Why should we take any notice of cyclists when they are always wrong? Cars kill hundreds, thousands of people? Actually, cycles, despite being so slow and amazingly light, kill comparable numbers of pedestrians per passenger mile as die in collisions with motor vehicles! Cars pollute the atmosphere and kill people? Actually, all the reports that blame health problems on "transport" and "traffic" are actually refering to buses and the power stations that fuel the trams and trains beloved of cyclists for longer journeys! European countries have better facilities for cyclists? Actually thats because they have far, far, far better facilities for motorists. That's because they have two, three, four, even five times as much motorway and main road, per head, per car, per acre, per you name it, as we do. Perhaps it's because they don't strangle the arteries of the nation through which the life-blood of their economies flow that they can afford luxuries like cycling facilites.

Mr B J Mann, Nottingham, England

Cars vs. bikes - Sounds like the same problem we have in the States. Riding a bike in the city is a no-brainer. It should be welcomed and embraced by everyone, even if they don't participate in cycling. I've heard the "cyclists don't pay road tax" bit before and it's a bit naïve and tiring to say the least. Well it's naïve to think a motorist is somehow better than a cyclist. With cycling growing rapidly as an alternative to driving hopefully things will start to change. Holland, Denmark, Germany, etc. have gotten it right: make the streets and intersections safe for cyclists and people will be obliged to participate.

Paul Peterson, Portland, Oregon/USA

I love cycling to work as do most of my friends. I didn't realise I was a "trendy" Linda, but I bet I'm slimmer than you ;-)

Pete, London,

A previous contributor states; Cyclists should be subject to the same laws as motor vehicle drivers. This will never happen for one simple reason: motor vehicles kill hundreds/thousands of people each year.

E Blair, Oxford, UK

ab, quimper, france - what most cyclists tend to forget is that they are driving a lethal mass of metal spokes and rubber. Treat it with respect. Pedestrians should have priority in towns.

ANY kind of accident involving a bike and a person in town should be assumed to be the bike's fault unless proven otherwise.

Mike, Bankside, London,

Linda - what most motorists tend to forget is that they are driving a lethal 2 tonne mass of metal. Treat it with respect. Cyclists and pedestrians should have priority in towns. ANY kind of accident involving a car and a bike in town should be assumed to be the car's fault unless proven otherwise.

Bicycles are clearly the ideal form of transport for towns and cars are not - ever heard of a bicycle jam? and you are using up our dwindling resources. Get real.

ab, quimper, france

Specialised, Trek, Giant and Cannondale are all very well but don't forget the Brompton (which folds up small enough to be left in the coat check of any museum, gallery or restaurant in seconds ) - indeed more expensive than the average bike but you get your money back surprisingly quickly in saved tube fares and it's a brilliant example of British design and engineering - made in London - and great fun for getting about town

Simon, London,

Why do the majority of bike riders assume that everone is telepathic, and can therefore read their minds before they suddenly turning left or right without indicating? Why do they think it's their God given right to be able to drive through a red light? If people want to use a bike they should have to pass a driving test, carry insurance AND be subjected to the same rules of the road as car drivers, including not using mobile phones or i-pods. Sorry trendies - you use the same road as me so you should be subject to the same laws.

Linda Johnson, London, England

I began cycling to work because I was inspired by my workmates, & my employer provides a secure bike shed plus shower. This morning, I came in on the bus, because I couldn't face cycling today. The cause? Nasty, dangerous "undertaking" yesterday, by a man overtaking on the inside just as I moved left to let him past on my right. His excuse was that he thought I was in "the wrong place" (i.e. in his way for some five seconds). He could not understand why I had used the "ahead" lane to go straight on at a junction, instead of the cycle lane which had traffic turning left across it. This ignorant, contemptous and dangerous attitude towards cyclists may now be inherited by his kids, who were in the car with him. I also drive. We are all humans going from A to B, but when many British people get behind the wheel, they regularly commit dangerous acts of aggression that would not be socially acceptable anywhere else. French drivers respect cyclists & give them as much room as possible.

Elsie, Edinburgh,

Ask any parent about cycling and they will say that the roads are too dangerous. That is why there are not enough cyclists in this country. Having lived in both Germany and The Netherlands, cycling in this country is seen to bring you a lot closer to God, right up to the Pearly Gates.
The perception and the reality is the car rules in this country and car drivers do not look out enough for the two wheeled road users. Ask a driver and over 70% will say the cyclist doesn't pay road tax I do therefore I am more important.
Class and wealth has very little to do with cycling. Fear of death has more

John, London,

I am English but currently living in Berlin. I am female and 39 and I cycle everywhere as do my three children. When I was living in London 10 years ago, I also used to cycle regularly to work which I loved, despite the occasional hill and scary encounters with unsympathetic car drivers. The great advantage of London weather is that, although it "sometimes" rains, it is never really too cold to get around on a bike. I strongly recommend it. Liz Scott has made a very important point though. England is still very dangerous for cyclists: the government needs to ensure that all roads have proper cycle paths so cyclists don't have to go on the pavements (putting pedestrians under stress) and also don't have to risk their lives constantly on narrow streets. Only then will everyone feel safe to venture out on a bike. Bicycling is also a very good way of ensuring that our children do not become obese and that they learn that driving is not the only form of travel.

Emily Brown, Berlin, Germany

I never realised I cycled because I was inspired by Boris.

Maybe it's because I enjoy it?

Mark Bullen, Kiama Downs, NSW Aus

How about looking at countries like Holland and Denmark where cycling is what everybody does, particularly in the cities? These countries have cycle lanes at the same level as the footpath, just separately. No cars can therefore use the cycle lane, which makes it a much safer place to be. Cyclists and drivers are also being taught the law of cycling and driving together. Cycling is cool!

MP, London,

Our council tip sells useable bikes for a fiver. Cost is no barrier whatsoever to starting cycling if the will is there.

As for feeling too depressed to cycle - cycling a few miles regularly is a real tonic, but only if you actually start doing it and stop making excuses.

I can see that having nowhere safe to store a bike would be a disadvantage to the less well off. But a folding bike can be kept virtually anywhere.

I am certainly not rich, but I pay lots of 40% Income Tax, and band F Council Tax. As a family we own a car and have therefore paid VED. Remember, the VED has no direct link to funding road building or repairs. So, why when I ride my bike am I treated as a third class citizen by numerous drivers who think that a couple of hundred quid tax disc means they own the road? The Jeremy Clarkson answer is apparently that I am an obstruction and should be run over? With attitudes like that in vogue, UK cycling still has a mountain to climb.

Paul, Andover, Hants

Energetic, fit determined people are likely to do well in life. There're probably more likely to cycle too, but that's incidental. Fat lazy slobs probably won't do so well in life. Chances are they won't cycle either, but so what? They probably don't do much else to improve themselves either. Then again, I'm just a despicable middle class male cyclists so what do I know? It's probably my fault like everything else.

Redcliffe, London,

If you are really devoted to the green cause, you keep an old car, a Peugot 205 say, for emergencies and ride around on a tandem - it is the only way for a modern couple to travel!

Moralee Foster, Edinburgh,

Off course cyclists are wealthier - less time off sick, less time stuck in queues, laugh at £1/litre petrol, congestion charging and parking fines.

Doug , Birmingham, UK

I've not owned a car since 1976 - using a combination of bike and public transport for journeys which would take too long to walk, occasionally hiring a car or van or whatever motorised personal transport I need for a specific task.

Initially I did ride a bike with gears but have ridden 1-speed machines almost exclusively since 1990 - fixed wheel preferably but coaster braked for the Brompton. It is becoming apparent that the general mass of the population is returnign to cycling with more sensible machines, many are snapping up old Raleigh 20's and even better quality Dawes King Pins and fitting them with modern wheels, tyres and other parts to deliver a compact bike which will pack neatly against the wall in a flat but leave a puffing MTB rider in the dust with ease (and with eth acceleration of small wheels you'll also make a few red-faced riders on flashy sports bikes as you leave them at the lights.

Without a car we have a nice garden, and guaranteed local journey times.

DH, Glasgow,

One danger to cycling is the issue of bicycle helmets. Helmet requirements can discourage cycling by more than 30%, details were reported in "The case against bicycle helmets and legislation", presented in Munich at the 2007 Velo City cycling conference. It shows why bicycle helmet laws are not justified and details concerns about helmets and legislation.

The report can be viewed at www.ctcyorkshirehumber.org.uk/campaigns/velo.htm

or a pdf copy with inserts can be obtained by emailing

Colin@vood.freeserve.co.uk

Colin Clarke, York, UK

I am 70 and ride my bike some 20 milea each day, on road and I manage to do about 5000 miles a year. My little car does about 1600 miles a year and that is mainly in support of my 100 year old dad -- who seems to go out to his clubs more times a week than I do. I cycle for pleasure, for shopping and for fun. I see and experience far more on a 20 mile journey (on my Thorn Raven Tour) than I would in a ca. That isin respect of both + and - !
I get verbal abuse from motorists and pedestrians and I can guarentee ( sp?) that on every day I will experience a deliberate attempt to intimidate me physicaly by a motorist sitting in his metal killing machine.

On the positve side -- well I enjoy life so much. I have cycle camped through Europe for the last 4 years. I see so much more while even doing my shopping. .

A final comment -- Get off the paymant and on the road where cyclists belong

Trevor A Panther, Conisbrough, South Yorkshire

My bike's my first vehicle. My car is my second vehicle, it's very old, and I only use it when I really need to (such as going to IKEA), cos I can't afford the petrol.

Most people I know who cycle do so either because they're poor, or because they think it's stupid to be stuck in a traffic jam for 20 minutes by car when you could be there in 5 minutes by bike. Or they just think it's stupid to drive somewhere when it's close enough to bike.

starling, Lancaster,

My bike is a real boon.I get up early and go for a ride.It helps my early morning stiffness(anno domini!) Also,I cycle to town,leave my bike in a bike stand(monitored by CCTV)and catch a bus for a 20 mile journey.(Much better than taking the car(which seems to be sitting in the garage more and more these days.)I must say that I am now addicted to cycling(and I'm no spring-chicken!)Wish I'd done it years ago!

H.D., WsM,

The bike is always a second vehicle, as such, if you're skint you're not going to buy a second vehicle.

The people who ride them mostly also have cars.

JonB, Glasgow, UK

There is a lot of shallow thinking here. Bikes too expensive? They are available for £70. They won't do what CTC members want to do - but they'll get you to work and shopping. There are lots of cycle trails - but few cycle routes to shops, across towns. Liz Scott ir right! Long distance routes - for middle class cyclists. Nothing for people on the fringes of towns - the poor. In Huddersfield, the poorest estates at on the top of considerable hills; the shops are in the valleys. Has Boris ever tried cycling with three children and a push chair? To what extend is the CTC engaged with the poorest people in the poorest estates? If it isn't, how can it affect these findings? I'm a member - and I don't know from reading the magazine. The truth is that it takes courage to ride in towns, let alone cities. There is no continuous routing for bikes - they keep ending - cars and lorries park over them without let or hindrance. Taxis cut you out - we take their business - the poor!

David Browning, Huddersfield, UK

If a successful PR campaign turned bicycles into " lustworthy objects to own" then those on lower incomes would simply mug middle-class cyclists in order to own one- as they now do with mobile 'phones.

Martin Conway, Northampton, UK

It's because the lower you feel in your life, whether you are poor or not, the less activity you feel like doing. Anyone who has ben terminally bored and/or a little depressed will testify to that.

The more satisfaction you feel in your life, the more "get up and go" you have to improve yourself.

Plus the fact that if you life in a poor area you are more likely to get said bicycle stolen or damaged...

Germans do a lot of cycling, mainly because their road systems and traffic laws have been made with cyclists in mind. I wouldn't cycle to the shops in the UK, it's too dangerous.

Liz Scott, Gutersloh, Germany

To pitch cycling at the mass market, the cyclerati need to grasp that the bicycle is no longer an instrument of social justice, it's the key to freedom, fun and control.

Just like any other consumer product, cycling needs champions who inspire people to sit up and say "look, there's my hero/hearthrob riding a bike, I can ride one too and be like them".

This is not just a question of paying celebrities vast endorsement fees. It's about getting cycling embedded in popular culture. Why are there so few bikes in advertisements, pop videos and TV soap operas, for example?

Step up all those media folk as they ride to work. Think outside the bike box, here's your next story line.

David Love, London,