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Old 12-11-12, 06:23 AM
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Chris516
24-Speed Machine
 
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Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Wash. Grove, MD
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Bikes: 2003 Specialized Allez 24-Speed Road Bike

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Originally Posted by ChrisM2097
I was riding back to work from lunch on a 2-lane-in-each-direction road that has no bike lane, and several right-turn-only lanes.

As I always do on this stretch (mile 1.7 to 2.25 in link above), I stayed in the middle of the #2 lane (second from left). This allows cars to pass on my left, if they're going straight, and pass on my right, if they're turning right. There were very few cars on this road today, so I certainly wasn't holding up any traffic.

A couple of ladies followed me for a couple minutes, started honking, and then pulled up beside me and started telling me "Get in the Bike Lane!".
I responded, "There is no bike lane."
They told me, "You're in the middle of the road!"
I simply said, "I know, because their is no bike lane."
They finished by telling me, "Move to your right" then shook their heads and took off.

How do/would you respond in a situation like this? I prefer to be polite and tactful, and try to take advantage of 'teaching moments', which can be difficult to do when you only have a few seconds for a discussion.
While I don't exactly know California traffic code, I would have told them, to re-read the traffic code and left it at that. If they continued to pester you, I would ignore it.
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