bike lane interuptions In a stretch of my commute I have a nice looking bike lane that unfortunately currently has a couple unusable spots. I'm going about 20mph which is around half traffic speed.

So far I have tried two strategies, both with less than ideal results.

As I approach an unusable patch I signal, merge and take the lane for some 10-20 meters depending on how the merge worked and return to the bike lane where it again meets my standards. But this has in some cases has apparently been unexpected by cars who express their surprise unhelpfully. The bike lane's faults may not be totally obvious to a driver. In other stretches without a bike lane taking a lane hasn't been an issue.

Or as I approach the trouble I skirt the edge of the lane. I hold a line maybe 30 meters before the spot just about on the painted line (there are three spots and one of them the line is not usable so I'm in the lane) This makes me pretty predictable in the trouble spot which I take as helping my chances of being hit since cars typically give me space. But means I have little or no option to maneuver if someone does choose to pass close, so far it hasn't come up.

I'm pretty sure the first option is correct, but doesn't seem to be as well received and I've felt safer in practice using the second.

The question is: Is there a way to make this work better?
You don't say where in the world you are, so it's not clear what the traffic regulations are. I'm in the UK, so I'll assume UK-like regulations&nbsp;&ndash; bicycles are allowed to use the vehicle lanes even when there's a cycle lane and bicycles are basically supposed to act like cars.

First, regardless of regulations, you've missed option&nbsp;3, which is to slow down to a speed where the cycle lane is usable. You don't say exactly what the problems with the cycle lane are but, unless they're so dangerous that the highway authority needs to have fixed them yesterday, you should be able to slow down for them. By approaching what you know to be bad sections of the cycle lane at speed, you are severely limiting your options.

Second, you mention motorists being surprised when you enter their lane. In jurisdictions that I'm familiar with, signalling a turn means "I intend to manoeuvre when it is safe to do so." In particular, it does not mean "Please make space for me&nbsp;&ndash; I'm gonna turn!" If you are signalling, it would be nice for somebody to make space for you, but that is not an obligation and a car rapidly braking from its 40mph to your 20mph is asking to be rear-ended. If your lane change is causing surprise, it suggests that your manoeuvre wasn't safe and that you were using your signal as a request for space rather than a notification of intent. After all, if there had been enough space for you in that lane (i.e., a long enough gap in the traffic), motorists wouldn't have had to react to your presence at all.