Curiously, he’s a sidewalk rider, hence the quotes on official. He told me he’s seen me a lot, but I would not have seen him as a commuter, if his travels are via sidewalk. I may have made slight mental note upon seeing a helmeted rider in good cycling form on the sidewalk, but only in sadness.

He asked if my departure was in his direction and it was, so I played bike-bus driver for a few short miles. It brought him off the sidewalk and into the traffic lane. Still a bit of a curb-hugger, though he appeared reasonably comfortable with the new location.

I’ve passed along CommuteOrlando, hoping he’ll find tips here to his benefit. If you’re reading this, Josh, keep in touch!

I’m happy to have made perhaps one improvement in someone’s cycling safety. One must start somewhere.

I am of the opinion that human beings cannot live without some form of mythology that gives meaning to their history and social structures.

For example, the Battle of Britain was cast as a rerun of Agincourt.

“We few, we happy few, we band of brothers…”

Of course, the “few” who were the pilots were backed up by an immense number of people. Including thousands of codebreakers who built the world’s first computers to crack the German’s Enigma cypher.

Or to give another example, Canada was named after Psalm 73:8.

“His Dominion shall be from Sea to Sea, and from the River to the End of the Earth.”

This is an excellent geographic description of Canada. From sea to sea is from Atlantic to Pacific, the River is the St. Lawrence and the end of the earth is the North Pole.

Now, the spoilsport Bible scholars may tell us that the original meaning of “sea to sea” is from the Med to the Persian Gulf, the River is the Euphrates and the “end of the earth” is a poetic way of saying “boundless.” But Sir John A. Macdonald and the other Fathers of Confederation believed that there were no true coincidences in the providence of God. And neither do I.

The examples go on and on. There is the Canadian self-image as an Arctic nation, although few Canadians have ever been to the Arctic. Or the British self-image as a maritime nation, although few have served on a sailing vessel. But in each case, the myth helps build self-image and identity.

Most of those who are currently cycling on roadways without decent bike lanes or paved shoulders are hugging the edge. They have either become comfortable enough with that position to keep riding, or have no choice but to ride. They pass on the stories of all their close passes to their friends and family, whether cyclists or not, and it makes cycling sound really scary (and it can be if you hug the edge). Fear of overtaking motor vehicles is the primary hindrance to cycling.

What’s more, those who get started in roadway cycling follow the lead of the majority, and also hug the edge, so their initial experiences in cycling inevitably involve close passes, and many retreat to the sidewalk and trails, or don’t ride any more.

If we start people out riding in the lane control position, they will have far fewer close passes — not to mention all the other types of conflicts, such as right hooks and left crosses. So their initial cycling experiences will be positive, and I believe they will be more likely to continue with it and expand their range of roadway types and conditions.

Of course we are not going to start them out doing lane control on a highway like the one we featured in our video. We progress from local streets, to collectors, to arterials.

1. I am agnostic on the issue of VC and I am visiting this blog specifically to learn about that theory. Videos are an excellent teaching tool for this. As I stated, I am appreciative and interested in this video demonstration. I am open to learning about different lane positions.

2. I don’t understand the comment about not wanting to be “pigeon-holed” based on an “imaginary VC agenda.” This blog, in my opinion, clearly has a VC bent to it. But I never accused anyone of having an agenda.

In any case, I visit this website to understand the theory better. If it were not VC, it would not be interesting to me.

3. Yes, my comments went beyond the scope of the stated purpose of the video. You were “busting the myth” that “‘Yer gonna get run over.’ Says the average person (including many cyclists) in any discussion about riding in the lane on a high speed road.”

I understand by rereading your disclaimers about the video that you are not advocating any particular lane position to use at all times. Thanks for pointing that out.

The “myth” here is based on the mistaken idea that riding in the lane is more dangerous than riding on the shoulder. The mistaken idea exists b/c is “seems” dangerous to ride in the lane, even though it may be safer. For many people, myself included, riding in the lane on a high-speed road requires a “leap of faith.” That is where your video may be useful, to encourage people to make the leap of faith, even though I know you did not say that or intend it necessarily, but that is the effect it may have.

But If I were to focus my comments only on the video and its stated purpose, I might say something line, “Great job, Keri and Mighk. You really showed that you can ride on that highway two feet to the left of the line without getting killed.”

Instead, though, I used the video and the discussion as a jumping off point for further consideration of lane position. My thoughts went something line, “Hmm. That seemed to really work well in this setting. I never really tried that myself. I wonder if there are other settings where it would not work.”

My assumptions on this are that it might be more stressful and unpleasant in some other situations, like the two-lane road I described.

4. With regards to the LoS, you wrote, “The person who travels by bike every day knows what road position works best (or as Steve calls it, the “Line of Sweetness”) and should be given the freedom to do what works. ” This sounds like you are endorsing the LoS because it “works best.” Maybe that is not what you meant. It is somewhat ambiguous.

5. I absolutely support cyclists rights to ride in the lane if they choose to.

6. With regards to the two-lane highway example I gave, there are MANY of those where I live in the New England. I know you are not giving advice about riding on one, but it may interest you to know that. And here, depending on where you ride, traffic conditions can be heavy and fast for much of the day. Yes, rush hour is only four hours/day, but that is also when many cyclists are also commuting. I myself would ride the two-lane highway if I had to, but I would not enjoy myself. I would absolutely ride in the shoulder though.

Now that I covered all of that, I want to pose two questions that have nothing to do with the video and maybe should be in a different thread:

Why, if cycling is statistically so safe, do bike advocates spend so much time talking about safety (myself included, I guess, oops)? For example, I have read that cycling is safer than walking the dog, safer than swimming, safer than sailing. But I know swimmers don’t sit around and talk about drowning all the time. So if we understand that cycling safety statistics are based on “average” cyclists including so called “gutter bunnies” that probably account for 90% of cyclists, and it is still demonstrably safer than many other “safe” things, why dwell on safety to the point that it makes people scared to ride? (Note: I am not accusing you of trying to scare people. This is just a general observation.)

Finally, if cycling is so safe based on “gutter bunny” predominant behavior, how much safer do we need it to be? I read the average cyclist can ride millions of miles without suffering a fatality.

Mike

I’m writing an essay on the potential POSITIVE use of mythology for cycling, so I’m sensitive to the use of the word “myth” in a solely negative context these days.

I used to use it that way quite a bit myself. ;^)

YES, Mike, “it [video] does not go nearly far enough to prove that riding in the middle of the lane is optimal under all circumstances.”

Regarding mike’s “2 lane highway with heavy, high-speed traffic”. I can only think of one segment of a road, 2 lane, two mile stretch between Interstate exit and gravel operations / major intersection. Road it once, wouldn’t recommend, there are alternatives, parallel roads or different time: after weekends or 6 PM.

Mike wrote: “My suspicion is that even the most strident vehicular cyclists don’t want to take that heat”
Hmm, Mighk wrote “our first choice was US 441 west of Plymouth-Sorrento Road. I didn’t have the “guts” for that. Lots of traffic and big trucks.”

Mike’s video challenge “2 lane highway with heavy, high-speed traffic” is not common, more the infrequent situation. The video is works in > 90% of cases. Let’s review:
Myth: widely held but false belief or idea
Riding on multi-lane highway is too dangerous, BUSTED

Myth: an exaggerated or idealized conception of a person or thing
Riding middle of the lane is optimal under all circumstances or Keri/Mighk have a strident agenda: BUSTED

Thank you Mike, Keri and Mighk.

I think you have misunderstood the purpose of the video. It is not to “get cyclists who ride on the shoulder to change behavior…” It is to show the ease of seeing and passing a cyclist in conditions that exist most of the time on a road like that (heavy traffic occurs for maybe 4 out of 24 hours). Sometimes riding in the lane is a more pleasant option, so we hope to help cyclists make an informed choice. It is also to make the case that the cyclists who do not ride on the shoulder (in spite of police pressure to do so) are not insane, militant or rude.

Recently, two cyclists have been wrongly arrested in states where riding on the shoulder is not required. Whether or not I would choose the lane vs the shoulder in the same conditions they would does not stop me from supporting their right to choose the lane.

The point of this video was not about the line of sweetness, either. This video shows a position similar to Steve’s line of sweetness. I’m a proponent of riding in the lane position that gives the best results. In my experience, that lane position varies from one road to another and in different weather and traffic conditions. Sometimes it’s the left tire track, sometimes it’s just right of center (where Mighk was riding).

This video has absolutely nothing to do with a 2 lane highway with heavy, high-speed traffic. I would avoid such a road like the plague. I wouldn’t even begin to recommend a riding style for it. I’ll let others do that, if they so choose.

I was very careful to word the post so that it wouldn’t be construed as rigid or telling people what to do. Just appreciate it for what it is and don’t try to pigeon-hole us into some imaginary “VC agenda.”