Contrarian rebelliousness, the birthright of cyclists
Driving home tonight around 11p. A main road, two lanes each way, a bit of traffic. About 30 mph. Very dark, not many street lights:
What is that? ... Holy cow a bike! I hit the brakes. No reflector. No tail light. The man is in the middle of the freaking lane - Invisible blackness.
I change lanes and pass. At the next intersection there's a street light so I pull over. The man on the bike passes and I shout to him: "Get a tail light!" No high beams, no menacing, no expletives.
Of course I get the finger. I don't use that gesture. But if I did I probably would have done the same thing.