Originally Posted by
genec
OK you've danced around the question, so here it is directly... Do you ever take the lane? Is there any circumstance in which you ride so left as to consider it "taking the lane?"
Yes I do, as I have written, and you have read,
MANY times. So don't be cute with me on this subject. Always on the six mile stretch of 55mph highway with 10' lanes on my 12 mile commute. But I never ride dead center in any busy lane because of the oil drippings and because it is seen as a thumb in the eye provocation to almost every motorist on the road.
If there were a usable shoulder, or parked cars with a door zone parallel to this road, that's where I would ride.
Pictures reposted to refresh your memory of the conditions where I do take a lane only because there is no better alternative method or route for this commute.