Ever heard the phrase "share the road?" This Colorado SUV driver apparently hasn't, and decided to vent frustration about cyclists being on the road by tailgating and honking and honking and tailgating.
Only, there weren't many other cars on this lonely stretch of road near Longmont, Colo. It would have been easier just to pass. Also, the two cyclists who filmed this instance of asshattery noted in their video that they were riding on the white line. Any farther right and they would have been in the dirt.
This guy was so intent of bugging us that he backed up traffic behind him and cars had to pass him on a double yellow line. It seems he was the one obstructing traffic, not us. We ended up slowing up in order to force him to pass us and go on with his day. Insane. Hopefully this is the worste thing this guy does to cyclists.
This brings to mind a story one of my friends told me about cycling from San Francisco to Santa Barbara along the Pacific Coast Highway. (This guy is the antithesis of a bike snob, and in my mind, that gives him more credibility than a fanatic.) Throughout his ride, he noted that sedan and station wagon drivers tended to go way out of the way to avoid coming close to cyclists hugging the side of the winding, narrow road.
But he said that drivers of large pickup trucks and SUVs, almost without exception, barreled past without yielding so much as an extra foot of space. In one instance, A guy pulling a boat trailer wiht a one-ton dually came within inches of knocking my friend off of a cliff into the Pacific Ocean. The road ahead was clear and the visibility was good.
What's with the big culture war? Cycling is huge in Colorado and a lot of other places. It's a fact of life, so pulling a stunt like this is pointless. It's like yelling at the sun when you don't want it to shine.