Question for Bicycle Riders Re: Roundabouts
 

How do you handle them, particularly where there are gates?

Three obvious ways jump out at me...
1) Use the visitor lane and wait for the gate to lift;
2) Use your card for the resident gate, not particularly the easiest option for a bike rider;
3) Just ride past the end of the gate without lifting the gate...there is typically plenty of space between the end of the gate and the posts.

What do you riders typically do? (And are there other options that I'm not thinking of?)

Also, it is understood that none of these options should ever interfere in any way with vehicular traffic. And there are plenty of threads talking about the streets vs MMP's for bicycles. I'd appreciate it if this thread could avoid that topic also...unless of course some of it is relevant to the question posed.

Thanks for your thoughts, opinions, and experiences. :)

I didn't even realize bicycles were allowed on the roundabouts. I thought they had to use the MMPs or cross at the pedestrian crosswalks.

Bicycles are considered vehicles under Florida law and have the same rights and obligations as motor vehicles.

I typically use #3 but when its busy i try to use #1..Either way i proceed with extreme caution and ride slowly.

Your right and just the other day.A cyclist wearing a shirt embroidered
with a saying

Same rights same rules share the road it's the law

Then he proceeded to ignore the red light make a right hand turn

Be careful with #3 or avoid it completely unless you are going out the exit gate. Where golf carts cross at the gates, it is often difficult if not impossible to see incoming traffic due to vegetation, gate keepers building, or entrance wall. Cart drivers have to look for the gates opening and closing to determine if it is safe to cross at some of the gates. If you come through at the end of the entrance gate, especially at high speed, and that entrance is one where golf cart drivers have difficulty seeing incoming traffic, the risk of an accident is high.
One gate that meets that situation is the one at Odell Circle and Morse going west off Morse. There are probably others.

Most but not all of the unmanned(unwomaned) gates allow enough space between the end of the gate pole and the curb to safely slide through. This works well if you are riding solo or small group of up to 4 riders. Group rides consisting usually of 8 to 10 riders activate the gate which will allow everybody through. Interestingly (to me anyway) I've asked my bike club safety officer (SLBC) to to ask TV authorities to see if there could be a gate pole length standard that would allow bikes to slide through all the gates (yet still control auto and cart traffic) but they were unwilling to do so.

Riding a bike on the roads (particularly the roundabouts) in The Villages is about as unfriendly as anything I've seen here. I try not to ride after 8am to avoid as many drivers as possible. There are plenty of bike haters here but mostly I just don't think people can see that well.

With that said, I try to use the gate(s) as a vehicle would for the same reasons noted by others. Golf cart drivers are mostly conditioned to watch for the gates opening so I feel it is somewhat safer for me and hopefully avoids an unpleasant gesture/expression from a surprised golf cart driver. The other challenge is that bikes are to follow the rules of the road as a vehicle and as such, should have Right of Way over golf carts at the gates coming into/out of roundabouts but that seems to be something a number of golf cart drivers don't understand.

This is also true of most gate crossings on Buena Vista between 466 and 466A. The golf carts can’t see the cars, but feel safe crossing if the gate is down. If you go around the gate you may get hit by a cart.

I don’t understand why anyone would use bicycle as transportation anywhere in TV. It is super dangerous in most places. The road system is not set up for it. My mom and aunt loved riding bicycles. They would get up at sunrise and bike around the nearest rec center for exercise and then home before traffic. That is about the only thing a bike was good for in TV. I am really considering whether to bring my bicycle to TV at all.

I understand that this is law but it does seem sort of ridiculous to me that a bicycle is considered a vehicle and a golf cart is not.

.....and like a majority of riders, they also consider themselves above the law, and ride acordingly, especialy when they are in packs.
....and don't get me started about the dingbats who ride those lay on your back things on wheels!

They ride in packs and own the roads and don’t know how to use roundabouts. Hit them and u r in the wrong

Then they should have to carry a photo bicycle license after passing a test, registration with plates, and carry liability insurance. I've never seen a cop with a bike rider pulled over for infractions and they happen all day long.

Regardless of what you say "should" be the case, bicycles are considered vehicles by Florida law, with the same rights and responsibilities as motor vehicles...as I said before. Just check for yourself.
And as we all know, automobile drivers never, ever violate the letter of the law even to the slightest degree. And on those rare occasions when they do, they get pulled over every single time! :D