Ok, in the name of safety, and me trying to be a better bycyclist, I am going to start posting some bycling rules of the road in short bursts starting tonight. I will give bonus points if you can identify the sources!

Part 1-where on the road can you ride?

With very few exceptions, the safest way to ride is as part of the traffic, going with the flow of the normal traffic pattern. Bicyclists who ride this way get where they're going faster and, according to scientific crash studies, have about five times fewwer crashes than bicyclists who make up their own rules (J. Forester; Effective Cycling. Cambridge, MA, MIT Press, 1985).

Generally, the more you follow the normal traffic pattern, the safer and more predictable you become. The rules of the road set up a pattern for every situation, telling which driver has to wait. Sometimes you have to wait for other drivers -- for example, at a stop sign -- but sometimes they have to wait for you.In this way, the rules of the road protect you by making it clear what you're going to do next.

In other words-No driving against traffic on the left to those of us with poor reading comprehension!