Overtaking cars?

Think I've overtaken a couple of learners

Okay in principle, but as others have said err on the side of caution until you know WHY they're going slow. Quite often it'll mean lost.

OldRidgeback
Yes they DO slide about an awful lot don't they. Look at the steering mechanism and you will see a collection of worm gears, drums and chains, more like the steering mechanism on a 19th century sailing ship than anything that would normally be considered roadworthy! Also most of them don't have brakes, apart from a parking brake!

OldRidgeback
Yes they DO slide about an awful lot don't they. Look at the steering mechanism and you will see a collection of worm gears, drums and chains, more like the steering mechanism on a 19th century sailing ship than anything that would normally be considered roadworthy! Also most of them don't have brakes, apart from a parking brake!

I can't really remember ever overtaking a car on my push bike but I have done it many (thousands of) times on my motorcycle in 40+ years of "shiney side up" riding. With experience you develop a sort of "sixth sense" about whether it's OK or not.
General advice though; car drivers who are driving a bit strangely are worth giving a wide berth 'cos it usually means they aren't concentrating and they're about to do something unpredictable and potentially dangerous.

Never overtaken a car but have passed a tractor but I think it was about 500 years old (ok 50)

What others have said - be careful. One scenario to watch out for is that they may be about to make a U-turn. You wouldn't necessarily spot this in the same way as an upcoming right turn as obviously a side road is not needed.

I think the standard good advice of making eye contact with the driver before executing the manoeuvre probably applies here. Keep an eye on their rear-view and wing mirror, if there not glancing at you they are probably oblivious to your presence.

It's common sense really, if something is coming the other way you'll have to wait till it's safe to do so.

Just pass them on the right, crank up the speed a bit and don't pull straight in so they have time to see you.

Reminds of a time a school (many years ago) when one of my class mentioned that he'd been slipstreaming a milk float. My how we pissed ourselves!

I overtook a steamroller a while back after deliberating a good few mins before making my move. My primary concern was what would happen if my chain snapped as I was cranking or slipped a pedal (I was on flats). Being hit by a steamroller was pretty low on my wish list that day.
Overtaking stationary traffic is one thing, having to accelerate to overtake brings a few more 'what ifs' to consider.

I had a similar going down Penkridge Bank on Cannock Chase.

I was doing around 65kmph when the car 100m ahead started to really slow, as on that stretch there is only 2 left hand turns I make the rapid decision to pass it on the right judging if that they wanted the 2nd turn (which they did), then I'd be past them before they accelerated.

Simply a judgement call that you sometimes have to make in a split second when travelling at speed.

Best article on road craft is Effective Traffic Riding eBooklet - British Cycling.
It's the bible for road cyclists.

http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/insightzone/techniques/balance_and_coor...

Perfectly fine, in principle. As others have alluded to, the rationale "if someone's slowing down there's probably a reason" is not a bad one in terms if keeping you alive.

In general, try and work out that reason first.

Not had the situation with a car but have passed tractors on a couple of occasions. Treat it just as you would if you were driving a car. If you can pass safely then you are free to do so.

I share your view on the must get past idiots. I have lost count of the number of times a car has passed me right on the lead up to a junction only to be forced to stop in front of me. There is a spot on my commute on a hill leading to a roundabout that often causes this. I finish up stuck on the slope rather than at the flatter transition to the roundabout needing a much tougher hill start. The road is narrow enough that I can't filter either. I don't know if it is a deliberate action on the part of the cars or just a result of a compulsion to get in front coupled with absolutely no ability to consider what it means opt other road users.

If i come up behind a car thats going slower than me i'd think like others have said they are looking to turn or do something crazy. keep well clear.

I once took four cars and a lorry on the Llanberis Pass, when the lorry slowed for Pont y Cromlech (the bridge halfway down).
This was youthful foolishness and Joeinpoole's advice is good. All I can say in my defence is that there was nowhere for the vehicles to turn, their future course was pretty clear.

Excellent advice from JoeinPoole! I agree with everything he says.
My only other comment would be....just because you can doesn't mean you should. How many times have you as a cyclist been on the road when a car can't wait behind you for 10-15 seconds and MGIF?
We as cyclist are the first to say 'be patient' (I'm being polite...its usually "F$^& idiot") or to fling our arms in the arm or shake your head as they overtake and then join the back of a queue of traffic.

I guess what I am saying is, we are all road users and need to show a bit of courtesy to slower traffic.

I think you have to be *very* careful in such situations. Cars going slowly often mean the driver is trying to make a decision over what to do next ... and that can be absolutely anything ... usually without warning. They will probably be oblivious to the presence of a cyclist and may suddenly accelerate, veer left, or veer right or just stop dead.

If you do decide to overtake then make sure you overtake correctly on the right, leaving lots of space, and then only when you can execute the move quickly, can see the road clear well ahead (and ideally have somewhere to escape to if the unpredictable happens). Overtaking cars is always a risky manoeuvre.