Re:
it's not just the towns and cities, I live way out in the countryside, (rural Yorkshire) and I both run and cycle every week and have done for 50 years plus and have seen a growing/worrying downhill change in attitude towards both cyclists and runners, I am regularly "run at" when out both road running and cycling by motorists. This happened even last night, while on a 10K run down a country lane, saw me coming miles off, yet tried to force me off the road. I think it's a UK problem.
It's not just a lack of respect, but almost a latent aggression, I feel a lot of this is down to Jealousy and lifestyle choices of the bulk of the population, who are now vastly over weight and extremely un healthy.
I even get this now in every day life, with people having "an attitude" towards you because you are slim and fit, despite approaching my sixth decade.
They seem to think your just "lucky" to be built that way, so can enjoy sport, they don't see (or want to see) the buckets of sweat, the getting soaked and filthy, or Frozen in Winter, the black toe nails and other nasties that go with being an endurance athlete.
Strangely, I am lucky enough to travel a fair bit and I have found the opposite in many other Countries, in the Caribbean or Africa and many European Countries. If you are a Runner or a Cyclist, you are a hero, respected and treated so by other road users, particularly the indigenous population, where these sports are seen as an "International language" I've had locals "high Fiving" me in Jamaica and Barbados as I run/bike past or shout "respect" at me. Don't see this in Britain anymore much. Wonder why I want to leave?