Afternoon:
10°c
As a London cyclist I get yelled at by drivers on a tediously frequent basis, but this was a first: as I jumped a red light on to Battersea Bridge yesterday morning, a man on a bicycle tutted, “Red light?” I was so surprised that withering words failed me.
For this was a man on a bike rather than a genuine cyclist, clad in corduroys and a nondescript brown jacket. And goodness, there have been a lot like him out there during the Tube strike.
Cyclists clog intersections, great flocks of them — so many that they prevent the usual hogging of cycle boxes at junctions by scooters and cars. And most of them weren't there on Monday.
You can spot the newbies a couple of bus-lengths off, puffing along in clothing that's either simply impractical (tight jeans) or over-ambitiously fashionable (high heels).
Or else they are clad from head to toe in gear so new you can almost see the factory crease marks in their reflective jackets.
There are a lot of pale male legs on display. Their bikes are an equally odd bunch — more front-mounted baskets than a Tory party awayday, and gear systems that would provoke breathless excitement on Antiques Roadshow.
Perhaps novices may think me condescending? Well, duh.
Only a non-cyclist could think it sensible to ride in a Barbour jacket or boat shoes.
Only someone whose bike is normally crammed in the shed between the lawnmower and boules set could fail to see the essential sexiness of precision-engineered Japanese steel — or why sit-up-and-beg handlebars make us roll our eyes.
Much more serious, they veer all over the place. They don't have regular cyclists' instinctive sense of the road space around them: you don't know what they're going to do next.
One cycling colleague reports a wobbling cyclist careening into a pedestrian yesterday morning.
The pedestrian apologised to the cyclist and helped her on her way — whereupon she turned the wrong way down a three-lane, one-way stretch of Marylebone Road.
But most important of all, the strike cyclists have made me realise just how blasé I've become about London traffic and its dangers.
You can see their nervousness when they get to a red light or find themselves boxed in.
And stranger still, the novices also show why it is often safer to break the rules.
For instance, when I jumped that light on Battersea Bridge, the road ahead was clear — I was in no danger nor was anyone else.
If I'd waited for the light, a melée of cyclists would have surged forward, with impatient cars trying to edge past and cut across to take the left turning. Likewise, when I turned left on a red at a bottleneck near my house: why wait to be cut up by the white van next to me?
I'd like to hope that drivers will become better behaved over time, for when they do, we cyclists will surely ride less aggressively in our own defence.
For now, though, I hope the new cyclists get more confident — and enjoy it.
After all, it's how I took up cycle commuting myself: I pedalled my way through the June 2004 Tube strike and have never looked back.
I'm regularly outraged by the squalor and delays of the Tube, on the couple of occasions a week when I use it, cursing my feebleness if I've given in over a bit of drizzle.
I hope that the strike-bikers will feel the same way, coming to prefer two wheels to the enragingly random frequency of the Circle line or the ill-tempered, sweaty crush of Oxford Circus station at 6pm.
Because on a bicycle, you're free, and you're safer than you think — even wearing cords.
Reader views (8)
I hereby promise to vote in the next general election for the first party to guarantee enforcing the law against pavement cycling. (BNP not included)
- Flora, London, 21/06/2009 01:02
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I grew up riding bikes in the late 1940s; I even cycled to Brighton and back in a day, as a 13 year old kid.
Almost everyone used bikes then, from grandparents to grandchildren; cars were more a middle class thing in those days; plus they were the only ones that could afford a car etc.
I got my full car licence in the 1950s at the age of just turned 17 etc, which also entitled me to ride a moped under 50cc; which I still do today.
I have a car; but rarely use it; I have a bike, which is my favourite, plus I have a couple of mopeds; which get me all over the place fast and easy; they are like ordinary bike but with a 49cc engine taking the strain etc.
What has this to do with the topic?
Well I never drive my car or ride my moped the same way I ride my bike, with the bike you are in a dangerous position all the time; if a vehicle hits you; you alone lose; with the car if anyone hits me; its all equal and the other vehicle gets damaged as well.
So riding my bike; as most experienced cyclists know; you have to cover all possible probabilities; and never forget that the average car and lorry drivers have no knowledge or experiences of the dangers cyclists face every day; they are safe behind steel vehicle bodies; the cyclist has no protection from the steel of vehicle bodies at all etc.
My 50cc mopeds are safer than my bike; and being a powered machine you have to comply with all the rules other vehicle follow, so cycling is totally different in my opinion.
- Mickyinlondon, london, 12/06/2009 12:47
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Why don't they bring in a new system that would phase the traffic lights for pedestrians first, then bikes, then cars?
- Vivien, London, 11/06/2009 23:39
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No-one seems to have mentioned pedestrians. Cyclists must be aware that if they break a red light, the pedestrian light will be green, and a pedestrian may well step off the kerb without looking. I've nearly been mowed down by an anti-social and law-breaking cyclist doing 20mph-up through a red light on several occasions, and a friend was hospitalized by the same.
I've no objection to cyclists breaking a red light provided they slow down so they can stop for pedestrians, and provided that they recognise that the pedestrian has the right of way.
My pet hate is adult cyclists on pavements. Pavements are for walking on, not for cycling on, and pedestrians here are not looking out for wheeled traffic of any sort. Adult cyclists who put old folk's lives at risk should be arrested and charged, and their bicycles crushed, like the cars of uninsured motorists. Cyclists must dismount and walk their bike along a pavement or pedestrianised area!
- Nigel, London, 11/06/2009 17:22
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Have to agree with most of the article, but you seem to be implying that 'proper' cyclists don't stop at red lights? Nonsense! I commute an 18 mile round trip through the city on my bike every day and never jump reds. Never have, never will. honestly don't know why so many cyclists think they should be treated like everyone else on the road when they act like they're above the law!
- Danielle, London, UK, 11/06/2009 14:04
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If there is absolutely no risk to the rider or anyone else then I have no problem with cyclists breaking red lights. This generally improves the flow of traffic and is of benefit to all. Perhaps there is one drawback, some motorists are enraged by the sight of it and are encouraged to threaten cyclists lives with warning swerves and close misses. However, I think the best solution to that is to have some cyclist awareness content in the driving test. From the safety of their cars most of the offenders have no idea how close to manslaughter they get.
- Greg Keers, London, 11/06/2009 13:43
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Paul, while your point is valid cyclists and not arguing that they don't have to stop at red lights.
It's more a case of assessing if the red is okay to run through. Cyclists are also taking the brunt of the risk, if a car hits them it's over. Whereas if a car jumps a red and hits something the chances are in won't be them that comes worse off?
- Daniel Mitchell, London, 11/06/2009 11:46
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I've been cycling to work for a year and a half. I think it is ridiculous, the way that some cyclists argue that they shouldn't have to stop at red lights. A car driver could also argue that 'it was perfectly safe for me to ignore that red light'. That won't help the person who got run over. If cyclists want other road users to observe the rules, cyclists have to observe them also.
- Patrick Vincent, London, 11/06/2009 11:04
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