Originally Posted by
patentcad
To each his own; I have managed to ride 100,000+ miles within 1-2' of the edge of the road without a problem. I don't want drivers to make any 'definitive moves' other than NOT HITTING ME. I hear what you are saying, but my feeling is that the 'definitive move' might very well be the driver rear ending the cyclist. It's a gray area: depends very much on the road, the condition of the shoulder (if there is one), but I try to stay as far to the right as I can, and it works for me.
Do you have the 'right' to 3' on the side of the road? Yes, you do. The police will console your widow that you died obeying the law.
I WISH I could do this. I've ridden in enough centuries in the US to see that road quality is far superior to what we have up here. I live not far from Steeles Ave, which has been voted the worst road in Ontario for the umpteenth year in a row. Debris, sewer grates, potholes big enough to swallow children... If I tried to ride near the curb, I would constantly have to be swerving out 2-3 feet to avoid crash-inducing obstacles. This isn't just stuff that would dent a rim.
So yes, there are lots of stretches where I will ride 2-3 feet out from the curb. Once I get up to the country roads, I'm more than happy to be just left of the white line.