Please mind the gap

Drivers. They do like to pass awfully close don't they?

There you are, plodding along at a nice steady 10mph, not holding anyone up and staying near the kerb. But even if there is no traffic coming the other way there's always the odd car that seems to be attempting to see just how close they can get their wing mirror to your right elbow.

Hell, I was zipping down a long hill at speed this morning in a 30mph zone. It's hard to hear many things at that speed, but the sound of an over-excited car engine normally breaks through. Which was why I wasn't overly surprised when I saw a white van whiz past me at speed. When I got to the office and uploaded my route from RunKeeper I was able to check just how fast I was going.

29.7mph.

Not quite sure how much faster he wanted me to go. I've discovered that at 30mph your eyes start watering a bit, so whilst going above that isn't impossible (I'm still feathering the brakes at that speed) it's not quite the same as when you have a windscreen in front of your eyes.

Plus I do want to be able to slow/stop if some traffic suddenly appears in front of me. I only have a cheap bike at the moment you know. The "cyclist welded to the back of a car" look isn't a good one I'm sure, as if the fluorescent yellow jacket wasn't enough of a fashion statement.

Yesterday I saw a lady riding a bike with a stick protruding from her rear wheel, clearly designed to encourage cars to leave a larger gap when overtaking. However, I couldn't help but feel that the fact that it had a big circle on the end merely made it a handy target to aim for for the impatient driver. Still, better than your elbow I suppose.

The only solution I've found that is working to protect me from car carnage is my road positioning. I've been reading many excellent sources on the internet to improve my riding in traffic, one of the best being on the CycleChat forum here. I'm not a member of the forum but have found many of the threads interesting, and that guide, a collection of experienced posters' advice, was an easy and interesting read.

Moving in the centre of the road at key points to claim my right to that patch of tarmac definitely reduces the number of times that a car tries to squeeze past in a gap that just won't work, and I've also found frequently glancing back helps. I don't make eye contact per se, but the effect is almost like I do.

It doesn't always work though. Just the other day the traffic lights on the road ahead turned red. I was fast approaching the queue of slowing cars and moved out towards the centre of the lane to prevent cars behind me getting any mad ideas and trapping me on their inside. I could see oncoming traffic and the road wasn't all that wide so didn't fancy filtering down the outside. I just slowed and was happy to wait where I was for the traffic to move again.

As I reached the boot of the car in front, I became aware of a companion on my right hand side. Hello there Mr Vauxhall Vectra. Despite there being a queue of stationary traffic in front of us, and despite me being in the centre of the lane, he decided that he really really really had to overtake that cyclist. Now. Right now. And when he suddenly realised it wouldn't work, he just sat there, blocking the oncoming traffic and looking at me sheepishly.

I really am sure that some drivers don't look beyond my backside. Which in itself is a little worrying. I don't look that good in my cycle shorts do I?

Picture courtesy of Pawel Loj.