Both you and your wife got aggressive and hostile with a guy you didn't know (in other words who may be armed and nuts) in a gas station. With your child in the car.

Moreover, your wife used a moving car--with your child inside--to block off another moving car (that also might be driven by an armed nut) just so you can close and, presumably, go off on the guy.

No excusing poor driving by the van or verbal harassment by the pick up guy--both of those things could make you angry. But when you let your anger turn into road rage that makes the incident worse (couldn't you have just walked away from the pick up guy when he initially refused to engage?), carries over well past the immediate situation (flattening tires, really?), or involves your wife and kid in sketchy situations it's hard to be sympathetic. Sorry if that sounds harsh, but I think a lot of folks, particularly non cyclists who haven't been brushed by traffic, might see it that way.