It wouldnt be too bad if cyclist had the appropriate lights. They expect you to see them in the dead of night with just your car headlights, which ok is possible if they are wearing the appropriate clothing which most dont

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I am a serious cyclist, I ride over 12,000 miles/year, it is far too dangerous to ride on cycle paths at 20-25mph, there are too many obstacles like pedestrians, children on bikes & skateboards.

I do not condone the use of a mobile phones for any vehicle, a cyclist is a vehicle and should follow the road laws & regs, I have a right on the road just the same as a motorist, and before anyone comments on that, I do pay road tax as I also have a car.

Why do motorists always slow down and give horses a wide birth, but they are not prepared to give the same to a cyclist ? in fact for some reason they want to get around them as quickly as possible, regardless of the dangers involved.

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I agree that cycling while on the phone is a dangerous pastime and should be punished just as driving while on the phone is, but as for using the badly-planned, annoying, anti-cycle ‘cycle paths’ I have to disagree,

they put cyclists in to close proximity to pedestrians, they are not given right of way at junctions when the road they follow does, are not maintained to the same level as the road and takes a longer more hazardous (crosses roads at junctions with not enough room in the centre for the bike) route.

I am so glad that the highway code has it right and that us cyclists do not have to use cycle paths if we do not want to, and are able to legally use the road.

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While we’re on the matter, could drivers please LOOK at my arm signals at roundabouts and please not try to cut me up. You might think you’ll save 3 seconds by going ahead of me but in reality you waste 10 for both of us while with stopping and restarting.

Thanks you!

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There are a few issues here. All road users should act responsibly and using a mobile phone is dangerous and irresponsible. However, this is behaviour from a minority, not the majority of cyclists and shoudl not be used to tarnish cyclists in general. I also agree that cyclists should be well lit and wear bright clothing in fading light, whcih is jsut common sense.

However, cycle paths, unless on the roads such as in Bristol, they are dangerous. The paths are poorly maintained, have obstructions in them (my local paths have traffic signposts through them meaning I would need to go into the pedestrian path) and lastly people walk on cycle paths! Being hit by a cyclist travelling 20mph is not a laughing matter.

Roads are for sharing to help everyone to get from A to B, not exclusively for cars. Perhaps if we could all accept this and be a little more tolerant of each other the roads would be a safer place to be. After all, we are talking seconds delays as opposed to someting serious.

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Many councils have poorly designed cycle paths which fail to take into consideration cyclist or pedestrian safety and seem focused on keeping the road clear for motorists.
If motorists focused on giving more time and space to cyclists then maybe more people would cycle and if you take a look at what causes congestion you will notice that it is the volume of cars not the volume of cyclists.
If you encourage more people to cycle then congestion will reduce. However, while you castigate people for holding up your journey you will just perpetuate your own frustration.

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GJ: These paths have a line up the middle with a picture of a bike on one side and a pedestrian on the other.

If people can’t cope with that then they shouldn’t venture outdoors.

One bicycle doing 2mph holds up 1000 cars – that’s the problem here, when they could use a cycle path. Encouraging more cyclist will increase conjestion in this way – just what don’t you understaand about that?
Honestly *tut*

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Dave P: re#12, not at all. An arrow on the end of a rear pannier rack (and front for that matter) could easily be controlled by a gear shift lever on the cross bar, with vertical meaning “i’m going forwards” and left and right positions to indicate maneuvers.
The advantage would be that the cyclists signal would be visible for the whole time whilst having greater control of the bicycle.

I would patent and market the idea, but doubt that cyclists have the common sense to adopt such a device preferring to invest in lycra clothing and sunglasses.

ABS would benefit cyclists enormously and would no doubt reduce the number of pedestrians killed by cyclists. I understand that ABS is now common place on motor cycles and ABS for push bikes has been successfully developed with its main advantage being down hill mountain bikers. Ironically as motor sport advances cars, cycle sports advance bicycles.

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What a marvellous “I own the road” opinion! Roads are for ALL type of roads users, not just cars. Cycles have a RIGHT to be on the road and cycle paths ARE NOT compulsory. MOST are sensible road users given a little common decency and consideration. There’s good and bad bike riders (I hasten to say cyclists) just as much as there are good and bad drivers.

Some can’t afford cars, others are doing their bit for the environment AND keeping themseleves healthy so not putting such a strain on the NHS.

I don’t condone mobile phone use in a car and certainly not on a cycle, but where is the greater degree for causing potential harm here?

Cycle facilities are usually poorly designed, badly lit, unsalted during winter, poorly surfaced and overgrown with vegetation and seem designed to hold any cyclist trying to make reasonable progress up. They send the wrong message about two classes of road user. Besides which I’m sure exactly the same peoplke complain about ‘yoofs’ on bikes on the paths ‘terrorising’ pedestrians. As a car user I say – room for all with the right attitude.

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Dave F: If I walk in the road when there is a pedestrian path, its an offence, commonly known as Jay Walking.

So why are cyclists any different? What good for the Jay is sauce for the Goose.

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Oh dear Lucy. As Dave says, I do hope that your misinformed rantings you pass off as ‘opinions’ really are just to antagonise.

From your post you seem to have got the idea I’m a cyclist, and it’s some some of ‘us’ and ‘them’ type argument. I in fact engage in both activites, though do cycle more. So that’s one fewer car on the road for you to queue behind in the rush hour.

You claim to be burdened with regulation – I guess like gun owners are burdened with regulation also. Both are potentially lethal in the wrong hands, so perhaps there is a strong argument for licences and MOT’s. As for this special motorist tax you claim, I hope you’re not paying the one abolished in 1936 still? I pay vehicle excise duty on my car, but this goes into the general taxation pot, not on the roads. These are paid out of general taxation and council tax, both of which I pay plenty of.

Car design can be argued to be a contributer to some ‘accidents’ as people rely more on safety measures such as ABS (please come and fit it to my bikes!) rather than driving at speed and level of attention suitable for the conditions. Bicycle design may not look much different to the basic safety model of old, but there have been many improvements, though the concept is the same. The bicycle was also recently voted the greatest invention in a BBC poll, so there must be something in it?

You may wish to drive around like Mr Toad leaving carnage in your wake, but the roads are paid for by EVERYONE. Please now go back to your sparsely populated bookcase of Clarkson penned drivel, and don’t bother to post again.

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Lucy W: your posts are a classic example of someone speaking before they think. I am a competitive cyclist cycling many many miles every year, but….. believe it or not I own a car too, a pay the exact same road tax, insurance and MOT as you, I just happen to cycle along the road as well as drive on it. The same goes for the vast majority of cyclists.
Also, being a competitive cyclist, my average speed whilst out cycling ranges from 16 or 17 mph to over 20 mph, and I regularly reach speeds of up to 40mph when out on the road. I think it’s a bit of a no brainer to say that I am more suitably placed on the road than a cycle path, often only a few feet wide, with blind bends and pedestrians and other cyclists coming in the opposite direction.
When I cycle I take the same attitude I do whilst driving and follow all of the same rules, it infuriates me to see the tiny minority of cyclist not following the rules of the road as it gives the rest of us bad press.

And I would put money on the fact that the author of the letter has not written to the press everytime he has seen a motorist using a mobile phone, a far more common occurance…..

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Oh come on, cyclists in cycle lanes, padestrians on paths and motor vehicles on roadways (all where provided of course).

Some cyclists are good and some are a bad – on balance life would be better if everyone either travelled by motor vehicle, walked or stayed at home.

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Lucy W:

Obviously you don’t bother reading your Highway Code. In it you will find that ALL road users, not just car drivers are covered by it’s guidelines.

You may also have missed the Daniel Cadden case, won in 2006 at Shrewsbury Crown Court no less that enshrines cyclists rights to be on the road – here it is so you can make an informed comment rather than an uninformed one:

http://www.ctc.org.uk/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabID=4774

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Lucy W:

ABS on bikes – good, except for the following:
1) The ABS unit would only work with a suitable power system.
2) ABS needs an Electronic Control Unit (computer if you like)
3) All of this power would need to be generated – by an engine?

Well that would make it a MOTOR-BIKE!

4) ABS is on active over a certain speed
5) Yes you can get ABS on a motorbike – for an additional £450 – puts the price up of your £75 Halfords special – doesn’t it?

I’m sure you’d be a lot happier if all of the cyclists turned back to cars. That would extend your journey and you’d find fewer places to park.

What is needed is a comprehensive education scheme of cyclists AND car drivers, and the correct punitive measures for anyone crossing those rules.

Anyway I’m going to get on my cycle and go home and as any car driver sees me cycling along, just remember I’m one less car on the road, which means you’ll be one car less behind in a traffic jam and there’s one more parking space at the shops. I’m making your day more pleasant!

My observation why car driver don’t like cyclist – because we’re always smiling while we cycle.

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I’ll start by saying that the majority of cyclists are decent people out to enjoy their pastime whilst getting some fresh air and exercise. I’m guilty of not getting enough of that and perhaps should take up cycling. I did once cycle from Bridgnorth to Gloucester one day, then back the next, but I planned my route so as to avoid as many busy roads as possible.

Nobody can dispute that cyclists have the same rights to be on the public roads as cars. However, those rights come with responsibilities – to their own safety, the safety of other road users and also to be considerate to other road users, but there does seem to be a hardcore contingency who are so hung up on the rights that they forget about their responsibilities.

I see many “serious” cyclists who are happy to hold up a huge line of traffic at rush hour because they have a right to be on the road at that time, despite being only a few metres away from a perfectly good cycle path. To a driver who doesn’t necessarily know the cyclists reasons or intentions, this simply comes across as bloody-minded. Sure, the cyclist has a right to be on the road, but they also have a right to be on the cycle path, which the car driver unfortunately doesn’t.

My message to these kinds of cyclists: be self aware; consider how you’re being perceived by the drivers of the two dozen vehicles behind you. If there’s no cycle path near by, fair enough, but if there is one that you could use then please don’t be surprised when you’re beeped at.

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GJ: Re#19; One pedestrian death by a cyclist is one too many in my book – obviously not yours.

Tom said “Car design can be argued to be a contributer to some ‘accidents’ as people rely more on safety measures such as ABS”. An excellent point I have championed for many years since discovering that, if, and I repeat if, in an accident, you are more likely to be killed in a car with ABS than without.
As for fitting ABS to your pedal bike, the whole bike is designed with hydraulic brakes and the frame acts as a pressure container to maintain pressure for ABS, pumped by the pedal crank with the facility to pre-charge. Electronics are battery operated.

Becky: Just how will there be more accidents if cyclists use cycle paths? Are you saying cycle paths are a waste of money? Try telling Huw Peach that.

Mike G: How come you can race a bicycle on the road but not a car even if you stay within the speed limit and observe all laws?

Tom M: ABS on bikes wouldn’t improve the ‘power’ of the brakes, it would improve steerability on say wet cobbles when trying to avoid a small child. You’re welcome to your opinion, but ABS is law for cars, will soon be for motorbikes no doubt and indeed the same principle must also apply to pedal bikes. Are you saying that ABS is of no-use for a car in everyday circumstances?

Thank you for revealing the appalling death rate of pedestrians by cyclists – 263 times more likely to be killed by a car. Consider the weight and speed difference and this really is appalling.

Glad to hear that there is a bike indicator system on the market. Disappointed that no one seems to have brought one.

And I don’t need lights cycling at night because I can see where I am going. Cars need lights so they can see me unless they go slow enough that they don’t need them. And being drunk in charge of a bicycle is different to a car. As long as you can generally go in a straight line you are ok.

Dave F: Re Cadden case, not sure that that link really gives a report, just what Mr Cadden said. Now as I said, I was aware that he won the right of a re-trial at appeal, but I don’t know what happened at the re-trial. Was there one? Or was the prosecution dropped? Or was he convicted? Did he plead guilty? I just don’t know – nor does that link. That link was merely trying to raise more money for it fund to legally aid cyclists. Mr Cadden’s words suggest than the case was thrown out of court – that’s not the case as I understand. There was case to answer and a re-trial was ordered to answer it. I would be genuinely interested to know what actually happened in the end.

Phew,I need a lay down and a glass of wine after typing all that.

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Drivers.

Do what I do over the course of 20,000+ miles per year in a car:

Observe the road ahead, recognise hazards (because a cyclist is such, similar to any other road user travelling slower than motorised traffic), and adjust your road positioning and speed to negotiate the hazards.

It’s really not too difficult, and – anecdotally – I’ve never been wilfully obstructed by a cyclist. Then again, I avoid driving in urban environments where at all possible; give me an open A-Road with fast, sweeping corners every time!

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When cyclists pay insurance, tax and duty they may claim equal status on our roads. Until then please consign them to cycle lanes where they don’t hold up the owners of motor vehicles who are the ones actually paying for the roads in the first place. He who pays the piper, calls the tune. As for this insane idea of allocating space at traffic lights, where cyclists can stop (if they actually bother to stop, instead of circumvent, red lights) directly in front of a motor vehicle which is about to move off, what crackpot thought of that one?

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Most of the cycle paths around the Telford/Shrewsbury area are just too dangerous to use. They are either too narrow, have drains in them with a relief by the road your wheel goes in (Lost two inners to them last year)or are covered in glass and stones…good old road sweepers. There is enough room on the road for everyone and there and good and bad cyclists and drivers. People are simply driving too fast,full stop and as a cyclist you have to be constantly aware of whats going on around you. Lets be honest, the roads the would be alot safer with less people using cars and cycling instead and of course think of the environmental aspect also. But what the hell, we might aswell face it, its not going to happen, so lets just carry on abusing each other, its more fun that way….

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Dave F, you are correct that cyclists have a right to be on the road, but what I really hate is the way that they are allowed to break laws, and I blame the useless, ineffective police force that we have. How often do you see cyclists being stopped and fined / prosecuted for not having lights on their bikes and yet when they are injured on the roads it is nearly always the car driver to blame.

The way that cyclists seem to think that any piece of tarmac is theirs to use as they see fit – ie pavements are meant for people, cycle paths and ways are for cyclists !

What about cyclists who wear earphones – how the hell can they be fully aware of whats happening around them ( the same argument goes for pedestrians )

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Have you considered Dragon’s Den for these revolutionary ideas in bicycle design Lucy. I’m sure they’d be very interested… Also glad you’re aware of the difference in law between drink driving and cycling, although it’s a shame your legal expertise doesn’t run as far as that on ‘jaywalking’ you suggested. Lights at night are also not just be see with, but also to be seen by. I would really advise getting some, even if you fail to appreciate their point. If you got run over who would there be to ‘debate’ with on here?

Cyclists are no more allowed to break the law than the countless drivers that do. It’s more often the case however that people notice those who are, than those responsible ones. I would really love to see more traffic police out on the roads targeting both bad drivers and cyclists. Lets not forget which one is in charge of the big metal dangerous thing though.

There is also that level of freedom and accessibilty with bikes that means any ‘yoof’ can jump on their £50 Tesco bike-shaped-object with no brakes and weave up and down the high street. You are simply tarring everyone with the same brush if you condemn all cyclists as the same.

As for the accident statistics virtually all occured on the roads with pedestrians crossing. Only one or two deaths in recent years have been caused by cyclists on pavements, yet around 80 people a year are killed by cars on the pavements. Perhaps we should stop people walking everywhere too?

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If cyclists do not want cycle paths then lets not put any more in.
I was under the impression cycle paths were for the safety of the cyclists from motorists who often find it difficult when there is a person riding a bike in the road.
If they don’t want the paths they cannot complain if they are hit, no matter whose fault it is.

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I ride to work most of the time and have been on the end of abuse more than once for not using a cycle track.
I have two questions really, Firstly, why should I have to use a rubbish, off road cycle track and have to stop every 200 yards when all I want to do is get from A to B? If car drivers had to stop that often there’d be hell to pay. Only no-one would ever expect car drivers to do such a thing. My second question is simple: why do drivers think they own the road? People get behind the wheel and all of a sudden they have a much confidence as some of the posters on here!
Using mobiles when on the road is stupid, regardless of what vehicle you are in but we must look beyond the ‘them and us’ mentality and learn to share the roads.
I could go on about the numerous times I have nearly been knocked off my bike when there is no cycle track provided and then what excuse would drivers find? Everyone has a right to use the roads so please, everyone calm down and consider the consequences of your own actions.

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Will the Shropshire Star be printing letters from cyclists everytime a driver is seen behaving like a moron on the road?
Can’t help but think there is enough negativity on the highway without the pot being stirred. Come on and print something worthwhile please!

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Jake: now that is weird, just now I saw a cyclist near the Red House on the footpath and I thought to myself – what a sensible chap. I bet if he had a cycle lane he’d use it.

Jill : you said:”I, like many other cyclists …… have as much right to the roads as cars”. You have even more right to use a cycle lane. That is the point of the letter.

JPS you said: “the fact that a lot of drivers are so stressed out with being stuck behind each other whilst all the bikes keep moving has surely proved this.” No, the cars are stressed by inconsiderate cyclists who refuse to use perfectly good cycle lanes. Try reading the letter.

Richard Breeze: I was stopped for no lights and accused of being drunk in charge of a bicycle, but you are too right, they do diddly squat about it – I think its their aversion to paperwork. Much easier to post a speeding ticket for a car. And a very good point about ear phones – its illegal for a car driver to wear two ear phones! Its one rule for one, and one for another.

Dave F: Just what do you cyclists want?
1 It’s a cycle lane, not the Nurnberg Ring.
2 It’s for getting from A to B, not breaking records.
3 Report it to the relevant Highway Authority.
4 Get some lights or eat carrots.
5 If its good enough for the nervous, then its good enough for the bold.
6 Now you are talking rubbish.
7 Lobby your council then.
You said “it only takes a little common responsibility and decency to behave couteously”. Quite right (except for your spelling), get on a cycle lane rather than hold up motorized traffic.
And re racing, why is it one rule for cyclists and another for cars? Surely if cars take the same precautions and obey the law, then there’s no difference?

Tom M: I believe Bicycle ABS is already patented. You can always check with the Patent’s Office.
If you can’t see a non-illuminated hazard in the dark, sufficiently soon enough to avoid it, with your car lights, then you are going too fast. It may be a cyclist, a tree, a cow or a lost child. It don’t matter, you are going too fast.

Micraman: You certainly summed it up. If they don’t use cycle lanes they can’t expect any sympathy from motorists. These cyclists are just making pathetic excuses for their ignorance.

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micraman said: Jun 9th, 2009 at 15:01 If cyclists do not want cycle paths then lets not put any more in.
I was under the impression cycle paths were for the safety of the cyclists from motorists who often find it difficult when there is a person riding a bike in the road.
If they don’t want the paths they cannot complain if they are hit, no matter whose fault it is.
———–

What? Cycle paths are very good for leisure cyclists but if you were walking on a path with a child and one came past you at 20 mph would you fell safe in either situation?

As for your last comment, i dont think i have heard anything so stupid for a very long time.

By the way i am a car driver, and if a driver has problems getting round a bike, I would ask questions how they became car drivers in the 1st place

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:-) :-) Come on Lucy W, stop it please. My sides are starting to hurt from laughing at some of your posts – you ARE just joking with your posts arn’t you ???

Huw Peach – Cyclists really DON’T want more cycle paths. Cycle paths are a complete pain to most cyclists

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Huw Peach:

It is the design and lack of maintenance of cycle paths that render them of little use in many areas. they marginalise cyclists, frequently stop progress ever few hundred yards with gates and crossings – no good if you are trying to get anywhere, OK if you are out for an amble with the family at a slow pace. Look to Majorca if you want to see how they should be designed, the ones around Telford are particularly poor in places.

Lucy W – what planet are you on? “It’s a cycle lane, not the Nurnberg Ring. It’s for getting from A to B, not breaking records.”

Neither are roads. You want cyclist’s to proceed at a stately pace yet seemingly retain the right of drivers to break speed limits and not be slowed up in so doing? Double standards. A reasonable cyclist will be going at 13-298mph, cycle lanes are good for about 8-10mph at best – we want to get places too!

Micraman – what an irresponsible attitude. ALL road users have a duty of care towards other road users per the Highway Code. Drivers have a greater duty of care towards ‘vulnerable’ users – that’s horses, cyclists, motorcyclists and pedestrians. It ain’t difficult:

Behave courteously – this means giving sufficient room when passing (at LEAST as much as a car per the Highway Code), and passing at an appropriate point when safe to do so – not cutting up and whistling past at close quarters to save a nanosecond.

Observing the road ahead – as far as you can see, not the car bonnet, the CD player or your mobile.

I wouldn’t wish to class all drivers in the same breath as good or bad – there are great 4×4 drivers and white van men, most seem OK, because it’s the few who give the bad reputation. similarly don’t tar all cyclists with the same brush because of the minority of idiots on £50 bike-shaped objects who jump lights, ride illegally on pavements and ignore the Highway Code – that’s just a view popularised by the London press.

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One last thing. On the subject of cycle tracks, we must remember that people can walk all over the cycle track obstructing them but cyclists can’t legally ride on a footpath. The other day I was riding along a cycle track and a group of lads were walking across everything (none of them were wearig hoodies though!). I politely asked them to move and told them, equally politely, that they were blocking the cycle track. What followed was of course a torrent of abuse! So brilliant, damned for using the cycle track, damned for not. And all this because I choose a healthier and more environmentally sustainable mode of transport. Oh the irony……

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Norman Stanley’s experience does not correspond to any of my experiences of cycling in Shrewsbury, where I generally find motorists, cyclists and pedestrians respectful and courteous.

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FAO Petrol-heads:

Bikes are allowed on the road even if there is a cycle path. You may not like this but it is a fact. Accept this and respect the extreme vulnerability of a cyclist in proximity of a motor vehicle. A slightly misjudged angry swerve from you will wreck lives (and increasingly we are getting you locked up for it).

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For people reading this thread who feel that the debate has been taken over by unrepresentative voices I recommend a book called Global Spin by Sharon Beder, which looks at the techniques used by PR companies and fake grass-roots organisations like the US group ‘Wise Use’ to turn the public against those arguing for sustainable solutions to complex problems.

On page 51 Beder describes how Wise Use members disrupted public meetings organised by environmentalists, and wrote inflammatory letters to the local paper claiming to be from environmentalists to make local people annoyed.

It seems these tactics are spreading.

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Huw: Gosh, I am flattered to hear that you remember when I first started making my contribution to the Shops Star Wb Site. I discoved the site/that thread gooling for more information on cycle ways in Shropshire as a keen cyclist myself, planing to cycle to the coast via cycle paths or safe roads. Nice to hear a cyclist lambast his fellow cyclists for not using cycle paths.

I did hear an interesting fact that there are more bicycles in Britain than cars – just no-one uses them.

And Katie Melua said “There are nine million bicycles in Beijing.
That’s a fact”, But they have terrible congestion and pollution – that’s a fact as well.

Also, perhaps Dutch kids are happier because of their liberal attitude to sex and drugs? Just who did this research? A bicycle manufacturer?

Re#64, Are you suggesting that Shell has infiltrated the Shropshire Star like the Nigerian Government? Honestly *tut*

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Well Lucy W,

Thanks a bunch for your song in #65

Whenever we play Route66 in our band, you DO realise I will be thinking of Huw Peach from now on ??

The mind boggleth

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Well said Jake (comment 32), I couldn’t agree more.

I’m a car driver; I’m also a fair weather cyclist. I cannot understand why the lycra clad hardcore is so against using cycle tracks; it really is beyond me. To a certain extent I can understand the argument about quality and poor maintenance issues but have you seen the roads lately? Missing drain covers, sunken drains, raised road markings and gravel deposits in the gutters (to name but a few) all conspire to cause dangers to cyclists which far exceed those reported in previous comments as reasons to avoid cycle tracks. Unfortunately, there is a militant element amongst the cycle community who remind me of those militant smokers who choose/chose to light up at every opportunity, and those hardcore ramblers who have to use a footpath because it’s “their right” (even if it passes through someone’s back garden).
I’m not attempting to deny cyclists the use of our roads; far from it as I do so myself fairly regularly, but surely a bit of sense needs to be exercised.
As far as receiving verbal abuse is concerned; I have been on the receiving end of this, both in the car and on my bike. Interestingly, on both occasions, it was from a lycra clad two wheeled warrior, I’ve yet to experience this from a driver although I don’t doubt for one minute that it happens.
Finally: Richard’s comment @ #63:

“(and increasingly we are getting you locked up for it)”.

Perhaps you’d care to expand on this as it’s all very intriguing. Are you part of some kind of car hating terrorist organisation or something then?

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Lucy W – Unfortunately it is attitudes like yours, that make cycling in this country harder than it should be.

Driving or riding and using a mobile phone is illegal and more should be done to penalise people for it.

You had me both laughing and tearing my hair out at your stupidty , when you stated “If you can’t see a non-illuminated hazard in the dark, sufficiently soon enough to avoid it, with your car lights, then you are going too fast. It may be a cyclist, a tree, a cow or a lost child. It don’t matter, you are going too fast.”

Please get some lights before someone hits you in the dark whilst you are riding your bike. Lights are there for you to be seen as well as see the road ahead!

You were obviously at the back, or maybe not in the queue at all, when brains were handed out.

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Huw,

I don’t know why you think it isn’t keen cyclists on here it is – plenty I recognise. I admire the work of Sustrans, particularly signing the quiet country lanes where many riders enjoy a Sunday away from errant drivers (and our club runs form up into single file and wave cars through when safe BTW), but things break down when you get into towns – particularly so Telford, with 200 yard stretches of path and gates at regular intervals. A few are OK, most are not.

TBUG don’t seem to represent the views of the full church of ‘serious’ cyclists I know (maybe CTC and Sustrans perhaps at best) judging by reactions to their minutes when circulated – and by the small attendance at their meetings ALWAYS inconvieniently scheduled at a time when faster ‘serious’ cyclists are racing….

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Matt: When I drive at night, I drive at a speed that I can stop within the field of vision that my lights give. This is in case a lost child or whatever is in the road, therefore an unilluminated bicycle would not represent a danger to me.

You really should slow down at night if you are driving beyond your vision/reactions.

I find cycling quite easy in UK. I use cycle paths and avoid dangerous roads whilst pulling over if I am holding up traffic. I bet you’re the first to complain about tractors creating tailbacks.

I have cycled too, in France, taking my bike over on the Ferry (loaded with camping gear) and also taking it on their trains (the ticket man came out of his booth to help get it in). Johnny Foreigner also lets you take bikes on buses – now that’s what I call intergrated transport. It won’t happen here because cyclist seem to belive that they have some eco-right above and beyond every other user and don’t want to intergrate.

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Phil: Re ABS, it is to enhance steerability under braking. Motorbikes now have it so why is so laughable for pedal bikes? Their wheels certainly lock up. No doubt yesterday you would have laughed if I had told you there are 112 elements in the periodic table. Obviously seeing is believing for you and therefore you believe that the world is flat.

Troy: I don’t see anything wrong with cycling of footpaths – it makes sense. It’s just a matter of considering others that may be using the footpath. And that is the point of the letter – cyclists inconsiderately refusing to use cycle paths.

Huw: I think you will find the answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind.

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i love to cycle, its so free and easy, we should all do more to keep fitter

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Lucy W:

You might not see anything wrong with cycling on the footpath but actually it is illegal. Cyclists should be on the road…..

Let us agree that you should not tar everyone with the same brush. There are a minority on bike-shaped objects who ride on the pavement, ignore signals and without lights at night. the majority of cyclists are law abiding.

Equally most drivers are reasonable people – it’s the few who push through regardless of consequence to vulnerable road users, talk on their mobile phones when negotiating roundabouts, and drive through heavy rain without lights on. I’m a driver and a cyclist and don’t condone bad behaviour from either perspective.

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Ah Yes, just been listening to Road to Hell album by Chris Rea that Huw loves so much with what he believes is it’s prophetic references to the Credit Crunch.

However I expect Eco-Huw shudders when his listens to Daytona on the album. It’s a favourite of mine because it’s actually about a car – a Ferrari ‘Daytona’. As a boy Chris Rea grew up with a picture of a Ferrari Daytona on his bedroom wall and decided to express his admiration for such cars. Perhaps the lyrics “Twelve wild horses in silver chains, Calling out to me” is clearer now.

Daytona is the unofficial name of the 365 GTB/4 which has a V12 engine, hence the lyric above. I bet that can drink petrol like it’s going out of fashion.

Funny how no one has written a song about a Raleigh Wayfarer.

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Huw: I bet your watch the video of Bicycle by Queen aren’t you?

Just what has a load of naked women on bikes got to do with the Tour de France?

Don’t tell me you are into riding your bike naked on route 81!

Interestingly, that song also has a gas guzzling reference – Rolls Royce. You see car is King!

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