Getting back to my senses

Every time I go on the road I can't help but to think about the 10 plus deaths that occur to cyclist every year on the road. I think to myself, were they skitching? Probably not. Were they swerving in and out of lanes? Once again, probably not. Then I ask myself, "Why are you risking your life doing such dangerous antics like skitching and going beyond the first lane towards the other lanes?" What if a mistake happens and I become another yearly statistic.

Fundamentally, it is an issue of ego. I fear cars and trucks. The first time I went on the road with my bicycle I had respect and awe towards motorists. I used hand signals frequently and gave way to cars by cramming myself up to the double yellow lines. But you know what? They don't give 2 cents worth of thought towards me and honk and come up to me tailgating my back wheel forcing me up towards the curb where the drainage grate is (where my thin tires will get caught). The worst are the cars that honk me while I'm traveling at the same speed as the car in front of me, to which I do a no-hander 'what's the matter' gesture towards them. Like jeez! Even if I wasn't there you still couldn't go ahead of me. After the frequent bullying I've received from motorists, the slumbering anti-establishment demon inside of me stirred. I hid my ego from the motorists at the beginning out of respect of the road and the law, but now its like this: "If you don't want me slowing you down then I'll be traveling as fast as you so you can't complain, catch is, I tag along your ride.". I'm taking charge of the way I travel on the road and I'm not letting anyone push me around.

While other cyclist cope with this 'bullying' problem by traveling in a group or just plainly ignoring their speed and keeping up the cars behind them, I cope by developing a skill that doesn't hog the roads and allows me to travel faster and further with less effort. The trade off is that I have intrinsically more risk to manage. But it is my strong belief in my skills that I can consistently perform the way I want to and anticipate any obstacles during my maneuver. I have become such a passionate skitcher that it is no more a risky stunt to perform, but instead it is a skill that allows me to function better as a cyclist. I do not see skitching as dangerous anymore than you think about walking down the stairs as dangerous.

It is my wish that, there would be a certain population of road cyclist here in Singapore that share the same passion for more efficient functioning of road cycling, other than just another way to keep fit. To keep in mind, like any sport, there is room for perfection of form, of endurance, of skill, of talent and of creativity.