Cycling etiquette on narrow roads.

bijapos

Whats the correct thing to do here?

Two cyclists riding abreast on a narrow road. A car wants to overtake, so you go single file.

Does the outside cyclist slow down and go behing the inside cyclist or is it the other way around?

Is there a general rule of thumb for this?

Thanks

seamus

Depends on circumstances I guess. If the car is being a pain in the ass, then slowing down to fall in behind may not be an easy option because you have to move "back" towards the car, whereas speeding up to move ahead doesn't delay anyone.

I would always say that since the guy on the outside is "in control" of the situation, then he should decide what to do and the other rider should just maintain pace.

snollup

I was meaning to post this question myself too!

Been out once or twice on club spins & it's one thing that made me feel a little uneasy. The lads seem to think they have a right to hold up traffic by cycling in pairs. On some of the smaller roads this could cause quite a tailback.

As a motorest & cyclist I don't think this is doing cyclists any favors.

To be honest it has put me off joining a club.

cyclopath2001

snollup wrote: »

The lads seem to think they have a right to hold up traffic by cycling in pairs. On some of the smaller roads this could cause quite a tailback. (

Motorists don't seem to mind parking on cycle tracks or footpaths, so maybe they're pretty relaxed about the idea of people getting in each other's way?

anoble66

I think most cycling clubs will single out if they are on a narrow bit of road, or if cars are being held up. Thats been my experience anyway.

snollup wrote: »

I was meaning to post this question myself too!

Been out once or twice on club spins & it's one thing that made me feel a little uneasy. The lads seem to think they have a right to hold up traffic by cycling in pairs. On some of the smaller roads this could cause quite a tailback.

As a motorest & cyclist I don't think this is doing cyclists any favors.

To be honest it has put me off joining a club.

ROK ON

snollup wrote: »

I was meaning to post this question myself too!

Been out once or twice on club spins & it's one thing that made me feel a little uneasy. The lads seem to think they have a right to hold up traffic by cycling in pairs. On some of the smaller roads this could cause quite a tailback.

As a motorest & cyclist I don't think this is doing cyclists any favors.

To be honest it has put me off joining a club.

I have seen it done very well however.
During Tour de Munster training spins and the actual event, the last man in the group would
(1) call car back,
(2) usually on narrow roads then everyone would single up,,
(3) the rider at the head shouts back for car to stay or drive thru
(4) communicated by the last man back to the car.

It seemed to work well. Big issue is when the car cant see whether road is clear. In that case, it can be helpful for communication to occur. While it is no fun for river to be driving slowly, it is also worth remembering that it isnt too much fun for cyclists to have a car close behind them either.


I think a little give and take then it is all sorted relatively easy.

IM0

dont go against it, what ever the group does you follow suit as long as you are still in the group, defying it causes accidents as you are not doing whats expected but are instead opting to do whats right..according to your point of view...toe the line.

elchupanebrey

There was a group of us out for a spin the last day, we went into single file but the cars still couldn't get by us. When the road did clear this old bat slowed down beside me at the back of the group and started giving out saying we should be cycling in the cycle lane across the road. I dismissed her, nonchalantly of course, but she came back so I pointed out the direction arrow on the lane, she said we should still be over there and drove off. Hard to win with some people.

yop

lol, is that the same trout that tried to take us out it 2 weeks ago? We seem to grow them on that Wed night spin!

Our group are very good at motorist awareness in fairness and single file if we have a gang of cars behind us, some people are just brainless with some passing out maneuvers!!

irishmotorist

I think this should be prefixed with the word "some".

cyclopath2001 wrote: »

Motorists don't seem to mind parking on cycle tracks or footpaths, so maybe they're pretty relaxed about the idea of people getting in each other's way?

seamus wrote: »

I would always say that since the guy on the outside is "in control" of the situation, then he should decide what to do and the other rider should just maintain pace.

Totally agree. I find that if I'm on the outside, I'm generally a bit more aware of other traffic than if I'm on the inside. Maybe it's got to do with the amount of space you have to deal with or something. Anyway, usually (from the outside) I'll say 'car' or something and just move faster to overtake the other person, let the car past and then move out again to let them re-take their place.