Fifty Plus (50+) - The perfect pass

I was riding a little curvy hilly stretch tonight. Some redneck was behind me in a maroon '78 or so Chevy pickup. I was going down a little patch of road with bad sightlines. Dude stayed about 75 or 100 feet behind me 'til we got to the bottom where the road straightened out, then he got over in the lane beside me and waved as he passed. You just never know. Honestly I get that a lot more than some jerk cut me off. It's good to live here. Seriously.

A friendly 5-finger wave goes to all x-tra courteous drivers!
Courtesy is contagious . . . pass it on!

A friendly 5-finger wave goes to all x-tra courteous drivers!
Courtesy is contagious . . . pass it on!

Couldn't agree more. Every time a driver lets me through an intersection, or waits in a driveway until I pass, or is otherwise obviously giving me some sort of courtesy, he/she gets a wave and a mouthed "thank you." Educate them one at a time...pass it on!

That's one thing almost living in Small Town by the Sea out here, for the most part drivers are very kind (and appreciative). When I drop down the steep runs we have, they usually just hang behind me and let have my fun. Sometimes the beep and wave. It's a good feeling.

Happens here a lot. I've even been known to pull off the road to let 'em go by if circumstances dictate. The shocked appreciation of their faces makes it worthwhile (unlike cagers and many riders here, I'm never in a hurry to get anywhere, so I'm happy to get out of folks' ways).

I run accross curtious drivers all the time - it is really great. I find it has a lot to do with time of day. The bad drivers are the commuters. Mid-day and early evening drivers tend to be the nicest.

Sounds like alot of class for a redneck. Here in central missouri, the opposite is far more common. Generally the car is barreling down on you in the mirror while you are slowing with your left hand extended in a turn signal...then you are nearly hit and flipped off as the screeching tires fill the air with foul burnt rubber smell. You get used to it. That's the one thing I do like about the Katy trail...no cars except at crossings. In the NW corner of Missouri, It's like you said...very cautious courteous folks. go figure.

God bless!

-Ron

I have to say, it's pretty nice down here too. Now Chicago, that's another story.

You still get the idiots that don't think about bikes- but in general I am finding that cars give me more room- Wait behind till it is safe to pass and even give a friendly wave or toot on the horn- if I signal for them to pass.

Must be that more and more people are using bikes at some time as a regular form of exercise or transport and realise how prone Cyclist's are to accidents.

A guy who is not in the fake hurry. Unusual, maybe even rare. bk

It's good to live here. Seriously.

For the most part.
Last night, probably not too far from you, My daughter and I had a nice 22 mile ride.{first time on bike for 2 weeks due to a friendly dog taking out my front wheel**
Motorist were kind and friendly as we were back to them.
Untill close to the end of the ride a red chev p-u decided to pass us, staying in our lane at the same time a car passed us in the oncomming lane. :mad::(
The driver in the oncomming lane honked at the truck because the truck started to go into his lane as well.
Usually I try to take up enough road to keep them from trying to stay in my lane, but had let my guard down.
You will find good and bad drivers werever you live.
I find that if I ride routes that the bike club rides {and have for years** that the locals are used to bike riders and give us more room.

Behavior patterns are much the same down the road a piece from you here in hills of northwest Arkansas.

Sounds like alot of class for a redneck. Here in central missouri, the opposite is far more common. Generally the car is barreling down on you in the mirror while you are slowing with your left hand extended in a turn signal...then you are nearly hit and flipped off as the screeching tires fill the air with foul burnt rubber smell. You get used to it. That's the one thing I do like about the Katy trail...no cars except at crossings. In the NW corner of Missouri, It's like you said...very cautious courteous folks. go figure.

God bless!

-Ron
Drivers were not bad on the TA through Missouri. We were farther south though. In general they were mostly OK just about everywhere the whole way across the US. They passed closer and were more impatient as we got near the east coast. I could tell we were getting near home when that happened.