I learned to ride a bike when I was 5 years old by using my big sister’s bike. I had three big sisters and the bike I used wasn’t the relatively new one the sister closest to me in age rode. Rather it was an old bike that sat in the corner of our garage that no one was presently using. My older sisters didn’t seem to be interested in it any more. The bike was too big for me. I couldn’t reach the pedals while sitting on the seat, and I wouldn’t have been able to ride the bike from the seat anyway because I couldn’t touch the ground from the seat. But the bike had a step-through frame. We used to call such bikes girls’ bikes. I could hold the bike upright by hanging onto the handlebars and standing with one leg on each side of the bike without using the seat. When I rode the bike I stood on the pedals, and didn’t sit at all.

I received my own bicycle for my sixth birthday and it fit. It was a wonderful machine and it was so much easier to ride a bike with a seat that I could reach. They say that once you have learned to ride a bike you never forget how. I don’t think that is completely true, but I still can ride a bike by standing on the pedals without sitting. And, for whatever reason, I am attracted to bikes that are a bit too big for me. I don’t have long legs. My mountain bike, sized for my height, has wheels that are smaller than many other mountain bikes. This means that I can put both feet on the ground while sitting on the seat. The short bike makes it easier to start and stop, especially on narrow paths with sharp turns. I’ve owned that bike for thirty years and with a bit of annual maintenance it will continue to serve me for as long as I want to ride it.

However, this year I added a second bicycle to our garage. The new bike is an electric bike. It has five levels of assistance for pedaling that allow me to climb steeper hills, ride into the wind, and go faster than my other bike. I purchased the bike used and I think that most people who know bikes well would say that I bought a bike that is too big for me. The seat and handlebars are adjustable so I can sit and pedal with ease. But my legs are too short to balance my bike when I stop without getting out of the seat. When I was test riding the bike its size didn’t bother me at all. I mounted it by putting one foot on the pedal and swinging the other foot over the back of the bike. I rode it without problem and when I wanted to stop I got off the seat. I purchased the bike and I have loved riding it. It has an odometer so I know that I have ridden it over 1,800 miles in the past four months. Riding a bike that is too big for me really isn’t a problem, but I’m a bit more awkward when I need to stop.

I confess that when I ride the bike I frequently violate traffic laws. I don’t exceed the speed limit. I don’t ride in the wrong lane. I don’t run into pedestrians. I don’t fail to yield right of way. But I do fairly often execute what is known as a “rolling stop.” When I come to an intersection with a stop sign, I slow to near a stop, make sure that the intersection is clear and then proceed. If traffic dictates, I get off the seat of my bike and come to a complete stop, but most of the time I can slow, but maintain enough motion to stay on the seat and then proceed when the intersection is clear. I ride in places where there isn’t much traffic, so I am frequently the only vehicle at the intersection. The odds of ever receiving a ticket for my violation are very slim. I don’t fail to stop whenever I notice a law enforcement vehicle, but they aren’t looking for bike riders to cite when they are on patrol in the first place.

Riding my bike, however, does make me aware that there are a lot of people who do violate traffic rules in ways that are far more dangerous than the way I approach stop signs. Our village has a 25 mph speed limit and the limit is an important safety item because it is legal to drive golf carts on the street here. And some golf carts don’t go very fast. Sometimes I have to slow my bicycle to follow a golf cart when driving through the village. And we are a tourist town with lots of pedestrians and bicycle riders. Some streets do not have bike lanes so drivers have to be aware of a lot of slowly moving people and vehicles. Many homeowners have posted signs urging drivers to slow down, but those signs aren’t very effective at slowing drivers who are going too fast to read them.

Even though a bicycle is a vehicle as defined by traffic laws, most cars do not yield to bicycles at intersections even when required to yield. I am not as aggressive as some bike riders. I yield to cars whenever I sense conflict. I have no intention of getting hit. If a car and I approach a four way stop at the same time, I yield to the car regardless of whether it is on my left or my right. I don’t proceed into an intersection where there is a car unless I have direct eye contact with the driver and am sure they will not proceed until I have cleared the intersection. As the saying goes, “You can be dead right, and still be dead.”

Technically, the law doesn’t give right-of-way to anyone. It only specifies who is required to yield. All drivers and bike riders are required to “exercise due care and to avoid collisions.”

So if you see a short guy on a big bike, look out for him. He might be as cautious as I am. But he’s likely also having as much fun as I do and might even run a stop sign now and again.