THREE THINGS I LEARNED…
1 Don’t rush to return after an overtake
Overtakes are one area that many riders struggle with, as you pass vehicles far more frequently on a bike than in a car. While I performed the overtake well, Mark’s suggestion of not rushing back into my lane if the road ahead is clear and instead returning using a far more progressive angle makes perfect sense, as it is less likely to spook the car and also is a less-aggressive turning action. Also, using the indicator to alert oncoming cars you are in the road is a good tip to improve your visibility.
2 By passing bicycles
With so many cyclists now on the road in our post-lockdown world, they are an ever-increasing obstacle. The issue with cyclists is that the closing speed in your lane is quite dramatic as they often aren’t going very fast, making it hard to judge the overtake if there is oncoming traffic. If in doubt, slow down rather than attempt to squeeze past in the same lane and treat them as a small vehicle that needs you to cross the central line to give them room.
3 Build in more margin for a potential hazard
I tend to treat corners with the view ‘how fast is safe to navigate this bend?’ and base my decision on my riding ability, the road’s surface and the corner’s severity. While Mark was confident in my ability to judge a bend’s speed, he was less sure that I had enough safety margin should an unexpected hazard be in the road and require me to stop or avoid it. A few mph slower, especially on left-handers where visibility is more compromised, could be the difference between avoiding a hazard or not. Which seems a sacrifice worth making and is certainly something I took away with me.