ivan_yulaev

So, I confess I'm not much of a group rider, most of my rides are solo or with a few friends. I was out riding solo today. Coming up to a T intersection, where I am on the body, and the top part is a downhill right to left. Relatively busy intersection. I wait to turn left, light turns, I go. When I get to the middle of the intersection, I notice a group of riders (maybe 15) coming down the hill on my right. I slow down and sure enough the blow right through the intersection. As I exit the intersection and complete the turn, the other part of the group that was a bit behind the first clump begins overtaking me...gradually. I get passed by maybe 10 riders (all of whom have blown through the red). The scary bit was when I was getting passed in a short stretch of the road under construction, where there is one lane, no bike lane, AND cars "sharing the lane" on my left. So I've got riders squeezing between me and the car. Very much annoyed me since any push from the left would send me straight into a concrete barrier put up for the construction.

What's the correct etiquette here? It's a popular cycling route so there are lots of cyclists / groups biking here. Most of them slow for the intersection although I see why there's a temptation to blow it (right in the middle of a downhill, on a T so no cars turning across your travel). I don't think stopping in the middle of the intersection and waiting for the red light runners to finish blowing through is reasonable since if it's a big group I might be sitting there after the light cycles. But if I just waltz right through I'm likely to get t-boned by the red light runners. 41, what is this?

009jim

The proper etiquette is for all cyclists not to endanger the life of other cyclists by passing to close or doing other bird-brained things. It has been said a hundred times on this forum that there are thoughtless narcissistic jerks everywhere. Some are in cars, some are pedestrians, and yes, some are on bikes. The real skill involves being able to look at yourself and identify what type of action would make you a jerk, AND then to have the courage and desire to change.

Busta Quad

adrenaline > brains = DANGER

mmmdonuts

It's your green light so you take the turn. Then you ride the lane taking the space you need and protect it. But that's just me. I feel pretty confident that in a game of bike chicken I would win most of the time.

StanSeven

I'm not justifying the group actions but all it takes is one or two riders in the group to do something, and everybody else follows. No one wants to be the one that stops and gets left behind. Plus the mentality of riders in a group is "I will go because everyone else is and it's safe for me being part of the group"

MDfive21

if you're uncomfortable sitting in the peloton for a few minutes then you should wait for all of them to pass and then go on your way. it may not be fair, but the group has right of way due to their numbers, velocity, and 'take the road' mentality.. like someone said above, the group-think.

but since you find yourself in the middle of the B group and want out, sit up, put your left hand up in the air, and look back to signal that you're not part of the group and they should give you wide berth.

cvall91

My rides on Saturday's are pretty big. We are just one group and the last 2 weekends have had 110+ riders. Since we don't have an escort or closed roads for us to enjoy, these numbers sometimes cause quite a chaos. But you'd be surprised how organized it actually is. Granted, if the light is red or turns yellow before the first riders crosses the intersection, the whole peloton stops. If not, we keep going and blow through the intersection, holding up cars for a decent amount of time, even making them miss their light sometimes. Surprisingly people are pretty accepting of it and it's common to find pictures and videos being taken. But of course, you still get the occasional impatient driver who forces his way through our group instead of waiting and going around.

fly:yes/land:no

sounds like quite the cluster**** you have going there.

Hendo252 

You folks screw it up for everybody else and ought to be ashamed of yourselves.

I'm guessing most of you are probably about 16? Or do you just choose to ACT like you are 16?

Nothing give a pack any special rights or privileges. Ride responsibly or don't ride.

The slogan "Share the Road" applies to cyclists as well as cars and trucks.

-Tom in SoCal

Camilo

And you ride regularly with a huge unorganized group like that by choice? I'd avoid it like the plague and doubly if the groups had a habit and reputation of being "those type" of cyclists who affect traffic like that. I just don't enjoy (1) riding in huge uncontrolled groups like that especially (2) when there's people I don't know. i'd much prefer just 5 or 6 folks I know to ride with.

krobinson103

I've seen groups like that. They not only assume cars have to stop, but also other bikes and pedestrians as well. Just because there a lot of people traveling together does not mean they gain some kind of magical right to block others. I ran into a situation like that a while back. Riding along the bike path on my way back from a 5 hour ride I see a large group of bikes with a few dudes blowing whistles to organize the whole thing.

They cross the street and then sit in this large group and decide to head off into the bike path. With oncoming bike traffic they just move a bunch of bikes into the center to block anyone else and assume they have some right to do so. This was a problem since I was traveling at 35km/h and had to make an emergency stop or take them out - a good thing I had disc brakes.

These guys aren't traffic officers and have to wait like anyone else - especially when there is moving traffic on the path. If the group gets broken up then it has to regroup later on when it is safe to do so. I for one really dislike this kind of behavior. Why should everyone else have to wait 5 minutes for them?

ivan_yulaev

This is fine, but if I'm doing a reasonable clip down a one-lane downhill with a car next to me, it's probably not a good time to play peloton. At least wait a few seconds until you have a good time to pass.

009jim

I'm starting to understand why cyclists get run down by motor vehicles so often.

jesspal

If it is the Doral ride, they do what is proper and safe. I try to do the Saturday or Sunday ride when I can.

znomit

Well its obviously not that ride then.

rbart4506

Sounds like the donut ride in Toronto...

In a group that size there isn't much you can do, but break it down into smaller groups. The thing to remember is that a lot of these guys are using a ride like this as race training...And everyone who does the ride knows that...If you don't like rides like this, then don't do it...Simple as that...

And when the heck are people going to figure out that idiot, impatient drivers are idiot, impatient drivers....No matter how proper we ride...Which BTW, for those drivers is not on the road! We'll always get harassed... and be in the wrong in the eyes of those drivers...

There is safety in numbers and most of these huge groups ride at quite the clip (40kmh-50kmh)...

fly:yes/land:no

10 ellipses in one post has to be some kind of record.

as to the idiotic drivers being idiots - yep, there is not much you can do about those. but, that doesn't mean that other drivers can't be persuaded to dislike cyclists by the very visible, inconsiderate, and illegal actions of some cyclists. a group of 100 riders is impossible to pass on typical 2 lane roads. add to the mix the group running through red lights en masse, and it is a complete nightmare for even the most reasonable driver. i don't care if they are doing it for race training, it is stupid and makes all of us look bad.

Altbark

Actually that's not true at all. Group riders have no special right of way over solos. The obligation to stay clear rests with the passer. The one being passed need only maintain his line. My club routinely passes solos while on group rides. We give plenty of warning and clearance when making a pass. The idea is to be good representatives of the sport without terrorizing those we share the road with. Al

rdtompki

+1. Public roads are no place for a large group of riders especially when total disregard of traffic law might be the norm. Disregard of law and common courtesy on the part of some cyclists makes it hard on the rest of us.

Banzai

I love the guys who show up to shop/club rides and then ride like they're pro-tour riders on a closed/secure course with right-of-way privileges.

D-bags. I understand why they WANT to keep going like they're racing Le Tour...but they're really just a bunch of middle-age dudes with delusions of grandeur, and probably ought to embrace that fact.

adamhenry

With behavior like that in the OP, is it really surprising to see comments about inconsiderate, rude, lawbreaking cyclists after news stories about a car vs. cyclist story? Not at all.

A bunch of wannabes on a weekend morning ride is not an organized race with sole ownership of the roadway.

botto 

cvall91

Yes it is the Doral ride. I assume the way I typed that made the ride sound dangerous and inconsiderate. Let me try this again. I joined the group a month ago as I moved to that area. This ride has been going on for quite some time (I don't know how long but more than a year) every Saturday. The ride consists of two groups, one leaves from a nearby town and joins the Doral group and we head off. Here is a link to the description of the ride https://doralcyclingclub.com/index.ph...d=14&Itemid=13. Starts at 7:30 Saturdays so traffic is already at a minimum. From what I've noticed, the people who planned the route chose the roads with the least amount of traffic and disturbance. We always take up just one lane unless we are turning left or doing loops. Since the group is rather large, stopping half the group and trying to regroup after every light would be a mission. We stop when the light is already red or turning red. If it is green, we go as normal. If the light happens to turn red while we are still crossing, we signal to the drivers to let them know, and this only takes about 5-10 seconds to finish crossing. Here is a video of on of the rides someone recorded https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMwS-hrEyzc. As mentioned by someone else who rides in it. It is a very safe ride. If it wasn't, all those people wouldn't ride in it. It's not just mass chaos causing havoc around the streets with complete disregard of traffic laws. Hope that cleared things up a bit.

zandoval 

I understand.. I had not been in a group ride in 30years and just last month I was on a ride with two of my boys and a few others - What a change - We were just riding the same route I ride three times a week but with them it was ENTIRELY DIFFERENT... We had a good time but it was in fact sobering...

Hiro11

To the OP: one thing is that once you're used to riding in groups, you get very comfortable with being inches from cyclists all around you. I have pissed off people on my local MUP by passing them with a couple of feet to spare (with bell warning) because they felt I was much too close. I felt I was giving them more than enough room. I need to remind myself that other people may not be used to bikes passing right by them and give extra room. Not saying the people passing you were excused at all, just trying to provide a little context.

Also, nothing drives me more crazy than people I'm riding with blowing through stop signs and red lights. It's inconsiderate, pisses drivers off needlessly, tars me (as someone riding with these guys) as a "one of those" cyclists and is really dangerous. I've actually had a group of guys I was riding with yell at me when I was pulling because I started braking for a red light. They essentially forced me to blow through the light.