picture via mr walker
I’m not in the business of anger management or any kind of therapy, but because it’s a big deal for me I’m sure it’s a big deal for pretty much any cyclist on the roads in modern Britain – and indeed probably elsewhere too, but especially in Britain.
I refer of course to the anger that cyclists often feel about the way they’re treated on the road. Some of you may remember my earlier post on how to have presence on the roads; but this, I’m afraid, only goes a certain distance towards securing your rights as a road user. You will still find motorists out there who will fail to respect your personal space and your right to use the roads (and, of course, motorists will always find that there are cyclists who fail to enjoy the rights because they fail to observe the responsibilities… but that’s another topic!).
Some personal stories then. I could tell you about a thousand times when I’ve been cut up, or someone overtakes and then stops, or when they pull up alongside at the traffic lights when you’re turning right and they’re turning left… yes, it’s annoying and I imagine you’re nodding along, remembering the thousand times it’s happened to you too.
But at the end of the day, you’re a little bit protected by law and a teeny tiny bit protected by the motorists’ fear for their paint job or whatever – what you’re not protected from is the anger it might cause you. Now I’m a calm person and I can probably still count on one hand… okay make that two hands… the number of times I’ve actually been really angry about anything at all. But it’s natural, isn’t it, to be totally disgruntled if you are not afforded the rights you know you are entitled to.
I just want to talk a little about how to deal with this, then.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m no expert… it still irritates me a little when the bus lurches ahead and then stops in the bus stop that is, for some reason, completely blocking the cycle lane… that sort of thing… but oh the whole you’ve got to remember that you’ve ridden for who-knows-how-many years and are still alive. In my five years here in Liverpool I’ve been hit only twice, and only one of those was an actually got-mown-down kinda deal. Sure it shouldn’t happen, and sure it’s not right… but there are things to do and places to go that are less safe.
I’m not saying there’s no problem, or that the councils shouldn’t sort it all out – they should. But remember to count the blessings. Remember that occasionally there’s a motorist who’ll give you an extra wide berth just because he knows his car is intimidating, or someone will flash you through at a bottleneck, or that once in a while the motorist does actually know you’re there and treat you like a real live road user. It happens, and you just have to make note of these and try to forget about the rest.
Why? Because it changes the way you ride.
I don’t want to say that you shouldn’t learn from your experiences, but if you only ever have in your mind the less-than-commendable choices of some motorists, then you will ride in such a way that says you hate motorists; if the motorist picks this up, natural pride will take offence and the whole thing will escalate. It’s the truth. Forgive and be forgiven is the key – take each trip as a new journey, a new day of road experiences. Perhaps today will be the day four drivers in a row will treat you with respect. Today will be the day that you won’t get cut up on the freeway (or whatever the cool kids say) – and, if it’s not that day, then there’s always tomorrow.
Be safe, stay alert – but let time brush away the grudges of yesterday and you’ll be a happier, healthier cyclist.