Stop trying to drive cyclists off the road
IN REPLY to the diatribe against cyclists (Letters), I have cycled on lots of country roads and been narrowly missed on many occasions by motorists using these tiny highways as race tracks. We have given our country over to cars and the pollution they cause. The country lanes are strewn with rubbish thrown out of car windows. Since when do car owners hold exclusive rights to use roads?
STEPHEN BIDDLE, Ely, Cambs. WHAT a shame reader Jane Goodfellow can’t see the good effects of this weekend’s Prudential RideLondon FreeCycle. There will be hundreds of families enjoying cycling without pollution or impatient drivers. As a driver and cyclist, I appreciate bikes can be a bit unpredictable as we cannot judge what might be waiting in the road ahead — potholes, dead animals, tree branches, cans, broken bottles and missing drain covers. A car has four wheels to deal with obstacles, but on a bike you often have to make a last-minute decision. There are good and bad drivers, and the same goes for cyclists. I love my bike and the freedom it gives me. Let us all share the roads. Jane, get a bike and come and join us.
ELAINE LUMMIS, address supplied. BICYCLES were here before cars and without Victorian cyclists campaigning for better roads, there would be nowhere for Jane Goodfellow to drive.
MICHAEL SHAUGHNESSY, Veteran Cycle Club, Stoke Heath, Worcs.