Change of cycling culture urged

A CHANGE of culture is being demanded for cycling to return to the pedestal it occupied several decades ago in Trinidad and Tobago. This sobering observation was recently made by former national champion Leslie King, who along with Roger Gibbon, Ian Atherly, Robert Farrell and Gene Samuel excelled on the international track.

King, who is now involved in developing cycling talent in the rural eastern districts around Arima, suggested that the sport may be turning full circle from the heyday of two and three decades ago. “In those days nearly everyone owned a bicycle. The port workers in Port-of-Spain and the sugar cane workers in Central and South used it as a means to getting to and from work,” said King last week. “As a young boy growing up, it is how I remember riding my bike, racing the big men on their way home,” he said at the recent launch of today’s Rotating Equipment second annual circuit races around King George V Park in Port-of-Spain. King said he was dismayed by the trend that society has taken recently with the affluence that has encouraged the increase in ownership of cars, especially the roll-on roll-off trade.

“It is not a healthy indication when cars outnumber bicycles. But the time is close when we will get back on the saddle and this would mean a turnaround in our cycling fortunes,” the now greying but fit-looking King said. Quadruple medallist at the Central American American and Caribbean Games and the Pan American Games cycling competition, King is in full support of Michael Phillips whose Phillips Promotions Company Limited are in the forefront of staging events throughout the year.

King wants to see more national events on the concrete-banked track at the Arima Municipal Velodrome which he said will provide motivation for the talented youngsters in the eastern borough. He has high hopes for Robert Thomas of Waller Field who is currently ninth in the National League standings after one event. He said Thomas, whom he has encouraged to take up the sport seriously, has tremendous talent and if properly nurtured will graduate to the highest levels, a process King said he is totally committed to. King said he is working with the South Cycling Association and Phillips Promotions to effect their ambitious plans to raise sponsorship and keep the local cyclists active year-round to develop their skill and prowess.

But he has identified one serious impediment to their effort especially when cyclists are engaged in training runs on the road — inconsiderate motorists. “Drivers display no courtesy or even acknowledge the cyclists on the roadways. The cyclists risk their lives at the hands of these motorists who cut in an out of the bunch at every turn,” said King. He pointed out that the only time the riders are afforded any sort of safety is when the pack is escored by police which costs a pretty penny to the organisers and is not always affordable. The claim was backed up by Phillips who testified that he has been knocked down twice while training at Chaguaramas despite the presence of road signs urging drivers to be cautious because of cyclists using the road.