Life as a small object on the road

From time to time I hear or read someone musing about why more people don’t use the bicycle for transport.

Especially in a town like Palmerston North, which seems ideal for cycling.

I have commuted by bicycle in various cities for 25 years.

I do it to reduce my carbon footprint, but I don’t recommend it as a safe or enjoyable means of transport.

Some motorists are willing to share the road with cyclists, but many apparently are not, and you don’t usually know which is which until a second or two before it matters.

The cyclist has one small advantage, in being able to hear it when an approaching driver jams his foot on the accelerator.

This is a skill I have refined over the years; as well as being able to judge how big, how close, and how well maintained a vehicle is before I see it, I can usually pick the driver as well.

Man or woman, young or old, timid, cocky, angry, learner driver, rev head.

This is only one of the special skills necessary when riding a bicycle on public roads.

I can also turn and look behind me without deviating from a straight line, and balance well enough to take one hand off the handlebars so I can indicate before I turn.

According to the Road Code, cyclists are exempt from this, because riding one-handed can be hazardous.

I also try to avoid slowing down the traffic flow.

I sometimes stop behind a parked car instead of veering out when a car is coming up behind, because I know how unnerving this can be for the driver.

Some motorists are just careless or inattentive, but I’ve also experienced deliberate aggression many times.

I had one woman swerve left in front of me, from a queue of stationary traffic.

It seems she simply didn’t want me to be moving when she wasn’t.

One man tried to get in front of me to turn left, when I was ahead of him, trying to turn right at a T intersection.

It seems some drivers can’t stand a cyclist being in front of them.

The aggro diminishes when they see your face looking at them through their window; perhaps it’s less easy to put someone’s life at risk when you’ve looked into their face.

There are some roads in Palmerston North that I generally avoid if I’m cycling; roads where bicycles and cars don’t mix easily, even when people are careful and considerate, like Tremaine Ave and Grey St.

It would be nice if motorists showed similar awareness of road conditions, but many do not.

The speed limit is 50 kmh, so it is their God-given right to travel at 50 kph at all times, even on George St, or through the Terrace End shopping centre – or in supermarket car parks!

The sound of rush-hour traffic, when you’re on a bicycle, is something to hear.

A hundred feet on a hundred accelerators, a hundred people who spent an extra five minutes in bed, now they’re running late for work – and I’m a small object in their road.

I’ve had people treat me as if I’m intellectually disabled when I’ve popped into a shop wearing my cycling gear, and I met one person who asked me, in amazed tones, ‘‘can’t you drive a car?’’.

The car is a status symbol; if you spend all that money, to change to the latest model every couple of years, I guess you might resent taking your foot off the accelerator for some loser on a bicycle.

The proposed law requiring overtaking drivers to give cyclists up to 1.5 metres of space seems impractical.

I think better education and more skills are needed, for all road users; this might lead to a more cooperative attitude.

If we’re serious about reducing fossil fuel use, something certainly needs to change.

Karen Tutt works as a hospital aide in Palmerston North. She is an avid cyclist and ecologically conscious citizen.