One Last Windmill

OK. I'll be done with conventional wisdom soon. But this one has been bugging me for 25 years. I know I'm not going to convince many (any) people, but I know I'm right. Here goes:

Two bike riders on a road with no shoulder should always ride two-abreast.

How about that for a crazy idea? Here's why:

A car and a bike do not fit safely in a single, shoulderless lane. (This is assuming that the bike stays far enough from the edge of the road and the car stays far enough from the bike.) In order to pass a bike safely on such a road, a car MUST cross over the center line into the oncoming lane.

That's where problems arise. Cars often (always?) think they can squeeze by when there's oncoming traffic. Although technically true, they do it either by (a) scaring the bike rider to death, or (b) forcing the bike off the road.

The one serious fall I had while biking came as a result of my effort to hug the edge of the road to allow a car to pass. I slipped off the road, my wheels caught on the raised pavement, and I fell back into the road. The car stopped in my helmet (see below).

With two bikes riding in a line, the problem is even worse because the car has a longer distance to cover before returning safely to its lane.

I suspect that everyone would agree that cars should give bikes plenty of room when passing, and bikes should ride far enough from the edge of the pavement to avoid falling off. I think they would concede that this means that passing cars must cross the center line.

For me, then, the logical next step is to make it IMPOSSIBLE for a car to try to squeeze by. This means that the single rider should ride near the middle of the lane, and two riders should ride side by side.

Go ahead. Give it a try. Let me know how badly you were beaten up by the irate driver.