‘Haters’ target cyclists on River Road

Veteran cyclists Peter Kofman and wife Lori were left shaken by a recent incident in the Creemore area.

On July 4, they were enjoying a ride from Collingwood to Creemore, something they do on a fairly regular basis, when they encountered a motorist whom Kofman says was using his car as a weapon against them.

The Kofmans were riding on River Road near Glen Huron when a car approached from behind passing dangerously close, then cut in front of them and slammed on the brakes.

The driver and passenger then proceeded to shout abuse at the cyclists telling them they belonged on the shoulders, and posed a danger by riding on the road.

Kofman pointed out that in fact cyclists are entitled to use the travelled portion of the roadway, but tend to stick close to the shoulder out of courtesy.

Rather than allow things to escalate, they chose to leave the area and later reported the incident to Huronia West OPP, supplying video from a bike mounted camera. To date, he is not aware of any action resulting from the complaint.

As of presstime, police had not responded to the The Echo’s request for an update.

Kofman describes Creemore as a great little town and a favourite destination for hundreds of cyclists, from casual to elite. He says it is a nice turnaround point where many cyclists chose to stop for refreshments before continuing their rides. After posting about his experience on social media he received 25 comments from other riders, many of whom have had similarly negative experiences on area roads.

He says cyclists are not the enemy, and asks motorists to share roadways which often do not have sufficient shoulders to allow bikes to stay out of the path of automobiles. He encourages other riders to recognize that there are many “bike haters” out there, and be on their guard.