I’m with David "Doc" Jackson on a lot of points. I live in a semi-rural area, and I find the easiest places to cycle are the back roads. People who travel them are used to the flexibility of having no designated lanes, tractors, chickens and more to work around, and I never have any trouble. When I cycle even in the smaller town areas near me, I get irritated when I see people cycling right through a red light, or weaving between lanes — or riding the opposite direction because they either just don’t know the cycling laws or because they don’t have a mirror and want to see the traffic better. Well, guess what? Unpredictability is what causes the accidents, and sadly, cyclists are just as much at fault as drivers in so many cases.

I’ve had people shout at me to “get on the sidewalk!” when I’m perfectly within my rights to be on the road, staying on the outside of the white line, in fact, minding my own business. I’m not a pedestrian and don’t belong on the sidewalk.

I’ve had people think it’s funny to throw a half-empty soda cup at me when passing me on the highway. Again, minding my own business, riding steadily on the outside of the white line, even when I have the right to be in the driving lane.

And then there are those who think it’s hilarious to swerve and “almost” run me off the road, like the guy with a pickup truck and attached trailer who almost knocked me onto the railroad tracks at a crossing because he just couldn’t stand to wait the three seconds for me to clear it before passing me. I caught up to him at a stop sign and told him he’d just about hit me and he claimed he thought he was giving me “plenty” of clearance. Right. Buddy, if you don’t know the width of your vehicle, you need to get off the road.