Q I am sometimes very conscious that I am holding traffic up when I am riding on a narrow road, and concerned that frustrated motorists behind me might get impatient.
Have you any advice?
A Well, of course you cannot be responsible for the state of mind of other people, but it is right to be considerate of their feelings.
The frustrated motorist may say “Get off the road”, but we all have rights and in certain circumstances even pedestrians have to walk in the road if there is no footpath.
The answer, if you can, is to find alternative routes, or use any cycle paths provided.
It isn’t always possible, and if you are a stranger to the area you may not know any alternatives, but it is worth checking maps of your intended route if you are new to the area, or give it a bit of thought if you are intending to go somewhere familiar, but think an alternative route might be useful. An example, locally, is the route from Havant to Hayling. The main road can be quite narrow and in some places is winding, with double white lines down the middle, meaning no overtaking. Quite a recipe for frustration, but there are alternatives.
The old Hayling Billy rail line was discontinued and converted into a pedestrian/ cycling/ horse trail, so of course there is no motor traffic there. Part of the path is good tarmac/gravel surface, and it starts from Havant Station, has an off road shared path over the bridge, and continues down the west side of the island, partly wooded, and with pleasant sea views. However in places the path is not good for road cycles with narrow tyres, so may not be the answer to everyone’s needs.
If you have a road bike, then, and want to avoid the main road you can turn left immediately over the bridge and go via Northney, through pleasant residential and farming territory and rejoin the main road further down. The road is no wider, but carries less traffic and what there is, is less likely to be through traffic hastening down to the beach, so less likely to be seriously intolerant. Not only that, but it is more pleasant riding, too.
Another example is the ride from Havant to Emsworth. The main road is the 259 which follows the old Roman road from Chichester so is naturally quite busy although you won’t see centurions and legions there nowadays.
At the Havant end there is an underpass from Castle Avenue and a cycle path leading to Selangor Avenue, which becomes Victoria Road by the time it gets to Emsworth and again is quiet residential riding. Don’t think, however, that the motorists will thank you. They won’t even know that you have taken the trouble to keep out of their way.