Share the Road

There is a program in the Collingwood area called Share the Road which promotes safe road riding and courtesy. It's a very simple program to follow. Cyclists ride in single file and automobiles give them a decent amount of room for safety's sake. I have noticed more this year than any other year that bicyclists are not holding up their end of the bargain. More and more I see bikers taking up the entire lane and not moving into single file when they realize a car is approaching. I can't be sure but I believe many of these riders are from out of town and are unaware of the concept or maybe they are just plain stupid.  In a confrontation between a bike and a car the car always wins. Now I'm not saying there aren't some assholes behind the wheel, there always will be but the bikers who will not ride single file are turning these assholes into bigger pricks. I have talked to several drivers lately who have mentioned that large groups of riders have steadfastly refused to ride single file and have held the cars up purposely and in my mind these riders are assholes as well. I know it doesn't seem like a big deal slowing a car down for 10 or 20 seconds but the fact of the matter is it's less of a big deal to get into a single file for 10 to 20 seconds. After all the roads were built originally for cars and regardless of what the laws say about the rights of cars and bikes sharing the road one thing will always hold true, cars don't feel pain.
In the future if you are in your car and you see a group of biking road hogs let them know in a respectful way that you too are a rider and would prefer if they rode single file when being approached by a car. There will always be the odd yahoo who will speed by you with very little room to spare but if we can ride single file I'm sure most vehicles will extend the courtesy of giving us a little more space. For those drivers who wait behind you until the oncoming traffic is past or you have finished your climb, well a little thank you wave wouldn't hurt.