OK, I'll bite. I'm a member of the pecker pants bike club, albeit in SD and not in ND. Thankfully I live in a place where I can spend most of my time on a mountain bike. That said, I do road ride in the spring and fall. Probably going to covert to a gravel bike so I can roll on pavement and gravel.....so you're going to half to be looking out for me when you're out scouting geese in the middle of nowhere, on gravel, with a Busch Light in the cupholder LOL!
There is a balance here between biker courtesy and driver courtesy. From a biker standpoint, I don't bike on busy roads. Just no point, too much danger for me, too much messing with traffic. From the sounds of it, these folks would be pulling over non-stop due to backed up traffic behind them, and to me that is no fun. But a biker on a road somewhere isn't really the end of the world. I do tend to pick roads with wider shoulders, even more so since they put endless rumble strips in. Riding a that 6" between the edge of the road and the strip isn't fun. If I am glued to the white line I'm well within the law and reasonability on a less than busy road. Drivers have to learn that a bike here and there isn't a nuisance. I ride with friends on occasion and laugh when they get all worked up about a bike or two. I've certainly seen less than admirable biking behavior on the roads, but lumping everyone into one group is a little far fetched. Lots of folks do it right.
Now, I can't comment on the bike path comments seeing I don't know where they are at, but road bikers and bike paths are not compatible if there is lots of use. These aren't Sunday cruises.....this is go out, put the hammer down, and get a good workout. Not uncommon to carry 20mph on easy flats if not more. Walkers, runners, and dogs don't do well with a smoking fast bike coming by them either, so they go to roads.
Biking is far from my only hobby. I spend time ice fishing, fly fishing, pillaging your walleyes from Lake Sakakawea, shooting pheasants, going to Canada to chase waterfowl, hunting turkeys, and shooting elk with a bow. And I love to drink Busch Light. But I also like to keep myself in good shape, and that means running and biking. Being in good shape while doing many of the outdoor activities that much more fun. As for the clothes, yeah they look a little funny. Function over form.....just the same as you don't see guys out there ice fishing wearing moon boots and old coveralls anymore. Things have progressed a bit, bikers have found out what works. Hey, but keep honking and swearing if it makes you feel better.
Coming to a road soon around Bismarck LOL!----