ADUK Archive

Well to continue the thread hijack, my copy of Cyclecraft arrived last night. I've read about half of it, and basically it contains one message which is, paraphrasing:

Be part of the traffic, not an accessory to it, be conspicuous, and ride assertively and professionally.

Stuff I've been trying to do for most of my cycling life, although it seems to get harder as time goes on and traffic gets heavier.

The book is quite negative about cycle lanes, suggesting motorists drive closer to cyclists when they're in a cycle lane than they do when they ride as part of the normal traffic, thus making cycle lanes MORE dangerous than riding in the main carriageway. Which was the point of the thread, so here we are back at the start

Mr Cholmondeley-Warner wrote:The book is quite negative about cycle lanes, suggesting motorists drive closer to cyclists when they're in a cycle lane than they do when they ride as part of the normal traffic, thus making cycle lanes MORE dangerous than riding in the main carriageway. Which was the point of the thread, so here we are back at the start

It certainly doesn't help when councils seem happy to put down any size or width of cycle lane regardless of safety or fitness for purpose. I'm also not really convinced about shared use paths - I've been abused by drivers previously for choosing to ride on the road rather than use a rubbish and glass strewn shared path next to it.

Mr Cholmondeley-Warner wrote:Well to continue the thread hijack, my copy of Cyclecraft arrived last night. I've read about half of it, and basically it contains one message which is, paraphrasing:

Be part of the traffic, not an accessory to it, be conspicuous, and ride assertively and professionally.

Stuff I've been trying to do for most of my cycling life, although it seems to get harder as time goes on and traffic gets heavier.

The book is quite negative about cycle lanes, suggesting motorists drive closer to cyclists when they're in a cycle lane than they do when they ride as part of the normal traffic, thus making cycle lanes MORE dangerous than riding in the main carriageway. Which was the point of the thread, so here we are back at the start

I find the chapter of cycle lanes to be a masterpiece of restrained writing, but "quite negative" does sum it up. The diagrams showing where your attention must be spread when in a cycle lane, compared to concentrating on approaching traffic when in the main vehicle lane, clearly demonstrate how being part of the traffic is safer.

I was quite struck how much Cyclecraft's insistence on planning (at level2, the level taught to secondary school students) resembles advanced motoring recommendations.