A woman motorist blasting her horn at a group of cyclists near Lake Burley Griffin on Wednesday morning picked the wrong people at the wrong time for a heated outburst of road rage.

Among the committed cyclists at the receiving end of her long, angry blast was former Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who had no trouble flagging down a nearby Australian Federal Police car who promptly pulled over the cranky horn-blower.

Tony Abbott is a keen bike rider, and took exception to one Canberra driver's behaviour. Credit:Penny Bradfield

"We were riding along near the Southern Cross Yacht Club," a cyclist in a smaller group of riders said afterwards. "Then a bigger group of cyclists went past us, having no trouble leaving us behind.

"The woman driving a red Hyundai, she was not a young woman, should have known better. The AFP in a white BMW, suggesting [they were] a security detail, was quickly on the scene.