On my commute this morning, this thread popped into my head and I spent several miles reflecting on it.
Recently, the family and I were driving on a four lane highway and approached two cyclists who were riding in what I would consider a comfortable space on the side of the road - approximately within 1' to the left of the white line. The area of the road where we approached them had very little shoulder for a couple hundred yards and then the shoulder opened up to almost an additional full lane. I gave plenty of room and was patient and passed in the most conservative way. However, my wife was very skid-dish as we approached. She was not comfortable with where they were on the road and how they were riding. it made her nervous and at times, she flinched because she thought it was an unsafe situation.
The kids only cared if I ride faster than those guys
. Which I do! Even if I didn't, I will never tell my kids that - I'm super Dad - I know this because I have a T-Shirt that says it.
So - two different perspectives.. Were those guys riding unsafe, in my opinion, No... Since I ride, I understood why they were on the left side of the white line and I also knew how I should handle the situation.
On the other hand, my wife, thought that the cyclists being in the car lane was dangerous and she didn't think they should be there and if she were driving, she would become very tense and nervous because she would not want to hit them or cause an accident.
I believe, most drivers feel similar to my wife in this situation and I can see how some would think negatively about cyclists. Does that make cyclists who take their share of the road - pricks? Not at all but it can easily be viewed that way.
BUT
If you have dozens of riders taking more than their share of the road and they are not being considerate to the cars, they deserve to be mooned and called Roadie pricks or whatever you want to call them!
