rem said:
I took a basic motorsickel course last year, and that was one of the things they taught. It comes more under the heading of good manners I think, but it's also a safety issue. I think they were right, or at least I agree with them. I don't care to see a string of 12 bikes all in a line pass some poor SMV on the highway. There are enough bikers out there that give us a bad name, so whenever you can display some "good manners", it's a good thing. But that's just me. I guess it's not that big of a deal ... just sayin'. R
Manners are important. Remember there is a cell phone in almost every car and if you're giving heart attacks to people in cars, they will use those phones.
Of course, if you are one of the super-competitive guys duking it out for the coveted spot behind the group leader, you'll probably be long gone, and it'll be the kinder gentler riders in the second half of the group that will stop when the guy in the coal truck pulls across the centerline, jumps out into the road and waves the riders behind down, and screams at them about the guys who have already passed him on the double yellow. I've been there for that one too.
Frankly if I'm out to get my lean on, and I fetch up behind a slow car in a stretch that's all double yellows, I just turn around and go the other way - one direction is as good as another. The driver of the slow car probably lives here, and making them unhappy isn't good for anyone. And when I'm in the straight stretches with no one in front of me, I slow down. There's nothing interesting about testing your bike's maximum speed on that half mile straight, and the faster you take it, the more likely you'll overtake someone slow just as you get to the next set of curves. I would rather conserve the empty space in front of me, for the twisty stretches.
