London Cycling Campaign says Tube strike highlights fear that puts people off cycling

I commute in the other direction so I can't say. My wife cycled into town though and she said it took her the same amount of time as usual.

Too scared my arse... just looking for an excuse and projecting their hostility.

Central London has essentially been heavily congested so traffic has been slow moving and a lot of cyclists feeding their way through the traffic. Personally I have been slower due to the volume of traffic. The traffic on back roads has generally been quieter as only the determined commuter appears to have taken to the road.
Yes there have been a few shed bikes out and good for them, I hope they realise it is not as dangerous as the media portray it.
I have volunteered to guide people in but no one has taken me up on it - I'm not taking it personally ! What I think would be a good idea would be to have some formally endorsed route leaders guiding and coaching newbies just to get them started - just the sort of thing the government could organise/endorse if they are serious about the UK as a "cycling nation". But they won't.

Yesterday, Bank to Waterloo on a Borisbike in 10 minutes flat. Roads totally jammed meaning traffic was, to me, a stationary wall of steel to be streaked down, wary of people crossing without looking.

Was a bit worried that Waterloo wouldn't have any spaces, but TfL had two trucks there, and were loading the bikes in as soon as they were docked. Excellent. Almost a recommended experience. Almost.

The roads have been no busier or perhaps quieter than usual.

In times gone by (I've cycled in London for 25 years) you'd see tonnes of newcomers wobbling about on "shed bikes" on a tube strike day.

For two or three years that has ceased to be the case - the occasional cyclist, for whatever reason, are not getting their bikes out.

My own personal view is that the culture of home-working and ease of VPN access etc means that a lot more people don't bother coming into the office. Many companies advise their staff to stay at home now and I suspect most people don't need a second bidding to "shirk from home".

Me - I could stay at home but then I wouldn't get the miles in.

A cynic would also posit that in a questionnaire it perhaps sounds better to use "danger" as a reason for not riding than "can't really be bothered" or the weather, or getting sweaty, or other reasons.

Sorry, but this is just yet another example of what happens when you bring people up in a society that is so risk averse they will barely get out of bed.

Nope, this is about the vast majority of people - ordinary people - who don't like cycling where there are fast cars, buses, motorbikes and lorries.

This includes most children and elderly people, but also lots of normal men and women in their 20s and 30s.

Saying these people are weak-minded in any way is, frankly, pathetic and shows a complete lack of understanding of what typical people consider 'safe' or 'pleasant'.

Go to the Netherlands to see what happens when you design streets that are not intimidating - people jump on their bikes in their millions.

Change the record lcc, go and have another organised bike ride and watch nothing happen...again.

It's not been much fun cycling in London the last two days - roads solid with frustrated, and generally static, motorists.

Definitely a few more cyclists around but days like this really emphasize how little space there is for cycling. If anyone did take this as an opportunity to try cycling I'd be worried they'd be put off rather than inspired.

Legal changes needed to make roads safer:

Mandatory collision avoidance tech in all new vehicles.
Strict liability.
Give cyclists priority over motorised traffic at all junctions.
A single offence of Causing Death or Disability while driving with a default maximum lifetime ban.
Once driving is put back to being a privilege not an assumed right the culture on the roads will change and we can start looking at infrastructure.

Sorry, but this is just yet another example of what happens when you bring people up in a society that is so risk averse they will barely get out of bed. The people who worry about the so called 'risk' of cycling in London are the same ones who won't let their poor little kiddies walk 200m to school because they are petrified some gigantic paedo monster is going to jump out at them, because that's what the Daily Wail has told them for the last 20 years without any base in fact at all.

Yes you have to be careful cycling and London is busy, but you're still far more likely to be mugged or run over as a pedestrian. Obviously TfL and the Boroughs need to continue to do more, but they cannot be expected to make it risk free and the more people who do get out and cycle the more the risk is lowered proportionately. LCC need to stop this pointless scaremongering.

It's strange, yesterday and today I have seen more motorbikes than usual in the work carp ark, while there have been fewer than usual bicycles.