Dear Lady Bike Commuter on 2nd Ave,

I was behind you this morning while we both made our way south through downtown Seattle in the middle lane of three lanes of traffic on 2nd Avenue. I understand why you might not want to ride in the right lane, it is after all right next to the bus lane...and Seattle Metro bus drivers can definitely have their aggro whack-a-doo moments. But, someone already thought of that, and that's actually why there's a bike lane over there on the left side of the road--in case you missed it, it was that lane where all of the people (except you) riding bicycles were.

I'd understand not using that bike lane if you needed to turn right and didn't want to come to a stop and use a crosswalk to get to the other side of the street, but in that case, the *right* rather than the *middle* lane is probably the one for you.

And, definitely, if you're going to be making a right turn get over to the right side of the road. You happened to turn right at the same place I did (though by this time you were a few cars ahead of me, since I merged over into the turn lane and you did not), and I don't know if you realized it, but you almost got yourself run over twice. First by the SUV you cut off in the right lane of forward-moving traffic, and then by the car you cut off in the turn lane. Had either of those drivers had a moment of inattention (pretty easy to do on a morning commute), you probably would have been seriously injured. As it was, they both managed to hit their brakes with enough time to avoid hitting you. (And I was pretty impressed at the lack of honking on their part.)

I didn't really care about driving more slowly through downtown because I was caught behind you in that middle lane. I drive a Miata. It was a sunny morning. I had the top down. None of these things are conducive to annoyance behind the wheel. But, I could definitely see how other drivers could get irate at being held up in that situation.

To sum up: Please use the bike lanes. If you don't want to use the bike lanes, then please stay as far to the right as is safe. Riding down the center of the middle lane of traffic (i.e. the lane people use when they want a straight shot through downtown, and don't want to be held up in the stop-and-go of the left and right lanes that people are using to turn left and right) is probably not the best idea. And if you're going to make a right turn, make sure you have moved into the lane with the rest of the traffic that is turning right.

Thanks,
Me