Vehicular Cycling Poll, who does it?
I've been following the thread Serge started for a while now, but it doesn't seem like many people actually do VC. I'm curious about how many of you actually cycle vehicularly or plan to, and why.
I just got a road bike a few weeks ago and plan on cycling to places where I won't have to carry much cargo back. Recently, I find that I don't like driving anymore. For some reason, every time I drive, I become frustrated and disappointed. It could be all the gases I see rising from cars on a hot day or the smell of oil and tires when I open my window or just the fact that all I see is a bunch of lifeless and impatient metal. This is why I want to bike; it feels much more fresh, healthy, open, and unconfined. Of course, the problem is: cyclists are a very small minority, and the fact is, not many people even know cyclists' rights. Heck, I didn't even know that cyclists are allowed to ride vehicularly until I read these forums. If I saw one a year ago on the streets, I would be pissed off or think he's stupid and crazy, to tell the truth. So here comes the problem:
Even though San Jose has bike lanes on almost every major road, I don't feel very safe riding in bike lanes, especially when approaching an intersection where there is a right turn lane. There is a sense of being trapped on the right. When I get close to the intersection, I can't all of a sudden move out of the bike lane to go straight because there are cars to my left who want to turn right and are most likely not going to yield to me. The solution is, of course, riding vehicularly so that everyone sees me and has to slow down regardless of my intentions. However, when I ride vehicularly, I always feel guilty about being an inconvenience to cars (yes, I've read all the posts about being an inconvenience and such but still can't get over it). So here I am, stuck in the VC dilemma: if I drive, I feel bad, but if I bike in the bike lanes, I don't feel safe.