dynodonn 

Even with those measures in place, they still don't stop the cutting/tearing up the tire treads.

-=(8)=-

And taking ownership of something you use and benefit from is fabulous advocacy. I hope other cyclists helped you.

trailangel

Hey, in all fairness I watched her youtube video. To the right of the rumble strip there seems like about 2 feet to ride on, but there is some video where she sweeps gravel with her hand in this area. What looks like asphalt in pictures is all loose gravel in that 2 ft area and not rideable.
County needs to get the sweeper out once in a while, this might take care of it.

An alternative would be to ride just to the right of the fog line, looks like 8 inches of road, but then the semi trucks, and other cars would buzz your ear, especially in Kentucky on a road like that. There are some people that just won't break their lane to give you an extra foot.

Or I guess take the lane......risk getting hit from behind like she is doing.

But, damn, down from a size 22 to size 8.

-=(8)=-

We lowly gutter bunny commuters are at war with a lot of elements here. She doesn't even register. But you are correct, cyclist everywhere who just want to get from A to B with no drama or statement making suffer for the more radical, visible elements everywhere. I am at odds with a person I campaigned for as mayor of our town. He is all about cycling infrastructure, which of course I agree with, but he is also about being very in-your-face like what is supported here by many people. I dont ride like that, and seem to never suffer the stuff other people do here. So, this is my advocacy, pushing the under-the-radar approach to riding.
I cannot get on board something I dont agree with. Inconveniencing people is something I will never be on-board with.

dynodonn 

I was on my own on this one...... and I have learned to appreciate the amount of work that one street sweeper can do in one day, or even in an hour.

RaleighSport

You've yet to show to me your point is valid.. if you can't win over another cyclist trying to keep their mind open who doesn't really want to get contentious about it what good is your point? Your the debris excuse is invalid excuse is overused and invalid. I'll gladly use thick tires, puncture resistant tubes, and slime when I go mountain biking(aka using the correct equipment for the correct activity)... but we're discussing road riding here and more specifically the case of a rather poor lady lacking good alternative routes. As for your conversation there praising all that extra wheel gear: I've flatted on glass plenty with all those precautions in place(as have many many many others) so you're going to have to come up with something a lot more compelling than wasting money on ineffective prevention. Can you please give me a valid reason I should have to ride over hazards caused by other road users who wouldn't tolerate the equivalent hazards in their own lane?

Edit: I have a more personal set of questions for you directly, semi related to the topic. Why do you sequester yourself to 2 lane backroads? Is it because it's unsafe to ride on a main road there? Are 3' shoulders lacking as a standard? How many bike lanes would you say there are on main arteries there as well? And lastly, what is the general attitude towards cyclists there? If I were to take what I've seen in terms of attitude in comments, I'd assume you guys are hated but I know how comments sections work, so how much "trouble" do you get if you do indeed commute? And no I'm not looking for ammo here, I'd like a better picture of boots on the ground.. or rather pedals in your area.

kickstart

At some point we simply need to accept the limitations of the vehicle we choose to use, but in reality, even at its worst, its very rare that there's enough debris to make the non traveled portions of the road impossible to ride.

dynodonn 

I did not say that debris made it not possible to ride on some portions of the roadway, but the amount of damage that can be inflicted over time to bicycle tires, making it more costly in time, money and energy spent fixing or replacing existing tires, or having to switch to a more durable, meaning slower and heavier, alternatives is another.

kickstart

I find that some form of flat protection, and taking some effort to avoid riding over debris to be highly effective for road riding and commuting.

My commute is 7 miles, ranging from one lane road and gravel trail, up to 6 lane arterial, and rail crossings. Progressing from rural to suburban, low rent, retail, and industrial. The streets I ride get swept once or twice a year at best, sometimes less in some locations, and apparently never in a few spots.

I agree with others, debris is way over used as a rhetorical tool, and under compensated for by those who choose to make it an insurmountable issue.

SBinNYC

I don't know how competent Ms. Schill's defense was. She objected to the rumble strips. Did the rumble strips conform to the FHWA specs for rumble strips that don't interfere with bicycles? Not mentioned in the article. Did Ms. Schill show photos of debris in the shoulder? Also, not mentioned. There was enough missing in the story to prevent reaching any conclusion.

I did trace her US 27 route on Google Maps with measuring tools, satellite and street views. The trip is about 12 miles long. The section with shoulders is about 5.5 miles long. The rest of the trip has sidewalks. The shoulder width for 4.9 miles is 6 ft or more. The shoulder width going southbound near Snuff's furniture (where the first article photo was taken) is about 10 ft wide before a right turn lane reduces it to 6 ft. 10 ft or more is the norm for the shoulder width except at intersections for these 4.9 miles. A Streetview check shows the shoulders have the same treatment as the roadway. They probably have a cement base as opposed to being asphalt over a crushed stone ballast. There was no evidence of excessive debris. Moreover, the 10 ft. width should make it fairly easy to avoid road debris.

The same cannot be said for the remaining 0.6 miles of shoulder. It's less than 3 ft wide. The pavement color is different in from the roadway in the satellite view. If Ms. Schill were cited for not using this shoulder, she could have cited bike lane guidelines to show that using the shoulder was not practicable.

dynodonn 

I have to, and my effort towards avoiding a considerable amount of debris was to move further left from the edge of the road way.

njkayaker

Is it a good reason or a bad reason?

So what? I saw it. I said it was oddly wide. As i said before, no one is expecting anybody to ride in it.

Why isn't dealing with the rumble strip the same sort of thing?

VTBike

The video embedded in one of the linked articles shows a witness displaying photos of debris in the shoulder. I have no idea if this was an general illustration of potential debris, or if the photos were of debris that she would have actually encountered.

Chris516

Ditto

Chris516

This case against her. Amounts to just another example of 'entitlement' to the road by motorists'(and the law). Because while alternate routes are shown on Google Maps for going between Lexington and Nicholassville: https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Lexi...37.8806341!3e1

Because, She is going the route she has found to be best. The two alternate routes both have big problems with them.

Clyde1820

To my knowledge, there are designated turnouts and safe zones for pulling over to allow faster-moving vehicles to pass, and then there are off-road spots that are not appropriate for vehicles. I know of no statutes that I've ever seen that demand a car head off the road outside of designated turnouts or clear safe zones for allowing passing. Can't imagine a bicycle would be forced to do what's universally accepted (in that state) that a vehicle isn't required to do.

Particularly for a bike, heading onto and off of such zones can be dangerous (as we all know). Far too many people who imagine cyclists to be beneath vehicles on a roadway don't consider that aspect. Can't quite tell in this court case whether this was true, though I suspect it might be.

kickstart

Actually it's about one person who received multiple citations for what duly appointed officials considered unsafe behavior.

genec

Debris occurs occasionally and randomly... rumble strips occur regularly and can totally disrupt a ride, depending on the type of rumble strip.

Apples and oranges.

genec

The problem is that other folks that don't ride bikes can imagine that bikes should give way to all manner of vehicular traffic, even to the point of weaving in and out of parked cars so that cyclists don't "impede" drivers.

kickstart

I don't have any issues riding on roads with them, they are easy to avoid, being predictable, easy to see day and night, and are not hidden in the wet or by leaves, and on the plus side they provide an audible warning of a vehicle approaching from behind that is over the fog line.

trailmix

The shoulder disappears on that road about 2000 feet beyond where all of the pictures are taken anyway so yes, the infrastructure needs to be improved. Since I live and commute in Fayette county, I guess that makes my opinion about 76 miles more important than yours.

SBinNYC

Thanks for alerting me to that video.

The lead in quoted lawyers for Ms. Schill. Therefore, I'd conclude that her defense was more professional than what was reported in the paper. The press coverage and her attention to appeal makes me think this isn't a case of an isolated cyclist going against an over aggressive cop. There's more to this story.

Chris516

When has a cyclist not been stopped by a duly appointed official. Motorists' always complain because they can't pass a cyclist. Even though a cyclist is not stopping them from passing. Because, She wasn't keeping motorists' from passing her.

howsteepisit

And was validated by a court.

VTBike

Correct. This is about one person who believed that she was within the law, but when her beliefs were tested in court she was proven wrong. She has the right to appeal, and may ultimately prevail, but until that happens the lesson to be learned here is that she was wrong - and if people want to avoid tickets they should keep this in mind. If you are in that area of Kentucky and are presented with a several foot wide shoulder, you are not justified in taking the lane for no other reason than you don't think it is safe to operate in the shoulder.