sbhikes

Ok you know-it-alls,
I'll see if I can describe it right. Imagine you are travelling down the road. It is very twisty like an "S". There is a soft, low shoulder (a ditch full of sand) to the right about 6" from the white line painted on the street. There are two lanes in either direction. No bike lanes. No sidewalks. You curve to the left, then curve to the right. At the apex of the curve (basically at the top/left of the "S"), you must turn left. The street you are turning on presents you immediately with a 45 degree hill. If, as you approach, there is no on-coming traffic it's no problem to turn left, slam down to granny gear, and carry on your merry way. If you cannot shift in time, the hill is so steep you may have to get off and push. (Pretend for a minute you are not a young stud.)

This time there is on-coming traffic and you won't make it to your left turn without stopping, meaning you'll probably have to get off and walk to get up the hill. Since the hill presents itself immediately, you'll probably have to get off and walk before you finish your left turn. In fact, you'll probably have to get off and walk to make the left turn.

So, with on-coming traffic and this crazy left turn with a steep hill and knowing you're going to have to get off and walk, suddenly, traffic approaches from the rear. It is travelling not at the recommended 15mph that the curve warrants, but more like 40mph. What do you do?

twahl

Find another route?

OK so maybe that's not an option...how about going on past the turn, so that you can turn around and attack the turn/hill with momentum on your side?

Helmet Head

Address of intersection please...

John E

I can't ride up a 45-degree hill (that a 100-percent grade, folks!) in ANY gear. On my road bikes, a 20-percent grade is my upper limit, and I cannot sustain one of those very long.

Allister

If the lane is reasonably wide, I'd wait in the centre of the road to turn, and hope like hell no-one overcooks the corner and swings wide. There's probably not much chance of this on a 4 laner: people tend to cut corners.

A clear hand signal held for the length of the wait would help too.

If I consider that too risky, I'd probably get over to the left hand side earlier (ride contraflow, probably in the gravel if it's not too loose) and avoid them altogether.

There are a few factors you haven't decribed though. How wide are the lanes? How are the sight lines? ie. if you're waiting in the middle, how far back can the following traffic see you? If the sight lines are bad, then walking across both lanes may be more risky than waiting in the middle.

If speeding motorists are really as bad as you say, it might also be worth asking the local constabulary to set up a speed trap there occasionally. By the sound of it, it's dangerous enough for a cyclist to try and turn there. What happens if a car is waiting to turn and some speeder comes barrelling around the corner without enough room or time to avoid them?

sbhikes

I don't know the number, but it's the corner of Sheffield Drive and San Leandro in Montecito. Maybe it's not 45 degrees, but it's so steep I feel like I'll flip over backwards on my recumbent.

Yes, it's very dangerous. Very narrow, very limited sight lines, and people speed like maniacs. I will admit that I've taken a dive into the ditch on the right a couple of times when I've seen a car approach from behind. That's how close to the right you are when you are waiting in the center of the lane.

Chris L

I think you might be exaggerating just a touch -- the steepest street in the world (Baldwin Street, Dunedin, New Zealand) has only a 38 degree gradient. However, Allister has the best idea -- or if it's really a problem, simply keep riding the same line until you've reached a point where you're at 90 degrees to where you have to turn, then pull over and wait for traffic to clear.