Hi Greg:
Exactly! I was on two lanes for most of the trip across the Continent last month and I do not remember actually passing anyone the entire way across.
Some examples...
I took this pic while at a RR Crossing in Wellington, OH. Instead of waiting behind the cars in line, I pulled off to the right and shut down while waiting for the train to clear. The reason is after experiencing Lane Splitting in CA, I find myself far more vulnerable sitting behind a parked car than between it and a curb or between two parked cars at a light and such. If I can sit parked to the right or in between two cars at a light, I will do that to protect myself from the inadvertent texter or cell phone user coming in our 6 that simply does not see us.
A sidebar as the neatest thing happened when I snapped that pic. A lady got out of a car and asked is that a 250 from California? The WR has CA plates. I told her I came from Chicago to Boston and I am headed back to CA. She said she had owned (5) 250’s and has over 90,000 miles on them plus has ridden in all 48-states with her husband who was still in the car. She recently purchased a Suzuki TU250. I could tell by our two-minute conversation that her and her husband are hug bike enthusiasts and riding 250’s around the country is possibly the best way to experience it with the least impact today.
I took this pic while on Route 41 coming into Chicago towards Lake Shore Drive. Because it was a continual stop and crawl, I stayed in my position and prayed the people behind would not forget I was there. At every start, I would let a gap build and use the buffer to do my thing. When the car ahead was slowing for a stop, I would tap the rear brake about 5 times before actually slowing to the upcoming stop to warn the driver behind that I was there. When the right lane was moving faster than the left, I would tap the horn to let the left lane guy know there was someone coming by on his right. That happened a lot through that section of Chicago as I was headed north to home. It was about the best I could do in those circumstances.
As I rode through downtown, Harvard, IL, traffic had slowed to between 0 and 15 mph while people were doing their normal thing in the town’s center shopping district. I simply held back along the right side of the car in front until I was through.
While coming into Ainsworth, NE at about 08:30 PM, the PSL was 35mph. The road opened up to 4-lanes and some locals were doing ~ 20 mph or so in the right lane. I moved into the left lane, flashed my brights a few times to make sure they knew I was behind them and then passed by in the open left lane.
I am just not one to pass in the car, on the bike or in a truck as I rarely if ever feel the need to hurry I guess...
I hope that helped?
Wayne
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