I’m a popular cyclist – but only when I bring my toy poodle along for the ride
Iam a middle-aged man on a bicycle. I wear Lycra. According to the mainstream media, I’m a free-loading, red-light dodging, unregistered road warrior cruising on expensive cycle paths that would be better redesigned as traffic lanes.
Yet every day I cycle, people smile at me. Tradies in utes lean out the window and give me the thumbs up. The other day a young woman stopped me and asked if she could take my photo. When I pause for the obligatory coffee midway through my ride, it’s not uncommon for other diners to approach me, their faces beaming. When I share the footpath with pedestrians, they always make room for me after I sound my bell. Most of them grin and wave.
A week ago a policewoman crossing at the traffic lights opposite me smiled, as if my presence had somehow brightened her morning. I kid you not. My secret?
As I cycle, hanging around my neck is a dark blue dog pouch. Inside the pouch, with only her head poking out, is a 3.5kg toy poodle named Biscuit. Like most dogs, Biscuit looks at everyone with a friendly tilt of the head, her eyes sparkling, perhaps hoping for a treat, or a pat.
Biscuit’s superpower is to transform a man in Lycra into a human being. A fellow traveller. A dog lover. A person to be respected. I am no longer the “other”. The angry cyclist. The one who clogs footpaths and rides either too fast or too slow according to the conditions. A “law-breaker”.
I’m always astonished at just how influential Biscuit can be. Motorists, once they see her, always wave me through at the intersection, even when it’s not my turn. Because I love Biscuit dearly, I ride with more caution than before. Cyclists, despite what you’ve read and heard, are usually defensive road users. We’re not protected by airbags and two tonnes of metal so it’s in our nature to be careful, to err on the side of safety. With valuable cargo aboard, I cycle just that little bit slower, always watchful for the unexpected.
Sign up for a weekly email featuring our best reads
When my wife and I first welcomed Biscuit into our apartment, I suggested taking her for a bike ride, just to add variety to her daily 4km walk with us both. We were equally sceptical. I chose a nearby bike path beside a creek where there would be no noisy cars or trucks to scare her. I cycled very slowly and talked to her, pointing out the magpies in the trees, the lizards scampering