Have you ever heard the phrase, "It's like riding a bike?" Typically people use it to mean that they can easily remember a particularly important skill even if they haven't done it in a while, but there are some people who ride their bikes a lot—some even use it as their main form of transportation and exercise (pretty savvy multitasking if you ask us). 

Since roads are designed for any type of wheeled transportation, there's a place for cyclists on the road too. 

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Very often there will be a specially designated bicycle lane on the right side of the road, marked by a solid white line. You will know that this is a bicycle lane because there will be a picture of a bicycle there. Pretty genius, right?

These markings are called "sharrows," and they serve to remind drivers that these areas are reserved for cyclists. (Hey, did somebody at Shmoop name these "sharrows"? We love adding "sh" to shtuff around here.) When you see one of these sharrows, do not cross over into the indicated lane, and do not obstruct it with any part of your vehicle. 

The solid white boundary of a bicycle lane will generally become a broken line as you near an intersection. If you need to make a right turn at the corner, look first to ensure that no intrepid cyclists are closing in you, then enter the lane once you have determined that it is safe.

Of course, not all roads have bicycle lanes or sidewalks. It happens. When you are driving along a road that does not feature a bicycle lane, and you come upon a cyclist who is riding their bike ahead of you, slow down to match the cyclist's pace, and wait until you have enough room to pass the cyclist while keeping a safe distance of about 3 feet between your car and their bicycle—and, you know, not swerving into the opposing lane of traffic yourself. 

If there are poor road or weather conditions, the cyclist is allowed by law to bike down the very center of the road, and although you might feel stressed if you're following behind a cyclist in that situation, driving in poor road or weather conditions is already a situation that requires extra caution, so we should really be thanking cyclists for reminding everyone to slow down. Once conditions have improved or the road has widened, the cyclist can (and should) move to the side to allow traffic to pass. 

As long as there is not a “No Parking” sign posted nearby, you may park in a bicycle lane if necessary. Be sure to pull over far enough that any cyclists have room to get around your car safely. Again, you're parking in the bicycle lane, so you can't just hog the entire thing with your shiny new extra-wide pickup. 

In all seriousness (gosh, that really does not sound like us), bicyclists have the same rights that motorists do, and you must always respect their right-of-way. Pass them cautiously, and try to expect the unexpected; be careful when opening car doors near moving traffic, don’t drive in bicycle lanes, and visually check for cyclists when you are changing lanes or turning onto a busy street.