On Feb 24, 3:42*pm, Mark Thorson > wrote:
> *They seem to
> take perverse pride in blocking my ability to make a
> right turn, even when all it would take would be to
> move a safe distance aside.

It's a bit of a "damned if you do" situation. If a bicyclist rides
down the center of the lane, they get honked at or worse, so they
mostly stick to the right. But at corners, car drivers expect them to
vaporize, hover, or slide sizeways to get out of their way. Just
relax - if they were in a car you wouldn't be able to make the turn
either.

> I can understand not stopping completely at a stop
> sign, because it takes a lot of energy to get going
> again. *I've been thinking about inventing some kind
> of spring-clutch-reverser system for storing the
> energy from braking, so that they could get a fast
> start from a stop.

It's been tried. There are probably 100 US Patents on such devices,
but they just aren't worthwhile. I push about 400 watts when
accellerating - that's over half a horsepower, and that would require
a very hefty spring.

The rule of thumb figure is that ever full stop on a bicycle requires
the equivalent energy of 100-200 metres of riding. The 16 potential
red lights on my commute can therefore add 20-40% to my
'distance.' (Me? I stop for them.)