[Rich42]

From my observations, one rule of the road for bikers is that they are NOT allowed to obey stop signs!

[jswirs]

Originally Posted by carlr28

New to the villages....are the golf cart roadways shared with bike riders? If so what are the rules of the road....if not what is the best and safest way to bike ride?

I have been a semi serious to serious biker for many years up north, and all I can say, my friend, is be very careful biking down here in TV. There are LOTS of folks on medication, sight and hearing impaired, etc., including many drivers who have not driven in decades, until their spouse has passed. You NEED a bright headlight as well as a bright taillight.
I was almost killed by a driver who did not see me, she seemed to be on some sort of meds., or maybe drunk, I don't know. There seems to be some drivers down here that do not like bikers.
Ride defensibly, and BE CAREFUL!

[b0bd0herty]

Originally Posted by carlr28

New to the villages....are the golf cart roadways shared with bike riders? If so what are the rules of the road....if not what is the best and safest way to bike ride?

Here is the link:
Multi-Modal Path Information and Safety

[tsmall22204]

Welcome to the Villages, where bicyclists run stop signs, pull out in front of you, and ride down the middle of the lane. They do however complain that drivers must comply with the rules of the road because they dont.

[La lamy]

Originally Posted by Rich42

From my observations, one rule of the road for bikers is that they are NOT allowed to obey stop signs!

It seems that observation applies to golf carts and cars too!

[Windguy]

Originally Posted by Rich42

From my observations, one rule of the road for bikers is that they are NOT allowed to obey stop signs!

I guarantee you that motorists come to a complete stop no more than cyclists. Beware of what you ask for. Would you really like to be behind a group of 20 cyclists who each stop in turn at a stop sign?

[carlr28]

Thanks for responding to my original post...but i am still confused...what is the policy when riding on the street and you are competing with the the golf carts on the golf cart part of the roadway....do they go around the bike rider? Since the golf carts go faster than most bikers what happens when a golf cart comes up behind a biker on the roadway

[VApeople]

Originally Posted by carlr28

Thanks for responding to my original post...but i am still confused...what is the policy when riding on the street and you are competing with the the golf carts on the golf cart part of the roadway....do they go around the bike rider? Since the golf carts go faster than most bikers what happens when a golf cart comes up behind a biker on the roadway

I don't know the answers to your questions. We only rode once on a multi-modal path and did not enjoy the experience.

I suggest you take your bike out, ride on a multi-modal path if you have the courage, and find out for yourself.

In the meantime, today we are putting our bikes on our carrier, driving to St. Catherine, and riding to our hearts content like we did last Sunday. Hopefully we will see some armadillos.

[DAVES]

Originally Posted by carlr28

New to the villages....are the golf cart roadways shared with bike riders? If so what are the rules of the road....if not what is the best and safest way to bike ride?

I drive a car, drive a golf cart AND RIDE A BIKE. The rules of the road? Truth, read the posts actually nicer than I was expecting. Rules of the road assumes two things that people know what they are, which is a reach. Perhaps more important and more of a reach, that they know the rules and will follow the rules.

[Windguy]

Originally Posted by vintageogauge

I prefer to ride through neighborhood streets, much less traffic and more relaxing than looking over your shoulder constantly.

I was riding on a neighborhood street recently when a driver coming towards me turned left towards her driveway right in front of me. She saw me at the last second and stopped, leaving me just a few feet to squeeze by. I couldn’t come to a complete stop without going over my handlebars, so I was lucky she finally saw me. I had a bright blinking headlight and very colorful clothes, so there was no excuse for her not seeing me.

The safest places to ride are the dedicated trails like the rails-to-trails paths. There are no safe places to ride in TV. There are a LOT of cyclist haters here too and they can be very aggressive. The motorists hate us on THEIR roads like Morse and BV. The cart riders and walkers hate us on THEIR MMPs. I’ve had more close calls on the MMPs than I have had on the roads. Even the diamond lanes aren’t safe. One of our club members was run over in a diamond lane.

For those who think cyclists are stupid or foolish for riding on Morse and BV, who do you think has a better idea of what is safe? Someone who rides almost every day or someone who rarely or never does?

[Windguy]

Originally Posted by carlr28

Thanks for responding to my original post...but i am still confused...what is the policy when riding on the street and you are competing with the the golf carts on the golf cart part of the roadway....do they go around the bike rider? Since the golf carts go faster than most bikers what happens when a golf cart comes up behind a biker on the roadway

It’s just like riding in a car. If you approach someone slower than you in the diamond lane, you pull into the car lane when it is safe to do so and pass. That applies to carts passing slower carts or cyclists and cyclists passing slower cyclists or even carts. I occasionally pass carts on my bike when I have a tail wind and/or a downward slope to assist me.

[daca55]

Originally Posted by SIRE1

What are typically referred to as "Cart Paths" are actually "Multi-Modal Paths". And by that, it means those paved paths through The Villages are there for the use of most everything except cars (although you occasionally see one on the path as well). Therefore the paths are to be shared by walkers, joggers, bike riders, roller bladers, AND golf carts. And for the most part, the rules of the road on the Multi-Modal paths are the same as on the streets and roads. That means typically other than walkers who should walk facing traffic, the direction of travel is on the right side of the path. And the other rule of thumb, like on the streets and roads, is don't run over someone. Since the carts travel a lot faster than most of these other travel methods, there is some danger but that is true on the streets and roads as well. So, to answer your question, YES the "golf cart roadways ARE shared with bike riders" That is why a lot of serious bike riders choose to ride on the streets, including Morse Blvd and Buena Vista Blvd. They trust car drivers a lot more than they trust golf cart drivers.

A few weeks ago I saw two kids skate boarding on the multimodal paths. Is that legal on those paths? They whizzed by me and scared the you know what out of me.

[DaleDivine]

Originally Posted by Windguy

I guarantee you that motorists come to a complete stop no more than cyclists. Beware of what you ask for. Would you really like to be behind a group of 20 cyclists who each stop in turn at a stop sign?

AGREE..

[Pamelah]

It is imperative all cyclists have a mirror to see what or who is approaching from the rear. Many times I’ve been made aware of poor drivers approaching

[Scorpyo]

Originally Posted by brianherlihy

i was driving my golf cart to brown wood to day and stop to go over the street and a bike did not want to stop and hit the back of our cart

Morgan and Moran