Horse wrote:Could you clarify that, please.
Sure. I remember two cyclists, one further out than the other, with not enough view to safely pass as they climbed towards the crest on a left bend. As we approached the crest, before the view developed but where it would soon, I started indicating. As the view started to develop, and seeing the motorcyclist hadn't moved up, I moved closer to the centre of the road. With the view enough developed I cancelled the indicator and moved across the centre, probably both at the same time.
Horse wrote:Gareth wrote:the only reason the motorcyclist caught up
Only? Surely you're not claiming that you can out-run any bike and rider?
Did I say anything about any? I can't say about the performance of that particular bike, nor the skills of that particular rider, but I can say what happened.
I'd noticed the rider some distance back, probably shortly after leaving Alston. It didn't seem to be catching up until I had to tuck in behind the cyclists, then a short while later it was behind.
After passing the cyclists and continuing my rather fun old Octavia diesel estate drive, I was expecting the bike to be soon passing. Apart from being very brisk, I wasn't going out of my way to make it difficult. However the rider would lose ground in the corners and catch up between, was moving out from time to time but didn't commit to a pass.
At one point the bike was offside and almost in my blind spot, I felt having a rider there would mean I wouldn't be free to take the line I wanted into the upcoming bend so, to force the issue, I moved left and braked lightly, and the rider passed.
I let a gap build up before I continued as I'd been driving before, and after a short time caught the rider. I kept on having to lift off, where otherwise I wouldn't, to avoid getting too close. It was clear the rider wasn't getting away and, after a while, it seemed to me the rider was taking more and more risks in bends.
Before the right bend down to Langdon Beck I'd decided it was getting too risky and backed off completely. As I came out of the bend, I'm not exactly sure what had happened, but I saw the rider braking firmly in the slightly gravelly rough surface of ground in front of the hotel, with clouds of dust kicked up.
I'd like to think the rider had aborted in a controlled fashion but I worried that, with the increased speed for the right downhill bend, they'd been too quick to get around the tighter left.
What I can also say, from experience, is that some riders seem to believe they can outrun anything on twisty roads, even when they don't have the skills to back that up. For bends and, especially if the surface is poor, I feel four tyres can be a significant advantage over two.
there is only the road, nothing but the road ...