A 50-year-old Halifax man is facing charges after police say two cyclists were assaulted on Old Sambro Road Sunday morning.

Halifax Regional Police say the cyclists were heading down the road when a vehicle passed near West Pennant Road.

Peter Williams says the driver of the vehicle passed too close to him and his son, Jesse.

"The law clears one metre, and I would imagine he was within a foot and a half or two feet," said Williams.

He admits his son did "gesticulate" before the driver slammed on his brakes and pulled the vehicle off into a parking lot, forcing the cyclists to stop.

"He sucker punched my son in the face. My son was wearing bicycle shoes which are hard to stand up in, so my son was knocked to the ground," Williams told CBC's Maritime Noon.

"I moved to intervene and I was knocked to the ground as well."

Halifax police said the pair suffered minor injuries.

Photos of vehicle

Williams took photos of the man's car and informed him they were calling 911. The man said he was going home and police could find him there.

The man returned a short time later and waited with the father and son for police to arrive.

"I guess he realized that it was the wrong thing to do, to leave the scene of an assault like that and it would probably lead to more trouble, I really don't know. We tried not to engage with him at that point," Williams said.

It was another 20 minutes before police arrived.

"It was a horrible experience. I've ridden all over the world and a lot around Nova Scotia. I operate a bicycle touring business and outside HRM we rarely have issues," Williams said.

He said many drivers in Halifax have a very bad attitude toward cyclists and it leads to dangerous situations.

"Keep in mind the danger that's posed by cars, trying to teach us a lesson with their 3,000 pounds of steel is much more dangerous than a man actually punching somebody," said Williams.

Encourages 'lunatic fringe'

He said on a daily basis cyclists have to deal with cars coming too close to them, cutting them off and people yelling at them out of vehicle windows.

He said the attitude to cyclists in the Sambro area is particularly negative and only encourages what Williams calls the "lunatic fringe" to act aggressively toward cyclists. He would like to see a community meeting held to discuss the problem.

The driver has been charged with two counts of assault and will appear in court at a later date, but Williams said he is not ready to get back on his bike.

"I don't know what to do. I don't know where to ride. I'm not going to sit in my house and sit on my hands in front of the television. I want to be physically active, but I may have to rethink this whole thing. I don't know."

It's been a rough few months for Jesse Williams. He was in the news a few months ago after the passenger of a vehicle shot and hit him with Silly String while he rode his bicycle. That incident resulted in two young women facing charges.