Assert Your Right To Ride Safely

Your safety as a cyclist will be enhanced by being more assertive (not aggressive) about your right to use the road. This is supported by psychology, experience, and the law.

My position on the road is usually near the white line. Some portion of my handlebars are usually above it.  But not always to the right of it. You have no obligation to ride through a storm drain that would grab your wheel or through gravel that would risk a spill.

You don't need to wait for this brush pile to move, to ride over it, or to ride around to the right of it on the grass. You just need to be visually clear to vehicle operators behind you that you will be riding around it to the left. Move smoothly into the main vehicle lane well in advance of the pile rather than swerving at the last second (just as you would as a motorist avoiding an obstacle). Leave plenty of space to your right between you and the pile -- so there's no question about what you're doing. Ride past the pile safely, and then gently move back towards the right. The car drivers will slow, travel around you, and drive on.

The closer you ride to that pile of debris, the closer most drivers will drive near you. That's my experience, anyhow.

This Q&A is from the NJ Department of Transportation website:

These comments obviously need to be balanced with good situational awareness. A vehicle approaching you from behind at 60 MPH with oncoming traffic is going to have much less reaction time and not much space to maneuver -- if you don't give them enough visual advance-notice. Use good sense, since the laws of physics always trump the laws of the state.

Separate, dedicated bikeways are a wonderful addition to urban streets. Bike paths like the Lawrence-Hopewell Trail and Delaware & Raritan Canal Towpath are great for recreation and for developing cyclists. I'm all for them!

But they don't go most places I travel. So it's my responsibility to learn and operate my two-wheeled vehicle in a clear consistent manner that follows the law and communicates my intent to other users of the road.

The folks at Cycling Savvy encourage us to "ride big". They have ten experience-based tips for safe road riding. I particularly like the way they describe the dance of riding with traffic!