As regular readers of this magazine know, we love bikes. Most of us ride them to work every day, and we’ve used this space god knows how many times to assail the city for not acting on its long-dormant Bike Plan. Because even in this time of rising gas prices and looming environmental disaster, cycling needs all the good PR it can get. Just as the physical size of a bicycle is dwarfed by that of the average automobile, so too is the presence of cycling advocacy compared to that of the automotive industry: where car manufacturers have the means to transmit their message through billboards, TV commercials and magazine ads, the promotion of cycling as a viable alternative mode of transportation in this city is limited to the efforts a handful of grassroots organizations, like the newly founded Toronto Cyclists Union (TCU) and Critical Mass, whose members organize monthly, peaceful two-wheeled takeovers of city streets.

However, even as we basked in the excitement of the TCU’s launch party last Thursday at the Bloor Cinema, we were nonetheless disconcerted some 24 hours later when news emerged that a flock of cyclists decided to take an impromptu joyride on the westbound Gardiner expressway. It has since come to light that the riders were Critical Mass participants, however, unlike the group’s usual gatherings, this particular move was not organized, nor did it appear to have any expressed motive, but was apparently a spur-of-the-moment action by one member of the group that swept up fellow cyclists in a communal, adrenalized euphoria. And yet, given that any freeway-curious cyclist could have cruised down the Gardiner hassle-free two days later at the annual Ride for Heart, we can only assume that the action served one expressed purpose: to piss off and antagonize drivers. So in that sense, it was mission very accomplished.

Now, we’re not ones to normally side with motorists, but in this case we can sympathize with their outrage. Considering that a multi-car freeway pile-up can be caused by factors as miniscule as a pebble hitting a windshield or a driver changing the radio station, the sudden appearance of a slow-moving obstacle in a high-speed traffic zone could have triggered a disastrous chain of events. But beyond the obvious safety concerns — heightened by reports that children were among the group — we were dismayed that the action only served to fuel long-simmering animosities between motorists and cyclists at a time when we so desperately need to improve those relations.

Until Toronto has a network of separate bike lanes with their own set of traffic lights — like they do in Copenhagen or Amsterdam — motorists will have to learn to respect cyclists’ space on the city streets. But at the same time, cyclists need to show they deserve that respect: that means stopping at stop signs and traffic lights, not weaving through traffic lanes on a whim, not hopping onto sidewalks when it’s convenient, and especially not surprising drivers on expressways where motorists going 100km/h have zero expectation of a cycling presence and are forced to slam on the brakes. There are a myriad of ways in which motorists make cyclists’ lives miserable in this city, but if the situation is ever going to change for the better, we cyclists need to take the high road.