Beep, honk, screaming, middle fingers, being cursed at. Threatened. Spanked. And in worst cases, run off the road. Hit. We all know the drill. Unfortunately, it's part of our daily routines in our lives as cyclists. Whether you are a competitive cyclist, triathlete, someone training for fitness, riding for fun, commuting... At the end of the day, it doesn't matter. We are all cyclists, and out journeys on the road are full of those moments and memories we treasure so much. But also, our lives on the road are full of less than memorable moments where the anger of motorists can, in a second, take precious things from us. Our health, our lives, and that of our dear riding partners, the ones we share so many memories with.
Speaking about anger, most of us are aware of the awful Twitter rants from certain public figures that have chosen to use the huge following they have and in some cases media, to spread more of what we dread so much and fight, but face every day. Anger in the road towards us.
How to forget @MrMichael_Smith who infamously mocked this year's Tour De France scariest moment when Hoogerland and Flecha were hit by a car? How can you possibly make fun of an accident that could have caused the death of two human beings and therefore cause the suffering of their friends, families and teammates for a lifetime? That one for me is still hard to swallow. In part because a few months before, a riding partner was hit by a car. And the man didn't even stop. He left her lying on the floor, with some broken bones in her back that required major surgery so she could walk again. In part because two men I've deeply loved were almost killed by motorists while training on their bikes. Oh, and how to forget the day where in middle of a traffic jam I saw an ambulance and looked to the side only to see a seatpost in the grass while the scene was being protected by that awful yellow tape? All I know is I'll never forget the face of the guy whose dad was killed that day while doing a training ride. And although I can only speak for myself, Mr. Smith's apology felt more like it was forced by his pr team.
And now that I mention team. Today, another media person felt the full wrath of the cycling community. Although I must say @SamdeBrito did something very different to what Mr. Smith did. Sam did not wait long to apologize. But he seemed shocked of how "passionate" we cyclists are.
What he doesn't understand is that different to football, baseball and other sports, at least for me, every cyclist, at the end of the day, belongs to my team. Some are faster, some train harder, some are uniquely talented and gifted. So much that it allows them to earn a living doing what we all love. We are all cyclists. We share the same love for the sport and our beloved two wheeled friends, who happen to sleep inside our houses and in some cases, in our bedrooms! We also share the same experiences, the same fears and joys of riding. When we see another cyclist stop, we stop. Or simply ask if he or she is ok. You lend a tube, Co2, cell phone... whatever is needed. You simply do what you would do for a teammate. It doesn't matter if you know the cyclist or not. Now why do we do that? Well, again only my inexperienced voice here but I think it is because that girl with a flat tire on the side of the road reminds me of my first few rides, when I didn't even know how to change a flat. When I was scared to death to go out but I still braved on and went for solo rides. Or because you know too well that guy that just crashed his bike or is being taken off the road by a car driver can be you at any moment. So we defend each other and fiercely try to get our voices out.
Now, although I can understand our frustration, I am disgusted by some of the responses by our cycling community. Some people have responded not only with unbeilivable verbal abuse and rants but some have chosen to take it even further, wishing horrible things to these people and threatening physical injury if they ever cross paths. It's crazy how some people try to validate their point. And my concern is that instead of getting the real messages we need to get across, those attitudes might actually backfire on us.
So today for me was one of those "back to the drawing board" days. I've had a couple ideas on how to try improve conditions for me and my fellow cyclists. And I think a lot of it is that people just don't know. They don't understand. No rocket science there. We all knew that. But really, just to give an example, today I was covering an event with my camera guy. Mind you, he has nothing to do with bikes. He is extremely overweight and in his own journey to health and fitness. The thing is since he is working with me, and seeing firsthand how cyclists struggle, get yelled at and how the drivers make passes and turns that could easily hurt the cyclists, my camera guy is now a "cycling friendly driver" and advocate. Yesterday he was genuinely frustrated while watching the cars get in front of the cyclists or get too close to them.
That got me thinking that everytime someone pulls a @MrMichael_Smith I will call him out for it, but there is really a lot more I think I can do. There are a lot of "camera guys" out there that might just need some information and perhaps an insight into our lives as cyclists and our great need of space and respect on the road. So how can I help? That was the question in my mind all day. A lot of things came up. But for starters, although I don't tend to think much about it, sometimes, like today, people give me friendly reminders that as a public figure in my country, I have a voice that can be heard by a lot of people. So in my "back to drawing board" session I decided to use that gift and am designing a PSA campaign that will launch within the next few months. There are also quite a few other projects that I hope will help get our voices out, educate and also help reinforce existing laws.
But even so, I think the question should never stop. I want safer roads and conditions for me and my friends.... then what am I doing to make that happen? Because one thing for sure... just complaining ain't gonna cut it.
Speaking about anger, most of us are aware of the awful Twitter rants from certain public figures that have chosen to use the huge following they have and in some cases media, to spread more of what we dread so much and fight, but face every day. Anger in the road towards us.
How to forget @MrMichael_Smith who infamously mocked this year's Tour De France scariest moment when Hoogerland and Flecha were hit by a car? How can you possibly make fun of an accident that could have caused the death of two human beings and therefore cause the suffering of their friends, families and teammates for a lifetime? That one for me is still hard to swallow. In part because a few months before, a riding partner was hit by a car. And the man didn't even stop. He left her lying on the floor, with some broken bones in her back that required major surgery so she could walk again. In part because two men I've deeply loved were almost killed by motorists while training on their bikes. Oh, and how to forget the day where in middle of a traffic jam I saw an ambulance and looked to the side only to see a seatpost in the grass while the scene was being protected by that awful yellow tape? All I know is I'll never forget the face of the guy whose dad was killed that day while doing a training ride. And although I can only speak for myself, Mr. Smith's apology felt more like it was forced by his pr team.
And now that I mention team. Today, another media person felt the full wrath of the cycling community. Although I must say @SamdeBrito did something very different to what Mr. Smith did. Sam did not wait long to apologize. But he seemed shocked of how "passionate" we cyclists are.
What he doesn't understand is that different to football, baseball and other sports, at least for me, every cyclist, at the end of the day, belongs to my team. Some are faster, some train harder, some are uniquely talented and gifted. So much that it allows them to earn a living doing what we all love. We are all cyclists. We share the same love for the sport and our beloved two wheeled friends, who happen to sleep inside our houses and in some cases, in our bedrooms! We also share the same experiences, the same fears and joys of riding. When we see another cyclist stop, we stop. Or simply ask if he or she is ok. You lend a tube, Co2, cell phone... whatever is needed. You simply do what you would do for a teammate. It doesn't matter if you know the cyclist or not. Now why do we do that? Well, again only my inexperienced voice here but I think it is because that girl with a flat tire on the side of the road reminds me of my first few rides, when I didn't even know how to change a flat. When I was scared to death to go out but I still braved on and went for solo rides. Or because you know too well that guy that just crashed his bike or is being taken off the road by a car driver can be you at any moment. So we defend each other and fiercely try to get our voices out.
Now, although I can understand our frustration, I am disgusted by some of the responses by our cycling community. Some people have responded not only with unbeilivable verbal abuse and rants but some have chosen to take it even further, wishing horrible things to these people and threatening physical injury if they ever cross paths. It's crazy how some people try to validate their point. And my concern is that instead of getting the real messages we need to get across, those attitudes might actually backfire on us.
So today for me was one of those "back to the drawing board" days. I've had a couple ideas on how to try improve conditions for me and my fellow cyclists. And I think a lot of it is that people just don't know. They don't understand. No rocket science there. We all knew that. But really, just to give an example, today I was covering an event with my camera guy. Mind you, he has nothing to do with bikes. He is extremely overweight and in his own journey to health and fitness. The thing is since he is working with me, and seeing firsthand how cyclists struggle, get yelled at and how the drivers make passes and turns that could easily hurt the cyclists, my camera guy is now a "cycling friendly driver" and advocate. Yesterday he was genuinely frustrated while watching the cars get in front of the cyclists or get too close to them.
That got me thinking that everytime someone pulls a @MrMichael_Smith I will call him out for it, but there is really a lot more I think I can do. There are a lot of "camera guys" out there that might just need some information and perhaps an insight into our lives as cyclists and our great need of space and respect on the road. So how can I help? That was the question in my mind all day. A lot of things came up. But for starters, although I don't tend to think much about it, sometimes, like today, people give me friendly reminders that as a public figure in my country, I have a voice that can be heard by a lot of people. So in my "back to drawing board" session I decided to use that gift and am designing a PSA campaign that will launch within the next few months. There are also quite a few other projects that I hope will help get our voices out, educate and also help reinforce existing laws.
But even so, I think the question should never stop. I want safer roads and conditions for me and my friends.... then what am I doing to make that happen? Because one thing for sure... just complaining ain't gonna cut it.
