Rodney

Where do you live? Could it be, just possibly, that the rules in your state are different than the rules in others? As far as walking the bike across the road in a cross walk, I don't know if that is law or not. But that is the safest course on a street with extremely heavy traffic at a crossing with no stoplight, _if_ you haven't gotten your bike into position in the traffic flow (along with all the other cars) to make a left turn. Certainly, making a left turn directly from the bike lane across traffic is a good way to get a big article in tomorrow's paper with a headline beginning "Cyclist killed..."

I am a bicyclist and a motorist. I know what's going on out there. I know that it's tough for bicyclists. I also know that some bicyclists make a whole lot of their own trouble, sorry. Don't even get me started on Critical Mass.

And finally, the ultimate bicyclist slap-in-the-face to bike fanatics: some roads are just too dangerous to take your bike on, even if it's theoretically legal: no shoulder, heavy traffic, etc. I don't care what your legal rights are and how cars are oppressing you: if you go out on one of those killer streets, you're asking for it. ou're letting your sense of entitlement get in the way of your common sense. If you don't like it the way it is, lobby the city. And I don't know what it is about so many bicyclists -- too much testosterone, too much impatience, maybe you're as bad as the motorists you hate -- but stupid things are done on the road. And bicycle advocates never condemn the bad bike riders. You want some respect as a group, lobby to clean up the messes other bicyclists make. Then you'll have some more cred with the rest of is.