Cycles of all sorts

An alternative to vehicular cycling is pedestrian cycling, or cycling according to the pedestrian rules of the road. This means riding on sidewalks, crosswalks and paths at pedestrian speeds. It is important to be aware that the use of footpaths or sidewalks by cyclists is forbidden in many countries. In addition, where such activities are illegal, cyclists may be held totally liable for any injuries to other parties or damage to property resulting from such behaviour. Cycling experts contend that while pedestrian cycling can be accomplished safely, one should be aware of the peculiar hazards associated with this activity, including but not limited to:

• Opening passenger-side doors.
• Pedestrians, dogs, children playing, etc.
• Potential conflicts with other vehicles at all intersections, including driveways and alleys as well as major intersections.
• Entering crosswalks, where drivers turning into your path are often looking the other way.

Some cyclists routinely operate not in accordance with either the vehicular or pedestrian system. Car-bike collision statistics indicate that such cyclists are particularly vulnerable.

Many cyclists use a combination of vehicular and pedestrian cycling. This approach has the drawback that extra care must be taken when transitioning from one mode to the other, since transitioning often leads to actions not expected by others. In particular, during a transition, a cyclist must yield the right-of-way to both pedestrians and vehicle drivers.

A common type of cycling that is non-vehicular is where the cyclist's primary goal is to stay out of the way of same-direction motor traffic. Many cyclists think they are vehicular cyclists because they generally obey the law, but they're not, because they fall into this category. These are the cyclists who go straight across an intersection from the outside edge of the road, who make inside turns only when it's clear (don't bother negotiating) by darting straight across the road during a gap, or resorting to pedestrian-style turns when no gaps are to be had, who eschew streets with narrow outside lanes whenever possible (and, thus, where there is no room to be "out of the way"), etc...