Biking on an interstate highway (on the shoulder)

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Originally Posted By: zzyzzx
If it matters, if I do this it will be on July 4th at around 1PMish, so I assume that traffic will most likely be light.

In all sincerity the best of luck to you. I hope it goes well and you never encounter any safety issues. Make sure you wear something with high visibility of course.
 
Originally Posted By: andrewg
For me, I don't want my eulogy to be something like..."At least he died doing what he loved".


Yeah, I never really got that one. "Doing what he loved"? He loved getting hit by cars? Really?

Bike racing is pretty dangerous. I've broken enough bones to know. Most of that has actually been in competition, and not by vehicles (though I did get taken out once by a race vehicle, which happens). That said, there are things you can do to minimize the risks in training. One of them is staying off of multi-use paths except at very odd hours. Honestly, I'd rather take my chances with traffic than mom and a baby stroller and an iphone... But you have to be judicious in your choice of routes. I tend to ride the same ones over and over because they're the safest routes. Speed differential is a big one. If I'm riding at roughly the same speed that traffic can go, I feel a lot safer. Riding on the interstate? That's a pretty big speed differential..

You CAN ride on the interstate in most western states, and I've actually done it a couple of times on one route where riding 2 miles on the interstate cuts about 12 miles off of the ride. But I'm not a huge fan, and I rarely do that ride. There are almost always other, better options.

My wife commutes by bike every day, so one can safely ride on roads. But we also choose to live in a location that is pretty rideable, and not every place is like that. I used to work in the Kent valley and there's actually some decent riding down there (though with the construction down there I'm not sure that's still the case). But there are also a lot of places down there where I wouldn't be comfortable riding.
 
Originally Posted By: JOD
Originally Posted By: andrewg
For me, I don't want my eulogy to be something like..."At least he died doing what he loved".


Yeah, I never really got that one. "Doing what he loved"? He loved getting hit by cars? Really?

Bike racing is pretty dangerous. I've broken enough bones to know. Most of that has actually been in competition, and not by vehicles (though I did get taken out once by a race vehicle, which happens). That said, there are things you can do to minimize the risks in training. One of them is staying off of multi-use paths except at very odd hours. Honestly, I'd rather take my chances with traffic than mom and a baby stroller and an iphone... But you have to be judicious in your choice of routes. I tend to ride the same ones over and over because they're the safest routes. Speed differential is a big one. If I'm riding at roughly the same speed that traffic can go, I feel a lot safer. Riding on the interstate? That's a pretty big speed differential..

You CAN ride on the interstate in most western states, and I've actually done it a couple of times on one route where riding 2 miles on the interstate cuts about 12 miles off of the ride. But I'm not a huge fan, and I rarely do that ride. There are almost always other, better options.

My wife commutes by bike every day, so one can safely ride on roads. But we also choose to live in a location that is pretty rideable, and not every place is like that. I used to work in the Kent valley and there's actually some decent riding down there (though with the construction down there I'm not sure that's still the case). But there are also a lot of places down there where I wouldn't be comfortable riding.

Good post. I know what you mean about the bike paths and mixing cyclists, strollers, inattentive walkers/joggers, and dog walkers with ten foot leashes. It has gotten to be almost as dangerous as a street (but perhaps not as deadly). I live above the Kent/Auburn valley. The riding around here has always been a bit dangerous (the past 25-30 years that I have ridden), but now it's FAR more hazardous with all the idiots on cell phones/texting etc. And even when I went the speed of the local traffic, you get these moronic fools that beep at you to get off the road or yell some obscenity out the window. Not fun. Even driving in my vehicle I have several WEEKLY close calls with these types. The bike trails in the valley are great though. Much more open than the Burke-Gilman and other trails close to Seattle. You can go a good clip very safely (except at road crossings). I've enjoyed them quite a bit for fitness rides but realize any serious racing cyclist would need to ride on the road to get the required training in. For me (now 50 years old), my common sense and judgement leads me to conclude that roads are too much a risk for cycling anymore and that I can find equal enjoyment doing other things like hiking in the mountains and long walks in the city.
I wish your wife well and hope that she stays safe out there.
 
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Originally Posted By: andrewg
Of course I know that a competitive cyclist has little choice IF they want to be in the proper condition. Where did I say that I was a former racing cyclist? I think in my whole life I raced maybe....twice? I cycled for fun. Regardless what purpose one has in mind....riding on a roadway shared with motor vehicles is dangerous as heck and not worth it for me. My life is more important than a race or any competition. Once you are dead....it's all over. For me, I don't want my eulogy to be something like..."At least he died doing what he loved". If it's all the same, I'd rather forget cycling on the road and opt for a safer outlet for my competitive spirit. Why the attitude in your post anyway? I was just expressing my opinion.


Sorry if you sensed any attitude as NONE was inferred AT ALL!
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The racing question was just that, a question, as I thought you may have implied (in past posts, but I was NOT sure) that you had raced at one time, and therefore would have known what I had stated in that post.

I respect and even admire your opinion on this (as well as your lack of a death wish
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).

At first, I just was not sure whether or not you were stating that is is not OK for ANYONE (no matter how skilled, or careful) to be riding a bicycle on a public road (like that lunatic nutjob P.J. O'Rourke does incessantly).

But, if you were just talking about yourself, and the individual responsibility you love/hold so dear, and espouse so well, then OK, NO PROBLEM with/from me.
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Originally Posted By: JOD
Riding on the interstate? That's a pretty big speed differential..


Yeah, but just think of the draft you could get from the big rig 'wash'.
You could spin out a 53x11, like motorpace training without the roller backed motorbike in front of you.
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(J/K!)
 
Originally Posted By: dailydriver
Originally Posted By: andrewg
Of course I know that a competitive cyclist has little choice IF they want to be in the proper condition. Where did I say that I was a former racing cyclist? I think in my whole life I raced maybe....twice? I cycled for fun. Regardless what purpose one has in mind....riding on a roadway shared with motor vehicles is dangerous as heck and not worth it for me. My life is more important than a race or any competition. Once you are dead....it's all over. For me, I don't want my eulogy to be something like..."At least he died doing what he loved". If it's all the same, I'd rather forget cycling on the road and opt for a safer outlet for my competitive spirit. Why the attitude in your post anyway? I was just expressing my opinion.


Sorry if you sensed any attitude as NONE was inferred AT ALL!
wink.gif


The racing question was just that, a question, as I thought you may have implied (in past posts, but I was NOT sure) that you had raced at one time, and therefore would have known what I had stated in that post.

I respect and even admire your opinion on this (as well as your lack of a death wish
lol.gif
thumbsup2.gif
).

At first, I just was not sure whether or not you were stating that is is not OK for ANYONE (no matter how skilled, or careful) to be riding a bicycle on a public road (like that lunatic nutjob P.J. O'Rourke does incessantly).

But, if you were just talking about yourself, and the individual responsibility you love/hold so dear, and espouse so well, then OK, NO PROBLEM with/from me.
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I should apologize actually. When I read your post and quickly responded I was at work and not in the best of moods. I have a tendency to take things wrong sometimes and I need to correct that. I did race twice...lol. Once, in a criterium....and another very short road circuit. I had planned to become more involved but settled on just riding for the fun/fitness aspects and challenging myself with personal time trials. Soon though I realized it was just too much of a risk for me to share the road with cars that often behaved threatening, for no apparent reason other than the stress and anger that seems to be common these days. Lot's of news stories lately of cyclists getting hit and/or killed. But certainly NO, I did not mean it wasn't ok for folks to ride on the side of the lane...I am PRO cyclist and get HIGHLY upset at the dangers imposed by idiot drivers. In a perfect (safer) world I, myself, would happily ride on the roads with motor vehicles. But for me, it just scares the poop out of me. The last time I rode on a street, a female school bus driver followed me around a sharp corner and nearly hit me in the head with her huge mirror. Shortly before that ride I had three teens throw empty bottles at me as I was out of the saddle climbing a steep hill (used to love that).
Maybe it's just the area I live? I don't know....but it's fine as I'm older now and enjoy other things.
Have a good one...thanks and sorry about the communication mixup!
 
I ended up taking the side roads. That's mostly because I was running early and has the time for the longer route. That and the sun came out and the side roads (which were almost completely empty, unlike the highway) were shaded, where as the shorter highway shoulder route would have been in full sunshine.
 
It is interesting because I remember cycling in a large group training ride in Belgium about 15 years ago, about 60 people riding 2 abreast on a major highway, it even had the bicycle lane markings, as cars whizzed past at around 100 kph on my left, and then the guys up front put their left hand out to be making a left turn across 2 lanes of highway traffic, the car beside me is almost locking up its brakes to avoid hitting anyone ( you must be very careful in Belgium as a driver not to hit a cyclist ) and watching the whole mini peleton swing left across the road to make the turn, but no honking of horns, no other drama, just normal life in Belgium!
 
Yes, well it DOES help that they are a cycling CRAZY nation, and their champion cyclists are considered national HEROES maybe even more so than our stick and ball sports supastars are here!
It may still even be a more popular sport there than football (soccer), at least from a spectators' point of view, what with all of the little town/neighborhood 'kermesses' there (what we call criteriums here) and such.
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I could only WISH that cycling was that popular/respected here, with track world championships shown on TV, and riders out training shown THAT kind of respect/courtesy. (I guess it's just not violent enough for the U.S. sports public though.)
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It's illegal. Most (if not all) states have signs posted at on-ramps saying no pedestrians, bicycles, motor driven cycles, etc. Sometimes even state or US highways that are limited access (like interstates) have the same type of signs.
 
You don't drive your car on the rail road tracks..so why would you ride a bicycle in the road. The tax payers in my area have paid for over 100 miles of bicycle trails, and people still ride on the road. absolute nuisance if you ask me. Not to mention very unsafe. Not only for the cyclist but for on coming traffic as fustrated drivers move into the on coming lane to get around them.
 
Originally Posted By: UncleLee
You don't drive your car on the rail road tracks..so why would you ride a bicycle in the road. The tax payers in my area have paid for over 100 miles of bicycle trails, and people still ride on the road. absolute nuisance if you ask me. Not to mention very unsafe. Not only for the cyclist but for on coming traffic as fustrated drivers move into the on coming lane to get around them.

Contact your legislators....organize....and change the law. Until then, they are legally abiding by the law and as a result, you must share the road with them.
 
I've bicycled on divided highways, with dedicated bike lanes, that were just like, but not in fact, interstates. During heavy traffic, when cars/trucks go by at 75-80 MPH, the draft is amazing and cyclist speeds pick up nicely.

I did not find it scary or otherwise dangerous. The car-to-cyclist distance is increased in such configurations and I'd say it's far safer than a busy 2 lane without a dedicated bike lane.
 
Originally Posted By: UncleLee
You don't drive your car on the rail road tracks..so why would you ride a bicycle in the road. The tax payers in my area have paid for over 100 miles of bicycle trails, and people still ride on the road. absolute nuisance if you ask me. Not to mention very unsafe. Not only for the cyclist but for on coming traffic as fustrated drivers move into the on coming lane to get around them.


Actually, stuff like pedestrians, horses, farm equipment, and bicyclists, have an absolute right to the roads, while motor vehicles have a privilege. This is why the latter have to yield to the former.

A motorist has to turn a steering wheel and change speed via controls. Boo hoo. A cyclist has to exercise. And he's saving the rest of us some petroleum to use later.
 
Perhaps, but there are far more automotive annoyances on the road than bicyclists.

If your biggest problem on the roads is bicycles, I may want to move where you live. Because around here, 1000:1 it's the cars that cause me the most headaches regardless if I'm in my car or on a bike.

I suspect it's not the vehicle they choose, but the fact that a certain percentage of folks are knuckleheads.

It's just sheer numbers. There are far more motorists than bicyclists. Neither is better than the other at following the rules and laws.

Originally Posted By: UncleLee
You don't drive your car on the rail road tracks..so why would you ride a bicycle in the road. The tax payers in my area have paid for over 100 miles of bicycle trails, and people still ride on the road. absolute nuisance if you ask me. Not to mention very unsafe. Not only for the cyclist but for on coming traffic as fustrated drivers move into the on coming lane to get around them.
 
Originally Posted By: UncleLee
You don't drive your car on the rail road tracks..so why would you ride a bicycle in the road. The tax payers in my area have paid for over 100 miles of bicycle trails, and people still ride on the road. absolute nuisance if you ask me. Not to mention very unsafe. Not only for the cyclist but for on coming traffic as fustrated drivers move into the on coming lane to get around them.


Your thoughts seem pretty common in Texas, one of many reasons I'll never go there...

I have news for you, most cyclists pay a lot in taxes as well (I know I certainly do), and roads are for cyclists as well as drivers. Of course, I realize that you're more important, so the cyclists are just a nuisance to you...

Most multi-use paths are not suitable for bikes traveling at a reasonable rate of speed, which is why I avoid them unless there are no other options.
 
Originally Posted By: eljefino
Originally Posted By: UncleLee
You don't drive your car on the rail road tracks..so why would you ride a bicycle in the road. The tax payers in my area have paid for over 100 miles of bicycle trails, and people still ride on the road. absolute nuisance if you ask me. Not to mention very unsafe. Not only for the cyclist but for on coming traffic as frustrated drivers move into the on coming lane to get around them.


Actually, stuff like pedestrians, horses, farm equipment, and bicyclists, have an absolute right to the roads, while motor vehicles have a privilege. This is why the latter have to yield to the former.

A motorist has to turn a steering wheel and change speed via controls. Boo hoo. A cyclist has to exercise. And he's saving the rest of us some petroleum to use later.



THANK YOU!!
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The WORST driving offenders in this area are the pickup driving, hard core rednecks who would shoot to kill IF they could get away with it, and the snooty, uppity, yuppiedrones on their phones, in their big buck luxomobiles who think they OWN the road, and feel you are just in their way and costing them their precious, 'N.Y. minute' time.
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This reminds me of people who go to the oil additives section just to bash on oil additives. I'm not a big fan of oil additives, so I usually stay away from that section. I just don't get it.
I ride on US23 all the time before the bike paths start. There is a 10ft wide shoulder and I bother no one, even if it is a wide load carrying trusses diagonally. Yet, there are those who feel compelled to mess with people just because they do not like it. It is that reason I have a front and rear facing HD camera with remote data storage and CCW. Though if someone tries to start something, I do my best to ignore them.
Oh yeah. I'm a deer hunting, pickup truck driving NASCAR fan.
As Andrew said; :Contact your legislators....organize....and change the law. "
 
In my opinion, bikes and motor vehicles just don't mix but that's especially true in urban areas where it's extremely congested to begin with and cities ( usually looking to get state or Fed transportation dollars ) make it worse by widening bike lanes or developing dedicated bike lanes that eliminate a car lane for a stretch in certain areas of the city. In San Francisco, they have an event called "Critical Mass" on the last Friday of the month where ( at 5PM rush hour ) about a thousand mostly activist bicyclists make their presence known...sometimes with confrontative results on both sides. It's hard to feel sympathy for bikers of many stripes if they're four across on a two lane road and refuse to move and are blocking traffic. By the same token, I've seen both the yuppie a**wipe in his BMW and the lift kit pickup truck idiot f*** taunting the bikers who are otherwise not in anyone's way.

Even if there's a 10 foot shoulder, you still have that cultural, real or perceived annoyance backdrop which already exists and, quite frankly, I wouldn't want to take the chance. A woman near me in a wide bike lane was hit and killed by a drunk driver going 80 mph. While I'm sorry people can't use a multi-use bike lane "at speed"...in my area there's been several accidents in areas where construction is going on and the lycra wearing bikers go through it at full speed. Sometimes it's less about the "ability to" and more about the brain synapse that actually fires.
 
^^^Yes, 'common sense' must be practiced by ALL, but, where there is a decent shoulder, and no construction dangers, that racing cyclist has EVERY right in the world to practice his given sport/endeavor ("right to happiness"), as long as he (or she) is not breaking any posted speed limit laws (which I will admit to doing in some areas when I was in much better {racing} condition/fitness).

Just because it is considered a; minor, unaccepted, or "non" sport in THIS country, does NOT make it illegal, or wrong to practice/train for racing cycling.
 
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