Lane position

I remember reading at some point about what The Right Lane Position should be. I seem to recall reading that it was at the center of the lane, so the drivers could see you in their rearview mirrors.

Bullshit.



First of all, what will a driver do about it? Nothing. They can only get out of your way and yield the lane to you if you're coming faster. That's nice, but that doesn't make you a safer rider.

Secondly, being in the middle of the lane gives you less space to maneuver, especially when visibility is poor ahead of the vehicle.

I have found that the best position is on one third of the lane because this improves my visibility ahead and my options for maneuvering. Depending on the traffic conditions, I sometimes choose to ride close to the divider, where I can see the most and the drivers on the lane next to me (to my right) will hesitate before passing me. This helps my buffer on the right. It also makes it much easier to weave through traffic, when traffic conditions don't necessitate splitting yet.

This riding position is very good to get used to. I recently was following a pick up truck through an off-ramp and I couldn't see ahead through its windshield because the rear window was heavily darkened. This is a common situation. The truck made an unexpected stop but I was able to effortlessly maneuver around it because of where I was in the lane. Had I been directly behind, I would've had to brake harder, exposing myself to the driver behind me.

Of course, this suits my riding style which tends to be aggressive (fast, not furious) so I'm generally on the leftmost lane and I don't expect people to be passing me much. This is one of the reasons why riding faster can be easier than riding slower (not that I endorse it as a general method).