Moving Target, Issue #4, Summer 1989
by C.C. Brave
Summer's here again and with the start of every summer, the media crawls out from beneath the moss to take its seasonal interest in (cc's). In conjunction with this seasonal influx of new riders to the circuit come articles in Newspapers, and on Radio and T.V. Few of these are constructive, in the main they exploit our trendy image, or scaremonger about us being psychopathic.
The misguided opinion that c.c's care little for life or limb, comes from our style of cycling. Using all parts of the road, riding faster than the traffic and being able to respond quickly to changing circumstances are all characteristics. A minority ignore traffic signals which causes irritation, but it is a lot less dangerous than you might think. A few are hot heads, they usually learn the hard way.
The real culprit is the level of congestion in Central London. Everybody, car drivers, motorbikes, pedestrians, everyone is fighting for space. In this free for all we laughingly call a traffic system it is necessary to be assertive whether driving a vehicle, riding a bike or simply crossing the road. Cyclists are no different from other road users, except by being more vulnerable. Many have learnt that it isn't always safe to sit timidly on the left, and that assertive riding gets you noticed. CC's, simply by the nature of their work have been forced to adopt this style. They take the road space they consider necessary, they anticipate, and they make people notice them. They appear to be dangerous simply because they move quickly, both in a straight line and when weaving. They are not; if you ride dangerously the most likely person to be hurt is yourself. It's in your own best interest to be safe.
The sheer number of hours that cc's spend on the road make them some of the most experienced city cyclists in Britain. It also means a high profile in a media orientated city. Year after year they glamourise cc,'s into a macho manic stereotype, all bulging cycle pants and 'Death or Glory' tatoos. Promoting this image of us is potentially dangerous. All cyclists are vulnerable, they have neither power or protection. The last thing that cyclists and cc's need is for motorists to justify their dangerous and often illegal manoeuvres by thinking that we're all 'mad fuckers' anyway. I believe that the media by sensationalizing bad cycling is actually glamourizing it.
As mentioned hundreds of new riders join the circuit at this time of year. Many of these people are attracted by easy money and the glamour, few will be experienced cyclists. This mixture of inexperience and living up to an image means that these new cc's will be the most vulnerable . Some of them may be injured or even killed this summer.
The media could do a more constructive job, they are right to draw attention to problems that cc's cause but should give us the right to put our side of the argument. Their criticism is of little use unless accompanied by constructive ideas or solutions.
Assertive cycling isn't going to go away; it is a symptom of the city environment. Rather than making it into a problem I'd like to see the media address some of the issues that affect us all. Should cycling be promoted as the 'green option' for getting around town'? If so, further provision must be made for the safety of cyclists. I tend to think that the prevalent 'psychopathic courier' image would disappear if pedestrians used the green cross code and if every major route had a cycle lane.
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