I have a confession to make...

I ride on crosswalks (zebra crossings). I am absolutely totally in Crazy Biker Chick’s pond when it comes to riding style. Everything she says makes perfect sense to me and I know what her gripes are all about.

I don’t know if she’s with me or not on this one but generally I am anti-biking-on-crosswalks. Especially those cyclists who appear from nowhere – generally kids on bikes – and fly across the crosswalk with no regard to oncoming drivers or pedestrians or anyone else riding on the sidewalk (pavement). And you darkly suspect that if they get hit, it will go down in court as the driver’s fault and cyclists will be tarred with more dirt forever.

But here’s the thing. I ride through the city on my bike on the disused railway line – a permitted bike path. The trail crosses several roads and there are crosswalks at each crossing. The instructions to cyclists are carefully posted – “Dismount and proceed with caution”.
1. Being selfish, if I walked across all the crosswalks on my way to work it would take 10 minutes longer. If you’re good enough to give me a cycle path, at least let it be an efficient one.
2. Less selfishly and more importantly. There are two types of drivers. Those that will stop at the crosswalk and those that will not. I do not mind if drivers don’t stop and don’t expect them to stop for me on my bike. I am happy enough to wait for a gap. Those who do stop (even if I try to hold back from the curb and be inconspicuous in waiting for a gap), I expect are happier if I ride across the road quickly, rather than dismounting and plodding across before them on foot.

In all my time here I have never had anyone complain or shout at me for being on the crosswalk on my bike which makes me feel happy but also insanely guilty every time a driver stops (hence the attempts to be inconspicuous).

I only use one pedestrian crossing light (pelican crossing) on my ride. I will wait for a while at the junction which is one of those on a 4 lane highway where the traffic comes in each direction in waves, never leaving a gap. I doubt many drivers make a left at this spot. If I wait too long, I will dismount (because I’m now entering the pedestrian zone and I really don’t want to get in anyones’ way) and go press the button.

Last night though, I was waiting, just coming to the conclusion that I wasn’t going to get out of the road when I made eye contact with a pretty young lady walking along wearing sweats. She looked like she was on her way home (walking) from the gym. We mentally acknowledge eachother for what we are – insane – and nod respectfully to oneanother. I decide to try my luck.

“You wouldn’t mind hitting the button on the crosswalk for me would you?”

She smiles

“Sure” she says.

The lights change, I make my turn, on my bike. I wave to the nice lady in sweat-pants and continue on my merry way.

Five minutes later I come across a dog walker on the trail. The wind is blowing towards us so she doesn’t hear me coming. I have no bell so I call, “Excuse me, Coming thru, if I can”.

“oh sorry oh sorry oh sorry”, she says, hauling her dog out of the path.

“It’s OK, don’t worry, have a good evening” I say. I feel awful. Some people get startled. I feel awful. Then there’s times like this morning when you have one of those, “this way that way”, moments, passing an oncoming runner (made worse by the fact I still feel more comfortable on the left side of the track and will happily get out of anyone’s way who’s also travelling on the left).

So, after all these years, I’m finally thinking of getting a bell for my bike. Not any old bell. It will have to be one that doesn’t ding incessantly at the slightest bump because I ride to work off road but a nice, shiny black one that’s silent till rung and I will stick stickers on it and love it for the freedom it gives me to politely say what I want to without the risk of any offence or threatening intonation. For the sound of Ding Ding is a universal language of etiquette on bike paths and I think I want to learn to speak it.

Oh yeah, then there was this other time at school when I was helping make baked potatoes for charity and I grated some fingernail into the cheese and I never took it out. SORRY!