Cyclists Aggression - Briggs Road Cycle Park
I took my 3 year old down to the Briggs Road Cycle Park this afternoon for the first time. We rode in the direction the concrete path feeds you onto the track, which was also the direction that other kids were riding / people were running. There are also arrows on the ground on the running path to indicate people should be running that way.
Halfway through the first lap, a kid (maybe 13/14) came riding down in the opposite direction. Both my son I and moved to the left to give him space, however he darted towards my son and screamed out “watch it cunt” whilst missing him by about 10cm. Kids are kids, and whilst that’s not on at all I was happy to let it slip.
About 15 mins (and many laps) later we had 2 more cyclists coming towards us. Again, my son and I moved to the left of the path, only to be met with a screaming woman “you’re going the wrong fucking way dickhead”.
Even if we were getting in the way, and purposefully going the wrong way, that is absolutely no way to speak to a child. A simple “hey guys you’re meant to go the other way” would have been enough. I genuinely cannot believe the aggression coming out of those people this afternoon, for something that posed absolutely no threat at all.
If you’re THAT passionate about the direction of traffic, bring it up with council, not families trying to have fun. I cannot imagine the sad little life these people have to get dressed up to ride in a circle and yell at kids on a Sunday afternoon.