I am the OP. I used to ride bicycles a lot. One time, I rode a Peugot bicycle from Milledgeville Georgia to Steamboat Springs Colorado. That road through Rocky Mountain Park, at elevation 12,100 feet, the air is pretty thin. But by the time I got there I was in pretty good shape.
I now have an expensive Trek mountain bike and I love to ride it. But, to the hillbillies around here, riding a bicycle is not something an adult should do. This article struck me, these hillbillies view me as a cockroach. They zoom by, even with an open road, without crossing the yellow line, their mirror missing the bicyclist by inches. And I don't wear the spandex and the official helmet, I wear regular shorts and a baseball hat and a white Tshirt, and tennis shoes. I have a rear view mirror on the hat so I can see traffic coming up from behind, and I just pull over onto the shoulder. This is back roads only I wouldn't get near the US Highway.
No, I got tired of a 55 mph pickup rear view mirror missing me by inches and I gave up riding a few years ago. I settle for walking the roads with the Beagle.
