Cycling UK Forum

bertbeerpot wrote:Still there. Section 66, third bullet point.

It also says "Keep both feet on the pedals". I tried that when I first got click pedals, it caused a lot of amusement amongst the other riders when I stopped.

I think we can safely assume the beep-beep means get off my road.

There is always a debate about when to single up . I tend to the view it should only be on single lane roads.When done on two lane roads it doesn't help and only encourages dangerous overtakes .Probably better to treble up in these circumstances.

JimL wrote:I think we can safely assume the beep-beep means get off my road.

There is always a debate about when to single up . I tend to the view it should only be on single lane roads.When done on two lane roads it doesn't help and only encourages dangerous overtakes .Probably better to treble up in these circumstances.

Depends what you mean here. Whereas I take single lane to mean, country lane, no white line down the middle, others use that to mean single carriageway (standard UK road, dashed white line). Two lane could mean single carriageway as before or, dual carriageway.

I meant country lane. Normally the debate on singling up happens on twisty two lane, single carriageway roads. My group tends to single up in this circumstance if two or three cars are behind. I don't think it help at all.

JimL wrote:I meant country lane.

Cool, that makes sense as the argument is that it doesn't matter if you ride side by side because there is an entire other lane for overtakes; with country lanes (or S1 as they are known in the trade ) you don't have another lane.

rfryer wrote:

Big T wrote:

Grandad wrote:Single or double file it's best to have no more than 6 riders in line astern - above that leave about 50 yards gap between groups to allow motorists to overtake in 2 (or more) stages.

Might work on a quieter road, but on a busy one will it just encourage leap-frogging and inappropriate overtakes?

It will make overtakes more possible, appropriate or otherwise. I'm all in favour of taking temporary action to prevent an overtake when you know it to be dangerous (by, for example, moving into primary), but I don't like the idea of deliberately holding up other road users for extended periods without good reason. I'm also not convinced it leads to improved safety, as a frustrated driver might eventually go for an overtake that is not safe, but would have been had the cyclist(s) been positioned more considerately.

We always single out on this road to the bridge, but the other week I had a very close pass. i managed to speak to the driver about it and he complained that I was riding slightly further out than the others, so therefore deserved to be knocked off! I was possibly 3-6 inches further out, it was a wet day and I didn't fancy a face full of spray from the wheel in front.

It really is the most awful road (A6097 at Gunthorpe for any locals), made worse by frequent pedestrian refuges, so the cars will try and race past before the next refuge.

JimL wrote:I think we can safely assume the beep-beep means get off my road.

no, beep-beep means there is a car behind u just letting u know

beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep means get theout of the way

Which was sort of my question. Much of the time it was just 'beep' not 'beeeeeeeeep' which we did have on the previous ride where we were on a dual carriageway and a car behind starting laying on the horn. Overtook and then cut infront of us.

Riding up a moderately steep narrow twisty lane this afternoon I met 3 horseriders coming towards me 3 abreast taking up the whole width of the lane. They singled out for me no problem as the uphill reduced my speed, but if a car or bike had approached them going downhill from behind then the bends would have hidden them until the last minute...........

But the horse riders would have heard the car coming. Personally I reckon that it is better to fill the road so the drivers hit the brakes as soon as they see you, rather than be over to the side tempting them into carrying on at speed (hopefully) past you.

Not too sure - 3 ladies talking They certainly wouldn't hear a cyclist who would be doing a brisk pace downhill.

meic wrote:But the horse riders would have heard the car coming.

Often not. The clip clop of horseshoes drowns out an awful lot. Somewhere or another, I think it must in in guidelines on a horsey site, they are recommended to ride 2 abreast to present a bigger target and encourage drivers to slow down.

I find that if we single out, cars are more likely to think "yeah I can fit through there" and pass way too close!

Common sense, = The majority opinion of the best ( and probably the safest ) thing to do in the circumstances.
John Franklin’s book ‘Cyclecraft’ has a collection of this for cyclists.

One of the golden rules of staying alive on a bicycle is “Don’t ride dead slow in the path of a moving vehicle.”
One of the golden rules of successfully finishing your journey on a bicycle is “Don’t put yourself in a position where there is no escape.”
One of the golden rules of being respected on a bicycle is “Don’t over-exaggerate your rights.”

By this, moving aside to allow free flow of traffic is one thing a cyclist can do to gain respect, finish the journey and stay alive.

easyroller wrote:I find that if we single out, cars are more likely to think "yeah I can fit through there" and pass way too close!

Indeed and because drivers cannot see much past their bonnet they may not notice the line of cyclists ahead.