§ 31-19-7 Number of bicycles abreast. – Persons riding bicycles upon a roadway shall not ride more than two (2) abreast except on bicycle trails or paths or parts of roadways set aside for the exclusive use of bicycles. Persons riding two (2) abreast shall not unduly impede traffic and, on a laned roadway, shall ride within a single lane.

As I read this, as long as the cyclists make a best effort to minimize any negative impact on passing motorists, they are within the law. This doesn’t mean they have to ride single file at all times and it also doesn’t mean they need to react instantly. It all depends on your definition of unduly, which Merriam Websters define as:

in an undue manner : excessively

As I read this, cyclists are within their rights to ride two abreast and cause reasonable delays to motorists. Even if these two cyclists were riding two abreast and delayed the motorist unduly, it hardly gives him permission to assault the cyclists. If he was really upset with the cyclists, he should have called the police and ask them to cite the two cyclists.

Let’s turn the tables a bit… Say I’m driving in my car and approach another car that is driving below the speed limit. In my opinion, they are unduly delaying my travel. Should I be permitted to pull aside them and use my car to bump them off the road? I think any motorist would be up in arms if I did this to them and demand compensation and charges be filed against me. This is equivalent to what the motorist did to the two cyclists, although the motorist that is run off the road in my example is still likely to suffer fewer injuries.

The motorist in this case was pissed that the cyclists delayed him, chose to take the law into his own hands, and assaulted them. Regardless of whether the cyclists were riding legally, the motorists actions are inexcusable.

What didn’t make headlines was another Mandeville Canyon incident that day. Resident Lisa Block was finishing a morning walk on the narrow, winding road when she realized a clump of cyclists were coming up the hill straight at her.

“A guy heading right for me couldn’t move over because there were at least two other bikers to his left,” Block said. “I had to dive off the street and jump into the bushes.”

I realize these two incidents are significantly different in the injuries sustained, but it is a reminder that we, cyclists, need to be good citizens too. The paper gave almost no details of this incident, but it’s still important to remember the possible threat we cause to other users of the public spaces.

The article continues by saying that

“It’s a citywide issue of people sharing the road, whether on foot, a bicycle, a Vespa or in our cars,” said Jeanne Field, a Mandeville Canyon resident. “Manners have just gone out the window.”

and I couldn’t agree more. I’ve mentioned it many times before here and I still don’t understand the root cause, why do people have so much caged up anger and feel a need to unleash it on random people?