A run-in with a cyclist

[Smallpotatoes]

This morning, when I was driving home after covering a 5k, I was at a stop sign and after a group of four or five cyclists drove through the intersection, I pulled out and turned left into it. I approached them and they were riding two or three abreast, in the middle of the road. With nobody approaching me the other way, I passed them, not going all the way into the other side of the road, but enough to get around them...or so I thought.
I arrived at a red light and one of the cyclists knocked on my window. I rolled down my window and the guy said "Was there enough road for you? Why didn't you go around me?"
I was kind of confused because I thought I did go around him. I mumbled something about how maybe I didn't see him. He said something about being in the middle of the road to avoid a rock.
I asked if I hit him and he said I didn't. He said "Just be more careful."
Then the light changed and I drove away.
I'm still a little confused about what exactly I did wrong. I didn't hit him. He had no business riding in the middle of the road two or three abreast and I thought I did enough to avoid him.
No harm, no foul, right?
What business did he have confronting me?
Before you say "He probably thought you were going to hit him" remember one thing:
I didn't hit him.
He also had no business being in the middle of the road.

 

[ChrisLong]

Bicyclists are becoming worse douchebags than Audi and Mercedes owners. There are tons in my city. THEY think they own the road and are rarely in the bike lanes, which are plentiful.
My biggest gripe are when they are in the left-turn pockets. Bastards don't think they are holding up traffic, but the are.

 

[Vombatus]

I wouldn't sweat it. You didn't hit him and you surely weren't very aggressive with your car.

I respect cyclists, but some can be real dicks and make them all look bad.

 

[DanOregon]

Some of my best friends are avid cyclists, and they're great people - but like pedestrians, just because you have the right of way, doesn't mean you should take it for granted or not be considerate to cars.. And it would also be nice if you could "save the world" without having to remind everybody about it constantly. Those "One Less Car" signs are obnoxious.

 

[Smallpotatoes]

This isn't Europe, either, where bikes are at the top of the food chain.

 

[Inky_Wretch]

He had no business riding in the middle of the road two or three abreast and I thought I did enough to avoid him.
No harm, no foul, right?
What business did he have confronting me?
Before you say "He probably thought you were going to hit him" remember one thing:
I didn't hit him.
He also had no business being in the middle of the road.

Depending on the local laws, cyclists do have as much right to the middle of the lane as an automobile. How close were you to them? Most states require you give cyclists three feet when you pass them.

On our group rides (21-30 of us), we ride three abreast. It's actually safer that way than riding single file. It forces drivers to wait until they can safely pass all of us at once. You ride single file with that many people and you get drivers who start to pass the group, get caught by an oncoming car and squeeze the cyclists off the road.

 

[Smallpotatoes]

He had no business riding in the middle of the road two or three abreast and I thought I did enough to avoid him.
No harm, no foul, right?
What business did he have confronting me?
Before you say "He probably thought you were going to hit him" remember one thing:
I didn't hit him.
He also had no business being in the middle of the road.

Depending on the local laws, cyclists do have as much right to the middle of the lane as an automobile. How close were you to them? Most states require you give cyclists three feet when you pass them.

On our group rides (21-30 of us), we ride three abreast. It's actually safer that way than riding single file. It forces drivers to wait until they can safely pass all of us at once. You ride single file with that many people and you get drivers who start to pass the group, get caught by an oncoming car and squeeze the cyclists off the road.

I thought I was far enough from him. Whatever I might have done that he thought endangered him was not intentional. I don't think he had any business confronting me.

 

[Inky_Wretch]

He had no business riding in the middle of the road two or three abreast and I thought I did enough to avoid him.
No harm, no foul, right?
What business did he have confronting me?
Before you say "He probably thought you were going to hit him" remember one thing:
I didn't hit him.
He also had no business being in the middle of the road.

Depending on the local laws, cyclists do have as much right to the middle of the lane as an automobile. How close were you to them? Most states require you give cyclists three feet when you pass them.

On our group rides (21-30 of us), we ride three abreast. It's actually safer that way than riding single file. It forces drivers to wait until they can safely pass all of us at once. You ride single file with that many people and you get drivers who start to pass the group, get caught by an oncoming car and squeeze the cyclists off the road.

I thought I was far enough from him. Whatever I might have done that he thought endangered him was not intentional. I don't think he had any business confronting me.

Tough to say without knowing his history. Maybe he's been sideswiped before and is paranoid.

I've done it. I've also had drivers intentionally try to run me off the road and even throw coke cans at me when I was soloing and hard against the right-side curb.

 

[Smallpotatoes]

He had no business riding in the middle of the road two or three abreast and I thought I did enough to avoid him.
No harm, no foul, right?
What business did he have confronting me?
Before you say "He probably thought you were going to hit him" remember one thing:
I didn't hit him.
He also had no business being in the middle of the road.

Depending on the local laws, cyclists do have as much right to the middle of the lane as an automobile. How close were you to them? Most states require you give cyclists three feet when you pass them.

On our group rides (21-30 of us), we ride three abreast. It's actually safer that way than riding single file. It forces drivers to wait until they can safely pass all of us at once. You ride single file with that many people and you get drivers who start to pass the group, get caught by an oncoming car and squeeze the cyclists off the road.

I thought I was far enough from him. Whatever I might have done that he thought endangered him was not intentional. I don't think he had any business confronting me.

Tough to say without knowing his history. Maybe he's been sideswiped before and is paranoid.

I've done it. I've also had drivers intentionally try to run me off the road and even throw coke cans at me when I was soloing and hard against the right-side curb.

It was completely unintentional on my part. I didn't think I did anything wrong and no harm was done. He should have left me alone.

 

[MisterCreosote]

False flag.

 

[3_Octave_Fart]

I will say a close pass by a motor vehicle at 30 mph is a terrifying experience.
Most 'bad' cyclist behavior I see is plain arrogance, lack of road sense and training.

 

[Smallpotatoes]

I will say a close pass by a motor vehicle at 30 mph is a terrifying experience.
Most 'bad' cyclist behavior I see is plain arrogance, lack of road sense and training.

I was going about 15-20 at the most.

 

[3_Octave_Fart]

I can see both sides of it. You should have told the guy to get the fk out of your face, though. There's a way to have a conversation with someone.

 

[Smallpotatoes]

I can see both sides of it. You should have told the guy to get the fk out of your face, though. There's a way to have a conversation with someone.

I was outnumbered. No point in escalating it.

 

[Batman]

He had no business riding in the middle of the road two or three abreast and I thought I did enough to avoid him.
No harm, no foul, right?
What business did he have confronting me?
Before you say "He probably thought you were going to hit him" remember one thing:
I didn't hit him.
He also had no business being in the middle of the road.

Depending on the local laws, cyclists do have as much right to the middle of the lane as an automobile. How close were you to them? Most states require you give cyclists three feet when you pass them.

On our group rides (21-30 of us), we ride three abreast. It's actually safer that way than riding single file. It forces drivers to wait until they can safely pass all of us at once. You ride single file with that many people and you get drivers who start to pass the group, get caught by an oncoming car and squeeze the cyclists off the road.

How fast are you going, what type of road are you on and what time of day is it? All are factors in the douchebaggery level.
If it's a two-lane road where the speed limit is 45 or 55 mph (or even 25-35 mph) and you ride like that, then it's the pack of cyclists who are being the assholes for holding up traffic and creating a hazard. Cyclists have a right to the road, but they should also yield to faster vehicles and use common sense.

 

[Buck]

21-30 cyclisits riding three abreast should be illegal

 

[BDC99]

He had no business riding in the middle of the road two or three abreast and I thought I did enough to avoid him.
No harm, no foul, right?
What business did he have confronting me?
Before you say "He probably thought you were going to hit him" remember one thing:
I didn't hit him.
He also had no business being in the middle of the road.

Depending on the local laws, cyclists do have as much right to the middle of the lane as an automobile. How close were you to them? Most states require you give cyclists three feet when you pass them.

On our group rides (21-30 of us), we ride three abreast. It's actually safer that way than riding single file. It forces drivers to wait until they can safely pass all of us at once. You ride single file with that many people and you get drivers who start to pass the group, get caught by an oncoming car and squeeze the cyclists off the road.

Yeah, I think in most places, the bikes every right to be in the middle of the road, as far as I know. But as has been said, they should use common sense and not hold things up. But I don't think you did anything wrong, and this guy was just a ****.

 

[BDC99]

21-30 cyclisits riding three abreast should be illegal

Why? It's much safer than riding single file. Much. And I haven't ridden a bike in a few years.

 

[3_Octave_Fart]

It's not going anywhere. Bicycling is the second most popular outdoor activity after running, supporting a billion-dollar industry.

 

[Buck]

21-30 cyclisits riding three abreast should be illegal

Why? It's much safer than riding single file. Much. And I haven't ridden a bike in a few years.

we've got a ton of riders around here, and those giant pelatons hold up traffic

i've got nothing against cycling. i used to ride my bike all the time several years ago. i just don't like those giant groups holidng me up when i'm driving