Are people confused about secondary ?

[Origamist]

It's always going to be difficult to adequately define the secondary position as a fixed lateral position on the road - hence the degree of confusion. Primary is simpler to define, but not without problems.

I simply try to keep a reasonable buffer to both my left and right when sharing a lane, sometimes this means I am 60cms from the road edge (and hazards), other times as far as 1.5m. My position changes according to both lane width, hazards and the general lane postion that motor traffic takes (which of course is not uniform). It's a balancing act and I doubt any two cyclists would adopt exctly the same position in dynamic traffic situations.

 

[4F]

For me, secondary isn't a fixed point. It's somewhere to the left of primary, but the exact position varies depending on the road width, surface condition, presence of pedestrians, leaves in the road...

That's pretty much my take on it as well

 

[pshore]

Thanks for chipping in everybody. Some great examples. You've confirmed in my mind that my road positioning is sound.

I guess the conclusion is that road positioning is reasonably hard to learn, and not definitive in any way, hence the confusion.

 

[MrHappyCyclist]

When I used to train in Karate, we did three main elements: Kihon, Kata and Kumite.

Kihon refers to basic techniques and stances. They are extremely stylised and would rarely (or never) be using in fighting in their pure form.

Kata are predefined sequences of movements and techniques putting the Kihon together almost like a dance. They can be considered an art form in their own right, but are very strictly defined and need to be adhered to precisely. Again, they would never occur in a real fight.

Kumite is actual fighting. It is free-form, informal and adaptive, each action being determined according to the circumstances at the time.

The fact that the mind and body have been trained using kihon and kata helps the practitioner to move properly without thinking about it, even though they are not directly used in kumite. Kihon and kata provide a framework for teaching and learning, but it also requires experience for someone become good at kumite.

In cycling (training), I think primary and secondary road positions are like kihon. Concepts of how far ahead to look, signal, move out, etc. (and practising them) are like kata. Actually cycling on the road in real traffic is like kumite and comes from learning (and practising) the basics and gaining experience of cycling in real traffic.

Well, that's my take on it anyway.

Oh and, in addition, if you're going to be really good at kumite, you need speed, strength and stamina. The same goes for cycling in traffic if you want to avoid (or minimise) difficulties.

 

[boydj]

The instructor on a course I was on recently defined secondary as the position on the road you would be in as the passenger of a car. I suspect this is a bit further right than most of us would be in secondary, but I can understand why he would want us out there. It's a reasonable reference point in a fluid situation.