Letters of the law

The A to Z of cycling etiquette should be as easy as ABC but some riders just want to get home ASAP to check their KoMs

- By Trevor Ward

The court of cycling etiquette is based on a universal but unwritten code of conduct.

No one knows exactly when it wasn't written but it is believed to have been in 1899 when cyclist Lady Florence Harberton sued a hotel in Surrey. The landlady had refused to serve her because she was wearing knickerbockers, a form of dress considered 'unladylike' at the time.

She lost the case, but if the court of cycling etiquette had existed it would have ruled that it is the fundamental right of every cyclist to be served overpriced coffee and cake irrespective of how ill-fitting or retina-scarring their kit might be.

The case that concerns us today, however, is from last month and was brought against riders X and Y by the plaintiff, Z.

Z was riding his single-speed on his usual 30-mile loop when he was overtaken by X and Y. He personally knew X – they'd previously been members of the local cycling club, Angus Bike Chain (ABC), and often exchanged waves on the road or banter on Strava – but didn't know Y. The pair were riding geared bikes and greeted Z as they passed.