Beating the odds... I was riding out to a friend's house one day, southeast of Denver. The paved roads had shoulders so they were no problems. The dirt roads had no traffic... until I came over a low hill and could see a mile or so ahead. A car was coming toward me. No problem. I kept riding along (they'd told me it was 45 miles, but I was well into the 50s by this point). Then I heard a car in the distance behind me. Took a quick look back, a look forward... did the mental integration. Stopped the bike, walked into the ditch beyond the very soft shoulder, and the cars passed each other as they passed me.