Random abuse (From Bournemouth Echo)

Random abuse

2:13pm Monday 8th February 2010 in

By David Brown »

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CYCLISTS are a fairly mixed bunch, one thing you can be sure of is that just because someone is riding a bicycle doesn't mean they are a nice person!

Although this may seem an odd thing to say as I'm representing cyclists, it's worth bearing in mind, because on the other hand lots of cyclists are nice people who don't run red lights, obey the traffic rules, use lights and are doing their bit to reduce congestion, greenhouse gases etc.

One thing that always annoys me is the way that cyclists are often treated and portrayed, there seems to be no restriction on what you are allowed to say about someone, or a group of people, based on their chosen method of transport.

In another posting recently I mentioned that people are being given the opportunity to voice their opinions on new cycle schemes in Dorset.

Some of the responses that have been received have not been particularly positive and I'm going to post some excerpts from one such response. I apologise for the spelling and grammar in advance, this is exactly how the response was received.

"Have all the routes go along the pier and right off the end,so we can get rid of all the wally brain numptys on bikes for once andfor all, as they are nothing more than danger to themselves and to otherroad users, as they don't seem to have read the highway code at all andseem to think red traffic lights do not mean anything to them, as oneway signs are ignored and they wonder why the car drivers are fed up tothe back teeth with all bike riders, give me a gun then line them upagainst a wall and I will be more than happy to shoot everyone of them Have a nice day"

Now if Steve (that's what we should call him as that's his name!) said the same things but based his targetting on the colour of someone's skin or their religion, he may well find himself on the wrong side of the law, but it seems that as he is targeting his prejudice towards a group based on transportation that he can get away with this!

I wonder what one or two cyclists have done to make him so angry? Maybe they were the cyclists that aren't nice people!

Should we, as cyclists, be worried about this type of thing and should we be able to expect some sort of protection? By choosing to cycle, I'm not breaking any laws, in fact I'm doing something that our government is encouraging, so surely we should be smiled and waved at by passers by and children as we make our way along the street!

Some of my Blog postings are cheerful, like last weeks where I mused on the joys of the weather, however these posts hardly ever prompt any comments. When I have a bit of a rant or post on a more contentious issue, like this one, there tend to be a number of comments, some from the pro-cyclists like Mikey2gorgeous, who seem to be a regular reader and some from the anti-cyclists. I am happy for anyone to read and comment, I just hope that I provoke some thought and useful debate.

Comments(11)

Trifecta says...
5:58pm Mon 8 Feb 10

Writing as a cyclist myself David, I find that there are two distinct groups within the cycling community. There are the "plodders" like myself who cycle to work and back, usually on hybrids, who have the right lights, stop at traffic lights and dismount at the pier and then you have the lycra clad goons on expensive racing bikes who seem to think that the promenade is a training ground for the Olympics and that the world needs to get out of their way and traffic lights are for somebody else. They are a different beast and it is this group who need to be educated and possibly introduced to good manners because they are spoiling it for the vast majority.