Huge road gangs?

I don’t know about the UK but Spanish road rules treat a group of riders as one vehicle, so if the roundabout was clear when the first rider entered it, you’d have to give priority to the last riders even if you were already on the roundabout.

I’ve been part of a group in the UK where this was clearly what was understood, as when the group had to break up because cars didn’t recognise it as such on a mini roundabout, there was much consternation and anguish. No idea of the law, I certainly wasn’t expecting the group to act like and be treated as a single entity and nor it would seem were the car drivers.

Certainly amongst older drivers here, it’s recognised. A few younger ones I’ve talked to about it don’t know. Neither did I when I started driving here.

This is from the Basque traffic dept, shown at about 1m16s.

There seems to be some sort of neanderthal mentality that ingratiates itself into roadie group rides

theres also a motorist alpha male mentality that is far more prevalent.
i have to exit a small roundabout (the kind with a white painted hump you can drive over) yet 99% of the traffic is just going straight over and the other exit is to a dead end that turns into a cycle only path.
nearly every time i approach the roundabout in the correct position waving my right arm frantically i’m taking my life into my own hands as i go onto the roundabout, any cars approaching rarely stop as they are going straight on and i have to eyeball them and be ready to grab the brakes. it’s my right of way as i’m already on the roundabout and indicating.
this kind of behaviour is far more dangerous and a bigger problem than a group of cyclists delaying somebody by a few minutes.

(anyone who rides round richmond park and goes back through the danebury estate will know exactly what i’m talking about.)

spent part of my weekend marshalling a temporary / rolling closed road race – this was fully legal as all of the necessary Road Traffic Orders were in place. Virtually all of the drivers I had to stop were quite relaxed and happy to wait for the ~3 minutes it took for the race to pass by.

Using a public road as a private playground you can’t expect other road users to be happy about being dragged unwittingly into your game… and with big group it’s very hard to “pause play”

As such, I prefer to ride on my own or in a small group… much easier to be accommadating to great big lumps of metal that l’d rather not get to personnal with.

Rosey, so why is your (hypothetical) trip to the garden centre more important than my mamiltastic sportive? You might have a point if all traffic was making vital journeys.

Case in point. I was doing a RR which crossed a col on the French/Spanish border. At the top there’s a duty free shopping centre catering to the French, where they buy gitanes and pastis or whatever it is they’re into. There’s no other reason to drive to the top, but on a weekend it’s rammed with traffic. Many of the drivers stopped were furious at the (probably 5 or 10 minute) delay; seemed like not many could see the irony. Or maybe they just like arm waving.

There are – and will always be – road users who believe their use of the road is more important and they have “more right” to be there than other road users. Whilst those attitudes prevail there will always be conflict. I’d prefer internet forum conflict and arguments in the pub than the conflict of steel on flesh out on the road though.

That said, I have experience of group rides not being as organised or disciplined as they should be with the growth in popularity of road cycling, so I can see why this is a hotter topic than it used to be.

And I thought this was a thread about an increase in numbers of workmen, clad in orange, improving the quality of tarmac! Who knew!

And I thought this was a thread about an increase in numbers of workmen, clad in orange, improving the quality of tarmac! Who knew!

Nope were not allowed to suggest the unemployed do that 😉

Between what times do most road clubs/groups ride?

In London I was used to 9/10am-12/1pm. Here in Perth (Australia), it’s more like 5:30/6:30am-8/8:30am. I can’t get up that early for only a 1:30-2 hour ride though.

Rosey, so why is your (hypothetical) trip to the garden centre more important than my mamiltastic sportive

.

Of course you can’t argue that it’s more important to get to the garden centre or to the top of your hill for duty free… but it is using the road for a different reason. In those cases it is a means to an end…. like 99% of car journeys.

Unlike us who ride on the road for pleasure and who like to have the longest ride out possible (a 2 hour 40 miler is better than a quick blast 20miles for an hour, while if I can get a pass for a 3+ hour 60miler even better) … 99% of car journeys the people in the car wish thier journey was short and quicker.

Bet a part of you wished that to ride to the top of your hill was 20min longer, while the wallies going up there for fags in cars wished the shop around the corner sold them as cheaply so they didnt have to bother with a long drive. Which was made even longer by people out on the road enjoying themselves ??

In those cases it is a means to an end…. like 99% of car journeys.

Having fun or training isn’t a means to an end? Getting fitter is ‘an end’ surely?

What if the ‘ends’ of the car driver is driving somewhere to have fun, then is it equal?

The roads are for everyone to use and to share, if everyone relaxed and acknowledged that someone have different speeds, motives etc and in the long run it doesn’t matter then using the roads would be a more pleasant experience all round.

As such, I prefer to ride on my own or in a small group… much easier to be accommadating to great big lumps of metal that l’d rather not get to personnal with.

Then again, from the weekend, went out with the club, about 10riders? The only issues i had were after i pealed off to do my own thing, drivers thinking they had a god given right to use the road and cut me up, force me on to the verge, even though the they had access to a parking place etc.

If there is one of you far too many drivers feel they can bully you. If your in a group far too many drivers will take dangerous risks because they have to overtake.

The problem is really impatience, add in cars and then you have a real problem.

Of course you can’t argue that it’s more important to get to the garden centre or to the top of your hill for duty free… but it is using the road for a different reason. In those cases it is a means to an end…. like 99% of car journeys.

But is the role of roads economic, so in using a bike and wearing it out you are providing employment?

In this day and age you could argue that most car journeys are pointless as you could have goods delivered by an online retailer.

and most cycle journeys bring health benefits and thus save the country money

So here I am stuck behind a gaggle of mamils, my hardtail loaded up in the back of the motor. I’m trying to get to the trail in time for the cafe to have some cake left and they can’t pull over into the nettles and wait for 3 seconds for me to get past them in my oversize estate?

That’s abuse, that is.

whatnobeer.Can you mail me please bud.RE:Extra soft lyrik spring.
My addy is in my profile.
Cheers bud.

I don’t know about the UK but Spanish road rules treat a group of riders as one vehicle…

Interesting one that. Makes a lot of sense to me. I doubt it would make sense to a lot of people out on the road though, so not sure I’d want to test it!

There is something about group riding though that seems to give the individuals a sense that their responsibilities have been waivered. Mostly, I guess, because they don’t have control of the group. Any decisions have to be communicated. And often there’s very little time to communicate them in. So you just (sometimes uncomfortably) go with the flow to avoid causing chaos. Which is probably a good reason to treat it as one vehicle, with one collective mind.

I’m sure more organised groups are like well oiled machines, running with exact precision. Like I said before, I think most people will do the right thing given the right experience. Which Makes it a bit of a non-issue, in the same way learner drivers are a non-issue, little more than a minor inconvenience.

Ok I’ll spark in again their attitude just sucks! I’m on a narrow country lane off to Delamere come round a corner and 5 of them in front of me 2 then 3 now the lane in question has a few blind corners and is not a straight road so I sit there with the tunes on waiting for the 3 and the 2 to maybe just go to single line and left me past and at the same time would allow me to give them plenty of room.

No they stay in there 2 and 3 formation chatting away drinking from there bottles just totally ignoring the now 3 cars stuck behind them and so it goes on and on until we finally get to a junction when they spread themselves 4 wide and sit there deciding on which way there going to go FFS

And they wonder why cars will do risky moves to get past / try to get past them. **** ****.

now the lane in question has a few blind corners and is not a straight road

No they stay in there 2 and 3 formation chatting away drinking from there bottles

maybe, just maybe it wasn’t safe for you to pass, as you didn’t know what was round the blind corners?

blind corners

So you think it is acceptable to overtake on blind corners!

#self-righteousnessinnumbers thread