Riding home Friday afternoon on a two lane hwy (55mph speed limit). No traffic in oncoming lane. Clear visibility for miles. In usual position about 2 feet over from edge of pavement. Hear approaching car/truck from behind me. Then, suddenly, "BEEEEEP, BEE-BE-BEE-BEEEEP". Now, I've had plenty of people honk at me from in front of me, behind me etc. Most all of those times were people blowing their horn not in warning, but more of "I'm in a car, you're on a bike, here I come and get off the road, can't you see it's for cars?" type declarations.

So, this truck passed me with a good 3 foot clearance, but, a microsecond later I see a Green SUV that is trying to pass the truck as it's passing me. The SUV goes off the road and nearly loses control, but somehow manages to steady itself and get back on the road and timidly follow the truck after it passes me.

Now I don't know who blew their horn. It could have been:

a) the truck warning me that some idiot is approaching
b) the truck warning the SUV that it is not safe to pass
c) the SUV saying "what the heck are you doing when I'm trying to pass?"

In any case, I got to thinking about it and wondered whether I should have jumped off the road? What if the SUV passed, but did not see me until the last second? Or what if it collided into the truck and the truck into me? Do you normally jump off the road in situations like this? Of course I don't know how you know that this is a "situation like this" until after the fact. I quit using a mirror years ago, but now wondering whether to go back to one.

Cheers

I would sooner ride without my helmet before I would ride without my mirror.
A good part of my commute is on one of the busiest 4 lane roads (2 each way) in the state.

are you even allowed on the highway? Maybe your highway is different from the ones im use to seeing but i would never ride on the highway.

^^^^^Tell Mommie all the big boys ride their bikes on the highway


What would I do? Hold my line.

And as another poster stated, a mirror is your friend

You don't know, and I doubt a mirror would have helped in this case. Worry about pianos falling on your head before you worry about how to magically deduce what is going on in a situation like this.

fixed. next time I see one on the side of the road i'll think about you

Ditto on the mirror thing. I simply can't imagine riding without one. I'd rather leave the UnderArmour at home than the mirror.

We are allowed to ride on the highway here, but it's my last refuge. I fear very few things on my bike, but being on a 3ft wide shoulder with a concrete retaining wall on one side, and cars whizzing by @ 60mph on the other is one of them.

I almost always ride with a mirror. I always have it if I'm riding roads like the one you mentioned, so I can keep an eye on what's approaching from the back.

If I saw some crazy shiz-naz like that going on behind me, I'd be (minimally) at the far right edge of the shoulder to give the widest berth possible for everyone involved.

+1 on the mirror.

I learned to drive in Amish country in Ohio. One of the things drummed into us was how slow horses and buggies are actually traveling. If they don't pull off the road you must pass them (or not) as if they were cars, but make up your mind as soon as you see them ahead of you because you catch up in no time. It sounds to me like the truck screwed up--should have pulled out to pass earlier or not at all, and should have gone all the way over the center line. That would have revealed your presence to the SUV and deterred the SUV from passing the truck while it was passing you. Instead, the truck must have slowed way down (but not enough) while thinking about what to do. Whenever you have to think about what to do you become unpredictable. Hence the honking. Not much you could have done about it all, but a mirror might have helped you keep track.

Yes, it's allowed (and also the only route). It's a state highway, and supposedly the DOT will be adding a bike lane on the shoulder of each lane within the next year.

+1 on a mirror. I ride portions of the 101 and Pacific Coast Highway quite often and keeping track of traffic is a must.

Mirrors are helpful, but even with a pair, there are still lots of roads I take the car for. Live to ride another day, I say.

Just because you are scared to ride your bike don't assume everybody else is.

OP doesn't say where he's located, but here in the PNW you're allowed to ride on most of the highways once you're outside of the city centers. Heck we've even got an ultra that uses the interstate for about 250 miles of the course. The Cannonball! is a 275 mile race from Seattle to Spokane which gets on I-90 (3 lane, 70mph limit) outside of Issaquah and exits the highway at the near edge of Spokane. Quite a few of the Seattle Randonneurs' long courses use I-90, SR-2, SR-20, SR-9, and many other 55mph divided highways for their routes.
It can be a bit freaky at first, but just like any other road riding around traffic, you get used to it.

I'm going with: c) the SUV driver is a complete idiot (my interpretation)

Most folks in this country are; that's why they don't ride. As long as 1% of us can ride, though, who cares!

In my experience, that's almost always the answer to any question re: SUV drivers.

It sounds to me like the truck driver did the..."oh my god there's a cyclist so I better slow down real sloooww and pass him on the left (ridiculously wayyy to the left)" routine while not paying attention to the maniac SUV driver (soccer mom on her cel phone) coming up from behind and now for some reason is going to try to pass the truck that is now weaving into the other lane....thus causing the SUV driver (soccer mom) to lean on the horn as if to say "WTF"!!!!

I don't know what I would've done in that situation but if I had to ride on a highway I would have mirrors like the other folks have suggested.

when did i assume everyone else is scared of riding on the highway? what are you reading? I think youre the one assuming things. =)

As has been said more than a few times already, a mirror is your friend. I think of my helmet more as a convenient place to mount my mirror than as a tool for keeping my head uncracked. Given the choice between my mirror and helmet, I'd take the mirror.

Speaking for myself, when a truck beeps from behind, I usually get off the road. It seems better for everyone that way.

I'd move for a semi (which I could tell anyday from an SUV's horn). You never know, they might be warning you that they're not sure they can get slowed down or pass you safely.

I usually get treated so well by semi's that I feel obliged to return the favor.

Restricted highways, in the US, are clearly marked. They're largely limited to the US Interstate system. At every on-ramp will be a sign banning bicycles, farm equipment and all slow moving vehicles.

Millions of US cyclists ride the highways. It's reasonably safe and much more enjoyable than the city. You can actually get some decent speeds since you rarely need to stop for anything.

And, as others pointed out, something demeaning about your being a child and a girl, etc etc.

Shoulders sort of are bike lanes. I don't see how painting an extra line would do anything but let the DOT lie about how many miles of bike lane they have.

Or do you mean that they're going to provide a wide enough shoulder to ride on? Around here we only call it a shoulder if you can park your car on it.