A tagline caught my attention when it appeared in my social media feed. I can't rediscover the line, but it was something like "cyclists get a lot of hate, but not as much as they deserve" or "cyclists get a lot of hate, but they deserve so much more". Some call cyclists pedalphiles. Being an avid cyclist myself, I wonder where all this hate come from. Wherever there are strong and dismissive reactions, there are psychologists. Some psychologists have a theory that motorists think that cyclists have broken the social contract. It's a strong and inherited psychological reaction at people who break the rules: riding through red light, overtaking queues of cars, undertaking on the inside, exceeding the speed limit or take a slalom course in the traffic. Cyclists are a threat against society and challenge one of the pillars (the justice system) on which a society must be built upon. The lycra-wearing doesn't help their case. I doesn't matter if one cyclist breaks the rules and the other ninety-nine cyclists behave. Cyclists are perceived as one homogenous group and all have to be punished. "We cooperate in traffic" was a Swedish slogan a couple of years ago. Yeah, right. For cooperation to work, there needs to be an act of giving and taking. The giving means be able to drive safely. In my opinion, the most skilled drivers in traffic (in descending order) are drivers of: garbage trucks, delivery trucks, buses, private motorists and taxi drivers. In the latter case, you sometimes wonder if, and how, they got a driver license. Cycling is good for you and the environment. Copenhagen is probably the most cycling-friendly capital in the world. Stockholm is far behind. I know many people who are afraid of cycling in the city. The perception of an increase in cyclist-related accidents and the campaign of anti-cyclist hatred matters.
If you ride your bicycle a lot it's not a matter of if, but when, you are involved in a bicycle accident. I have had three major accidents. The first accident was when I ran into a faulty barrier when I was passing tram tracks. I had the sun in my eyes and didn't see that the barrier was faulty. I landed on the ground, which resulted in a dislocated shoulder. It hurt like hell. On the positive side: I got the chance to be included in a medical research study: physiotherapy or operation. I was sampled into the first group. The second accident was when a man opened his SUV car door right in front of me. I flew straight into and over the door. This resulted in a leg injury and crutches. It hurt like hell. The third accident was when I ran straight into a curb. It had snowed and I didn't see it. I literally landed on my teeth. It didn't hurt like hell, but it felt like I had gravel in my mouth. It wasn't gravel, it was part of one of my incisors. My dentist had to fix it, first temporary and then permanently. He did a good job, but it didn't come cheap. The hatred and the accidents have not discouraged me. I will keep on pedaling. Everything is a matter of perspective.