Ten Second Lesson on Gutter Cycling
Commuter’s Corner #11
Every day I ride down 13th street in Gainesville, taking the curb lane, on my way to work. The traffic often goes about eight and three quarters miles per hour, which is kind of annoying, because that’s slower than I want to go. It’s enough to make one want to get out one’s phone and look at lazy cat pictures. But I know better. Going slow has big safety benefits, you know? So I stay out in the lane and wait my turn.
Not all cyclists see it this way. Which brings me to the gutter cyclists of the world. You’ve seen them, they ride in the gutter of the road on streets without a bike lane. Somewhere around the curb line, possibly right next to the curb. Their thinking seems to be an admixture of 1) it’s dangerous out in the middle of the lane, and 2) when the traffic is going eight and three quarters miles an hour, that’s too slow, so pass everybody on the right by riding down the gutter.
The fallacies of this line of thought became clear to me in no uncertain terms one morning, when I was waiting in line with the other drivers for the light to turn green. A gutter cyclist rode by me, zipping down the street, passing the cars on the right, over in the gutter. Never mind that Gutter Cyclist had about two feet of lateral space in the gutter to maneuver.
The light turned green, and the rest of us got moving. Woo-HOO, more than eight and three quarters miles per hour this time! I caught up to Gutter Cyclist, who looked at me out in the middle of the lane, possibly jealous of all that space I had, and barked, “Are you crazy?”
Not ten seconds later, the traffic slowed and Gutter Cyclist passed me again. By that time, we had approached another traffic light, which was green. Then in the blink of an eye, it all happened. Gutter Cyclist wanted to go straight thru the intersection, but the motorists wanted to turn right, which is why traffic had slowed. I recognized what was about to happen, but only had time to say “Look—“ before it did. Gutter Cyclist rushed up from behind a right-turning car, which nearly took out Gutter Cyclist’s front wheel. I shook my head: classic right hook, exactly the reason you DON’T ride in the gutter. The motorist stopped. Gutter Cyclist stopped. Traffic stopped. Now we were going zero miles an hour. Sigh. Just so we’re clear, that’s even slower than eight and three quarters miles an hour.
The car was in front of Gutter Cyclist, and so the motorist made their turn. Gutter Cyclist hit the gas again. No look, no eye contact with the next driver trying to turn right. Really? Really?? The motorist in front of me looked in their rear-view mirror, wondering if I too was a gutter cyclist. I just signaled for my own right turn and waved the motorist on. Hey, they were in front of me. The motorist went, then I went. No right hooks, and we again approached eight and three quarters miles per hour. Order was restored! This was way easier and way SAFER than gutter cycling. Plus, we weren’t going zero miles an hour anymore.
Gutter cyclists unite, and move over, into the lane! Stop trying to get hit, for crying out loud! Signal your move to communicate with the other drivers! Whee, the traffic is moving again!