Khunajawdge
Toto El Mundo!
Discussion -
Every once in a while I find myself riding with another rider or a group of riders. In an attempt to maintain "The Pace", I discover the etiquette of passing slower vehicles sometimes seems inconsistently interpreted depending on who gets left behind in the string and the decisions that that individual rider makes. So permit me this descriptive. While riding in staggered formation;
1st - "if" I am in the lead (on a 2 lane road/traffic in both directions) I always try to get as close as I safely can to the vehicle I am about to pass in the left track, and wait for the best opportunity to swing out and around.
2nd - "if" another bike or bikes are trailing me, then I try to find the largest hole in the oncoming lane that I can, for some of those bikes to make the pass that are following me.
3rd - I try to only pass one car at a time, but my objective is to see a clear road ahead, considering adequate space and visibility while passing.
4th - when I pull in after the pass. I try to take the inside track so the rider following can fall into the outside track and regain staggered formation. This done, allowing for the most room to be taken by the following rider.
Now, if I am following a lead rider, and it looks like the lead rider is getting ready for a pass;
1st - I never try to pass that lead rider, I will wait for them to make their move first (this is a very important rule in my book).
2nd - I will come up slightly behind (holding back a safe distance) and stay in the right track of the lane to remain staggered with the lead who is set up for the pass in the left track.
3rd - As soon as the lead rider pulls out, I take the left track holding back a safe distance (less the slower vehicle makes an unpredictable move).
4th - "If" it is clear enough, the vehicle to be passed is not doing something dicey, visibility is a good distance, I may follow the lead bike in the pass, but I try not to be right on their butt.
5th - when I pull in behind the lead bike, I seek the track not occupied by the lead to re-establish the the staggered position in the track the lead is not using.
Obviously this discussion is about speed. How much throttle gets twisted to make the pass safely but expediently? The above of course gets varied when riding with bikes of differing displacements (especially those smaller than and FJR 1300).
Now "if" I am the lead rider here is the rub, sometimes the following rider gets stuck behind that slow mover for quite a while until there is a safe opportunity to pass the slower vehicle. If this is me stuck behind, then I feel pressured to catch up at the first opportunity that is safe, but apparently this is not a universally accepted idea? Sometimes it takes what seems like "forever" for the followers to get around the slow mover and re-establish the formation.
When this happens to you, how do you deal with it? What do you think?
Every once in a while I find myself riding with another rider or a group of riders. In an attempt to maintain "The Pace", I discover the etiquette of passing slower vehicles sometimes seems inconsistently interpreted depending on who gets left behind in the string and the decisions that that individual rider makes. So permit me this descriptive. While riding in staggered formation;
1st - "if" I am in the lead (on a 2 lane road/traffic in both directions) I always try to get as close as I safely can to the vehicle I am about to pass in the left track, and wait for the best opportunity to swing out and around.
2nd - "if" another bike or bikes are trailing me, then I try to find the largest hole in the oncoming lane that I can, for some of those bikes to make the pass that are following me.
3rd - I try to only pass one car at a time, but my objective is to see a clear road ahead, considering adequate space and visibility while passing.
4th - when I pull in after the pass. I try to take the inside track so the rider following can fall into the outside track and regain staggered formation. This done, allowing for the most room to be taken by the following rider.
Now, if I am following a lead rider, and it looks like the lead rider is getting ready for a pass;
1st - I never try to pass that lead rider, I will wait for them to make their move first (this is a very important rule in my book).
2nd - I will come up slightly behind (holding back a safe distance) and stay in the right track of the lane to remain staggered with the lead who is set up for the pass in the left track.
3rd - As soon as the lead rider pulls out, I take the left track holding back a safe distance (less the slower vehicle makes an unpredictable move).
4th - "If" it is clear enough, the vehicle to be passed is not doing something dicey, visibility is a good distance, I may follow the lead bike in the pass, but I try not to be right on their butt.
5th - when I pull in behind the lead bike, I seek the track not occupied by the lead to re-establish the the staggered position in the track the lead is not using.
Obviously this discussion is about speed. How much throttle gets twisted to make the pass safely but expediently? The above of course gets varied when riding with bikes of differing displacements (especially those smaller than and FJR 1300).
Now "if" I am the lead rider here is the rub, sometimes the following rider gets stuck behind that slow mover for quite a while until there is a safe opportunity to pass the slower vehicle. If this is me stuck behind, then I feel pressured to catch up at the first opportunity that is safe, but apparently this is not a universally accepted idea? Sometimes it takes what seems like "forever" for the followers to get around the slow mover and re-establish the formation.
When this happens to you, how do you deal with it? What do you think?
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