Riding on the right

I have always been a cautious cyclist, mainly due to the fact that I have a child and don’t want to take unnecessary risks on the bike. As I became more experienced, my confidence grew and I found I could do things such as descend fast without panicking and keep my foot clipped in until the last minute without fear of falling over when I stopped. There is one thing, however, that I have tried to embrace but ultimately I have called it quits and will never do again; riding down the right hand side of traffic.

The other week Rob and I were riding through Otley where there is a crossroads. The light was red, the left hand side was blocked and we wanted to go straight on. “Go down the right” Rob said. So I reluctantly followed only for the light to turn green as I was still making my way to the junction and most of the cars were wanting to turn right. So I was left in the middle of the road trying to go straight as a Jeep started to turn and had to stop for me. I waved an apology knowing I was in the wrong but he gave me a beep anyway.

After thinking about it long and hard I realised that I hate the manoeuvre and I am not ever going to do it again. As cyclists, we blame cars for a lot of things. We can sometimes be quite hypocritical, “Can’t even wait 10 seconds can you mate!” we shout as someone overtakes carelessly. Why is it then, when we come to any stationary traffic that we feel the need to ride down the right hand side of it? Why can’t we just wait 10 seconds for it to start moving again?

The only exception I can see to this (and I have no experience in this at all) is a rush hour commuter who has to weave in and out of stationary traffic because some people are ignorantly blocking the cycle lane. In my opinion, it should only be acceptable to ride down the right hand side if the traffic has been and will be stationary for a while regardless of whether you’re turning right in 200 yards or whether the cycle lane is blocked. To be perfectly honest, I’m not even that comfortable riding up the left hand side of stationary traffic either.

Instead, I usually stop behind the car in front of me and wait in the middle of the lane, therefore taking up the same amount of space as a car. That way, the car behind knows I am there and they have a full view of me right to the junction, I have right of way in my own space and the driver can see my signal properly. It seems much safer to me that way. If I am on a straight road and come to traffic, I do generally stay in the cycle lane and stop if I come to an obstruction. Again, I will wait until it’s clear for me to ride again instead of going down the right.

We give drivers a lot of stick (and there are a lot of ignorant drivers out there) but we have to take responsibility for ourselves sometimes and admit that we cyclists do just as much rule-breaking in order not to have to stop for 20 seconds. That includes red light jumping and riding on the pavement as well. How many drivers does that wind up do you think? So next time you cuss a driver for being impatient just make sure that you practice what you preach! Comments appreciated :-)

Picture featured in the Daily Cycle Flickr Group – added by Roermond op de fiets!