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OPINION
London cargo bike mum who was victim of social media pile-on for cycling on pavement explains why she does it
Fri, Jun 11, 2021 15:01
85
riders - picture courtesy Sophie GauthereauA London cargo bike user and cycling campaigner who was this week subjected to a social media pile-on after pictures of her riding on the pavement, with her daughter in the cargo box, were shared to a local Facebook group and other platforms, has given a detailed explanation of why she avoids riding on the road at the location in question.
In an opinion piece for road.cc Sylvia Gauthereau, who is a trustee of London Cycling Campaign and co-chairs its policy forum, outlines why she uses “that pavement and that crossing at that location consciously, deliberately, and regularly, for my own and my children’s safety,” and highlights that “The real issue here is the complete lack of safe cycling provision on the A5 and the lack of connectivity to the side streets.”
It’s a post that clearly expresses why inadequate provision of safe routes in many parts of the capital, and other cities in the UK, leads many cyclists to adapt their riding to cope with the hazards found at a particular location, and also explores some of the specific issues women face while cycling and on social media.
So, over to Sylvia …
I am THAT cargo bike mum and cycling campaigner, and this is why I cycle briefly on that pavement.
I am a busy working mum who cycles everywhere. I already had a lot on this week and could have done without being in the middle of a nasty social media pile on. At least it was good to know people do see me on my cycle.
Cycling on the pavement or using a pedestrian crossing would never be my first choice, but I do it out of necessity at that specific location where I have been photographed, in an attempt to be ‘shamed’. It is not a lapse in judgement. I use that pavement and that crossing at that location consciously, deliberately, and regularly, for my own and my children’s safety. I do so with due consideration to others and within the spirit of relevant regulation. Given the weight and size of my cargo bike, I ride across because it is more manoeuvrable that way, I need to keep momentum to aim at the uphill dropped kerb between four bollards on the other side.
The alternative would be to continue straight ahead, move from the left to the right (on a major road) and wait for a gap in traffic further along between a lane of moving traffic including buses and trucks on my left, and on the right, one lane of moving traffic and a bus lane. It is barely possible for even the most skilled and experienced solo cyclist, and I often have my kids on board.
The A-road running through my neighbourhood is utterly hostile to cyclists and pedestrians, and no one is taking responsibility for it. Whenever I use this turn on rare occasions, my entire body is lit up with alarm bells, signalling to my brain: get out of here! And I also have to time it right with pedestrians potentially crossing the side street, so I don’t risk ending up yielding to them in the way of an incoming bus or vehicle. At that precise moment, I am the only person in the entire world who can evaluate the levels within which I feel safe, the threshold of tolerance I can manage from the anxiety of danger around me. No one else can.
I also found myself on several occasions prevented from positioning myself on the right, to wait for that gap in traffic. Despite putting my hand up well in advance, some drivers just go ahead regardless. When I do it too early, I get beeped. This caused me to miss that turn and I had to cycle to the next side street, turn left to do a u-turn, wait some more to have drivers letting me across, back on the A road. It’s just insane.
The real issue here is the complete lack of safe cycling provision on the A5 and the lack of connectivity to the side streets. Cycling provision in outer London boroughs is appalling and very neglected. Actual cycling infrastructure is patchy to non-existent, below design standards, scary, uninviting, and exclusive, despite a huge and well evidenced appetite for cycling, healthier lives, and better air quality. So, what do we do then to stay safe? Well, we do what we can and when you add a child into the mix, even more so. So, it means going on the pavement at some point.
I started cycling out of necessity – to embed the school run in my work commute, to free up two hours per day in my life. Women cycling have interestingly different patterns from many men who ride; we do more quick short trips, from school to playground, to dentist/optician appointments, after-school club, errands, and other caring related work (we can have the debate about sharing the caring load another day).
I am a practical person. When I see a problem, I try to find a solution. Am I a traffic engineer? No. Am I a local elected politician with the powers to solve this? No. So campaigning was the solution to this specific problem, and I became a cycling campaigner because I started cycling. For me, for you, for my friends and for my two children, neither of whom has been able to cycle to school regularly so far. When they do cycle with me, it is mentally exhausting, there is far too much risk. You have to constantly calculate all the different scenarios that could unfold and think of the matching manoeuvres to prevent any potentially dangerous situation turning into an horrific one.
Covid has sharpened feelings about quality of life, about caring for our neighbours, and about our future. After what we have all been through, why are we now wavering over Low Traffic Neighbourhoods for example, which are one of the best ways of giving people the chance to cut back on sedentary lifestyles, get out and about walking or cycling for short local journeys, with a great knock on effect for physical activity levels and mental health? The choices made over transport affect our quality of life and have implications for everyone from the youngest to the oldest. It is unforgivable to keep avoiding this conversation.
This recent harassment of me and my family is not about cycling on pavements or danger to pedestrians; it is about revenge. Revenge for me standing up and publicly voicing an opinion, with an added special layer reserved for women where the basic decency seems to be even more acceptable to forgo. Cycling as a woman in London has exposed me to comments on the way I look, what I wear or not wear, a free for all to comment on my parenting and mansplaining on what type of cycle I use. Sharing an identifiable photograph of my child to hurt me says far more about the author of this social media post than it does about me.
I became a campaigner because of my lived experiences, and I can tell you that London is changing. I can see it and smell it. I can see the change in driving behaviour too, I can see more drivers giving me more space when overtaking, I can see more eye contact and basic courtesy, I can see all the other parents cycling with a child seat on the rear carrier, I can see the wider variety of cycles and all the different types of people cycling, including more children cycling to school. I see you and I applaud you.
So, if you too want to stand up to those who want to bully us off the road, join your local cycling group, email your councillors and demand better now.
More Opinion
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Radar tells me their closing speed, if they are slowing and how far away. Then I decide to say a prayer. The change of light pattern is incidental.
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70 comments
I don't cycle on pavements at any time. Highway Code specifically states that you must not cycle on the pavement. If we are expecting motor vehicle users to stick to the highway code then so should we. Also the pavements are for pedestrians unless a cycle lane is incorporated. Old age pensioners and disabled are vulnerable when we use pavements.
Far too much chat from opposing corners, gets us anywhere, but the chances of having civilised, constructive talks or debate remains nil, so I guess it will just continue. I love to cycle but the local road traffic frightens me, and I am an experienced cycle commuter of 20 years experience. Drivers of all types car, lorry, van, bus and even other cyclists only look to their own progress and haven't the patience to consider the safety of this welshcyclist or any other ordinary cyclist.The only answer is dedicated cycle lanes where cyclists can be safe. Road use aparteid is the answer, road traffic and cyclists cannot co exist in the same space. When will that happen?
classic "I saw a cyclist who..." on the part of a lobby that wants to go on killing, maiming, polluting, getting diabetes, etc. It's so overwhelming common day after day, we no longer notice it, indeed we expect it, moreover we're surprised at times when it doesn't happen.
You see a pavement rider, or a RLJ cyclist - I see someone trying navigate and survive a hostile environment that has forgotten them, has been turned over to cars.
When did you see them jump this light, oh last week? Did it cause a problem, anyone in hospital as a result?
This harrassment isn't "the flip side" of anything cyclists do. This particular case is harrassment by someone who's latched onto opposing LTNs as a way to stir people up, get clicks and promote eg Richard Tice and the Reform Party. https://www.facebook.com/100001638104896/videos/4342486402482587/
He also rides and promotes escooters, even though riding them on the public highway isn't legal, which makes waiting to video a cyclist going onto the pavement on her regular school run look rather hypocritical.
Bingo!
You're ignoring the harrasser's evident motivations and hypocrisy.
Is that Nick "I'm a cyclist myself" Robinson who had to be corrected by his bosses after lying about LTNs last year?
I think we should be told....
I came here to read Sylvia's letter. It's really very good.
Perhaps you could just shut up for a while instead of hijacking every single article with your long, rambling pontifications about your personal pet hatred topics.
But by your weird and twisted view of the law, she wasn't doing anything wrong, no offence had been commited because there was no conviction.
Or does that only work for former boxers?
Or is it just your hatred for CyclingMikey, who is only recording dangerous behavior of drivers, after all...?
Only the best former boxers...
??
Can you tell me in the comments he's made here where he has quoted law, stated the lady has broken the law. If you have something personal against this person. PM him, we don't need to see your offensive nasty behaviour. Look at your comments as a third person or person on the end of them, would you feel as that 2nd or 3rd person, that the comments (your comments) are not offensive? Pretty much the situation of the pot calling the kettle black here. Where the kettle is any colour but black!
I'm surprised that you're taking offense from ktache's comments as I typically find him to be polite and very considerate of other's feelings.
More importantly, however, how do we PM other commenters on this forum?
Generally I prefer it if the comments stick to the topic, even (or especially) when divergent views are expressed, with a minimum of sarcasm and hyperbole which seldom work well in a thread. But I'm sure I am not innocent of these things myself. On the whole, I'd find the debates a bit sterile if there was only the orthodox views tolerated, and others were shouted down or piled-in upon. I guess the exception is where a poster is simply looking to needle and provoke, but I don't see that here. There was one, but they have been booted out.
I'm not sure that I've understood you correctly - do you mean that I was out-of-line with replying to didsthewinegeek in support of ktache?
Not really, I was just stating my preferences, which is to hear what people have to say and keep replies and arguments on topic. It's not always easy though, but that is the price of hearing challenging or different views. But unless it is people simply being contrarian for its own sake then I think it's with having.
Fair enough.
I was perplexed by the call to use PM to address other commenters as I'm not aware that we can do that.
Mike actually steps out into the roadway and confronts motorists, which is vigilantism and tantamount to instigating road rage, an offence in Australia btw (I used to be a traffic cop there) - UK cops are lenient to allow his behaviour; if Mike stayed on the footpath to film and pass that evidence onto the authorities, no problem, but confronting motorists to get a reaction is so much better for his social media/u-tube notoriety...
I see you still need some assistance in understanding what a vigilante is.
'instigating road rage' - what exactly do you think road rage is then ?
Gotta love it when speaking to people is conflated with vigilanteism, and "road rage" (whatever that might be) promoted to the motoring equivalent of righteous, violent anger.
if Mike stayed on the footpath to film and pass that evidence onto the authorities...
Then he wouldn't be able to obtain the indisputable evidence of, for instance, handheld mobile phone use while driving. It's very difficult to do that without 'blowing your cover', and the hilarious antics of the guilty covering up the phone etc. make it even more worthwhile.
Personal gripe: Mikey is performing a valuable service to the community, but he has it easy! Up here in the Lancashire backwoods we have to put up with Neandertal police who are decades behind the likes of Surrey Police and who think that the only evidence of close passing is buckets of cyclist blood on the road, that cyclists are duty bound to get out of the way of cars speeding up from behind so that the hard-pressed respectable driver is not obliged to close pass them etc etc...
Personal abuse - this from someone who is quite happy to use ad hominem where it suits them.
You can have any opinion you want, but your endless ramblings have usually very little to do with the articles you're commenting on, and then you're trying to turn everything into a culture war full of non-sequitur, ad-hominem and strawman arguments. Do that somewhere else.
"and I'm assiduous in ensuring that I do not insult others, regardless of what they say. It comes from having a good upbringing."
Shame about your poor memory then
"Surprised to see you still posting at this hour hirsute- thought you'd be in your bunker by now preparing for the alien invasion"
If it helps you become more self-aware, I find a lot of your posts insulting and offensive, as well as dismissive, arrogant and usually lacking in empathy. I mean no offense with my observations. I hope it helps.
It's a pity that all this contemplation has lead you to the conclusion that cyclists should suck up any danger and not upset the status quo of car dominance.
Maybe you ought to try pushing a cargo bike full of kids? I think she explained that bit quite well.
I've a few years experience doing the school run on a cargo bike and it's also my view that it's not easy to push a cargo bike full of kids. Not sure what a labrador would be like though.
If you're unsure why a kid couldn't walk a few metres, have you tried walking near a busy road and controlling young kids whilst holding onto a bike? Kids are safer in the bike - I assure you.
As for the sexism bit - she's right that it's mainly women that are doing the school run. As a Dad doing it regularly, I was certainly in the minority.
As anyone got the location where the photos were taken, nice to know the area to see Sylvias justification on the road layout etc.
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