Actually, alpinerabbit, I don't think you can know what would have been "better" for me to do, since I was there, and you were not.
I did talk to him directly, at least to tell him my knee was a mess and that I was angry he'd deviated from the route. His response was to offer to push me up the hill. When I declined, he got mad at me. He is not a person willing to listen to any criticism whatsoever.
I know this guy well from having ridden with him every Saturday last summer. Pushing the discussion with him would have been pointless. It was the other group leader who suggested I talk directly to the president, not to the jerk. I am not an avoidant person at all, and will generally speak my mind in a direct manner, when it is appropriate (as evidenced by my direct response to you!).