tj the former Catholic says:

The motorized public are often under the mistaken impression that the roads are for them alone.

Roads existed long before the automobile and in general cyclists have a legal right to use them.

Sorry if having to pay attention and know what you’re doing is too much of an inconvenience. You might have even have to slow down once in awhile causing you to get to your destination 2 seconds later.

I ride almost daily to work. Most drivers are very courteous and I am courteous in return. I’ll make room for them to pass if I can do so without jeopardizing my safety.

One memorable time I was on a narrow road heading home with traffic coming the other way. The speed limit was 25. It’s meant as a scenic drive but many people take it home from work as a way to avoid a bunch of stoplights.

I’m only on that road for a mile or two before heading off onto a trail and typically my speed never drops below 22 unless there’s a nasty headwind. Often times it’s between 25 and 27. In spite of that, there are a subset of drivers who get annoyed with being behind me.

Anyway, one afternoon, after sitting right on my ass and honking his horn, a guy pulls out to pass during a break in oncoming traffic. He makes a great show of pulling right in front of me and flipping me the bird.

200 yards later he comes to a stop at an intersection behind about 10 other cars. It will take him at least 5 minutes to get through that intersection. The thing is that he’s in the exact same spot he would have been had I not been on that road at all. In fact, he’s one spot ahead of where he would have been had I been in my car instead.