Two-abreast allows the car to pass the group in a shorter distance than single file - single file will take twice as long. You're not obstructing traffic, you are traffic.

This thread got my attention as the wife and I had a 'lively' discussion a couple weeks ago, the story: the two of us were riding out of our neighborhood on a pot-hole-war-zone two-lane road with a double yellow line. A minivan passes us, crossing the double yellow line, the driver was at a respectable speed and gave good clearance. However, my wife lost her $h!t, gave a very nice one-finger-salute and some colorful language. I was not happy with this. The wife said she was mad because the driver passed in a no passing zone.

Every day, I ride a number of roads with no shoulder and no passing zone. I will never get mad at a driver crossing the double yellow to offer me a safe distance (and reasonable speed).

Anybody know if police will ticket a driver for passing in this situation? I don't expect they would.

footnote - the wife is really pissed because this residential street has been turned into a highway with the closure of a major state highway less then a mile away.