I thought the cyclist would be toast!

[Aggie_Ama]

Yesterday afternoon I was driving home down a fairly low traffic county road. There is a beast of a hill that is really long and towards the end kicks up to a very steep ascent. As I begin to drive up the hill I noticed the car in front of me slowed way down for a cyclist in front of him. When I ride this hill I usually crest it around 6 mph and this cyclist was riding at about that pace. The car and myself were being extremely patient. Knowing the steep part and a blind ascent to the top was coming, I had no intention of passing the cyclist. Not to mention it was 102 degrees and I knew the guy had to be suffering in the heat along with the climb. The guy in front of me did not appear to have any intent of passing the cyclist either.

I noticed in my rearview mirror a Ford Explorer Sport Track driving very impatient and irratic. He kept veering into the gravel and right up on my bumper. Next thing I know, he is off roading over the ascent and then whips out at a fairly high speed (maybe 25 mph) in front of the cyclist. At the point he did this that climb starts to flatten out and I know I normally pick up speed. All I could see was gravel, dust and the truck speed off about two feet in front of the cyclist.

After I safely passed the cyclist, I tried to catch up to the butthead in the Ford to get a plate number. Unfortunately, I did not and this punk is safe to drive like a crazy person another day. This road is one of my favorites for a quick and painful ride, I am annoyed to see such horrible drivers. There are usually a lot of cyclists challenging themselves on these hills and patient drivers letting us suffer. Many times some poor driver just lets me teeter up these awful hills at 6-7 mph, then passes once we all reach the top. I was just glad to see the cyclist was not hurt.

On a side note, later last night I was riding with my Dad in his big old Dodge truck up this hill when we encountered another cyclist. Dad could have done the same thing, but he waited and passed when we got to the top. My Dad is kind to cyclists because he is a Harley rider and a cyclist's dad. Way to go Daddy!

[mimitabby]

what a nightmare! so you are saying he passed ON THE RIGHT?

[fixedgeargirl]

Well, Mr. Exploder Spot Trick got to his cold Lone Star 10 seconds sooner than he would have if he hadn't pulled that move .

Geez! I ride the country roads in this region occasionally and find that most motorists are more than accomodating. But it only takes one hothead in a Diesel dually to cream a cyclist.

And props to your dad! I get lots of waves and good vibes from bikers when I'm out on the highways. They seem to have an affinity for our position.

[KnottedYet]

Yeah, bikers are very nice to me when I'm riding.

someone on here said something cool about "Leather or Lycra, we both wear black" or something like that. Who said it? It was good.

[Aggie_Ama]

Fixed- Lance Armstrong wrote in one of his books about being hit or ran off the road by a truck. This was the first time I have witnessed such awful disregard for a cyclist's safety though. My dad is very kind to cyclists, he knows he is just as vunerable as we are.

Mimi- Yup, he went to the right off road and whipped back onto the road right in front of the cyclist. I was horrified!

Knotted- Most motorcyclists wave to me. The other day I got a whistle. I like that quote.