The Lady Guide to Modern Manners: 27 June
Dear Thomas,
I just have to tell you about a rather magnificent triumph I achieved last week. I stopped a cyclist who was riding on the pavement. ‘This is for pedestrians,’ I said. Would you believe it, he meekly got off his bike and apologised!
Bella Anderson, Peterborough
Dear Bella,
Not everybody would be so bold. Well done! Cycling on the pavement is, of course, illegal and offenders can be fined up to £60. About 20 people a year are seriously injured by pavement bikers. That aside, anyone on foot is bound to feel intimidated by a whirring machine, however ‘safely’ ridden, encroaching on their space.
Whenever cyclists come up in conversation, someone will say: ‘Lycra-louts; they jump red lights, ride on the pavement and go down one-way streets the wrong way.’ At times, as a dedicated urban cyclist myself, I’ve found this odd. Nobody would discuss other groups – for instance, pedestrians – in such a dismissive, generalised way: ‘They all cross the road when the light is red or wander into the path of oncoming vehicles.’
But in my own humble experience, there’s some truth in the stereotype of the pushy, aggressive and self-righteous cyclist. In London at least, cycling is primarily a fitness activity, rather than a way of getting about. Time and again I’ve been pedalling along, at quite a good lick for my age, only to hear the frantic panting right in my ear of some maniac coming up behind, trying to overtake, with inches to spare. If you think of pedal bikers as benign, organic, eco-friendly, even vegetarian, forget it. These brutes are just like certain kinds of motorist – got to get to the front, got to get ahead, at any cost.
It occurs to me that there are certain places where those on foot and those on wheels are permitted to share the space – canal towpaths, for instance, and bridges over canals. There are several such near where I live. I was on the verge of thinking that this system of sharing works quite well, with joggers, parents with pushchairs and cyclists existing in a happy commonwealth. Until, that is, I took an evening ride along the towpath to visit a friend. It was utter hell. I was hounded constantly by be- Lycra-ed spiders, getting far too close, trying to overtake when there wasn’t room or not slowing down when coming the other way and the space was narrow. I made the classic mistake of getting cross.
No, it won’t work. Give a person a superior vehicle, with the capacity to outstrip all competition, and they’ll take advantage and push to the maximum. There’s no point in hoping that cyclists will amble along agreeably among pedestrians, taking the uttermost care. If they did, there’d be no problem. But they won’t.
Please send your questions to Thomas.blaikie@lady.co.uk or write to him at The Lady, 39-40 Bedford Street, London WC2E 9ER
I just have to tell you about a rather magnificent triumph I achieved last week. I stopped a cyclist who was riding on the pavement. ‘This is for pedestrians,’ I said. Would you believe it, he meekly got off his bike and apologised!
Bella Anderson, Peterborough
Dear Bella,
Not everybody would be so bold. Well done! Cycling on the pavement is, of course, illegal and offenders can be fined up to £60. About 20 people a year are seriously injured by pavement bikers. That aside, anyone on foot is bound to feel intimidated by a whirring machine, however ‘safely’ ridden, encroaching on their space.
Whenever cyclists come up in conversation, someone will say: ‘Lycra-louts; they jump red lights, ride on the pavement and go down one-way streets the wrong way.’ At times, as a dedicated urban cyclist myself, I’ve found this odd. Nobody would discuss other groups – for instance, pedestrians – in such a dismissive, generalised way: ‘They all cross the road when the light is red or wander into the path of oncoming vehicles.’
But in my own humble experience, there’s some truth in the stereotype of the pushy, aggressive and self-righteous cyclist. In London at least, cycling is primarily a fitness activity, rather than a way of getting about. Time and again I’ve been pedalling along, at quite a good lick for my age, only to hear the frantic panting right in my ear of some maniac coming up behind, trying to overtake, with inches to spare. If you think of pedal bikers as benign, organic, eco-friendly, even vegetarian, forget it. These brutes are just like certain kinds of motorist – got to get to the front, got to get ahead, at any cost.
It occurs to me that there are certain places where those on foot and those on wheels are permitted to share the space – canal towpaths, for instance, and bridges over canals. There are several such near where I live. I was on the verge of thinking that this system of sharing works quite well, with joggers, parents with pushchairs and cyclists existing in a happy commonwealth. Until, that is, I took an evening ride along the towpath to visit a friend. It was utter hell. I was hounded constantly by be- Lycra-ed spiders, getting far too close, trying to overtake when there wasn’t room or not slowing down when coming the other way and the space was narrow. I made the classic mistake of getting cross.
No, it won’t work. Give a person a superior vehicle, with the capacity to outstrip all competition, and they’ll take advantage and push to the maximum. There’s no point in hoping that cyclists will amble along agreeably among pedestrians, taking the uttermost care. If they did, there’d be no problem. But they won’t.
Please send your questions to Thomas.blaikie@lady.co.uk or write to him at The Lady, 39-40 Bedford Street, London WC2E 9ER