Matt Dunstan was the last of four cyclists riding single file along Wharf St shortly after 8am, when the truck and trailer drove past him and "gave me one hell of a fright".
He watched in horror as the truck and trailer came even closer to Alex McGregor and then Phil Dunstan in front of him, before the trailer clipped the glove of lead rider Paul Gough.
Mr Gough said he was surprised how close the truck came to him. Its trailer swung towards him, forcing him into the narrow gutter.
Rather than try and jump the kerb or fall to the side of the road and "hope like hell you don't go under the truck", he kept the cycle hard against the kerb.
"The trailer just swung and hit me and I thought ****."
In more than three decades of cycling, it was the first time he had been hit by a moving vehicle, and while he did not suffer any injuries he never wanted a repeat of the experience.
Mr Dunstan and Mr McGregor said if they were the lead rider in the same situation the outcome might have been different.
"If that was me I would probably be dead . . . I am just not that experienced," Mr Dunstan said.
"I either would have crashed off my bike at 30kmh or ended up under the truck."
The cyclist caught up with the northbound truck just a few hundred metres up the road when it stopped at the traffic light"One of our guys yelled at him but he didn't make any moves to stop or to wind down his window," Mr Dunstan, who took a picture of he truck, said.
"The driver just appeared to look indifferent."
The cyclists said although there was a shared footpath on the side of the road it was busy with pedestrians, and their speeds of around 30kmh meant they were better suited to the road.
The group regularly rode to Portobello and back two to three times a week, and while the incident had left them shaken, it was unlikely to deter them in the future.
A complaint had been filed with police, who were yet to talk to the driver of the Milton-registered vehicle, Senior Sergeant Steve Aitken said.
