[mart44]

I'm always grateful to get off the road on cycle paths such as those. We have a few of that calibre near us and why the 'serious' cyclists still use the road beats me. I might get round to asking one sometime.

With my mudguards and saddlebag I'm no serious cyclist (should see me off-road though!) but I do wish cycle paths were generally of better quality. Many local authorities paint the road orange where cyclists would normally go anyway and that constitutes a dedicated cycling lane. I've seen such tracks as short as 50 metres. I sometimes think the people who plan these things have never ridden bikes. Cycle lanes, such as they are, usually end where motor traffic is heavy. In fact, wherever it looks like motorists would be inconvenienced by their presence. Yet this is where cyclists need some separation and protection from motor vehicles. Cycle lanes get parked across quite often so diversions into car lanes are necessary. Also, I can't think of anywhere near us where motorists are asked to 'Give way to cyclists'. There are quite a few 'Cyclists Dismount' signs around though.

Pedal power is usually quicker than motoring in towns but I have to say I feel much safer when I'm driving the car. Quite a few people I know have become 'born again' cyclists and the first thing everyone seems to complain about is how scary the traffic is. If more people are to be encouraged to leave the car behind for short journeys then perhaps a bit of priority over the motorist will be necessary here and there.