During my walk to the bus stop and my subsequent bus ride into the City, I lost count of the number of cyclists riding on the pavements. It make my blood boil.
Through gritted teeth, I say this. In their defence, I guess the only excuse for cycling on the pavements is when it is particularly and suddenly dangerous for them to cycle on the road - i.e. when they have to ride on the pavement to avoid injury by a vehicle - but then it becomes dangerous for pedestrians. Why should you have to scan the pavement ahead of you or look behind you to check for cyclists? Why should you have to put up with idiots on the pavements - who should know better - whizzing around street corners on their bikes?
Most pavement cyclists do what they do without thinking - and it bloody well annoys me, because it turns pavements into extra-wide cycle lanes. That's another excuse, perhaps - the apparent lack of cycle lanes.
But let me go on. I would like to see more pavements cyclists stopped and fined on-the-spot by the police - when you see them. And I would love to see more pedestrians remonstrating with them, were it not the fact that you would probably get a mouthful of abuse... or a lot worse. Probably not a wise course of action. And so it goes on unchallenged.
And have you noticed that the latest craze is to cycle with your hands in your pockets or hanging down by your side? Sometimes, with headphones on; often, without a helmet. If they hit a pothole or a loose paving slab, can you imagine? They are playing a dangerous game.
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