Joy Beeson wrote in
:



Alleys are pleasant to ride in because you hardly ever have to share
them.

But when you do meet someone in an alley, he is surprised to see you
and may not do his share to avoid a collision. If you are also
surprised and not doing your share . . .

There are twice as many intersections in alleys as on streets. When
you are on a street, you can pretty much ignore the alleys, but when
you are in an alley, every alley is an intersection.

When you cross a street, you will find that the people in the street
are pretty much ignoring the alley. Come to a full and complete stop
and check carefully before crossing.

Looking both ways is harder in alleys than in streets because the
set-backs required by law are smaller on alleys than on streets -- and
they are more likely to be ignored. There's nothing wrong with
setting a storage shed half an inch from the alley, because it isn't a
building, it's lawn furniture. Moreover, these sheds are set, by
preference, in a corner of the lawn to keep them out of the way, which
means that the most-likely location for a shed is right where it
blocks your view of the other alley.

Summary: If you are a beginner, DON'T USE ALLEYS.

If you are an expert, and you are tired, or hungry, or worried sick
about something, DON'T USE ALLEYS.

We don't see too many alleys hereabouts, they just make the snow clearance
problem more complex.

There is one alley on my route from work to one of my favourite pubs. It
parallels a main street in an old neighbourhood and means I do not have to
make a left turn into heavy traffic (not that difficult, since there is a
traffic light at that intersection) followed by a left turn across heavy
traffic (a tedious task since there is no light, and one has to bull one's
way across a lane of traffic to get into position to make the turn). I
rarely meet a vehicle in the alley, but, since I know the route well, I
know where there are bolt-holes where I can lay by and let the motorist
through. Sometimes, however, delivery vehicles stop in the alley and I
have to dismount since there is barely a handlebar width available.
--
Andrew Chaplin
SIT MIHI GLADIUS SICUT SANCTO MARTINO
(If you're going to e-mail me, you'll have to get "yourfinger." out.)