Problems riding on NW Lovejoy between 23rd-25th
Subscriber Post by Allan Rudwick on May 17th, 2016 at 11:34 am
NW Lovejoy near NW 24th Avenue
I’ve had 3 instances in the past month of drivers on NW Lovejoy between 23rd and 25th passing me (on bike) with a line of cars in front of me waiting on a light or stop sign. What gives? Is it the yellow dashes in the road where there should be a double-yellow line? Maybe there shouldn’t be a line at all.
In other parts of town, I’ve noticed that cars don’t often pass a bike that is moving at 20 MPH, however in NW Portland, cars seem to want to pass me no matter what speed I am travelling. Maybe this is part of the reason why biking in NW is much less popular than we would expect.
Why am I riding here? well the NW Marshall bike route ends at NW 22nd so anyone wanting to continue towards the west hills on Cornell Road would need to end up on Lovejoy eventually.
since Lovejoy to Cornell is a heavy commuter route I’m not surprised that people are passing you while only going 5 mph under the limit…
however, I’ve never had anybody pass me while stopped in a line of cars, because where would they go? I’m confused about that particular scenario…
RecommendedYes, because commuters on NE 7th are always so courteous, polite, and patient around bicyclists.
RecommendedI don’t climb Cornell- I go up Johnson to Pittock (and Skyline/Burnside) instead.
RecommendedIf you’re riding west on Lovejoy there, it is starting to go uphill, so you’re probably not going 20 mph (unless you have a number on your jersey). Drivers are going to want to pass you, for sure, so ride to the right and let them safely by. After all, after you hit Cornell and the road steepens, you will be riding even slower, and then drivers will really want to pass you. Surely you don’t think they should stay bottled up behind you all the way to Skyline? “Sharing the road” goes both ways.
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