Cycling to Work
I live close enough to the office to ride a mountain bike to work, and do so through sunshine, rain and snow.
While the bike means our household only has one car, and is therefore more ecologically conscious than most in these days of carbon footprint mania, it also means I get to enjoy many of the fringe benefits of riding a bike through a busy town during rush hour.
Who knew that as soon as you slide your leg over the saddle some kind of reality distortion field bursts into existence rendering you completely invisible to both drivers and pedestrians?
Who knew that so many cars will impatiently pull alongside you at junctions and then attempt to turn through you? Sometimes the driver will notice you as somebody might an unwanted insect in their salad, and then ignore you anyway.
You notice lots of things on a bike too – like the idiocy of other cyclists. I've lost count of the number of people I see on bikes who are not wearing helmets. It should be a law – it's as simple as that. Also, what's the deal with people riding bikes on the pavement (sidewalk for those of you reading on the other side of the planet) ? I was under the impression that there is an immediate and sizeable fine in the United Kingdom if you are seen cycling on the pavement by the police – and yet I have never seen a cyclist being caught or fined.
Have you ever noticed how old people behave like the universe owes them something ? This seems to be reflected in their willingness to risk life and limb by stepping out in front of you, and wandering at tortoise speeds across the road. As you skid to a halt to avoid skittling them across the road, they smile their false teeth at you and say thank-you. I thought thank-you was a response to something being offered – not something being taken.
I've noticed that it's almost exclusively older people that ride bikes on the path, have no lights, no helmets, and ignore pretty much all of the rules of the road. I'm talking about the 50 plus age group here. Old ladies with shopping bikes. Old men wobbling their way home from the pub.
Has anybody else noticed the worrying disregard for disaster displayed by young parents with strollers (pushchairs on this side of the planet) – where they position the stroller in the road before looking to see if any traffic is coming? And if one more car pushes their nose out of a side road with full knowledge that I'm approaching, there's going to be a footprint in the shiny paintwork.
One more thing. If you can't ride a bike at a sensible speed, you shouldn't be allowed to. I fully appreciate how annoyed motorists must be when stuck behind some septegenarian cyclist who is rolling along at the physically lowest speed possible for the bike to stay upright.
I'll close with a note to that girl I got stuck behind the other day on my way to work – the girl with the skin tight white cycling shorts and the figure to go with them. Please – if you know you look that good, have some consideration for fellow road users – especially week minded fools such as myself. How I didn't end up wrapped around a lamp post, I'll never know.