Riding Lane Position

[martin14]

No offense but my thought is that those riders need some education. When riding in a group the lead rider normally takes the left side of the lane, the next rider takes the right, and so on. This is safer for a number of reasons. The group can close up and shorten the distance between riders which helps prevent cage drivers from trying to cut in. The staggered formation also gives each rider more response time and distance to stop or evade if something unexpected happens to a rider ahead.

When riding alone I was taught to "dominate" my lane. What this means is to position myself so as to be as visible as possible and at the same time discourage cage drivers from thinking they can come over and crowd me. If I'm riding in the right lane I'll be on the left side. If I'm in the left lane I'll ride on the right half. That last one has an additional benefit in that if some oncoming driver crosses the centerline I'll have just a smidge more reaction time. If the highway has three or more lanes and you are in one of the middle ones just take your pick depending on the traffic situation.

Finally, I can only repeat what others have said about riding in the center of the lane. Bad idea. Oil and crud from cages collects there not to mention debris that can damage your tires.

John

You and I must have had the same teacher

always 'dominate'.. Had one guy pass me on my right once in Spain,
scared me half to death. he wasnt very happy when I caught him in the next
town though :newsmile055:

 

[xlcruser]

I use right and left of center depending on conditions. I will not usually use dead center because of oil. Around here on the back roads if a deer jumps you it doesn't matter where in the lane you are, the roads are very hilly, twisty and the woods usually are close to the road.

 

[rhino]

i usually ride just right of the center line. it gives me more room to adjust for road hazards. its seams like there is more roadkills this year. might be the dots way of saving money with no budget yet.

 

[airbusdriver]

as it says in the rider's handbook, one side or the other of the lane