Wearing a bike helmet and having lights is obviously not cool!

My wife and I took the kids to buy some rabbits yesterday. Nice for you to know and yes they are very cute, but totally irrelevant to cycling, right? Well, on our way home from the pet shop, while we were driving down a dark country lane on the outskirts of rural Harrogate, we luckily managed to spot a teenager on a bmx, in the dark, riding on the road a few hundred metres in front of us, with no helmet, no lights, and no high viz anything! And to make matters worse, when we got close to him he decided it would be a good idea to ride on the wrong side of the road to let us pass!! 

We drove past him, slowly and with our jaws on the floor at how stupid this lad was, and how much of a death wish he must have, and I couldn't help but think that whoever taught him to cycle obviously didn't do a good job teaching him how to be safe on the roads, and what to do when a car approaches!! I guess being visible and staying alive just isn't cool enough these days?!

If you are reading this, whoever you are from last night, just remember that having a cool bmx (and it was a cool bmx by the way) and being able to do a 180 on a vert ramp is all well and good, but it won't do you much good if you get run over because some car driver doesn't see you, in your black outfit with no high viz, lights or helmet at 8pm on a dark evening on a country lane with no street lights!! Muppet!!

Stay safe kids!!!  ;-)