Yeah, I know I only visit this section like once a year or something and even then I ask stupid question! 
Not sure if any of you know, but I have moved (back to?) the US and am eager to start riding my old Bridgestone road bike again.
Well, after reading and heaing about so many cyclists getting taken out by cars, in a lot of cases, from behind where you can't really see it coming, I was wondering if it makes sense or even is legal to ride on the left side of the road, so you can at least see a car coming driving too close to the curb or something.
I know it makes sense to be riding on the right side of the road, traveling the same direction that cars are on when you are traveling at about 20mph and they are about at 30-45-ish mph, since the speed difference is 10-15mph.
But when you are pedaling on a 2-lane highway or roads that cars are traveling at 50-60+mph but you are still traveling at 20mph I feel pretty nervous about where exactly on the road the vehicle coming from behind is!
ANYWAY, yeah, I know if I rode on the left side of the road and the cars drove 60mph it would be like I'm standing still and they are going past me as though they are doing 80mph!
Do you think there's much difference in my chances of survival whether I get rammed into from behind by a truck, going the same direction with 40mph speed difference and getting creamed by a car head-on with the 80mph speed difference.
OK, the latter sounds far worse, but at least you have a much better chance of escaping that scenario than getting hit from the rear.
What do you say or what do you know???
BTW, there is this canyon I've driven for the past three days getting to a workshop and I've seen cyclists riding through there and I'm dying to try it!
It's a very wide four-lane highway is pretty wide patch of riding/runoff area, so I don't think it's THAT risky but was curious what you though or how you felt about this sort of thing. Maybe I just need to geek up and get one of those helmet-clipon rearview mirror thingies!
Sorry for the very lengthy post! I sure hope it makes sense!
Not sure if any of you know, but I have moved (back to?) the US and am eager to start riding my old Bridgestone road bike again.
Well, after reading and heaing about so many cyclists getting taken out by cars, in a lot of cases, from behind where you can't really see it coming, I was wondering if it makes sense or even is legal to ride on the left side of the road, so you can at least see a car coming driving too close to the curb or something.
I know it makes sense to be riding on the right side of the road, traveling the same direction that cars are on when you are traveling at about 20mph and they are about at 30-45-ish mph, since the speed difference is 10-15mph.
But when you are pedaling on a 2-lane highway or roads that cars are traveling at 50-60+mph but you are still traveling at 20mph I feel pretty nervous about where exactly on the road the vehicle coming from behind is!
ANYWAY, yeah, I know if I rode on the left side of the road and the cars drove 60mph it would be like I'm standing still and they are going past me as though they are doing 80mph!
Do you think there's much difference in my chances of survival whether I get rammed into from behind by a truck, going the same direction with 40mph speed difference and getting creamed by a car head-on with the 80mph speed difference.
OK, the latter sounds far worse, but at least you have a much better chance of escaping that scenario than getting hit from the rear.
What do you say or what do you know???
BTW, there is this canyon I've driven for the past three days getting to a workshop and I've seen cyclists riding through there and I'm dying to try it!
It's a very wide four-lane highway is pretty wide patch of riding/runoff area, so I don't think it's THAT risky but was curious what you though or how you felt about this sort of thing. Maybe I just need to geek up and get one of those helmet-clipon rearview mirror thingies!
Sorry for the very lengthy post! I sure hope it makes sense!
