I went riding this weekend. It was really a "first time" ride that exceeded 1 mile. Before I rode, I had been dreaming about riding my bike down this new "bike trail" they put in that runs next to one of our major freeways. It attaches my community to the beach! It's about a 5 or so mile path along a new highway that made commuting 100X easier for those who worked closing to the coast & for those who wanted to hit the beach. So I did-- I took off, and got all the way there, and then turned around to see a fat sign that said, "NO MOTOR VEHICLES OR MOTORIZED BICYCLES"
At this point I had no choice but to ignore it and ride back. I'm a little frustrated though. This new path is a PERFECT way for me to get to the beach and back without taking extremely dangerous, and out of the way busy backroads. It's paved, and nice and wide, and even has "lanes". I rode on a Sunday afternoon and must have passed a total of 3-4 bikers in an hour. I wasn't causing any problems, and you CAN'T complain about the noise because I couldn't even hear my bike over the freeway noise!
Legally, in San Diego, CA (here)-- you can't even ride without applying for a license. It's easy, but it seems silly. I haven't put the plate on my bike-- first of all, it looks dumb, and I don't want to spend money buying a mount for it.
So far, having a motored bike has been fun, but a lot of the real "commute" opportunities have been taken away from me. The trail I most looked forward to riding isn't even legal for me to ride on, I need a special license, and the streets are so busy, I'm afraid of getting hit.
California is all about "being green"-- shouldn't they support a vehicle that gets 150 MPG??
At this point I had no choice but to ignore it and ride back. I'm a little frustrated though. This new path is a PERFECT way for me to get to the beach and back without taking extremely dangerous, and out of the way busy backroads. It's paved, and nice and wide, and even has "lanes". I rode on a Sunday afternoon and must have passed a total of 3-4 bikers in an hour. I wasn't causing any problems, and you CAN'T complain about the noise because I couldn't even hear my bike over the freeway noise!
Legally, in San Diego, CA (here)-- you can't even ride without applying for a license. It's easy, but it seems silly. I haven't put the plate on my bike-- first of all, it looks dumb, and I don't want to spend money buying a mount for it.
So far, having a motored bike has been fun, but a lot of the real "commute" opportunities have been taken away from me. The trail I most looked forward to riding isn't even legal for me to ride on, I need a special license, and the streets are so busy, I'm afraid of getting hit.
California is all about "being green"-- shouldn't they support a vehicle that gets 150 MPG??