Originally Posted by
BlazingPedals
I see that as a classical example of fault transference. The real problem is, the hunch-bike riders are not looking for something smaller than themselves; which is exactly what they complain about car drivers doing to them. The fault isn't with the lowracers, it's with the people doing a quick shoulder-check instead of a proper full check of the lane in question. I grudgingly use a flag on DALMAC, but only because on that ride everyone is required to have one. Flags are noisy and draggy, and they clutter up an otherwise beautiful bike.
I understand your broader point - that my saying that low recumbents are hard to see is rather like what many of us get irate about when drivers are saying it. (Though I don't get irate when drivers say they have trouble seeing cyclists who go without lights at night or who fly through intersections from sidewalks. And on the left side of the road on RAGBRAI, these might be better analogies.)
Over the course of the week I adjusted to the fact that there might be slow moving but hard to see bikes popping in front of a group or a low slung tricycle drafting me far below where I would normally look for a bike. I realized that riding in a group on RAGBRAI, even a group of experienced riders, is different than riding in a group in a race or training ride.
Still a huge problem on RAGBRAI is the number of very riders who go very fast - at least for awhile - and don't look or signal at all before slowing or changing road position. For those folks, and the people around them, a flag would be a useful courtesy.