Slow cycling

I was astonished when a fellow Australian described our bicycles riders here as “racing” but now I think she’s right. And it’s really off-putting.

This conversation took place in the city recently voted most bicycle friendly in the world – Amsterdam – in a discussion about how the parents there wobble about with kids perched on handlebar seats and in adapted bikes with trolleys. In our streets, parents dash along furtively, tempting prosecution on the footpaths or tempting fate on the roads.

I rode to work today the Amsterdam way ... in the clothes I intended to wear in the office, at a leisurely pace all the way down the Maribyrnong River cycle path (a little know wonder of our city here in Melbourne) to Footscray train station, where I locked up and caught the train to work. I was a little hot when I got there but did not need the lycra body suit to cope. I didn’t even need a drink of water.

I was passed by several riders, superhero-like in their skin tight suits, as I tootled along. They crouched over the bent handlebars of their expensive racers, sweeping me along in their slipstream if they were going my way. There was one guy riding the other way on an ordinary bike, in a hoodie and trainers. Nothing fancy. Otherwise, the path was deserted.

It is not just the rule about wearing helmets and the lack of bike paths that put people off riding around our city, despite it being flat as a pancake – it’s the aggressive, speedy and dare I say snooty and possibly macho approach to fellow cyclists.

Naturally, I turned to the Bicycle Victoria website and found it was hip to this trend. It was done some surveying and found this:

Riders say the top five things that other riders do that tick them off are:

1. Red light running

2. Queue jumping

3. Aggressive riding

4. Distracted riding

5. Meandering

Now it is weird that we don’t like aggressive riding and meandering but at least it is clear that aggressive is ranked as worse than distracted or meandering.

I was pleasantly surprised at the wobbling, meandering and mind-changing cyclists that were tolerated on Amsterdam’s compressed roads and bike paths. It wasn’t a problem. There were also speedsters but they seemed to realise they held second place in the game.

Our attitudes cost nothing to change and we can do it today.

If you are a fellow bike rider, or a driver who would like fewer cars on our roads (because more people are riding), or a parent who wants their kids to get more exercise, it’s time to start a new movement: slow cycling.

Do you agree? Write and tell me your views.

BRW

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