Sharing the road

My blood pressure was on fire, my pulse zooming, as if I was climbing to the top of California's 14,162-foot Mount Shasta. I knew I should relax, "go with the flow." It's what I tell others to do, and what I would normally do. But I am close to my destination, and, after driving more than 1,000 miles in two days, I just want to get there.

I stifle my urge to mash the horn-it takes all the will power I can muster-and I take a deep breath. When the opportunity arises, I pull out and pass three cars, then two, then four. After passing about 25 cars and pickups, I work my way up to the culprit, a full-size pickup towing a long travel trailer. I look over in disgust, shake my head, and decide to tackle the subject of sharing the road in my next column. Here it goes.

I'm a full-time RVer who hauls around a 30-foot fifth-wheel trailer I am also an avid bicyclist who loves to store her "home," pack up her bike and ride it around the country. I can honestly say I'm on the road year-round.

I've experienced the road from many avenues-walking, running, biking, horseback riding, driving my pickup and various other motor vehicles and pulling my trailer with my pickup. I've also shared the road with herds of cows and sheep, cart-pulling horses, gigantic, slow-moving farm machinery and a pot-bellied pig.

What I've learned is that a little common courtesy can go a long way in making everyone's life a little more pleasant. As the world population increases, I'm convinced that we must learn to think of others, to be considerate instead of selfish.

I have met and made friends with many people from all around the country, folks who invite me to park my home near their home, people who set aside a bedroom in their home, calling it "your bedroom" for the times I am traveling sans trailer. When the subject of bicycles comes up, many of them, especially the men, get all worked up. Some confess that they believe bicycles should stay off the road. A serious debate usually ensues and I never ever back down on the subject.

By law, bicycles have the right to be on the road. And for those folks who think it isn't fair, for those who think that cyclists don't belong on the road because they aren't paying road taxes, you are wrong. Most of us have an automobile of our own, we've just decided to leave it at home, and enjoy the country under our own power. When we fuel up, we stop to eat a bean-and-rice burrito, a frozen yogurt cone, or a chocolate-chip cookie. We pump fuel into us, instead of into our vehicles. But I still pump a lot of gasoline, in fact, I pay more than my share of road taxes, and so do most of the others. (My truck gets 7 mpg when I'm towing, 11 mpg if I'm on the open road.)

I realize that some bicyclists do not follow the rules of the road. They ride two or three abreast when traffic is heavy (and they shouldn't), and they don't stop for traffic lights. I cringe when I see such activity, but in all honesty there are some motorists who are not following the rules of the road, either They pass when there isn't room to pass, coming head on towards me at 70 mph. They drive by, and I wave, and they make some obscene gesture. Some pass from behind and then hit the shoulder, throwing dust all over me and my bike, making it difficult for me to see, let alone the motorists who are coming up behind me.

Fortunately, I am pleased to say that the majority of motorists are very unlike those I have just described. (Most bicyclists are unlike the ones described as well.) Instead, I've found motorists to be kind and considerate. Most wait until it is safe to pass. Most wave, or give me thumbs up, or give their horn a toot when I wave. Truckers are the same. Although they have a bad reputation, the majority are some of the best drivers on the road today.

Some of my friends have complained about meeting bicyclists on the hills. If they come up behind a bicyclist and there's a car coming from the opposite way, they whine about losing those allimportant rpm. Believe me, I know what it's like to lose rpm. I also know what it's like to pedal a 98-pound, fully-loaded bicycle up a steep grade. I know how difficult it is to stop on those hills, and then to click in (I wear clipless pedals, which means my shoes are locked onto the pedals) and continue up the hill. It's almost impossible and it's actually quite dangerous. To click in, I have to turn around and go down the hill, or I have to ride across the lane to get enough momentum going to lock my shoe into the pedal. Believe me, it's a lot, and I mean a lot, easier to press on the gas pedal.

A friend recently told of towing his trailer and having a big rig pushing him along. Mark wanted to keep it at 55 mph, and the trucker wanted to go a lot faster. Mark felt he deserved (and he did) to go at the speed limit without feeling pressured to go faster He stayed at 55 mph, demanding (and he had a right to) his rights as a motorist. When he had room, he pulled over and let the trucker whiz by

Obviously, the trucker didn't want to lose any rpm upon catching Mark anymore than an RVer would want to lose rpm upon catching up to a bicyclist. But he did, and it happens all of the time. I guess I just figure it's part of being out on the road. Like it or not, we are all going to lose rpm at times.

We all want and need and deserve to be out driving the highways at a speed that is comfortable for us. If the speed limit is 55, and you're doing 55, that's fine. But if a car or two back up behind you, pull over and let them go by. It's a law in many states, and it should be common courtesy anywhere in the world. I'm always amazed at the folks who mosey along, totally oblivious to the train of cars behind them. Don't they ever look back? And if they do, don't they feel the least bit guilty at causing the huge traffic jam behind them? Do they really feel as though they own the road?

I dislike anyone pushing me along, so I always pull over when the opportunity arises. In fact, I do the same whether I'm driving my pickup or riding my bicycle.

Although I was quite upset when I started writing this piece, I can honestly say that I think that "going with the flow" is still the best advice. When we're out on the road, we need to sit back and enjoy the scenes that surround us, we need to watch for deer and other wildlife, and if we want to go slower than the person behind us, we need to get over when it's safe and let that person pass. We should realize that we aren't all alone out on the road, and that's what makes traveling so much fun. We are sharing the road with a lot of wonderful people, some of them just happen to be riding bikes, others are riding a favorite horse, and some, like the pot-bellied pig, are just out wandering about.

Copyright T L Enterprises, Inc. May 1997
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved