I wish to confirm I was a victim of that accident waiting to happen

IN his letter (October 14) on Ballincollig traffic and the Carrigrohane cycle route, Richard Leahy prophetically hit the nail on the head.

His last line read: “Surely an accident waiting to happen”.

Well, I was in that accident, which was due to my own fault and naivety. Having cycled through Ballincollig, I headed for the city via Carrigrohane Road.

After the traffic lights near O’Brien’s Castle, I noted the red tarmac of the cycle lane had ended and my options were to continue on the main road or alight on a path as wide as one of the traffic lanes.

I could not go onto this path as the kerbing was too high. On the path, as Richard Leahy mentioned, are intermittent painted symbols of a cycle and a pedestrian adult and child. Surely not the ideal for good cycling cities like Amsterdam and Copenhagen.

I continued cycling on the road lane until the closeness and volume of traffic left me feeling nervous.

So I attempted to get onto the adjacent pathway near a gated entrance to Woods Farm. The front tyre of the bicycle hit the kerb, propelling me into the entrance pillar. If it was not for the fact that I was wearing a helmet, I would not be writing this.

I also suffered a couple of fractured ribs from falling on the handlebars of my bike. I am writing to advise fellow cyclists of the pitfalls out there, including inadequate and unsafe cycle lanes; a need for the use of cycle helmet-wearing to be made law, and even Mr Gormley and his Green outriders fail miserably to impress when, having paid in the region of €750 for a bicycle, the shops do not fit a front or rear reflector.

Ride on – but take care

Tim Mullane

Grange Court

Grange Manor

Ovens

Co Cork