I'm just kind of curious how everyone rides in the street, and I wonder if I'm doing it correctly. I lurk here mostly, and see comments in other threads about "not riding in the gutter," and taking or not taking the lane.

I ride the way I feel safest- usually about 3 or so feet from the curb when I'm not in a bike lane. I'll take the lane when I think it's prudent for me to do so- usually when I'm in a left turn lane, need to get into the left turn lane, or at an intersection where the right is right turn only, left is left turn only, and the center in straight on.

How do you do it?

I do whatever I feel is safe for me to do. My riding includes, roads, sidewalks, bike lanes, MUPS, dirt paths, cutting across parking lots... Sometimes I take the lane, sometimes I ride close to the curb. I refuse to listen to people who say that taking a whole lane is an absolute and only proper way to ride, those people are clueless and don't know what they talking about. There are many places and situations where vehicular cycling dogma is not practical or safe to practice.

Combination, when needed I take the lane if I feel that cars will pass too close because the road is narrow or a driver may try and pass in an unsafe area like a hill or curve. Taking the lane lets them know that they must treat me like any other slow vehicle and pass only when safe. If there is more than enough room and I don't feel threatened I ride in the right wheel track. If I get a few cars behind me I will try and move over to a driveway or other opening to allow them to pass.

One thing I never do is ride close to the curb. Should some numb-nuts try and pass too close I have absolutely no where to go.

That sounds very similar to the way I ride - usually about 3ft. from the curb. I figure that's the optimal position for making my intentions obvious, clearly indicating that I'm claiming my spot in the lane, but still being courteous so that it's easy for drivers to pass me with a safe margin.

But like Wolfchild, I react to road conditions as needed - if the situation means that any driver trying to pass me is likely to run me off the side of the street, I will take the whole lane so that nobody is tempted to make that unsafe pass. Potholes, an available safe shoulder, blind corners, different kinds of turn lanes and merge lanes, or traffic conditions are all things that effect my lane position.

I ride in difference locations depending on the road and conditions. On rural roads with roads that have some broken or irregular pavement, I'll ride where it's smoothest which is often in the middle of the road. On these roads we'll often ride in groups two-up and take the lane. Cars just pass us like we were a slow moving vehicle.

On roads with more traffic I'll ride close to the edge but if I see any movement ahead from a driveway or intersecting road, I'll take a quick look over my left shoulder and move to the middle or far left side of the lane to improve visibility for the approaching cars and to give me more time to react if they don't see me.

Bridges, or narrow lanes I'll move to the middle of the lane to block any vehicles from passing.

Much of my commute is on a highway with a wide shoulder. Unfortunately, the shoulder often collects debris so I'll ride in the shoulder within a couple feet of the fog line.

I always try to avoid riding in the middle of the road for there are a lot of possible dangers due to texting/cellphone usages. Mostly bikelanes and sometimes sidewalks when necessary.

I try to ride more or less to the traffic laws.

I ride a meter from the curb, and I shoulder check, move left, and signal before turning left. If there are parked cars I ride a meter out from them to avoid being 'doored'.

If I see a narrow spot ahead, I will shoulder check, signal and take the lane.

I slow down at stop signs and roll through, just like car drivers do . If a car on the cross street arrives before or at the same time as me and has right of way, I stop and put a foot down and refuse to make eye contact so they can't wave me through, and wait until they go first.

At red lights I usually pull over and put my right foot on the curb, unless the right lane is a turning lane, in which case I stop on the left side of it, on the lane line. If the right lane is both a right turn and straight ahead lane, I stay in the middle so nobody tries to pass me on the right, but well forward so cars can turn right behind me. But in that position, you have to watch out for cars coming from your right and turning towards you - you may be in their blind spot.

I don't take short cuts though parking lots as it can be dangerous, as well as annoying to pedestrians.

I ride on park paths if they are on my route (legal to do so here) but almost never sidewalks.

On paths and streets, I ring the bell as I am approaching/overtaking pedestrians, so they don't walk in front of me, and on paths I also call out "on your left" or just "passing".

I ride fast and furious, spending as little time on the road as possible as I hurry to the nearest paved bike path. When forced to ride on the road, I ride on the right, and I usually ride the shoulder if it is available.

A little bit of everything proactively as conditions and instincts dictate, maintain vigilance to mitigate unforeseen situations if needed, while doing what I can to not create conflicts with others when possible.
I NEVER let theories, philosophies, ideologies, or rights distract me from the reality of the moment, or put faith in any tricks, techniques, or equipment to keep me safe.

Awareness and common scene are key to safety, after all, its just riding a bicycle, not juggling chainsaws.

I ride as fast as I can all the time. It is my twice a day workout.

If you're not having any problems, you're doing it right.

I (usually) use a mirror so I ALWAYS know exactly whats going on behind me. As such, I default to somewhere between right and left tire tracks, depending on conditions. When a faster vehicle approaches behind me, I move right if it is safe and reasonable to do so. If it is not, I hold my line or even move farther left, and sometimes signal or look back. Works better than a charm.

I suspect a video of a typical commute ride would answer the OP's question quite nicely too, though some commute videos out there (eg. the slicing through NYC one) might be too extreme for some folks.

So, it sounds like I'm doing all right. I mean, I feel I'm making myself as safe as I can without holding up traffic. I do use a mirror, and I'm getting better at being proactive in places that can be difficult for me to get to the lane I want to be in. After reading comments in other forums and threads, I thought maybe I was doing something wrong. I rarely see other bike commuters, so it's not like I can watch and see what they do.

I've watched some commuting videos from NYC...wow! Some of those people look like they're competing for a Darwin Award.

I was hoping to take a "confident city cycling" class (typically offered by local bike organizations - in my area it's WABA) before beginning my commute rides. My coworker finally convinced me to meet up with him, then follow him to work - that was this past June. No classes were scheduled for June or July for that matter, so following my coworker was my crash course in city riding instead.

I've also tried to make up for the lack of such a class by joining beginner level group rides. I've learned a lot by going on these rides. I found them through meetup.com.

I also follow other bike commuters sometimes, when they happen to be going the same way. Some of them do run red lights and filter/lane-split, which I try not to do often. There's this one part of the evening commute where I ride on a two-lane street, and would have to change to the left lane, and get into the left turn lane to turn to a particular street. I usually can't do that because there are too many cars going at a speed that blocks me from changing lanes. Some cyclists solve that problem by running a red light in order to get into that left turn lane. I usually pull over to a corner and use the pedestrian crosswalk to get onto the desired street.

Of course we all vary a lot depending on the streets we use. Mine are all old urban, and mostly residential, but here and there I negotiate complex intersections. If I had to ride on rural high speed roads I would probably have a few different practises.

I ride on residential neighborhood streets and dirt/gravel trails as much as possible. I know all the streets and trails around where I live and work and seldom have to resort to riding on high-speed boulevards with multiple lanes of cars going 45 mph or more. I cut through parking lots too, but they're not the really busy ones such as where grocery stores and gas stations are.

One I regularly ride through has a department store, a bank, and doctor's offices that aren't open yet when I ride through in the mornings, and another has a movie theatre and restaurants that aren't open for breakfast, so it's deserted too, except for some prep cooks' cars parked at the restaurants when I pass by.

My favorite is a shopping center that I ride around the back of, where trucks unload, but there is lots of room for me to stay far away from them. The best part about this one is the tall wooden privacy fence that separates the parking lot from the houses has a sidewalk and an opening for pedestrians, cyclists, parents pushing strollers, etc. I go very slowly here so I don't bowl over granny walking her teacup poodles on twenty-foot leashes or anyone else, and fortunately I rarely see anyone around there. That shortcut is my favorite, and I was really pleased when I detoured off my usual route and discovered it one afternoon. It saves me a lot of time, compared to riding around the whole block in traffic to get to the same place.

I ride as close to the right as possible. If there are no cars behind me I will take the middle of the lane until one approaches. When it comes to getting in turn lanes I'm usually on the far left side.

On most of scenario, I will right close to the right as possible and let cars pass by, and move to proper lane for proper direction(left/right/straight) by shoulder checking and letting driver behind know with signals.
However, if I feel like I need to be protective (ex. Really narrow 2 lane road[one each direction] or road filled with dangerous objects like broken glasses) i will take the lane until the safe point.
For lane split, I just do not bother them for safety reason, and i will always slow down in stop sign until i have full awareness of condition.

Best thing to do is just be aware of not only the car, but the driver as well. If other driver's head isn't looking on the road, be prepared to get yourself out of the road as fast as possible.

Here is some reading material that all commuters should read. Bicycling Street Smarts - Table of Contents

Ride exactly as you do. Here in Florida, we are legally allowed to ride on sidewalks or on street, and I have done all the above.

T

I'm not sure if it's legal here or not, but I don't like riding on the sidewalk. The road is much smoother!

It's a good idea to find out if it's legal where you ride. You never know when you might need to switch to the sidewalk.

When I'm on the street riding with heavy car traffic, I will sometimes switch to the sidewalk instead of filter between stopped cars, if the gap between cars is not narrow enough for me to be feel comfortable riding through. My bike's handlebar is wider than that of a road bike.

un hurried, like someone who has retired .. and is almost 68.

On the sidewalk when it is safer, than 4 lane highway through my part of town , but always ready to stop, as a courtesy to pedestrians..