To the Residents of Port Macquarie

Port Macquarie is my community and home. I have grown up here, attended Port Macquarie High school as well as worked in the area. My concern is the current debate of the community between road users and the appeared inability to ‘share the road’; the recent reported ‘hit and run’ incidents and the current blame game between cyclists and motorists.

As a cyclist, you may find my views to be bias but also be aware that I am a motorist, like most cyclists in our community. The Hastings area has a strong sporting identity that I am proud to be a part of. We have National champions and representatives across a wide range of sports, including James Magnussen, Ryley Batt and Tim Berkel to name a few. The community plays host to world class sporting events such as the Australian Ironman Championships and the State Cup Touch Football Titles. The Community also supports sporting development with the Wayne Richards Sporting Talent Grant, which has been awarded since 2005, three of the recipients being cyclists of the area. There are very few communities that offer support to this extent; it is something to be proud of. This Sporting ‘buzz’ in our community I believe breeds excitement and encourages more people to become active sporting members of the community. The Port Macquarie Cycle Club and Triathlon Club are just two of those growing environments with the community joining the sporting identity.

Cycling is a sport like no other I have ever come across, for me it ticks nearly all the boxes; its readily available wherever you are, it’s not age discriminate, it’s very social and as well as being a great workout, it is also working against some of the biggest concerns facing the world’s community today; world obesity rates as well as fuel pollution from motor cars. The biggest concern with cycling in the Port Macquarie area is the general attitude of the motorists that pass by while I am out training to represent the Port Macquarie area on the international stage. Not a day goes by where I am out training, usually alone or with one or two others, when I don’t get an angry ‘Beep’ or a unnecessary mouthful from a car that flies past a little closer than comfort. Usually I just wave back as the car speeds into the distance and shrug it off but there have been many occasions where I’ve been cut by glass from bottles being thrown at me and I’ve been hit, more than once, and required surgery in hospital. It disappoints me that people don’t seem to care about others well-being. I’m sorry if I hold you up for 10 seconds of your day, but that ten seconds could mean my career ending accident, a week in hospital, thousands of dollars of damage to my equipment and your car or even worse.

I am now a professional cyclist, it is my job to ride my bike up to 25-30 hours per week around our community, I like training at home in this area but I believe the community’s cyclists and motorists need to recognise the dangers of not obeying the road rules and also to use more common-sense. Some motorists believe that all cyclists ride 3-4 wide and take up the whole road, I can assure you that this is not the case and is an unfair stereotype, it is like a cyclist saying; ‘all motorists are hoons and speed around trying to knock cyclists off’.  I’m not denying that some cyclists need to get into line on their part but motorists, I ask; how many more hospital beds need to be filled for you to slow down and be more aware?

Cycling is a growing sport across the nation, there is now a Professional Australian registered cycling team, Green EDGE, we have our first Tour de France champion, Cadel Evans and next year Australia will host its second Cycling World Championships event in three years. Cycling has come a long way from when Graham Seers first opened the bike shop at the marina, 20 odd years ago. Our sporting and cycling identity is something I am proud of and I hope will continue to grow into the future. I accept that everyone is allowed their opinion and not everyone is a fan of cyclists but I ask that you also respect my choice to ride and that you take some care when you see me pedalling along on your way to work so my family doesn’t have to visit me in hospital and you can get to work without an argument, a fine, a holdup or simply an off putting mood.

Yours Sincerely

Lauren Kitchen