I was visiting a friend in the hospital yesterday when a man stopped me as I was locking up my bike. Apparently he had the same one, and we got to talking. We talked about a lot of things from riding in rough weather to sharing stories of our various injuries. I forget if it was him or me who brought this topic up, but when he said this it really surprised me. He said to me, “The drives in Albany give you a lot of room on the road.” Apparently, and I envy this man, whenever he goes out bicycling on the roads, which is not often because he said he mostly rides on the sidewalk, the drivers give him enough room. I never asked him what “enough room” was, but what world is he living in that the majority of drivers are courteous.
Maybe I am just jaded.
Albany Bicycle Coalition 
I’d say most drivers give enough room for cyclists, It’s the few that don’t that we remember. From my experience, cars will go clear into the next lane when passing a cyclist. Every now and then, though, some arse feels he needs to make a point by buzzing a cyclist whom he thinks belongs on the sidewalk. It scary as heck when that happens. Especially if you need to swerve from the shoulder to avoid a drainage grate or road kill. I don’t think Albany will ever truly be bike friendly, though. It’s not “city” enough for motorists to be used to us and not “country” enough to have the freedom of an open road.