I understand what Paul is saying that they think that it's safer for them to be in the middle of the lane so that they're more visible and it helps prevent the squeeze play.
In a lot of cases, but not the majority of cases, people will move over to let the traffic pass. However, in most cases that I've seen around here, is that they don't move over and continue to hog the road. The other issue with this behavior is that on a road that has a 40 or 50 mph speed limit, they're riding in the middle of the road around a blind curve. Then you have a vehicle that could weigh up to 80K lbs. going 45 mph and can't simply stop to avoid hitting them. But the part that pisses people off is that when a vehicle does get behind them and it's clear to pass, the bicyclists continue to ride in the middle of the road.
The thing that I don't understand is that they ride in the middle of the road with no fear of getting killed or causing a wreck between two on coming vehicles with them in the mix. 99% of them also drive cars and they know full well that they're risking their lives every time they ride.
I do my level best not to ride on fast or busy roads. My strategy is to ride mid lane to be more visible, then as traffic comes up from behind I move over to give the appearance of being helpful and cooperative. Hang onto that word appearance as I share an anecdote.
I rode a charity ride this weekend. Toward the end of the ride, riders were spaced out pretty far on a very low traffic rural road. In one 5 mile stretch I encountered about 6 autos. As they came up from behind me, I moved over and waved politely. I watched a few other cyclists remain side by side in the middle of the lane as cars came up behind them. Who was being more helpful? To the motorists, it would appear that I was. In reality, it made no difference since there were no cars coming and it was a complete non-issue for the motorists to go around either of us.
