All the rage 13: Pavement rage: Something that has annoyed me for years are cyclists who go up on the footpath. I don't know how many times I have nearly been run over by a cyclist who comes up behind me out of nowhere and shoots past, just when I am about to move to my left or right.
Why do they think that because they are on a bike they can just go on the path and expect people to get out of their way? Do they not understand the meaning of "footpath"?
A plea: use the road or the bike lanes, where you are far less likely to run over some poor unfortunate who happens to be walking along, not expecting someone on two wheels to race past them out of nowhere.
And do any of you know the rules of the road? Why is it that you think you are exempt from stopping at traffic lights? Obviously, gone are the days when parents took their kids out to teach them how to use the road safely while on bikes. Or is it simply that people on bikes don't care?
Fiona Barrett, Dublin
What is it? You timed it. It took 13 minutes and 25 seconds to walk down Grafton Street yesterday. You pushed through the crowds surrounding the buskers and hair-braiders, avoided the visitors waving maps, stepped around the floating masses who, maddeningly, are just out for a stroll and still managed to fall foul of the Spanish students milling around the record store in matching waterproofs. You actually got caught in one of their rucksack straps. You timed it. Exactly 45 seconds is what it took to untangle yourself. Elsewhere, the push past the tour buses and tourists carrying pottery and shillelaghs who spill across the pavement is a daily ordeal to be endured on the way to pick up your sandwich. The next charity collector you meet should not expect to be treated charitably.
The symptoms? You try to make things bearable by playing little racing games with other pedestrians. When they catch up with you at traffic lights you shoot them competitive glances and are halfway across the road at first sight of the little green man. You arrive at work hot and uncomfortable, barging down the corridors, daring people to get in your way. You used to be such a gentle soul. Now going down the street for a bottle of water is a military exercise that leaves you drained.
The cure? Shake a can of coins or carry an official-looking clipboard everywhere you go. Approach people in your way with the words: "Can you spare a few minutes for charity?" Stand back and watch those pavement- hoggers run.
What annoys you most? Share it with us by emailing rage@irish-times.ie
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