Given the cowboys, befuddled elderly drivers, nonEnglish speaking new to the country drivers, Nismo'ed rice rocket jockeys, cell-phone talkers, girls putting on make-up in the mirror, etc. where I live..........an unobstructed bike-lane seems not much better than Stepfam's predicament. My heroic neighbor, who has MS and daily rides his massive trike with orange pennant flying, was almost hit the other day in a bike lane.
That micro-millimeter thick layer of paint offers not much barrier to careless motorists. Give me a steep and winding descent any day over riding through town...where you cannot be vigilant enough.
__________________
..... "I renewed my youth, to outward appearance, by mounting a bicycle for the first time." Mark Twain, Speeches
.