It never fails to amaze me some of the reactions I receive when I tell people I'm a bicycle rider.
Today I was in the change room after work, losing the corporate look in favour of the lycra for my commute home on the bike. A woman I don't know came in to use the bathroom and noticed my attire. "Do you ride a bike?" she asked. I bit back the obvious response (well duh!), smiled and answered in the affirmative.
"Do you have far to go?" "No, only about 18km - about 45 minutes in traffic." "Oh wow, you ride that far?" "It sounds like a lot, but isn't much really on a bike."
I steeled myself for the next question. It's one that I get just about every time someone discovers I'm a 40+ female cyclist. "Doesn't it scare you riding on the road?"
So here are some answers to those frequently asked questions I encounter as a bike rider in Brisbane.
Q Why do cyclists wear lycra?
Lycra is a very functional cycling material. It's stretchy (so it moves in all the right places that I need it to move), it breathes (keeping me cool on a summer's day). It dries quickly (as a commuter that is a good thing - I don't want to be pulling on wet Knicks at the end of a long day at work). Just as other sports and past times have specialist clothing, so too is lycra my specialist wear.
Q Aren't you afraid to ride on the road?
Not really. I'm as responsible for my own safety on the road as anyone else. I don't take unnecessary risks and take responsibility for my actions. I choose to follow the road rules, I don't jump red lights (except the ones on side streets that are activated by the weight of a car on a sensor) and I try to make eye contact with other drivers so I can judge their reaction/movement as I pass them coming out of a street.
I'm more afraid of riding on footpaths than roads. Footpaths have driveways, and drivers aren't always looking for bikes crossing their driveways as they back out. Footpaths also have pedestrians. They are more unpredictable than cars. They tend to have earphones in, making it difficult to hear me as I ring my bell or call out to let them know I'm passing. Many have dogs that they are walking both on and off lead, bringing a second unpredictable element to the mix.
Q Why should you be allowed on the road, you don't pay rego?
This is a great question and most people don't like or don't understand the answer.
Rego generally doesn't pay for road maintenance. Local government rates and state taxes pay for roads. However if the reason you want me to be registered is so you can identify rule breakers so that they can be fined, I'd be happy to pay rego. Now car rego is calculated based on carbon emissions ( hence the more cylinders your vehicle has, the more you pay). So based on that calculation, it would probably equate to about $1.00 a year to register a bike and that's rounding it up to the nearest dollar.
Or think of it another way. By riding my bike, I'm taking one car out of traffic each day. The more bikes, the less traffic. That means less wear and tear on roads, so less maintenance costs. Cycling is an active travel option. Recent studies have shown that a 20km commute (one way) saves the government about $30 - in areas such as roads and healthcare. That's a lot of money that would be better spent elsewhere, surely.
Q But what do I do when you're doing 35km/hr in a 60km/hr zone - you're holding up traffic?
What would you do if you were following a car that was driving that slowly? Wait behind them until it's safe to pass, then indicate and go round them? Then that's what you need to do for a bike. They are just the same as any other road user.
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So next time someone tells you they ride a bike, think about the first thing you say. Perhaps lead with, "wow that's great", follow it with a "how long have you been riding for?" And avoid referring to the dangers and how all cyclists break all the rules.
For every cyclist you see run a red, I will see you a red light runner and raise you a driver with a phone in their hand. Does it mean that all car drivers should be off the road? No, it just means that although the majority are doing the right thing, there are also some idiots who think the rules don't apply to them. I make no excuses for them, I just recognise it happens and move on. Generalisations won't help anyone.
Oh, and when you see that cyclist in traffic on the commute to work, keep in mind that if they were in their car (and every other cyclist was too), you'd find yourself in much more congested traffic!
