A woman who had her passion for cycling kindled by lockdown is asking drivers to be more aware after being knocked off her bike on a busy A12 roundabout.
Ellie Smy from Woodbridge religiously worked out at the gym at 4am each day until lockdown forced her to seek an alternative form of exercise last spring.
The teenager instead dug out a bike and started pedalling distances up to 40km a day during the sunny weather.
The 18-year-old, who studies psychology at West Suffolk College, has continued during the most recent lockdown and was just a few minutes into her 15km ride on Wednesday, March 3, when she arrived at the A12 roundabout with Woods Lane, A1152.
With part of the roundabout closed, traffic was restricted to a single lane and as Ellie took the bend a car went to overtake and collided with her bike.
She was knocked to the ground by the impact but thankfully escaped with some scratches and mud stains, however, she was shocked when the driver didn't stop to check she was okay.
"A couple of other people stopped to help me thankfully," she said. "I was a bit shaken up and I was wearing new leggings and trainers which got ruined but as I wasn't wearing a helmet that day it could have been a lot worse.
"I stood there on the side of the road for a good 10 minutes trying to figure out if I should go home or not, but in the end decided to carry on and still did my 15km."
The teen hasn't been back on her bike since and says drivers need to be more aware of the dangers when over taking cyclists.
"Everyone should experience riding on the road," she added. "I choose to cycle on the roads but it is quite scary for some people.
"Accidents happen but if you can't respect cyclists then you shouldn't be driving, I have been beeped for moving across a lane even when I was signalling."
Ellie posted about the incident on social media in the hopes the driver might see it, but is keen for all drivers to take more care on the roads.
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