Myself and about 20 some odd people...
 

just about had a really bad couple of months.

I went out for a drive this morning. Aside from being extremely windy, it is gorgeous out. A bit cool this morning in the high 50's and warming into the 70's by this afternoon. Of course, this is nearly perfect weather for a bike ride. I was riding back through the country on a fairly narrow little road, 50 MPH speed limit. There was apparently an event (ride) or possibly a very large club out for a ride. I had already passed a couple of large groups of riders going the opposite direction to me, a few singles caught out. As I come around a blind corner and hill I come face to face with two trucks, in my lane, speeding up to go around a group of perhaps 15-20 cyclists. The bike riders were doing everything right. They were riding just off the fog line and had one rider in the back who was over about a bike length and was actually hold out "stop sign hand" warning cars not to take the pass...those other two idiots driving were being so damned impatient.

I literally had to dive into the verge which just happened to be someone's front yard. This section of road is narrow and most of its length is marked by very wild growth on the shoulders, trees, ditches. It just so happened that this was an area in front of a couple of houses. I missed a mailbox by inches, which was still preferable to a head on collision or causing one of those drivers to panic and pull right into the cyclists. Put a couple of nice furrows in those folks yard. Thankfully the oil drinking Audi is a Quattro, so I was able to get back out readily. My shorts on the other hand...well, they have some skid marks too. Ended my drive day pretty quickly as I decided to come straight home after. Freaked me out pretty good, still not back to 'resting' heart rate and this was about 50 mins ago.

So glad it happened at the exact place we were at. I could have easily seen this being far worse than an inconvenience and scare. WHEW!

Large groups are very hard to pass because autos need soooo much more roadway on the opposite side. Maybe it’s not rude to ride like that but I would never

Glad you and everyone was okay. Scary!

Nightmare.

One of our popular parishes (counties) for cycling required a parade permit for groups over five (if I recall correctly it was a very low number). Basically, organized events were approved, with proper road closures, cops, etc, but the weekend warrior bike clubs got shut out. Mostly because the cyclists were A-holz as I bear witness the few times I tried to attend.

Might have saved your neighbors some turf, your nerves, and...ahem...laundering shorts (or just tossing them in the bin).

If he passed several groups of cyclists, then it could well have been an organized event. While some roads may be closed or restricted, not all will be closed, especially out in the country.

The general rule of passing is to never pass unless one can see far enough ahead to ascertain one can safely get around the obstruction. I.E. Don't pass on a hill, or curve.

Unfortunately, many drivers don't understand how to react around cyclists, or groups of cyclists.

I find it is generally easy enough to tuck in behind a cyclist for a few yards until visibility is clear, although hills can be problematic as the riders slow down, and visibility remains restricted. A month ago I encountered an annoying cyclist that chose to slow down and stop at the crest of the hill as I was following trying to see over the crest.