Friday, August 14, 2009

Lane Position In Street Riding

Lane Position In Street Riding

City, Freeway And Canyon.
From the July, 2009 issue of Sport Rider
By Andrew Trevitt
Photography by Andrew Trevitt

Riding Skills Series Left Of The Lane
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Keeping to the left of the... 
   
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Riding Skills Series Left Of The Lane
Keeping to the left of the lane in town will give you a bit of breathing room if a car should pull out of a driveway or street in front of you.
One aspect of street riding we see many riders struggle with is where they position themselves in the lane of traffic. Where you place yourself on the racetrack is for the most part more easily understood, as the requirements are solely performance-oriented. Throw in the unique features of, for example, a road clinging to the side of a mountain, as well as the unexpected characteristics of a public road, and the optimum lane position could be totally different from what you would expect.
Riding Skills Series Leftmost Lane
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The right portion of the leftmost... 
   
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Riding Skills Series Leftmost Lane
The right portion of the leftmost lane on a freeway is generally the safest option as it leaves you clear of merging and exiting traffic, yet asserts your use of the entire lane should an errant driver decide to use that real estate.
On the freeway, a similar approach can be utilized. The left hand lane—including the carpool lane—is generally the safest option, leaving you clear of cars merging and exiting. Use the same technique as in the city when coming up on cars: Keep to the right of the lane until you're near the car, and move to the left of the lane to overtake. Likewise, when a car is overtaking you, keep to the side of the lane closest to the car so its driver is not tempted to move over into your lane. If you're worried about getting too close, you can move to the opposite side just as the car comes level. In all cases, keep alert for the actions of the cars around, and consider the blind spots that each driver is dealing with. Your goal is to stay out of those blind spots as much as possible.

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