Originally Posted by
Nunymare
....- these roads are sanded heavily in the winter because they are bus routes)....
IMO- this is the worst time of the year for cycling. The roads are still narrowed by margins of sand, gravel and crud left over after the snow mounds melt. It makes it much harder to share the road in a reasonable way.
However, after 50+ years riding, I've long felt that I'd rather have an impatient idiot in front of me than behind so I do whatever I can to send them on their way at the earliest opportunity. Lest anybody think this is a nervous biker thing, I do the same when driving, and learned the tactic from an over-the-road truck driver. Letting idiots get as far ahead of you as they will and out of your life, just makes everything go much better.