Jim Yanik
14 years and over 100,000 riden miles on the road. Adults that commute to work via a bicycle in all my observations are competent road users. I live in college town. The college aged kids riding around because they don't own a car are a different story altogether. I do not lump the two groups into the same clbutt. But then again its highly unlikely you'll find a college aged kid riding around in traffic at 7:30 AM. A common trait I see amongst motorists is painting all cyclists with the same broad brush.
There are times when taking the lane is needed and law in my state says this is perfectly acceptable. A cyclist may take the lane to avoid a dangerous situation and then move back to the right to allow cars to pbutt when the danger is no longer present. I tend to only take the lane on high speed mountain descents or use of an entire right hand turn lane. It's simply appalling at how many drivers have no skill at all in being able to maintain a line in using a right hand turn lane.
There is plenty of room in the lane to allow for it. The law around here states a car must give 3 feet. If both the driver and cyclist are competent and paying attention this is no problem.
Again, going back to years of experience it is simply a matter of the parties involved being cognizant of the situtation.
Based on my experiences over the years, no I'm not. There are roads in the region that are 2 laned, heavy traffic, no shoulder that you rarely if ever see a cyclist on.
I want to enjoy my ride and get home in 1 piece. I have no desire to go out for a 3 hour ride on a road that is congested with auto traffic.
