So why are cyclists mentioned on this sign at all? Why are they singled out? You seem to agree with me that cyclists should be using the roadway and the sign has no bearing on them any more than it has on cars that pass through that road. A cyclist has NO obligation to leave the roadway to allow a car to pass. The shoulder is NOT part of the roadway. As you say, it's the auto that needs to give 4 foot clearance and its the auto that needs to wait till its safe to pass. So what's the point of this confusing sign? Why would taxpayers want to pay for a sign that is irrelevant? The 9 word sign should be removed or replaced with a much more understandable 3 word "Keep off Shoulder" or 2 word "Shoulder Closed" sign. Or perhaps put up a "Share the Road" sign. But this 9-word paragraph sign is ridiculous.

Perhaps they should have used this section of the code:

§ 212.601. Shared road facilities.

Where there is a need to warn motorists to watch for bicyclists traveling along the highway, the Share the Road Sign (W15-3) sign may be used instead of the Bicycle Warning Sign (W11-1) and the Share the Road Plaque (W16-1) as provided in the MUTCD.

Yes, Ed, I agree. Although Share the Road isn't perfect (since most motorists misinterpret it) Share the Road would be a far better sign than the 9 word sign. It's impossible to read and interpret that 9-word sign if you are riding at speed. Do they want riders to stop and read this paragraph, then analyze the ambiguous verbiage while stopped in the roadway? Again, if they just wanted to close the shoulder, there are perfectly good 2 and 3-word signs for that as well.

My understanding is that this silly sign is the result of a dispute between the town and some local homeowner group. It's ridiculous that some local squabble resulted in this bad sign being inflicted on cycling traffic on that road. I'm a ride organizer, and this sign suddenly appeared on one of my routes. It's a headache for me.

The silly sign is now so covered by unmaintained foliage that it's practically unreadable. The money spent to put up such an misleading sign is forever wasted. No getting that back. The misconceptions and ignorance that caused it to be installed remain, and frankly I'm tired of getting reminded of these facts.