StephenH

I've done a lot of hiking in times past, and a good bit of that was on some single-track trails that were largely used by mountain bikers. I've noticed that on these trails, when they have rules posted, in some cases hikers always have the right-of-way, and in other cases, it's the bikes. But I figured out rather quickly that regardless of what the signs said, it was nearly always much easier for a hiker to step out of the way than for a bicyclist to get out of the way, and did so. I found the bicyclists were usually appreciative of that.

I think there's a similar thing that goes on with bikes and cars. You can demand your right-of-way, and expect traffic to wait while you do whatever you do. But that doesn't mean it's always the prudent thing to do.

I went on a longer ride the other day, a charity ride out through the country. It was sort of a gloomy-looking day. Much of the ride was on 2-lane farm-to-market roads. I kept my blinky on the whole ride, and stayed at the right most of the time. Motorists that passed me mostly would go on the far lane while passing; nobody ever got close to me with a car. I didn't see anyone else with a blinky going, and many of them were riding two-abreast. After the ride, one guy asked me, "Did you have any traffic problems?" Well, no I didn't. Evidently he did. And the same traffic passed us all for the most part. It may not be right, but you can create some of your own traffic problems. It's just like if you drive your car down a rural road at 25 mph. It may be legal, but that doesn't mean it's a good way to drive.

Tombstone inscription:
"Here lies the body of William Jay
Who died maintaining his right-of-way.
He was right, dead right, as he sped along.
But he's just as dead as if he'd been dead wrong."