ckaspar

This is more for new peeps who are uncomfortable riding in the street...

When I first started riding regularly, about 2 months ago, I was nervous about the street and would use is sparingly. Seeing the dangers on the sidewalk I ventured into the street and gave that a shot. I would hug the curb so as "not to get in the way of the cars". The more I ride the more I find myself truly "taking the lane". Why you ask? Why put my self further into the path of cars that I was nervous about just a few short months ago? I realized that the more I hugged the curb the more likely the driver in the quickly approaching car would try to "sneak" by me making for some harrowing passes. As I scooted further away from the curb and more into the lane the more I realized that the cars, for the most part, are more likely to give you a little more room when passing since they have had to get in the lane over anyhow. Voila! Less close calls. It also affords me the opportunity to pull toward the curb if evasive action is necessary due to a really close call.

I am sure most of the hardened vets here are saying to themselves, "Well yeah, duh!" That is the reason for my first statement about this being more for the people who are apprehensive about scooting away from the curb and taking THEIR lane to protect themselves.

Doohickie

Well yeah, duh.





When you hug the curb, you don't have an out. That alone should be reason enough to take the lane.

ckaspar

lol.

Understand though the apprehension for a new rider. The lane is a scary place for a new rider and until you start to see that the further out you get the safer you are, new riders will tend to hug the curb thinking they are safer not to be in traffic. I mean they did just venture out from the sidewalk where they were "safe".

I think a lot of that fear and apprehension comes from when we were growing up. Our parents inherent fears that we were gonna get killed in the street. Shoot, I was at a family get together a few weeks ago and was talking to my grandfather about my riding. He asked, "You ride in the street?" I replied with "Yup". His reply back, "Man that is dangerous. You really should be on the sidewalk where the cars aren't gonna run up on ya." Pretty sure you know my reply so I'll spare ya.

ChrisO

Yep, ride like you belong there and know what you're doing and the cagers will treat you as such with a nice wide berth (usually). Hold a straight, predictable line- none of the apprehensive weaving around action that usually tells me "that guy's new".

Sawtooth

I tend to only "take the lane" when i have to...like in construction situations. But Boise has some great bike lanes. If I don't have a bike lane, I am at least 2-3 feet out there.

I also find that I am less likely to want to take the lane if I have filtered my way up past a bunch of cars at a stop light. For some reason, passing them and then making them wait for me seems a little 'not right'.

I think your observation is spot-on. Congratulations for picking it up so fast. It usually takes people much longer to overcome that fear.

Andy_K 

I tend to use my lane position to communicate to cars whether or not I think they can pass. If I don't think they can safely pass, I'll move far enough out that they definitely can't. If I think there's plenty of room, I'll move to the right side of the lane (as required by state law).

Sawtooth

Well said. I do the same. I currently have a single construction lane for 3/4 of a mile. I have found that if I move out to the left, they don't try to squeeze by me and don't seem to be angry when they do pass. I don't take the whole lane, just enough to make them move partly into the oncoming lane to pass. It essentially redistributes risk from solely being on me to being shared. They behave much better when risk is shared.

Doohickie

Some of the anger comes from being slowed up, but probably most of it comes from uncertainty/confusion about how to treat a cyclist. Take the ambiguity away and most drivers just deal with it.

ckaspar

Yuppers. I had a lot of riding when I was younger so the straight and predictable line was an easy thing in the street. Just took a minute to get over the fear of actually being in the street then I was good.

Ya same here. I have mostly Bike Lane on my ride but there are a few spots that can be a little dicey if the lane is not taken. I will tend to wait my turn in line when I get to a light now as I felt the same you did. Pretty jerky to slide up then make them wait. We aren't like a motorcycle who will haul off the line so fast.

The moment where it all made sense to ride in the street was when I was being a salmon and a car was coming out of a driveway. I almost clobbered him then I got pissed as I rode off wondering why he didn't see me. Then it sank in. I was the ass who was never expected to be there anyway. I then looked at my driving and thought about when I would have seen someone and not and realized the street is the best. The take the lane came when a BMW tried to squirt by me and almost hit me from behind at high speed. I have since moved to the street and scooted over when necessary. lol

Monster Pete

I've found that in general, people tend to give you as much space to your left (right for me) as you give yourself on the right (left). So curb-hugging tends to result in more close passes from people squeezing by. If the lane's wide enough, I'll ride a reasonable distance from the edge of the road, so cars can pass relatively easily. At most, they'll have to cross the central line and pass by driving in the middle of the road. If the road isn't wide enough, I'll ride far enough over to make it clear that they have to overtake me as they would a farm tractor.

SnowJob

I'm glad you aren't riding the sidewalk anymore. That's not safe.

ckaspar

Yup. Only took me a very short while to get comfier in the streets. I think part of it had to do with the bike lanes I have to ride on on some stretches. It enforces that the cars are not big mean things out to get you. After that it was just about getting familiar/used to riding amongst cars in "their" lanes too. After that it was just a matter of time before I scooted away from the curb to join them and reduce the chance of a rear end smack with one of those fast buggers.

Scarlight

I keep hearing that, but it's really quite sweeping. I ride on roads, as I'm aware of the dangers I'm exposed to and the dangers I pose on sidewalks. But that's only because I ride relatively fast. My wife rides a single-speed for grocery shopping and the like, and our area is very hilly at times; riding that on roads is much much more dangerous, in my opinion, than riding slowly on sidewalks.

AlmostTrick

This.

If you're near the curb drivers often fly up thinking they can make it through, and then at the last second realize they can't, jam on the brakes and get pissed. When you're out in the lane, they figure it out much sooner. No last second surprise. Same with holding a straight line verses weaving left and right. It becomes clear what they can expect.

DX-MAN

I'm not looking for an argument, but the sidewalks where y'all live must be PACKED! On any given day, no matter how far I have to ride, or whether I take the street or the sidewalk, I encounter less than a dozen people on foot. Folks here JUST DON'T WALK all that much. All the talk about bike riders being "DUI bums", heck, WALKERS around here are mostly like that!

Sidewalks are legal here, outside the "business district", and if I have my nephew & daughter with me, we'll do sidewalks. (Seriously, the biggest 'on-foot' cross-section of folks we encounter are those waiting at BUS STOPS!)

GaryinLA

I am in Los Angeles. Not a very experienced rider. We're allowed to ride on sidewalks here and many streets have wide sidewalks that arent so congested.

For those of you in LA, what do you really think about riding in the streets on very busy streets such as Wilshire Blvd., La Brea, Vermont, Sepulveda? One answer is to take streets recommended on the LA Metro bike map (such as Venice Blvd that has a bike lane, of course) but often times the most convenient route would be a very busy street such s the ones I mention above. Are you really riding on Vermont blvd or Sepulveda Blvd or Sunset Blvd. or Hollywood Blvd. and taking a lane? Do you do it routine without any increased concern or stress or do you avoid it and look for less congested routes?