Well, not really “road rage”, but the guy was definitely upset at me for no reason. I was riding along a rural two-lane road, not a thoroughfare by any means, being back in an area where most of the roads are dirt. The road was narrow, so I was riding where I couldn’t be passed except by going over the centerline. The traffic was so light that I think I was passed only about four times in three miles. But this one time I was going up a slight rise so that the car coming up behind me had to slow down for a short distance until we crested the hill and he had a clear view of the oncoming lane. He then pulled past me a bit close and really laid on the horn, which startled the heck out of me and got my heart pumping for a while.
From the look I had at the back of his head and the type of car he was driving, I can only assume that he came out of one of those nouveau-riche subdivisions that are being built in the area. You know – the ones built for people who think it’s quaint to live “out in the country”, but then expect the “country” to conform to their citified ways of doing things, which apparently means acknowledging that they have ownership of the roads. This guy is used to being Mr. Big at his office or law firm or whatever, and the idea that he was being delayed by a few seconds from getting to wherever he had to be at 8:30 on a Saturday morning was just too much for him to bear.
So what is it with people like this? I was really enjoying riding along a quiet road in perfect weather, well off the main roads and not bothering anybody. This idiot took away a bit of that enjoyment by reminding me how vulnerable we are out there. I still had a great Saturday morning ride, but can’t understand what it was about my being there that ticked him off that way. I guess I should just get used to it.
