Rules of the Road

[five one]

I am all about safety and being cognizant of how we riders are viewed by drivers. I announce when I'm about to pass someone, I don't draft without letting the rider know that I'm about to do so, I ride as close to the shoulder as safety allows, and I always ride single file when there is traffic. When cars approach from behind and slow down because there are two bikes in the road, or the driver beeps as he approaches, I know what's going through his or her mind .... "#%@*$ bikes!" It's unnerving to come around a corner at 30 mph and encounter two bikes, side-by-side, doing 17 mph.

How do you handle it if you're riding on a street with traffic, and someone seems insistent on riding beside you to have a conversation?

This is the reason I generally tend to steer clear () of group rides. Most of my rides are either alone, with DH, or friends whose cycling skills I know and respect. We always ride single file regardless of the traffic. Like quint, I am very aware of how I appear as a cyclist sharing the road with cars. We ride a lot of rural two lane roads with little or no shoulder. When I hear a car coming up from behind, I make it obvious to the driver that I'm trying to move over as far as is safe for me. Most of the time, they will pass giving us plenty of room. It frustrates me to no end to see cyclists who know better riding side by side hogging a lane and, in doing so, giving the rest of us a bad name.

If I was riding with a group, I'd let it be known before the ride how I feel about riding side by side and chitchatting. If the group felt differently, I'd ride alone or with someone who shared my views. I'm a very quiet person anyway. I don't need to have a constant stream of chatter going on to keep me from being bored on the road. When DH and I are riding, it's usually in what I refer to as companionable silence. After 32 years of marriage, we don't need to be talking to one another all the time. But that doesn't stop me from yelling out "Cute butt!" once in awhile.