A bit of a rant

[marni]

but part of the gettiing them to pass you if you are riding in a group is the responsibility of the last person in the group to look well ahead up the road and if possible, signal if when it is safe for the car to pull out and pass.It's equally rude to leave the auto hanging out behind you with no indication of whether the group is slowing, or if it is possibly safe to pull out. If the car is signaled that it is safe, and they start to pull out and then drop back, there should be no exasperation or anger since the bikers know nothing of the skills or abilities of the driver or the pick up of the car. It is also important to remember that although the car may be faster, it is not as maneuverable as a bike and as a biker you need to make sure that there is a whole lot of room.

marni

[Tuckervill]

You know what annoys me? The word cager.

Karen

[SLash]

Cyclists like those you describe irritate me too. Last year DH and I were out riding, and had a couple of cyclists blow through a 4 way stop about 1/2 mile ahead of us cutting off a car that was turning. They then proceeded to ride down the center of the road (2 lane).

I was so pissed, I took off after the cyclists. I planned to tell them how bad their behavior makes it on the rest of us. When I finally caught them at a light I was so winded I couldn't say anything!

DH and I still laugh about that.

They took off and that was that. I try to do what Knotted Yet does, be a goodwill ambassador on a bike. A couple of years ago I read an article in Bicycling by Bill Strickland that convinced me that's the best way to ride. Not always easy but smart.

[Mr. Bloom]

You know what annoys me? The word cager.

Karen

I'm not familiar with the term...what does it mean?

[Mr. Bloom]

OK, I looked it up...I'll introduce a new term for those of us who commute with the top down -

hottubber.

I'll assure you that with the top down and the wind in my hair, I'm in anything but a cage! Bwahahahahah!

[Jolt]

You know what annoys me? The word cager.

Karen

I'm not a fan either. As much as it's true that being in the car sometimes does feel like being in a cage, the term seems to encourage an "us vs. them" mentality rather than respectfully SHARING the road with one another.

[SheFly]

Crankin' - I know that exact intersection (very well). This winter, I had the same experience you described, but I was ON MY BIKE! And guess what? They still didn't move - spread across the entire intersection, and I had to go into the opposite lane to make my right hand turn around them.

BTW - I hope there weren't any NEBC jerseys in that group .

SheFly

[Crankin]

No NEBC jerseys or CRW... and I was glad of that.
They were green and blue jerseys, with some black. Not sure which club this is; Metrowest Bike Club?

[Becky]

but part of the gettiing them to pass you if you are riding in a group is the responsibility of the last person in the group to look well ahead up the road and if possible, signal if when it is safe for the car to pull out and pass.It's equally rude to leave the auto hanging out behind you with no indication of whether the group is slowing, or if it is possibly safe to pull out.

I'm not going to assume the liability of waving a driver around. One of things I was taught in defensive driving is that you can be held liable if you wave another motorist through and an accident ensues (at least in my state). Any legal eagle types know if this is accurate elsewhere?

I do signals to cars behind me when there is oncoming traffic and they should hold back. Most of them seem very appreciative.