Some of my earliest memories are of cycling.



When we moved to New Zealand from Australia in the mid-80s, my parents couldn't afford a new bike, so my dad bought a rusty frame, had it sandblasted, repainted it, welded a few things and the end result was a sweet red BMX.



It was the best. I could go places, do things, all at ridiculous speeds of up to 30 kilometres an hour.



In the summer, after everything had closed, Dad used to take my sister and me to the local New World, and we'd ride around the car park and do mean-as skids.



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MARION VAN DIJK/FAIRFAX NZ Possibly a motorist's worst nightmare.

Biking meant freedom and fun. I saw no reason to stop riding, so I didn't. I kept riding, first to school, then to uni, then to work – and as time went on, things changed. Once I was riding alongside cars, cycling went from pure fun to something else, something with more slings and arrows and outrageous misfortune.



When I start to catalogue the injuries and insults I've acquired as a result of cycling, you might wonder why I bother. I've come off quite a few times, and I have had an array of things thrown at me from cars, including but not limited to: fruit (lemons); beer bottles (ginger, and other varietals); cigarettes; and a variety of mystery missiles.

There have been too many incidences of verbal abuse to count. I've had several cars deliberately swerve at me, for no apparent reason, and one – a blue VW Golf – barely missed me. As far as I can tell, they thought half-heartedly trying to murder me would be kind of funny.

In all of these cases I was just cycling along, minding my own business; I wasn't in the way at all.

Happily, would-be drive-by killers aren't a majority. Most motorists are considerate and careful of cyclists. It's carelessness that kills.

When I ride to work, it's a rare day when someone doesn't pull out in front of me or cut me off. I keep an eye on the drivers when this happens and they're usually shocked and frightened. It doesn't make it any less dangerous or frightening.

I also do mountain biking, and while I don't claim to be any kind of daredevil, going downhill, over bumps, at speed, with trees whipping past, has nothing on the fear and loathing urban traffic can produce.

There's a reason cyclists have a reputation for being angry. I think we tend to be on edge because people are constantly, if mostly unintentionally, threatening to kill us.

The Ministry of Transport's fetchingly-named "Cyclist Crash Facts" pamphlet is a fun read. It turns out cities are by far the most dangerous places for cyclists, with more than 50 per cent of crashes occurring on urban routes. On the whole, cyclists are over four times more likely to be killed on the roads than car drivers.

Almost all cycling fatalities come from crashes with cars – and in more than 60 per cent of crashes involving cyclists, the cyclist was found to not be at fault.

So yeah, it's cars doing most of the killing.

So we've established, so far, that cycling is as dangerous as it is scary. I haven't even touched on the sweat in summer or the wet in winter.

Why do it at all? Well, for starters, it's economical. I live in Auckland and I don't hate having money, so paying for parking isn't an option. That leaves the bus and the bike.

The bus is good, except it takes nearly an hour to get to work on a good day, and if the air conditioning isn't working I often arrive as sweaty as I would on a bike.

Biking takes me less than half as long and costs nothing. Then there's the fitness aspect. My daily commute is a total of 14km. You know how you're meant to do an activity that makes you sweat every day? Well, if your work has showers, or even a nearby all-day gym, you too can fulfil well over your minimum daily fitness requirement while going to work. It's multi-tasking.

There's also the satisfaction of knowing that by cycling, you're taking a car off the road. In fact, I'm surprised more drivers don't actively encourage cycling. The more cyclists, the less traffic, and the more demand for dedicated cycling infrastructure – which actually allows traffic to move more swiftly and safely.

"But," I can already hear people saying, "cyclists are like if Hitler had wheels! They ignore red lights sometimes and I've even seen them ride in twos, taking up to half as much space as a car!"

Okay, I'll bite. I drive as well as bike. (Most cyclists do.) I can sympathise with the haters, but only a bit.

While some cyclists inarguably behave like complete dicks on the road, it's absurd to demonise them all.

You wouldn't dismiss all car drivers on the basis of a few bad ones, right? Never mind the haters. The main reason I cycle – and why I think you should too – is because it's so incredibly fun. I get to start every day flying through the open air.

It's even better now that my route is finally getting some dedicated cycleways. Flying down Auckland's new shocking-pink inner-city cycleway, I take my hands from the handlebars and sit back, feeling the bright sea breeze sharp on my face. I watch the city skyline rise in front of me, and I think yep, this is good, this is freedom, this is fun.

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