Eh, that’s not OT there… my thread, I say so! 
Depends on where in the US; Saying “in the US” is a bit like saying “In the EU”. You try to ride in the city, then sure… You go to certain states of the union, then sure. (I’d NEVER consider riding in Florida for example!)
You get into the suburbs or the boonies, it’s a bit different; the only real problem I have is that around here there are places where it’s illegal to ride on the sidewalks, AND places where it’s illegal to ride on the road; regardless of which it is, people on the road constantly scream out their windows “GET OFF THE ROAD” – quite funny when they do it next to the one sign in town that actually says “No bicycles on sidewalks”
Though – and this is where my real issue with said ‘laws’ lies; many of the signs indicating a change are uselessly vague – and you know how I complain about things being uselessly vague. For example, here on main street where is switches from ‘sidewalk only’ to “road only”, the sidewalk only status isn’t even POSTED until you get to the rotary, but apparently starts the moment you cross the foot of my street. Not being posted all you get is a warning, but it’s a warning that makes me want to backhand the Officers for wasting their time and mine.
But worse, is the sign for where ‘road only’ starts – They’re on the side of the road where you won’t notice them on the sidewalk, and do they say “no bicycles on sidewalk?”
Of course not! It’s a yellow sign like a deer crossing, with a picture of a bicycle, and all it says is “share the road”… Does that mean “slow children”, “falling rocks” and “crossing deer” aren’t allowed on sidewalks either? I actually said that to a judge a couple years ago when one of the Staties handed me a $500 ticket for going into the ‘road’ (more like parking spaces alongside the road where NOBODY was parked) to give some ped’s room. I’ve at least got the court trained to the point where the town prosecutor now just tears them up and says don’t worry about it… over the phone.
Though that’s why I stick to the nice paved bike trails that criss-cross the town I’m in… where it’s a total non-issue. Well, that and I have around 2700 lumens forward facing and 900 rear thanks to my homemade headlamp (powered by recycled laptop batteries!) and pedals that light up LED’s as you ride – to go with my typical ride time of 3AM… late enough for there to be no drunks to deal with, late enough for nice temps, it’s not like I’m not awake with my [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-24-hour_sleep-wake_disorder]non-24 – it’s just less headaches.
Goes well with my typically wearing black and riding a black bicycle; right straight skippy I’m gonna light myself up… though the red rims and whitewalls help a lot too – even so it is surprising how often people STILL don’t seem to see me lit up like a Christmas tree in the middle of the night; blinking lights, bright lights – might as well not have them the way some people act. Just another reason to stick to the trails, and be EXTREMELY careful at every crossing… and pack heat just in case you come across some wildlife. (I am in Bear country after all).
Helmets are an interesting notion. I’ve never worn one biking; the only people that seem to do so around here are the spandex wearing limp wristed sissy metrosexual crowd; or tourists. Though that’s hardly surprising given that here helmets are optional on MOTORCYCLES. (where even I would at least wear a skullcap - probably with a spike). After all, the State motto is “Live Free or DIE!!!”. We may take that a little too seriously.
and the rest of whom use nothing at all to lubricate their bikes. 
They then (mostly) leave them outdoors all year round, to be blasted by wind, rain and salt air off the sea, and come spring when they start to feel like cycling again, they’re astonished to find that the thing is seized up, and bring it to Running Bear expecting a magic cure.