Advocacy & Safety - Narrow Farm Road Lane Position

Hi all,

Lately i have been riding on some nice narrow farm roads with very intermittent traffic :) they have a very distinctively painted centerline.

Since I am new back to cycling I wanted to check and see if I was "taking the lane" in the safest manner.

Figure the lane in either direction is as wide as really big car. Not wide enough at all for a bike and car to share. I usually ride about 2 or so feet from the edge of the road, kind of on the leftmost side of where a cars right tire would go. I figure this way I ride where there is the least chance of hitting debsris/oil/antifreeze, but far enough into the lane that a car knows it cannot squeeze by.

Would you say this is safest? or do you tend to ride in the middle or farther left of your lane. Missouri motorists are, ah, testy about being slowed down so I also figure If I am right enough that I look like i'm trying they won't throw things at me, even though its the same end result to them as if I was hugging the centerline.

Any advice appreciated,

Jester

On the narrow mountain roads in the SF Bay area where I ride a lot, I ride as you describe (in the right tire track) when climbing slow. I have a helmet mounted mirror, which I use religiously, although I can hear cars coming. If a car comes I wait till the last moment, then move to the side. I try to leave lots of room in case there is another cyclist decending, I don't want to force the car to head on the opposing cyclist. If I am decending fast, I take the lane, usually I am faster than the cars.

You are in about the right position, Jester. Although some motorists will feel that you belong closer to the edge, moving outward will reduce your visibility and emergency maneuvering room. You will also probably find an almost counter-intuitive positive correlation between motorists' passing margin and your distance from the edge of the road.

agreed, the roads i ride are like that too, you should make yourself noticable in the lane and give yourself a little CYA room.

Your position sounds ok. I'd tend to ride a little farther left to make sure drivers must move over enough to give me room. If the roads are lightly traveled, you probably won't encounter too many traffic-stressed drivers willing to run down anything or anyone in their way. Remember that if a road has no shoulder, you need to give yourself escape room in case a driver buzzes you.

Are the farm roads you ride in St. Louis County, or are you hauling your bike farther out? On several roads in Chesterfield and Wildwood that attract many cyclists motorists should expect to encounter us. Good east-west routes are Clayton Road and Conway Road. Chesterfield Airport Road, Olive Street Road west of Spirit Airport, Eatherton Road, Centaur Road, and Wild Horse Creek Road get a lot of cycle traffic. Chesterfield Airport Road is probably best early weekend mornings--too much development has brought too much traffic.

Hey, Jester. I think your position is probably the best. This is based upon recent experience.

Last week I thought I would be "nice" to the traffic on a similar road. I took a position on the right white line along the edge of the road, trying to give traffic behind me enough room. Unfortunately I gave them too much. One passing car forced me further to the right and off the road. The shoulder was too rough and I ended up on the pavement. Fortunately no other traffice was coming.

Since then I have decided to stay right, BUT off the edge of the road by 2-4 feet. That way they can see me and I can move over if need be.

Mark

Originally posted by oldillini
Last week I thought I would be "nice" to the traffic on a similar road. I took a position on the right white line along the edge of the road, trying to give traffic behind me enough room. Unfortunately I gave them too much. One passing car forced me further to the right and off the road.

This is why you always need to leave yourself a buffer zone between where you're riding and the edge of the road. You need somewhere do go when you encounter idiots like the one described above.

Where you are riding sounds good (on the road, I mean - if these roads are in St. Louis County, that's a little frightening :D ;)). On the type of roads you describe, I usually ride more toward the center of the lane. On a downhill, where I don't want a car to pass anyway, I'm wherever in the lane that the road looks best. When a car about to pass me, or on an uphill, where I'm moving slowly, I move toward the right. I definately don't hug the right side of the road in any case. On a road like that, lane sharing is not an option.


Originally posted by Prosody
Good east-west routes are Clayton Road and Conway Road...
Wow, never heard of any of those. ;) :D

Clayton Rd. is good as far east as Dogtown. (if they hadn't chopped it up to build US40, it'd be good all the way downtown) It's a little known fact, but parts of Clayton Rd. were the original Route 66. The old Business 66 (down Skinker and Lindell all the way down to the arch) is not bad. Conway is good, and so are parts of Ladue Rd. I also like Dougherty Ferry Road.

Originally posted by Prosody
Wild Horse Creek Road get a lot of cycle traffic.You have ride Wild Horse Creek Road. It's worth it just for the name alone. Don't miss Hog Hollow Rd., either. :D

Sounds right to me (apart from driving on the wrong side of the road ;) ). On some of the back roads round here the council rather than repair road edges have started edging the road with white lines about 3ft in from the old edge...

Originally posted by Prosody
Are the farm roads you ride in St. Louis County, or are you hauling your bike farther out?
In the county, but just barely.

Kind of up near the Lambert airport expansion in the flood plain north of St. Charles Rock Rd. and west of 270. Not a lot of miles there, but it is relatively close to work & not too much traffic so I can go ride over lunch :)

Thanks a LOT for all the advice, I appreciate it everybody.

take care,

Jester

Originally posted by jester69
In the county, but just barely.Just barely is right! :D Just joking but, when I was a little kid, I used to think that the world must end somewhere just north of Creve Couer Lake, which would mean that the area you're talking about wouldn't exist. :D

I think lane position is not critical on the type of road in question, since lane-sharing is quite obviously impossible.

Position on the road is more important, for example, if there is no center line, or if the lane is somewhat wider, and there might be a question as to whether lane-sharing is possible. In any case, a cyclist can use lane position to indicate to a motorist whether he thinks passing or lane-sharing is safe or not.