JoeyBike

I was driving a rented car around South Alabama for a week and found myself on some back country roads in search of mom-and-pop hunting/fishing stores. While on W. Michigan Avenue in Foley, Alabama I came across this situation.

The road had a bike lane in the center of town that continued West for about a mile or two. Speed limit 30mph. About the time the bike lane gave up and left only a rough strip of asphalt that was obviously added as an afterthought. Speed limit bumped up to 45 mph at that point but try to drive less than 55 and see what happens - dangerous passing is what. And the sidewalk no one ever walks upon goes away as well.

As I was driving behind this trailer being pulled by a pickup truck I noticed his right trailer wheel was dead center in the bike lane the entire time, then on that patched extension continually until we hit a stop light. I would have loved a photo of the wheel in the bike lane but don't wanna be THAT guy fiddling with his phone while moving. So this photo at rest was the best I could do.

So here is the back end of the trailer. Anyone who has traveled back country roads knows that this situation is very common. In fact, vehicles too wide for the travel lane seems to be the defacto reality since the SUV craze hit 20 years ago and pickup trucks became monster trucks stock from the factory. Trailers this wide are frequently seen and fairly "normal" width.

Is this just in the South? Does this concern any of you folks who cycle these types of roads? Would you cycle this 55mph road on a foggy morning? Two abreast? Or with the sun directly in the motorists eyes half the year? Or do you just do your thing without concern for such matters?



This is how the road looks in Foley, Alabama near the town center. I was surprised to see a bike lane at all, much less a sidewalk.

Paul Barnard

I don't know enough to be able to say whether or not I'd ride that road. It's a common layout on rural backroads in the south and all across the country. I don't worry any more about a wide vehicle on that road than a narrow one. They are going to have to go well across the center line to pass anyway. When I choose to ride roads like that (will only do it if they are low traffic volume) with another rider, I may or may not ride two abreast. If I do, when a car comes from behind I single up. I physically look over my shoulder. In doing so I hope to communicate to them that I know they are there. Then I'll move further right if there is no oncoming traffic. Not so far right that it invites a same lane pass, but enough to send the message that I know they are there and am cooperating with them.

That area is seeing explosive growth, so it may well be that particular road is too busy for my liking.

mr_bill

I take it you've never ridden a bicycle in Ireland? (Where folks from England complain about the narrow roads....)

Anyhow, on the way to work is a narrow 25 mph hilly twisty road. What sucks is that it's a great climb but no reward on the descent, I have to be on the brakes the whole time to keep to the speed limit.

One local likes to drive his mid-life crisis sport car, er, enthusiastically.

Luckily I can hear him coming. I have to make sure I'm not at "his" apex of the turn on "his" road, or anywhere on "his" exit path, when he's coming down the hill and I'm going up, or visa versa. Here he doesn't keep to the right. I'd assume he wouldn't keep to the left in Ireland. But the way he drives his "narrow" car is quite wide.

Strava says the locals don't avoid my twisty hill road, nor do the locals avoid West Michigan.

Sorry you don't approve of Foley's three-year-old "complete streets" redo of a small segment of the county road.

Share the road

-mr. bill

JoeyBike

When the citizens of Ireland start driving dual rear wheel monster trucks as a style, I won't be cycling there.

And I thought it was just a "trap", using the bike lane to lure unsuspecting cyclists a coupe of miles down a death road.

JoeyBike

This is one of those communities where you likely can find some decent roads to put in your workout miles without too much danger. But if you actually wanted to use a bicycle to GET somewhere...not so good. Rivers, lakes, and estuaries all need bridges, and the bridge becomes the "funnel" point for traffic and is often miles out of the way from the nicer cycling routes.

CliffordK

Wow, if that trailer is 8' wide, then that lane is also just about exactly 8' wide.

I'd hate to encounter someone towing wide farm equipment. Balers, etc.

I'd say that if the driver is driving straight, then he is doing a remarkable job at holding the lane. Hopefully he is smart enough to change lanes to pass bicycles.

One of my worries is trailers that are wider than tow vehicles (and perhaps drivers that pull left, then pull back right too early). And, since I don't have mirrors, I know the vehicle is approaching, but not what they're towing.

bbbean 

I share roads that look just like that with farm machinery, duallies, and all sorts of trailers on a daily basis. We get along just fine. I control the lane and they pass when safe. Far more problems from dogs than from cars.

Paul Barnard

No you don't. You try to influence driving behavior through lane position.

JoeyBike

I love the rocks all over the right edge at 0:45 - 0:47 just to make things more interesting.

CB HI

Landscaping companies in Hawaii all to often do close passes to cyclist and often nearly take the cyclist out with an extra wide trailer. One more reason for taking the lane and forcing them to change lanes. At least then if they pass close, the cyclist has more room to swerve away from the trailer.

bbbean 

I do so love playing semantic games with people on the internet, especially when they obscure the relevant conversation.

Have a great day.

bbbean 

That's just roads in the country. As long as you're somewhere left of the right wheel track, you're generally out of the gravel, except during the muddy season.
BB

JoeyBike

Unless the car behind the wide vehicle is tailgating. Then you end up like James Dobson.

Paul Barnard

That's another reason that I move further right once I am reasonably confident they know I am there. It's not a guarantee that the person behind the wide load will see me, but it does put me closer to the edge in the event I have to bail out.

nomadmax 

No truer words have ever been spoken. There are the laws of man and the laws of physics, there's a big difference between the two.

indyfabz

Imagine when they are motorized. Somewhere at home I have a photo I took in Indiana during my x-country tour. We pulled off the road because approaching us was a large tractor with six tires on the front axle (three on each side). The driver did end up pulling off to his right a bit, but we weren't willing to take any chances.

JoeyBike

Same here, I just pull off and wave. Everybody wins, zero chance of losing. I mean, on a X-Country tour, on a BICYCLE, how much of a rush can you be in? If time was an issue, I'd be on a motorcycle or in a jet.

Of course I saw this thing coming ten miles away in Kansas. And it was towing that pickup truck, not being tailgated. c.1989

bbbean 

LOL - Y'all really are city boys!

BikingTech

That video reminds me of the roads in my area back in the early 90s. No shoulders, just dropoffs into grass or gravel. Only the side roads are this narrow now and any farm vehicles that pass me give me plenty of room. I loved the friendly wave you gave. I'll sometimes get a friendly honk when a big one passes me.

mr_bill

JoeyBike

Actually, I feel safer at night regarding motor vehicles because my lights front and rear are as bright as a car with one headlight burned out. Motorists give me PLENTY of space when they believe the other half of a car exists near their lane.

JoeyBike

The farm equipment is the least of my worries. They KNOW they are huge and generally take their time. Most farm machines are not designed to race at NASCAR tracks. It's the roads near the more populated areas in rural America where traffic volume is high enough to create numerous conflicts between cars and that idiot on his bike "tryin' to git ran over".

mr_bill

Yeah, of course nothing at all about the idiot in his Dodge Charger "Daytona" all NASCAR'ed up on the idiot in front of him.

P.S. There are no "vehicles" that you can buy that are designed to run on NASCAR tracks. There are race cars designed to run on NASCAR tracks (Gen-6 car) with stickers put on them to sort of kind of maybe look a bit like a car you can buy. There are no Dodge stickers currently embellishing a Gen-6 car.



-mr. bill

jon c. 

I ride narrow country roads with a lot of wide vehicles, but I don't find them to generally be any more of a problem in terms of close passes. With narrow lanes and no shoulders, everyone must get into the opposing lane to pass and larger vehicles can do that just as well. I don't encounter many rigs the size of the one pictured, but I pull off the road when I do.

Country roads in legitimately rural areas are wonderful to ride. Once an area gets too populated and traffic becomes more constant, they can be a nightmare. Even in my relatively unpopulated area, there are a couple of roads I avoid at peak commuting times due to heavier traffic.

Gresp15C

I've driven in northern Scotland, probably a similar situation. We had a giant Mercedes van. The amazing thing was that people were riding bikes, and the vehicles were dealing with it. From what I was able to gather, Scotland is developing a network of separate bike paths, but I don't know how extensive it is.