Middle of the Road

Whenever a person first discovers I bike, they reply with a story. And it’s always the same story.

“I was driving down [insert any road name] when all of the sudden I saw a cyclist in the MIDDLE OF THE ROAD!” Inevitably it always ends with them saying they “just tapped on their horn” or “squeezed by” or “yelled out to the cyclist.” 

And many many times I’ve been the cyclist in one of these stories- the one sharing the road with a driver that isn’t aware of the basic road rules regarding bikes.

What’s worse is that sometimes reasonable people panic at the sight of a bicycle in the lane… and then all that reason flies out the window.

Middle of the Road

So I wanted to explain it to those who have never biked in the city:

Middle of the Road

And there’s more. Bikes are small, but they still need space. Cars should give cyclists the same amount of space when passing as another vehicle, at least 3 ft. However, not all roads allow for that, particularly in Boston:

Middle of the Road

So don’t panic when you see a bike in your lane. Just treat it like another vehicle. If you can pass safely, that’s fine. If not, most likely you won’t be slowed down much if at all. In the city, I find that car traffic slows me down much more than the other way around.

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89 comments

  • Eli Damon December 5, 2012  

    I was just talking about this a few days ago. How is it that the two of us are driving in exactly the same position on the road and yet I am “in the middle of the road” and you’re not? You have no idea how much this irks me.

  • dr2chase December 5, 2012  
  • Kat December 5, 2012  

    The funny details in these are so much fun to digest – I laughed out loud at the monsters and mini touristst! Love this series especially because you point out why we can’t be in certain places motorists think we “should” be riding in. You should be commissioned by the National DOT!

  • Paul December 5, 2012  

    Amsterdam (in fact any city in Netherlands), Geneva (in fact most cities in Switzerland) pose the cyclists with exactly the same problems.
    Great cartoons with kind and realistic suggestions.
    Keep up the good spirits!

    Rgds, Paul.

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