During my ride today, I was climbing when I heard a motorist approaching from behind. As I continued to climb, the motorist slowly and patiently proceeded to follow me. As I topped the hill, I noticed there was no on-coming traffic, so I motioned for them to go around. As the guy went around, I saw him smiling in his rear-view mirror, and he gave me a courteous "thank you" wave. To top it off, he was driving a 4x4 pick-up truck! I'm not used to such non-rude behavior! What's this world coming to?! To any motorists that may happen to read this: Please try not to be TOO courteous.......It freaks me out!

Mike

That driver needed to HTFU! da bastid.

Creepy! He obviously was visually raping you all the way up the climb. Feel violated?

the guy probably had his pants down.......people are not that nice and willing to sit behind you for no reason
^^^^^haha beat me to the perverted reply.

Agreed! Hey, I'm packin' pepper spray, and I'm not afraid to use it!

He was probaby just drafting ya'...those things need all of the mileage help they can get...I hope he asked first.

He might have been a biker too and just giving you a break & checking your uphill speed especially if he rides there too.

Haha, well it is certainly nice to have an understanding motorist.

Maybe he is a cyclist too...

I usually only encounter those people in the countryside (less traffic / more room) in the city I get no such luck

was there banjo music playing while this happened?

on my ride today a guy in an expedition slowed to let me get around some parked cars and trash cans that were in the bike lane. as i pulled back into the bike lane i looked over my left shoulder to see if there were any cars behind him as he passed me because i had to make a left turn at the stop sign 100 yards up the road. to my surprise he had stayed behind me. as we got within 100 feet of the intersection i took the lane and signlaed my intentions. he progressed to the right to make a right turn. we exchanged waves and went on our way.

kinda freaked me out too. haha.

I live in the Bay Area, and I am noticing a bit more driver courtesy since the tragedy last week. Maybe the news was big enough, that people are thinking differently when driving around cyclists.

I had three similar incidents during my ride on Sunday. On a water break after a climb on my fixed gear, a woman in a minivan sort of waved and nodded at me to see whether I was OK; while I was trackstanding at a light, a guy in an SUV rolled down his window and yelled, "Pretty good, pretty good!" at me; and down the street a little ways, a woman in a Mustang stayed behind me until we got through some curves. Maybe it's a spring thing.

I have more positive incidents like the OP than negative ones. Communicating with drivers does help. Properly timed hand signals and look backs (along with proper lane position) go a long way in helping them know when to pass and when to wait. Many drivers are happy when you take out the uncertainty for them.

Maybe he is a bicyclist too? I'm far more patient when driving behind a cyclist now that I am one than I was before I was.

Yep, and I believe I heard him say, "Gee Paw, he sure has purdy legs"

this is freakin funny. i LOLed.

When he motioned as he went by did he say anything that sounded like "Hey there big boy, is that pepper spray in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?"

I do that all the time

(but I don't own a 4X4)

He had a girlfriend/lover in that car who has a fetish for bike shorts. She's down at the moment he said thank you to you! Don't think that it's all that great

We vacationed in NC last year (did the blood, sweat and gears ride) and while out on rides during the week, I could not get used to people waving at me without there middle finger extended, they even waited on curves to pass, I thought I'd died and gone to cyclist heaven, then I came back home to Ohio and it was business as usual.

Yeah, it's not all southern hospitality around here, but I guess we fare better here, than some parts of the country.

Mike