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I'm a cyclist one day of the week for most weeks. It used to be five days but then I got a motorbike which is strangely a safer option. It's definitely a less stressful option though there are occasions where I come across a wee nutcase in a car. I really hate how close some motorists pass when I'm making a right turn and am stuck in the middle of the road waiting for oncoming traffic to pass. Almost lost a foot last night!

I digress.

I'm making this post to ask: what's the deal with some cyclists on Trongate? Particularly on the path where the Tesco and McDonalds is. Last week I almost got rammed into by a cyclist who was doing like 20mph up there. I came off my motorbike and was walking onto the path. I was coming out from behind a phone box and swoosh! I had to hop back and put my arms out to avoid a girl on a bike who got a wee fright. I got the impression she saw me at fault for not peeking out first. She could've at least have apologised.

I'm not your "law abiding" kind of cyclist. If the roads become unsafe, if they become too narrow and there's an angry wee motorist revving his engine up my ass then I'll make use of pavements even if it's not a shared space. I'll always take it slow as I'm never really in a hurry.

If the light's red and the green men are up and I'm wanting to make a right turn then instead of waiting for the green light so that I'm then essentially a cyclist propped in the middle of a busy road with cars up my ass and coming from the front then I'll take advantage of that green man for my wellbeing.

I also have many many many so fucking many stories as a cyclist when it comes to bad experiences with pedestrians in Glasgow. It doesn't matter where I am: on the road, a shared space, in a park or on a footpath there's always that one pedestrian who sees my vehicle choice for the day and decides that I'm nothing but scum to be fucked with.
My most recent was when I was casually cycling over Argyll Street, just past M&S Food. Some wee nutter thought it'd be good to pick up his pace and power walk in front of me before putting a hand on my face and telling me off for cycling on a pavement. I told him that it's a core path and is a shared space. He reluctantly accepted thos and then told me that I need to go slower. I wasn't even pedalling! The bike was rolling slightly faster than walking pace.

I just can't fathom the need for some cyclists to go so fast on pavements though. At that speed you may as well use the roads. Especially when they're pretty quiet. I see it all the time on the Trongate path and always think that if someone walks out of any of the shop fronts they'll be getting hit. They get so close to the doors.

This has become a bit of a rant. Has this always been a problem in Glasgow? Has anyone ever been hit?