@onewing Thank you for your wonderful comment Babs its all down to years of practice, the challenge is judging the exact moment to press the shutter as you view them whizzing along, I still manage to get lots of outtakes, taking them head on would be best but those areas are reserved for professional photographers only:)
@novab Thank you for your comment just down to years of practice Nova, start your panning technique with something slow say a cyclist focusing on their body, set shutter priority at 1/30 of a second, following as they pass by, remember to continue to follow the cyclist after pressing the shutter don't just stop when you take the shot, you will be amazed how effective it can be with slow moving subjects:)