OPINION: Why is there so much hate for cyclists?

I need a reasonable explanation that can help me understand how a percentage of the population who care about their health and fitness can be widely condemned.

THERE is nothing like scrolling through the comments of social media posts with cyclists.

Whether it is a story about people who ride for fun, those who ride for fitness, or even a sporting achievement, it's almost as if a "hate" switch is flipped as soon as a helmet, bike or lycra appears in a photo.

I need someone to explain it to me. Not with a meme, and without vitriol. I'm talking about a reasonable explanation that can help me understand how a percentage of the population who care about their health and fitness can be so widely condemned.

Cyclists seem to be referred to as "they", as if everyone who has owned or ridden a bike shares a collective mind, but have you - the people who hate or dislike cyclists - considered you're part of the problem?

I have been the cause of at least two close calls - I didn't check a blind spot, and another time I walked across a bike path without noticing the oncoming, two-wheeled traffic (thankfully they avoided me) - and I'm sure the knockers have too.

Yes, I have had to slow down on the road, which delayed my arrival to a coffee shop or some junk food outlet by 15 seconds, because people were riding a bike on the road. Big whoop.

I don't hold a grudge, I just get on with life, the same way they do too. So why the hate?

Originally published as OPINION: Why is there so much hate for cyclists?