Reprinted from The Mercury:
Good hearts make pulsating artery of our city even better
I START my jog without thinking. And then I suddenly have to think.
A car is approaching. If it turns I will have to wait for it. If it goes straight I can now safely cross the road. The car turns without indicating. Luckily I thought he might do that. I wait for the car and the car continues on its way. We both continue our journeys.
I approach the bike track. I glance up and down the track before entering. I’m safe to enter. I enter and start my run along the bike track. I can see a cyclist hunched forward, head down, bottom up, pumping his feet and approaching me. He seems safe. A sudden sound behind me and suddenly a bike veers in front of me. Bit close. Just missed me. I didn’t hear a thing and now the bike has overtaken me. The bike prepares the way for me. I follow him as the cyclist I was watching sweeps past me on my right.
Cyclists approach me from ahead and sneak up from behind. Legs are pumping furiously and bikes glide effortlessly. Wearing tight closely fitting shirts, racing shorts, work pants with bicycle clips, backpacks, fluoro vests, helmets with hats peeking out underneath. I try to read each shirt before it flashes past. Sometimes I manage both the front and back.
Approaching me are two cyclists. Talking continuously and riding abreast towards me. I veer towards the left of my side of the bike lane as these two approach. They are overflowing their lane but they are more in their lane than my lane. They are very happy and I smile as the two of them pass me. What could be nicer than a bike ride with a friend?
Well I suppose talking to a friend on a mobile phone as you ride. This is my next encounter. A lady riding and talking loudly on her phone. I wonder if the person on the other end knows where their call is going. I wonder if the cyclist is aware of anything around her. Her phone may connect her to her friend but it repulses everybody around her. I avoid her and anywhere in her vicinity.
I pass some proud parents. Their kids lead the way as they meander their way along the track. Another pleasure to see. They are not a danger to me but their lack of speed contrasts dramatically with the speed of some of the bikes passing me. I can see the ingredients for an accident.
I can hear the next bike before I see it. It is a motorised bike. It doesn’t slow or observe the view. It motors remorselessly up the track. Unlike most of the cyclists it is not riding for health or the environment or with its friends.
A man is wearing in-line skates. His feet make grand sweeping gestures across the track. Silently. I pass a man in a hurry to zip his fly up. He can’t hide the puddle on the track.
Another runner says, “Hello”. He must be running faster than me. He has caught up to me. Now I need to speed up and chat or let him overtake me. I speed up slightly. We talk about the coming running races around Hobart, the weather and our kids. I enjoy the talk and a cyclist says something as he goes past. I don’t know what he said but I realise we have been wandering. It is possible a part of me ventured onto the other side. I was distracted.
I approach a road crossing the bike track. There is a barrier which blocks half the track. I see a cyclist approaching with speed. I get out of his way, stand still and wait for, “Thank you”. Instead he brushes past me as close as possible and I receive a glare which says, “Get off my track.”
His attitude seems to be. I will treat you, you annoying nuisance, the same way I have been treated by cars. I stand and look around. Shadows from the gum trees shimmer on the track. Above me birds flock in the gum trees. The river meanders slowly in the distance. No dolphins are visible at the moment. A sailing boat veers near to shore. A man hopefully throws a fishing line from the shore. I glance up the track at the rapidly disappearing cyclist and then recommence my run.
A powerful swarm of cyclists approaches and threatens to overwhelm me. The bike track is busy today. Full of happy people using it. I think I will head towards the hockey fields.
Looks good. I run around the outside. The grass is soft and sponge like. I am approaching a dog and a dog owner. The dog approaches me followed by the owner yelling, “He’s never done that before.” Well that is very reassuring. The dog doesn’t do that every time he is taken for a walk. Is that supposed to please me? Is that something I should rejoice in? As I rub my leg and resume my run I comfort myself. I am lucky. He’s never done that before. I have just met a well behaved dog acting out of character. I head under the Brooker Highway to some neighbouring fields. One guy is practising hitting golf balls. And while intently watching the flying golf balls I head to the next field.
On the next field I see a sign which says, “No golf. No dogs”. A few more laps and then I head up the footpaths and between the houses.
One guy is blocking the footpath with his gates. He has done this so he can take his car out for a drive. Ah well. I run around. When they return and park their car in their driveway they will move the gates off the footpath.
I return from my run and hop into our car. My partner and I are on a small journey that heads back past where I was. As we cross the bike track I spot a cyclist. The cyclist gives the car a hand signal for something we have done. I am distracted from “our indiscretion” by the cyclist. It is the same guy who passed me on the bike track. He rode dangerously close to me. He doesn’t recognise or remember me.
I peer at the long grass, wire fence, the disused railway track and the path with white line up the middle. It cheers me up. It is a living, pumping, pulsating artery from the heart of Hobart through the northern suburbs.
The bike track attracts rules and regulations which are obeyed to some extent by some people. Let’s ignore them and celebrate Hobart being alive.
The rules aren’t winning. It is the heart that wins. A good heart wins. A heart full of empathy, respect and love wins. So how do you get the people on the bike track to show love, respect and empathy for the other people on the bike track? How do you get them to think of the other uses that they meet?
I don’t know. People vary. People who respect others will do it anywhere. And people will change. One day a person will happily greet you on the track, the next day resent your presence.
The more people think of others the happier and more joyous their life will be. Being good to others will make people happy. I know people will read this and say I should practice what I preach.
The reality is people will not suddenly do what I write about. Some guys will solemnly obey one rule and ignore the next. Who cares? What matters is if they are interfering with other people or creating work for other people. Love and respect. Empathy and community feeling. A feeling of belonging to the community. A feeling that you are will be listened to. These are the things that matter.
I like a cafe that is busy, that is full of satisfied punters. To me that means the cafe is serving good food and makes good coffee. That is the place I will head for. But when I go to the cafe I want the place empty. Then I can more easily get what I want. I want a busy cafe which is empty.
The bike track is the same. I love to see it busy and full of people. That reinforces in me that it is an important part of our community. But when I go on it I prefer it to be devoid of crowds. Very sparsely populated. It makes my life easier.
Alan Carlton is a former Hobart dentist. He retired in October 2015. He has lived in New Town since before 1993. In 1993 Paul Keating promised Hobart a bike track if re-elected. He delivered on that promise.
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