When I lived in Ottawa, I liked to bike everywhere. It was easy: I could bike to the end of my street, which was a quiet downtown street, and at the end the car-free path would take me the rest of the way. On the way to work, I did go down a busier street, but it was a one-way and since it was rush hour, traffic never moved very fast.
As I got more experienced in city biking, I noticed something: cyclists are the worst. Honestly. You never know whether they are going to obey the rules of the road. I am one of them. Rolling stops and ignoring red lights are two sins I commit. That’s why when I am driving, cyclists make me very, very nervous. They are unpredictable! There’s often no way to tell what their next move is. I wish more cyclists were also drivers, so they could understand why it’s a horrible idea to be next to the curb in a right-hand turning lane when they plan to go straight across the intersection. It would also be useful for cyclists to understand the fact that drivers actually have a blind spot and know where that blind spot is.
So, when I am cycling, I try (and I admit, I don’t always succeed) at following the rules of the road. But most importantly, I try and remember that if something were to happen the car will always, always win.
