Where to rent

[Suzanne]

Wow... lots of questions. I'll do my best to answer them to the best of my ability.
I think it is probably a fluke that you only saw 10 people while you were out riding, which may have to do with the roads and areas you were at. I'd say most people avoid the major roads (like Broadway) for other less busy streets. You'll also find a lot more cyclists near the UA and 4th Ave. area.
That being said, I think the ridership may not be as high as other places given the infrastructure we have.
I understand what you are saying about having drivers on both sides of you can be a little strange, but I think the idea behind them is to eliminate right-hook accidents. Because the driver who wants to turn right has already merged to the right of the rider, you don't have to worry about them tuning right into you.
I don't own any mountain bikes actually, but I think more people are starting to look at the dutch bikes, but I think that is a trend everywhere.
I THINK all new construction is required to have bike facilities when they are building something. Usually there are bike racks, but sometimes they aren't right out front, For example, the Borders on Broadway has bike racks, but they are on the side of the store. Sometimes you have to hunt, but usually they are there.
I am glad you enjoyed your time in Tucson. Are you still here or have you left already?

I will have a few more opportunities during the course of the next 10 days to go again to Tucson and plan to bike all over town. lol
I'll make sure to bike in the UA area, and downtown. Today, I am driving a friend to an appointement at the VA Hospital, and that is yet in another part of town. Bike and bike map are on board!
I am so impressed by such a network of bike paths and lanes, you guys are spoiled! ;-)
And spoiled by such bike friendly weather most of the year. Although I immagine that scorching heat is not so bike friendly.
I will be on the lookout for those hiding bike racks. ;-)  Thank you very much for the tip. It is great to hear that city has actually made it a requirement for new buildings to have bike facilities. That is something Montreal can certainly learn from Tucson.
As for the lane in between the right lane and the next one, I do understand the concept (not finding ourselves in the path of the cars turning right), but my question was more about the riders. How do people feel about that set up ? Do people feel safe, safer, to ride in that lane ? Are people using those lanes/streets, or rather avoid them ?  We have so many issues to fix in the Montreal bike path network, that learning from rides in other cities is precious.
I was also wondering about some bike lanes that are to the left of a row of parked cars (as opposed to being between sidewalk and parked cars). Doesn't that increase the risk of riding right into a driver's opening their door to get out ?
Don't get me wrong, I was overall extremely impressed by the way things are in Tucson. But I felt comfortable coming in here to ask those questions,knowing I was in a forum of people advocating bicycling in Tucson.

Our main battle this winter has been to keep pressure on the city to clear the snow on the 'white network' (a very limited portion of our bike lane network that is supose to be accessible year round, even in winter). And in January, there has been a 'shovel-in' (as in 'sit in') to protest the fact that authorities are not clearing the only major bridge between south shore and the island of Montreal (Montreal being on an island) where riders could cross to commute year round. Different latitudes, different battles. It is fascinating to travel to other cities and see the things that are done, and learn from that.

Thanks for your replies.

[Coghauler]

I think feedback from people outside the area is most helpful!
The weather is the most shocking element to visitors from elsewhere....it's
like it was designed for cycling. The summer is hot, but dry, and as long as
you stay hydrated, you're ok.    It's only hot when you stop.
The city has just started addressing the bike parking in shopping areas.
Most places meet the numbers required, but bunch the racks all in one
area. The city is creating options to encourage a more practical dispersion
of bike parking.
I've only seen pictures of places where bikes ride between the parked cars and
sidewalk. That would seem strange to me. I think our emphasis here is toward
mixing the two in traffic lanes (except on the most major streets). We are starting
to implement 'sharrows' that indicate bikes to take the lane as necessary. The idea
being to increase awareness of bikes as traffic (which we've always been) and
legitimize our presence on the road.
Another major effort is to connect our recreational paths into a most useful system.
It's a long process.

[Scott]

I'm one of those that avoids the main thoroughfares for the residential streets - with a little planning there's no reason to put up with that kind of aggravation for most trips in this town. (Aggravation that includes the bike lanes to the left of the right turn lanes - I've still seen people almost right-hooked by cars changing lanes through the bike lane to turn right without looking for bicycles.)  The rectilinear grid that makes up this town is like the internet, if there's a problem with your current path just reroute to a better one on the fly and you'll still get there with little delay.  This is why you'll never see as many cyclists as there really are - there are just too many different possible ways to go that aren't just limited to the marked "official" bike routes for us to bottleneck ourselves.  But I too think that there should be more riders then there are anyway.  This town is better than anyplace else I've ever lived for cycling, yet for some reason most of the riders you talk to here prefer to complain about how awful it is.  Yeah, 50F is considered "cold" and a few scattered sprinkles are called "rain."

I see more cheap knockaround mountain bikes than anything else, even on campus I believe that they still outnumber hybrids, commuters, and even the trendier stuff like fixies and Dutch tanks.  My current primary bike is a police patrol bike, which is really just a mountain bike with heavy-duty road tires and more city-oriented gearing.  And yeah, it's great to be able to cut through washes and open fields, or to head out into the desert on the weekends on the same bike.

There are a lot of (mostly older) places without racks in this town, but as mentioned that's improving - you usually never have to look very far to find *something* to lock to.  Besides, it's always fun to take the bike in with you and when they complain, tell them that you prefer to lock it outside, but they failed to provide their customers with a place to do so.

I'm not familiar with the other B&N's in town, but the one on Broadway has the racks right out front next to the tables, and the Borders at Park Mall has racks all around the mall, the closest of which, as MM said, are right next to the store on the East side.

[Suzanne]

I must have been blind the other day, because indeed, there are bike racks in both locations! Sorry.
It makes a ton of sense that having such an extensive grid of bike lanes, and all the other streets that people can choose to use, that riders are spread out, and that, instead of seeing the usual string of bikes all jammed up on one busy bike path, they are all over the city, hence I didn't notice them.

And yes, bikes are (part) of traffic (as opposed to a nuisance for motorists lol)  So, now, in that light, having that bike lane as part of the lanes, is quite a statement.
Thank you very much for letting me know what was behind that design.

They say that the more bicycles in a city, the safer we are, precisly because we have a better 'rapport de force' (sorry, I don't know the english words for that). Basically, the power struggle dynamics are changed, the more we are, and the more visible we are.

The other thing I envy Tucson riders are the streets. Our streets are all torn out with frost heaves, with all the freezes and thaws. And potholes you could loose your bike in and never find it. ;-)  Plus the hazards of debris from the snow plowing and snow removal operation. That only gets cleaned up sometime in late April, mid-May.

So Tucson right now being in Tucson is a real treat. I was in Tucson today again, and I saw a lot more people on bikes.  Magnificent weather!
After the business I had to do in South Tucson, I decided to visit the East Saguaro Park, and what a blast I had there, doing the loop and trail. I met about half a dozen other bikes at that time doing the loop. That is one hell of a unique experience on a bike. I will for sure remember that.

Thanks to all of you who took the time to reply to my uneducated first impressions.

[Michael Mckisson]

I think the bikes between cars and the sidewalk thing works best in places where you don't have traffic from cross streets or driveways. When you are tucked between the cars and the sidewalk, a driver won't be able to see you and would be more likely to turn left or right into you.

Saguaro Park East is an amazing ride. I am glad you got to do that!