Cycling in groups

[pwa]

I think the Highway Code gets it about right on this one. Cycling two abreast is fine, but where it causes protracted delays for faster moving traffic it is good to single out. I've been doing that for about 50 years, ever since my mother took me out for my first ride on the roads. Most cyclists seem to do that anyway. When driving I often find myself approaching two cyclists riding side by side, and usually they single out as I approach. It's just people having consideration for other people, regardless of their chosen form of transport. That's how it should be, on both sides. When I drive past cyclists who have singled out for me I raise a hand in thanks. And I mean it.

[Mark1978]

If you are cycling through Cambridgeshire you could follow their police advice. [emoji83]

Yeah - because if you spread out and all take primary then you're so much easier to overtake,

Why isn't the headline: Police warn motorists not to overtake where it isn't safe?

The problem is, as always, explaining to the uninitiated why single file often won't help and will make the situation worse.

e.g. with 6 riders if the road is not wide enough to allow a cyclist, a safe passing distance, an overtaking car and an oncoming car, all to share the same horizontal bit of road at the same time then it means you're going to have to go into the opposing lane to overtake anyway. That being the case it's easier to overtake a group 3 cyclists long than it is to overtake one 6 cyclists long.

But then that can't be explained to drivers in a single soundbite - It's amazing how many cyclists just don't get it. So they fall back on 'single file is best'.

[Mark1978]

I think the Highway Code gets it about right on this one. Cycling two abreast is fine, but where it causes protracted delays for faster moving traffic it is good to single out. I've been doing that for about 50 years, ever since my mother took me out for my first ride on the roads. Most cyclists seem to do that anyway. When driving I often find myself approaching two cyclists riding side by side, and usually they single out as I approach. It's just people having consideration for other people, regardless of their chosen form of transport. That's how it should be, on both sides. When I drive past cyclists who have singled out for me I raise a hand in thanks. And I mean it.

I do the same when cycling with one other. Which is fine if the road is relatively quiet. It's actually when the road is busy that riding 2 abreast is safer, i.e. to prevent chancy overtakes into oncoming traffic. Which is an area where the HC gets it wrong.

[pwa]

I think the Highway Code gets it about right on this one. Cycling two abreast is fine, but where it causes protracted delays for faster moving traffic it is good to single out. I've been doing that for about 50 years, ever since my mother took me out for my first ride on the roads. Most cyclists seem to do that anyway. When driving I often find myself approaching two cyclists riding side by side, and usually they single out as I approach. It's just people having consideration for other people, regardless of their chosen form of transport. That's how it should be, on both sides. When I drive past cyclists who have singled out for me I raise a hand in thanks. And I mean it.

I do the same when cycling with one other. Which is fine if the road is relatively quiet. It's actually when the road is busy that riding 2 abreast is safer, i.e. to prevent chancy overtakes into oncoming traffic. Which is an area where the HC gets it wrong.

Yes, when it makes you safer it is worth persisting with two abreast until a safe passing place arrives. Also, larger groups of ,say, six cyclists can be easier to pass if riding two abreast because they are less stretched out.

[mjr]

e.g. with 6 riders if the road is not wide enough to allow a cyclist, a safe passing distance, an overtaking car and an oncoming car, all to share the same horizontal bit of road at the same time then it means you're going to have to go into the opposing lane to overtake anyway. That being the case it's easier to overtake a group 3 cyclists long than it is to overtake one 6 cyclists long.

I'm getting cantankerous in my old age. I often ride as a backmarker (we split into sixes or eights on busy roads) and although we're basically single-file, I do ride as "a swinging gate" on the back, moving up alongside the penultimate rider when I feel it is not safe for a motorist to overtake without changing fully into the other lane. Occasionally, I signal "stop" at the car behind if it sounds like they're about to "have a go" when I can see oncoming traffic that they can't (due to my higher seat). It's quite rare that I get abuse for it - I think many motorists like having the "they're riding single file so they want me to squeeze past" uncertainty removed - and even rarer if my camera is visible

Basically, the only time riding single file is critical is on wide single-carriageway major roads - and most of those aren't fun to ride on - where it enables overtaking by straddling the centre line; and 1.5-car-wide minor roads, where it enables overtaking that isn't physically possible otherwise. Sometimes, riding single file (or zigzag formation) can help motorists to see past and time their overtaking better but they still can't overtake safely when there's oncoming motorists.

Most roads in the Shelford area referred to in the newspaper are standard single-carriageway major roads and 2-car-wide minor roads. Single file or not will make little difference. Motorists are delayed there mainly because of their fellow motorists avoiding a bit of the M11 on the way into Cambridge or the P+R site.

[Mark1978]

I'm getting cantankerous in my old age. I often ride as a backmarker (we split into sixes or eights on busy roads) and although we're basically single-file, I do ride as "a swinging gate" on the back, moving up alongside the penultimate rider when I feel it is not safe for a motorist to overtake without changing fully into the other lane.

I've tended to do that on the occasional group rides I've been on. Where the group stays in secondary through traffic islands I'll be the one to put myself in primary to discourage anyone having a go at that moment.

Basically, the only time riding single file is critical is on wide single-carriageway major roads - and most of those aren't fun to ride on - where it enables overtaking by straddling the centre line; and 1.5-car-wide minor roads, where it enables overtaking that isn't physically possible otherwise. Sometimes, riding single file (or zigzag formation) can help motorists to see past and time their overtaking better but they still can't overtake safely when there's oncoming motorists.

Most roads in the Shelford area referred to in the newspaper are standard single-carriageway major roads and 2-car-wide minor roads. Single file or not will make little difference. Motorists are delayed there mainly because of their fellow motorists avoiding a bit of the M11 on the way into Cambridge or the P+R site.

Exactly, the road width is critical in the determination. As you say, wide and narrow roads dictate single file. 'Normal' roads, as in ones where there's just enough to fit two cars side by side and not much else, then doubled up is safer for everyone.