Madam, - After nearly 20 years abroad, I returned to Dublin last summer. Since then I have been cycling to work each day.
Cycling around this compact and relatively flat city has many advantages: the air is pleasantly clean and fresh; my journey takes the same time regardless of traffic conditions; the views and architecture are better than I remember them; even the weather seems to have improved!
There are, however, two significant and dangerous drawbacks. The first is the state of the roads and the inadequate provision for cyclists. My European friends are incredulous at the appalling quality of our road surfaces (and at my embarrassed attempts to justify them).
I have witnessed two spectacular "over-the-handlebars" accidents caused directly by big potholes. There are stretches of carriageway, notably between Merrion Gates and the RDS, which are so ludicrously narrow and dangerous that sane cyclists must travel on the pavement, playing cat-and-mouse with policemen who pounce from outside the British Embassy.
But the biggest drawback is the Irish motorist whose rudeness and incompetence is breathtaking. Rules of the road are rarely observed and mobile phone usage is very common. When challenged, the typical response is either incoherent abuse or vacant incomprehension.
Cycling is a cheap and efficient form of transport but in Dublin it is evidently a very fragile flower indeed. - Yours, etc.,
NICKY WHITE, Blackrock, Co Dublin.