Post by Chips on May 16, 2008 9:32:15 GMT 9.5
A city that's hell on two wheels
Tom Lowndes
May 16, 2008
HECKLER
I WAS knocked off by bike on Wednesday about 9.15am. I have been riding to work for six years, taking the same route from my house in Annandale, across Anzac Bridge, through the city, across the Harbour Bridge and up the hill to Crows Nest to my workplace. It's a fantastic ride that invigorates me every morning and evening.
On my bike I feel the seasons change as the days get longer and shorter, colder and warmer. I watch ships pass underneath me on the bridge, look in awe when the cables of the Anzac Bridge are wrapped in mist and feel refreshed, fit and healthy when I arrive at work.
So today I was riding up the hill towards the entrance to the Harbour Bridge, listening to a podcast of Roy and HG, and enjoying the Sydney autumn glow, when a yellow car misjudged how much room I needed, clipped my handlebars and knocked me onto the pavement.
I was unhurt, other than a few cuts and scratches, my bike was fine, and the woman driving the car stopped and made sure I was OK. But I was angry. Angry that I had just been hit by a car, angry that I was lying on the road watching hundreds of unfriendly strangers walk past me, angry that this car driver had put me in this position, angry that my arm hurt, angry that my iPod had stopped, angry that I had ridden too close to the parked cars and not hogged the lane and made her pass me with more care, angry that I was angry. So I yelled something and just rode off. I should have stopped to talk to the woman, let her know I was OK, explained that she should have given me more room.
The truth is, it was not even her fault. I should not have been on that road. There is no safe way for cyclists to get through the city. There are a number of excellent cycleways into the city, but once there, there is nothing to do but act like a bike courier and squeeze though traffic in the left lane, keeping right enough to avoid opening doors from parked cars and left enough to avoid holding up traffic.
We need bike routes through the city. The city is failing in its duty of care by giving safe routes into the city, then abandoning cyclists to a dangerous whirlpool of fast-moving metal and angry motorists. Nevertheless, I think riding is the right, healthy and cheapest way for me to commute to work. So I will continue to do it, even if it is likely I will get knocked off again.
Tom Lowndes
May 16, 2008
HECKLER
I WAS knocked off by bike on Wednesday about 9.15am. I have been riding to work for six years, taking the same route from my house in Annandale, across Anzac Bridge, through the city, across the Harbour Bridge and up the hill to Crows Nest to my workplace. It's a fantastic ride that invigorates me every morning and evening.
On my bike I feel the seasons change as the days get longer and shorter, colder and warmer. I watch ships pass underneath me on the bridge, look in awe when the cables of the Anzac Bridge are wrapped in mist and feel refreshed, fit and healthy when I arrive at work.
So today I was riding up the hill towards the entrance to the Harbour Bridge, listening to a podcast of Roy and HG, and enjoying the Sydney autumn glow, when a yellow car misjudged how much room I needed, clipped my handlebars and knocked me onto the pavement.
I was unhurt, other than a few cuts and scratches, my bike was fine, and the woman driving the car stopped and made sure I was OK. But I was angry. Angry that I had just been hit by a car, angry that I was lying on the road watching hundreds of unfriendly strangers walk past me, angry that this car driver had put me in this position, angry that my arm hurt, angry that my iPod had stopped, angry that I had ridden too close to the parked cars and not hogged the lane and made her pass me with more care, angry that I was angry. So I yelled something and just rode off. I should have stopped to talk to the woman, let her know I was OK, explained that she should have given me more room.
The truth is, it was not even her fault. I should not have been on that road. There is no safe way for cyclists to get through the city. There are a number of excellent cycleways into the city, but once there, there is nothing to do but act like a bike courier and squeeze though traffic in the left lane, keeping right enough to avoid opening doors from parked cars and left enough to avoid holding up traffic.
We need bike routes through the city. The city is failing in its duty of care by giving safe routes into the city, then abandoning cyclists to a dangerous whirlpool of fast-moving metal and angry motorists. Nevertheless, I think riding is the right, healthy and cheapest way for me to commute to work. So I will continue to do it, even if it is likely I will get knocked off again.