That is well said, Psychlepath. The (kinda) funny thing is, the 'Right of Way' is apparently seen by some as absolute. You can see it in the occasional thread here. I don't get how 'right of way' gives you the right to run into someone, even if they 'shouldn't be there'.

Frankly I am a little disappointed in this thread as no one has jumped in to accuse me of 'blaming the cyclist.'

Which, of course, I was.

FWIW from wife's description this rider was not a spandex-clad cadence-counting watt-pumping roadie a-hole. Just a regular one.

She didn't have any further description of the dog, but suspects it's the one which craps in the parkway outside our house on a regular basis. This is very unlikely, but I am not going to argue with her. I may be one of the few middle aged guys in the country with a wife who's more a curmudgeon than I am. And that's saying something.