Quote Originally Posted by OakLeaf View Post
Heif, taking the lane has nothing to do with what speed you're going. (To a Buick going 60 mph, there's not a whole lot of difference between a bicyclist going 12 and a bicyclist going 28, anyhow. ) It has to do with whether the lane can safely be shared with a motor vehicle, or not. If there's no room in the lane for you and a car and three feet between you, TAKE THE LANE, unless you're out on a country road with plenty of visibility (no steep hills or tight turns).
Out here it's country roads, mostly. Usually plenty of visibility and not many bad hills (hehe, inclines is what someone called them ) The roads are mostly straight, too, except there are some winding roads. I pretty much live in BFI. I feel pretty comfortable on the shoulder because it is so open and there's really no excuse except inattention or stupidity for people not to see me before they are near me and it wouldn't matter if I was in the lane at that point because they wouldn't see me anyway.