• In general I agree with Velocio's point, differentiating between thoughts and actions, however I don't believe this is so clear cut in the case of people in cars who genuinely dislike people on bikes.

    In my work I train many professional drivers, getting them on bikes in order to help them understand how to share the road with people on bikes. The vast majority of these drivers have no issue with cyclists and some who do express strong anti-cyclist thoughts initially, change their view after 3 hours of riding, and in many cases apologise for their early comments.

    There are however a few drivers who remain fixed in their view. On a couple of occasions, when asked 'When is it appropriate to punish a cyclist by passing close or swerving into them' do give instances when they feel that a cyclists deserves such treatment (such as when the cyclists is hogging the road etc ). It is quite depressing when that happens.

    (Why some people hate people who choose to ride a bicycle in this country is explored in depth by sociologist Dave Horton who has written extensively on the marginalisation of cyclists and of fear of cyclists. Worth reading)

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