I have to say I have mixed feelings about this debate. On the one hand as a bicyclist and parent of a bicyclist, I want the roads to be safe for bicyclists. I want car drivers to give bicyclists room and to share the road responsibly. I want bicyclists to be respected as the legal vehicles they are. But bike clubs or training groups really make me cringe sometimes because I know that most car drivers are not also bicyclists and their attitudes and views are formed by the experiences they have with bicyclists.
It is frustrating for car drivers to come upon a "pack" of cyclists "taking over the road." Whether riding in a pack is legal or not, it's frustrating for drivers (let's face it, drivers get just as frustrated about slow drivers, elderly drivers, farm vehicles and anyone else who's not keeping up the 10-miles-over-the-speed-limit pace they want to keep.) Especially when they are stuck behind a pack that won't single up to let them pass (such as on a narrow or winding road without clear vision far ahead or a road with oncoming traffic) you can almost see the "I-Hate-Those-Bikeometer" ticking up into the red zone.
I don't mean to say that car drivers are right by any means, but any bicyclist who causes these frustrations to car drivers is sort of priming the pump for any future engagement these drivers may have with any other bicyclist.
I think I mentioned before that my partner is an "I'm right, so I'm going ahead" kind of driver. And he's been right but also has been sideswiped and rear-ended by the person who was technically in the wrong. But then he's had to put up with the consequences of taking his rightful place in traffic. Defensive driving is not really in his lexicon.
To be honest, the pack behavior (weaving across the road, riding in groups of three or more, not singling up when a car approaches, etc.) is why I stopped doing group rides many years ago. To be sure, those were mainly peopled by casual bike riders so the behavior was probably worse than it is with knowledgeable team or club riders, but I've seen people who ought to know better making bad impressions on drivers and wondered when that bad impression was going to come back to bite some other bicyclist.
I don't know the solution. It would be wonderful if we had separate bike paths everywhere or if there were a lot more education about bicyclists in driver's education classes or if laws were strictly enforced for all or if bicyclists would realize that they are representing a big diverse class of people whenever they (we) ride.
Maybe some kind of training for club riders (as well as the meetings with town representatives) would be good. Maybe getting the officials together with the riders and talking about what their concerns (both groups) are would help. Sometimes, especially when one is in a group, it's easy to forget that our actions may be adding to a prejudice that others have. It's not unique to bicycling, either.
- cathy
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