lane and apparently took too long to pass. So, some lovely individual in a cart yelled at us for not being in the diamond lane as he passed us via the oncoming-traffic lane.

Everyone seems to hate us. I wonder if it’s because they are jealous that we are in much better shape and better looking than they are. 😃

But seriously, other countries have embraced cycling and cyclists are respected. I wish people in the good ole USA would get with the program and leave the hostile, aggressive attitudes at home.

I have a bell on our bikes and ding it at least 30 feet before I reach the walkers

In some places a bike rider can get a ticket for riding their bike on a sidewalk. Bike riders go with the traffic, walkers walk against traffic "easy peasy":ho:

Shouldn’t ride on sidewalks period.

Florida law says otherwise. In Florida, bicycles are allowed on the sidewalks. Easy google search to find references including Florida Statute 316.2065.

Bicycles and pedestrians
 

Shouldn’t bikes be riding on right with traffic and walkers on left facing traffic, so pedestrians would see incoming bikes or golf carts on multimodal paths.

Where I come from bikers unless small children are not supposed to be on sidewalks. Sidewalks are for walkers

Typical of all of these threads. Too many people think the world revolves around them.
That is everywhere including the villages.

I am surprised that two people I knew from business have bought places in the back woods. One in Vermont and another with 140 acres in North Carolina.

I expect there will be posts blaming bike riders, others blaming walkers and other golf carts and cars.

I could visit my friend in Vermont or the one in North Carolina. My back is too old for that.
I could take my mountain bike. I doubt they would be happy seeing me ride off leaving them to do work.

There are options.

Electric Bikes
 

The addition of electric bikes has further exasperated the problem. They absolutely should be prohibited from any walking paths. For some reason it is the men bikers who are the most aggressive and inconsiderate. In Feb. one called my wife a horrible name when he almost crashed into her. I was there and it came close to a physical confrontation. No one speaks to my wife that way.