I heard someone enter into an overly analytical take on bike aggression lately. With a late 1990's upsurge in Critical Mass and Reclaim the Streets style politics, there developed an increased sense of aggression towards other vehicles on the road. We as cyclists had politicised our right to be on the road at actions and elements of this mentality had carried over to our daily cycling. I am a victim of this road wage. Cycling through the city like a maniac, trasversing traffic paths and breaking lights left, right and centre to a varying soundtracks of aggressive music. Yesterday I ampled along, blissed in the splintering mid afternoon sun, peering at tourists around Christchurch and lost in thought to Boards of Canada, when all of a sudden I was less than 5 metres from one of these beasts bearing down on me. Across the road there was an aghast look of horror on the face of an Italian tourist who was waiting for my neck to be snapped by the swerving bus. I peddled like a fucker and leapt awkardly on to the path, to the noise of motorists banging their horns and dashed quickly down Dame Street away from my Embarassment.

Labels: Rant