Cycle Wars: Ritual Public Dehumanising of Cyclists

A response from the manager of ‘Toolmart’, where Paul Clifton, mentioned in the previous post, works. Apparently, it was all just a ‘fantasy’:

“as inflammatory as the original posts were they were put on the Facebook page as some sort of “joke”, “fantasy” or “boast” and have since been seized upon as fact and caused uproar in some circles. I have been assured they were definitely not factual by Mr Clifton and police have also spoken with Paul and are satisfied that the incident never occurred.”

Via the Australian Cycling Forums, a WA man brags on Facebook about running six cyclists over. He was helpful enough to leave his real name (Paul Clifton) and employer (Toolmart, Midvale, WA) in full view.

On Twitter, reactions from Shane Warne’s supporters to the news that the Spin King is being sued by a cyclist over the recent hit and run: 

@FKNDRE: @warne888 you should have driven over that dickhead on the bike…

@mickkhoury17 @warne888 u should have run over the idiot then backed up just to make sure he doesn’t look for more money to steal off motorists.

@oztop_s Should have ran clean over the cyclist @warne888 , there a breed of there own ,and a dam strange one at that .. Offer him .50 cents

@martylynch: Gee @warne888 you should have just run over that dick of a bike rider.

http://www.theage.com.au/lifestyle/celebrity/cyclist-to-sue-shane-warne-20120131-1qq2e.html

The cyclist who had a run-in with Shane Warne this month has revealed his identity and his intention to sue the cricket legend.

Web designer Mathew Hollingsworth, 28, is launching a civil claim in the Melbourne Magistrates Court against Warne seeking $1575 for the repair bill for his hi-tech bike plus damages, interest and costs, News Limited reports.

Mr Hollingsworth is alleging that Warne drove his sports car into him after a robust exchange of words in peak-hour traffic on St Kilda Road on January 17.

In a statutory declaration, Mr Hollingsworth says Warne lurched his car forward striking him on the leg in the incident near Toorak Road.

A witness purporting to be in a car behind Shane Warne during Tuesday night’s heated altercation said the spin king deliberately hit the cyclist.

‘He bumped him once and then hit him again. The first one seemed somewhat accidental. The second one was evidently intentional,’ said the witness, who did not wish to be named. He disputed the cricketer’s version of events. ‘At no stage did I see the cyclist attach himself to Shane Warne’s car. He passed my car and went towards Shane’s but got stuck. He misjudged how much room there was and put his hand on the car to prop himself up.’

As the cyclist made his way to the front of the traffic, he looked around and exchanged words with Warne and was “bumped”’, the witness said. ‘The cyclist then got back on his bike to continue riding and that was when Shane Warne hit him, and sent him to the ground. He did a hit-and-run.’

“Shane Warne has declared a jihad against cyclists - and most motorists are with him.

The emerging civil war on our roads between cyclists and motorists is fuelled by the hardcore cycling lobby, egged on by green activists who see bikes as a handy weapon. They have created the unreasonable expectation that bikes have as much right as cars to use the road.

But the only winner is physics.

And what that tells us is that when a two tonne block of steel comes up against flesh and blood and light weight aluminium tubing there is no contest.”

- Daily Telegraph

Fact?

“In the final extremities they will fall back on the old argument that they are saving the planet by taking cars off the roads. But allow me to retort. That bus driver was doing a lot more to save the planet than the cyclist who attacked him. The cyclist who was entirely in the wrong. The cyclist who was just one of many breaking the law every day on our roads.

License them I say. Every single one of them. And register their stupid little bikes. And every time they do something like this let them feel the full crushing weight of the law.”

- Blunt Instrument

“I know I risk getting run down and turkey slapped bright purple by a swarm of rank-smelling cycle-Nazis for saying this, but is it not an entirely stupid idea to a make bike riders register their vehicles like cars and motorcycles, licensing them all like drivers, then harassing the bejesus out of them?

These particular arses seem to come in only two types: bony and constipated with suppressed fury at the injustice of a world that even allows automobiles onto the roads; and vast, wobbling mounds of hairy dimpled horror bursting like a badly made sausage from undersized lycra bike shorts to burn the retinas of those innocent drivers trapped in the inevitable traffic jam that forms immediately behind them.”

- Blunt Instrument

 … or fiction?

“After three bursts, she took a quick peek to her left around the doorway to check her surroundings and see what she’d caught. – A civilian, on a bicycle, lying in the centre of the road, probably dead. Head shot.”

- Without Warning

“A festive custom we could do worse than foster would be stringing piano wire across country lanes to decapitate cyclists. It’s not just the Lycra, though Heaven knows this atrocity alone should be a capital offence; nor the helmets, though these ludicrous items of headgear are designed to protect the only part of a cyclist that is not usefully employed; nor the self-righteousness, though a small band of sports cyclists on winter’s morning emits more of that than a cathedral at evensong; nor even the brutish disregard for all other road users, though the lynching of a cyclist by a mob of mothers with pushchairs would be a joy to witness.”

- The Times

‘Do not cruise through red lights. Because if I’m coming the other way, I will run you down, for fun.’  

- Top Gear

“It has never occurred to me it might matter to drivers what a cyclist wears because, clothed or naked, with a helmet or not, all cyclists in the city are irritating and I find bring on an overwhelming desire to swerve towards.’

- Daily Telegraph

“While the cycling lobby is strong, community resentment about lycra louts is also steadily growing. I sure felt some fury over Easter when the lane-blocking louts were out in force. Why are cyclists allowed to ride three abreast and hold up other traffic? The aggressive element that is wrecking our cycling culture needs to be brought into line and if public outrage won’t do it, then the only alternative is to consider licensing and registration.”

- Herald Sun

Elizabeth Hurley, partner of Shane Warne, in support of Warne on Twitter:

ElizabethHurley - “Crikey, @warne888 was attacked by a mad cyclist. I’d have opened the car door into said loon’s path had I been there. Keep calm, just kidding”

Sara Leonardi-McGrath, wife of cricketer Glenn McGrath, on Twitter - in support of Shane Warne: “@warne888 that sounds exciting..these are some vivacious Cyclist…just throw a cricket ball at them if they really annoy u”

Cricketer Shane Warne in hit and run incident with Melbourne cyclist:

“So same as every other day I and the other 10 or so cyclists at the intersection began the precarious weave through the stationary traffic to bridge the gap to the bike lane on the other side of Kings Way. Though yesterday I couldn’t get through as easily as usual because a grey Mercedes Coupe in the centre lane was very close to the left turning traffic and allowed almost no space for cyclists to pass through.

As the traffic was stationary I unclipped my right foot and squeezed through the small gap. The driver in the car on my right, the Mercedes – possibly concerned I might damage his car – yelled out to me. Once I was through the gap I moved back into the centre lane, stopped and looked back at the driver, who was still yelling, to hear what he was saying. “What are you doing? You don’t own the road! Get out of the way” he yelled repeatedly. I shook my head and probably yelled something similarly inane back. Now even more agitated the driver continued to yell, “you don’t own the road”. I looked more closely and recognised him as Shane Warne, laughed and asked, “What are you doing?” and began to get ready to clip into my bike to continue the ride home.

But before I could the driver lurched his car forward forcing my bike wheel and almost my leg under the front of his car. Dumbfounded at how overtly aggressive the driver had been and aware that we were now holding up the traffic, I pulled my bike from under the car and attempted to continue riding. My wheel was jammed against the frame of my bike and the chain was tangled so I had to carry it to the footpath to fix it. At this point a pedestrian witnesses were yelling, “Get his rego” and some even yelled out his registration. One woman approached me offering assistance and asked, “Are you OK? Are you going to follow it up? I have the rego ” as she held her phone.

I thanked her told her it wouldn’t be necessary – partially because I was in shock but also because I hadn’t yet realised the extent of the damage to my bike and I knew who the driver was anyway. My girlfriend who had witnessed the whole thing from the adjacent corner now came over to ask if I was OK and what happened. “Shane Warne just ran into me with his car” I replied.”

- Cycling Tips

De Brito (@SamdeBrito) on Twitter, September 2011, tweeting to Australian professional racing cyclists “@nathangoss @badencooke @Mark_Renshaw: “Beep, Beep. THUMP.” [since deleted] 

And in response to criticism on Twitter…

SamdeBrito  

Jeez, don’t cyclists have a sense of humour? 11 Sep 

SamdeBrito 

Wow - cyclists are such insecure sooks. 15 Sep 

SamdeBrito 

@nathangoss @Mark_Renshaw @badencooke How sad are you, you flea? Let’s Google the bad columnist. Meow. Pussy 15 Sep

@Rossoworld Taking your Twitter life in your hands riling cyclists. Humourless, militant and aggressive. Trade unionists on two wheels. 18 Sep 

SamdeBrito  

@taletale I didn’t realise I had encouraged people to assault cyclists. 18 Sep   

“I would never encourage or condone the injuring of a cyclist, nor anybody attempting to use a vehicle to intimidate them on the road. However, cyclists need to realise that just because they’ve chosen a high-risk sport doesn’t make the rest of us culpable in their deaths and maiming if we choose to laugh about their stupid clothes. 

Two weeks ago, I only half thought cyclists were uptight, humourless wankers. Now I know it’s true.”

- SMH

“Sure, cycling is health conscious and oh-so European but so is yoghurt and you don’t need to wear hard-plastic ballet shoes to eat the stuff. Oh, but it relaxes you? Could’ve fooled me every time I get abused by some 60-year-old cardiovascular surgeon who thinks roads were purpose-built for his Raleigh.

When I was a kid, you knew you took your chances on the road and with the two-tonne chunks of metal screaming in both directions. Nowadays? Some bloke who doesn’t even pay $700 rego wants to complain to me about my indicating while he treats red lights as suggestions.

A gentleman on radio a few years back talked about how he’d been posted to Somalia or Darfur for his job and it had ruined his cycling hobby because he couldn’t ride through the murderous slums on his $3000 bike. That was until he and a few expat mates convinced their employer to send an armed security guard to shadow them in a jeep while they melted away the burgers and beer that had been flown in. Seriously.

And we wonder why half the world wants to kill white people.”

- The Age

Fact?

“Has is it ever occurred to you that maybe bicycle riders don’t belong in the city? It did to me the other morning as I crawled across the Story Bridge at about 12 klicks-per behind some stupidly smug, selfish git on one of those dumb-arse bikes you sort of lie back into like a recliner lounge… How much did I regret not getting that anti-personnel Metal Storm pod installed when I had the car serviced last time?”

- Blunt Instrument, 2007

“The writer and blogger John Birmingham says politically savvy cyclists are getting their own way more often than not.

BIRMINGHAM: I’ve got a lot of time for Clover… But she’s on a hiding for nothing with this mate. I don’t think she understands the intensely political nature of the cycle lobby and just how full on they can be. And I see that this, I see things like this pathway as pretty much an example of the political structure folding to their demands.

Look, there are two types of cyclists as far as I can tell, having tangled with the cycling lobby a couple of times. There are thousands and thousands of people in a city like Sydney who just you know they hop on their treadlies and they take themselves off to work. And you know good for them! Great! Love it, just love it! And then there is the cycle Nazi lobby and you just, you don’t want to cross them.”

- PM, 2010

 … or Fiction?

“In one awful memory they were walking along the dusty road, and there came an old man on a bicycle. All of Kono’s children began shrieking and yelping as soon as they saw him. Captain Kono hated cyclists and had declared that the punishment for riding a bike in his presence was amputation of at least one leg. Two of the grown men who fought with Kono pulled the old man on the bike over to the side of the road.

He was shaking with fear but grinning and laughing nervously as if to encourage the idea that this was all some sort of practical joke. Kono appeared, towering over Yusuf. He, too, was grinning, but unlike the old man, his amusement was genuine. He explained to the boy that if he wished to prove himself to his comrades, he would have to chew through the man’s leg, right down to the bone. Like a tiger. Kono smiled. Imitate the actions of a tiger, boy.”

- After America, 2010

“If I had an older model car I’d just keep driving in the [cycling] lane. Get an old sort of Valiant with a bullbar and just drive straight over the top.”

http://treadly.net/2006/05/29/sam-newman-moron

http://www.woj.com.au/2006/05/28/unsporting-behaviour

http://www.vscn.org.au/pages/documents/JanGarrard.pdf

http://www.theage.com.au/national/rex-hunt-found-guilty-of-cyclist-attack-charge-20090508-axd5.html#ixzz1jtJT5Aq0

Media personality and football commentator Rex Hunt has been found guilty of recklessly causing injury after a road-rage confrontation with a cyclist in Melbourne. Hunt was found guilty of the charge in the Melbourne Magistrates Court this afternoon. Magistrate Peter Reardon found Hunt not guilty of two other charges of intentionally causing injury and recklessly causing serious injury, while a fourth charge of assault was struck out.

http://www.theage.com.au/national/cyclist-tells-court-of-rex-hunt-attack-20090507-awqx.html#ixzz1jtJtz7Zk

Veteran 3AW football commentator Rex Hunt has been accused of pinning a cyclist against a parked car with his four-wheel-drive, grabbing him in a bear hug and breaking his finger in a “scary” confrontation on a bayside road.

“The first thought that came into my mind was that I was going to be cut in half,” Rodney Andonopoulos told the Melbourne Magistrates Court yesterday about the alleged attack on July 26 last year in Elwood.

The media personality and former policeman was driving in Ormond Esplanade when he allegedly cut off Mr Andonopoulos and pinned him to a car parked on the side of the road.

The court heard that Hunt, 60, later stopped, got out of his car and tried to stop Mr Andonopoulos riding past by grabbing him in a bear hug.

“I think he was mumbling something, but I wasn’t paying attention,” Mr Andonopoulos said. He said Hunt stopped him further up the road when he again got out of his car, grabbed his outstretched hands and linked his fingers between his. He claimed Hunt twisted his fingers and tried to break them. His left index finger was broken.