Out for a bike ride around Lake Merritt on a beautiful day in Oakland today, I *very* slowly approached a group of three elderly women walking toward me on the shared mixed-use path section, so they could safely pass while I waited for space.

(Yes, there are separated bike lanes, but they just abruptly end and route you back onto the shared path: oaklandca.gov/Government/Oakla…)

One of the women complained to me "why do we have all these bike lanes if you ride here anyway?"

So... I circled back and politely explained to her that the bike lane ended back behind us, and that I encourage her to vote for more bike lanes so I can stay out of her way.

Her friend was visibly amused, and another passerby stopped to affirm I was in the right, and literally fist-bumped me, so I'm delighted to have done my small part for cycling advocacy today

---

Without a *connected* network of *protected* bike lanes, most people simply won't ride bikes! You wouldn't drive a car without a connected network of streets either!

Always remember #CarDependency has us fighting each other over table scraps. It's a simple (and *solved*) geometry problem.

#CarFree #Urbanism #PublicTransit #WalkableCities #Cycling #BikeTooter