So, our community-minded, pedal-pushers in coloured lycra, only yell “to” each other in the early hours of the day as a “warning”. This yelling is not only confined to the streets in the Clifton area, but also along western Hibbard Drive past the homes of the elderly and frail.
Bike-riding and repeated yelling might be healthy for some but does little for the peace and well-being of some local elderly residents.
There appears to be a significant number of early morning pedalers who lack self-control and observance to basic road etiquette. The yelling has been going on for years. Riding three and four abreast and the refusal to use the designated cycle lane and impede traffic even on dual carriageway, does little to engender a friendly spirit on the roads.
These riders are not just the young and inexperienced – they are often older, white-collar workers who have time to cycle and then catch their latte before a 9am start. It was a coloured lycra pedaler in his 30s who stopped on Hastings River Drive to take a photograph of a half-clad Barbie doll he arranged to have lying in the cycle lane, that even upset pedestrians. After being informed that “this was one of the sickest things I’ve seen”, he discarded the doll and rode off with a raised voice, perhaps consistent with his early morning warning yells!
T Minahan
