Sharing a Lovely Sunday Morning With Cletus Spuckler and a Kitted Out Salmon

Share the Road
Share the Love 
I think this malignant version of a real
sign (W11-1/W16-1-FU) 
is courtesy of Patrick O'Grady

It couldn't have been a prettier Sunday morning for a ride around the Bandelier Loop. I guess the Spucklers though so too, because I kept running into the extended family. First, headed down Truck Route, an oncoming motorist pulled out to pass a slower car and started into my lane with me in it. He didn't fully pull out though. Then four times, in light traffic, motorists passed me on NM-4 (3 times between the Truck Route and White Rock where the roadway shoulder on a busy road is slim to nonexistent) while actively playing chicken with oncoming traffic. This was in spite of traffic being so light** that there was no particularly rational reason to not wait the five seconds for the ONE and ONLY oncoming car within observable distance to go by before passing me. One family did wait, and then slowly passed me while staring at me as though I was some sort of amusement. Well...

Then, just to prove that its not just motorists who think their convenience is more important than everyone's safety, a kitted out cyclist was swimming salmon in the Diamond Drive bike lane by the high school, riding right at me. He said, when I asked why he was on the wrong side of the road, something about his destination being on that side. I responded to the effect that his was an incredibly stupid excuse.

Bicycling doesn't have to be unsafe. We have to work at making it unsafe. The salmon-swimmers and Spucklers are doing a fine job of that. It was still a great ride, even though my blood pressure was unnecessarily spiking along the way.

** I actually plan my trip so I get that section of NM-4 over with as early as possible to avoid these overtaking situations. But I can't stop motorists from behaving stupidly, even when I take the whole damn lane in that situation. Done that experiment.

Typical shoulder section on NM4. 
Photo taken just before the downhill into Ancho Canyon, riding from White Rock. 
Its not like I ride in the lane just for the hell of it.

Some days you just wonder about people.....with acknowledgements to Ian Brett Cooper for stealing his theme