There's no time to sort out that question before we're around the next corner and gone.
Five minutes, and a handful of miles later, we get to the end of the road. David pulls up alongside Michael at the stop sign and the two brothers start talking. Thirty seconds go by. Then a minute. I can't hear what they're saying, but the length of the conversation tells me they must be talking about the truck. That answers the question.
Finally, Michael turns right, followed by David. I'm just easing out the clutch when the sound of screeching tires on my left prompts me to freeze. It's the red truck, which has come lurching up alongside me. I'm taken aback, first by the unexpected sight, then by the shouted obscenities by the four people inside. After gesturing profanely at me for an instant, the truckload of people launches down the road after Michael and David. My first thought is that it has been every bit of six or seven minutes since the clear-to-me-now incident where Michael and the truck driver must have surprised each other on that blind corner. Normally that would have been plenty of time for the anger of a traffic altercation to subside.
I fall in behind the truck, trailing at a reasonable distance.
This is a bigger road, straight, and it only takes a few seconds for the truck to catch the two riders. They're doing the 55 mph speed limit and either they don't see the truck, or they don't realize its import. After pressing within inches of David's tail for a few seconds, the truck jerks around in a pass. Once in front, it slows, trying to force them to stop.
Fully aware now of the situation, Michael attempts to swing around in a pass. The truck lurches leftward to block the road. Reacting, Michael quickly moves to the right, looking for space on that side. Just as quickly the truck does likewise, keeping the road blocked.
David, following and seeing the gap that has now opened up on the left, accelerates hard up that side. The truck, seeing it is too late to block the road, swings hard in an attempt to hit him. He is a microsecond too late, missing the RC51 by inches.
Several baited seconds pass as the truck continues to weave from one side of the road to the other, keeping it blocked, even as it slows.
Timing his move, Michael waits until the truck has moved to the right and then launches a pass up the left, just as his brother had done moments before. And again, the truck shoots left in an effort to hit the bike. Michael avoids being struck only by diving off the pavement, tracking a foot into the soft debris of the shoulder. I breathe a sigh of relief as the fishtailing Buell finally makes it around the truck and accelerates into the distance.
The truck now drifts to the right and stops, waiting for me. I judge I can get around him easily enough. But I'm not familiar with this road or what obstructions might lie ahead and a quick calculus tells me that I do not want this truck behind me. I pull up alongside to have a chat.
It's unfortunate, but anger on the highway is an increasingly common aspect of modern America. And as motorcyclists, we are particularly vulnerable. The open-vehicle freedom which attracts us to two wheels in the first place automatically makes us more susceptible to those who would turn to violence.
Some might suggest a macho, in-your-face response when confronted with an angry driver. To that I'd simply offer that-Hollywood scripts notwithstanding-a motorcycle makes a very poor platform from which to wield a weapon or otherwise play the tough guy.
The best thing, if you can't defuse the situation, is to simply get out of there. Use the one advantage you have-your bike's speed and maneuverability-to put distance between you and your attacker.
Our little teté-a-teté that day? It turned out okay. I discussed things with the occupants of the truck for a couple of minutes and by the time I pulled away a hint of perspective had begun to seep back into their thinking.
Michael and David were waiting for me a mile up the road. "Get going," I motioned emphatically. It had been a close-run thing. I wanted time and distance between us and that truck.