Hi,
My name is Greg Pankhurst, I'm 38, and I live in the Inner West of Sydney. I'm a recent cycling convert, only taking up the lycra in September 2011. I think that gives me a somewhat unique perspective on cycling road safety, as for many a year I only saw cycling from behind the wheel of my car.
I threw myself pretty hard into cycling. Started riding with my local club (the Dulwich Hill Bike Club) and also doing occasional commutes to work in the Sydney CBD, I was racking up around 150 km every week, dropped 15 kilos and got rather fit.
I also have safety close to my heart. In February this year, I went damn close to dying in a cycling crash. Think helicopter evac, two weeks in a coma, 4 months in a hospital close to death. Yes, I was wearing a helmet, an no there wasn't a car involved. Turns out my accident was caused by a road reflector, which I must have caught at the wrong angle or time. There's a disturbing number of parallels with this accident in Kurnell, in which cyclist Matt Fitzgerald died, a mere two weeks ago.
A rock and a road reflector. Seemingly innocent every day stuff, but it underlines how careful one has to be on a bike and how at risk cyclists are.
Hopefully the blog can gain a following and help frame the cycling safety discussions moving forward.
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