3putter wrote:DevonDamo wrote:My 2p: Don't ride two abreast when there's anything behind you, ever. It's just antagonistic. We are usually slower than other vehicles - on fast roads or uphills sections, much slower. We must accept that drivers will want to overtake us at the first opportunity. By riding close to the kerb single file, either close together or with a car-sized gap between you, you're signalling that you're trying to help drivers overtake you safely. In my experience, drivers usually reciprocate by giving you miles of room and making sure they've got plenty of room to complete the overtake. There are, of course, idiots on the roads too, but attempting to block them where you consider it unsafe to overtake will not necessarily make you any safer. The driver will not know that you are riding two-abreast in order to postpone their overtake until a more suitable point - they will just think you are having a nice chat and don't care about the hold-up you are creating. Having an angry idiot behind you may not improve your situation.
In my experience, cycling in the gutter encourages close passes and is therefore more dangerous for the cyclist.
From the op, if the road is not wide enough for a car to safely pass a single cyclist without crossing the white line, then it should make no difference if cyclists are riding two-abreast. Cars will still have to cross to the other side of the road to overtake safely.
+1
If there isn't enough room overtake then my position in the lane makes no odds at all. "Leave as much room as you would leave a car" is what the HC advises - that's a whole lane IMHO, some of which will be to the left of the cyclist.