Almost Jailed

My cycling buddy, Tony the Brit or Tony26 as the Bad Assers call him because even when the set speed is 22 to 23 he pulls at 26.... well we are riding our usual 26 mile weekday route. The route, 26 miles long, is along a newly opened road with, for the most part, good road surface and a bike lane until we turn to go thru Burrito Springs. Just a few side roads then down Terry Street, a four lane road without a bike lane, turn left at the traffic light and to rejoin the newly opened road with a bike lane. The only problem is we have to get over into the left lane then the turning lane to turn left at the traffic light.

Now Burrito Spring is just as it sounds, old Florida rednecks and those still wet from crossing the river....not to say that they don't have green cards, drivers licenses or even insurance on their cars which they don't and that's the Rednecks. As we get to the left some one scares the be jeepers out of us by honking their horn...not once, not twice, not thrice but over and over and over again!

Now an occasional horn doesn't bother me, being from the Northeast, but I was pulling at 22 mph with Tony26 on my wheel in the left lane of a REDNECK-MEXICAN Road. Kinda makes you nervous and waiting for the gunshot.

It appears that the person behind us in a lime green VW Bug wants to get past us to make the approaching traffic light before it turns red. We move left, the car squeezes by us on the right, beeping only to have the light turn red so the lime green VW Bug has to stop at the light as we roll to a stop in the lane next to it.

Now Tony26 is a calm rational Brit just recently allow to become a US Citizen - not that I had anything to say about it. All of the sudden he starts banging on the window and yelling at the woman driver "You almost caused an accident by hooting at us (yes he said hooting!)"She rolls down her window and starts yelling back.... "You don't belong in the left lane! Stay right or on the sidewalk!"

I of course am calm cool and collected yell back at her "We have as much right on the road as you...." With that I see a Lee County Sheriff's car turn on it's red lights and cross over 2 lanes of traffic pulling in front of the lime green VW Bug. The officer gets ot of the car and says to Tony26 and me "GET AWAY FROM THE CAR AND GET OVER HERE!" With that Tony26 start yelling a the officer! and yelling and yelling....finally the officer says as loud as he could '"STOP YELLING!"

TONY26 calms down and calmly tells his story to which the offier says ... "OK, you can go". He then takes his ticket book and walks to the lime green VW Bug. The last thing we here as the light changes to green for us to turns is the officer asking the woman...."May I see your driver's license and registration?"

I thought for sure we were going to jail......