Writing Cheeky Letters to the Editor

I am a notorious letter to the editor writer.  Here is my latest, from this very evening.  I hope it gets published and that the jackass driving the car tonight reads the Globe, but just in case it doesn't I thought I can entomb this letter forever on the internet, for all the world to see (should they stumble across this modest blog).

Dear Editor and Man in a Black Car,

I am curious about why I was called an a**hole on my way home on Thursday night.  Can you please explain it to me?

Here's what happened: I was cycling back to my apartment from downtown (I cycle to work every day) after dinner with a friend.  At approximately 9:45 pm I was making a legal left-hand turn from the left-hand lane on a green light from Woodbine onto Gerrard St. East.  As I was waiting for oncoming traffic and a pedestrian to clear the way, a black car sped past me and a man loudly shouted "A**HOLE" from the open window.  I was so surprised that I actually looked over my shoulder to see if someone was doing something stupid behind me.

Nope.  There was no one behind me, there were no cars beside me either.  In fact, since it was 9:45 at night there wasn't really much traffic at all.  So why did he yell a**hole at me?  Was I really in his way?  I wasn't doing something illegal or annoying (and I fully realise and acknowledge that too many cyclists do illegal and annoying things on the streets every single day).  Would he have called me an a**hole if I had been driving a car instead of riding a bike?  Somehow, I doubt it.

Regardless of what one stellar mayoral candidate likes to think, bikes are here to stay.  If we value quality of life in this city, we can only hope that cycling catches on in Toronto the way that it has in Vancouver and Montreal.  Drivers, like cyclists, need to figure out the rules of the road for bikes.  This man in particular should do a little reading.  It turns out that he's the a**hole, not me.

Kindest regards,

K. MacKay