Noob Question
 

Is it ever okay to ride toward traffic?

Tomorrow's route involves me doing a roughly 1-mile stretch on a fairly busy 4 lane road, (2 lanes in each direction.) The speed limit on the road is 35mph, but most cars go at least 50mph, sometimes much faster. This road cannot be avoided, and I have to get to the destination tomorrow. The road has fairly nice shoulder, except when it comes to a bridge. There is a blind turn just prior to the bridge. At the bridge there is NO shoulder going Eastbound, but the Westbound route has a nice lane with a barrier separating it from car traffic. Would it be acceptable to use the Westbound shoulder to travel Eastbound for 1 mile?

Thanks in advance!
Total Noob

is this one of them trolling posts? looking to start some kind of heated debate?
i'll go with - "go with traffic" - that being the law and all.

No. Not ever.

I wouldn't consider riding on a path separated by a barrier going against traffic.

Give us more information. How long is this bridge? And the way you describe the westbound route it sounds like it has a full lane completely separated from auto traffic ("a nice lane with a barrier separating it from car traffic" - like a sidewalk or pedestrian route)? If you have a full lane separate from the cars I'd use it.

The bridge itself is 0.13mi. At the bridge, there is an entire "pedestrian" lane on the Westbound side. To get to that pedestrian lane - I would have to be on the shoulder facing traffic though for at least 0.46mi. The road is separated by a median and I could not cross immediately prior to the bridge. If it is okay to stay on the Westbound side, the entire distance I have to travel is 0.8mi.

I wouldn't ride against traffic but ...

First, I would try to find an alternate route even if it meant adding mileage to the ride. There's almost always another way to go. Second, absent that, while I prefer roads with slower traffic, I wouldn't hesitate to ride on a road with cars going 35 to 50 if I really had no alternate way to go.

So, if you really want to use the segregated, behind-the-guardrail, going-against-traffic lane, I would say to use it if, and only if, it meets the following test. Is the guardrail continuous (i.e. no breaks)? Can vehicles turn onto or off of the road across the lane you're talking about? If so, I wouldn't use that lane under any circumstances. If the lane is totally inaccessible to vehicles and my alternate routes were extremely undesirable, in the rarest of circumstances, then perhaps I would use the lane.

Riding against traffic, though, is a really bad idea.

My only other option is to cross a cloverleaf over I-95 and then the next .45mi after the cloverleaf has virtually no shoulder and no way for me to get to a side street.

The pedestrian lane over the bridge is completely closed to auto traffic.

Unfortunately the town I live in was previously an island, until they filled in the marshland to connect it to the mainland. There are few places that are accessible without using major roads.

No.

If I understand correctly, you'd be riding with the traffic on a two-lane Eastbound with a good shoulder -- a shoulder that then ends temporarily for the bridge? You are entitled to, and should, 'take the lane' while on the bridge; as the shoulder ends, signal your intention to move into the traffic lane and do so -- sensibly but assertively.

Thank you. I am mostly nervous about taking the lane there, since it is blind coming into the bridge.

If this is a four lane (I read that right didn't I) road with a 35MPH speed limit, I wouldn't care how fast the drivers were going. Take a lane and ride with traffic like you are supposed to. Use a blinky and a flag, wear a bright tie dyed shirt, wave your arms...but those drivers have a responsibility to pass you responsibly. Every time we ride, we hope they do.

With that said, many "urban" riders I know say screw traffic laws or conformity and just ride where they like.

How do pedestrians get to the pedestrian lane on the bridge? If there is a sidewalk adjacent to the highway, I would consider riding it if it is lightly used.

+1

There is sidewalks most of the way on both the East & Westbound sides. At least partially though, pedestrians would walk in the shoulder. It's a very car-dependent area, so there really aren't that many pedestrians at all.


Unfortunately the bridge was under construction when street view images were taken. So this is the best picture I can give you:

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=493051

At the top is the Eastbound lane, what you can't tell from this image is the white line runs along the base of the concrete barrier. There is no shoulder there.
On the bottom in the left hand corner, you can see where the barrier for the pedestrian lane starts, it runs about the same distance on the other end of the bridge as well.

Just to be clear, are you proposing riding westbound inside the protected pedestrian lane? If so, I don't see any problem.

However, you also said...
How do pedestrians get to that protected lane on that bridge? If it's safe for pedestrians to approach that protected lane on the bridge, why wouldn't it be safe to at least walk your bike along the same route? And, frankly, if it's safe to walk, it's probably also safe to ride - assuming it's not a narrow elevated median that amounts to little more than a wide curb.

If you could give us a city and state we could all look at it on Google Maps or Earth and see the layout.

Google street view:

https://www.google.com.au/maps/@39.8...7i13312!8i6656

For some reason if you move off this spot it goes to an older view when the bridge was undergoing works. But then other spots along the bridge show the newer pics.

If you want to use the separated pathway you must inevitably ride on the shoulder towards oncoming traffic (what idiot designed that?) but I'd leave it to the last possible minute which is at the end of the armco barrier and crossing the grass from the hotel parking lot onto the road. That's only about 100-200 yards on the wrong side of the road.

Otherwise it's take the road, avoid the drains and hope the motorists aren't stupid. Although, if the idiot who designed the separated pathway is driving that way then you might be in trouble.

A sign further east along the road calls it South BicyclePA Route E.

Thanks for getting that link for me.

BTW, If anyone is tempted to try this supposed Bicycle Route E; I would think twice - a bit further east is not a safe area.

After looking at it on Google Earth and the street view in the link just above, I'd ride direction of traffic across the bridge. It's not that far, driver visibility looks pretty good, etc. If necessary wait for a break in traffic, then go out and take your lane. The traffic signals behind you should help in providing that break in traffic.

Thank you!

Another factor I'm seeing - that westbound approach to the bridge is a long uphill grade. At age 58 and with only three months of riding since I resumed cycling after a 30+ year hiatus, I know I'd be nearly exhausted as I approached that bridge. No way I'd be in condition to take the lane. However, the September 2015 photos show what appears to be an adequate, if not ideal, shoulder, on the north side of the bridge, facing westward. So I'd probably take that side, although I'd be more comfortable trying the route during a low traffic time of day or night. There's a very similar bridge with narrow but adequate shoulder on one of my routes, and I'm comfortable riding it even in peak traffic.

Otherwise, if the anticipated travel time is during peak traffic, I'd seriously consider riding against traffic on the wider southern shoulder (facing westward), and using the barrier-protected pedestrian crossing on the bridge. I definitely would have taken that route a month or so ago when my conditioning was still mediocre. I know I would have been nearly exhausted after that uphill grade. But the past couple of weeks I've been handling longer climbs more comfortably.

But that's based on knowing my current condition and limitations. It's a difficult challenge and poor set of choices, so in situations like this you have to choose the least bad option.

Take the lane and dial it up to 400W.

Looking at the images again, there is more of a shoulder there than I had given credit. I am going to just try to time my traversing the bridge with the lights and hope for the best. Thanks again everyone!

Unfortunately, I don't really have that. I have a leg full of metal and lost most of the little muscle tone that I had after 7 months bedrest.

NO!
Walk it if you must . . .