Cyclists - a plea

Owing to the joys of my job I get to spend a fair amount of time travelling to Cambridge.

And Cambridge means cyclists.        

Now it has been a very long time since my arse was on a bike so there's only so far I can take this before I'm a massive hypocrite but I only ask a couple of things.

Red lights - not just for cars.       
Dear cyclists,  if you're on the road (which is more than likely) the red traffic lights are for you too. Being in a car and seeing a cyclist go through a red light makes me nervous. In car vs bike, chances are, the car will win. Big style.

Being a pedestrian and nearly being taken out by a cyclist running a red light just damn right pisses me off! I was very nearly in a collision with a cyclist at the lights outside the office as he came racing downhill at a fair speed after he ran a red light. Me vs cyclist? I'm a big girl. There's a chance I'll win but I'd rather not risk it.

Which brings me to cycling helmets. I know there's a school of thought that they don't make any difference, I've seen the arguments, we'll have to agree to disagree. Regardless of this, if there's it's a chance it will save your life, why would you not wear one???? To me it's exactly the same as wearing a seat belt in a car.

And lastly, it's dark, the streets are dark, the road is dark, everything is dark, even the dark is dark.

And so is a special type of cyclist who doesn't wear reflective clothing and doesn't have any bloody lights.

Now I know it's not everybody, certainly coming out of the train station of an evening 99% of people are lit up like Christmas trees which is just the way I like it. It should all be about being seen - reflective clothing and lights. Front and back.

And not those crappy glorified pen torches that seem to be so popular in Cambridge at the moment.

Have you been cycling on a dark Road without any lights only for some mad woman to shout at you as she drives past?

Yeah, there's a chance that was me.

Thanks for reading
Lard
x