Dudelsack 

Wow. On a group ride yesterday I didn't notice any effort to restrict passing to the left. I was the youngest and most inexperienced cyclist at the age of 59.

Walter

I haven't read all of this so it's probably redundant...

If you pass on the right that often means you are squeezing by against the curb and that may well increase crash possibilities.

Speaking personally as a rider who is experienced enough to hold a line and doesn't freak out when other riders are in close proximity (but does get passed alot ) I don't much care but would prefer it if you tell me you're squeezing by on the right. I expect to get passed on the left and don't need to hear "on your left" but would rather hear you if you're coming on the right.

halfspeed

There are lots of different kinds of groups and several different kinds of pace lines. Not everyone realizes this and may get upset or confused when they find themselves in a situation where the rules are different.

On a hard, race simulation group ride, passing may happen on either side. Rotations may form and break apart. Attacks can come from anywhere. All bets are off.

In a cooperative rotating paceline with experienced riders, the direction of rotation is wind dependent. The decelerating side gets the wind. So passing can happen on either the right or the left because of the wind.

On a bit more casual ride or a ride, there may be a double paceline with the front riders taking a longer pull and rolling off to the outside together. In that case, passing is on BOTH the left and the right.

When a double paceline is not practical, or there are not enough riders to justify it, a single paceline may be formed. I haven't done one of these in a while, but IIRC usually the rider dropping off does so to the left so he is passed on the right. This may be subject to regional differences.

On a ride with new riders, there may be no drafting to speak of and in that case whatever passing happens is normally to the left.

On large organized rides (charity rides, centuries and the like), passing on the left is encouraged to better manage traffic flow.

When riding with a new group the key is to scope out what they are doing and follow suit. If you don't like the way the group is riding, find another group.

gregf83 

You were probably just trying to catch a better draft from the trucks going by

Bob Dopolina 

I prefer the tourist buses...

Machka 

It depends.

Situation 1 - No shoulder

When there is no shoulder, I usually ride within about 6 inches of the edge of the road. I figure if I had to take sudden evasive action, I could head for the ditch. And I figure that for the most part riding that close to the edge of the road keeps me out of the way of traffic.

That said, I was hit by a car coming up from behind a couple weeks ago. The driver decided to squeeze between Rowan and me (riding single file next to the ditch, with me in front of Rowan), and the oncoming vehicles. In order to avoid getting hit by the oncoming vehicles, the driver drove within about an inch of Rowan .... and clipped my right hand with the mirror, bending or breaking the mirror. Then the driver drove off with ever-increasing speed. A hit-and-run incident.

So, even though I ride out of the way of traffic with the good intention of giving drivers room and not getting mowed down from behind, it doesn't always work. And even though I was hit ... I'll still continue to ride close to the ditch when there is no shoulder.


Situation 2 - Narrow shoulder

Let's call a narrow shoulder anything under approx. 2 feet. In these cases, I'll ride approximately down the middle of the shoulder area with the idea in mind that if I have to dodge something, I've got a little bit of room on either side to do so.


Situation 3 - Wide shoulder

In these cases, I tend to ride closer to the road than the ditch. I usually find these kinds of shoulders on busier highways, and from my observations what tends to happen is that road debris (broken glass, wires, pieces off of vehicles, etc.) tend to collect on the shoulder next to the ditch leaving the area next to the ditch rather hazardous for riding. The area nearer to the road, however, tends to be a bit cleaner, and makes for nicer riding.

However, if a large truck, or a vehicle with all sorts of rattling noises (like it is dragging something),is coming up from behind ... I'll move closer to the ditch. I'll also check my mirror to see what exactly is coming up behind.

Rumble strips can help or hinder the situation depending on where they are placed. Some places put them right where I want to ride.

But even though I ride closer to the road, and there is room between me and the ditch for a cyclist to sneak past, I would still find it disconcerting if one did.

Bob Dopolina 

^^^ You're Situation 1 is exactly why I would ride further into the road than you were. Any time a driver thinks they can squeeze past you they often will with the results you describe.

My habit, in a no shoulder situation, would to be much further into the road so that cars are forced to go around me or wait a moment if there is an oncoming car. I also do this to avoid much of the debris found in the gutter of most roads.

I also tend not to ride in places with much traffic. If I am forced into that situation, briefly, I tend to play it by ear and look to get off that road asap.

rc51crazy

easy solution..be aware of your surroundings and you will never be surprised

krobinson103

On the bike paths I'll pass an obstacle on whatever side is safer. On the road, passing on the left makes more sense, unless there is a lot of fast traffic in that direction.

Machka 

I'm not convinced that riding further into the lane would have made a difference. I suspect I would have been hurt worse, probably knocked off the bicycle.

There isn't much debris on the edge of the roads where we ride ... nor is there much traffic. There is, however, the "murphy's law" situation where there will be no traffic at all for kilometres, and then all of a sudden there will be vehicles coming in opposite directions which will pass each other right beside us.

This is the road I was specifically referring to, but it's quite similar to a lot of roads around here ...

Bob Dopolina 

^^^Nice road. It makes me want to go for a ride.

Velo Vol 

Six inches? I'd probably run off the road due to inattention from time to time if I always rode that close.

bitingduck

I'm with you. On a busy road with no resonably rideable shoulder where I don't want drivers squeezing by when they shouldn't, I'll ride about where the righthand wheels of the cars are on all the cars. It's far enough to the right that if there's room in the next lane (same or opposite direction) drivers will do a half lane change to pass without thinking about it, and also far enough out that if there is oncoming traffic they won't think about it. I find that when I ride there I have almost no unpleasant encounters with cars-- they tend to treat you as a vehicle to be avoided, rather than as someone in the way that they can maybe squeeze by. If I ride farther to the right, then they tend to try to get by when they shouldn't, and also honk more (though I ride the right edge so rarely that my statistics are bad on that).

Right Said Fred

I agree. The safer thing is to do plant yourself where you can be seen and force the cars to yield to you unless they are homicidal maniacs (at which point all bets are off anyway). Timidly trying to make yourself invisible by riding as close to the edge of the road as possible is inviting trouble. Just like riding motorcycles teaches you, the best defense is usually an aggressive offense.

Reynolds 

I never even thought that anyone would complain if I pass them on the right... on our groups there's no rule for passing, except that the space should be wider than your handlebar.

Bob Dopolina 

^^^I was in the same boat which is why I started this thread. I got edjumacated.

Bob Dopolina 

+1.

Jives with my logic and experience.