Someone during my weekend adventure decided that they wanted to start a diatribe about how much they hated cyclists, he compared them to canoeist who float down the river right in the way of bigger boats. I decided not to argue with him (he's quite a bit bigger than me) but I did want to make the point that as cyclists, we have our problems too, and we do not like getting the blame for being in the way. (we're legal road users too!!)
So, i've decided to tell you about some of the perils of being a cyclist...
Blind drivers. I am quite obvious, I wear a big red and white helmet, and I generally ride in the road, not hugging the curb, how then, did you pull out of a parking space, cross the road, and pull into another space on the other side of the road without seeing me, even though I had been cycling down said road for a good 5 minutes.
Angry, Impatient Drivers. I came across a lady in her car trying to zip down the lane (it was an attractive option as it was empty) and as i cycled down the said lane, keeping to the left of the lane (the right of the lane was a concrete barrier and i wasn NOT being pushed into that in a hurry) she started to honk her horn, even though in the lane that I needed to be in as i was turning right, she drove off rather quickly after she got passed me, I hope because she realised she was wrong.
Drivers who like to use the bike lane. Most drivers get annoyed at cyclists taking up their lanes so they have to go around us, understandable to a certain point, now why do you need to take up my little red lane (that isn't really big enough for me as it is) so that i can't get down the road, and don't get me started about the drivers who sit in the red boxes at junctions... THEY ARE TO PROTECT CYCLISTS!!
Anyway....
One of the most dangerous perils for a cyclist is in fact other cyclists, the posh types who like to scowl at you and shake their heads when you decided that although you are on the right of the park path, it would be more dangerous to go to the left (and correct) as there are pedestrians and her coming towards you.
If you are a cyclist who likes to use the park paths, and the bike paths (those that are part of the pavement but split into two for bikes and pedestrians) then you should be warned of people. That's right, I said people. Grown ups who like to stroll down the path clearly marked with a white bike, children who run around crazily and even dogs (not kept on leads) who stroll so slowly down the middle of the path that you have to stop just in case.
*insert disclaimer here, I actually like people, children and animals*
But for all the perils, cycling is a good thing, wasn't the most exciting thing when you were a kid when you got your first bike and you finally got the stabalizers off? So at what point did cycling become something that people started to resent? (because god forbid we shouldn't try and get fit and save the envirnoment a little) It makes no sense...but then alot of things don't!
And on that note I am off to recover from the latest peril, Marcus and the stationary bicycle, 150RPM is not human, so I need an Ice bath.
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