Yesterday I over did it noodling around on the road bike & today decided instead to catch PT to work. On the journey homewards I caught the 246 bus up Hoddle St to Clifton Hill.
At 6.38pm, while the bus was waiting at the lights on the Victoria Pde/Hoddle St intersection, a whole pile of cyclists caned through the reds in very heavy peak hour traffic, heading northwards. Oh I thought, that's not Critical Mass (who would be pushing it to get over 15kph), that's the charmingly named "C**t on Punt" ride.
The discussion between passengers on the bus turned loud and then pretty bloody nasty, with milder suggestions ranging from "how all cyclists are like that" to the downright fcuking ridiculous "it should be legal to hit and kill [censored] who ride like that" and then descended into even more delightful low-brow [censored] about eye-gouging and ways to kill cyclists using a motor vehicle. Oh the joy of sitting there in the middle of that...and only God knows what other idle observations were being uttered in the dozens of cars also present at the intersection.
Now I'm not someone who's backwards in coming forwards, actually I'm rather bolshie at the best of times, but I quietly sat there, getting angrier and angrier by the moment.
At the self-aggrandising tryhards who busted the reds. At the idiotic bus passengers pissing and moaning away. So I remained quiet and just sat there.
Actually, to one passengers credit, he remonstrated with two other passengers about how stupid their conversation was. Wish I had of recorded these "conversations" as they would be potentially great material for a Clockwork Orange style deprogramming session. i.e: tape back the eyes and ears - hey you self-aggrandising dipshits, now listen to THIS.
I don't expect everyone to know this, but, I'm just one of probably dozens of people in Melbourne who do stacks of unpaid voluntary advocacy work on behalf of improving conditions for cyclists. Recently I was lucky enough to score some actual paid work in the bicycle industry. Yaaa for small miracles, but then again I don't expect any of those cyclists who caned through the lights on Hoddle this Friday evening to give a pitch of [censored] about any of that.
Ok, courier races are reasonably commonplace, but for fcuks sakes why tear through the reds on one of Melbourne's major intersections after a particularly bad month where cyclists in Melb and Sydney have been getting some extremely bad press? Ditto the effect the media could be having on the already pisspoor stereotypes that some motorists have towards cyclists?
Today’s news, in case you blinked and missed it: Third cyclist critical after road accidents: http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/cyclists-critical-after-road-accidents/2006/09/29/1159337317466.html
Fears as bikes put walkers in danger
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,,20464772-2862,00.html
Driver's blood boiled when cyclists gave him finger
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/drivers-blood-boiled-when-cyclists-gave-him-finger/2006/09/19/1158431711240.html
Wolf pack tactics
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,,20425152-5006009,00.html
Cyclist dies in collision on Kings Way
http://www.police.vic.gov.au/content.asp?Document_ID=8460
And then there's all that Beach Road palaver ..
http://www.woj.com.au/?s=James+Gould
Get the drift yet kiddies?
Back to my PT journey homewards, while waiting at the tram stop opposite the Terminus pub, I recognised more riders who had probably (shock, horror) played it nice and stopped for reds. Then again, there's plenty of back streets, parks, open space and industrial areas in Melbourne where you can go play rockstars or Eddy Merckx to your little egos content.
When alighting at my stop, I noticed several C**t on Punt participants outside the Northcote Social Club. I realise most of you were probably decent enough to attempt a chat about the evenings activities.
But also knew there were a few of you present, to paraphrase an old piece of TISM prose, are 'so cocksure that your brain turned to scrotal tissue'.
Good on ya mate, you did none of us proud.