Does being part of an organized bike tour mean you get to flout the law...

I mean this law in particular:

39:4-14.2, 39:4-10.11 Operating Regulations.
Every person riding a bicycle on a roadway shall ride as near to the right roadside as practicable exercising due care when passing a standing vehicle or one proceeding in the same direction. A bicyclist may move left under any of the following conditions: 1) To make a left turn from a left turn lane or pocket; 2) To avoid debris, drains, or other hazardous conditions on the right; 3) To pass a slower moving vehicle; 4) To occupy any available lane when traveling at the same speed as other traffic; 5) To travel no more than two abreast when traffic is not impeded, but otherwise ride in single file. Every person riding a bicycle should ride in the same direction as vehicular traffic.​

There was some sort of bike tour in Rocky Hill yesterday, and apparently that meant that riding 4 abreast on a narrow road with car traffic was 100% OK. It bothers me to see this for the simple reason that I also ride the road, and want the respect of drivers for myself and all cyclists.
 
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Shaggz

A strong 7
i used to live in nyack, and the sense of entitlement and lack of courtesy exhibited by roadiees when riding through the local streets and along 9w was maddening. i was happy to see that piermont posted signs and (sometimes) enforced riding in single lines.
 

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
The general roadie mentality does bug me as well. Not all but you really only need 1 in 10 to make it seem like all roadies are dicks.

But then a charity event is mostly casuals, non-roadie types. So maybe most people just turns into idiots when they get on a bike, which isn't surprising since the same applies to most people when they get behind the wheel of a car.
 

bonefishjake

Strong like bull, smart like tractor
Team MTBNJ Halter's
this makes me nuts too. as a cyclist (yikes, i'm one of YOU now!) i try to be as respectful as possible but c'mon. we are supposed to share the road. i learned a good lesson a long time ago that i keep with me whenever i ride the road: G.T.W. gross tonnage wins.
 

ChrisG

Unapologetic Lifer for Rock and Roll
It's really just an extension of the mindlessness we deal with in the general population. People just don't think. Combine that with the sense of entitlement which is also a prevalent social disease, and it's no wonder that people are riding out in the middle of the damn road.

As somone who rides thousands of annual miles, leads many club rides, and marshals the MS Shore ride, I go bananas when I'm faced with the bad riding practices out there. Knowing when to take the lane and when to get the hell out of the way isn't really that difficult, but it does require paying attention and thinking, both of which are not to be taken for granted from anyone on the road, on a bike or in a vehicle.
 
The general roadie mentality does bug me as well. Not all but you really only need 1 in 10 to make it seem like all roadies are dicks.

But then a charity event is mostly casuals, non-roadie types. So maybe most people just turns into idiots when they get on a bike, which isn't surprising since the same applies to most people when they get behind the wheel of a car.

well, they looked pretty fit, had rigs that I sized up at over $5000 a piece, and matching Gerolsteiner jerseys. I guess since they are really, really serious roadies, they had the right to hold up traffic while they are participating in a tour :D

I would not have minded if there had been a generous enough shoulder to accommodate them riding side by side and still allow traffic to pass. You are correct, Norm, that it only takes 1 in 10 to make the whole bunch seem like dicks. It's not so much for their benefit as for mine that I want people to see cyclists as respectable individuals who also give respect to the other occupants of the road.
 
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