Pulled Over By Police

I recently started training for my first Century. I started riding my
bicycle to work three days a week. It's about 15 miles one way. It's
a good ride, but the only legal route is a four lane that has a 55
mile per hour speed limit.

When I first started riding I would get pushed off of the road by
tractor trailers because I stayed too close to the curb. After
reading more about bicycle safety I now ride 3 to five feet from the
curb or in the middle of the lane if I have traffic on both sides.
Exiting and merging lanes force me into this position.

Friday I was coming home and there was some traffic. Motorists were
honking as usual. One actually honked and buzzed me when there was no
traffic. I just don't understand some people.

Near the end of my ride a police officer positioned himself behind me
and alerted me to stop using his siren and lights. When I pulled over
he called for backup which I thought was a little funny, but I guess
you never know who you're going to meet on the road. He said he had
received several calls stating that I was riding, "in the middle of
the road." I told the officer I was riding, "in the middle of my
lane" because that was the safest place for me to ride. He responded
that he could not tell me to stop riding because I was riding legally,
but he did ask me to be careful. I thanked him for his concern and
went on my way. I think I'm being as careful as I can without
reverting to my old behavior of driving my huge gas guzzling car which
some argue is actually more dangerous.

It seems that the motorists in my area are not educated on the rights
of bicyclists or how to share the road. I feel like I'm helping to
educate them, but I am a little concerned that one of them may do
something criminal because I inconvenience them by forcing them to
pass me.

This bicycling thing is a little tougher than I thought. It's not the
exercise, but the people that makes it tough. You just don't know who
you'll meet on the road.

Please ride safe.

Mike Jarrells

In article ,
Mike writes:
I recently started training for my first Century. I started riding my
bicycle to work three days a week. It's about 15 miles one way. It's
a good ride, but the only legal route is a four lane that has a 55
mile per hour speed limit.

When I first started riding I would get pushed off of the road by
tractor trailers because I stayed too close to the curb. After
reading more about bicycle safety I now ride 3 to five feet from the
curb or in the middle of the lane if I have traffic on both sides.
Exiting and merging lanes force me into this position.

Friday I was coming home and there was some traffic. Motorists were
honking as usual. One actually honked and buzzed me when there was no
traffic. I just don't understand some people.

Near the end of my ride a police officer positioned himself behind me
and alerted me to stop using his siren and lights. When I pulled over
he called for backup which I thought was a little funny, but I guess
you never know who you're going to meet on the road. He said he had
received several calls stating that I was riding, "in the middle of
the road." I told the officer I was riding, "in the middle of my
lane" because that was the safest place for me to ride.

sigh

So many people have heard about, but not understood the
John Forester Effective Cycling approach. Much of that
approach actually does work, but not when taken as rote
mummery.

"Take the lane" has become too much of a battlecry, instead
of the occasional tactic to be resorted-to only when necessary.
Egregious lane-taking is just plain road-hogging. Sociably
co-existing with others is an Art. It is unfortunate that so
many of us are artless. It's even worse when we fail to have
basic consideration for other people.

Maybe you were right to take the lane. But that the police
were called numerous times about your riding, and that they
actually had to intervene, is telling. I intuit you were
taking the lane for a very long time. I hope you weren't on
a truck route Especially a logging truck route. And if you
were, I'm glad you survived. Some roads are simply unridable,
and we must be prepared to reconcile ourselves to that fact
(or work with local gov'ts to improve their cyclability.)


cheers,
Tom

__
Nothing is safe from me.
I'm really at:
tkeats curlicue vcn dot bc dot ca

On Sun, 11 Jan 2009 03:13:46 -0800, Tom Keats wrote:


"Take the lane" has become too much of a battlecry, instead
of the occasional tactic to be resorted-to only when necessary.

Seriously, come back when you actually ride a bicycle in traffic.

On Jan 11, 6:13*am, (Tom Keats) wrote:

sigh

So many people have heard about, but not understood the
John Forester Effective Cycling approach. *Much of that
approach actually does work, but not when taken as rote
mummery.

"Take the lane" has become too much of a battlecry, instead
of the occasional tactic to be resorted-to only when necessary.
Egregious lane-taking is just plain road-hogging. *Sociably
co-existing with others is an Art. *It is unfortunate that so
many of us are artless. *It's even worse when we fail to have
basic consideration for other people.

For what it's worth, I have a friend who's ridden with Forester. He
says Forester shared lanes readily, and took the lane only when
necessary.

Maybe you were right to take the lane. *

It sounds like he was! He'd tried the alternative, and was passed
unsafely. I can't think of a better test.

But that the police
were called numerous times about your riding, and that they
actually had to intervene, is telling.

I disagree. Fifteen years ago, that may have been true; but with
every self-important yahoo chatting on a cell phone as they drive,
anonymous calls to cops are mere impulse actions.

*I intuit you were
taking the lane for a very long time. *I hope you weren't on
a truck route *Especially a logging truck route. *And if you
were, I'm glad you survived. *Some roads are simply unridable,
and we must be prepared to reconcile ourselves to that fact
(or work with local gov'ts to improve their cyclability.)

There are roads that are very unpleasnt for riding. There are roads I
usually try to avoid. But I ride them when I have no alternative.

I can't accept blaming a cyclist for being on an "unrideable" road.
ISTM that the law and simple fairness say a bicyclist has a right to
the road. I can't condone requiring the OP to drive a car just so a
few motorists are saved a few seconds of delay.

- Frank Krygowski

On Sun, 11 Jan 2009 02:20:36 -0800, Mike wrote:

I recently started training for my first Century. I started riding my
bicycle to work three days a week. It's about 15 miles one way. It's a
good ride, but the only legal route is a four lane that has a 55 mile
per hour speed limit.

It's "illegal" to take some other route? The smallest road to your
workplace is a four lane? Really?

It seems that the motorists in my area are not educated on the rights of
bicyclists or how to share the road. I feel like I'm helping to educate
them, but I am a little concerned that one of them may do something
criminal because I inconvenience them by forcing them to pass me.

Nothing like a pompous "I have the right to use the road" extremist who
ends up squashed all over the road to make a point, eh? At least you
will have died knowing you "made a difference", eh?


--
"Ubuntu" -- an African word, meaning "Slackware is too hard for me".
The Usenet Improvement Project: http://improve-usenet.org
Ahhhhhhh!: http://brandybuck.site40.net/pics/relieve.jpg

In article ,
terryc writes:
On Sun, 11 Jan 2009 03:13:46 -0800, Tom Keats wrote:


"Take the lane" has become too much of a battlecry, instead
of the occasional tactic to be resorted-to only when necessary.

Seriously, come back when you actually ride a bicycle in traffic.

Okay.

Here I am.

It seems to me that so many people regard being
part of traffic as some sort of competition, and
they bring their contentious attitudes to bear.

I've come to view traffic as a rolling, dynamic
community, in which the people around you are
neither foes nor competitors, but neighbours.
There can be the occasional bad neighbour, and
there can occasionally be neighbours who become
good friends. But mostly, neighbours are people
with whom we're considerate, courteous and most
especially -- co-operative. But we don't want to
get too intertwined with their lives, and we
mutually understand that our neighbours feel
the same way. So we quietly get along without
bothering each other.

Car drivers are ordinary ~people~. Contrary to the attitudes
expressed here by so many riders, drivers are typically not
ogres, or Godzilla, or the malevolent trucks in one of my
favourite cult B movies: "Maximum Overdrive."

Car drivers are people with brains & hearts, and they use
them as well or as poorly) as anybody else in general.

It has been my experience that, when riding in
traffic, I get back what I give.

So, I really /do/ ride in traffic. I even get along
with most of my traffic neighbours.

I'm not averse to taking the lane when I need to.
I'm equally not averse to sharing the lane when I can.
I choose to be co-operative and civil with my fellows,
with a li'l understanding thrown into the deal.
Some folks might construe that as a weakness on my part.
Oh, well.

Maybe when traffic is re-humanized, and planners/designers/
engineers think in terms of people instead of just the vehicles
we operate, the traffic neighbourhoods of the world will
become better places. But those planners/designers/engineers
need to understand that roads are not merely conduits -- they
become rolling, dynamic, complex communities of the traffic
they support.

I suppose that would be a paradigm shift.


cheers, & Who Made Who,
Tom

--
Nothing is safe from me.
I'm really at:
tkeats curlicue vcn dot bc dot ca

In article ,
terryc wrote:

On Sun, 11 Jan 2009 03:13:46 -0800, Tom Keats wrote:


"Take the lane" has become too much of a battlecry, instead
of the occasional tactic to be resorted-to only when necessary.

Seriously, come back when you actually ride a bicycle in traffic.

You're kidding, right?

Just FYI, Tom Keats rides a bicycle in traffic more than almost anyone
in this group. Unless things have changed, he doesn't own a car; his
bicycle is his primary (nearly exclusive) means of transport, and he
doesn't stay at home, either.

His hometown (mine too) isn't the worst place in the world to ride a
bike, but it's hardly the Netherlands. Tom knows what he's talking about.

--
Ryan Cousineau http://www.wiredcola.com/
"In other newsgroups, they killfile trolls."
"In rec.bicycles.racing, we coach them."

When I first started riding I would get pushed off of the road by
tractor trailers because I stayed too close to the curb. After
reading more about bicycle safety I now ride 3 to five feet from the
curb or in the middle of the lane if I have traffic on both sides.
Exiting and merging lanes force me into this position.

Is there a reason you need to ride 3-5 feet from the curb, or is this a
response to something you read?

If a highway has a well-maintained shoulder without debris, then often
times that will be the best-possible place to ride. If you're in the
city and there are many parked cars, that's a different story, because
you don't want to be weaving in & out.

The things that keep you safe on the road are predictability &
visibility. The main idea to predictability that might contribute to
taking the lane when not required is the idea that you should, at all
times, act like a car. That's taken to an extreme; there are many times
when a cyclist can and should take advantage of areas outside the normal
roadway used by cars. But I would have thought those would be things the
officer would have told you, if in fact you had a safe shoulder on which
to ride.

This bicycling thing is a little tougher than I thought. It's not the
exercise, but the people that makes it tough. You just don't know who
you'll meet on the road.

Not much different than when driving. Mostly reasonable people. Mostly.
Obviously, you need to take into account encounters with those who are
not.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com




"Mike" wrote in message
...
I recently started training for my first Century. I started riding my
bicycle to work three days a week. It's about 15 miles one way. It's
a good ride, but the only legal route is a four lane that has a 55
mile per hour speed limit.

When I first started riding I would get pushed off of the road by
tractor trailers because I stayed too close to the curb. After
reading more about bicycle safety I now ride 3 to five feet from the
curb or in the middle of the lane if I have traffic on both sides.
Exiting and merging lanes force me into this position.

Friday I was coming home and there was some traffic. Motorists were
honking as usual. One actually honked and buzzed me when there was no
traffic. I just don't understand some people.

Near the end of my ride a police officer positioned himself behind me
and alerted me to stop using his siren and lights. When I pulled over
he called for backup which I thought was a little funny, but I guess
you never know who you're going to meet on the road. He said he had
received several calls stating that I was riding, "in the middle of
the road." I told the officer I was riding, "in the middle of my
lane" because that was the safest place for me to ride. He responded
that he could not tell me to stop riding because I was riding legally,
but he did ask me to be careful. I thanked him for his concern and
went on my way. I think I'm being as careful as I can without
reverting to my old behavior of driving my huge gas guzzling car which
some argue is actually more dangerous.

It seems that the motorists in my area are not educated on the rights
of bicyclists or how to share the road. I feel like I'm helping to
educate them, but I am a little concerned that one of them may do
something criminal because I inconvenience them by forcing them to
pass me.

This bicycling thing is a little tougher than I thought. It's not the
exercise, but the people that makes it tough. You just don't know who
you'll meet on the road.

Please ride safe.

Mike Jarrells

On Sun, 11 Jan 2009 22:56:31 +0000, Ryan Cousineau wrote:


His hometown (mine too) isn't the worst place in the world to ride a
bike, but it's hardly the Netherlands. Tom knows what he's talking about.

It sure doesn't show. Over here, if you are not in the lane, then you are
never going to get there when you need it. Moving in and out of the lane
is a sure way to get skittled.

On Sun, 11 Jan 2009 14:44:35 -0800, Tom Keats wrote:


Car drivers are ordinary ~people~. Contrary to the attitudes
expressed here by so many riders, drivers are typically not
ogres, or Godzilla, or the malevolent trucks in one of my
favourite cult B movies: "Maximum Overdrive."

Well, that is where I disagree with you. Outside a car, they are ordinary
people. Inside a car and there is this personalty transformation that
takes place.

Car drivers are people with brains & hearts, and they use them as well
or as poorly) as anybody else in general.

The problem is the 99 who probably do that, it is the 1 who doesn't. The
problem is when you meant that one.

It has been my experience that, when riding in traffic, I get back what
I give.

That is where a fantasy descends. A bicycle rider doesn't give anything to
a motor vehicle.

Maybe when traffic is re-humanized, and planners/designers/
engineers think in terms of people instead of just the vehicles
we operate, the traffic neighbourhoods of the world will
become better places. But those planners/designers/engineers
need to understand that roads are not merely conduits -- they
become rolling, dynamic, complex communities of the traffic
they support.

I suppose that would be a paradigm shift.

I've been waiting forty years for that to occur.