Just wanted to get some opinions on this.

I live in an area of the world with lots and lots of tunnels (Japan) and I generally take the lane going through them because generally there is not enough space for bike-car-car abreast in the tunnel. If a car wants to pass, I want to force them into the oncoming lane and pass properly. Seems safe to me.


Anyway, a while back I was on a group ride and leading the group and as we approached a tunnel I took the lane as usual but the 2nd guy in line (and consequently everybody else) decided to hug the left (driving on left) side of the road. I didn't quite notice that this was happening though. What had happened was a car had come up on the group and passed everyone except me (because there were oncoming cars) and wound up driving right next to the #2 and #3 cyclists for about a kilometer through the tunnel.

When we got to the next break point I got a talking to by #2, but I think that he is in the wrong and should have followed my line.

Opinions?