English3Speed

From the OP and photos/description of the road, I'd say your time riding in the lane worked fine. It looks like there are more potholes and problems with the pavement than drivers, so road condition is more likely to determine your position than a motorist overtaking you every 5-10 minutes.

The double yellow is meant to keep motorists from passing other motorists going the speed limit without good sight lines. They need lots of space to pass someone going 40-60 mph. I've never heard of motorists being cited for safely crossing the yellow line to pass bicyclists, parked delivery trucks & buses, etc.

In your case, overtaking motorists won't need that much space to pass safely, but you want to stay far enough left to make sure they know to change lanes in advance. If you're in the center of the lane, this will give you more options to avoid bad pavement, and motorists see you there so I would keep using the middle, or best paved, section.

kickstart

Absolutely, nothing we do happens in a vacuum, that's why common sense and common courtesy apply when we use shared public assets regardless of our chosen mode.


That makes no sense to me as I'm not clairvoyant. I can't look at a person and know where they're going and why. Judgments without facts are nothing more than prejudices.

spare_wheel

I'm not surprised that it makes no sense. Tolerance of minority behavior is not something north americans are known for.

wphamilton

I'm guessing this didn't come out the way you mean it. Tolerance of minority behavior is exactly what Americans are known for.

achoo

What the hell is "minority behavior"?

Wow. Do you stereotype much?

And what was that you posted about judging others?

spare_wheel

Cycling and walking is a minority behavior in north america. And the lives and safety of cyclists and walkers is cheap in north america...very cheap.

Sure do. I have no problem stereotyping, judging, and even hating intolerance.

spare_wheel

I vehemently disagree...but lets just leave it at that since I'm not interested in non-bike related political debate.

wphamilton

You threw it out there, not me.

With respect to cycling, I have experienced literally none of intolerance to which you allude. To the contrary, most people who choose to interact with me in that context have been respectful.

kickstart

Being one of those who typically practices "minority behavior", I have found others who practice "minority behavior" are often far less tolerant than the majority as their motivations are pretentious.

If you think north Americans are intolerant of "minority behavior", you should try living in Europe for a while.

spare_wheel

Cognitive dissonance.

in my experience, there is an inherent assumption that the status quo is neutral in north america -- that reform of law and infrastructure in favor of pedestrians or cyclists is "intolerant" while current law and infrastructure (that favors motorists) is the default.

spare_wheel

One person's tolerance is another person's intolerance. That is my point.

wphamilton

That sounds political ... but the cognitive dissonance may be due to the conflicts between your beliefs and my experience. I'm pleased with the infrastructure improvements we're putting into practice here, if not the pace of them, and I've certainly not seen it criticized as "intolerant".

daihard 

I generally agree that a majority of the motorists I've interacted with have been courteous. However, there are definitely quite a few drivers out there who show intolerance towards those of us who ride a bicycle on the street. I've had them pass me very closely. I've had them ignore my hand signal. I've had them honk at me where I had the right of way.

achoo

Bull ****.


Q.E.D.

daihard 

People in Seattle are apparently not as tolerant as those in your area. Every time the local newspaper publishes an article or an editorial about new or proposed pedestrian/cyclist infrastructure , the comments section will be filled with negative comments calling us all sorts of names such as tax thieves, scofflaws and elitists. OTOH, an article about expanding freeways will be greeted with praises and woohoos. Kind of in line with what @spare_wheel said about intolerance towards minority behaviors.

wphamilton

Sure, that happens. But Spare was saying that the improvements are criticized as intolerant. Intolerant of drivers I guess. I've never seen that.

spare_wheel

With all due respect, I deal with intolerance frequently at public meetings in Portland. In fact, I've heard about as much outright vindictive and hateful speech at local government meetings as on the road in Portland. And if you really want to see intolerance I recommend reading the sewers that are the comment sections of our local newpaper and tv station sites. When a cyclist dies in the Portland metro region they often have to lock comments due to celebratory comments and outright hate speech.

Nevertheless, I was not referring to this type of overt intolerance. I was referring to the Arendtian banality that leads our society to emphasize the convenience of drivers over the safety and health of people who walk or bike. So...yeah...I'm being political...but active transport advocacy is inherently political in this absurdly car-centric society.

spare_wheel

I freely admit to being incredibly prejudiced against intolerance.

daihard 

Aren't those two related, though? I believe most, if not all, of the type of intolerance you mentioned in your first paragraph is derived from the car-centric culture of North America.

kickstart

I don't think its a matter of intolerance, but a reflection of the fact we are a very small minority vying for a limited resource.

Those hateful attitudes against alternative transportation seem to be from a socially dysfunctional vocal minority who are feeding off another small but vocal minority that has adopted cycling as one of their counter culture affectations.

The extremists may receive the most attention, but they don't represent the prevailing attitudes which are more pragmatic.

kickstart

The problem here is the denial of the simple fact that POVs are emphasized because they are the most convenient, economical, and securest form of transportation for a large majority of people, while at the same time disregarding all that's being done to improve the safety and accessibility of other forms of transportation.

Just because society doesn't currently meet your standards, it doesn't mean that its static, or mired in status quo.

daihard 

What are POVs?

kickstart

Personally Owned/Operated Vehicles

daihard 

Okay, thanks.

spare_wheel

anarchist scofflaws or tree-hugging greenies?