Sue’s Views: Riding on bicycles two by two

There I am thundering down the highway in my little tin can, the sun is shining, the sky is blue and I’m warbling away to a good old foot stomping song when poof, they suddenly appear in front of me.

Lycra-clad behinds of various shapes and sizes in blazing neon colours wobbling labouriously from side to side, some of which quite frankly will scar your retinas for life and should not be on public display, but more on that later.  I am of course referring to the men and woman who take to our highways and byways on their bicycles.  Now don’t get me wrong I am all for healthy living, keeping fit and the like but not for crying out loud on our roads, which were not constructed to accommodate this sport.

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Whichever way you look at it they are a menace, as it only takes one to wobble abreast of another rider, which happens more frequently than not, and you have an accident on your hands.  On some roads, it’s simply not possible to swerve to miss them as you face a head-on with oncoming traffic.

Furiously pumping away at their pedals there is no way these cyclists are going to exceed the speed limit (these are not the Lance Armstrongs of the world I’m talking about here).  As they dither here and there on the road and the traffic backs up to a snail’s pace to accommodate them I become seriously miffed.

I’m still not convinced these cyclists are cognisant of their surroundings as it’s eyes down and forward-looking and I’ve yet to see those sleek machines they ride come standard with rearview mirrors. According to SA traffic laws, bicycles are regarded as vehicles, which means they have every right to be on the road but my car will not be considered  roadworthy if it lacks wing mirrors or a rearview mirror.  So my point is what makes cyclists wanting to use our roads any different?

But on to the attire.  Male or female if you have an athletic body or fine form you’re right on the money to don lycra in public, but if your form falls anywhere outside of this remember that lycra is not forgiving and does not lie.

In Britain, they have coined the term MAMILS (middle-aged men in lycra) who have decided that cycling is the new golf.  My advice, stick to the golfing gear as it’s far more flattering for the figure.

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