As I return to cycling season lately, I've been feeling frustrated in many ways, so I'm jotting down my thoughts.
Riverside bike path: On the verge of being taken over by running clubs and elderly people taking walks
(I also occasionally see people walking dogs, and it really makes me angry.)
Bike path installed on sidewalks: The design and road conditions that make me seriously doubt whether they intended for people to actually ride on this
(The fact that there are unusually many manholes specifically on bike paths rather than sidewalks is another +1 frustration point)
(And for some reason, pedestrians who keep walking on the bike path even though there's a perfectly fine sidewalk right there is another +2 frustration points)
(+Electric scooters and shared bikes habitually parked on bike paths, blocking the way)
Regular roads: Even when I ride as far to the right as possible, I feel self-conscious, I can never let my guard down due to accident risks, and I frequently become a target of aggressive driving
(I've actually experienced aggressive driving and hit-and-run incidents with motorcycles.)
The villains who occupy the riverside bike paths are all the same—they have no intention of moving over, don't check behind them, make sudden direction changes without warning, and regardless of whether their dogs run into the road, they always blame the bike, too busy managing their own dogs.
Bike paths on sidewalks seem to have no reason to exist at all. Don't they need to be rideable normally to have any reason to exist?
Regular roads have ambiguous regulations about whether bikes should ride there or not, and the frustrating reality is that most drivers only know that bikes shouldn't come out onto roads. The Korean public consciousness that first curses at cars and bikes without reason leaves me only with astonishment.
I really love cycling and it's a hobby I want to carry with me for life, but sometimes this reality truly breaks my heart ㅠㅠ
When will Korea's treatment and perception of cyclists improve?
