I dont doubt the Danes in Copenhagen on their super safe cycle paths chose not to wear a helmet whilst popping down the shops and to work....the same in Amsterdam and Rotterdam. However get off these safe non traffic routes and its a different story...
They are
definitely not non traffic routes. Many of them are really rather busy. Also, the big difference in NL is that the minor routes are joined up by short cycle tracks or routes alongside major roads which makes them into long-distance cycle routes, but in many Dutch towns and cities (but not the bits of Rotterdam I've ridden), the cycle tracks end and you're merged back onto the road. Sure, you get "uitgezonder fietsen" (or however it's spelt - "except cycles") on one-ways and no-entries and more of it is 20mph than most UK towns, but you're basically on the road among motorists that are about as bad as ours, plus having to deal with what looks like heavier traffic. I almost got to inspect a couple of examples of Dutch car bodywork close-up!
You should try it....the message is that people have a choice...referring to them as nobbers indicates you aren't giving them the benefit of that choice...
If someone tries to walk around a neighbourhood only in groups or only wearing body armour, locals will try to stop them because it makes their home area look dangerous - it happens most times that it gets out that police have put in a special protocol for a neighbourhood, such as the double-crewing (which I'm not sure is used any more).
No but it is a different place with different road conditions, different cultures, how can you compare riding there or Amsterdam with riding in congested GB?
Easily: ride to Harwich International Port (it's near you), get on a boat, get off in the Hoek, ride to Amsterdam in a day.
By alienating a certain type of cyclist ie "team/club riders" you make yourself sound rather foolish.
Not really - I think most freedom advocates acknowledge that racing teams have different risks to ordinary riders, plus are subject to their own democracy (club/BC/UCI). By suggesting that what applies to that cycling niche should apply to us all, you make yourself sound rather foolish.
No low branches on the roads I ride.
There are on the routes I ride, but the best tip I was given was to wear a soft hat. It's sufficient to deflect the sorts of branches that are bent rather than broken by lorries or buses, yet lots lighter than a hard hat. Plus its failure mode is to fall off, rather than yank my head like a helmet did when a branch end got stuck in a vent.
Try to keep today quiet please too as I'm out riding my bike all day. Does riding 150 miles increase my risks?
Only if you fall asleep. Wear a neck pillow.
