A good distance from edge of road
Sometimes I am riding between 1 foot and 3 foot from the edge of the road and cars will still beep their horns, presumably because they are irritated a cyclist has slowed them down. The problem is more acute on narrow lanes where being 1-2 foot from edge of road can place you near the centre. The other problem is that often on these narrow roads the edge of the road tends to be the most bumpy and unrideable. It’s fine if your driving a 4*4, but, if you’re on a racing bike with 22″ tyres it’s quite dangerous to ride over bumps and potholes. I also feel it is better to keep a consistent line rather than riding close to the edge and then having to shoot out to the side to avoid bumps. If you ride a few feet out, you have the option of cutting inside, which is safer than cutting out into traffic.
Car Doors and Knocking over Cyclists
The other issue when cycling is that I never trust drivers to check their mirror for cyclists passing. Therefore, I always want to leave room for a car door to unexpectedly open, even if this places me in middle of road.
Generally, I tend to ride as close to the left as is reasonable and safe; but, sometimes this means I am out quite a bit; but unlike cars I will always remain on ‘my’ side of the road.
To be honest, there is not much you can do about the impatient cars who will beep for being even a few inches off the curb. It is pretty irritating but what can you do? The only thing I do is not to feel guilty then try and forget about it.
The best form of cycle lane, is simply to widen roads; there are so many roads which would be better for cycling if they were widened or at least repaired upto the edge.
Related
I suspect that a lot of car drivers are a bit nervous about cyclists and hoot at us by way of a warning of their approach.
As regards bike lanes, there is plenty of space that could be used: grass verges, rarely used pavements (could be shared) for example. Certainly more attention could be paid to keeping the edges of roads in good condition and not sinking the drain covers below the level of the surrounding tarmac, also using covers that are bicycle-wheel-friendly.