My ride home yesterday: 90 F and dry.

This is how we roll in AZ: opposite the rest of the country. Cycle season picks up in December.

Last Friday on my way home from work, Mrs. Roadrage and her SUV decided she had enough of me clogging up her streets and nearly pulled a Dr. Christopher Thomas on me. Coming down off the red-light at the bottom of the 32nd St. I-10 overpass, I'm in front of the line. The light turns green - I start pedaling. She lays down the horn thick, gets up on my ass and proceeds to gun it and pass me (I'm taking the right lane through a very busy intersection at rush hour - I'm also going about the speed of traffic, 22 mph). I'm making eye contact with her the whole time and giving her the universal nod of "I see what you're trying to do, don't mess with me".

Then what does she do? The obviously brilliant motorist pulls left, floors it, passes me and then pulls quickly back into the right lane only feet ahead of me. She must have not been looking what was ahead of both of us as she was flailing her arms wildly and throwing pobscenities - apparently telling me from behind a tinted and closed window how I should be on the sidewalk or something (I can only assume). While she's pantomiming this, she slams on her brakes to stop behind an already stopped bus that I was already preparing to pass on the left. If it had been a few seconds later I would have smacked right into the rear or her SUV. She sure showed me!

This is overcome by me through the understanding of right of way. I pull to the left lane, hammering to get around both the bus AND Mrs. Roadrage. After all, at that point she was stopped and definitely was an obstruction in the road and slower traffic. Plus, I just wanted to get away from that nutcase. Eventually she was able to use the might of her impressive and overpowered engine to rev-it-up and pull around the bus. She sped on toward her destination (a red light about half a mile down the road). Unfortunately I didn't get the opportunity to get taught more of a lesson by her. The light turned green before I could catch up with her or catch the license plate. (How will I ever learn to ride correctly now without her guidance?)

Anyone in Phoenix or Tempe sees a rather large woman in a black SUV (possibly a 90's Blazer) with slightly cracked paintjob down 32nd street/University harassing law-abiding cyclists, get the plate and report her - she's going to kill someone, maybe me. Very likely an employee at the University of Phoenix (I work there in a low stress role) and the majority of enrollment counselors take their job dis-satisfaction out on the road. And the management wonders why more people don't ride to work.