Originally Posted by
VegasJen
That's a pretty nice road you have there. Hell, if you went off, it might even be a soft landing. Out here, not so much.
I worry about what would happen if someone caught me with a mirror or something. And that's the main reason why I put mirrors on all my bikes. It's not for other bicyclists because there are precious few of us out here. It's because there is generally so little shoulder. I do try to ride as far to the right as I can and most people give me some room for comfort, even if only grudgingly, but I would say maybe 5-10% of the drivers out here almost seem hostile.
The thing that pissed me off is less the fact that the driver buzzed me, which he did. But how completely unnecessary it was. As stated, it was a dotted line, so he couldn't use the excuse of crossing a solid yellow line, and there was no oncoming traffic. This was pretty much a flagrant challenge, but especially at the speed, the driver was putting my life at risk.
I never assume they are even looking at the road, let alone a lone bike rider! I watch the eyes of oncoming drivers when I’m riding the back roads out in the sticks where there’s not much traffic and I see about 50% of them are looking at their phones, their radio, or anywhere but the road! That’s why I won’t ride with earphones in, so I can hear them coming from behind and brace for impact!
The ones who are paying attention will usually give me lots of room if there’s no oncoming traffic but every once in a while one will go close by with no traffic, you know they’re texting, not driving!