Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Shame on the Hell Riders

Melbourne's cyclists are enjoying a spell of very poor publicity at present thanks to a bunch of lycra clad louts called the Hell Riders. Long known for their inconsiderate antics on Beach Road, someone on the Hell Ride on the weekend ran a red light and knocked an old man down, killing him.

It's been an accident waiting to happen. The Hell Ride is hardly the only Beach Road bunch to flout the traffic laws, only the most infamous. Despite codes of conduct and awareness campaigns, red light running is an epidemic among cyclists. As a group, we surrender our moral authority to demand consideration and respect from other road users when we can't obey the most basic of road rules.

As cyclists, there's nothing particularly skilled or clever about Melbourne's legions of cafe racer nobodies. Anyone can ride a flash road bike fast if they're getting sucked along the flat stretches of Melbourne's waterfront in the middle of a big bunch. But it hurts the reputation of all cyclists when they form adrenalin-charged mobs which speed, contest bunch sprints on public roads, run red lights and intimidate other road users. We won't cop it from motorists, and we shouldn't tolerate it from other cyclists.

Shame on the Hell Riders.

4,003km so far this year.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

My thoughts exactly!