• Political campaigning divisions aside (of which I have no knowledge whatsoever) I find some of the assumptions "on here"about the capability of other cyclists pretty bizarre sometimes, I have to say.

    I fit pretty neatly into the vehicular cyclist mould. I'm in my early 30s, I ride 140 miles a week and can hold a decent pace. I feel pretty comfortable taking the lane. My wife is the polar opposite. She is physically smaller and weaker. She doesn't cycle any real distance and so is pretty slow. The concept of taking the lane is never going to appeal to her.

    At the end of the day, vehicular cycling can be a safe option for slow cyclists, but it's never going to be a pleasant one 100% of the time. No matter how many ad campaigns you run and rules you put in place there will always be the occasional incident where you get tailgated by some fat cunt in a white van screaming obscenities at you. I am resigned to dealing with that shit. I love cycling, so it would take a lot to put me off. My wife on the other hand could be put off for life by something like that. She would feel much more comfortable in a segregated lane. That is simply a fact.

    Of course nobody on here is particularly obliged to help my wife out, but I am (and I want to), so I support segregated infrastructure. They are not a silver bullet but they meet a specific need in a specific scenario.

  • You're dead right. I'm fine cycling most places. My kids are not. Cyclists are not a homogenous group, and have different needs. Not recognising that is naive.

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