Lost in translation

I got involved in a row with a dear friend on WhatsApp recently. Instead of picking up the phone and having a chat, we were doing it via WhatsApp and we fell out. If we had been talking, there would have been no row.

Writing a newspaper column also runs the risk of getting up peoples’ noses in a manner unintended. You can’t know how somebody is going to interpret a point, an opinion or a statement. And that happened to me here a few months back. I said I’d leave it a while before I would address the controversy and anger which “that article” about cycling caused. First of all, I was clumsy and smart assed in trying to make a reasonable point about the poor relationship between cyclists and the rest of the public and how we need to grow up in this country when it comes to cycling.

I made the comparison between Dublin and Copenhagen. I was saying that in Copenhagen, so many people cycle because it is a cycle-friendly city where there are dedicated cycle lanes everywhere. In Dublin, we are not cycle friendly at all and cyclists have to share their space with buses and trucks.

But the bit that caused uproar was the smart assed bit. In Copenhagen, there is an idyllic calmness about the cyclists. They ride old “High Nelly” type bikes while dressed in their street clothes and blending in, whereas in Ireland, cyclists have “racing” bikes and dress accordingly in racing-logo garb. And in my humble opinion, some “racers” rather than what you would call “cyclists”, go OTT with their attire and then wonder why people might dislike such opulence on a bike. Fair point, no?

I was trying to be funny but admittedly it came out all wrong with none of the cycling fraternity seeing the funny side. And that’s fine with me. However, what I didn’t like was one enthusiast highlighting the article on his Facebook page and posting photos of cyclists killed on the road, with the insinuation I was saying it was good enough for them. It was a shocking and cheap misinterpretation to use these poor, unfortunate victims to have a go at me.

So, instead of actually reading the entire original article, his followers were now looking at the photos of dead cyclists alongside his personal take on the article and commenting. As you can imagine, some of the comments were crass and vulgar. Good old social media at its worst.

I can take criticism but not when it’s out of context. Where I live, there are scores of cyclists on the road every morning going to work. And I always have patience and I respect them with the 1.5-metre rule. While the article might have given the impression to the contrary, I would never suggest a cyclist intentionally brings danger on to themselves the minute they sit on the saddle.

Apart from those annoying ones who break red lights or cycle aggressively, it is careless and reckless driving which causes accidents. Cyclists should be able to cycle without fear, give respect and be given respect. So wouldn’t it be great if we had the Copenhagen cycling culture, infrastructure and attitude all round? That was my salient point but, like my WhatsApp incident, regrettably that point was lost in translation.

Football V politics

I was at the match in Cardiff to see Ireland beat Wales. We won but, holy God, we play terrible stuff. Leo Varadkar is going to move the time of his Ard Fheis speech so as not to clash with our play-off against Denmark. The way Ireland play, I think there will be more entertainment for the cheering fans who will be watching Leo!