Road Rage

This weekend I decided to join in on a group ride with my local bike club. These rides are usually more social events than training rides. I’d not ridden with the club in a few weeks and thought this would be an excellent time to join them since I didn’t have a long ride on the schedule. About 15 of us headed out from the local bike shop just after 8 am Saturday morning. We were making our way out of town and I was riding in the very back of the pack chatting with one of the other riders. We were on a 4 lane divided road (45 mph speed limit), which was pretty much deserted at that time of the week. Suddenly I heard a car horn blowing behind me. As I turned to see what the problem was, an old guy in a 4 door sedan pulled up beside me and yelled…and I mean yelled, “THE LAW SAYS SINGLE FILE”. He then floored the accelerator of his car and raced off in a huff. Now, I have nothing against old guys, or 4 door sedans for that matter, but this just didn’t sit right with me.
A: The law in my state clearly reads, no more than two abreast, not single file, but two abreast, which is exactly what we were doing. B: We were riding in the right lane of a four lane divided road. He could have just gone around us in the left lane without being hindered in the least bit.

I’ve laughed off such incidents in the past, but this one is sticking in my head for some reason. I suppose it’s partly because I expect different treatment from those in the community who are supposed to be wiser and more level headed than their less aged counterparts. It’s been teenage kids that have been the perpetrators of such acts in the past, and having been one of those, I kind of half way accept that type of behavior from them. But this guy could have been a decorated war veteran, a church elder, or any other position which holds high character traits. He didn’t appear to be the type of guy that would pull alongside a group of cyclist and yell angrily as if we’d kicked his dog. Maybe he was just having a bad day and needed to vent. Or maybe he’s just an old jerk.

Either way, each time something like this happens it takes away a little more of the innocence of the simple act of getting on a bike and riding. It makes me have thoughts such as, “what if the next guy’s anger causes him to go a step further”. It steals a little bit of the joy that goes along with being outside on a bike on a beautiful day. It replaces what is taken away with fear, concern, doubt and many other thoughts that take away from the experience.

Maybe that’s why I’m pissed. The guy wasn’t just being a jerk, he took something from me.
I suppose the only way to get it back is to continue putting in the miles.