Biking to work, to coffee, and to the grocery store has become rampantly popular this year. With the ‘Green’ ecological movement, variable petrol pricing and increasing traffic congestion issues, biking or cycling has become a new way of life for thousands of Kiwis country-wide - many of whom would never have thought of biking for transport before.

Like any trend which is taken up, we’re now seeing the biking backlash - lead by those who are unhappy with the behaviour of cyclists on inner city roads. It has been a common topic in the opinion media lately - are cyclists arrogant and inconsiderate to every other road user?

A recent TV3 News piece assessed popular cycling roads around St Heliers in Auckland, particularly Tamaki Drive. The road, which does not have cycle lanes, is often congested with groups of 10+ cyclists who, according to some pedestrians, will not stop at crossings, cycle 3 or 4 people side-by-side (instead of the legal maximum of 2), and keep traffic at 30kms per hour, making the short drive to Auckland city take up to an hour.

What do you think of cyclists’ behaviour on central city streets? Are they arrogantly disobeying road rules, or simply trying their best to stay safe on the roads, looking out for opening car doors and overloaded 4WD’s, while enjoying themselves socially and keeping fit?