I'm relatively new to cycling, and so I'm still trying to get the hang of how I can ride on the road to maximize my safety (first) and minimize my effect on traffic (second).
The following situation happened today: I was riding on a relatively low-trafficked road (in Bloomington, IN) on my tri bike in the aerobars (dunno if this is relevant). There's zero shoulder, but the lanes are relatively wide (17 feet maybe?). I'm approaching a blind curve, which also happens to be slightly uphill. My speed slows from 20mph to about 14 or 13. I'm riding in approximately the right tire track.
About 200 meters from the crest of the hill, I hear a van behind me (I'm guessing 100-200 meters) so I move to the center of the lane, as a signal to the van that I don't want to be passed right now, since I can't see what's ahead of me and I don't want to get buzzed by the van trying to pass me while staying in her own lane. Sure enough, I catch site of a large pickup truck coming the opposite way just beyond the crest of the hill. As the truck passes me (and as I move over to the right tire track), I get a nice "GET THE F*** OVER, A**HOLE" thrown at me from the truck driver. After the van passes me, I get a quick tap on the horn from the van driver, which I interpreted more as a "that guy was a d***" gesture than a "you suck for holding me up" gesture.
I've gotten heckled before (probably because I'm a strikingly attractive individual, and I just get that kind of attention :D ), but I wanted to post these questions because I don't want to develop bad cycling habits.
1. Did I handle this situation correctly?
2. How could I have handled it better?
CommuterRun
11-17-07, 06:34 PM
I'll take door #1.:D That's the way I handle curves with limited sight-lines. Who cares what the jerk in the P/U thinks?
Now I know somebody is going to come in here and say something to the effect of, "In a 17' lane you had plenty of room to share the lane and should have been further to the right, yada, yada, yada," but the bottom line is if you thought the lane was too narrow to share in that situation, then it's too narrow to share.
ChipSeal
11-17-07, 06:43 PM
If they honk at you, it means they see you! :D
You did just what I would've done. Keep in mind, motorists often make bad decisions in that situation- they move into the opposing lane to pass you on a blind curve or hill. Be prepared to bail to the right if they do that.
JohnBrooking
11-17-07, 08:17 PM
I'd agree with "the guy in the truck was a d***" option. You weren't even holding him up, what business was it of his? Now if it was the van driver, I might question myself more, but probably still come to same conclusion. Sounds like the van driver understood what you were doing better, which makes sense because he was involved with you for longer. The truck driver was just passing briefly and reacting without a full understanding of the situation.
Actually, if the lane was 17', I might be of the "wide enough to share" opinion, but I'm not you and I wasn't there, so I'm not going tro try to persuade you to agree with me. I think proper handling depends very much on the situation, so I don't want to try to second-guess you. But I think you will sometimes get people who don't understand. I don't think there's much you can do to get around that than just try to shrug it off.
CB HI
11-17-07, 08:24 PM
It takes most new cyclist much longer to handle the situation as you did.
Well done.
About the only thing you coud have done better, would be to squirt some super glue on the truck drivers mouth to seal it shut.
buzzman
11-17-07, 09:02 PM
I'd agree with "the guy in the truck was a d***" option. You weren't even holding him up, what business was it of his? Now if it was the van driver, I might question myself more, but probably still come to same conclusion. Sounds like the van driver understood what you were doing better, which makes sense because he was involved with you for longer. The truck driver was just passing briefly and reacting without a full understanding of the situation.
Actually, if the lane was 17', I might be of the "wide enough to share" opinion, but I'm not you and I wasn't there, so I'm not going tro try to persuade you to agree with me. I think proper handling depends very much on the situation, so I don't want to try to second-guess you. But I think you will sometimes get people who don't understand. I don't think there's much you can do to get around that than just try to shrug it off.
+1 on the above post.
AndrewP
11-17-07, 09:30 PM
You should have given a 'thank you' wave to the van as it passed. A helmet or glasses mounted mirror would have helped you keep aware of how the van was reacting to your presaence.
AlmostTrick
11-17-07, 11:37 PM
I routinely ride on 9-10 foot lanes with blind curves and have received similar comments from drivers. The real problem is the amazing amount of motorists who will still attempt to pass me no matter my lane position when they have no idea what may be around the corner. Of course a centered or left of center lane position helps, but I found I often need to look back and/or issue a stop/slow signal to prevent a dangerous pass. Doing this makes almost every one of them reconsider their risky maneuver. Even so, I'm always prepared to bail right if necessary. Mirrors come in handy because they help you time your signal, and allow you to see if and when the drivers respond.
StrangeWill
11-18-07, 03:27 AM
I live on a much narrower street with many blind/sharp corners. I've had bicyclists coming HEAD ON in my lane, that sure freaks me out (I never say anything, saying something to dumb people rarely makes them smart).
As for what you did, thats fine, as long as you were center in the lane, and not crowding the yellow line. It's what I'd prefer bicyclists do on my road.
Carusoswi
11-18-07, 04:56 AM
I won't second guess the OP's handling of this situation as I wasn't there, either.
What I would do in that situation depends on which parts of the curve were blind. I assume you were blind to oncoming traffic, not blind to traffic approaching from the rear (there are such situations, they make me shiver, cower as far right as possible, pray a lot, and pedal harder/faster).
If blind from the rear, I'm for keeping right until you can get the heck out of there.
In most situations, I doubt I would enforce no passing in a 17' lane, but, then again, I ride all the time in situations where cars pass me under control with a lot less space available than 17', so I'm comfortable with it.
I concur that you should make a point to return "right" treatment from drivers with friendly gestures of thanks.
Caruso
atbman
11-18-07, 05:53 AM
Agree. It's your judgement call in such circumstances and you're doing the right thing in getting feedback. I certainly wouldn't second-guess you, even if I might not have centred the lane in the same circcumstances
CB HI
11-18-07, 01:31 PM
"I won't second guess the OP's handling of this situation", even if would have done this or that...
"I certainly wouldn't second-guess you, even if would have done this or that...":rolleyes:
Carusoswi
11-22-07, 04:37 AM
"I won't second guess the OP's handling of this situation", even if would have done this or that...
"I certainly wouldn't second-guess you, even if would have done this or that...":rolleyes:
Say what?
LittleBigMan
11-22-07, 08:47 AM
Whether blind curve or hill, I remain flexible. Sometimes I move to the center, other times I move right. It's your call, because it's your as.
There is no legalistic approach, only what works best for the situation.
Reminds me of a the Bruce Lee biography I saw. Bruce Lee studied all the standard Kung Fu movements, but he claimed they were limiting. He believed in being able to flow with each situation.
I'd say there is no single approach that works 100% of the time. It's better to think of them as "guidelines."
That said, I prefer to stay centerish at blind corners and hills, in fact, I prefer centerish positioning in general, unless lanes are very wide.