After a beach volleyball game at Spanish Banks, I cycled east towards home, first taking Highbury Street past the Seaforth Armoury and the pungent stench of sewer that lingers in the air there.
Highbury can be busy, but it wasn’t this day at dusk. Sandy and tired, I climbed the rise and headed toward Eighth Avenue for the nine-kilometre route to my apartment. Instead of cycling a full 270 degrees around the round-about, I cut the corner and took a sharp left instead.
A woman on a pink bike approached along Eighth from the direction I was heading and caught my eye. “Set a good example,” she said, mildly chiding but simply talking to me very matter-of-fact.
I shouted over my shoulder, “You’re right!”
Bless this woman and her polite scolding. She knew best. I did too but nonetheless scoffed the law because it was easier and relatively safe at the time. She reminded me what all cyclists know: the mildest corner-cutting harms the reputation of every person on a bike. I criticize it when I see it. I try not to do it. The vitriol will last, the transgression remembered, the consequences possibly aggressive and definitely judgemental.
You never know who’s looking and what example you might be setting. Hers was a reminder for me to be a smart road user.
— Megan Stewart
Source gif-database
Know a ding-a-ling? Witness one or confess to being one yourself? Reach the Courier sports department at mstewart@vancourier.com.
