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Thursday, August 22, 2013

68

want to ride it where i like

a bunch of caveats before i begin.
no death should be celebrated, especially those that are needless and avoidable.
no instance of bodily harm should be celebrated especially those that are needless and avoidable.
cycling is good for the individual and great for the environment.

i never had a bike when i was a kid (boo hoo me).
i did learn to ride one (yay me) i just never did it very often.
there was a brief time when i was a gym junkie when i had thoughts of taking up cycling as a sport but that quickly died a death. talk about bad timing this was before cycling became the golden sport of britain - not that i would have been any good - just that the gold dust would have rubbed off on me (maybe).

so i don't have a helmet.
i don't have hi-viz jacket/top.
i don't have lights front and back.

nor do i ride ridiculously fast on crowded pavements while on my mobile.
or ride in the dark on the roads in black clothing with no lights.

this morning i was about to cross the road.
the light was in my favour, the beeping was telling me and several others it was safe for us to cross and this was the time to cross. cars had stopped.
people were crossing the road.
cyclist just rode through us all, only just avoiding hitting a few people.
thanks mr/ cyclist.

every day i see examples of bad cycling and of inconsiderate cyclists.

the roads should be safe places for cyclists but i think it is time that advocates of cycling and those who campaign to make it safer start addressing the more fundamental problem of the fact that so many cyclists seem more than happy to chance injury and death because they are too cool for helmets and lights.

if i am honest i am surprised there are not more of them who are in intensive care. 

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