Bike repairs are up for Rydjor Bike Shop, and used bike sales have spiked too, both of which suggest that the combination of summer weather and high gas prices have resulted in more bicyclists on Austin’s city streets.

“For the first time in 10 years, we’ve sold through our used bikes, which is unheard of,” Rydjor manager Chad Burma said.

And while a cheap and healthy alternative to motor vehicles, increased bike ridership can also rattle traffic flow, particularly if bicyclists are ignorant or careless about state laws governing bike use.

“There’s a lot of bike laws, and people aren’t following them,” Austin Police Chief Paul Philipp said. “Kids are taking more chances, and doing dumber things on bikes.”

His comments came on the heels of two July accidents, one in which a young bicyclist hit a van as a second rider raced across an intersection and another involving the collision of a motorcyclist and bike rider.

In both cases, lack of attention on the part of bicyclist was a root cause of the accident, according to police reports.

Austin Police Officer Mike Tischer said this is exactly why bicyclists should ride defensively, and educate themselves on state traffic laws, which say that riders should be as legally diligent as drivers on the road.

“According to Minnesota state law, bikers must ride with traffic, and obey all traffic laws,” Tischer said.

This means honoring stop lights, street signs and traffic flow. It also means, despite popular opinion, perhaps, that a bicyclist is less like a pedestrian, and more like motorist.

“I think the majority of people think that since you are supposed to walk against traffic, they confuse it with bicycling,” Tischer said.

Bicyclists are supposed to keep to the right, he said, and remain off sidewalks.

“A person is 25 percent more likely have an accident on the sidewalk than on the street,” he said, citing state figures. “I’m guessing because of pedestrians and because of blind corners.”

Tischer also recommends safety features, some mandated by state law, such as bike lights and reflectors, helmets, gloves and eye protection, all of which can be purchased at bike shops or other retails stores.

“Reflectors are an absolute necessity when riding at night,” he stated.

Hand signals for turns and stops are also often overlooked, according to Tischer. Because of the absence of local bike safety classes, he recommends visiting the “Share the Road” Web site, an effort sponsored by the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

According to the site, in 2002, bicyclists contributed to bicycle-motor vehicle accidents for some of the following reasons: failure to yield right-of-way, improper lane use, driving left of center, improper turns and following vehicles too closely.

Motorists, it added, are required to maintain a 3-foot clearance from bikes traveling on streets.

This implies a certain responsibility to those in motor vehicles as well. Burma, a serious bicyclist for 12 years, said drivers sometimes treat bike riders like a menace despite their rightful use of public roadways.

“If I could stress anything, it’s that bicyclists should follow the law, and be respectful and courteous,” Burma said. “And motorists should understand that we have a right to be on the road, and the law supports that.”

For more information about bike safety, visit www.sharetheroadmn.org.