Road Manners Whilst Riding in Groups

[bobley]

Hello all, I've just bought a new bike in the hope of getting fitter and doing a few charity rides with my mates this year. I'm really buzzing from it. I've had a hybrid for years but over winter it usually lives on the turbo trainer but I've just bought a XC bike and got some decent clothing so I'm happy as Larry riding around the back lanes, bridleways and byways getting filthy.

When I'm out with my wife and kids I tend to ride beside my wife and keep an eye on the kids. At the first sign of a car we move in line and get the kids to back off and keep tight to the side whilst the car comes past and then we run side by side again. I'm happy, the drivers usually wave. All good.

Last week, I went out with a group of MTB riders and did a 30 mile back road run and they followed the same practice. The bloke at the back shouts "Car back" we go in line, car runs past, we pull out and carry on nattering (apart from me, I was panting....)

On saturday I was just driving out to meet a couple of guys for a daytime muddy XC thrash when I caught up behind the local road racing mob. There was about 20 people, 3/4s of the them running side by side, spread out over a distance slighlty longer than an articulated truck. They were doing 10mph on a flat road. I sat back expecting them to either stop, pull down an approaching side road or pick up speed and fan out, but they didn't? They started looking at me, I just sat back confused (I certainly wan't tailgating them). In the end I had to just floor it. I got past them but it left me on the wrong side of the road for ages, my engine was banging on the rev limiter (in a mini diesel so it must have sounded awful to them - sorry). I'm just a bit surprised? When I stopped and got the bike out my mate arrived having had to do exactly the same thing, except they'd slowed to 8 mph!

Please tell me this isn't the norm? It leaves me worried that other drivers will get angry and start carving me up, worse still my kids? Surely these guys drive cars too? Am I just getting old and grumpy?

This is the second time this has happened in recent months. Last time there was a queue of 15 cars behind me.

 

[Flying Dodo]

Sounds like you ran across your local CTC ride!!

 

[joebingo]

critical mass

 

[bobley]

Exactly, but you dont need to be a nuclear physicist to worth out that you need to break into a couple of smaller groups?

Really sad thing is that a few of them were wearing the local bike club jerseys. Puts me off joining now and I'll have to drive to the other side of Northampton and join my colleagues group - not exactly eco friendly driving your car to go for a bike ride!

 

[joebingo]

Isn't your story about you driving your car to go for a bike ride? lol.

 

[Ian H]

There are several points, including never move 'tight into the side' on a bike; you're putting yourself in danger. Yes, it's often polite to single up to allow other traffic past - it varies as to whether singling up is actually useful. On a narrow road it often ain't. I'd go looking for Franklin's 'Cyclecraft' book. It makes good reading and might just prove useful.

 

[bobley]

All good valid points.

Most of the roads where I ride with my kids are country routes with no central marking. If you don't single out then nothing would get past you. We just pull closer to the side and I get the kids to slow down. We're not riding in a ditch, just keeping it within 60cm of the side of the road (I swear that was part of the Cycling Proficiency Test).

I dont generally drive my car to go on a bike ride unless its a detour on the way home or I've been going somewhere else such as dropping the kids off at a birthday party. I wont therefore be going to many bike meets in the near future. On saturday I was actually on my way home from the kids swimming lessons to meet my friends. My car stayed on the drive the rest of the weekend and I put in about 50 miles on the bike.

The cyclecraft book sounds interesting but I though the Highway Code was a decent enough reference.

"66


You should

• keep both hands on the handlebars except when signalling or changing gear
• keep both feet on the pedals
• never ride more than two abreast, and ride in single file on narrow or busy roads and when riding round bends

67


You should

• look all around before moving away from the kerb, turning or manoeuvring, to make sure it is safe to do so. Give a clear signal to show other road users what you intend to do (see 'Signals to other road users')
• look well ahead for obstructions in the road, such as drains, pot-holes and parked vehicles so that you do not have to swerve suddenly to avoid them. Leave plenty of room when passing parked vehicles and watch out for doors being opened or pedestrians stepping into your path
• be aware of traffic coming up behind you
• take extra care near road humps, narrowings and other traffic calming features
• take care when overtaking (see Rules 162-169) "

The highway code also states that you should give cyclists plenty of space. If 2 cyclists are riding abreast on a narrow road then you can't safely pass without eating into that safety zone?

"
212



When passing motorcyclists and cyclists, give them plenty of room (see Rules 162-167). If they look over their shoulder it could mean that they intend to pull out, turn right or change direction. Give them time and space to do so.

• Overtaking (162-169)

213

Motorcyclists and cyclists may suddenly need to avoid uneven road surfaces and obstacles such as drain covers or oily, wet or icy patches on the road. Give them plenty of room and pay particular attention to any sudden change of direction they may have to make."

I cant exactly do this can I ?

 

[Tynan]

if it ain't safe to pass, don't pass

cars pass each other pretty close

 

[joebingo]

I dont generally drive my car to go on a bike ride unless its a detour on the way home or I've been going somewhere else such as dropping the kids off at a birthday party. I wont therefore be going to many bike meets in the near future. On saturday I was actually on my way home from the kids swimming lessons to meet my friends. My car stayed on the drive the rest of the weekend and I put in about 50 miles on the bike.

No need to explain yourself bobley, it was merely a bit of light hearted ribbing, which is quite hard to portray on the internet

But as Tynan says, if it aint safe, don't do it. You clearly waited behind until you thought it safe to get past (that's the good thing about being a cyclist behind the wheel), and i can't say I'd have done anything differently in your position.

It is pretty incosiderate of them to be taking up so much road space at such a low speed. Especially if they're in such a large group where maintaining 20mph+ is easy. Bizarre!

 

[totallyfixed]

Club riders can be, and sometimes are a funny old bunch. I've ridden with them and been so apalled at their dangerous attitude I have dropped back to stay safe. Often you will get a good bunch all taking a tight formation and there is nearly always one who is riding out on the centre line. Beware the rider who shouts "oil up" instead of "car up" or "car back" as these are usually the ones who don't own a car and therefore have less sympathy for the driver.
We used to have a rule in my old club that if there were more than 14 on a ride we split into 2 groups about 200m apart.

 

[bobley]

Cheers chaps. Faith restored. Safety is always first.

Just a pity I didn't manage to get out tonight - turbo trainer is very poor substitute nowadays!

 

[on the road]

Did they know you were there?

Unless your car has a dodgy engine or a broken exhaust then they're not going to hear you. The leader of the group is usually at or near the front, so he won't see you, and some of the group may be new so won't quite know to shout "car". If those riders that are new to the group don't know to shout "car" then they'll be just as confused as you.

What is the road like? Is it narrow or wide?

 

[GrasB]

If you have a fairly tight group then the outside rider should be around primary position & the inside rider in a weak secondary, if a driver is giving proper distance to the cyclist then the difference between a secondary & primary is negligible as you'll more than likely have to cross the centre line of the road. Once you're on the wrong side of the road the longer you're there the bigger the problem.

With that in mind as long as the road wasn't very narrow or was wide enough to comfortably pass a cyclist in secondary in lane (with the cyclist 0.6-1m from the side of the road & you a further 1m absolute minimum from the cyclists handle bars) holding formation is the safer thing to do. In a large group what they didn't do but should have done is make a clean break in the group big enough to comfortably accommodate the vehicle attempting to overtake.

I would say in reference to the highway code rule 66 & single file around corners; All my AD training in terms of hazard perception tells me that this is one of the worst times to file up or take a weak secondary as it encourages drivers to attempt unsighted or partially sighted overtakes.

EDIT: See underlined section.

 

[on the road]

They were doing 10mph on a flat road.

When I stopped and got the bike out my mate arrived having had to do exactly the same thing, except they'd slowed to 8 mph!

These statements somehow don't sound right. I've done 10 mph when taking it easy cycling through the park or when cycling along the promenade watching out for walkers and believe me this is slow. Somehow I can't see rodies or even MTBers riding that slow on the road, maybe on a mountain trail but not on a road. Even POBs don't ride that slow on the road.

Are you sure you haven't knocked a few miles off to make it sound worse? If they were going any slower they'd fall off! Maybe they were doing 20 mph but you decided to half it for good measure?

 

[dodgy]

Sounds like you ran across your local CTC ride!!

Agreed, the OP has described perfectly what I see from the local CTC when I see them in large groups. They're a social lot so like to natter, even if that means making people wait (cyclists included sometimes!) behind them. Some of them can be a little militant about their right to be on the road - and they do have a right to be on the road, but sometimes I wish they would string out a bit.