Like a football pundit handing out the Goal of the Season award in November, I may be a touch premature with what I’m about to say, but surely the following clip – showcasing a foul-mouthed, and ultimately ill-informed, anti-cycling rant about
pavements – is already a classic of the admittedly grim genre.
f you just listened to the audio of the clip, posted by the London-based cycling account ‘Cycling via’ on X/Twitter, you may have assumed that Bob Mortimer was trying out a new character on Athletico Mince, or that Mrs Cohen from the Life of Brian
had taken to wandering around the capital’s streets, berating cyclists.
Alas, no. This was simply just another case of a high-pitched pedestrian getting inconceivably angry about a person riding a bike on what she colourfully described as the “f***ing pavement”.
And, after being challenged by the cyclist on the other side of the crossing, she dutifully continued her rant – while standing just in front a sign which indicated that the pavement was, in fact, a shared-use path designed for both pedestrians and
people on bikes.
Oh, the irony.
“Can’t be on the f***ing pavement. Get on the f***ing road,” our friendly pedestrian informed the cyclist.
“What does that sign say? That sign there? Look up!” the rider responded, probably not believing his luck that the evidence for his rebuttal was mere yards away.
Not that anything trivial such as a clear shared-use path sign mattered to Mandy Cohen, of course.
“You should be on the road. I don’t give a s***. Just go, just f*** off. I don’t give a f***ing s***, I’ll smash you in the face.”
Charming.
In the comments underneath the video, many were quick to allude to another intriguing aspect of the Schrödinger’s Cyclist theory.
“The same people who tell you to use a cycle path when you’re on the road,” Orpington Cyclist said.
“Oh absolutely,” the original poster, who described the incident as “funny more than anything”, replied. “Shouldn’t be on the road, there shouldn’t be cycle lanes and I shouldn’t be on the pavement. Some people are just full of hate and
lack reason.”
He continued: “My hope is that she is too stubborn to admit to me she was wrong, but maybe she refrains from shouting abuse at others in the future now she knows she is wrong.”
I wouldn’t hold my breath on that one, if I’m honest.
https://road.cc/content/news/cycling-live-blog-28-november-2023-305357#live-blog-item-52381
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