I engage in a number of sports that are considered "extreme" (kiteboarding in any and all conditions and inland, thermalling paragliding). There is a risk of death of things if go wrong. But that risk is something I can judge and make my own decisions on. It's up to me how extreme I get.

I think people who ride bicycles on major metropolitan roads in traffic are simply suicidal. They have no control over their own safety. They place the full responsibility for their safety in the hands of all the other drivers who come up behind them. Cyclists cannot even see behind themselves to see what is happening.

They don't even try to be safe. Riders wearing dark clothing. Riding at night with near flat batteries on their microscopic LED flashers. Riders diverging around parked cars and slower bikes without checking behind them.

I love bicycles. I do a 50km round trip commute on my bike on bicycle tracks (usually in winter when it's not too hot and there's no chance of after work kiteboarding). I walk my bike through the city. I have all the good (and not very expensive) stuff for night riding. It's not hard.

Why do people feel the need to ride on the road? How do they delude themselves that what they are doing is even remotely safe? What misguided logic are they using to convince themselves that it is worth the risk? It's not even all that much fun!

Well i spose I could have just givenm it a green thumb. OK. Done.

Well - I love cycling, but after having been hit by cars three times over about 12yrs (broken collar bone, seperated AC joint / crushed L2 vertebrae and broken rib / and broken shoulder ball) I now only ride a MTB on the paths...

I used to ride a road bike and loved the feeling of speed - getting up to 70kmh on good downhill. I used to allways ride hard against the cycle computer to set a PB... (I even used to log my ride times etc). From this approach you kind of get obsessed with avg speed and trip time... and start doing silly things to keep your avg speed up...

...it's a bit like these blokes surfing mega hollow waves over shallow reef - absolute madness... but it's exillerating.

On all but one occassion where I have had an accident of some description, it was as a result of the action of others. After my third trip to hospital I never got back on the road bike again - I traded the racer for a MTB and have pretty much stuck to the paths since.

Yes they're a pain in the arse, but kudos to them for making the effort to ride. Carbon footprint, healthy lifestyle etc. and unless they're in one of their 30 strong coffee outings they're not really a major problem.

But the ones that choose to ride on the road when their is a cycle path 3 meters to the left of them deserve to be run over. In forward, reverse and then forward again. If there is a cycle path, pls gtfo of the road.

Edit* - For 4 yrs in perth as a broke student my bicycle was my primary means of transport so I'm fairly sympathetic to the cyclists. But c'mon.

Look lets be honest, there are idiots on both sides of the coin. On one hand you have the TDF wanna be's that ride two abreast on single lane roads, or ride on the road when there is a perfectly good hotmix bike path 3m off to the side. On the other hand you have the motorists who have an absolute disdain for cyclists and cut them off, abuse them etc; "pay your rego dickhead"...yeah I rego two cars thanks mate.

Cyclists don't do themselves any favors by running red lights and passing stationary lines of cars at the lights, only to have the entire column of traffic have to pass them again. I myself try to avoid the road where I can but often there isn't an alternative path to ride on and if you ride a carbon road bike, as I do, then you can't really trundle along the footpath. I try to make it as easy as possible for cars to pass me and go out of my way to be courteous as I know full well the anger that can brew when some muppet on a bike is causing traffic chaos. I consider it a privilege to ride on the road, not a right, which is probably where I differ from many. I don't expect a car to give me right of way which is what you have to do if you want to stay safe.

On the subject of Lycra, as someone who rides a lot of MTB, more specifically downhill MTB it was a fairly foreign concept to me, however if you ride a road bike for any period of time you will adopt this attire. Why? Well firstly comfort, try riding for any decent period in shorts rather than knicks and you'll discover first hand the perils of chafing. Secondly, wind resistance. I noticed the comment above about how you have to be doing 300kph yada yada, well I average 35kph when I ride my roadie to work, try riding a bike in a t-shirt at 30-40kph....it's bloody annoying and despite what you might think the difference is entirely noticeable.

End of the day they are never going to ban bikes from the road so I think it's in everyones best interest to get along. As I said there will always be idiots on both sides and there will always be the 'scene' junkies who ride their 15k road bike along at 20pkh on the way to Gloria Jeans, then ride the return 5km trip and pop their bike on the back of their X5 BMW, iditos.

I'm with you Gordo... I do "extreme" sports, paraglide/kite/married/motor...
But on the bike, I ride on the side walk slowly <20kmh.

There is nothing that's going to make me ride on the road... it's farking stupid to put cyclist on the road when (out of the CBD):

1.- The speed difference pedestrian-cyclist is less than motor vehicle-cyclist
2.- There's WAY WAY less pedestrians using the foot path than the road.

I live around 14km's out of the CBD and I pass maybe 2 people walking vs the ~2000 cars.
In the CBD it's a different story... there's a million blind/deaf people walking on the side walks.

If your a race cyclist doing +50kmh put a full face helmet on, some body protection... and pray otherwise stick to the footpath and go slow.

so surely there cant be anything worse than stackin ur pushie wearing lycra ROFL

Morning..

I'm a convert from DH Mountainbiking to full lucra wearing, carbon fibre road riding. I never thought I'd wear lycra but once you're averaging 30km/ph and doing 100km rides you want what's best.

I commute from Manly to Sydney city every day, both ways which equates to about 160kms a week. I do it for many reasons - it saves me $70 a week on the jetcat, is no slower than walking to and getting the jetcat, I could cancel my gym membership as I get exercise (another $50 a week saving) and it's better for the environment. Financially it saves me over $5k a year which helps maintain my car and pay my rego .

As for cycling on the pavements - I'm pretty sure that it is illegal? Also, the cycle paths that Clover Moore has put into Sydney are c*ap and in totally the wrong place. With cyclists "claiming" a lane, this is for safety - I have had too many near misses when trying to cycle close to the pavement.

Having said all of that, cyclists who disobey road rules, take the p*ss, the new cool "fixie" riders and couriers give me the **s and all of us a bad name.

The law stated that they can ride two abreast.

I said breast, mmmm boobs (.)(.)

I have been road cycling for about 4 years, i also own two cars.

typically i have found the daily cyclists to be the higher contributors to their working environment, they arrive fresh, full of oxygen and energy.

they are fitter, have higher levels of endurance and also enjoy a good coffee.

move to public transport (stupid injury) everyone here is sick, getting on this every day would mentally kill you.

onto driving, it's expensive to drive into the city, it's expensive to park it's expensive to drive home, at least you are not being coughed on.

there is no right or wrong here, just a number of facts.

Cycling is great for you and is faster than driving or public transport.
Public transport is the de-motivational hub of the world
Driving is nice and warm on a rainy day, nice and cool on a warm day and full of creature comforts that distract you from what you are doing.

as far as safety goes for cycling nothing beats simple awareness, be aware of what you are doing and when you do it. it's not too dissimilar to driving a car. eyes up, head check before you do anything and you will be fine.

needless to say just like the kite surfing community there are simply some people who are involved in cycling, public transport and driving a car that would be better suited out of the gene pool.