Originally Posted by catatonic
/sigh re-read....I said "taking a lane" not "riding on it". Those must be one and the same to you, to me they are two totally different things. Taking a lane is where you, the rider stay in the dead middle of the lane, in some attempt to get drivers to give you more passing room. That kind of behavior out here on a 55mph road will get someone killed. Riding in a lane, is not bad, so long as the cyclist is not up against a curb, and the cars can pass without piling up behind you (road rage is not a good thing)....just make sure they actually can react in time.
In the case of Gandy....riding in the lane is extremely dangerous...the speeds are too high, and the way roads merge with it creates many blind merging points...all of those are 45mph-65mph roads that the merge lanes are connecting it to. It's best to ride the berm on that road. St.Pete side has a MASSIVE berm....there is no reason to not use it. Tampa's side has a slightly narrower than a bike lane berm. It's usable.
In the case of Gandy....it's the only road that a cyclist can take to go from St.Pete to Tampa or vice-versa.....it's unavoidable, so it's a risk we just have to take. I have to cross it every day to go to work....fortunately that's at a traffic light leaving me to play chicken with the folks on the opposite end's "left turn" lane (go, and don't slow down...they will eventually yield...stop, and you'll be there until the light goes red).
Key is riding it with both visibility, and keeping in mind the greatly reduced driver reaction time. People by nature rarely expect cyclists on 55mph roads....why? Because I highly doubt anyone here can even hold 35...so if you are on a somewhat congested and fast road, give the cars some room. If there is a wide burm that is not filled up with crud, don't be too proud to use it.
There is a difference to sharing the road, and impeding it. I do my best to keep things as smooth as possible when I'm on a major road. It's only polite, and I actually do get polite responses back.
As far as my whiner statement, it still stands tall and proud. Anyone who does not ride someplace becuse it's percieved as dangerous, then keeps telling people it's dangerous without actually taking time to experience it, despite huge numbers of people actually riding it, is a whiner. There are only a handful of roads that are actually "dangerous" that are unavoidable (such as Gandy). To the cyclist that keeps in mind all options, and is willing to use all options, there are plenty of ways of maximizing safety with minimal annoyance for the cyclist or the drivers.
Just know your territory, but don't talk crap about other places based on second hand or numerical figures from some "source". If you rode here, cool.
And yes, south FL may be a different beast....I'm in central FL. Just dismissing the entire state based on one region is just plain stupid though. Some areas will be great for cycling, some won't.
Unfortunately there are advocates that do promote "taking a lane" in such conditions and promote that "anyone can do it" albeit, with training. While in theory this might be true, in practice you get "That kind of behavior out here on a 55mph road will get someone killed." While some one person may be able to do some act, it is done once, and under perhaps ideal conditions... So why promote such negative and unlikely behaviour to the general cycling public.
BTW I am not addressing you or where you ride, but simply that while we cyclists may have "rights" to everywhere, actually exercising those rights can be quite foolish. (I believe this is quite consistant with your "To the cyclist that keeps in mind all options, and is willing to use all options, there are plenty of ways of maximizing safety with minimal annoyance for the cyclist or the drivers.")