The Secret Cyclist: 'Too fast for the pathway and too slow for the road'

'I admit to some envy of people who row. To have a place where you can enjoy training and competitions without having to worry about being knocked down, intimidated, or verbally abused.' 

I have a carte blanche to write about cycling, which is both exciting and daunting. I haven’t written about power meters and which carbon bikes take corners the best, as there are far more knowledgeable writers than me in various cycling magazines, blogs, and websites.

A bog-standard account of what a week of cycling looks like for a Joe Soap living in Cork might be dull or thought-provoking, depending on your interest in such matters. So let’s give it a go.

Monday was a bank holiday and, to my best recollection, I didn’t leave the house, so there was no cycling, or indeed any movement/transport. My partner changed jobs recently and wanted to commute to her new work, so we got the Cork street map out in the evening.

We traced a route that tried to balance safety with convenience. Thinking about your route is something that people who cycle do a lot. She works in healthcare and I’m always impressed to hear that so many people working in Cork hospitals cycle to work.

Not only are they looking out for our health, but their own, and the environment.

'The bumpability factor'

'If there were a cargo bike rental scheme in Cork, I would have jumped at the opportunity to collect the bookshelf by bike.'

On Tuesday, I had to collect a bookshelf that was delivered to my sister’s house as part of a larger IKEA order. Sending out the ‘I’m doing an IKEA order’ text to friends and family is an integral part of life outside of the Greater Dublin region. Driving out to collect the bookshelf, and returning with it in the car, was boring and predictable.

If there were a cargo bike rental scheme in Cork, I would have jumped at the opportunity to collect the bookshelf by bike. Chances are I would have bumped into someone I know on the way out or back and perhaps stopped for a coffee. I like that about walking and cycling in Cork, the ‘bumpability’ factor. 

There’s also definitely something more rewarding about transporting large things using your own steam. By Wednesday, I was acutely aware that I hadn’t done much physical exercise this week and planned to meet a friend for a cycle. 

We should be proud of our heritage and success in team sports in Ireland, but I think we need to appreciate other sports that enable people to experience their own version of success and enjoyment. 

These pastimes, activities, and hobbies also ought to be valued and prioritised. Rollerbladers, skateboarders, horse riders, rowers, surfers, I welcome you with open arms.

I admit to some envy of people who row. To have a place where you can enjoy training and competitions without having to worry about being knocked down, intimidated, or verbally abused is something I can only dream of. It’s counter-intuitive to think that being on the water is safer than land, but so it goes.

I mention this because on Wednesday, as my friend and I cycled between Carrigaline and Crosshaven, a person driving a car gave us a good six seconds of his horn as he overtook us. I knew exactly why he was angry. We were cycling on the road and there is a greenway running alongside, ergo we should have been cycling on the greenway.

What this man probably didn’t appreciate was that we were cycling single file, with a nice headwind behind us and moving at around 35km/h. Such speeds are entirely unsuitable to a greenway, with people walking and children scooting. But that’s cycling in Ireland for you: Too fast for the paths and too slow for the roads.

Soul cycle

'There’s a relaxing and enjoyable network of greenways, low traffic streets, and cycle lanes in Cork City.' Picture: Henry O'Brien.

On Thursday, I made an attempt to understand the Strand Road Cycle Lane saga in Dublin. I toyed with the idea of writing a column about it. I gave up after three hours. Using the parlance of the internet, the ‘tl;dr’ of it all is that a six-month trial cycle lane by Dublin City Council has been stopped by the High Court, because the judge didn’t believe that it was really going to be a trial and we can’t expect people in Sandymount to cycle to Dublin Airport. 

I had to check the original plans to see if the trial involved the conversion of the entire Strand Road to a very, very wide cycle lane, but, as expected, there would still be a one-way street on Strand Road for vehicular traffic.

On Friday, I had to cycle across the city to meet a man about a dog. To a visitor, Cork may not have a cross-city cycle route. 

But if you are prepared to take a slightly winding route and aren’t in a hurry, there’s a relaxing and enjoyable network of greenways, low traffic streets, and cycle lanes to go from east to west in Cork City.

Today is Saturday, so I write about cycling for you. Tomorrow, we are going to Ballyhoura to go mountain biking.

I like to get to Ballyhoura at least once every season of the year. It’s good for the soul. There are no cars, no traffic lights, no judging. It reminds me of cycling when I was a child: Being outside, working up a sweat, and trying not to fall off.