This one goes out to the ones I ... hate!!!

I have to get this off my chest today. Last night, my wife and I were out cycling and experienced a couple of the downsides to cycling. During the course of our cycle I got spat at by some retard passing by in their mate's car (Awww, you missed!!!). Secondly, my wife and I had stones thrown at us by some teenage kids.

Let me deal with the relationship between cyclists and motorists. Now, I am a car driver and I am, obviously, also a cyclist. When I am driving my car I respect cyclists and give them enough room when overtaking them. When I am a cyclist I always respect cars and try to avoid them. Inevitably though, you can come in to contact with some idiots who think that you shouldn't be there. Either that or you get neds who think that it is funny to try and spit on you or worse. Why is that? I could speculate that it's because they aren't intelligent enough to find something more interesting to do but that would be cruel.

One thing that I am sure annoys most drivers and me, if I am honest, are cyclists who forget that the highway code applies to them also. So often do I see them going through red lights and it hacks me off. All that does is give drivers fuel for the fire and make them hate cyclists even more.

Secondly, you hear about motorists complaining about cyclists not paying road tax even though they use the roads too. Well, my answer to that is that I do pay road tax being a car driver and besides how many bikes pollute the air we breathe or cause roads to need repairing. If more people stared using bikes to commute then not only would there be less traffic on the road but also the air would be cleaner. So, far from being an enemy you should really be thanking us.

As for those people who think it's fun cutting up cyclists let me put this thought in your head. Imagine that you are out cycling or, even better still, imagine your son or daughter is riding their bike. Imagine that some idiot in a car cuts them up and then they fall and, Heaven forbid, hurt themselves, perhaps badly. Still think it's a good idea? Thought not.

The road is big enough for both of us but we need to have mutual respect for each other. Too many cyclists are killed on the roads. Don't let yourself be responsible for adding another one.

As for teenage neds who think it is fun to throw stones at cyclists. Grow up and get a life.

Getting off my soap box now. :-)