PSA on doorings: check your mirrors!

[MXHOWES at aol.com]

Larry, things could be a little different out here in California, and I  
live in Northern, way Northern, CA. with 12,000 people in the nearest  town. 
In town we share the road which is fine with me but out on the open road  
there is a 3 to 8' paved shoulder that the road bikes should stay in it or  at 
least turn out of the traveled lane when a car is approaching. You  can't 
share a lane when one vehicle is going 20 MPH and another is at 55-65. I  
enjoy seeing the bikes on the open road and respect the people for doing what  
they enjoy and don't want to take anything away from them because I don't  
want some armchair environmentalists taking away my choice of pleasure  
(riding dirt bikes).  
Maybe on the East coast bicycles are not allowed on the freeways, but out  
there it is very common. 
It just upsets me when a sober, alert, poor slob ends getting sued because  
he clipped a bicyclist, there are so many times I see bicycles on the 
freeway  that deserve to get clipped.
 
Now on the Lotus Europa...... It's funny you could not fit into one, I'm,  
5-10, 165# and I always joked about the fact that Colin Chapman must have  
been 5-10, 165#, because that car fit me like a glove. I hated to see it go 
but  we used the money for a down payment on our first house....... 37 years  
ago.

 
 
In a message dated 9/26/2009 12:43:25 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time,  
larrycleung at gmail.com writes:

On  point #4, 2 points

a) these are road bikes, not shoulder bikes.   Since traffic law was 
established when roads were new and all sorts of forms  of transportation were 
available (the horseless carriage, the horse AND  carriage, foot, bicycle) no 
one type of vehicle owns the road, we share it.  

b) In NY and MA (only two states I can claim intimate knowledge of  road 
laws) it's technically illegal for a road bicyclist to be riding on the  
shoulder/sidewalk whatever. Bicycles are restricted to riding to the far right  
of the travel lanes, however. And yes, I purposely violate that law at  
controlled intersections for my own protection (see my earlier post). And,  FWIW, 
if you encountered a slow moving 4 wheeled vehicle in your lane when  there 
was oncoming traffic, you'd (appropriately) wait until the opposite lane  
cleared and then pass the obstructing traffic when it was safe to do so. The  
same courtesy should be extended to bicyclists. By the same token, 
bicyclists  should also follow traffic laws (and not weave in and out of traffic, 
ignore  traffic control devices, etc.) but there are many that don't and they  
unfortunately cause resentment amongst drivers of cars, which then think of 
 ALL cyclists as being "in the way". 

On point #5, it's probably the  only way to either drive or ride.  And I've 
always been curious what it  would be like to drive a Europa. I was 
considering buying one, but found that  no matter how I tried to adjust the seat, 
that I couldn't drive the stinking  car. I would've had to attach 4 - 6" 
pedal blocks just to activate the clutch.  Needless to say that pretty well 
ended me having an intimate relationship with  the Prince of Darkness (although 
I still have a hankering for an S2 Elan.  Never drove one of those either.