Christmas is here. This long weekend is the climax of two months of preparations and a mad shopping spree. Yesterday, for instance, was nuts. Within five minutes I experienced two near misses in Terenure area. First, I was nearly knocked off my bike by an SUV driver who decided to overtake a car from the left, which happened to be my cycle track, without checking his mirror. His wife seemed to scream at him immediately so he stopped a few inches before he gave me the kiss of death. Farther down the road, I was calmly passing a traffic congestion, but then I saw a cyclist pedalling towards me. She didn't cycle in the wrong direction though, but rather turned to her right, cutting my path off, without yielding. She said 'sorry' all right, but we were a foot away from a head-on collision!
Cycling in busy times isn't fun (remember The Rush Hourers?). It can also mean danger, for other road users, occupied by their Christmas preparation amok, don't pay attention to the rules of the road. In this respect, Xmas drivers are totally mad!
Having said that, there is still light in the gloom of Christmas road madness. On the way back home I noticed the bicycle above poking out of the boot of that Mercedes. The first thing that came to my mind was that someone is coming back from a cycling trip. I wanted to call it "the boot cyclist", ie a cyclist who sits behind the wheel and keeps his bike in car. But when I examined the picture I took, it stroke me. This pair of bikes was a Christmas present!
Indeed, Christmas is a wonderful time when kids get presents. The lucky ones get bicycle and join so many other cyclists. The gift giving is not limited to kids, also many adults may get a two-wheeled present. No wonder that the recent census reported (PDF) a huge increase in cycling around Dublin.
The photo was taken yesterday, 21 December 2012, on Harold's Cross Road.
Wishing a happy Christmas to you all!
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