This discussion of shoulders reminds me of umpteen discussions of MUPs. It invariably comes down to people picturing very different things--I ride a MUP where I can hit 25 mph on a couple of stretches in the flat without having to worry about hitting anyone or anything, others only see MUPs full of dogs and kids. I ride a 55 mph road that has nicely paved 8 feet wide shoulders for approximately 13 miles straight. Other shoulders are about a foot of crumbling asphalt that are completely useless.