Googlers on bikes

A reader wrote into the the Mr. Roadshow column the other day in the Mercury News:

Q. I work across the street from the Googleplex. I am sending you a message that I sent to the Mountain View police, as the behavior of the Googlers doesn't seem to be changing:

"This afternoon at approximately 3:55 p.m. I was almost run over by a Google bicycle who came upon me silently from behind as I was walking on the sidewalk. He did apologize. I said, 'This is why you belong on the bike path.'

"I am tired of this. A few weeks ago, I saw a pedestrian fall down trying to get out of the way of a Googler on a bicycle on the sidewalk.

A. A Googlers, explain your actions.

And so, Googler Bob Sutterfield did in the comments and in an email to Mr. Roadshow:

I am a Googler and a bicycle instructor (LCI, not my day job). We have ongoing efforts to let people know they must ride on the street, following the rules of the road. Some Googlers persist in thinking they should behave as pedestrians. Either they haven't heard the message yet (lots of new staff), or they don't listen because they think they already know better. Yes, it's a problem, and our Safety office works closely with MVPD to improve the situation.

Keep up the great work, Bob! Bob is also supports the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition through his membership and active involvement with local cycling advocacy.

Here's a photo I took of a Googler on one of the free blue bikes Google provides for intracampus transportation at the Googleplex.