More hate towards cyclists

There was a bit in todays Manly Daily too. The tool who bashed the bus driver has touched a raw nerve opened a can of worms for Sydney cyclists.

But honestly, this is mountain bike site. All of the negative stuff coming out atm is about ROAD riding, we pride ourselves in our OFF ROAD riding.

Sure, it's good to know what's going on as we'll most likely get lumped in with the roadies, the same way we get luped in with motorcross riders, but urrently there is alot of positive things happening in the world of mountain bikes and trail access, especially on the Northern Beaches.

Lets focus on this and ignore the negative.

Miranda Devine is just an angry ultra-conservative columnist....and this week's pick is "cyclists"...all in the name of selling more papers.

Same league as talk back radio - just on paper. Hope she meets Magda S. on a bike ride one day....they could have a nice chat.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miranda_Devine

http://mirandadevine.com/

'nuff said.

It's all about sensationalism - that's her job 'cause that's what sells papers.

After all, how many people are yacking about the article that says we're finally increaseing the number of endangered native frogs in Sydney due to backyard ponds? It's just not sensational, so nobody remembers it. Oh yeah, the fact that it's not a real article 'cause it wouldn't sell papers doesn't count

Example of using sensational / provocative language to incite readers - as someone already responded to her article: "Also, I'm struggling to see the relevance of Carl Scully's vegetarianism."

Her own quote when interviewed for an April 2007 article in The Australian about hate mail received by female columnists: “You are contesting ideas and you have to do it in a polarising way. When you write a column, you can't sit on the fence.”

Says it all, really, eh.

I know I'm not going to make a bit of difference in the whole car vs bike debate.

And I know that I've got to be fully awake and defensive to survive the daily 26km round trip commute through hunters hill and pyrmont.

Have you actually read some of the drivel that is pouring out on thes car-vs-biking blogs (Magda, Ker, etc)?

They are an absolute crack-up. If you can let the occassional rage wash over you and just look at what people are actually saying, it's astounding to watch how carried away some of them get. They've given me some of my biggest laughs in days.

And I've gotta say that I know Sydney traffic is crap for a bike, but I'm sure glad I don't have to use Beach Rd in Melbourne - that really gets people wound up, eh!

Go the frog-toting-vegie-pollies.

And have a laugh.

ranting on so bike-righteously.

Sure the article leads with the obvious current drama of a twat of a bike rider who's dicing with buses in a bus-only lane. The guy is a dick who took a punt on riding illegally and got the treatment he probably deserved from the bus driver. Tough titties. BTW the video shows he had at least twice the width of his handlebars to play with and in my book that's a manageable amount of room (although the bus is a big bastard and he was probably shitting himself) and the shadow of the back of the bus shows the bus pulls in after it's gone past the rider.

Devine equally talks about Mr Harold Tosser Scruby, and has a go at the authorities who have f&cked up the road system, even defending cyclists by saying it's not our fault we're as cocky as we are - it's because the government stuffed up bike lanes & paths.

Let's face it - motorists don't want us on the road, the (NSW) government pays lipservice to cyclists' needs by painting white lines under parked cars, and no f*cker wants us on the pavements. Oh, plus there's plenty of people who don't want us in the bush either.

We ain't popular with a lot of people and that's exactly why wankers like Mr Bus driver puncher should be shopped by anyone who knows him and shunned by the rest of us.

I tell you what, I'd be getting the bus instead of riding for the next couple of weeks if I still lived Sydney. Stay safe all.

It might be my imagination that things are worse at the moment due to all the bad publicity, but I certainly got a fair amount of abuse on a ride this morning that I have previously had none.
Just setting off on my ride on Forestway heading to Mona vale road, 4 cars came within inches and two on the horn..what gives? They were trying to cut left but didn't want to do the safe thing and slow down.

Even on saturday when I was on a group ride going up the pacific highway at 7am and some idiot in the right lane is on the horn and purposely pulling into the group of riders.

Time to get back 'off' road I think!