It’s comforting to know that I’m not the only cyclist concerned about unsafe overtaking issues.

it’s not always the closeness of the pass that is the safety issue. I’m sure most here would agree that any clearance over 10 or 12 feet is usually safe enough, as long as the motorist is quiet about it. It’s only when they rev the engine to make loud roaring and whooshing sounds that even the most experienced cyclist is prone to lose control and crash.

I had a particularly unnerving incident recently when 3 bad assed Harley bikers running open pipes carefully overtook me while riding fully in the adjacent lane. I somehow managed to hold a clean line, (Yay, LAB road class!) but my shorts didn’t fare quite as well. Luckily for them I was not able to catch ‘em at the red light, because my 130 pound body was more than prepared to give them a tongue lashing I’m sure they would not soon have forgotten.

This is why I now also audio record all my rides. When a pass is too loud, I report it the police immediately. The looks of disbelief I get as I replay my tapes for them demonstrates just how seriously they take these threatening incidents. I’m sure it is only a matter of time until they catch the worst of the perpetrators, as they told me there is no need for me to bring in any more tapes.