So, I assumed that either she was saying "okay to pass" or "OMFG! It's a troll! Ack!".

Either way, I rode on. But then, it happened two more times during the ride! I mean, so now I have to assume that, somewhere in Robert's Rules of Trail Etiquette there's a page that explains the proper signals to give when being passed by a middle aged guy on a bike, right?

Not a big deal, but I thought it was interesting that after 8 years of riding on the trails without seeing it, I encountered it 3 times in one ride.

On the Troll, Jr. front. Had a talk with him last night that went surprisingly well. He already knew what we were going to talk about - because the first thing out of his mouth was an apology for going ballistic like that. Excellent. So, we talked (alright, I lectured) about self control and how to avoid blowing up and how I had to learn those skills when I was young or else give up on the whole concept of being married. I also told him that if it happened again, I would treat him exactly like I'd treat any adult in that situation - loud and angry.

I also told him that while he was right about my breaking a promise to him I was not going to make that promise again. I told him I'd stop buying cigars for myself on the way to work, but if a friend happened to offer me one I planned on accepting it. (Which happens surprisingly often, actually). I pointed out to him that - as part of the self control thing - that if he planned on not drinking and not smoking that was fine, but he needed to think ahead of time about how he would deal with it when someone offers him booze or a cigarette - so that he could manage the situation without it blowing up in his face.

So, hopefully the entire process has had a positive effect on him. I mean, I know that that almost sounds like I'm condoning teen age drinking, smoking (and, honestly, drugs) but I'm trying to face reality - he will be offered these things and he probably doesn't want to deal with it by going nuclear.