Helmet-Head

I'm not sure I agree with the whole thing, but I find this excerpt from David Martin's "Theory of BIG" (1998) to be a great explanation of how to decide where to ride in a lane. I think it does a fairly good job at capturing the inner view of the vehicular cyclist. At the end of this post is a link to the complete essay.

Given the spelling of "kerb" (for "curb"), the usage of "****" (for cigarettes), and the fact that he discusses the possibility of a LEFT turn signal slapping a pedestrian, I suspect it's a British source. I've made an editorial comment accordingly.

Serge


Be in the way

OK, how much room do you need to ride a bike on the road? The least I have ever used was about four inches from kerb to wheel whilst being brush-passed by a juggernaught at 40+mph. Big laundry bill that day. But how much do you really need to be a law abiding cyclist? Try this. Ride along at your normal distance from the edge of the road. Now open up your Highway code and do a proper left [ed: right in U.S.A.] turn signal. Thats right, arm straight out. If you are really BIG then you won't have slapped the pedestrian waiting to cross at the lights around the face by accident, or wrapped your elbow around the belisha beacon. There you go. A minimum is so you can perform legal signals and still be totally on the road.
OK, so you are now a bit further out, maybe further than you are used to. And now you discover something. BIG things stick out further into the road than little things. And BIG things need more room. And strangely enough, the more room you take up, the more space cars leave for you! Broadly speaking, cars will leave you as much room as you leave yourself so keep out from the edge of the road about the same distance you want cars to keep out from you.
This is only a guideline. Sometimes you will have left just enough room for the driver to sneak through without having to alter course and you still get brush-passed. Not what you want. So move out a bit more. Enough so he has to conciously move around you. If you have to be steered around then you are really BIG and need to be left more space. About level with the front nearside wing, just inside the wheel track that has been nicely swept clean of broken indicator and windscreen glass and other motor effluent that the master race deem the peasant classes worthy of riding over.
Now put the boot on the other foot. Imagine you are the victim of a cruel conspiracy and are forced to transport yourself inside a glass and metal cage everywhere. You come to a road junction where you have to give way. Where are you looking? At the cars of course. So, thankfully reverting to uncaged mode, where do you want to be to be seen? Where people are looking!. Yup, and they are looking at the line of cars so you want to be tucked right up against the pavement ... not! Get into the line of sight and you will be seen. Stay out of it and you won't be. People see BIG things. BIG things are what people see. BIG is in the line of sight.
Now of course one doesn't need to get in the way if the road is plenty wide enough to share, but only when it is uncomfortably narrow for Mr Toad to steer his fume conditioned three-piece-suite-in-a-tin alongside you without giving you the space you need.
Cowering in the dirt and potholes of the gutter, your body language screaming 'I am not worthy, O great infernally combustioned one. Chastise me for presuming to use this road and taking a mere second of your time for that urgent trip down the corner shop for a packet of **** and the sunday paper. It is my just reward if I am left bleeding and injured amongst the remains of my bicycle as you continue your blissful journey onwards.' is not a particularly BIG attitude, but it is what our autocracy would have you believe. Let me tell you a secret. They are not telling the truth.

A link to the complete Theory of BIG

LittleBigMan

Yup.

I take whatever room I feel I need. I don't worry myself with anxiety about "taking too much space from motorists." Gosh, how much room can a cyclist take? A few feet?

Even when I'm out "far" into the lane, I often notice motorists passing me comfortably without crossing the line into the next lane. In fact, many lanes are wide enough to hold two cars side-by-side. (One of the benefits of living in the car-centric USA, where lanes can be wide.)

Dutchy

Don't tease me. Our roads are *****. They are always narrow, just wide enough for a bus from shoulder to centre line and always made of that really coarse bitumen. Phil Liggett once called our roads "heavy" as an assessment of their speed. I have seen some pics of the roads in the USA and can't believe how wide and smooth they are. It's no wonder when a car is sold in Australia, they advertise it as "being built for our tough roads". What they should really say is "this car is built for the roads you get when you live in a country 3/4 the size of the USA but only have California’s population to pay for everything”

CHEERS.

Mark

drroebuck

Bull$hit.

FOG

You should be thankful that you only have the same number of people as California, and not California's population.

galen_52657

The premise is correct. If you ride in the gutter and auto drivers think they can thread the needle without slowing or swerving around you, they will. On a standard 12' lane with curb, it is safer to ride about 1.5-2' in the lane, depending on the road surface conditions.

If you are in the way, the auto drive will slow (always good) and go around you 99 times out of 100.

genec

What happens on the 100th time?

drroebuck

I have a feeling I should be taking offense to that.

Helmet-Head

1% of the time some knumbskull will squeeze in. That's why I would ride further left than 1.5-2 feet from the curb in a 12' wide lane, anywhere between the left and right tire tracks ... exactly where depends on other conditions.

genec

Serge... I finally read the darn thing and have concluded I am a VC rider... as defined by "The Theory of Big."

I have long long believed in "Big." For years I have done a number of things that are specifically outlined as "adding points."

For instance I ride a large bike, with fat tires (1 inch... but will go up to 1.75 on my bike). I ride with wide flat handle bars, I ride upright. I wear bright floppy clothing... OK, orange long sleeve T shirts and orange and brightgreen vest. I almost always ride with panniers... I make large gestures... I mean I point to drivers and get their attention and tell them where I am going... even if it means knocking on windows. I flare up to make myself BIG... (think of those lizards that "flare") for instance, I was in a line of autos the other day that were merging into Costa Verde shopping center... I was "just another car," but to make sure others saw me... I was out of the saddle, standing up with my elbows out... being BIG.

I do ride in bike lanes... except approaching driveways, parked cars and intersections (collision points)... there, I signal and merge and take lanes. I have lots of bright lights on my bike. I wear a helmet.

I indicate where I intend to go by my position in the lane and my indications to drivers. (I hate auto drivers that seem to use telepathy for their intentions)

I still prefer a place on the side of the road where I can get out of the main flow of fast traffic... be it a bike lane or wide curb lane.

BTW for years I have taken lanes when and where needed... but I just feel that I am doing that because the road/bike lanes have been designed poorly or do not exist.