A Bit of Biking Frustration, and Untied Shoelaces

Yesterday, biking in the wonderful downtown of Bangor in the rainy weather, I found it difficult riding behind people. My conclusion is that it would be wise for me to invest in a bell for my (already tricked out) bicycle. If I am not mistaken, the law as it exists in Maine requires bicycles to be ridden on the road. I've only recently (as in within the last year or so) begun to use my bicycle for transportation, as opposed to recreationally. Learning to ride with traffic is very difficult, especially when you are not a serious biker. I'm still not entirely sure what the law states concerning speed and where I can ride on the road. What I do know is that on many roads, there is not a wide margin to the right of the white line, which requires my riding closer to the yellow line, for safety's sake. Yesterday, riding in the road downtown, I was honked at and passed very quickly by someone (incidentally, who had their phone out texting on the steering wheel) in a car. This has happened before, and I generally hop onto the sidewalk for the rest of my ride. But see, here it gets a bit confusing. After being yelled at by someone outside of the library last year to, "Get off the sidewalk!", I decided that I ought to only ride on the roadway. Either I don't have a clear understanding of the law, or the citizens and motorists around me do not. I can't seem to find a raw wording of the law, does anyone know it?My moderately tricked out bicycle.
It used to be my grandmother's.

In any case. As I was riding (on the sidewalk, now), I found myself behind two nicely dressed young men. Later on, I realized that they were Mormons, making their routes and evangelizing. But as I tried not to run them over, one of them turned around and very kindly told his friend that I was behind him. As we waited for the light, they pointed out to me that my shoe was untied.
We wouldn't want you to crash!
I do usually crash when my shoes get untied. I just thought I'd share this. They were quite thoughtful, and it got me thinking about how we behave towards strangers. Just some food for thought.

So, the overall message for today: Make room for the bicyclists! They're people too!