Readers blog: Common sense needed on cycling

As a keen cyclist for decades, mostly through necessity rather than a hobby or showboating, I now find myself on occasions getting annoyed with the antics of my fellow two-wheeling compatriots.

It seems that the new breed of Lycra, dark sunglasses, and lucently trainer wearing cyclists have a chip on their shoulders in regard to the amount of road space they lay claim too.

One evening recently, I was returning from a wake in Meenlaragh when I found myself stuck (driving) behind a brightly coloured male and female of the cycling species, after passing the Grotto in Ardí Beag, going up a steep enough hill, which was fine.

The irritating part of this was the fact that rather than pulling into single file to let me past, the pair stayed in the double formation with the outrider keeping to the continuous white line, which by law they are entitled to do.

There are times when common sense should predominate the law as in this instance. If this was a race with a considerable amount of participants involved, it would be understandable, but the tour de France it certainly was not!! Just two bull-headed Lycra-clad cyclists trying to prove a point “albeit a questionable one”.

The decency in me prevented me from blowing the horn or shunting them off into an

imaginary swamp.

If this was a one-off you would grit your teeth and move on, but I found myself in a similar situation on Saturday driving out behind Errigal on the way to Letterkenny.

Once again I found myself driving behind a dozen or so strewn out cyclists, who were in the main showing good road manners in allowing cars the opportunity to pass safely. However there are always the chancers and the troublemakers who give the responsible ones a bad name.

I was contemplating passing a formation of two double pairings in front of me as a good stretch of the road was clear, just as I began to pull out with my indicator on, the

pair at the rear without turning their heads to look or give any sort of a half decent signal, pulled out to pass the pair in front.

There was no point in blowing the horn or giving them the two fingers because that would be lowering yourself to their level of recklessness.

I was discussing the subject of my cyclists experience with Séan (Tam) who I met at the mountaintop.

“Oh them tight-arses,” he laughs, “they must use the finest Kerrygold butter on their cheeks to squeeze into them yokes.”

I’m just after spending a fair few bob on having my own trusty bike, which is approaching the vintage stage, upgraded, so I shall apologise in advance for speeding downhill and scaring the living daylights out of neighbours and pets who have the same right to the road as I have.

But I sure as hell would not in a million years apologise for the Lycra-clad cyclists, who in their selfish rush going nowhere, think they have the God-given right to obstruct other road users who may be carrying out an essential errand for a sick neighbour or going out of their way to help a fellow cyclist who has just had a puncture in the middle of nowhere and has no repair kit with her.

James Woods

Gort an Choirce

Dun na nGall