First time I have noticed your sig, chipcom. I like!

Halleluiah... I think you hit it right on the head. :D

All started with fax machines and overnight delivery... and we have been trying to meet stupid artificial deadlines ever since. ;)

On the flip side, I find that moving at a sailboat pace helps keep me on an even keel. Cycling fits in there somewhere. :)

Have a good weekend.

In fact, a staunch driving enthusiast here at my office came by and commented on my "bike to work" email: "Oh yeah, that's a great day to drive, as the traffic becomes so much lighter while all you 'nuts' ride your bikes."

So much for bikes causing traffic delays.

First... Lets clear things up. I currently have 3 college degrees, and am half way through my law degree. I am not a fry-jockey, and if I was, it wouldnt really change my feelings on this. I currently work as an engineer at a MAJOR aerospace company, and my time indirectly comes out of the pockets of the taxpayers. So yes, my time is important.. if you like your tax money to be well spent. My point is, I know how to budget time.. I dont leave with "just enough time" to get to work. I plan ahead and leave early. If I dont hit traffic, I am early. If I do, I am on time.

Second... people do not have a right to get pissed off if I am doing 12mph in their lane. Ya know what, have a damn heart, some courtesy , and some respect for your fellow man. I dont expect you to stay behind me and follow me the whole way at my speed... but as you say, cars are faster, and they can pass at the first opportunity.

So please, tell me what speed is approprtiate? If I am doing 30 mph on my bike, and people get pissed because I am going slow, are they right? What if the speed limit is 25mph, and I am technically speeding on my bike? I have people pass me on the park roads everyday when I am up around 30mph and the speed limit is 25mph in the park.

Remember, they are speed limits. If you want minimums on the roads, talk to your legislature and see how far that gets you.

Im surprised that a fellow cyclist has no heart for others who have chosen to commute.

I guess it would be a much better place if we all just drove our cars as fast as possible on the roads, screaming at anyone going slower than us. Should I yell at the guy in the Altima because his car is slower than mine? I mean hell... what is that guy doing on the road with less than 300HP? :rolleyes: At what point is it acceptable to get frustrated at someone not travelling at our "approved velocity"?

Consideration comes from both sides. The best anyone can do is be considerate of others and hope others are considerate of them. Sometimes it doesn't pay to be considerate and sometimes it doesn't make sense. The trick is figuring out which is which because there's a difference between a jerk not appreciating what you're doing and doing nothing in return (doesn't pay) and a situation that won't be bettered or will be worsened by your courtesy (doesn't make sense). The jerk, being a better person than he/she, you still need to be considerate of them (unless of course you recognize them then screw 'em).

For example, if I'm driving on a 5 lane street and someone is pulling out from a parking lot- and they don't have their turn signal on- I purposely don't let them in front of me because 8 times out of 10 they're headed over to the turn lane or turning left across traffic, and it slows everyone down. I'm not going to be considerate because I know (most likely) the person pulling out is about to do something very inconsiderate for me and everyone else. (this is LA, btw)

So a jerk was a jerk to you, big deal? It shouldn't change the bottom line: you be a good person and hope other people be good to you. Get over it.

Wow that guy has guts since he may be holding up traffic himself by stopping to talk with you. Was he himself holding any one up behind him? If there is a free lane to the left then people can pass slower moving vehicles to the right. I ride a two lane road that is 40 mph. There is a shoulder but it in't well maintained. I take the right tire track. There was a time when I did move over since there were more than just one car behind me. The shoulder was okay on that section and I moved over to let the vehicle pass. No biggie. It didn't honk or harrass me. Sadly there are people like the guy you heard from who like to give their .02 I bet he doesn't even ride on that road during the time you do. He was probably coming home from the local trail or closed course cycle race!!! That as far right as practible rule is at OUR DISCRESTION. We must determine what is safe! The motorist just wants to get past you! Not all of them care about you! You need to decided on what is safe to share. Sharing the road doesn't always mean that a cyclist will be to the right of a car in all cases. Road conditions, road widths, road speeds etc. all make the position of the cyclist different. If a horse and buggy was there he probably wouldn't have said a thing. Most people don't even know how wide their vehicle is. We usually need like 3ft of space for safety's sake and comfort. There aren't always places that allow for that. KEEP DOING WHAT YOUR DOING! :0)

Keep Cycling!

Thank you!

Ya, well. If you bike enough, you are sure to receive hostile verbiage from automobile drivers. Based on comments on these forums, it is worse in redneck alley - Texas, Oklahoma, etc.

When aggressive traffice is bearing down on you, it is hard to keep from floating over into the gutter. As spooky as it seems, you really are safer in the lane and forcing traffic to go around you. Once you go into the gutter, cars won't make any effort to go around you and you might as well be standing on a railroad with the tips of your toes on touching the track. It just takes one cowboy with extended mirrors on his truck to take you out.

I have to admit, though, when I am in the lane, I wonder when it will be when I am taken out by some late-for-work, cigarette smoking, coffee in the other hand, putting on her make-up in the rear view mirror bimbo.

I was once nearly taken out by such a woman who had drifted "wrong-way" into my lane. She didn't see me because she was looking in her rear-view mirror while putting on mascara. Guess who was in the back-seat; yup, baby bumpkin.

So, there really is no "safe" lane. You just have to do the best you can to help keep the odds in your favor.

Ride safe. Take the lane you deserve.

Ya, well. If you bike enough, you are sure to receive hostile verbiage from automobile drivers. Based on comments on these forums, it is worse in redneck alley - Texas, Oklahoma, etc.

When aggressive traffice is bearing down on you, it is hard to keep from floating over into the gutter. As spooky as it seems, you really are safer in the lane and forcing traffic to go around you. Once you go into the gutter, cars won't make any effort to go around you and you might as well be standing on a railroad with the tips of your toes on touching the track. It just takes one cowboy with extended mirrors on his truck to take you out.

I have to admit, though, when I am in the lane, I wonder when it will be when I am taken out by some late-for-work, cigarette smoking, coffee in the other hand, putting on her make-up in the rear view mirror bimbo.

I was once nearly taken out by such a woman who had drifted "wrong-way" into my lane. She didn't see me because she was looking in her rear-view mirror while putting on mascara. Guess who was in the back-seat; yup, baby bumpkin.

So, there really is no "safe" lane. You just have to do the best you can to help keep the odds in your favor.

Ride safe. Take the lane you deserve.

Primary cause: semi truck driver.

Could the SUV have lowered the danger of getting hit by going faster? Probably. Would it have helped? We'll never know.

Vehicles going slower than traffic have something like an 80% increased risk of getting in a collision.

I agree. I stay as far to the right as I safely can to avoid getting hit by a q-tip or goon. If there's construction or something that makes me need to take the lane, I take it. I don't half-ass taking the lane, I just take it. I've been yelled at and threatened, had a guy yell "How about I smash your ******** face in?!" because I took the lane at a construction site. As he reached across his front seat and started fiddling with something, I figured I'd take my chances against a bulldozer and rode away from him into the construction.

I've been pulled over for DWB (driving while brown), I've been called many different terms for the religion I was raised and the color of my skin. I've been called things because people think that I'm of a sexual orientation that I'm not. Now, I've been threatened due to some moron who isn't familiar with the law. Do you know who's going to do anything about that? No one is.

I ride defensively. I want to stay alive. My family wants me to stay alive. My girlfriend wants me to stay alive. My clients want me to stay alive. My work, my boss, my coworkers, my pet tarantula and dogs all want me to stay alive. Hell, I want to stay alive.

I ride defensively.

EDIT: I think we need to clarify the shades of grey (or do you say "gray?") that we're talking about. Taking a lane on one road can be vastly different than on another.

In Tucson, AZ, on many of the roads I ride, we have substantial bike lanes. On the roads that don't have said luxuries, I modify my position, riding style, demeanor, etc. to fit traffic, the road, weather, which sign Jupiter is in, etc. Riding isn't a black and white thing, nor can you define strict and stagnant rules. You need to stay alive. Period.

In Minnesota, the law requires a biciclist to be as far right as practical.

Reminds me of the days I catch a ride with my wife. We're leaving at 8:30. She has to drop me off and then be at work at 9:00. At 9:45, she comes downstairs. I'm sitting in the dining room now for 15 minutes. We get in the car. Either the gas or brake pedal is on the floor the whole time. I'm a nervous reck when I roll out of the car. Jeebus.

Edit: Oh yeah. She's complaining about everyone who "pulls out in front of her the whole way too."