The Woes of Being a Student Cyclist

I've been wanting to post something along these lines for a while now. I only got around to finishing it when I had my heart on submitting it and possibly getting it published in the Woroni (ANU newspaper). From my knowledge, it didn't make it. Ah well, at least I can post it here!

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Sometimes I bemoan getting up early in the morning. Especially on those days when you look outside your window and see a layer of frost covering every discernible surface. But I do it because I enjoy seeing the hustle and bustle of students walking to and fro in union court. I wonder where they’re heading to, I wonder if they’re having a good day, and I wonder what walk of life they’ve come from. When I’m amongst them I feel like I’m a part of the micro-society. I know these people, these are my people. We may be strangers, but we’ve shared so many communal experiences. Like the dread before an exam, or those sunken eyes due pulling an all nighter for an assignment, or even the mad rush to write that cover sheet and push that essay into the assignment shoot, bidding goodbye to ever having to worry about it again.

However, this feeling radically disappears as soon as I swing a leg over my bicycle beat and clip on my helmet. Now I’m a student cyclist amongst hoards of student pedestrians, and I’m trying to fight my way through union court.

“Man, I wish this person would look where they’re walking!” I think to myself as the guy listening to his iPod decides to make a bee-line straight for me.

“Geesus, why doesn’t this person walk in a straight line?” I think as I grit my teeth in frustration as the girl in front of me sharply walks diagonally across, cutting me off from overtaking.

“Why are these people not giving way to me?” I say to myself as I ride at a snail’s pace behind a group of students who have decided to take up the entire pathway without letting me pass.

It becomes a constant battle every time I ride in to my lectures, and out from my tutorials. It’s like I’ve become invisible to my fellow students. It’s a strange feeling when you’re constantly watching out for the myriad of people around you, while they never notice you. You don’t want to hurt them, or run into them, but it often seems like they’ve unintentionally got it out for you.

I guess the message I want to put forth is:

Please, if you’re a pedestrian walking on campus, take care and be aware of fellow student cyclists around you. They’re often having a hard time trying to maneuver around people, especially in Union Court. I think we would all fare better and be much safer if we practice vigilance and awareness of our surroundings.