Cyclists should be able to ride without fear of assault

0
2664
Cyclists should be able to ride without fear of assault
Facebooktwittermail

To the editor:

As a part-time employee of a local bike shop and an avid cyclist, I have been riding my bike to work in Old Town for many years — with and without cycling-specific clothing.

Dino Drudi describes cyclists as “garishly decked out in spandex” (“Cyclists are from Mars, pedestrians are from Venus,” January 31), when in fact spandex has not been used in cycling clothing for at least 25 — or more — years and has been replaced with breathable high-tech microfibers and wool in this day and age.

My daily commute takes me along Union Street, and unlike some cyclists, I do stop at stop signs and yield to pedestrians when they are in crosswalks.

In his letter, Mr. Drudi also described a noncontact, “far-fetched” assault committed by a resident mentioned in a previous letter to the editor. In fact, it was a full-contact assault. I should know, as I was one of the riders it happened to while I was out with one of my customers to test a new bike.

This person jumped in front of us, grabbed my handlebars and verbally assaulted me. If that is not physical assault, then what is? Far-fetched? Far from it — that is why the police were called in the first place.
– Quinn Greenman*
Alexandria

*Editor’s note: Due to a pagination error, the author of this letter was initially listed as C. Richard Bierce of Alexandria. We regret the error.

 

instagram
Facebooktwittermail