I’ve recently had a dreadful experience of cycling in South Yorkshire, so different from my experience anywhere else in the UK that I shall certainly avoid ever cycling there in the future.
Having arrived by train into Doncaster at 2030 on a Thursday night I cycled (using quiet roads an much as possible), 14 miles to a pals house in Thurdcroft, about 6 miles East of Rotherham. The abuse I received from yobs in cars for simply being on the counties roads was relentless. I wasn’t keeping count but during that 1 hour ride I must have been sworn at from car windows several times. None of these cars ever got stuck behind me and I wasn’t riding primary and taking up half the lane, I has just having what I thought was going to be a pleasant evening ride. It wasn’t just cars either, on entering Thurcroft two children on the pavement decided that for being on a bike I should be called a ‘fag’.
My plan for the following morning was to carry on to Gainsborough and visit family there, taking a scenic route of just over 40 miles. I expected that my experience would be different in daylight but no. On this ride I had abuse hurled at me from 4 cars. The last one was in Retford, after passing through that town I seemed to re-enter the civilised world. In fact by the time I reached Gainsborough I was receiving the sort of reaction to the bent which I’m much more accustomed too, one teenager remarking ‘wow, that’s awesome’, and a couple of builders turning round to say ‘look at that; how brilliant is that’.
Although I probably stood out on the bent I very much suspect that the people of South Yorkshire would have thrown abuse at me whatever bike I was riding. I’ll certainly think twice before ever riding there again and if I had the money I might consider ask Donald Trump to build a wall round it.
