this post was submitted on 09 Nov 2025
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The video is about a guy called John Forester, who was a road racing cyclist who vocally opposed all cycling infrastructure, arguing for what he called "vehicular cycling" where you ride on the road among cars following the same rules as cars, which, in his view, was safer than separate bicycle paths, which according to him were very unsafe. He was a vocal critic of cycling infrastructure and apparently quite influential in the US.
He wrote a 800-page ~~book~~ manifesto titled Effective Cycling where he argues that any form of cycling except riding racing bicycles at high speed wearing lycra is a complete waste of time, fit only for children. It's also full of more questionable traffic safety advice.
The faster you ride, the better you blend in with vehicular traffic. The trouble is, not everyone can ride that fast. Now that I'm old, I appreciate dedicated MUPs and bike lanes because they're better suited to my current abilities than they were 30 to 40 or even 20 years ago.
Sure, but riding among cars will never be the safest option. Good, dedicated separated bike paths ought to be the most comfortable to exercise-oriented riders too, given that they have all the upsides of roads (and then some; no potholes!) with no cars.
But also, the faster you ride, the more tiring it is, the more stressful it is, and the more severe the consequences when anybody - especially nearby drivers - makes a serious error.
Cycling doesn't have to be that way. No matter what Forester and other ableists say. If you remove most of the motorists, it can be fun! And proper fun, not the 'I jousted with drivers and survived' type.