One road, many users

The Caloosa Riders cycling club conducted its annual Royal Palm Ride earlier this month with more than 300 cyclists riding distances from 15 to 100 kilometers. Although it wasn't a race, the lead century group completed their ride in just over two hours and 30 minutes, including a draw bridge delay. Impressive time! Most Royal Palm participants, however, weren't in such a rush to finish; cyclists filtered into the Buckingham Park staging area from 9:30 a.m. until almost 3 p.m., where they were treated to a cookout. The Caloosa Rider club volunteers did a fine job again this year.

Apparently, though, a few of my fellow road users — those driving cars, that is — were in a hurry and in an ornery mood as I made my way to the ride that Sunday morning.

It was only an 11-mile trek, mostly on main roads with paved shoulders, but in places where there were none, I was reminded by drivers three different times that I had no business using the road. Never mind that in two out of the three cases, there was no sidepath. Or that during each occasion there was no oncoming traffic to deter these drivers from passing, thus not delaying them even a little. On McGregor Boulevard, near downtown, I had a young man almost rear-end me for no reason other than because he thought I should have been on the sidewalk and not in his lane. I know this because I happened to run into him at Publix, where we both happened to be heading. He now knows the law and I'm hoping his new-found education won't soon be forgotten. Other than that near assault with a deadly weapon, the others were basic angry horn-

blowing incidents. Like many cyclists, I've had bottles thrown at me and threats made by those who truly have no understanding of the concept of sharing the road or willingness to do so. In some cases, I believe the offenders actually think they're doing cyclists a favor by reminding us of how dangerous it is to be in the road mixing with "real traffic," as if they were warning young children. Others, however, are concerned only for themselves. Cyclists may slow their progress, even if they aren't in a rush to get anywhere.

I'd like to once again take this opportunity to remind everyone that bicycles are considered vehicles and have the right to use the road, even when sidepaths exist. If the travel lane is less than 14-feet wide (most are only 10-12 feet) a cyclist may take the lane by riding in the middle so no one attempts to squeeze by within the lane, thereby forcing the rider into the curb or ditch or making contact with a mirror, trailer, etc. (By the way, I wasn't taking the lane in any of my recent Sunday morning incidents, but rather riding approximately 3 feet from the right edge.) Further, a cyclist using the road is considered a vehicle operator in all 50 states. Besides the law being on our side, it's also well known by cyclists and others willing to learn, that it's much safer to use the road over a sidepath for many reasons.

One more thing: It's perfectly legal for a motorist to cross a double-yellow line or other indicator of a no-passing zone in order to pass a cyclist or group of cyclists who are traveling below the posted speed limit, so long as due care is taken when doing so. Maybe if motorists think of us as slow-moving farm or construction equipment it will reduce the resentment or whatever angst it is that causes some to lose their civility when dealing with certain other legitimate road users.

— Dan Moser is league cycling instructor/trainer and program manager for Florida B icycle Association. He cycles regularly for transportation, recreation, a nd fitness. He may be contacted at dan@floridabicycle.org or 334-6417

Upcoming Events

>>Running/Walking: Rotary Eggs & Ears 5K, Saturday, April 11, Gateway

Valor 5K Road Race & Trail Run, Saturday, April 18, Alico Arena, FGCU For details of this and other running events check with the Fort Myers Track Club (www.ftmyerstrackclub. com) and for Naples running info it's the Gulf Coast Runners (www.gcrunner.org).

>>Cycling: LOST Ride, Saturday, March 28, Scott Driver Boat Ramp, Okeechobee, www.palmbeachbiketours. com

Bike Florida, Sunday, March 29 - Saturday, April 4, start/finish in Madison, Fla., www.bikeflorida. org

>>Triathlon: Caloosahatchee Adventure Triathlon, Sunday, March 29, (4-mile kayak, 3-mile trail run, 6-mile mountain bike), Caloosahatchee Regional Park, Alva, www.leeparks.org