The threats to and from cycling...

Issues and incidents between bike riders and car drivers are rising. No doubt. The boom in cycling has also caused a boom in the perceived menace of cyclists among (some) communities and (some) drivers. 

Irony phases 1, 2 & 3
This angst has more than a tinge of irony. We live in a country of 26+ million cars, vans and lorries, where 1,754 deaths and 193,969 injuries were caused to motorists, pedestrians and cyclists by those vehicles in the latest figures (2012). Of this huge total, 19,091 were cyclists - including 2,168 children. By contrast, 79 pedestrians suffered a similar fate caused by cyclists in 2012, with one death. 

Up the irony another notch: the UK's nascent obesity epidemic is a greater potential threat to the health of the UK than that of cars. Health gurus believe we must set our kids back on the track of walking, cycling and being active rather than becoming accustomed to 'obesogenic' environments. Yet many of those kids are learning from the rear seats - as their parents seethe at #bloodycyclists - that cars are the only viable means of transport. The 5 minute cycle to school that would help balance weight, mood and well-being is now 10 minutes in a 4x4 tractor. 

Irony and the environment don't mix so I won't even touch on that one except to say that bikes have zero emissions and are in fact negative if you consider the opportunity emissions of taking the same journeys by car.

The tension
With injuries, health and the environment getting the big stuff out of the way, where's the evidence of the rise of tension outside of Box Hill village? 

Well, at Redhill, at one event, cleared with the police, on country lanes, with full commissaire, marshal and outrider support to ensure safety of riders and residents: 1) drawing pins were strewn in the path of riders 2) A car drove on the wrong side of the road past a first aid ambulance and support cars then attempted the same with a peloton of 60 rather than lose 20 seconds due to the 'hold-up' 3) A driver jumped out of her car and screamed at marshals over the rights of the event leaving her car door open to cut of half the path of on-coming riders. 

Three events in three hours on one circuit. That suggests a problem that is being replicated wherever cycles meet in number.

Time to see both sides
It is however even more dangerous to be unwilling to see both sides if compromise is the real solution. There is a need for those organising races to work to get closer to the communities they cycle through in an attempt to build understanding and compromise.

But first, we do need a few baselines:

• Some cyclists behave very badly towards motorists and pedestrians. Most cyclists don't like them either.
• Some cyclists ignore road signs, the highway code, red lights and appear to court danger. Ditto.
• Cyclists don't get in the way of traffic: cyclists ARE traffic whether riding for transport, leisure or competition. They have the same rights to be there.
• Cyclists are way more vulnerable than car drivers so there is  legal and moral need for drivers to exercise care when passing them.
• It is not only legal to ride two abreast, it's often safer if it prevents a pass attempt near a bend. The highway code rule 163 says: "give motorcyclists, cyclists and horse riders at least as much room as you would when overtaking a car" 
• Unlike many sports, most cycling cannot take place in enclosed areas. It has to take place on public roads but within very clear rules and guidelines to protect all parties.

Road racing - we're good at it!
Starting with the last of these, road racing in Britain is under threat despite Britain being genuinely good at it on the world stage. Our footballers: play three, win none and are knocked out of the World cup at the outset while our cyclists excel on the world stage. You want to scream: support us, Britain is good at it!

The main threat is composed of people who don't like their roads being 'cycle race tracks'. They don't like being held up, they don't like not having the freedom to step into the road when a bike race is passing. Etcetera.

They have become blind to the danger of cars and the hideousness of traffic jams perhaps because the road is seen as belonging to cars and so, by extension, a place where bikes don't belong but are tolerated when they don't try to belong and submit. Like mice, harmless until you get a bunch of them. Then it's an intrusion. This is the nub: we as humans are territorial and hate intrusion. 

Evolutionary psychology
We should ask how much of the cycling 'problem' relates to the build-up of repressed territorial anger and emotion that is endemic in modern society?" 

Throughout human and animal history, success and survival (particularly male success) in the gene pool has stemmed from aggressive territoriality: defending one's patch, family and food sources. The stone age man who showed strength, force, aggression gained more food and more partners. The brain hasn't had enough time in a few hundred thousand years to change so when learned social behaviour is eclipsed by the (Dr Steve Peters') 'inner chimp' instinctive aggression often leaks through.

And, let's face it, people have few effective ways to express or dilute their anger, frustration and pent-up energy (or at least they did until internet forums and comment fields arrived!). A driver held up by cyclists inside a bubble of steel and glass will often vent all that anxiety release after relatively low levels of provocation. Road rage between cars is the reaction to a perceived territorial threat where none really exists.

Anger against cyclists is very similar. 

See horse
A recent ad in Scotland used the excellent line: "See bike, think horse". A horse is a creature that is big and unpredictable. Motorists don't react the same because, like the tiger to the Neanderthal, it earns respect in its power and unpredictability. The cyclist however is a silly creature IN MY SPACE. A peloton is a herd of silly creatures IN MY SPACE. 

How can cyclists help? Only by moderating the problems that are growing by building understanding. Those who scatter drawing pins may have children themselves. They will be sports lovers (enclosed sports). They will have a degree of national pride. They will appreciate being warned and also being thanked. Let's tap into those feelings.

Intrusion or celebration?
Road racing could thrive with the support and involvement of local communities who feel felt there's something truly to gain. Currently, it feels like an intrusion to them. Lets work to change that. 

We won't change everyone but we can make a start with education and engagement on lots of levels. If communities themselves can feel part of what's going on - rather than imposed upon - we will start to see positive change.