An interesting letter written by Geoff Owen of Wembley was published in the Post, February 27, 2010 questioning the apparent hatred of “Lycra wearing” cyclists, or more correctly the use of the word “Lycra” to demean a group of people.  I thought Mr Owen’s letter was constructive so I penned the following reply which I have sent into the The Post.

Dear Editor

I would like to comment in support of the views expressed by Geoff Owen, "Ah, the simple joys of wearing lycra" published in the Post, February 27, 2010.

I also wonder about the "hatred" that seems to be held against a fabric with the brand name of Lycra, a fabric by the way not generally used in cycling clothing (well none of my jerseys contain it) and my research suggests it is not used in cycling clothing at all; rather it is more common in underwear and female swimsuits. Maybe these letter writers are getting flustered by lovely ladies at the beach wearing Lycra (or spandex)?

Humour aside I think we forget that cyclists are legitimate users of the road, that they are people, mums and dads, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters and they are out there commuting, riding for recreation, carrying out errands and so on, all in a healthily and environmentally friendly manner, whilst taking another car off the road and reducing the congestion and environmental impact for all users.

Sure some cyclists break the law and do stupid things, but gee whiz, has any of these Lycra "haters" not done the same? More so, have they not done the same whilst behind the wheel of a car or truck? Which is really worst? The cyclist doing something stupid or the motorist?

I ask those Lycra "haters" a simple question? How many cyclists killed or injured a pedestrian or motorist or vehicle passenger in 2009? How many motorists killed or seriously injured a pedestrian or a motorist or other vehicle occupant in 2009?  What is the worst a cyclist can do you to you? Scratch your car’s paint? What is the worst you can do to them? Kill them; destroy their families, leave children without a mum or dad. Which is worse? Where should your anger and cries for change for the better be really directed?

You know the next set of traffic lights is likely to hold you up more than myself on my bicycle (oh my god, in my cycling clothes too) and if you are getting that frustrated, maybe you need to take up walking or cycling and chill out. All that pent up frustration can’t be good for you. I know that I now drive better since taking up cycling and I drive with a much more relaxed frame of mind … maybe you could try it?

So please lets get along and share the road together and respectfully. Can it be that hard?

Kindest regards

Popularity: 3% [?]

Tags: Cycling Clothing,Lycra,Post,Road Rage,Road Safety
Categories: Bicycling, Commuting and Recreational
4 Comments »

A letter appeared in this week’s issue (February 13, 2010 Vol 37 No. 7) of the Cambridge Post newspaper from the Pedestrian of Essex Street, Wembley, with the title “Sharing a dirty word for some cyclists.”  I took the opportunity this morning to pen a short reply. That reply is below.

Dear The Editor

I would like if I may, respond to the letter from the "Pedestrian" as published in the Cambridge Post,February 13, 2010 tiled "sharing a dirty word for some cyclists."

The Pedestrian calls for an education campaign for "those others either ignorant or just too selfish to bother warning a pedestrian they are about to be overtaken by a bike."

I would like to add my support for such an education campaign, but can I also please ask, and to use the language of the Pedestrian, that such a campaign also address those others either to ignorant or just to selfish to bother sharing the paths with cyclists appropriately and that such a campaign include the message that it is not appropriate to abuse cyclists, yep abuse cyclists who use their bells appropriately (or call out a friendly warning) and are trying to ride safely.  Is it too much to ask that such a campaign includes walking one’s dog on a lead and controlling those dogs (not having them wandering across the path on long leads); is it too much to ask that pedestrians keep left (or right if preferred and the white line on some paths is neither right or left) and to look before changing direction, entering paths and so on. Is all that too much to ask for?

So you see my point is that both parties need to act responsibility and to share the dual use paths with respect and consideration, just as the Pedestrians expects cyclists to do. Maybe the Pedestrian needs to ride a bicycle for a bit to see both sides of the fence. I know I walk, ride and drive so have a much better understanding from all aspects.

Personally, I prefer to ride on the road and limit my use of dual use paths that are frequented by pedestrians as I find the whole experience far more daunting than riding on the road. At least car drivers tend to be more predictable even though they can easily kill me and sadly some to seem to think that is their choice!

Regards
Andrew Priest

Popularity: 2% [?]

Tags: Dual Use Paths,Road Rage,Road Safety,Shared Paths,Sharing with Respect
Categories: Bicycling, Commuting and Recreational
1 Comment »

Another excellent article on learning to sharing the road together. However, reading the comments posted, it seems some people either have too much time on their hands or some real serious anger management issues or both. That said this is a good message to get out hence I am repeating it here.  The article was posted in the Port Macquarie News.

CYCLISTS are people, too.

Port Macquarie Triathlon Club president Andrew Lister is encouraging residents to look past the Lycra and helmet to consider cyclists as people and treat them accordingly.

“It’s more than likely to be your GP or the waitress that served you last night in a restaurant,” he said.

Mr Lister said respect from both motorists and cyclists was important.

He has thrown his support behind safety campaigns such as the Amy Gillett Foundation’s A Metre Matters.

The catch-cry encourages motorists to allow at least a 1m space when passing cyclists.

“You might be delayed by 10 seconds to get around a cyclist, but it takes a single second to seriously injure or kill someone,” Mr Lister said.

Australian Transport Safety Bureau data shows between 2000 and 2005, the number of cyclist deaths ranged from 26 to 46 a year, or about 2 or 3 per cent of total deaths in road crashes.

Many injuries go unreported.

The Amy Gillett Foundation’s primary objective is to reduce the incidence of injury and death caused by the interaction between cyclists and motorists.

The foundation’s chief executive officer, Tony Fox, said it was important to raise awareness about the need to make extra space around cyclists to ensure safety on the roads.

Mr Lister identified Hastings River Dr, Houston Mitchell Dr and Pacific Dr as cycling black spots.

Cycling has become increasingly popular, competitively and recreationally.

And it is a family pursuit for the Listers. Jack, 10, urged drivers to look out for cyclists.

“If you hurt a cyclist, it also hurts their families as well,” the Tacking Point Public School student said.

Mr Lister acknowledged cyclists also must follow the road rules and motorists needed to consider cyclists, too.

What we need to remember is that cyclist are NOT THE ONLY PEOPLE that break the law sometimes and more importantly when breaking the law in a car, truck or bus you can easily kill someone; it is much harder, if not near impossible for the cyclist to kill the motor vehicle driver or passengers.  So why all this anger over a few seconds and yes it is a few seconds or a paint scratch … so so sad really.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Tags: Road Rage,Road Safety
Categories: Bicycling, Commuting and Recreational, Road and Off-Road Touring
No Comments »