"Anatol Zolotusky" wrote in message ...

I'm a newbie in this group, so apologies if this question has already been discussed.

I am shocked that anyone is left in this world who even knows about this group. It once had some glory days, but things have come to a sorry pass. It is mostly dead now, killed off by trolls and other assorted idiots.

The story: this morning on my way to work I was slowly riding my bicycle out of my driveway in Palo Alto, CA, into the street, watching for incoming traffic from the left of the street. When crossing the sidewalk, I've been blindsided from my right by another cyclist (who was, of course, riding on the left sidewalk, relative to his direction). The guy knocked me down and rode over my rear wheel, thus completely ruining it. After which he said that he wasn't going to pay for my wheel, because the collision was not his fault - see, the street doesn't have the bicycle pass, so he can ride where he damn pleases. He did give his name though - Edward Berkowitz from Palo Alto.

If it is legal to ride a bicycle on the sidewalk, then I think you are out of luck. You should have been looking to see if anyone was coming down the sidewalk as well as the street.

So, the question is: do I have any recourse in such cases - perhaps for the future mishaps like this. The ******* has caused a few hundred bucks of damage, and left me literally in the dust. Does anyone have any advise, for this case, or for the future?

Slow down and look around you when you ride a bicycle. Just be thankful that you were not hurt. I have known of guys getting hit by a bicycle and suffering serious injuries.

Ed Dolan the Great
aka
Saint Edward the Great