Keep away from Ashley Neal or you'll get the horn (two abreast rant fest)

I have never really worked out what rhythm works best to acknowledge a mate without getting the finger!

We had one a while back where I think in retrospect the driver was trying to let us know we had split at a junction (which we knew, because we pay attemtion)  which just got me shouting "What!" as I didn't have a clue why they were sounding their horn at a short line of cyclists in single file with plenty of visibility to pass.

I had a friend who saw me out on my bike and tooted on the horn whilst waving manically at me, I think she was quite taken back by the reaction and choice of language she got lobbed back in her direction as a result as I hadnt recognised it was her at all, it was just another motorist having a go at me I thought.

then the other day I let a car pass me on a single track road, who then lent on the horn, after they passed me, why ? were they thanking me ? complaining Id held them up ? theres no such thing as a friendly toot IMO.

though of course ironically theyve tried to fit one to the Ineos Grenadier.

MiserableBastard wrote:

We have ears, cars have engine & tyre etc noise.

Maybe, but the cyclists pictured are clearly riding along in their own little bubbles...

Like you I usually rate Ashley as being very level headed. Had he been taking his test on this occassion a harsh examiner may have penalised him for failing to make reasonable progress and for inappropriate use of horn. He missed the clear overtake at 51 seconds and after that, 2 abreast or single file would have made no difference as his view was limited until he did have a clear overtake some 40 seconds later.

but I think the point he was making is the guidance says give 2m clearance because of the speed of the road/overtake, and that road space isnt there, now thats a  limitation of the new guidance being applied to roads which are never going to have 2m space.

and I dont agree the cyclists should single out just because he is sitting behind them, especially when he says even if it was a single cyclist he'd probably not have overtaken any sooner anyway.

plus I dont think the use of the horn was necessary, helpful or warranted, I can well imagine the cyclists hand signal for "acknowledgement of the safe pass" was more likely a "wtf was that for!!!" reaction.

also they were probably in deep discussion, rather than merely chatting about other stuff, about why on a clear road he wasnt overtaking them, because as long as he goes fully in the other carriageway, Id certainly be happy with a pass like that, even at 50mph if its less than 2m. and not like the 60mph overtake I got which was within 0,5m on a similar road yesterday.

also whats that thing about the rider on the outside needs to have lights pn, in the daylight ??

for sure, albeit on a 50mph road youd be expecting to be travelling quicker than 30mph in a car on it, so its almost the starting point you are looking for that "more than" 1.5m in the  overtake to begin, hes picked 2m which fair enough he doesnt need to strictly, and when he slows to below 30mph, he could have gone for 1.5m instead.

but I kind of got the general point he was covering, even if its not perfectly visually demonstrated by the situation in the video, and even if I dont necessarily agree with all the points he made about the cyclists in it.

the video he posted today about his learner overtaking a cyclist felt alot more fraught and Im not convinced they got a 1.5m gap.

absolutely, agree with that, and I do the same because I know what being passed at speed feels like. I think thats the different perspective we have as regular road cyclists in this setup, that perhaps Ashley as an occasional rider, I think ? doesnt understand as well.

if Im one of those cyclists in that example Id be getting annoyed he wasnt passing me on a perfectly clear road, which is something Ive noticed since the HC changes, people sit behind you for a lot longer on some roads when they could easily overtake you, if they are sensible about it, but then they get frustrated waiting and still mess it up.

Was Ashley driving? Quite a lot of his videos are from submissions. Some of his talking to camera stuff surprises me - pointless giving attention to making a video while driving on the highway. It's a bad habit introduced by the likes of the BBC and I am struggling to see how it is different from hands free mobile phone use which is acknowledged to be problematic - I think it is probably worse as he is trying to concentrate on a take.

I agree with you on this... there was ample opportunity to overtake when first encountering the cyclists, but he failed to take action.

I would also argue that the cyclist's positioning on the road encroaches further into the carriageway than I would normally expect to see... could just be the camera lense. 

Plus they do seem unusually engrossed in their conversation.

A cynic might suggest that the whole thing has been staged to emphasise the point. 

HoarseMann wrote:

(image screenshot copyright Ashley Neal, use under critical review exemption)...

looking at this screenshot there is no issue overtaking two abreast cyclists. I doubt overtaking single file cyclists while passing oncoming traffic would be safe.

So what does singling out gain?