Originally Posted by Crawdaddy
I don't get your meaning here. Are you telling me you have less chance getting hit from behind by riding 30mph as 15mph?
Yep. It gives the driver more time to see you, not to mention that it reduced the speed differential between bicycle and car if you go faster, probably reducing the severity of any impact. It also means you can get across the particularly narrow patches quicker.
Originally Posted by Crawdaddy
Like the orginal post said,cars are going to try to get around you even if you are going the speed limit.
In that case it makes no difference.
Originally Posted by Crawdaddy
The faster you ride the less time you have to react. I'd rather hit a van that pulled out in front of me at 15mph that 30mph.
Actually, the time you have to react from someone pulling out in front of you is determined more by your positioning on the road than your speed. If you're hugging the kerb you'll have no time to react regardless of your speed. In other situations, I actually find that drivers are less likely to pull out in front of me if I'm going flat out than if I'm going slow.
Originally Posted by Crawdaddy
The faster you ride the more likely you could crash from potholes, gravel, tire blowouts cornering and many other encounters.
Never had a tyre blowout on a corner in over 120,000km of riding. As far as the other things go, it's a judgement call. One pothole is actually very easy to avoid at any speed. If there are a heap of them, then slowing down is the right thing to do. Patches of gravel can be seen from a long way in anycase, and I'm not convinced that slowly is the best way to deal with them.