Editor:
My assumption was that all of the elitist, self-absorbed cyclists were contained within Vancouver.
I stand corrected.
Last week, I was out for a spin on my e-bike – which I have done regularly for the past two summers – and encountered a cyclist in full ‘Tour de France’ gear exiting the Morgan Crossing village onto Croydon Drive.
He hurried up to get in front of me and then made a right turn onto 24 Avenue, with no signal to show his intentions to the vehicles within the intersection.
I put on my turn signal and followed him around the corner and then moved over to the empty curb lane to pass him. He shouted for me to ‘get off the road.’
Once safely past him, I moved back into the bike lane and had to stop at the traffic light at 156 Street.
While waiting for the light, he caught up to me and immediately told me to “get out of the bike lane.”
I indicated that my vehicle was a bike – there are manual pedals that can power the rear wheels.
He said it was powered and should not be in the bike lane.
He then said that he “worked” and I countered that I “worked for many years but I was now retired.”
He then clarified that he “pedalled” his bike – I guess just in case I missed that fact.
There was a senior gentleman on the sidewalk getting a great chuckle out of this prime example of entitlement on the part of the cyclist.
The light then changed; I accelerated away from the intersection and the cyclist.
I have always shown respect and consideration for those other users of the roadway whether on bicycles, motorbikes or automobiles.
I don’t feel that I ‘own’ any part of the road and was extremely surprised by the attitude shown by this individual.
Wayne Mercer, Surrey