Crazy people swearing at and driving RIGHT beside cyclists

[Saelune]

This might sound like a dumb question - but why the hell don't cyclists use the sidewalks?

Why do cars not just drive on the sidewalk too?

Because they are way too big, whereas a bike only takes up half of it, the same as a regular pedestrian.

Seriously, what is the purpose of that statement? Rebutting a legitimate question with an impossible scenario doesn't make for a sound argument.

I assume you know what sarcasm is.
I know you have been on the internet more than a day as I see you on here often. Its sarcasm to make a point.
But if you would prefer me to be blunt. I dont want bikes on the sidewalk where I walk.

 

[Belated]

What's "legally" right is not necessarily right. I don't care if you're "legally" a vehicle. From a practical standpoint, you're not. And you need to remember that cars can CRASH on the road. Which is why we don't need barely-protected people riding on pipe contraptions getting in our way and causing traffic issues.

Bicycles in the road slow down traffic, which is something commuters and other drivers don't always have time for. Not only that, but you bicyclists can sometimes be hard to predict. We don't know if you're suddenly going to pull out in front of us or cross where you shouldn't, and it scares us because WE always get blamed for crashing into you, even when it's not our fault.

Stay on the damn bike path. If you don't have a bike path, don't occupy the road. I don't care what rights the law says you have to the road. Maybe you SHOULDN'T have those rights because they only serve to inconvenience everybody else. If there are no decent bike paths to ride on, take it up with the town, but don't take it out on the drivers who are only trying to make it to their jobs on time without hitting some selfish bicyclist riding at 15 miles per hour in front of them on a 30 MPH road.

 

[PhunkyPhazon]

This might sound like a dumb question - but why the hell don't cyclists use the sidewalks?

Why do cars not just drive on the sidewalk too?

Because they are way too big, whereas a bike only takes up half of it, the same as a regular pedestrian.

Seriously, what is the purpose of that statement? Rebutting a legitimate question with an impossible scenario doesn't make for a sound argument.

I assume you know what sarcasm is.
I know you have been on the internet more than a day as I see you on here often. Its sarcasm to make a point.
But if you would prefer me to be blunt. I dont want bikes on the sidewalk where I walk.

Sorry, my sarcasm meter doesn't usually work well with the internet. And that last part of your post (The assumedely serious part) showed that you supported the biker, and you were responding to a statement that seemed to be anti-biker. And given the nature of this thread (Everyone seems to be firmly sticking to one side of the debate), that seemed to paint your sarcasm as a serious comment.

The internet confuses me. My apologies =P

 

[PhunkyPhazon]

This might sound like a dumb question - but why the hell don't cyclists use the sidewalks?

Why do cars not just drive on the sidewalk too?

Because they are way too big, whereas a bike only takes up half of it, the same as a regular pedestrian.

Seriously, what is the purpose of that statement? Rebutting a legitimate question with an impossible scenario doesn't make for a sound argument.

I assume you know what sarcasm is.
I know you have been on the internet more than a day as I see you on here often. Its sarcasm to make a point.
But if you would prefer me to be blunt. I dont want bikes on the sidewalk where I walk.

Weird, it looks like my post didn't go through. Very odd.

Anyways, my apologies. I've always had problems with detecting sarcasm online, and in the case of this thread...yeah, it's pretty much useless. There have been serious comments just as stupid as that already, if not stupider.

EDIT: Wow, that took a ridiculously long time to go through. (11 minutes, apparently) Sorry for the double post.

 

[MrStab]

Cars are quite expensive, especially in countries like Australia and sometimes people simply can't afford them but still have to go to work, school or university. There isn't a viable bus route, maybe they can't even afford it and they certainly can't afford twice a day cab fares and it's just too far to walk. What option is left? Biking, people who can ride them often have them and even new ones are a lot cheaper than cars. There are no bike lanes on their route or very few, they try the sidewalks but it's a bit too narrow, especially at the speed the pace they need to not be late and lots of people yell and swear at them and tell them to get on the road. On the road they have the room they need, their less liable to hurt someone and perfectly legal, but people are yelling, honking and swearing at them. At this point though, they've exhausted all of their options, they still need to get to work or get to class, so they'll just have to find some way to cope with it.

What cyclists probably really need most of all in these situations is some decency and empathy. I know the above description doesn't fit every cyclist's situation but I think it's more fair to give someone the benefit of the doubt rather than to assume they're just an asshole out to waste your time.

i'm a cyclist and i would advise you to travel on the freeway and use the shoulder as it is specifically for parked cars and bikes the only time i get abused is when fuckwits don't know the road rules themselves and when you mentioned that you don't travel in bike lanes and go on the road instead because cars in the bike lane might hit you when they open their doors, wat do you think is going to do you more damage that or being run over by a truck?

Where are you from MrStab? So far as I remember, it's illegal in America and Australia to ride a bike on the freeway, even on the shoulder.

Even if it's legal where you are from, it still doesn't sound like a good idea. What if someone's engine dies while they're in D? They can't get it started again and their breaks won't work and the freeway is busy, the only option they have is to pull into the shoulder and slowly and carefully use the handbrake to stop their car, if you're in the way and they can't stop or swerve back onto the road... Well that wouldn't be very nice.

I'm from Australia actually and if you go along the freeways (in Victoria) there are signs that say the shoulder is specifically for cars in emergencies and cyclists. The reason i reccomend the freeway over other roads is because personally i have found it a lot safer than on normal roads because everyone has more room so drivers don't generally get abusive unless you do something stupid or they are complete twats. Well if that happens i'm fucked but it sounds like a very unlikely situation don't you think?

 

[Saelune]

This might sound like a dumb question - but why the hell don't cyclists use the sidewalks?

Why do cars not just drive on the sidewalk too?

Because they are way too big, whereas a bike only takes up half of it, the same as a regular pedestrian.

Seriously, what is the purpose of that statement? Rebutting a legitimate question with an impossible scenario doesn't make for a sound argument.

I assume you know what sarcasm is.
I know you have been on the internet more than a day as I see you on here often. Its sarcasm to make a point.
But if you would prefer me to be blunt. I dont want bikes on the sidewalk where I walk.

Weird, it looks like my post didn't go through. Very odd.

Anyways, my apologies. I've always had problems with detecting sarcasm online, and in the case of this thread...yeah, it's pretty much useless. There have been serious comments just as stupid as that already, if not stupider.

EDIT: Wow, that took a ridiculously long time to go through. (11 minutes, apparently) Sorry for the double post.

I got a message saying you replied, but could not find it or I would have replied already.
You are not the first person to not realize I was beign sarcastic. I am on the side of the biker in this circumstance. I dont want bikers on the sidewalks, so its upsetting to hear of someone who is following what I would want being mistreated. Optimally, bikers would always have their own space. But I think the road is better for cyclist, since you never should be unaware on the road. But on the sidewalk, I like to imagine I wont be run over most of the time if I am lost in thought or something.

 

[PhunkyPhazon]

You are not the first person to not realize I was beign sarcastic. I am on the side of the biker in this circumstance. I dont want bikers on the sidewalks, so its upsetting to hear of someone who is following what I would want being mistreated. Optimally, bikers would always have their own space. But I think the road is better for cyclist, since you never should be unaware on the road. But on the sidewalk, I like to imagine I wont be run over most of the time if I am lost in thought or something.

Speaking from personal experience, I don't really mind bikers as a pedestrian. So long as you stay on one side of the sidewalk and leave the other half wide open, that's plenty of room for them to get by. And they're generally pretty good about warning any unsuspecting people when they approach.

Though come to think of it, despite all my rantings here there is one thing I haven't really conveyed well: I don't really mind bikers on the road if they stick to the side so there is room for cars to pass. I don't mind slowing down for a split second just to get around them, maybe a little annoyed since I usually see them literally right next to a perfectly wide sidewalk. But that's not a huge deal.

I just don't like this self-entitled attitude of some of the people here, the OP in particular. ("It is okay to bring traffic to a dangerously grinding halt because I don't want my clothes to get dirty.")

 

[Womplord]

I had to ride to school every day and car drivers really annoy me. I almost got ran over a lot of times because they think that the road belongs only to them. They are really pushy and aggressive and it makes it really dangerous to ride a bike. It wouldn't be so bad if they just calmed down a bit and stopped rushing so much. And riding on the sidewalk is really bad, you have to constantly go over gutters etc which is bad for the bike and can make you have accidents, and you can't see around corners for pedestrians (plus it's illegal). Bike riding is good for the environment, we deserve respect. Keep in mind, I ride to the far right as I can, but it's risky because you have to ride past parked cars, and people open their doors (its happened to me more than once). I've actually had quite a few crashes because I was trying to ride to far to the side of the road.

 

[manaman]

You probably are entitled to use of the road wherever you are. It's a fair assumption. However you are not in any place I know of entitled to hold up traffic. Move your ass out of the way and stop complaining.

\
I am in fact entitled to "hold up traffic," and today a car honked at me even though the car in the opposite lane was about to go past me. I ignored him.

You really should double check that, I have never been to a place (including in Canada) where it's legal for a person in any vehicle to hold up traffic, most highways even have signs on twisty and hilly roads where it's harder for larger vehicles to maintain the speed limit that notify people of that fact and that they need to pull to the side to allow faster vehicles to pass when possible.

I don't live where you do, so maybe where you are it's perfectly legal to develop some superiority complex about what you do and hold up others because of that. I mean if it's really just a mild inconvenience to you to move your bike out of the way so that traffic can maintain a reasonable pace and you're not doing so then you are simply being rude.

It's the equivalent of leaving your cart in the middle of a aisle when others are trying to move through the aisle and holding everyone up all so you can take your sweet time picking out what ice cream you want. You show no consideration for others, and act offended saying things like "I have as much right to it as they do" to your self to justify such actions. It's an immature and selfish world view you need to grow out of if you want to truly function in society.

I've already discussed why it is more than a minor inconvenience to use the poorly maintained side of the road, and I am not holding up traffic, they can pass me.

About those reasons I saw to this point:

It looks to me like you made this thread simply because you expected everyone to validate a notion you already have in your head. You where looking for sympathy for your "plight." You are going to do what you are going to do, don't expect everyone to pat you on the back for it and agree with you.

 

[manaman]

This might sound like a dumb question - but why the hell don't cyclists use the sidewalks?

Why do cars not just drive on the sidewalk too?

Because they are way too big, whereas a bike only takes up half of it, the same as a regular pedestrian.

Seriously, what is the purpose of that statement? Rebutting a legitimate question with an impossible scenario doesn't make for a sound argument.

I assume you know what sarcasm is.
I know you have been on the internet more than a day as I see you on here often. Its sarcasm to make a point.
But if you would prefer me to be blunt. I dont want bikes on the sidewalk where I walk.

Weird, it looks like my post didn't go through. Very odd.

Anyways, my apologies. I've always had problems with detecting sarcasm online, and in the case of this thread...yeah, it's pretty much useless. There have been serious comments just as stupid as that already, if not stupider.

EDIT: Wow, that took a ridiculously long time to go through. (11 minutes, apparently) Sorry for the double post.

I got a message saying you replied, but could not find it or I would have replied already.
You are not the first person to not realize I was beign sarcastic. I am on the side of the biker in this circumstance. I dont want bikers on the sidewalks, so its upsetting to hear of someone who is following what I would want being mistreated. Optimally, bikers would always have their own space. But I think the road is better for cyclist, since you never should be unaware on the road. But on the sidewalk, I like to imagine I wont be run over most of the time if I am lost in thought or something.

It's illegal to ride a bicycle to ride on the sidewalk in most places. They give a pass to kids, but an adult they might stop and ticket. You should ride as far to the right as possible so vehicles can overtake you, and if that's not possible you should pull over and allow faster vehicles to overtake you at the earliest possible safe place. People are annoyed by the OP's attitude because that person refuses to follow what is both a safe practice and the law in every place I have visited, and the only thing that person can come up with for a defense is that the side of the road is dusty. I have only seen a couple of comments that actually tell him to ride on the side walk (which is a dangerous practice itself).

 

[blind_dead_mcjones]

Brief period of time? Theres hills around here where its narrow and impossible to go around because of blind curves.

I got stuck behind this Lance Armstrong wannabe for a couple mins and started yelling at him to let me go by and he just flipped me off.

So i chucked a Wendys Frosty at him and BOOM HEADSHOT. He fell down. Luckily for him he was only going 2MPH anyways so he was fine. I drove on, laughed alot. and was home in a couple minutes ready to play some WoW.



The moral of this story is.


MOVE! or prepare to have random shit thrown at you.

the moral of the story is you are a reckless, dangerous idiot who shouldn't be allowed behind the wheel. People like you are, to put it simply, scum.
You are in a two ton metal box, if you hit a cyclist you will do them serious injury so pay some fucking attention to what you are doing, calm the fuck down, and drive safely.

But i didnt hit the rude bastard with my 2 ton truck so whats your point?

I hit the guy with a Wendys Frosty made from the softest serve silky smooth chocolate ice cream you could ever have smash into your head. And he was going a whole 2 MPH uphill at the time.

I think he will be ok. Plus in the future he may decide to get out of the way and let the people he is holding up go by. Which is the point. A VALUABLE lesson learned.

Everyone is a winner.

and what if said ice cream impared his vision and he rode in front of a truck? would he still be a winner then?

a much more satisfying alternative is that said cyclist, nay ALL cyclists, learn to not take any guff from arrogant swine behind the wheel by stopping their bikes, forcibly removing said arrogant swine from their vehicle and confronting them with physical menace.

 

[Yokai]

It happened to me once. I was traveling along a residential street and didn't notice there was a car coming up behind me. I slowed down at an intersection, promptly heard a screech of breaks and turned to see some guy making rageface and shouting "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING IDIOT"

To be fair, it was a narrow street and I was riding close to the center, so he couldn't safely pass me, but he shouldn't have been going much faster than I was and I guess he just expected to blast through the intersection and ignore the stop signs. Yeah, people who have it out for cyclists tend to be assholes.

 

[SNIPERFOX ft. Harry P.Ness]

One woman in a volkswagen beetle wrecked my new yamaha R1 by saying i was going too slow and needed go go on a bike lane.
I was going 30 KM/h off a roundabout into a main road where most cars go almost 70 KM/h.







she was texting while driving. now my bike is in a workshop, and i have to work at my friend's dad's takeaway to cough up some more cash.

Well, you deserved it, *sarcasm*

I must also inform you the yamaha R1 was under severe restoration & that i was testing a new chain & fuel pump. now i have to wait even more for the oarts to arrive & get the bike fixed. The rest of the parts that came with the wreck were rusted & the ike coud only do 60/kph. i might slap a turbo kit on it sooner after it comes out of the shop.

 

[bpm195]

It's generally illegal in urban areas to ride a bike on a side walk because it is unsafe for both pedestrians and cyclists. Bikes go faster than anything else you'd see on a sidewalk causing a considerable risk of collision at intersections and corners. Furthermore, drivers in motor vehicles are supposed to be licensed and know what they're doing and proper safety. For a motor vehicle and a bike to collide, somebody had to have actually broken a law; for a bike and a pedestrian to collide it could be that a person just took a step to the side at an unlucky time.

Drivers tend to forget that the speed limit is not the minimum speed, and a vehicle has a right to travel at a speed under the limit while you have no right to travel at a speed over the limit. Vehicles going slower than the rest of traffic are obligated to ride in the right lane, but (generally) have no obligation, hug the curb, use a bike lane, ride on the shoulder, or move further to the right than they choose.

If you're behind a vehicle going slower than you'd like to go, then you pass it safely. If you can't overtake safely then you don't. If you hit another vehicle while trying to overtake, barring some extraordinary act on their part it's unambiguously your fault. If overtaking safely requires you to use the opposing traffic lane then you either have to use the opposing lane or not overtake. It's not another vehicle's obligation to accommodate you.

In the 6 years that I've been riding my bike I've been hit by 3 cars and had several close calls, all while riding to the right of traffic. The first time was a driver in sparse traffic that made a right turn without looking or signaling. The second was a driver opening their door as a rode down the bike lane during rush hour. The third was a car pulling in to a bike/bus lane without signaling or looking. I've also had many occasions where I've had to come to sudden stops because of drivers that speed up to get ahead of me then turn without looking or signaling, as well as dealing with car doors and pedestrians walking into the street. At some point I entirely gave up on riding as far to the right as I could and I now feel substantially safer.

The problem with riding to the right is that you're not very visible. It's an unfortunately common occurrence that driver's don't look for a vehicle on their right when they're already in the right traffic lane. When I'm in the middle of the right lane I'm much more visible not only to vehicles behind me, but also to any pedestrians looking to enter the roadway; additionally I reduce the risk of being hit by a door and have room to move laterally if something pops up in front of me. If as a consequence of my actions you have to either slow down or pass me like you would a car, I'm fine with that. On single lane streets I will try to be accommodating to other vehicles, but on the more far more common two plus lane streets you either do my speed or you pass properly.

On a side note, I'm a fairly fast cyclist and can go over 30 mph. The speed limit in my city (Philadelphia) is either 35 or 25 depending on the street. More often than not there's either sparse traffic, or I'm about 2 car lengths behind a car. I'm seriously amazed at how often people will tell me to get off the road while I'm holding back to keep safe distance from a car in front of me; or how often I'll coast toward a red light then have a driver zip past me at 40 mph only to stop at the same light. I know driving under the influence is illegal, but some people really need a chill pill.

 

[IckleMissMayhem]

Firstly sir may I say you're talking out of your rear mouth:
http://ipayroadtax.com/
And secondly, I do pay road tax as a cyclist - as the forty five mile over the Pennines takes six and a half hours (I did this last week whilst on holiday) it makes cycling to work awkward. As I can't afford a new car I have to settle for a twelve year old motor which doesn't do so much miles to the gallon but meters to the rainforests it destroys as so much crap comes out the back of it so even it's only a 0.9 litre Micra I'm still sat towards the top of the emissions and probably pay more car tax then you so, to put it in the vernacular, shut your fucking face you retard.

I'm sorry... who's talking out of their rear mouth? I too have an old Micra, and Road Tax for a car that's over 10 years old firstly ISN'T based on emissions, it's done on the size of the engine, so for a 1L car (998cc, right?) is round about £68 for 6 months, or £125 for a year. http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/OwningAVehicle/HowToTaxYourVehicle/DG_10012524 - ooh, actually, it seems it's gone up since I taxed my micra last month! Hurrah for the new financial year(!!!) Micras are awesome little cars though, aren't they? :O)

Snippy snip snip

That's exactly it. People seem so much more civilised in Europe.

"Grass is always greener..." isn't it?! I'd say Europeans are every bit as rude as people on any other continent. Yes, some people are polite, but there's always more than enough arses trying to drag everyone else down to their level.

OP - if you move over and stop blocking the flow of traffic, maybe you wouldn't have to deal with other road users getting annoyed with you. Common sense would suggest that maybe, if you're a "vunerable road user" you'd maybe try and stay out of the way of cars/vans/HGVs, instead of insisting on your "rights" as you see them. After all, it takes two or more to have a collision, and it's highly likely you'll end up coming off worse, isn't it?

It happened to me once. I was traveling along a residential street and didn't notice there was a car coming up behind me. I slowed down at an intersection, promptly heard a screech of breaks and turned to see some guy making rageface and shouting "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING IDIOT"

To be fair, it was a narrow street and I was riding close to the center, so he couldn't safely pass me, but he shouldn't have been going much faster than I was and I guess he just expected to blast through the intersection and ignore the stop signs. Yeah, people who have it out for cyclists tend to be assholes.

Me, I'd say that anyone using the roads without paying attention to what they, and other road users around them're doing is an idiot. Idiot cyclists that seem to think their personal safety is everyone elses responsibility in your own words:

tend to be assholes.

 

[Vault Citizen]

You are not a car.

Get out of my way.

I say this every time, but they are getting in packs man.

Also, now I have rootbeer coming out of my nose because of this funny comment. Thanks.

Unless it is an emergency then I can't claim to be sympathetic when you are unable to go as fast as you might be able to for a brief period of time.

Brief period of time? Theres hills around here where its narrow and impossible to go around because of blind curves.

I got stuck behind this Lance Armstrong wannabe for a couple mins and started yelling at him to let me go by and he just flipped me off.

So i chucked a Wendys Frosty at him and BOOM HEADSHOT. He fell down. Luckily for him he was only going 2MPH anyways so he was fine. I drove on, laughed alot. and was home in a couple minutes ready to play some WoW.



The moral of this story is.


MOVE! or prepare to have random shit thrown at you.

You mean you were stuck for a couple of minutes?! I feel so bad for you.

Moral of the story is, patience won't kill you, so pipe down and wait for a damn moment.

So you would not feel bad for the cyclists if I were to get in front of them and slow down to a point that requires them to slow down?

If you were doing it on purpose to be a dick then yeah I'd feel bad for them, if it was unavoidable and had a genuine reason for needing to slow down then I would say you'd be in your rights to flip them off if they gave you lip.

 

[Sarge034]

You are not a car.

Get out of my way.

I say this every time, but they are getting in packs man.

Also, now I have rootbeer coming out of my nose because of this funny comment. Thanks.

Unless it is an emergency then I can't claim to be sympathetic when you are unable to go as fast as you might be able to for a brief period of time.

Brief period of time? Theres hills around here where its narrow and impossible to go around because of blind curves.

I got stuck behind this Lance Armstrong wannabe for a couple mins and started yelling at him to let me go by and he just flipped me off.

So i chucked a Wendys Frosty at him and BOOM HEADSHOT. He fell down. Luckily for him he was only going 2MPH anyways so he was fine. I drove on, laughed alot. and was home in a couple minutes ready to play some WoW.



The moral of this story is.


MOVE! or prepare to have random shit thrown at you.

You mean you were stuck for a couple of minutes?! I feel so bad for you.

Moral of the story is, patience won't kill you, so pipe down and wait for a damn moment.

So you would not feel bad for the cyclists if I were to get in front of them and slow down to a point that requires them to slow down?

If you were doing it on purpose to be a dick then yeah I'd feel bad for them, if it was unavoidable and had a genuine reason for needing to slow down then I would say you'd be in your rights to flip them off if they gave you lip.

Well that is the heart of the issue. Is a cyclist in the road unavoidable, and are they so far over in the road that a car can not safley pass them. So one could argue that they are indead doing it on purpose to be a dick and it is avoidable.

Also, reguardless of if I'm doing it to be a dick or not I seem to remember this pearl of wisdom from somewhere....

Moral of the story is, patience won't kill you, so pipe down and wait for a damn moment.

 

[plastic_window]

I wonder how many of you cyclists realise how much of a danger you are to other cars on the road. As soon as you show up, you have to immediately be considered a top priority - and on top of that, no cyclist ever seems to realise how annoying it is to drive a car and then be forced to slow down to a crawl.

I've also seen cyclists use the entire lane, which is completely unnecessary and completely reckless - but then some cyclists will obey the rules of the road when it pleases them to, and completely disregard others. Road laws are designed to keep as many people alive as possible, and having fragile cyclists on the road next to high-speed, incredibly heavy, metal objects isn't exactly the best idea on paper. When you have cyclists that don't look left or right, disobey red lights and just generally fuck around on roads that are not built for them, it causes frustration. I also cannot understand why cyclists feel they have the right to do this, because driving a bike on the road is more dangerous than driving anything else.

If there isn't a cycle lane, cycle on the pavement. If you get pulled by the cops, say that the roads clearly aren't designed for a bike - because, unless there's a cycle lane, they aren't.

 

[Belluavir]

Cars are quite expensive, especially in countries like Australia and sometimes people simply can't afford them but still have to go to work, school or university. There isn't a viable bus route, maybe they can't even afford it and they certainly can't afford twice a day cab fares and it's just too far to walk. What option is left? Biking, people who can ride them often have them and even new ones are a lot cheaper than cars. There are no bike lanes on their route or very few, they try the sidewalks but it's a bit too narrow, especially at the speed the pace they need to not be late and lots of people yell and swear at them and tell them to get on the road. On the road they have the room they need, their less liable to hurt someone and perfectly legal, but people are yelling, honking and swearing at them. At this point though, they've exhausted all of their options, they still need to get to work or get to class, so they'll just have to find some way to cope with it.

What cyclists probably really need most of all in these situations is some decency and empathy. I know the above description doesn't fit every cyclist's situation but I think it's more fair to give someone the benefit of the doubt rather than to assume they're just an asshole out to waste your time.

i'm a cyclist and i would advise you to travel on the freeway and use the shoulder as it is specifically for parked cars and bikes the only time i get abused is when fuckwits don't know the road rules themselves and when you mentioned that you don't travel in bike lanes and go on the road instead because cars in the bike lane might hit you when they open their doors, wat do you think is going to do you more damage that or being run over by a truck?

Where are you from MrStab? So far as I remember, it's illegal in America and Australia to ride a bike on the freeway, even on the shoulder.

Even if it's legal where you are from, it still doesn't sound like a good idea. What if someone's engine dies while they're in D? They can't get it started again and their breaks won't work and the freeway is busy, the only option they have is to pull into the shoulder and slowly and carefully use the handbrake to stop their car, if you're in the way and they can't stop or swerve back onto the road... Well that wouldn't be very nice.

I'm from Australia actually and if you go along the freeways (in Victoria) there are signs that say the shoulder is specifically for cars in emergencies and cyclists. The reason i reccomend the freeway over other roads is because personally i have found it a lot safer than on normal roads because everyone has more room so drivers don't generally get abusive unless you do something stupid or they are complete twats. Well if that happens i'm fucked but it sounds like a very unlikely situation don't you think?

Yeah it's pretty unlikely and not worth worrying about, thanks.