Lane SHARING Pt. 2: How not to do it

As a follow-up to my previous entry about lane sharing I thought i'd share a brief story about a time when I didn't follow the rules myself.

It was early one weekday morning and I was outbound on Hwy 37 going towards Sears Point Raceway (now known as Infineon Raceway - yuck).

37 eventually becomes a one lane in each direction, divided road. I'm not sure if this is a regular occurrence but this morning had traffic snarled for miles. As anyone with a manual transmission knows, riding (or driving) stick in stop and go sucks.

Now most 1 lane roads have a pretty generous shoulder, and 37 is no exception. A juicy, tempting lane over to the right beaconed me over with a promise to ease my painful clutch hand. Feeling saucy, I pulled over, lit up my hazard lights and went for it.

I puttered along at about 20, feeling superior all the way. Then I passed 2 highway patrol cards sitting in traffic as well. I wondered what would happen as both vehicles pulled onto the shoulder and started catching up with me.

I went though my options: get back into line (admitting guilt) or proceed and plead ignorance. I opted for option two. The cars got closer.

Suddenly the officer's loudspeaker proclaimed: "RIDER! DO NOT RIDE ON THE SHOULDER! EVER!"

I pulled back into line. The cars took off down the shoulder.

Another close one - do not try this at home!