E
Evsolutions
Guest
I have not been on a Highway (on a bicycle) for almost 30 years and although I did cycle city to
city in the early 70's, it was on a 10 speed and I spent a lot of time going into a ditch or riding
on soft shoulders to avoid the 18 wheel tractor trailers. My planned ride this summer is going to
place me on the Trans-Canada Highway for several thousand miles and since I began riding recumbents
in 1978 I developed this fear of ditches re: I refuse to ride on the shoulder of a road or in the
curb lane. I am wondering how sane it will be to ride a Highway (in traffic), meaning travel in the
same lane as the cars and tractor trailers and expect them to go around me as opposed to going over
me? I will be using a tadpole with a 6 foot long trailer (not something I would want to be driving
into a ditch). A tadpole will slide into a ditch on loose gravel...found on the shoulders of
roads...so I'd have to stay on the pavement. I will pedal the entire time...for the cardio-vascular
benefit and to stop leg cramps...plus weight loss (have not seen my knees while standing in years).
I will in all likelihood use a pedal-assist e-motor with 9 heavy batteries in the trailer for
hills/mountains/headwinds...again not something I want sliding into a ditch.
So the question is: in your bent cycling experience on the highways, will cars & trucks respect your
right to be on the pavement and pass you or do they force you to the left and into the ditch? I know
that everyone will have different experiences with this, different highway networks, different
temperment of auto users etc., I just need some reassurance that I will make it to the Pacific
without getting their being dragged under the rear wheels of a truck.
So far I have Bear attacks, Attack Dogs, Mountain Lion attacks, Rednecks in pickup trucks and
Lightning covered...1st 4 = ride with a Flare Gun, a slab of raw meat and a "I Luv the KKK"
bumper sticker.
Joshua
*****
city in the early 70's, it was on a 10 speed and I spent a lot of time going into a ditch or riding
on soft shoulders to avoid the 18 wheel tractor trailers. My planned ride this summer is going to
place me on the Trans-Canada Highway for several thousand miles and since I began riding recumbents
in 1978 I developed this fear of ditches re: I refuse to ride on the shoulder of a road or in the
curb lane. I am wondering how sane it will be to ride a Highway (in traffic), meaning travel in the
same lane as the cars and tractor trailers and expect them to go around me as opposed to going over
me? I will be using a tadpole with a 6 foot long trailer (not something I would want to be driving
into a ditch). A tadpole will slide into a ditch on loose gravel...found on the shoulders of
roads...so I'd have to stay on the pavement. I will pedal the entire time...for the cardio-vascular
benefit and to stop leg cramps...plus weight loss (have not seen my knees while standing in years).
I will in all likelihood use a pedal-assist e-motor with 9 heavy batteries in the trailer for
hills/mountains/headwinds...again not something I want sliding into a ditch.
So the question is: in your bent cycling experience on the highways, will cars & trucks respect your
right to be on the pavement and pass you or do they force you to the left and into the ditch? I know
that everyone will have different experiences with this, different highway networks, different
temperment of auto users etc., I just need some reassurance that I will make it to the Pacific
without getting their being dragged under the rear wheels of a truck.
So far I have Bear attacks, Attack Dogs, Mountain Lion attacks, Rednecks in pickup trucks and
Lightning covered...1st 4 = ride with a Flare Gun, a slab of raw meat and a "I Luv the KKK"
bumper sticker.
Joshua
*****