Road rage is in the news. Boofhead Shane Warne had a run-in with a cyclist and is now bitching on Twitter about how we should all be licensed. (Of course, Warnie’s version bears little resemblance to the cyclist’s.) I was also shocked to read about this incident in New Zealand where an American cyclist was knocked off his bike and punched in the face.
I was just saying to the Snook last night that I actually felt safer riding down the lane with traffic than I did on a bike lane or shared footpath. Now I’m not so sure.
3 responses
he is SUCH a DICK. i just saw him on the news screeching about cyclists dont own the road. neither do car drivers warne. especially not someone with their skin stretched over their face like that. how can anyone take him seriously about anything?!
You are definitely safer in the lane with the traffic. Just be as visible as possible. Fortunately, it’s not as grey and rainy for you as it is for us, but bright lights, day glo and reflective gear are always helpful!
We’ve been seeing car v. bike anger pick up this year in Seattle, too. It’s really unfortunate, and does make the road even scarier. Most people, however, are courteous; we just don’t notice them as much.
I’d much, much prefer shared footpaths, like in Tokyo.
And it’s not like Tokyo is a well-planned or new city (i.e. same issues as Sydney). If the footpath is wide enough, it’s shared. If it isn’t wide enough, everyone (pedestrians, bikes, cars) are all on the road but the cars know they’re the least important & go slow, like less than 10k. Actually, I’ve only really seen taxis drive down those small roads, with a scowling, embarrassed passenger inside…