Are we really that provocative?

[lph]

No, I've never reported anyone to the police, but if I were subject to someone trying to endanger a whole group I sure would like to. Most close calls with drivers I've been on my own on a mtb, which makes it easier to just go hopping off the road...

Ceres meets at Kjeller and rides northwards, not much traffic there and we rarely feel harassed.

"Rulle" - I don't know Paceline?

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Though I disagree with how the driver handled the situation, I must say that we NEVER ride 2 abreast if there is traffic sharing our lane and having to pass us periodically. A car can safely pass one bike while still staying in the lane if the bike is reasonably near the right white line in the lane. But a car cannot safely pass two bike abreast without officially going into another lane to get around them. Is there a real reason you need to ride two across and make everyone go into another lane in order to pass you? It seems to me it is creating unnecessary hazard for everyone, cars and bikes.
We have a friend who rides with us sometimes and he likes to chat and ride two abreast while cars lag behind us getting impatient and waiting for an opportunity to pass. After several nerve rattling and unsafe experiences while he blithely ignored the cars coming up behind us, we told our friend that if he wants to ride with us then he can only ride two across if there are NO cars at all behind us. If there are cars coming up, then it's single file or nothing.

On the other hand, we are big fans of taking the whole lane when we are approaching an intersection in order to be safe, be more visible, and to make it clear to all cars our turning intentions at the intersection.

[Tuckervill]

There's a 3-feet law here, so most cars DO have to go into the other lane to pass, and still maintain the 3 feet clearance, even if we're on the edge.


I really appreciate when they do go into the other lane to avoid me!

Karen

[mimitabby]

perhaps the driver was an american?

we routinely get yelled at for riding single file down the side of the road
"GET OFF THE ROAD!"

" RIDE ON THE SIDEWALK!"

[Trigress]

Is there a real reason you need to ride two across and make everyone go into another lane in order to pass you?

Mainly in order to be more visible. Most roads here are so narrow that in order to pass safely the driver needs to use the other lane anyway, and with lots of curves it's certainly not an easy question whether it's better to ride two abreast and shorten the peloton or to ride one by one and stretch it through the curve. Often it's more dangerous for us if we're only one and then the driver gets encouraged to pass with a foot clearing, if we're two at least they see us.

We tend to stretch out one by one if the road really is broad enough to pass safely even with oncoming traffic.

[lph]

I think all the clubs here reckon two abreast as the safest way to move, as the cars have to treat the group like another car and not like some annoying narrow obstruction they could probably squeeze by.

But when there's a lot of traffic we split up into groups of max ten or so, i.e. 5 pairs, which isn't hard for a car to pass if the opposite lane is clear.

[Zen]

When I first read the post heading I thought you were having trouble with men harassing you

[Trigress]

When I first read the post heading I thought you were having trouble with men harassing you

Well, sort of - the driver was indeed male!

As lph said, it's safer on these narrow roads to always ride two abreast: the rule is that cars should only overtake when the oncoming lane is empty, so it shouldn't really be much of a difference to the drivers. And two abreast means shorter and more visible peloton. That said, on American roads I think I'd support one at the time - you really di have much better roads.

[Tuckervill]

It's a good point...if bikes are vehicles (and in Arkansas, they are), then it's unsafe to pass anything without going into the next lane. That means drivers have to wait until the the other lane is clear of oncoming vehicles and they can see far enough ahead to determine that. It doesn't always make sense for cars to wait for there to be a single yellow line, but technically, they're supposed to. (I pass tractors all the time on double yellow, if I can see ahead and it's moving slow enough.)

Karen

[Eden]

Though I disagree with how the driver handled the situation, I must say that we NEVER ride 2 abreast if there is traffic sharing our lane and having to pass us periodically. A car can safely pass one bike while still staying in the lane if the bike is reasonably near the right white line in the lane. But a car cannot safely pass two bike abreast without officially going into another lane to get around them. Is there a real reason you need to ride two across and make everyone go into another lane in order to pass you? It seems to me it is creating unnecessary hazard for everyone, cars and bikes.

I respectfully disagree with you. At least out here (perhaps our lanes are more narrow than yours) If there isn't space to pass two riders safely there very likely isn't the space to pass one safely either without changing lanes or crossing the center line. Unless there is a very wide shoulder (which is rare here) I find it best to ride, even when alone, in a position that requires cars move over to pass, otherwise they will pass me with inches to spare rather than the 3 feet that is safe. If they have to move over they tend to pass much more safely. Our lanes just are not wide enough to accommodate both vehicles at one time, so why tempt someone to try it. You should never put motorists convenience ahead of your own safety. There are even a few places that I will not allow a car to pass me (a very narrow one lane each way road on my way to work with a planted divider in the middle)- they are very short stretches and the drivers will survive the extra 10 or 20 seconds added to their trip.

[kelownagirl]

Though I disagree with how the driver handled the situation, I must say that we NEVER ride 2 abreast if there is traffic sharing our lane and having to pass us periodically. A car can safely pass one bike while still staying in the lane if the bike is reasonably near the right white line in the lane. But a car cannot safely pass two bike abreast without officially going into another lane to get around them. Is there a real reason you need to ride two across and make everyone go into another lane in order to pass you? It seems to me it is creating unnecessary hazard for everyone, cars and bikes.
We have a friend who rides with us sometimes and he likes to chat and ride two abreast while cars lag behind us getting impatient and waiting for an opportunity to pass. After several nerve rattling and unsafe experiences while he blithely ignored the cars coming up behind us, we told our friend that if he wants to ride with us then he can only ride two across if there are NO cars at all behind us. If there are cars coming up, then it's single file or nothing.

On the other hand, we are big fans of taking the whole lane when we are approaching an intersection in order to be safe, be more visible, and to make it clear to all cars our turning intentions at the intersection.

I agree, same rule here, even when we're on a club ride. We must go to single file even with 30 people. if there's a car back and the space is tight (ie a median)