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Original poster

Group of cyclists not letting cars past- is this legal?

600 replies

Serenity674 · 27/04/2025 20:07

Interested in whether this was legal. Was driving to my parents this morning, they live remotely so it was a single track country road, although not narrow, with wide verges on either side.

i came up behind a group of circa 20 cyclists, probably doing about 15-20mph and ended up stuck behind them for about 10 mins. Round the bends was fine and they actually went faster than I would have gone in my car but there were several very long straight stretches of road where I could have got up to 30-40 mph (it’s a NSL road) but they wouldn’t move to let me past, just rode 2 or 3 abreast taking up the whole road. They definitely knew I was there as the ones at the back kept looking behind at me.

i know the law says cyclists can ride 2 abreast and it’s actually safer as it means cars overtake them properly but surely this doesn’t apply regardless of the road? Were they just doing the safe thing or should they have let me past?

I am a horse rider so i am always on the side of passing more vulnerable road users safely but this just seemed like a bit of a dick move- or were they actually doing this for a reason I’m unaware of? If I was riding my horse on a road like this I would ride 2 abreast until the car slows down then move into single file to let them past.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
7
Nonametonight · 27/04/2025 20:09

Yes, this was legal

They're just another road user. Same as if you were stuck behind a slow tractor

You don't have a right to drive roads as fast as you want to

ScrewedByFunding · 27/04/2025 20:09

Yes we've got cyclists that do this. On the long straights, one will move out so they are in the other side of the road meaning no one can pass. On the bends they move in again.

This goes on for miles! It's clearly a tactic spread amongst the cycling community.

CopperWhite · 27/04/2025 20:11

They were doing it for the sake of being selfish dickheads. It’s not illegal but it should be.

Springadorable · 27/04/2025 20:11

They were right to ride two a breast. But if there are loads then they should've left gaps in the ride so that cars could overtake four of them and then tuck in a gap. If you couldn't have got past four of them safely then there wasn't an opportunity to overtake.

ScrewedByFunding · 27/04/2025 20:11

Nonametonight · 27/04/2025 20:09

Yes, this was legal

They're just another road user. Same as if you were stuck behind a slow tractor

You don't have a right to drive roads as fast as you want to

Actually no, riding on the opposite carriageway is not legal unless overtaking, which they aren't 🙄

NeedAnyHelpWithThatPaperBag · 27/04/2025 20:11

A whole 10 minutes, the horror.

TimeForTeaAndG · 27/04/2025 20:12

If there is no space to give them enough room when you pass (is it 2m?) then it doesn't really matter if they're going 1, 2 or 10 abreast. It wasn't safe to pass them.

Or if you had been able to pass them slowly you probably then didn't have enough road to safely pass them single file.

It could have been a car or a tractor or a bunch of cows on the road it's just a part of rural road life.

Unbeleevable · 27/04/2025 20:12

On a Sunday on quiet roads, I think this has been the norm for a long time.

I would never expect to go tearing along the country lanes on a Sunday! Hardly as if it was Monday during the rush hour.

Sirzy · 27/04/2025 20:13

If it was a single track road then surely even if single file it wouldn’t have been safe to overtake a long line of them?

TimeForTeaAndG · 27/04/2025 20:14

ScrewedByFunding · 27/04/2025 20:11

Actually no, riding on the opposite carriageway is not legal unless overtaking, which they aren't 🙄

Show quote history

A single track road doesn't really have an opposite carriageway.

Nonametonight · 27/04/2025 20:15

ScrewedByFunding · 27/04/2025 20:11

Actually no, riding on the opposite carriageway is not legal unless overtaking, which they aren't 🙄

Show quote history

It's a single track road - there is no opposite carriageway

Backbag · 27/04/2025 20:16

Yes, this is legal and the correct way for cyclists to ride. If it's a single track road, there's no room for cars to pass anyway and by riding two abreast, when there is an opportunity to pass, it's easier to do so as they take up less road "length". It's also correct for cyclists to ride in the centre of the carriageway.

It would be really helpful if drivers understood the Highway code....

Original poster
Serenity674 · 27/04/2025 20:19

I’m not arguing that I should have over taken them. They were taking up the whole road so no, there was no opportunity to do this safely. It was no issue, I was in no rush and so I just followed them til I had to turn off. I was just musing where the line is between something that is perfectly legal to do and what is antisocial to do, and whether there was actually a safety reason they were doing it.

they could have ridden in smaller groups and gone single file so cars could have gone past when there was a safe opportunity.

legally, I can ride my horse down the middle of the road and make everyone wait til I turn off onto a bridle way. Just that would be rude and anti social so I don’t do that. Tractors and herds of cows are indeed part of rural life but they don’t tend to go far, I’ve never been stuck behind.a tractor for miles and miles.

Also, I would feel on edge knowing that someone was following me and I was holding them up, surely that spoils the enjoyment of the bike ride?

OP posts:
Original poster
Serenity674 · 27/04/2025 20:21

Backbag · 27/04/2025 20:16

Yes, this is legal and the correct way for cyclists to ride. If it's a single track road, there's no room for cars to pass anyway and by riding two abreast, when there is an opportunity to pass, it's easier to do so as they take up less road "length". It's also correct for cyclists to ride in the centre of the carriageway.

It would be really helpful if drivers understood the Highway code....

It was wide enough to pass a cyclist, it was single track I.e no white line but it was a wide road, plenty of room to give 2m space. I ride down it regularly…

OP posts:
AreYouBrandNew · 27/04/2025 20:25

Highway Code rule 66 - cyclists do need to be aware of drivers behind them and let them past by moving into single file or stopping

YANBU as it sounds like there were safe opportunities to let you past

LordEmsworth · 27/04/2025 20:26

legally, I can ride my horse down the middle of the road and make everyone wait til I turn off onto a bridle way.

It's almost like you answered your own question there...

Hard to say without seeing the road; but sounds like they were trying to stay safe without having to stop to let you go past on your very important journey.

SunDash · 27/04/2025 20:26

From a pragmatic point of view, you might arrive a couple of minutes later at your destination, but everyone was safer.
Imagine if you had 20 riders strung out over 200 meters or so, it would be an invitation for immature drivers to make bad decisions, overtaking unsafely.
In an ideal world people would experience the road from the perspective of a driver, walker, cyclist, motorbiker and hgv driver, but that's unlikely.
I'm always grateful when drivers behave with courtesy, as a cyclist myself.
I drive too.

Hibernatingtilspring · 27/04/2025 20:27

It's safer for the cyclists. Imagine if you were horse riding as a group and you split so you were a couple of car lengths behind the horse rider in front, then they did the same to the one in front of them etc. Do you trust the average car driver to safely overtake and pull in each time? Do you trust each rider to keep the same speed and distance between them?

If there's a really long stretch and the riders moved to single file, would you genuinely have had enough road to overtake them all as a group?

As a cyclist it is good etiquette to let people past every so often, but if not every time there's a car behind you, it's not practical, but also not necessary if you're riding at a decent speed. If you haven't cycled you might not realise how much energy and momentum it takes to go from a standing start, especially if there's any kind of gradient!

nahthatsnotforme · 27/04/2025 20:29

CopperWhite · 27/04/2025 20:11

They were doing it for the sake of being selfish dickheads. It’s not illegal but it should be.

Agree

Doing cos they can.

lochmaree · 27/04/2025 20:29

It's legal and safer for the cyclists but it gives us a bad name. I cycle and if the road is single track I stop at the first safe opportunity to let a car/s past. However that is less easy to coordinate with a group of 20 or so.

giddyauntie123 · 27/04/2025 20:30

As a cyclist in London for 20 years, I find this lycra behaviour weird and entitled. It's easy enough to tuck yourself into the side of the road ffs.

And I don't think this is safer, it makes everyone angry, who likes cycling with a car up their arse? Who likes driving at 10mph for 10 minutes.

SummerDaysOnTheWay · 27/04/2025 20:30

Serenity674 · 27/04/2025 20:19

I’m not arguing that I should have over taken them. They were taking up the whole road so no, there was no opportunity to do this safely. It was no issue, I was in no rush and so I just followed them til I had to turn off. I was just musing where the line is between something that is perfectly legal to do and what is antisocial to do, and whether there was actually a safety reason they were doing it.

they could have ridden in smaller groups and gone single file so cars could have gone past when there was a safe opportunity.

legally, I can ride my horse down the middle of the road and make everyone wait til I turn off onto a bridle way. Just that would be rude and anti social so I don’t do that. Tractors and herds of cows are indeed part of rural life but they don’t tend to go far, I’ve never been stuck behind.a tractor for miles and miles.

Also, I would feel on edge knowing that someone was following me and I was holding them up, surely that spoils the enjoyment of the bike ride?

Yep they were being dicks.

SummerDaysOnTheWay · 27/04/2025 20:31

Willing to bet they were all Mamils too!

Dawnb19 · 27/04/2025 20:31

I live on the coast road in northern Ireland and we get it all the time. It's apparently safer for them but the road just abouts fit two cars either away so theres no chance leaving the 1.5 meter space while overtaking them when they are side by side.
I can't really talk though as I'm on my 'R' plates so can't go above 45 miles per hour, even on a 60 road or motorway. (I'm actually too scared to go on a motorway yet🫣).

PhilippaGeorgiou · 27/04/2025 20:32

We have idiot cyclists who do this - and are riding 3 or 4 abreast whilst chatting to each other - on the local A road! Don't tell me it is for safety or that they don't mean to do it - they do it every single Sunday, and make the road dangerous for everybody. If they were 2 abreast cars could safely overtake - they are deliberately blocking the road.