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Im a city cyclist, but I also drive a car and get plenty annoyed at bike groups riding 2, 3, or more across the lane for no good reason. My club always calls "Car back" and moves to single file as soon as possible when a car is spotted coming from behind.
As an FYI to non-bike riders, here are some reasons why a cyclist sometimes does what he does, be it right or wrong:
- Riding left of the shoulder (in the lane): In almost all cases, this must be done unless you have off-road tires. Road bike tires are very high pressure and very thin. The pebbles and glass on a common shoulder is a no-go and will easily result in a flat in most situations.
- Not riding as for to the right as possible (lane block): A defensive move on say, a narrow two lane or dense city traffic. The thinking being, if a car tries to pass he will have to pass very close to the bike, miss calculates, and the bike gets run off the road. Remember, even if its just a tap from the mirror to the handle bar, its an immeadiate spill for the biker. Also, city traffic with cars parked to the right- Getting "Doored" from someone popping open their car door to get out is always a danger.
In most cases, yielding for a few seconds to a biker will be all it takes for the hurried driver to be on his way. Its really not worth hurting someone or going to jail over to "prove a point".
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