I am not a cyclist. The last time I rode a bike must have been more than 30 years ago and, although they say that once you learn to cycle you never forget how to do it, I do not think I will give it a try. I’m not so sure that the saying is correct.

But, as an armchair sportsman, I do follow the discipline, with particular interest in the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France, which always leave me in awe. It amazes me how the participants manage to cycle hundreds of kilometres each day, with some of the stages taking place in the mountains, on slippery roads with a tough gradient.

My interest in the sport peaked during the glory days of Marco Pantani, who has been and will always be one of my favourite sportsmen. His premature death and the controversy that surrounded it have negatively affected this interest, but what really put me off is the countless times that various cyclists, many of them top grade, were caught using illicit substances to enhance their performance.

As someone who heartily believes that sport should be clean from top to bottom – and my fierce opposition is not only to drugs, but also bribery and other forms of corruption – I cannot accept such situations, which give a bad name to whatever sport discipline is involved.

In recent days, cycling has been in the news locally. But it’s not the profession that came to light – what was brought to public attention is the plight of cyclists who have to make use of our roads to practise their sport, largely because there are no facilities that suit their purposes.

First of all we had an incident involving a cyclist who was injured because the wheels of her bike got stuck in a drain gate at Gzira, with the result that she fell off the bike and broke her jaw. As usual, it took an accident to push the authorities – in this particular case the Gzira local council – to take action.

Then, last Sunday, tens of cyclists took part in a ride to commemorate the first anniversary of the death of Clifford Micallef, who was killed after being hit by a car while training on the Coast Road close to Salini.

The latter was an occasion when, once again, cyclists demanded more security on our roads, and particularly more consideration and respect for them when they are riding their bike on Maltese roads.

What they said makes sense. I have often come across situations when drivers became too impatient with cyclists ahead of them and took risks that were uncalled for.

I have become more aware of these situations ever since my son, some two years ago, took up the sport himself. And, much as I am pleased that he has taken up a sport that demands commitment, dedication and self-discipline, and which at the same time enables him to do some physical exercise that keeps him away from the computer for an hour or two, I am always afraid that something might happen to him.

I know he is a cautious rider, particularly when he is training on his own, but I shudder when I think of the way some drivers abuse the weapon they are driving – yes, cars are weapons if used dangerously. I always breathe a sigh of relief when I hear the click of the lock turning and hear “I’m back”, or when my mobile phone bleeps to announce his return home.

And I guess this fear will be there in the years to come. The more he cycles on our roads, the more experience he will gain. But, then, Clifford was an experienced cyclist too. It did not stop him getting killed.

Cyclists are defenceless against cars and other vehicles, and the precautions that they take – like wearing helmets and fluorescent clothes – are not much of help in most situations. And this is why drivers have to be extremely careful when there are cyclists on the roads. The slightest nudge, even driving too close to the riders, could upset their balance and lead to serious accidents.

Naturally, cyclists have their own part to play for their own safety. Apart from wearing headgear, they must not cross over in front of drivers without indicating, or doing so abruptly. They should also take up as little space as possible on the road, riding in single file rather than in twos or threes, which irritates the drivers behind them. They should use bike lanes where they exist, or keep to the side of the road to allow cars to overtake them with as little difficulty as possible.

In many instances, they do. They might be some riders who are reckless, and create danger for themselves. But, in their great majority, cyclists understand that they need to take safety measures for their own good. When riding in groups for training purposes, they are on most occasions accompanied by cars that are adequately flagged to warn oncoming traffic about the presence of cyclists.

Drivers have responsibilities too, which are greater, considering that their vehicle is more powerful than a cyclist’s legs. Yet, it seems that many drivers think cyclists do not have the same rights to use the same road that they have.

There have been occasions, for example, when drivers have expected to continue using roads that are closed to traffic because cycling races are being held, usually early on a Sunday morning so as to cause as little disruption as possible. There have been occasions when drivers have insisted with the police on site that they had the “right” to use that particular stretch rather than take another road that would, ultimately, lead them to their destination anyway. If these drivers cannot respect cyclists even when they have paid to close a road to hold a race, then I wonder what they do when they occasionally see a rider in front of them with no policemen present.

It does not take much to show respect to one another on the road. Cyclists have a duty to follow traffic rules just as much as drivers have to, but the latter must be more careful in the presence of cyclists.

I do not need to tell you who will be the worse off if there is an accident involving a car and a bike.

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