Now I have only been cycling to work for a couple of months, but already I am finding myself more and more frustrated with other cyclists rather than cars. Yes you get the annoying drivers that decide to drive right up your behind to try to make you move or those that do not indicate and then shouting occurs, but as long as you play by the road rules it’s not actually that scary. What really scares me are other cyclists…. the attitude of some of them, and then today a girl cycling on the wrong side of the road and just huffed at me when I said something!

I know I should stick with ‘my people’ but when you are surrounded by middle-aged men in lycra who think the riverside path is the Tour de France its pretty scary. Only the other day I saw two cyclists on the floor in a heap after they clearly had a collision going around a corner.

Since when did people also stop using their bells! Blind corners people!!

There are many out there that think cyclists can do no wrong and its the cars that are dangerous.. However, who is to blame when some cyclists think its ok to go through a red light and nearly hit pedestrians as they cross? I am not the only person who has conflicted thoughts on the cycling world.

There are increasingly more and more cyclists out there on the roads but unfortunately the roads themselves haven’t changed. They are still narrow and few have cycle lanes, but more and more people are jostling for space on them.  The other problem is there is very little repercussion for a dangerous or stupid cyclist unlike drivers so they just do not care.

Now I do not drive but I do know the rules of the road and so should other cyclists. It’s great that people cycle, and I am not trying to discourage that but for those of us who just want to get to work quickly and safely we should be able to without having to put up with cyclists who think the road is just for them. There are plenty of guides online about how to cycle, the good old highway code or the British Cycling website, plus many local councils run courses, some for free. I believe that cycle magazines and British cycling should be doing more than they currently are to encourage safe cycling. Yes there will always be that idiot of a driver out there but if you are cycling safely then you are going to minimise the damage. Trying to overtake or running red lights gives all cyclists a bad name!

I do not want to seem negative towards my fellow cyclists but I need to speak my mind on this one. There are so many cyclists out there now from commuters to fair weather cyclists and everyone needs to be using the same rule book otherwise it leads to crashes, injuries and if you are not wearing a helmet much worse, especially if that dangerous cycling is happening around cars on a road. It also discourages other people taking to their bikes as they are put off by bad attitudes of some cyclists.

For now I will keep my wits about me and stay safe on those roads, trying to avoid both the dangerous drivers and cyclists! I really should only have to worry about cars!