Boulevard Riding

In developments around North Tarrant County, there are a lot of roads somewhat like Bray Birch, shown above. Theoretically, I think they permit parking, but the subdivision walls mean nobody would ever want to park on such a collector road. This makes them wonderful cycling routes. Ironically, most people I see riding bikes on such roads still hug the curb. If local governments ever get serious about bike lanes, stripes would start appearing on roads such as this, which would be sad (and silly) in my book.

I ride as shown in the photo, though I'd be hard pressed to claim I was as "far right as practicable" if questioned. It gives me lots of room to swerve right if it became necessary, makes it easy to move left into the main traffic lane when I'll eventually want to turn left, most motorists don't find it necessary to move even further left when they pass(though some do, for reasons known only to themselves), and it makes me very visible to motorists wanting to turn right at upcoming intersections, or wanting to enter my road from those intersections. Basically, this is a really low stress road that would be improved mainly if those trees were just a lot bigger.

I'm sure it's entirely by coincidence, but police passing me in such situations don't cast a second glance my way, and the position tracks with what John Forester recommends in Effective Cycling for riding on boulevards. Technically, however, it's probably illegal, which supports my contention that there are much worse things than benign neglect...