Quote Originally Posted by bcipam
Is that a legal right ot ride two abreast out into the traffic lane?

Cyclists (at least in Calif) are required to ride as close to the curb as safely possible as not to impede the traffic lane and the flow of traffic. Not right (or legal) that we ride out into the lane and make cars go around us. No wonder motorists always want to cut us off. Trust me I run into stupid drivers all the time (the worse for me is when I move out of a right turn lane only to let those drivers turning right go into the lane and they still instead go around on the left and cut me off). But then again, I also sometimes do stupid things and I would hope the driver gives me the benefit of the doubt and understands I made a mistake, I didn't turn in from of them on purpose.

Think of it this way... how much nicer would your ride be if you assumed that the cars had the right of way and planned for that? No sense getting upset or angry. Better to be a good citizen so drivers aren't scared or pissed off at us. It is a two way street. How would you like it if some cyclists started gesturing and yelling at you and you had no idea or clue why? And there are alot of stupid cyclist out there. Trust me, my road club is full of them. They routinely run stop signs, make left turns on red lights in front of vehicles, block turn lanes, take up the traffic lane. No wonder motorists don't like dealing with us...

which is why I mountain bike more and more....


funny, in this thread all I can think about is my poor 75 year old mother who lives on a narrow, windy road in Sonoma county that is heavily used by road cyclists. It is a completely common occurance for groups of roadies to NOT go to single file when there are vehicles approaching from behind. They will stay 3-5 abreast with complete disregard for the vehicles on the road. My poor mother lacks the balls to pass them on this road, (with good reason, it's a series of blind corners and she'd have to go into the other lane) which means she follows behind for a mile or more until she reaches her driveway. Groups of cyclists pulling this kind of thing is the worst sort of passive/aggressive riding. What kind of point are riders like this trying to make?

irulan