The problem with Cycling in Melbourne

Having cycled to work most days for the best part of a year I figured it was time to vent. There are plenty of articles and discussions floating around that discuss the problems with cycling in Melbourne and for the most part they raise legitimate concerns, the lack of interconnected cycle paths, cyclists slowing motorists down on major roads etc. As a cyclist once you've worked out a good route that minimizes the time spent on major roads and maximizes the use of cycle paths and quiet side streets these issues aren't so bad. You get used to the conditions on the route etc and it fades into oblivion.

Inner Melbourne, for the most part should be an awesome place to cycle, the streets are wide and have wide lanes and for the most part their are few hills, there are also some good paths along the rivers etc. The problem is that there are plenty of streets with tram tracks that should be perfect for riding on, the curb side lanes are wide enough to accommodate parked cars with plenty of room to spare, a few meters, for cyclists to ride in but there is a significant portion of drivers that find it difficult, if not impossible to stay in completely in the middle lane.

On at least half of my weekly bike trips I encounter a car that is so far into the curb side lane that there simply isn't enough room for me to fit past on my bike. I am not counting cars that may be double parked just cars that fail to stay in the middle lane to such an extent that I can't even ride past. What makes this doubly annoying and concerning is that often these cars have just driven past me to get to where they are, so either they are doing it deliberately or they are completely oblivious to the fact that they are sitting a good two meters into the other lane. Aren't they concerned about some one in a parked car opening a door?

When I have to stop completely I will often tap on the window and gesture for the driver to move over. This is greeted by a couple of different reactions, complete shock which tends to indicate a complete lack of awareness of surroundings or anger. Now, I always try to be polite when doing it, could you please move over etc, but I guess some people are just angry.

Just this morning I had an amusing encounter with a father driving a Land Cruiser that, drove past and almost side swiped me and then proceeded to stop with the car more in the curb side lane than in the actual driving lane. When I tapped on the window I got the finger and a big f*** off. When I pointed out that perhaps his wife wouldn't approve of him using such language in front of his children he went a particularly lovely shade of red and then sped off.