My Thursday column and a short break from politics…
It’s really easy to pick on bike riders, and so I don’t mind admitting that I’ve been successfully trolled by two of my closest friends. Ben Cohen, who also happens to be my boss here, wrote an item the other day titled, Reasons Why Cyclists Suck in which he detailed a series of generalized gripes with cyclists, more or less grouping all of us into one category: self-righteous, entitled road hogs who seek to deliberately make Ben late for work. Later on, Chez Pazienza, my friend, podcast partner and fellow Banter contributor, jumped into the mix in the comments and essentially endorsed Ben’s assessment.
So, true to my nature as a brawler, I have no choice but to respond.
I really try not to take criticisms of cycling personally. After all, it’s just a sport that I happen to enjoy, and I don’t expect anyone else to experience the same fulfillment as I do, nor do I attempt to force cycling on others like some kind of jagoff velo-evangelist. However, I routinely will rush to the defense of cyclists when challenged, or when I feel like critics are being overly nearsighted.
I hasten to note, too, that I also speak as someone who drives a car. In fact, I feel like this gives most cyclists an insight which many drivers/critics lack: most cyclists are also drivers, but most drivers aren’t cyclists.
Along those lines, I’d like to clear up some misconceptions about cyclists. [continue reading here]