Cycle campaigning

Forget about segregation and road apartheid. Clearly a combination of sensible infrastructure, legislation and training for cyclists and drivers alike is the only way forward; it our culture that need to change.

Think a healthy dose of patience all road would do the trick. Not in London but my experience here on the roads is drivers see a bike ahead on the road and e dry thing else fades to grey as they just have have have to get past as soon as humanly possible, no matter what the road up ahead is doing, whether there's a junction or roundabout ahead, whether there are traffic lights set to red, a choke point courtesy of a road island, or what manoveur they are planning next, like turning left or parking.

This morning a van overtook me then seconds later pulled onto the curb, waiting for the traffic to clear in the other lane, before reversing while turning into a driveway and blocking my lane and most of the opposite one (its a terrible narrow road through a village called Long Ashton just outside of Bristol) forcing me to brake and wait. It wasn't dangerous, just selfish and impatient.

And we are as bad: it's why we jump red lights. I'm guilty of that, always looking to filter past slow moving traffic and making the odd bad decision on the way. Riding in France showed how a much more relaxed approach from both sides worked really well. We just need to be more Jamaican about it all.