Why are motorists aggressive towards cyclist?????

If you ride long enough it's not a matter of "IF" but "WHEN" will you have an encounter with an aggressive driver. It's sad to say but this is the cold truth. The majority of the motorists I encounter are respectful and are more than willing to give a cyclist room to ride safely. I think the most common complaint I hear from cyclist is about getting buzzed. Even the act of getting buzzed comes down to perception as opposed to reality. It's the motorists perception that as long as he/she does not cross into the shoulder or bike line they have given us enough room, while it's MY reality that 24 inches feels like 2 inches when a car buzzes you at 50+ mphs.

But this post, I mean rant, isn't about the motorist who is inattentive, inconsiderate, or obvious. It's about the motorist who is aggressive, the type that will throw ice from a soft drink, or will intentional see how close they can get to you.... My "WHEN" was this past Saturday.

I was riding on 528, a route I have ridden over a 100 times. It's a busy road but it has a wide shoulder and a designated bike line. I was about 20 miles into the ride, in aero, doing some short intervals. In between leg burn and sweat in my eyes my only focus was on the road ahead and not what was coming up from behind. All of a sudden, out of the corner of my eye I see the bumper of a maroon F-150 and think to myself, why aren't they passing... then it hits me! They slowed down to roll down the passenger window, hang out, reach towards my head, and give me an ear full of the best an air horn has to offer!!!! Needless to say I panicked, almost went down, and took a few minutes to recoup. Then the anger hit me like wave. Did they realize what they did? Did they realize the harm they could have done? Are people really that stupid? Well luckily for me the light up ahead was red and they had no where to go, so I got the chance to ask!