You'd think people on bikes, on bike paths that keep them out of traffic, would be relaxed and enjoy their rides. My commute is 17 km on a paved pathway that crosses only two auto-bearing roads, one at the beginning and one at the end. It's heaven.
Except for my fellow "cyclists". I used hooks here because I don't consider myself a cyclist any longer. I'm a bike rider. A bike rider doesn't need to wear Lycra or have to dress like a comic book hero before throwing a leg over a bike saddle, which seems to have become de rigueur. You're actually looked upon as a totally hick by cyclists if you don't dress the part. And you're treated accordingly. It's like with motorcyles - Harley riders don't wave to guys on Yamahas. I remember the before-days when I wore Lycra and billboard jerseys and it was the other way around. I was the dork with the funny pants and weird shoes.
I've been back from a very relaxing bike-riding holiday for four days now, and I'm amazed at how uptight all the cyclists are on the bike paths. Instead of happy, smiling faces I see grim, determined cyclists smoking along at twice the 20kph speed limit. And you'd better not get in their way! It's not a Recreational Pathway after all, for all to use - no it's a Bike, er, Cycle Path! A super highway designed specifically for cyclists to see how fast they can go.
I can only imagine how much pedestrians must cringe whenever they hear a bicycle coming up behind them. Before the Ottawa River pathway was repaved and widened, the roadies road on the Parkway. Now they terrorize the pathways. I'm actually considering returning to the roads I used before the pathways became tolerable to ride on with skinny tyres. It's less stressful!
I still have the jerseys and shorts and shoes and I may even wear them again. I just hope I'm more courteous to my fellow pathway users than some of the cyclists I've met this week.
Come on, everyone. Relax. It's a bike ride for crying out loud! :)
