Originally Posted by head the armchair bicyclist
Viewing a given environment as hostile is, in many ways, a self-fulfilling prophecy. Look at Beck's riding experiences as another [1], [2].
I'm sorry, do you mean 1) while taking the lane on the approach to a bridge deck, a driver decided to harass me and later run me off the road? and 2) while fully taking the lane, drivers can still overlook bicyclists and pull completly illegal moves that endanger bicyclists and other road users? no, i see that you don't; you mean something completely different....
Originally Posted by head
In general, when assuming a hostile environment, I avoid asserting my right of way when doing so might affect motorists. More specifically, I keep to the right, even at intersection approaches, even when in lanes too narrow to be shared, or when riding in marginally wide lanes. I wait for gaps before I merge across the street to make a left turn, etc. I scurry "around" and "outside of" traffic, rather than integrate myself with traffic (not that I don't filter forward in stopped traffic normally, I just use that style much more when in "assuming hostile environment" mode).
yep. I wasn't doing any of that, oh great soothsayer.
sounds like you have great familiarity with this style; I emphatically don't ride like that and haven't for a couple of decades. Is this the way YOU bicycle, head, when you aren't safely grouped with a pack of LCI poseurs and foresterite groupies? -oh, i forget, most of your bicycling is purely theoretical. my apologies for mistaking your armchair musings for actual bicycling experience.
To take the 'great soothsayer' at face value, the 'self fufilling prophecy' I've brought on myself is 1)act like a vehicle, take the lane, and some drivers wil still be greatly preturbed or 2) act like a vehicle, take the lane, and some drivers will pull blatently illegal moves that endanger other road users.
Originally Posted by head the motorist
The other day I was backing my car out of a diagonal parking spot and noticed something. At first I backed out very slowly, until my sight lines were such that I could see around the back of the car parked next to me to make sure the road was clear, and then, when I verified it was (CLEAR FOR CARS, NOT BIKES, HEAD), backed out much faster. After doing so it donned on me that had a cyclist been riding to the right of where I was expecting and looking for vehicular traffic, I wouldn't have seen him when I hit the gas to back out...... Practically speaking, I didn't think to look for traffic so narrow and so far right before I backed out.
GREAT! Head's just another crappy motorist not watching for bicyclists!