Charity begins at home...

Charity begins at home...
Look not the straw in your neighbours eye...
Pot calling the kettle black...

How can cyclists in all forums, discussion lists and blogs I see rant on and on about motorists and pedestrians, while hardly ever mentioning those other cyclists who routinely jump red lights or show crass inconsiderate behaviour towards everybody else - including other cyclists?

Yesterday, in heavy traffic going along Deansgate, in the rain, when pedestrians are at their most distracted, buriend under their umbrellas, a chap cycled between me and the kerb, at full speed in so narrow a space that he actually brushed against my rainmac - any movement from me and we would both have ended on the tarmac. Then he proceeded at the same speed, jumping on and off the pavement, through the red light (Deansgate and John Dalton St).

He was perhaps the worst I've seen for a while, but not the only one by any means. Within a minute there was another chap, who also went through the red light. I don't mean he cautiously slowed down and seeing the road clear slowly pressed on. I mean someone who just went through the light without any perceptible slowing down. I'm not too worried about him hitting a car - he'd come worse off and would only have himself to blame. I'm talking about the fact that this is a busy pedestrian crossing, at peak time, when people are rushing to work.

The last Friday of last month I left work late and, due to an errand, had to go past the central library in St Peter's Sq. Then I realised there was a whole bunch of -mostly young- cyclists. 'Ah' - it clicked - 'critical mass'. Naively, I expected, if not a cheer from the group, some sort of mutual respect between comrades-at-arms, despite the age gap. Instead, despite my carrying more flashing lights than a blooming Xmas tree, I got some of these people carelessly stroll on my path, then stare at me rudely as if they were about to swear.

I work in the city centre and incidents like the ones described above are all too common - going counterflow is just par for the course. Yes, some of these are hooded youths in black tracksuits, or Chinese students or Polish workmen in their building-site gear. But not all, not by any means. Many are fully kitted, 'proper' cyclists (OK, some wear black skateboarding helmets) with reflective gear, lights and the works.

Does this matter? Yes it does - how can anyone hope to promote cycling if our image is dictated by people who show little consideration to others, hold other road users in contempt or disregard for the rules of the road? Yes, the highway code isn't perfect and we all know how close the latest edition was to including nonsense about the use of so-called cycle lanes. But elementary things like traffic lights, pedestrian crossings and the flow of traffic need to be respected.