Got yelled at (with many swear words as the bloke came alongside and stayed there) for riding two abreast this morning. Now, there are three things wrong with that.
Firstly, you're perfectly entitled to ride two abreast and not only that its often a safer way of riding; the highway code says that you shouldn't ride three or more abreast, but its perfectly appropriate to ride two abreast. If there is plenty of room on the road on the other side then theres no chance of holding anyone up, or if its appropriate to take primary (it normally is) then the space taken up by two cyclists abreast is exactly the same as one in an assertive position. Cyclecraft gives excellent advice on how and why.
Secondly, its just pointlessly aggressive and a waste of time. Like, why shout that when theres a red light anywhere on your route, or, worse, if there are loads of red lights? My presence on the road makes no difference to your journey time, that time being entirely regulated (like mine is) by the presence and timing of the lights.
Thirdly, and this is the biggie, I was cycling on my own, and there were no other cyclists on that stretch of road at the time of the abuse. You can see two cyclists? Seek help, really, go to a doctor, go to an opticians, go to a psychiatrist, but whoever you see for help, get the hell of the road right now until you sort it out. If I see you on the road again, and you behave like you're seeing double again, I'm going to break your car to stop you killing someone, because if someone doesn't then thats going to happen.
Firstly, you're perfectly entitled to ride two abreast and not only that its often a safer way of riding; the highway code says that you shouldn't ride three or more abreast, but its perfectly appropriate to ride two abreast. If there is plenty of room on the road on the other side then theres no chance of holding anyone up, or if its appropriate to take primary (it normally is) then the space taken up by two cyclists abreast is exactly the same as one in an assertive position. Cyclecraft gives excellent advice on how and why.
Secondly, its just pointlessly aggressive and a waste of time. Like, why shout that when theres a red light anywhere on your route, or, worse, if there are loads of red lights? My presence on the road makes no difference to your journey time, that time being entirely regulated (like mine is) by the presence and timing of the lights.
Thirdly, and this is the biggie, I was cycling on my own, and there were no other cyclists on that stretch of road at the time of the abuse. You can see two cyclists? Seek help, really, go to a doctor, go to an opticians, go to a psychiatrist, but whoever you see for help, get the hell of the road right now until you sort it out. If I see you on the road again, and you behave like you're seeing double again, I'm going to break your car to stop you killing someone, because if someone doesn't then thats going to happen.
