Two abreast

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400bhp

Guru
Was out with a ride buddy of mine today. If there;s only a few of us I generally choose to ride alongside if and when there's no traffic behind. He likes to chat alongside me. Perfectly fine of course.

Left the house at 9 and back at 12 ish today and the roads were quiet.

But, FFS today. Half a dozen cars beeping us. The last one decided to purposefully do a stupidly close pass when the road was clear in the opposite direction, only to turn left perhaps 400 yards further ahead into a side street. Thing was he was clearly watching in his mirror when he went past as I gestured for him to stop, which he duly did. We rode past him, therefore wasting the precious 5 or so seconds he/she had gained by passing us.:rolleyes:

Last time we were out we had some tool beep too. I had polite words.

I think some education is needed.

Are we just a nation of miserable meanies or what. Live and let live:rolleyes:
 

Saluki

World class procrastinator
I figure that some car drivers are not bright enough to realise that it's faster to overtake 2 cyclist riding 2 abreast than it is to overtake 2 cyclists in a line.
What some people's problems are I know not. Let's face it, we're faster than a milk float (thinner too) and faster than some tractor and trailers. It's just that they'd do damage to their precious cars if they tried to close pass a tractor, if they got it wrong.
 

huwsparky

Über Member
Location
Llangrannog
I ride often with one other and have experienced the same. To be honest I don't bother retaliating and just get on with it. I suppose they just think that if the cyclists were single file then they'd be able to pass without having to cross the white line not that it makes a difference. Most of the time we ride single file anyway.
 

potsy

Rambler
Location
My Armchair
I honestly think there are lots of drivers who are completely unaware that it is legal to ride two abreast.
Was tagging along with a group of 6 riders the other night that were riding this way, within 3 miles they/we were beeped at 3 times always as the passing driver was overtaking, they must have been used to it because not once did they react or even comment on it.
 

bpsmith

Veteran
2 of us out today. Some single file, but mostly 2 abreast chatting. It's no issue to anyone. If they beep, I too wave as if I know them. Lol.
 

jack smith

Veteran
Location
Durham
I often ride this way on more dangerous roads when in a group it forces cars to overtake properly.
 

Pat "5mph"

A kilogrammicaly challenged woman
Moderator
Location
Glasgow
I think this is not true. I was riding 2 abreast, and we were subjected to a lot of beeps. Moved back 2 metres, but kept my distance from the parked cars the same, nary a beep from subsequent cars - even though we had made ourselves harder to pass.
Have you got statistics to prove this?
Only kidding! ^_^
 

Hacienda71

Mancunian in self imposed exile in leafy Cheshire
There are just a lot of uneducated cocks in cars around. As @400bhp knows I will sometimes drop into single file if I feel it is appropriate at other times happy two abreast. The road makes a difference as to what I do, but that is individual choice. The law says riding two abreast is fine.
 

youngoldbloke

The older I get, the faster I used to be ...
^ this.
We've been told by drivers that riding 2 abreast is illegal. They are absolutely (and usually agressively) certain they're correct. Odd that they never seem to have their copy of the Highway Code with them! We split large groups into smaller ones of say 10 - 12 max - its a lot easier to overtake 5x2 than a line of 10. We will always single up and split up on narrow (or major A) roads anyway, or when traffic warrants it.
 

mustang1

Guru
Location
London, UK
  • never ride more than two abreast, and ride in single file on narrow or busy roads and when riding round bends
The law is an ass. What qualifies as a busy road?
And what's a narrow road? Narrow enough for a cyclist to ride close to parked cars? If the cyclist rides away from parked cars on a narrow road the drivers can't pass the cyclists anyway so why not cycle two abreast in this situation?
 
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