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| BEST |
Ever since I began biking just over two years ago, I have frequently become disgruntled over the lack of bike lanes and/or bike paths. Our passion for cycling often becomes blighted because of all the injuries and deaths resulting from the integration of bicycles and automobiles. Our local governments can put up all the “Share the Road” signs they want. The sad fact is; bikes and motorcars don’t mix well.
In my perfect world, every major road would have a separate path just for pedestrians and bicycles, as pictured on the left. And I’m not talking about a white line painted on the side of the road signifying a bike lane. I’m talking about an asphalt pathway that parallels the roadway with an attractive barrier separating the two.
But when I look at this biking thing as a whole, both road biking and fat tire biking, the USA does have specified paths. They are called “sidewalks.”
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| BETTER |
I live in a three-county, frustratingly overpopulated section of the State of Florida. This area is called “Southeast Florida.” We have approximately six million people living in the three-county area. That’s a lot of people. We house slightly more citizens in our three-county area than does the entire country of Denmark, a country that promotes cycling over driving. Copenhagen, from what I understand, is world famous for its biking culture and now officially the first Bike City in the World.
Getting back to our sidewalks; if I wanted to, I could cycle from one end of our large three-county area to the other and seldom have my bike wheels touch a roadway. Granted, I wouldn’t be able to pedal at the speed of our road bikes, but I doubt the cyclists in Denmark do either. If that’s not the case, I stand to be corrected.
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| GOOD |
This morning was a perfect example of our cycling (or walking) infrastructure. For 20 straight miles, the only time I was forced onto a road was when I drove from one sidewalk to the other through intersections. Because of our traffic signals and cross walks (or cross rides), not once did I feel threatened by motor vehicles. And in checking with the State of Florida regarding our sidewalk laws, it is legal to ride your bike on sidewalks unless a certain municipality’s law overrides the state law. Rarely is that the case!
While safely riding on our sidewalks, about the best I can expect as far as overall pace is around 9 to 10 mph. Today’s pace was 8.7 mph only because I chose to go slower than normal.
So if we Americans would be content with slowing it down, which is something that I continually promote, we can rightfully advertise that we are indeed one of the top cycling countries in the world.
Note: I took all three pictures today during this morning's 20-mile bike ride.
Note: I took all three pictures today during this morning's 20-mile bike ride.
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