Our Call to Ban Winter Cycling

We were very disappointed to read a report on STV's news website

"Cyclist Injured in Car Collision"

Yes its terrible: the language used in the report is completely neutral! For example, they say: "A collision between a car and a male cyclist..." with no hint of finger-pointing at all.

We think that this sends out the wrong message. Everyone knows that cycling is an extremely dangerous abnormal fringe activity, undertaken at the cyclist's own risk. If someone (and Ford alone knows why they would) chooses to engage in this kind of reckless behaviour, it is their own responsibility to ensure they do not get in the way of the driver of an Aberdeen Car, who is, after all, merely going about their lawful business ensuring a future of prosperous economic growth for all citizens in Aberdeen "City and Shire". And yes, that even includes ungrateful non-contributing citizens like cyclits and pestestrians. See how altruistic and caring the drivers of Aberdeen Cars are?

Amazingly, the report - while stating that the road was closed for over an hour, does not emphasise the serious inconvenience and frustration this will have caused to road-tax-paying motorists who, unlike the ungrateful freebooting cyclits, have paid through the nose for the right to unfettered access to the highway. Nor does the report make any attempt at calculating the cost to the economy incurred, all because a road-tax-dodging cyclit got in the way of the benificent yet hard-pressed driver of an Aberdeen Car and causing what we call "Road Closed Misery".

Road Closed Misery

This is intolerable. We think it's time for some radical intervention and common sense. It was cold and frosty in Aberdeen on the day of the incident, and the sun is very low in the sky at this time of year. There is literally no reason for people to be riding bicycles in this sort of weather and environment. FACT. Hey greenies! It's winter! Why-oh-why are you cycling? If you can't afford a nice car, or even the bus fare, just give yourself time to walk to your destination.

As a matter of fact, we propose that it should be against the law to ride a bicycle on City and Shire streets during the winter time. The pro-environment people who insist on showing off by riding bicycles are putting their own adherents at risk and increasing the chances of accidents where they otherwise would not happen. It's time to bring this madness to an end once and for all.

We can understand that cycling in the summer is a nice, pleasant family pastime. In the public park, for instance, and well away from busy important traffic. You put your bike on a rack on the tailgate of your Range Rover and drive to your chosen cycling recreational venue. Then you cycle round and round for a bit, then you put the bike back on the rack and drive home. A lovely day out, a holiday or weekend hobby. But we just can't see why anyone would be cycling on a cold day like today. It's perverse, it's masochistic, and it's offensive that these people should be rubbing our busy important hard-pressed noses in it. We'd like to see it being made, literally, into an offence. These people need saving from themselves. The super new Big Society government is all for minimum intervention and lawmaking, looking to devolve power down to the lowest possible political level, so perhaps we can look for our local council to introduce a by-law to ban winter cycling in Aberdeen "City and Shire".

Now, don't get us wrong, we're delighted to read that the cyclist's injuries were not life-threatening (we're not callous monsters!) But, we were horrified that the STV News report made no mention of the damage which will have been done to the car. Neither did the report mention whether or not the cyclit was wearing a helmet.

All in all, very poor journalism. We begin to suspect that STV, in common with other elements of the local press, are acting with an anti-car bias and agenda.

Don't they know that the War on Motorists is over?