Please allow me to weigh in on this.  Particularly the issue about "take the lane".

I recently completed 33 hours training and became a League of American Bicyclists Certified Instructor.  Now, I really don't like the LAB.  I think it's run by a bunch of bicycle sellers and people who think we should be riding on bike paths and bike lanes.  But, the League Certified Instructor course is based on the book Effective Cycling by John Forrester and is based on more than 25 years of data and experience ( http://www.johnforester.com/ ).  The reason I took this course is to get people out of cars and on bikes.

The fundamental principle of Effective Cycling is: "Cyclists Fare Best when They Act and Are Treated as Drivers of Vehicles".

We all know that state and city law gives us the same rights and responsibilities as motor vehicles.  To maintain those rights as well as our safety, we must obey the law and be visible, predictable, assertive and courteous.

The law says we must ride as far as to the right as practicable.  That doesn't mean we have to ride through potholes, glass, storm grates and car doors, or the edge of the road... even when there's a car behind us.  We must look ahead, choose a safe line and ride it.  

"Take the lane" means to ride near the center of the lane so that cars can't pass without crossing the center line of the road.  Of course, taking the lane also makes sense when you're going as fast as the cars:)  We should also take the lane when we determine that it is too dangerous for the car to pass us.  Moving over to the extreme right signals motorists that we are encouraging them to pass.  We should only do this when we can see far enough ahead to ensure ourselves that it is safe.  However, I have observed that if I take the lane, most motorists will go completely on the other side of the road when they pass me but when I move to the right edge of the road, they often pass me so close that I can feel the heat from their engine.  So, now, even when it's safe for them to pass, I don't ride much to the right of their passenger-side tire track.  Except on steep uphills when I and the motorist(s) are going slow, then I might ride the edge or even exit to a driveway to let them pass. 

Two situations in which it doesn't make sense to take the lane are just after you've crested a hill and after you've entered a tight right hand turn.  Anyone know why?

Some relevant national statistics that I got from LAB are that 83% of bicycle crashes don't involve autos and less than 1% of crashes involve a motor vehicle overtaking a cyclist.  The 83% number indicates that our bike handling skills and environmental factors are our biggest risk.  The <1% number indicates that our biggest worry: getting hit from behind, is almost an insignificant cause of bike crashes.

If anybody on this yahoo group would be interested in learning more about Effective Cycling, I will help you learn.  Just let me know.

Frank

Sage Seifert wrote: 
Geff, 
I couldn't have said it better myself. It's the few on both sides of that equation that give the rest of us a bad rap.
Sage


----- Original Message ----
From: Mountaineer Cycling <wvucycling@yahoo.com>
To: mon bikeclub <monbikeclub@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, May 2, 2007 9:44:42 PM
Subject: [monbikeclub] road rules

As riders we all realize that sharing the road with
cars is an everyday occurrence. We know that cars
don¢t like to share most of the time, as we get stuff
thrown at us, run off the road, yelled at, and various
other things that drivers do from the safety of their
cars. While this is the case, there is no excuse for
us to ride rampantly without safety concerns or
without being respectful to other vehicles on the
road. 
I¢ve noticed, mostly on the fast Tuesday night ride,
that some rules of the road aren¢t being observed. 
Mainly the yellow line rule is being ignored, as any
racer knows this is a big one in most races. While
the other lane might be open during a hotly contested
sprint for the PA line, the yellow line shouldn¢t be
crossed if it can be helped.
This leads to a specific occurrence that happened a
few weeks ago. A car was turning left with their
signal on as the Tuesday fast group came up behind it.
One rider went to the right, the rest went left,
impeding it¢s turn. This was a highly dangerous move,
a highly illegal move, and a very dumb move. The
driver had the right of way to turn, and it¢s not
going to provide a positive image for cycling to ride
recklessly.
Also, after our race, concerned citizens has a place
to outlet their frustrations as we provided a contact
prior to the race if residents on the race course had
any complaints. The most common complain, and it
wasn¢t specific to the day we had our race, was when
riders don¢t give room for a car to pass. While I
know most people most of the time will single up when
there is a car back, sometimes there is the oblivious
cyclist who rides the middle of the lane and don¢t
help to let the motorist pass.
The main point I¢m trying to make is to share the
road. If we don¢t respect motorists, we can¢t expect
them to respect us. This email doesn¢t apply to
everybody, since most are very courteous cyclists, but
when you see unsafe riding, remind the rider about
safe cycling. So ride responsibly, help give all
cyclist a positive image, and remember, bicycles will
save the world.

Ride on,
Geffrey Moy
VP WVU Cycling club

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