Highstreet Foodweb

If cities are ecosystems and cars, pedestrians, and all the other road vehicles form a food web, cyclists are most definitely at the bottom. Their existence is rarely acknowledged and then on the rare occasions someone notices a bike, it's usually to complain about them. A bit like rats in London; most of the time they're forgotten about but when one is seen everyone panics and calls the exterminator. OK, maybe not the best of examples, but as a cyclist I often feel like I'm treated with the same level of disdain.

I definitely have a number of cycling horror stories, so if you're my parents, grandparents, or anyone who is remotely concerned about my survival as I journey to and from university and prone to worrying, I advise you to stop reading now.

If I had a pound for every pedestrian I've almost knocked over in the past year, I could probably afford to get the tube to university for the rest of this year. Pedestrians will wait for a car but as soon as they see that it's a cyclist coming, nope, not waiting. Even though it may be green for me, I still have to break and swerve to avoid knocking over the London commuters like pins in a bowling alley. Admittedly, most of these aren't near misses, just very frustrating for me considering I'm a cyclist who actually stops at red lights (unlike a number of other cyclists, including a PCSO amazingly enough!) However, I have had someone walk between queuing cars, straight in front of me in the cycle lane. The man didn't do a quick check to his left, or even respond to my (understandably) annoyed "Hey! Watch it!" and just continued chatting into his mobile. You would have thought a London businessman would be used enough to the idea of cyclists in London and there being a number of cycle lanes meaning the cyclists don't have to stop in the queues with the cars but nope, another case of cyclists not existing.

Pedestrians aren't the only culprits, Taxis are some of the worst. Often impatient and stopping in the most awkward of places. I've had at least one, and probably more I've forgotten about, almost knock me over because they've impatiently tried to get into the bus lane and not checked their mirrors. I had a motorbike do something similar with me having to test my brakes to their limit. Last time I checked, motorbikes aren't meant to use the cycle lane however this City Sprint motorbike zoomed into the cycle lane to skip the queue without checking and was mere centimetres from causing some serious damage to either me or my bike. I'm not easily shaken but that was the scariest incident I've had while cycling.

The most awkward bit about cycling in London is the fact that I'm expected to use the cycle lane but most of the time it's either not there, being over taken by half a car, full of pot holes, or has a car, van, lorry, taxi or bus (although to be fair the buses can't help it) sitting in the way. Going round these obstacles isn't half scary as no one wants to let you out of the cycle lane because you'll slow them down, even if it is for a few seconds, and there is rarely any gap. Nevertheless, I need to get round as I'll either be waiting until the drivers finish unloading in the case of vans and lorries, or I'll keep having to stop every bus stop because in London, where bus stops are so close to each other, I am more often than not faster than the buses.

Thankfully, it's not all doom and gloom. Most bus drivers will be patient enough to stick behind you unless it's a significant distance to the next bus stop and a driver or two have been known to make my day by politely letting me out as if I were a car. I could moan more about cars in the cycle lanes and lorries not cyclist space despite bearing stickers asking us to give them space however, on the whole, I quite enjoy cycling. It's nice to get some exercise and pass over London Bridge on my way to university, seeing some of the sights rather than being squished up against someone's armpit on the tube. Until I either get enough money for a private helicopter or teleportation is invented, I think I'll stick to the cheap and healthy cycle to university.