If you thought the classic Daily Mail response to a clip of two cyclists riding side-by-side on the road can verge on the apoplectic, wait until they see this one.
Because a recent group ride in Miami has caused quite the stir – after a fuming Mini driver resorted to flying along the grass central reservation to overtake the huge bunch of cyclists.
And that’s not all. A clip of the bonkers overtake has sparked a massive backlash on social media, with hundreds of motorists (and a few cyclists too) flocking to the comments to accuse the group ride of “blocking the whole road” and creating an “unsafe situation”.
First, some context. If, like me, you’re not familiar with South Florida’s weekend cycling scene, the Don Pan is a popular social ride based in Key Biscayne, near Miami. Taking place on Sunday, the ride attracts hundreds of cyclists, is largely flat, and averages over 30mph, normally featuring an impromptu, unofficial race at the end to crown a ‘winner’.
To get a feel of what it’s all about, one regular participant published a video from last Sunday’s ride on YouTube, complete with the caption: ‘We stopped for a red light – first time ever’:
So, you get the picture. Did I say the Daily Mail would be all over this already?
But it’s another clip from the following week’s ride that has courted the most online controversy. On Sunday, Florida bike shop Revolt posted this clip of a Mini driver taking an unusual, off-road approach to overtaking the Don Pan peloton:
“One of the highlights from Don Pan this morning,” Revolt said. “4×4 no patience.”
The comments, however, were more concerned with the size of the bunch than the motorist’s encounter with the central reservation.
“What do you mean ‘no patience’? You guys were blocking the WHOLE ROAD!” one Instagram user replied.
“Maybe don’t take over the whole fucking road??? Like I bike to work daily and this shit is ridiculous,” said another.
“As a cyclist, this kind of pisses me off… why the whole three lanes? Please, someone, explain,” one user asked, prompting the reply: “Entitlement”.
And it seems like a lot of the replies stemmed from mortified cyclists.
“This is why drivers hate us,” wrote Cait, while another user said: “I’m a cyclist and I can say I hate these cyclists.”
“This makes me angry!!!!” wrote punctuation enthusiast Yeti. “Who do these guys think they are????? They are taking up both lanes!!! They should all be ticketed!!!!”
And Edwin added: “I’m a professional athlete, but we need to respect other people, occupy only one lane and not two as if other people’s rights didn’t exist. The authorities must do something to stop this from happening.”
“In Europe, such peloton on the road would not be allowed. Too dangerous for everyone,” noted another viewer. “Police would intervene. As cyclists, we wish to be respected, it starts with respecting other road users.”
“Stay in one lane, and this won’t happen. It creates an unsafe situation for everyone,” said Luis.
However, not everyone was up in arms about the lack of two-abreasting going on at the Don Pan.
“I genuinely don’t understand the resentment,” said Goldstucker.
“Don Pan is a ride where cyclists are moving at roughly 30 mph. Expecting 70 riders at that speed to squeeze onto a bike path—shared with people cruising along at half that pace—is, of course, completely logical.
“It’s a Sunday ride that might delay traffic by five minutes, if that. A true crisis. Civilization barely survives.
“But yes, let’s direct our outrage at cyclists for briefly existing on the road we all supposedly share. Perspective, apparently, is optional.”