You CAN ring your bell

I‘ve been known to hurl a four-letter word at my fellow cyclists as I pedal across the city. The word is “bell’’. That’s B-E-L-L, I thought it best to spell it out for my fellow pedallers as most of them seem not to know what that shiney thing attached to their handlebars is for.

I have to admit several other four letter words spring to mind as I witness this irritating sound of silence on Peterborough’s pathways.

Most bikes have them, but most riders seem relucant to use them. Or maybe they don’t know what they are for. City cyclists don’t appear to be the brightest – they struggle with concepts such as ‘keep left’.

Yet on shared pathways where the two-wheelers occupy the space with the likes of dopey dog owners they are a vital safety feature... for both rider and third parties.

Anybody who uses the city’s paths/cycleways knows there are plenty of blind corners and overhanging bushes (thanks, city council) that mean care should be taken. But my experience is that city cyclists just don’t care about pedestrians and their rights. In fact they are the two-wheel equivalent of the stereotypical BMW driver (who no doubt any cyclists who venture onto the roads complain bitterly about).

I looked for a pattern to establish which cyclists are contributing to the bell hell.

But there isn’t one – the guilty range from the full Lycra saddoes to the ones that inspired a famous Queen song. I admit you have to be bold and possess a fairly thick skin to ring your bell. So many people are either engrossed in their phones, listening to music on their headphones or showing how inept they are at controlling their dogs, that a bell startles them.

It often results in an angry glare ... I’ve even had a few four-letter words hurled at me.

Cyclists should feel naked without a bell