Sioux Falls is marking this as Bike to Work week. If you've never strayed from your neighborhood and plan to take on new routes within Sioux Falls extra planning may be in order.

Chad Pickard of Spoke-N-Sport has his pulse on the bike commuter world in Sioux Falls. He says the main arteries may not be the fastest choice and suggests alternative routes.

"Minnesota Avenue and 41st Street may not be the best place to ride your bike. There's Spring, there's Dakota Avenue, there's other east-west streets that do cross Sioux Falls and those are what the city has turned into bike routes on those roads."

Regular commuters who use the bike trails to get around say it can sometimes be faster than driving in rush hour on Sioux Falls streets.  Check out a map, time your ride on your free time, and plan accordingly for your morning commute.

Should you plan to share the road with motorists and find that you're not well received by other vehicles, Pickard says it's not an issue of whether streets are bike friendly, but more the state of mind of the vehicle driver.

"It's almost a human problem. 'I'm in my car and am more important than you in your car.' It's that attitude that's contributing to accidents. It's entitlement that create traffic problems. You can add bike lanes all you want, but it's not going to make it any safer unless people realize that other people have rights to use our roads."

Pickard also adds it is important to be a responsible bike rider, such as not darting out in between vehicles.


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