As a motorist or cyclist, have you ever had a close call with the other?

As a triathlete, I have to train on the bike and hate it - because you can't predict what drivers are going to do when they see you on the road.

I have had drivers fly past me so quickly that it blows you off the side of the road - and once had a truck follow 6 inches from my back tire, laying on the horn the entire time I rode up a steep hill in Apex.

We do as much as we can to be courteous to motorists - we ride in rural areas of the Triangle with little traffic, we try to get in our rides early in the morning before drivers come out, and we stay as close to the shoulder as possible.

For motorists passing cyclists on the roads - just consider passing SLOWLY instead of gunning it to get past us. If it takes you 30 seconds more to get to wherever you are going, is it really going to make that big of a deal? Remember that we are people too, not just "annoying cyclists." We are not as protected as you in your vehicle and have families praying that we arrive home safe after our rides.