Back about 20 years ago I used to help our local amateur radio club with providing communication support on a number of charity bike tours—y’know, the 75- or 100-mile day trips raising money for the Heart Association or Lung Association or MDA, etc. Most of the riders I met were just ordinary people, good folks who wanted to have a day challenging themselves or just riding in the beautiful Virginia countryside while raising money for a worthwhile charity.
But there was always a subset that didn’t just dress like Lance Armstrong, they thought they *were* Lance Armstrong. They were the ones that, despite a state trooper telling everyone that they had to ride single-file on the highway, would promptly go four-wide across both lanes on blind mountain roads, cut lanes on curves, blow stop signs, and yell at the residents who suddenly found themselves driving amongst a bunch of cyclists (a rare experience in rural Virginia). They were jerks to the volunteers at the aid stations too.
I try to be as careful as I can around cyclists because they’ve got their rights on the roads too, but way too many of them seem to think they can do what they want and flout traffic laws and get away without consequences. Sounds like the Spandex cut off the blood flow to this guy’s brain.
}:-)4
People forget that most bicyclists are drivers too. As a driver I have come across cyclists like the ones you mentioned. I am always sorely tempted...
BTW, I rode the Seattle to Portland every year between 1991 and 2006. You guys make it possible.