The weather cleared up & we headed out for some wind/paceline work. However, we got about 45 minutes into the ride when a guy in a suburban passed us, laid on his horn, and started yelling. It was obnoxious, and nothing more would have come of it… until he cut us off and slammed on his brakes, nearly causing a bike-car collision with the riders in the front of the group.

This didn’t sit well with Nathan, who is pretty protective of his riders (especially the younger ones who happened to be up front at the time). On the second or thirdbraking/swerving manuver that the guy made, Nathan rode up next to the car and yelled at the guy to stop. At the same time, he smacked the back window… I think the general idea was to just make some noise, but apparently, suburban rear windows are pretty weak, because it broke into tiny pieces! The guy sped up the road, but then I think he realized that his window was broken, pulled over, got out, and walked to the rear of his vehichle.

At this point, I’d sat up… we’re in Texas… the stereotypical Texan drives a large vehicle and carries equally large guns. My instincts led me to stay out of shotgun range and slightly behind the team car while Nathan and the man “discussed” what just happend. At some point, we rode off, but then after about 10 miles, we turned around and went back to the scene of the incident to talk to the police, who wanted to hear from the endangered riders who’d been up front at the time of the vehicular assult. Eventually hands were shaken and no charges were filed, and everyone went on their way.

Some camera phone images:

So, we didn’t get to the training plan of the day, though I don’t mind much, because I’m not used to the insane winds here. I spent most of the ride looking like I’d never been in a paceline before. It was good practice for me, and hopefully by the end of the week, I’ll take on 40mph gusts like they’re old business.