The cyclist hate here is truly terrifying. Shame on people out getting exercise and not burning gas and expecting to be treated safely. The nerve.
Being treated safely is a two way street. Boy and I were driving to Cooks last night, and the female bike rider, out of an eight foot shoulder lane, chose to keep her left handlebar about six inches in from the white line , leaving six feet of clear and clean shoulder between her and the edge of the pavement. Son, who is sixteen and learning and was driving, asked me why she didnt stay over more towards the center of the shoulder lane. Told him some cyclists do that because there is more debris farther from roadway, increasing the chances they will get a flat, some do it to assert their right to that space. Others just dont care.
"But it's safety Dad, the way people drive down here, isn't a flat better than being flat?" I had no answer for him. Just like I dot get the pairs/multiples of riders who refuse to single file when traffic approaches, even though it means that they then have a handlebar right on the while line. I know I can place my fender precisely enough to not endanger them, but I see how many folks seem to treat the white shoulder line like a guide rail for their right tire and would never ride my bike any closer to that than I had to.