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An instance of taking the lane...

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Old 10-18-12 | 09:27 PM
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An instance of taking the lane...

Taking the lane is highly subjective in my opinion, depending on the conditions, but this part of the road called for such an action, and it gave me the space I needed. More commentary under the video.

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Old 10-19-12 | 02:21 AM
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In that spot, with that kinda-door-zone bike lane, had you been going 20 mph, I'd have taken the lane too. At the slow speed you were going, there really was no need to, IMO.
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Old 10-19-12 | 05:54 AM
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Except you didn't take the lane. You rode in the right tire track.
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Old 10-19-12 | 06:20 AM
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(That was exciting.)

====================

Originally Posted by hagen2456
In that spot, with that kinda-door-zone bike lane, had you been going 20 mph, I'd have taken the lane too. At the slow speed you were going, there really was no need to, IMO.
Originally Posted by skye
Except you didn't take the lane. You rode in the right tire track.
He is riding a really wide "bicycle".

Last edited by njkayaker; 10-19-12 at 06:23 AM.
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Old 10-19-12 | 07:42 AM
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Originally Posted by njkayaker
(That was exciting.)

====================





He is riding a really wide "bicycle".
With 3 wheels.
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Old 10-19-12 | 08:45 AM
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Originally Posted by skye
Except you didn't take the lane. You rode in the right tire track.
And that wasn't taking the lane? Frankly I also thought he could move over just a touch more, but when I take a lane, I never ride in the middle... the possibly of grease and oil there is just too high. Motorcyclists are taught never to ride in the middle, but instead on one tire track or the other.
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Old 10-19-12 | 10:56 AM
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Main reason I went out that far was because of the wide trailer and truck parked next to the bike lane. I think most of the drivers knew why I was out there, so they didn't have an issue with me. The second white truck driver yelled for me to get out of the road, which was silly... I was not in the best of moods at the time and told him to shut up. He didn't hear me anyway. Most of the time I just wave, because 99% of the time they are yelling a compliment of my rig. Which is nice...

Traffic was slow in this video clip, given the light had just changed, but sometimes they blow past me at 35 to 40 mph. Given that I am on a trike that is stable at slow speeds, it wouldn't be so much a problem as with a bicycle that can wobble and possibly fall over at low speeds, going uphill, under load, being passed relatively close. Depending on the road situation (quite varied around here), I will tolerate it if need be. Riding on highway 1, for example, I have to put up with the heavy and rather fast traffic on a narrow shoulder.

And yes, my trike's width, including the trailer's track, is 33". So from the camera's POV I'm in the right tire track, but my left wheel is over halfway across the lane. I just got tired of people squeezing past me at that section when I was stuck in that position with no place to go... so this time I thought I'd see if I could improve the situation. I signaled, edged out into the right tire track, and watched people use the other lane to pass.
Once I get past that congestion, I can get back in the bike lane, because farther up the road the speed limit increases and when it hits the edge of town, it goes up to 55 mph, and the bike lane turns into a nice bike path seperated from the road by verge and a fence).

Another minor detail; the rider is a she, (me) and in her early 50s.
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Old 10-19-12 | 11:00 AM
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I like that idea of telling drivers to shut up... even if they don't hear it... It just gets that chip off your shoulder.

Ride on ma'am.
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Old 10-19-12 | 11:11 AM
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Especially since they are giving me silly advice, given the only place I can go is up.
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Old 10-19-12 | 11:15 AM
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The drivers in that video are quite considerate!
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Old 10-19-12 | 11:20 AM
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They are quite bike-friendly in this area.
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Old 10-19-12 | 01:09 PM
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Originally Posted by genec
I like that idea of telling drivers to shut up... even if they don't hear it... It just gets that chip off your shoulder.

Ride on ma'am.
I do it all the time. Occasionally I do get a comment back. I just keep going towards my destination.
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Old 10-19-12 | 01:15 PM
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Originally Posted by Chris516
I do it all the time. Occasionally I do get a comment back. I just keep going towards my destination.
Keep yelling "clever" comments/combacks at motorists who already have displayed hostility towards you, and one day you might be delayed goings towards your destination.
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Old 10-19-12 | 01:21 PM
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Originally Posted by I-Like-To-Bike
Keep yelling "clever" comments/combacks at motorists who already have displayed hostility towards you, and one day you might be delayed goings towards your destination.
Shut up!
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Old 10-19-12 | 01:26 PM
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Originally Posted by I-Like-To-Bike
Keep yelling "clever" comments/combacks at motorists who already have displayed hostility towards you, and one day you might be delayed goings towards your destination.

+1
Why try to bother sociopaths?
It reminds me of the father at the gas station that told a fellow motorist not to smoke while pumping gas.
He wife / kids watched him burn. He could have simply driven away / called authorities.
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Old 10-19-12 | 01:45 PM
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Originally Posted by genec
Shut up!
Smile when you shout dat at me, pardner!
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Old 10-19-12 | 02:34 PM
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Originally Posted by i-like-to-bike
smile when you shout dat at me, pardner!
ok
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Old 10-19-12 | 02:57 PM
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To my eyes the OP was avoiding the door zone but not giving a clear signal that the lane was too narrow for safe sharing.

It may be just semantics, but I avoid ideas of "lane control" or "taking the lane." All I can do is show by my position whether or not the lane can be safely shared.
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Old 10-19-12 | 05:27 PM
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Originally Posted by I-Like-To-Bike
Keep yelling "clever" comments/comebacks at motorists who already have displayed hostility towards you, and one day you might be delayed goings towards your destination.
That is if, I yell loud enough for them to hear, at the speed they are driving.

Originally Posted by yosarian9
+1
Why try to bother sociopaths?
It reminds me of the father at the gas station that told a fellow motorist not to smoke while pumping gas.
He wife / kids watched him burn. He could have simply driven away / called authorities.
Personally, In the situation you remember, I agree with the father. I would have been more vocal. Because, Even gasoline vapors can cause an explosion with the right ignition source.
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Old 10-19-12 | 11:37 PM
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Actually I was signalling. That is why the cars behind me were starting to change lanes. I clipped the rest of the video, where I had to remain out in the lane for a while longer, and I took up half the road, until the parked cars thinned out and I could go back to riding in the bike lane without any problems with obstructions.
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Old 10-22-12 | 08:39 AM
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It looks like the bike lane is wide enough to have a car door open and you still in the bike lane, but I have to admit that I have little experience with parked cars (my commute takes me through light suburbs and rural areas with few parked cars).
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Old 10-23-12 | 04:59 PM
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Yes, most of the time there is space if I have my left tire right on the fog line. In this case, I was passing a wide trailer and dually in the parking zone. Often there are semis and trailers, trailers with machinery and RVs parked along there. No space for me. I ride in many kinds of road conditions around here, I'll take what space I need to be as visible as possible, and people can pass me when they are able.
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Old 10-23-12 | 11:31 PM
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Today, I was 'taking the lane' to/from, a doctor's appointment. Two motorists' honked at me(one of them was having a love affair with her horn....yes looking behind me, I did see a woman in the drivers' seat), and another motorist told me to get off the road. I told them all rather loudly to 'shut up!!!!'. I never gave up the lane to any motorists'.
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Old 10-24-12 | 03:02 AM
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looks good..

i don't if drivers are used to bikes in SJ but I never have had someone yell or honk at me, and I often take the lane...
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Old 10-24-12 | 05:50 AM
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Originally Posted by Chris516
Today, I was 'taking the lane' to/from, a doctor's appointment. Two motorists' honked at me(one of them was having a love affair with her horn....yes looking behind me, I did see a woman in the drivers' seat), and another motorist told me to get off the road. I told them all rather loudly to 'shut up!!!!'. I never gave up the lane to any motorists'.
OOH-OOH! You are a tuff guy, ain't cha?
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