Sure, but the underlying problem is that IS "the leftovers" we are often given... based on our current transportation policies... Share the lane, share the road, and due to the greater maneuverability of the bike, you end up being at least momentarily in one blind spot after another as you wind your way past a typical "rush hour" scene.

Old Helmet Head used to say... "don't put yourself there..." well the fact is the only other recourse is to take a lane and sit stagnant in all those exhaust fumes with all the motorists. Like that is an improvement.

Our lane sharing policy gives the cyclist no recourse... at the very least a bike lane would have given the cyclist and the motorist a defined location... a line in the sand so to speak. Sharing lanes in bumper to bumper traffic, gives nothing... taking a lane, while safer, results in breathing smog.

OK all you anti-facilities gurus... any better suggestions?

agreed. sitting behind a car in fumes sucks. i stop behind cars at stoplights, but in straight up traffic its a little different.

Yeah, but.. (oh god, I hate it when people say "yeah, but.." )

There are just three states of traffic -- they're all going faster than me, we're all going about the same speed, or they're all basically stuck and I'm the one going faster.

When everyone else is faster, they're nearby for just a second or two and no more. It's futile to think that I'll never be in a blind spot, but then again, I'm in those blind spots for such short periods that they hardly matter anyway.

When we're all the same speed, it's quite easy to take the lane and stay out of blind spots. Kind of like running with the herd, basically.

If they're bumper-to-bumper, I can pick and choose with much more freedom. The main thing I have to keep an eye out for is when there's a gap in a lane that's big enough for a car to merge into -- because, if someone's impatient enough, that's exactly what they'll do, even if they only gain twenty feet (and, to be fair to the motorist, twenty feet might be the difference between making the next light or getting stuck even longer).

If it matters, I wouldn't complain about bike-only facilities, especially if they're done well. In the meantime, I'll do the best with the leftovers that we've got (can't really "make lemonade", but a spicy chili isn't out of the question ).