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.
In the early 2000s it was somewhat unusual to see cyclists riding the rural back roads of Harrison County MS. Over the years, bicycling became more popular and riders became a regular part of the landscape. Over time the rednecks simply got used to it, and interactions became much more favorable overall. I was a member of the Gulf Coast Bicycle Club and did group rides. We took a very cooperative approach with motorists. Seem to have set the stage for a good road sharing environment.
