Thu 24 May 2012 | 
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Enlarge textMike Tomalaris writes about a gentle Good Friday training ride that was spoiled by a toothless Commodore driving stereotype, and asks, why?
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I'd like to think I'm a simple person who enjoys the simple pleasures in life - one of which is riding my bike every weekend.
It's come to pass that while cycling continues to enjoy an amazing
growth spurt, my recent on-road experiences tell me it still struggles
for acceptance among the masses.
What am I talking about? Let me explain.
There's nothing that gives me more excitement than to link up with my
regular riding buddies for the weekly trek through the suburbs of Sydney
- my home city.
I generally clock up around 85km per day,
door-to-door. The route takes in the parameters of the Sutherland Shire,
an area known for its glorious beaches, estuaries and sporting culture.
In more recent times "The Shire" has gained a reputation for possessing
a somewhat insular outlook, and that was never better illustrated as a
result of the 2005 Cronulla riots which made international headlines.
But also troubling is the apparent disregard by some in the area for those who enjoy an (very) early morning ride.
Some describe them as "red-necks", but I prefer to use the current Australian slang, bogans.
You know who they are -- those stereotypes who stick their heads out of
older model Commodores (usually) and hurl abusive language to us
warriors wearing lycra and whose main aim is to simply enjoy life,
minding our own business and pushing a two-wheeled machine in the quiet
hours of the day.
So there we were on Good Friday, copping a
mouthful from a bloke who had more fingers than teeth. The b, f and
c-words were dripping from his re-arranged mouth.
In fact, from
my experiences, it seems we get the abuse every time we enter The Shire
and from what I can tell, that sort of behaviour doesn't regularly exist
in any other part of Sydney -- or so I thought.
It prompted me to make a call to Twitter and ask my fellow roadies: "is this behaviour exclusive to Sydney? Need assurance?"
Much to my surprise I was inundated with responses from cyclists from all over the country.
Take some of these comments for example:
- "Brisbane has got to be the worst place for abuse. Cop it pretty much every ride." Declan Kilkenny.
- "Melbourne's eastern suburbs is full of the same, but mainly swerving from BMW owners in their shiny 4WD's is the bigger problem." Jarrod Partridge
- "I got yelled at as well today. Always a P plate on the offending vehicle." A Rod
- "Rosebud Mornington Peninsula worst! Perfect storm of bogan meets geriatric meets badly designed cycle lanes!" Sven
- "Nope, not exclusive (to the Shire). I get yelled at all the time while dodging broken glass those types were no doubt responsible for." Stuart Morton
- "Just think the more expensive the fuel gets the less you will see of the morons, total reversal." Darryl Noonan
- "Come down to Canberra and ride during Summernats. Abuse is the least of your problems. Fireworks, cans, other objects thrown." Martin Miles
- "Also get that in Perth during morning rides. Surprisingly, don't get that during evening/nite rides. Bogans 2 drunk to drive?" Dean A Martin
- "I like to hurl abuse at other cyclists while I ride Mike. Just keeping in touch with my roots as a bogan Aussie!" Greg C
Now, this is just a small sample. I got many, many more tweets from riders expressing similar experiences. So how do we stop the abuse?
For now I can only scratch my head in confusion as I don't have a definitive answer, but I'd say an educational process for those who have never ridden a bike may be a good start.
After all we are constantly encouraged to share the roads, but if verbal attacks are an everyday part of riding a bike, then maybe there's still a long way to go.
For daily rapid-fire commentary in 140 characters you can follow Mike on Twitter.
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Comments (99)
Previous 10 |
08 Nov 2011 20:47 AEST
From: gulargambone
a farmer, cyclist from middle of nowhere rode churchpoint akuna bay loop last weekend early and very scary dont know how you city dwellers do it
23 Aug 2011 11:53 AEST
From:
I am accustomed to the usual B, F and C shower, objects being thrown from vehicles (i.e. beer bottles) and air horns. But little do these as Mike pretty much summed up in the most perfect 'toothless Commodore driving stereotype" we pretty much know where you people are going (Woolies and more appropriately the local bottle-o) so we can and will find you. Cranksets are usually a pretty good weapon. Hehe. You made my day Mike Tomalaris!
10 Aug 2011 20:38 AEST
From:
Have riden for 35yrs raced for the last 20yrs I'm now 42. Abuse has always been a problem but is increasing as our population incease's. Perhaps we need to follow L.A.. lead and introduce a bill of rights for cyclists? Best thing to do is make sure we do the right thing, don't react to their stupidity, note the rego and report every incident to the police. Lets get the statistics to back our side.
10 Aug 2011 12:42 AEST
From: Sylvania
Agree that the Shire is full of bogans who would rather run riders off the road than keep them there safely.
10 Aug 2011 11:34 AEST
From: Glenmore Park
I push out 100-150kms a week in western Sydney & I've got to say abuse is rare. But there's plenty of riders who are their own worst enemy, the main offender being those who disobey traffic signals (as tempting as it is to roll through a red light if nothing's coming) they're the sorts of things that drivers despise and as much as we say drivers need educating, I think us riders would benefit from some ourselves. While each side is blaming the other we'll never have a cooperative existance.
04 Aug 2011 14:53 AEST
From: Perth
I don't even think the problem really lies with Cyclists V Drivers, I think it comes from a couple of things. There seems to be an attitude of get outta my way Im bigger than you with some drivers that occurs even when Im driving my car, cars larger than mine simply trying to barge their way in. Drivers need to be taught to see and not just look also. The number of times I have almost been Tboned at give ways both on my bike (not taught to look for vehicles smaller than cars) is too many.
23 Jul 2011 18:42 AEST
From: Canberra
A variation on the problem. I run regularly on shared paths around Canberra with cyclists and walkers. I usually cannot hear a cyclist until he is almost past me. It is good when they ring the bell or call something like "bike coming" so I can move left. I always give them a wave and thank them for the courtesy. But these cyclists are rare and a couple of times I have almost been run down and sworn at. There is no need for that. A bit of consideration goes a long way.
23 Jul 2011 12:07 AEST
From: Metro Adelaide
I ride with my 14yr old son on the roads in Adelaide. He was knocked off his bike when the driver simply didn't see him and turned right in front. He has learnt to ride defensively and can now "hear" the cars as they come and is getting good at picking the type of driver based on engine now. It won't always help us but being aware of our surroundings and sharing the road helps make the rides that bit better. Getting away from the city traffic regions does give more time for relaxed riding.
22 Jul 2011 14:48 AEST
From: West Como
QUOTE: "The route takes in the parameters of the Sutherland Shire, an area known for its glorious beaches, estuaries and sporting culture." I too am a Shire boy. The place is not designed for bikes. On a Sunday you need to finish riding by 8:00 am or else cars pose a great danger. -
22 Jul 2011 13:22 AEST
From: Killarney
A widespread problem we cyclists face in Australia - are Yoboriginese. I've copped abuse, disrespect, disregard and had my life threatened. One guy in a red Merc used his vehicle as a weapon to assault me in Swanston St Melbourne [the main drag]. I rode motorbikes for decades - same story. Rode both in Italy for years - no problems. Many Australians have appalling attitudes to all kinds of things - especially differences. Alas our culture tends to be dominated by the lowest-common-denominator.
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