I was on a slight climb, maybe 2-3% and had been for a while. Several cars passed me at a respectable distance (from me). I was doing about 24-25 mph on a road with a speed limit of 35. I felt more than saw a car coming up pretty close to me. I have no idea what came over me, but I decided to stretch out my left arm to see if I would touch the car. As he came past me, I ended up with my hand on his mirror with enough time and force to have folded it in had I chosen. Instead, I gave it a few hard taps. The car (SUV) continued past me and made a right at the next turn, as I intended to as well. His next action was to pull into a deli, and (unusual for me) I decided to follow him in, having no idea what I was going go face...

The driver stepped out of his car and looked at me as I came to a stop about 10 feet from him. He looked at me, and looked down at the ground, saying "sorry, I guess I was a bit close to you back there." I looked at him and said, "you do know that my vehicle weighs thousands of pounds less than yours, right? I know my wife and two sons do."

His response was, "you're right. I'll pay attention better next time." "I hope so, have a good morning." "You too."

Not a bad result to a situation which could have resulted in my arm being torn off by a car who chose to accelerate....

damn son

25mph up a 3% hill?

I'm glad you don't have a bullet in your head for confronting a complete stranger. Next time, keep your hands inside the vehicle at all times.

^I was thinking the same thing.

Seriously though, drivers around my area pass that closely routinely. I had a guy in a (very nice) Mercedes 500sl AMG pass me within inches a few weeks ago. I guess he trusted my riding ability enough to not scratch the side of his car...

My closest call was actually with a county vehicle (utility van) that nearly hit me in the head with their passenger side mirror. The 3' pass law bumper sticker was appropriately present on the rear bumper.

It just really bugs me when drivers do it when it's pointless, like if the other lane is completely wide open and they pass closely anyway.

Agreed. And doesn't that seem to, all too often, be the case?

I used to worry about drunk drivers or old folks with cataracts coming up behind me.

I still do but I worry more now about people paying more attention to their stupid smartphones than what's on the road.

Touching people's cars is a good way to get yourself a good road raging. You got lucky.

After dealing with my parents and in-laws about giving up thier license, I, at no point, take it for granted that people see me.

Feel free to doubt those numbers, I would not swear to them.

I had the same thought as I pulled away. Not the smartest thing to do in any event, but I was kind of caught up in the moment.

Agreed.

Pro

Although I can hit 25+ for a few hundred yards on 3-4%...but not for "a while" as told in the story

I've done similar but on a motorcycle where people just cut over into my lane without turning their head and looking at 65+ mph. It's not ended so well for a side view mirror a time or two where I really almost could have died from the interaction. Carbon fiber knuckled gloves are handy sometimes.

On bikes here though for the most part people are pretty decent with passing. There are so many bikers always riding around people in cars are usually pretty decent which is nice.

Were you packin'?

I wish car's gave me an arm length worth of room. I wouldn't complain about that at all. Of course, I also wish I could ride 25 mph up a 3% grade.

This is the 41. In the real world, this translates to 18mph on flat ground.

fify

A link to your Garmin Connect with mile splits would work, or perhaps a link to the Strava segment. If this is a popular climb, I'd wager there's a segment setup. And if you're that fast, you certainly must have some sort of GPS device you're using.

I cruised downhill at 35 mph yesterday...kept up with some motorcycles for a while. It was kinda cool. But I certainly was much slower after turning around.

But really, you're very lucky it was a nice guy. I'd never do something like this.

Seriously, guys, relax on the numbers, they are completely irrelevant. I only included them as a means to set the stage.

Assume for the purposes of this pointless post and thread that a) I am lying for the sake of making myself look better, b) I was mistaken as to the speed at which I was traveling, c) I was mistaken as to the grade or d) I was mistaken as to the whole thing and it was a result of the bath salts. It really doesn't matter to me.

As I said feel free to doubt the numbers, I would not swear to them.

I felt like sharing the story, and frankly my idiocy, so that's about it.

Even getting rid of the numbers I would still like to have an arms length of space when riding. In my opinion if your hand hit a vehicle by reaching it out when it was passing you should have been the one apologizing.

I knew what you meant and have learned to accept 41 speed inflation. We all do it maybe with the exception of members who don't actually ride.

Non fishermen can be very honest about the fish that got away.

I and most of us do not doubt the basic truth of your story and are gratified you aren't telling it from a wheelchair after many months or years of rehab.

Be cool and stay safe.

I figured it was a 3% downhill to yield the 25MPH speed...

Anyway, glad you are ok and be careful in the future. A driver with a short fuse could easily do something stupid, and that could be dangerous.

Maybe I should tell you my average speed?

Looking back at the story, the one thing I really don't think I conveyed was the sense of "what kind of idiot was I..." the I was feeling at the time.

3% downhill, slower than 40mph? Not me friend. Why even get on the bike... aw never mind.

Yes, I plan to be less of an idiot in the future.

I had a guy in a pickemup truck pull up next to me at a red light and say, "You're gonna piss somebody off riding like that."

This was moments after holding 25 on a 25mph speed limit road with no shoulder. (The road is flat and only about 1.5 miles long... holding 25 isn't difficult disregarding wind)

Maybe he meant people would be pissed that I could keep up with their cars? I wasn't allowing them to speed?

It's not like I was wobbling all over the road?

:shrug: