I have a question. What is the law/etiquette for bikes sharing the road with automobiles?
Background: I'm a mt biker who is always courteous to bikers on the road. I had an incident today that p'ed me off. I was driving down a road (speed limit 45) with about a 4 foot shoulder and I came upon peloton of about 20 riders riding down the middle of the road. I waited patiently until they settled back in line and I began to pass them. While passing them I was on the wrong side of the road to be courteous and provide them with room in case they decided to start passing one another again. When I got to the front there was a tandem road bike way ahead of the others and I was behind him. At this point there was traffic coming in the other direction. I politely beeped my horn to let him know I was behind him and he didn't move over so after traffic cleared I proceeded to pass him on the wrong side of the road again. As I was passing him he gave me the finger and came right up next to my vehicle and punched it as I look in my rear view mirror the guy is cursing me out and giving me the finger. It really pissed me off and I restrained myself from running the %$^^& off the road. I did the right thing by avoiding road rage and any confrontation. So I remained calm and just continued on my way.
My Question: What are the rules of the road? Was I wrong? Please provide honest feedback because I sincerely didn't think I was un-polite to any of them. I gave them plenty of room. Should I not have passed them?
I know there are roadies on this side so please help me understand this.
Thanks
Background: I'm a mt biker who is always courteous to bikers on the road. I had an incident today that p'ed me off. I was driving down a road (speed limit 45) with about a 4 foot shoulder and I came upon peloton of about 20 riders riding down the middle of the road. I waited patiently until they settled back in line and I began to pass them. While passing them I was on the wrong side of the road to be courteous and provide them with room in case they decided to start passing one another again. When I got to the front there was a tandem road bike way ahead of the others and I was behind him. At this point there was traffic coming in the other direction. I politely beeped my horn to let him know I was behind him and he didn't move over so after traffic cleared I proceeded to pass him on the wrong side of the road again. As I was passing him he gave me the finger and came right up next to my vehicle and punched it as I look in my rear view mirror the guy is cursing me out and giving me the finger. It really pissed me off and I restrained myself from running the %$^^& off the road. I did the right thing by avoiding road rage and any confrontation. So I remained calm and just continued on my way.
My Question: What are the rules of the road? Was I wrong? Please provide honest feedback because I sincerely didn't think I was un-polite to any of them. I gave them plenty of room. Should I not have passed them?
I know there are roadies on this side so please help me understand this.
Thanks