Always leave yourself room to dodge to the right (or left on the other
side of the pond) -- but there *are* times when you want to ride as
far to the right as possible, so how far to the right *is* possible?

It's fairly obvious that you need to inspect the roadway ahead, and
have faith that it won't narrow suddenly, break up at the edge, be
covered with sharp debris, have potholes or deliberate holes or sunken
or raised drains and so forth, but you also have to be constantly
aware of what you'll land on if you fall off the pavement.

Is it good, firmly-packed gravel you could ride slowly on until you
come to a place where you can get back on the road? Is it, at least
firm enough that you can stay upright long enough to brake to a safe
stop?

Is it loose gravel that would guarantee a crash? If so, how wide is
it and what's on the other side? On can steer across loose gravel if
there's a firm, safe surface wide enough to catch a semi-controlled
bike on the other side -- and if it's narrow enough that your wheel
will be back on a firm surface before the gravel can steer the bike
out from under you.

Is your worst worry that you'll leave tire tracks on someone's nice
lawn? If so, will the lawn end before the situation you are riding on
the verge for ends? The *last* thing you want is a sudden need to
move *left*!

If you fall off the road, will you roll down a 100% slope held in
place by head-size rocks, with a barbed-wire fence at the bottom?

A curb at the edge of the road should be given at least half a meter
of respect, a full yard if you haven't had a *lot* of experience and
some training. If you touch a curb, you go down. No matter how good
your bike handling is, a ridge that is almost parallel to your path
will steer the bike out from under you -- and there's no guarantee
that you'll fall *away* from the traffic.

(When I touched a curb, I fell into the road, but by pure luck
*behind* the left-turning truck I was dodging. Purtnear had three
hear attacks, though: me, the driver, and a witness.)

Is that nice wide dirt shoulder really a dirt shoulder, or is it a
field of potholes hidden under loose sand?

--
joy beeson at comcast dot net
http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/
The above message is a Usenet post.
I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site.