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@hoefla
I'm less drunk now. So, my thoughts are now saying that in addition to an overall, widespread shift in attitudes to traffic, roads, and of drivers, a change in our national culture (which is what I think the Times is trying to do but I worry that it is too city-focussed, and too London-focussed) what is also important in encouraging more people to cycle, is being specific about places. It is too simplistic to say, for instance, people in Cambridge ride rusty rattlers and baker bikes, if only we had more sales of heavy old bikes, more people would cycle. Each place has a specific set of circumstances, so in my opinion, many people cycle in Cambridge because, yes everyone does it, but also you have the topography (it's flat), the historical layout of the roads (no big scary ring roads or major roads dividing the town like in some other places), the parks and commons make it pleasant, there are a lot (not enough, but a lot) of cycle stands around, but crucially, public transport is crap, driving is a complete ball-ache (one-way, tiny roads, restricted access to city centre, difficult to park), and distances covered are small (so even cycling slowly it doesn't take long, and your make-up doesn't slide off, your clothes aren't too uncomfortable etc). I would guess that the vast majority of journeys by bike are less than 3 miles. In London you might easily need to commute 10 miles to work, but in Cambridge if you were 10 miles out you'd be in a village, and most people drive in from the villages.
At first I didn't see the point of the Cycling Tzar proposal, but I'm coming around to it. What I would like to see is not so much a single person, but for cycling to be better integrated into the existing planning and implementation departments of councils - after all development plans, special business zones etc are all drawn up by groups who carry out specific analysis of their particular area. We need, in addition to the broad cultural re-orientation, specific tailored solutions for different places, based on real analysis.
I'm in the wrong thread, aren't I...