The Cyclists Who Think Orihuela Costa Belongs to Them
Let’s stop pretending.
The problem on Orihuela Costa is not just potholes, poor planning, or overstretched services. It is something far more immediate, far more visible, and far more dangerous on a daily basis:
A growing class of cyclists who behave as if the law simply does not apply to them.
For years, we have been told to fear the electric scooter. Endless complaints, endless debates, endless finger-pointing. And yet, while all eyes have been fixed on scooters, a far more brazen form of lawlessness has been allowed to flourish in plain sight.
Cyclists — unregulated, unaccountable, and increasingly untouchable.
The Disappearing Citizen
There is a peculiar transformation that occurs the moment certain individuals mount a bicycle. The person who, moments before, was a functioning member of society — capable of queuing, waiting, acknowledging others — vanishes.
In their place emerges something altogether different.
A rider who does not slow down.
Does not yield.
Does not consider.
A rider who expects the world to move for them.
Pedestrians are no longer people. They are obstacles.
Crossings are no longer rules. They are inconveniences.
Common sense is no longer relevant. It is optional.
The Death of the Zebra Crossing
Once upon a time, a zebra crossing meant safety. It meant priority. It meant a basic, shared understanding that the most vulnerable come first.
Not anymore.
Now, stepping onto a crossing on Orihuela Costa can feel like stepping into a game of Russian roulette — except the chamber is loaded with Lycra and self-importance.
Cyclists do not stop. Many do not even slow down. They sweep through crossings with the cold calculation that nothing — and no one — should interrupt their forward motion.
And if you hesitate? If you step back? If you choose not to risk being hit?
That is precisely the outcome they were counting on.
Pavements Have Been Hijacked
Let’s call this what it is: occupation.
Pavements — designed for pedestrians, for children, for the elderly, for the vulnerable — have been quietly seized by cyclists who have decided that roads are optional and footpaths are fair game.
They ride behind you without warning.
They brush past at speed.
They force you aside with silent intimidation.
And if you dare to object? You are the problem.
The message is clear: move, or be moved.
Rules for Others, Freedom for Themselves
Cyclists on Orihuela Costa have perfected a remarkable trick.
They are a vehicle when it suits them.
They are a pedestrian when it benefits them.
They are a victim whenever consequences appear.
Red lights become suggestions.
Stop signs become decoration.
Roundabouts become improvisation.
This is not confusion. This is calculated convenience.
It is the art of obeying nothing while claiming everything.
The Accountability Vacuum
Now we arrive at the real scandal.
When something goes wrong — when a cyclist causes an incident, forces a reaction, or collides with a vehicle — who carries the burden?
Not the cyclist.
The driver does.
The motorist is pulled into the system: questioned, processed, delayed, scrutinised. Forms. Insurance. Statements. Tests. Time. Stress. Cost.
Meanwhile, the cyclist — no plate, no identification, often no insurance — simply disappears. No trace. No consequence. No lesson learned.
This is not justice. It is institutionalised imbalance.
And everyone knows it.
The Dangerous Myth of Moral Superiority
Cyclists have been protected for too long by a comforting illusion: that because they are not in a car, they must somehow be better.
Greener. Healthier. Safer.
Tell that to the elderly resident knocked off balance.
Tell that to the pedestrian forced into the road.
Tell that to the driver who swerves to avoid a rider who ignored every rule in the book.
Virtue is not a mode of transport.
And a bicycle does not grant immunity from basic decency.
Final Word: Enough
Orihuela Costa has a choice.
Continue to tolerate this creeping culture of entitlement — this rolling exemption from responsibility — or confront it head-on.
Because make no mistake: this is no longer a minor irritation.
It is a pattern.
It is a habit.
It is a growing threat to everyday safety.
The roads are not racetracks.
The pavements are not cycle lanes.
The crossings are not optional.
And the law is not a menu from which cyclists can pick and choose.
Until enforcement becomes real, visible, and equal — not selective, not symbolic — nothing will change.
And residents will continue to live in a place where the most aggressive users of public space are also the least accountable.
That is not sustainable.
That is not fair.
And it is certainly not safe.
