[visordown.com] - Lunchtime debate cyclists are our friends

[Ninjette Newsbot]

I AM serious, cyclists are our friends. 'Why for what eh?' you choke. I sense doubt but the fact is there is more that unites us than divides us.

As a cyclist myself who rode regularly when I lived in London, I observed no significant friction with motorcyclists. The problem of motorcycles passing very close to cyclists in bus lanes is largely illusory, which is more than can be said of taxis.

Some people like to categorise all vehicles on the basis of whether they are propelled by engines or muscles. Engines bad, muscles good, seems to be their basic philosophy. MAG prefers a different division of features and that is multi track or single track. Twin track vehicles cause traffic jams, single-track vehicles don’t. The reason is simple enough and lies within the unassailable logic of geometry. Fill a jar with pebbles until you cannot fit one more into it and you can still pour sand in, as it filters through the spaces left between the stones. Herein lies the common feature shared by bicycles and motorcycles. It doesn’t matter how efficient a modern car may be in terms of its fuel consumption. If it’s stuck in a jam it covers zero miles per gallon while the thirstiest of super bikes goes slithering through the congestion like a well oiled eel. The same geometry that facilitates this flexibility conserves parking space, as at least five motorcycles fit in the space of a single car.

These virtues in bicycles are instinctively recognised by planners who have bent over backwards to accommodate cyclists and facilitate their use of our road network and cities. This same pro-cycle mentality has discouraged the extension of licensing, road tax and helmet laws to cyclists. In short cyclists are the untouchables who must be encouraged, not discouraged, as they conserve natural resources, not least space. This seems fair enough to me. I would hate to see cycling discouraged by a raft of restrictive legislation. Okay, cycles use the roads, but every one of them, through not burning oil, is leaving more of it for the rest of us, and motorists who resent cyclists should remember that.

By stressing the common features that motorcyclists share with cyclists, we stand a chance of sheltering beneath the same umbrella of protection from critics who would entangle us in more legislation.

The clearest success in harnessing this approach was enjoyed in the defeat of the proposed power limit promoted by German Commissioner Bangemann. The100hp limit was proposed in the 1990s and defeated not only by showing the irrelevance of the idea but also by emphasising the ecological benefits of motorcycling. The same approach is working today, and reflected today in the increasing number of councils allowing motorcycles into bus lanes.

The bicycle has become a major feature of our capital, through the practicality and economy it offers, and the patronage it enjoys from policy makers like Mayor Boris Johnson. We need to extend the pro-cycle thinking to motorcycles.

Ian Mutch is MAG’s President and a founding member. He has published five books on motorcycle travel and culture.

Read why CTC doesn't want any more motorcycles on the road.





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