White is not the only high-level cyclist to die in Colorado in recent years. In 2020, Clif Pro Team racer Ben Sonntag was killed by a driver while on a training ride outside Durango. That driver was sentenced to serve jail time in late 2021. In 2021, U.S. masters champion Gwen Inglis was killed by a driver outside Lakewood, Colorado.
I used to be the type of person who would be quite anal about “no cycling on sidewalks!”.
But after being a cyclist for the past year, I fully support cyclists using the sidewalk when the roads aren’t safe enough.
Those sidewalks often don’t have pedestrians on them anyway, since they are in very car-centric (or truck-centric!) areas.
Cyclists die much more often per km cycled on the sidewalk compared to the road.
Yes, it’s more dangerous to ride on sidewalks ordinarily.
But much safer to be on a sidewalk than, for example, an underpass with no shoulder and trailers flying by.
It’s the lesser of two evils.
It’s also a point you should probably underline every time you publicly advocate for riding on the sidewalk. People do it because it feels safer, even when it is actually more dangerous. It needs to be done situationally, not by default.
For sure, which is why I made it a point to say “I fully support cyclists using the sidewalk when the roads aren’t safe enough.”
I’d never consider using a sidewalk if it’s a stroad, since there are too many exit and entry points for cars to kill you at. In that case, roads are still the lesser of the two evils.
That’s an excellent and illustrative example. I think most people who are not confident cyclists and have not checked the scientific research would have taken your original comment as encouragement to use the sidewalk on stroads.
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