Hi everyone,

I've been lurking around this board for some time now and I thought I'd introduce myself. It's been great reading all the posts - very inspiring! I'm new to riding, a college student, and currently living in southeast Michigan. My baby is a Giant OCR 1 (WSD) and I've been riding about 100-120 miles a week. Mostly I ride with my boyfriend who got me into this cycling thing after I found out that my sport of choice (cross country skiing) isn't as available here as it was in my home state of Minnesota.

My question is about my fear of cars. Once I get out of town, I'm riding on 2 lane roads with a speed limit around 50 MPH. There's usually a small paved shoulder to the right of the white line. I tend to stay to the right of that line out of fear and recognition that most drivers will think that I *should* be on the shoulder and thus will not move over for me. This part is often pretty gravelly and pot-holey, too. Part of me thinks I should be more assertive and make my presence known by staying on the far right side of the lane (but still to the left of the line) and *make* the drivers move over/slow down for me. However, I also don't want to get hit. It makes me nervous to ride by myself (my reasoning:it's easier to see two cyclists than one). But, sometimes I just have to ditch the boyfriend and ride solo! Do any of you have suggestions on how to deal with cars?

Thanks for reading this!

~Allison