Caught in the Trenches

Lawn Edgings like this are Dangerous to Bicyclers

I'd like to point out a new hazard I have been seeing all over town. Homeowners are doing more of this deep-wide edging than ever before. It may look very nice and neat, but it's very dangerous when a bicycler gets his front wheel down in between the sidewalk and edging. Bicyclers please keep your eyes out for this.  Now I know a lot will say:"Well you are suppose to ride in the street". Are we going to tell little kids to ride their bicycles in the street? I surely hope not. These little kids are not as excellent bike riders as I am so I'm pretty sure they will ride into these edgings more often than I ever will. These young persons will also be more prone to falling due to newly learned rookie riding skills and they have a 50-50 chance of falling on the sidewalk, scarping elbows and knees and getting possible fractures which can be very painful as well as expensive to care for. Now I know kids already have harzards such as each other to run into but do we need this added hazard? A kid can be alone with this edging harzard. He doesn't need any other kids around to get hurt. I do ride in the street most of the time, but on very busy or gravel or dirt streets, I prefer to ride on the sidewalk for my own safety. Also very bumpy or cracked-up streets or those with large and deep Potholes [upcomming pothole pics soon] I ride on the sidewalks. I have to, so to preserve my safety and to not incur added expenses from crashing Betty Lou my mountain bike. So I wish homeowners would think of these kids when edging and maybe make the edgings much thinner or none at all if you have lots of kids riding on the sidewalks in your neighborhood. It could help to reduce injuries and save time and money in the ER Rooms across America and the World for that matter. There, I've said my Peace. Thanks for taking the time to read this cycling safety post. -Jimio