Riding in Turn Lane
Following a week long solo trip from near Wilmington, NC to Charleston, SC in mid-March 2020 I have been mostly off the bike. But, I am now starting to get back on the road and thing about some bike trips. (Though, our two young grandchildren, both under 2 1/2, now live in Chicago area so all of my vacation time is spent traveling from NC to Chicago to see them).
Anyway, here is my question. I came across some rough routes I drew up for a few days trip in the NC/TN mountains. One day there is a 7 mile stretch where the first half has virtually no shoulder, but it is a pretty well traveled/busy road. However, during that entire shoulder-less section, there is a turn lane. What are your thoughts...would you ride in the turn lane for a few miles, or would you trust that approaching vehicles would move over into the turn lane to pass while I cycle on the right hand side of the lane.
I'm not really sure what I think...curious what you think! Thanks...