# Walking with a bicycle is ''suspicious''? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 5, 2012, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/walking-with-a-bicycle-is-suspicious/633725 "2012-09-05T08:40:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2012, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/walking-with-a-bicycle-is-suspicious/633725/21 "2012-09-05T17:42:05Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > This could almost be a thread in itself, but… > > How long did it take you to learn? > > Did you fall over much? > > Did you start with training wheels? I don’t mean to hijack the thread, but it took me a week or two of practicing every morning, early enough so nobody would see me, and I knew people wouldn look down on me for using training wheels, so I didn’t use them. ---
**Author:** ![Rich\_Mann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ce73a5/32.png) [@Rich\_Mann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rich_Mann)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2012, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/walking-with-a-bicycle-is-suspicious/633725/22 "2012-09-06T01:32:11Z")
> [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#): > > I was forced to learn by my dad, but I hated it so much I refused to do it again after I was pronounced proficient. I’ve probably forgotten it by now. Naw. It’s just like riding a bike. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2012, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/walking-with-a-bicycle-is-suspicious/633725/23 "2012-09-06T11:21:48Z")
> [@boomerwang](#): > > So, is there some stereotype I’m unfamiliar with, a ‘‘certain type’’ of person who does this? 😕 Yes, an out-of-shape person! An out-of-shape person will walk her bike up big hills, even though her husband repeatedly barks at her that merely shifting to a lower gear is all that should be necessary to conquer even the steepest hill. And he will say this while literally riding circles around her, as she tries desperately to keep her lungs from expelling themselves onto the pavement, which is lucky for him because otherwise, he’d be perilously close to having his bike shoved down his throat. So perhaps the police was: a) wanting to know if you needed a ride (e.g. you had a flat tire or broken chain); or b) recognizing, and trying to prevent, an impending homicide. ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2012, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/walking-with-a-bicycle-is-suspicious/633725/24 "2012-09-06T16:11:42Z")
> [@PunditLisa](#): > > Yes, an out-of-shape person! An out-of-shape person will walk her bike up big hills, even though her husband repeatedly barks at her that merely shifting to a lower gear is all that should be necessary to conquer even the steepest hill. And he will say this while literally riding circles around her, as she tries desperately to keep her lungs from expelling themselves onto the pavement, which is lucky for him because otherwise, he’d be perilously close to having his bike shoved down his throat. > > So perhaps the police was: a) wanting to know if you needed a ride (e.g. you had a flat tire or broken chain); or b) recognizing, and trying to prevent, an impending homicide. THIS !!! Absolutely… S O or not, if you have not been there, you have no clue… 4th flat of the day, out of patches, out of $$$, 8 miles to go, big town with no provisions for bikes in general, asshat drivers, ( police that would offer a ride? Shirley you jest. ) Push, carry, cuss, cry, too hot, too much up hill for any beast of burden, Plus old & out of condition = someone has to die … :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2012, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/walking-with-a-bicycle-is-suspicious/633725/25 "2012-09-06T16:22:17Z")
Not suspicious, but I’d stop to see if you need to borrow tools, pump, patch a tube, or repair a chain for you. **PunditLisa** Talk your hubby into getting a tandem. It has made a huge improvement in the domestic tranquility of Kevbabe and my joint cycling excursions. Even when I screw up and spill us (has only happened a couple of times) she is way less pissed that when she finally gets to the top of the hill where I am waiting on my half-bike. Beware the budget priced tandems though …reliable tandems (especially for larger folk) are not cheap. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2012, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/walking-with-a-bicycle-is-suspicious/633725/26 "2012-09-06T18:13:09Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Would you make room to let someone walking faster than you get past? A rider on a bike is no wider than that, and considerably less wider than while pushing the bike from beside it? Would someone passing you while walking their bike be an SOB? What is it, the space they take up, the inconvenience of moving to the side, or just the fact that they are violating the law, that pisses you off? Of course I will make way for a faster walker. The problem with bike riders is that they act as if they own the sidewalk, when they are unwanted interlopers. They come up behind you and, in a very peremptory tone, order you to make way. Just to show you that I am not unalterably opposed to bikes, I might mention that I think if absurd to insist that they stop at every stop sign (which come here every 50 feet on many streets around here), so long as they will yield to pedestrians. I also don’t think that they or pedestrians ought to wait uselessly at red lights when there is no traffic. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2012, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/walking-with-a-bicycle-is-suspicious/633725/27 "2012-09-08T17:25:48Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > No but if someone actually bothered to report their stolen bike, and it matched the date and time of the stop, then the info on the id could be useful. > > Also, if someone was a bike thief, then they may have a criminal record or outstanding warrants. Why should the cops get to run random people for warrants? Walking a bike isn’t sufficient for a stop. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/walking-with-a-bicycle-is-suspicious/633725.md?page=1)