Rant 1 2010 Cycling Season
There is an article in today’s Wall Street Journal (March 30, 2010) on the last page of Personal Journal. The title is “Cycling’s Mystery Man Shows His Face” It is about the blogger bike snob, whose site link is also added to the links section at the left of this page. The first paragraph of the article reminded me that as much as some us give lip service to bicycling safety and as much as others tend to think they own the road, maybe some nagging and reminders would do us all good.
Today’s Topic: Riding Double, What Is Unclear About Share The Road?
In New York (and I assume most states) the rule of the road is . . . It is okay to ride double on a two lane (one lane each way) road, if there is no car traffic coming in EITHER direction. From a practical sense, however, I fail to see why oncoming traffic should be a concern.
However, within the skewed rule of “no oncoming traffic coming from behind” why do some of you seem to be unable to single up?
- You do not need to finish your conversation. You may want to, but that is not the same. There is enough antagonism against road cyclists already. If we ever want to lessen it, you too need to learn to Share the Road. Single up and let the car(s) pass.
- You did not notice the car behind you or did not hear the call of ‘car back’. If you are not paying attention or hard of hearing, don’t ride double. You are endangering yourself and the group.
- You are under the impression that is is always okay to ride double. You are wrong.
Yes, there are reasons to occasionally hog the road for safety’s sake. But those are the exceptions.
Bicycling on the road requires more of your attention than driving a car, IMHO. By being considerate of the motorize traffic you are doing yourself and your fellow cyclists a huge good deed by showing said motorized traffic you understand that the road is for them as well.
Glenn