Commuting - road shoulders, or lack thereof

How do other people deal with commuting on roads with either no shoulder, or a minimal shoulder? I do find it is generally much safer when I claim a part of the road, as opposed to tightroping the narrow shoulder (and thus invisible to an alarming number of drivers). Cars actually slow down to pass when you ride assertively. Well, at least 95+% of them do in my experience.

On my commute, it is especially bad in the morning when the sun is just coming up straight ahead on the horizon and cars are streaming by. I can't help but watch them coming up in my mirror while I'm riding.. as if I could ride into the ditch if I had to.

An alternative to this road does have a better shoulder, but also has very heavy traffic and a lot of exhaust fumes to deal with. Gah - I'll take my chances on the lesser traveled, minimal shoulder route.

On the plus side, commuting is a GREAT way to get tons of miles in (I road race). 25 miles in the morning, 25 miles in the evening.. and I'm done training by 7pm. Yeah! :)

-Ron

When there's no safe shoulder for me to ride in, I claim enough of the lane to stop cars being able to pass me without actually moving out of the lane. If you don't do this, you end up with cars passing you with inches to spare. I don't really care if I hold them up for a few seconds :). I'd rather be alive and safe...

I also ride with at least one rear light on whenever I'm commuting during daylight hours, and often an LED headlight as well. I've found it helps drivers see me a lot better, especially when the sun is an issue.

Neither of my routes have much of a shoulder. I normally ride right on the fog line. If there is a lot of traffic, I move into the lane a bit also to keep the folks that are in a big hurry from crowding me.

I have several NO PASSING ZONES on blind curves on my normal route that I almost always take a good portion of the lane to keep from being crowded off the road.

It depends on the width of the road and the speed and density of traffic. There are a couple of rules of thumb that I follow though.

Generally, I ride far enough outside the path of traffic to have enough room or three feet from the road edge, whichever is greater.

The exception to this is: the closer I get to the speed of the traffic, the further I move into the lane.

The position of the white line is irrelevant.

<snip>The position of the white line is irrelevant.

On my route, there is little to no pavement beyond he "white line." So my position to the "white line" is quite relevant. Now, if I am on a road with shoulders, than I ride on the shoulder, if practicle.

I ride the white line all the time, just concentrate and dont make any mistakes, big trucks and busses can make you nervous but just focus ahead of you and dont look down.

The position of the white line is irrelevant.

I generally do what Allister does. I pay more attention to the position of the edge of the road than where the white line has been painted. I've also started looking for the more heavily trafficked routes. Around here they seem to be the safer option.

I do find it is generally much safer when I claim a part of the road, as opposed to tightroping the narrow shoulder (and thus invisible to an alarming number of drivers). Cars actually slow down to pass when you ride assertively. Well, at least 95+% of them do in my experience.


The problems with tightroping the narrow shoulder are the following

1. If the road starts to break up, you could be in serious trouble. There could be glass, a pothole or anything and by tightroping that narrow shoulder you're forced to hold that position at full speed regardless to the poor road road conditions. You've basically boxed yourself in a quite dangerous position in my opinion as cars will be riding right next to you and expect you to HOLD that position.

2. You can't really hold that tight a line if there's plenty of wind. You're playing with fire here.

3. Whatever room you give the motorist, they will demand more from you. I've found that no matter how generous you are, some cars will just come even closer so why bother doing the tightrope?

The problems with tightroping the narrow shoulder are the following

1. If the road starts to break up, you could be in serious trouble. There could be glass, a pothole or anything and by tightroping that narrow shoulder you're forced you to hold that position at full speed regardless to the poor road road conditions. You've basically boxed yourself in which in quite dangerous in my opinion.

2. You can't really hold that tight a line if there's plenty of wind. You're playing with fire here.

I totally agree Steve. Especially when you ride on roads of unpredictable quality (like around here), you just never know when you'll need that margin for error. Not only that, you're just asking for a flat riding too close to the edge of the road.. be it glass, goatheads, pinch flats or whatever.

Unfortunately, I see too many cyclists who just aren't comfortable with riding to the left of the white line. That can make for a white knuckle ride which can't be all that enjoyable.


3. Whatever room you give the motorist, they will demand more from you. I've found that no matter how generous you are, some cars will just come even closer so why bother doing the tightrope?

This is 100% true. Motorists will take whatever you give, so why tightrope and give away whatever margin for error you have? Also, when you give too much to *some* motorists, you basically disappear from their consciousness altogether. Now that is really scary.

Holding your ground and taking a reasonable part of the lane is safest, in my opinion. Luckily, I only rarely encounter motorists who truly get mad that I'm in their way. These types usually try to make a point by honking, yelling or a close drive-by. Only the latter really bothers me. I find that a friendly wave is the best response in most cases..

-Ron

Take the space that you need to ride safely but remember that courtesy works both ways. Give motorists the room to pass as soon as it is safe to do so.

If the sun is low enough to be in your eyes, then it's in the motorists eyes as well. This is a tough time to be on a road with no shoulder since the motorist is very likely not to see you. I would opt for the busier road with the shoulder so the motorists do not have to take evasive action.

I believe that taking any significant portion of the lane when the sun is directly in your eyes is an unsafe practice.

I believe that taking any significant portion of the lane when the sun is directly in your eyes is an unsafe practice.

I disagree, especially considering the difficulty that motorists around here seem to have with physically staying within the confines of the road at any time of day or night. I think the "sun in your eyes" is the time when you need to be most visible. If it's no shoulder or a narrow shoulder, you should be in the centre of the lane. If the shoulder's really wide, that's when you use it.