lowkey wrote:
snip

What would kona do?

-busy dicey narrow single lane asphalt?

-rough broad shoulder

-broad grass strip

-the rarely used sidewalk?

Depends on the law where you live, and your attitude to it.

Most places, riding on the sidewalk is illegal. It may be safe, it may
be deserted, you may be unlikely to be stopped/fined etc., but it's
probably illegal. I'd guess that the grass strip probably counts as
part of the sidewalk. Do you care about doing somthing illegal (albeit
illegal at a very minor level)? That's up to you.

Likewise, there may or may not be a compulsion on cyclists to use a
cycle lane if one exists. If there is, and you care about such things
(as above), ya gotta use it - unless you can reasonably make a case
that the surface is so bad that it's unsafe, and you're forced to use
the road.

If there's no such compulsion, you are entitled to use the road
regardless of whether the bike lane exists or not. Most places, you
have to ride as close to the kerb as is resonably consistent with
safety. That includes positioning yourself to prevent someone from
overtaking you dangerously. If that means in the middle of the road
lane then that's where you need to be. If others are held up by you
for a few seconds, tough. It's a short stretch, your safety comes
before their inconvenience.

The worst place to be is trapped on the road surface between the kerb
and the passing traffic. Be part of the traffic flow, not an
obstruction to it.
If you need to use the road lane, and you're not legally obliged to be
in bike lane, then take posession of the traffic lane.
Be awake and concious of your surroundings, clear about your
intentions, firm and polite. Look back well in advance, spot your gap,
indicate before you pull out, keep your speed reasonable, indicate back
in, then give a wave of thanks as you pull back in.

I'm not being a zealot. I'm not suggesting that you hold people up
just beacause you can, or that you flick in and out of the traffic flow
on a whim and put yourself in danger. It's not always possible to get
out, or maybe the next guy in the traffic is an a**h**e and accelerates
to block you, or is asleep. There's a million exceptions, but it's
common sense that'll keep you safe. It's also easy for me to preach at
you about what you should be doing, especially from out here in
usenet...

Cyclists who bumble along semi-concious, ride on kerbs, or worse,
against the traffic, break lights etc. give us all a bad name, and
reinforce the idea among cagers that we're not entitled to fair use of
the road, and are just an obstruction to be bypassed as quickly as
possible.

Just my 2c. worth...

bookieb.