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QUESTION:I have not been on a Highway (on a bicycle) for almost 30 years and although
I did cycle city to city in the early 70's, it was on a 10 speed and I spent
a lot of time going into a ditch or riding on soft shoulders to avoid the 18
wheel tractor trailers. My planned ride this summer is going to place me on
the Trans-Canada Highway for several thousand miles and since I began riding
recumbents in 1978 I developed this fear of ditches re: I refuse to ride on
the shoulder of a road or in the curb lane.
I am wondering how sane it will be to ride a Highway (in traffic), meaning
travel in the same lane as the cars and tractor trailers and expect them to
go around me as opposed to going over me?
I will be using a tadpole with a 6 foot long trailer (not something I would
want to be driving into a ditch). A tadpole will slide into a ditch on loose
gravel...found on the shoulders of roads...so I'd have to stay on the
pavement.
I will pedal the entire time...for the cardio-vascular benefit and to stop
leg cramps...plus weight loss (have not seen my knees while standing in
years).
I will in all likelihood use a pedal-assist e-motor with 9 heavy batteries
in the trailer for hills/mountains/headwinds...again not something I want
sliding into a ditch.
So the question is: in your bent cycling experience on the highways, will
cars & trucks respect your right to be on the pavement and pass you or do
they force you to the left and into the ditch? I know that everyone will
have different experiences with this, different highway networks, different
temperment of auto users etc., I just need some reassurance that I will make
it to the Pacific without getting their being dragged under the rear wheels
of a truck.
ANSWER: I can't speak as to the road manners of motor vehicles on the
Trans Canada hwy. I was pleasantly surprised, however, by my experience
on the Trans America trail this past summer. In 1800 miles across
Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and part of Colorado the only "bad"
experience was the traffic headed back to the Metropolitan Denver area
after the weekend. Even that was nothing compared to my regular commute
here in northern California. It seems in the more rural areas, at least
out west, the drivers are more conscientious about giving you plenty of
room as they pass. Even where there was no paved shoulder available, I
was rarely given less than 1/2 a lane's space as they passed. Even when
I wasn't paying the strictest attention to the rear (it happens on those
long empty stretches) and didn't move over in time, there was no
blasting horn, no cursing, they just went by. This by the way included
log truck, long haulers, heavy equipment trailers, highway line painters
and most rv's. As I write this the whole thing seems unreal and highly
unlikely, but that was my experience. Your results may vary. BTW, if
your not already using a rearview mirror,get one and use it.
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