1957mpd
Knight-Errant
A very silly masquerade.
There's a reason the folks at Langlitz in Portland, OR sell all the custom "cafe"/James Dean-type jackets they can make. Give 'em the best part of a grand and after a few months on the waiting list, you too can dress like the "tribe," even if you don't ride. Same raison d etre for the HD textile line. Of course $1400 for a BMW Motorrad Ralleye suit is an entirely different matter. Entirely.....
Back to the OP's question: What would you have done? I like several other's response: If riding alone, I'd either race ahead or drop back smartly. People sometimes exhibit behaviors in a group they would not otherwise. This made the dynamics of that engagement unpredictable. I learned a lot of lessons in a career in federal law enforcement and in dangerous situations one of them was this: control what you can and avoid what you cannot. With few exceptions, I do not have to win every engagement, but I do have to survive them.