# Chris Boardman: riding a bike on UK roads feels too dangerous for me



## Northerner (Aug 31, 2017)

Chris Boardman, the former world champion cyclist who won gold at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and several stages of the Tour de France, is avoiding riding on Britain’s roads because he feels they have become too dangerous.

“The roads are statistically safe, but it doesn’t look it and it doesn’t feel it. Now I try to do more of my riding off-road, which is sad,” he told the Guardian in an interview to mark his appointment as the first cycling and walking commissioner for Greater Manchester.

Boardman said he found road riding in parts of the UK “exhausting” and unpleasant. “False modesty aside, I’m about as competent as it gets and I am constantly doing risk assessments. I’m looking at parked cars, seeing which way wheels are turning, everything that’s going on around me. It’s just exhausting. Whereas if I ride on a track or a trail I don’t have to do that and it’s just more pleasant these days,” he said.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeand...a-bike-on-uk-roads-feels-too-dangerous-for-me

"I don’t want to see people behaving on a road in an aggressive way because, more than making me angry, it makes me depressed to see human beings treating each other that way. To see a human being treat someone who is vulnerable as an obstacle and give them no more thought than that. " - wouldn't disagree with him there, I think that's exactly how many road users view vulnerable people, and give them no quarter, as though they have every right to just run right over you  I particularly remember experiencing this when trying to cross roads as I was recovering from my broken femur - I got the impression they saw me a relatively young man who should just pick up into a run and wouldn't dream of cutting their speed (or obeying traffic lights, or indicating), but in fact I was incapable of moving any faster without the likelihood of falling over.  I'd also add that the same attitude is displayed by some cyclists, like the one who knocked me flying when they appeared from behind a large van on a red light, just as I was about to reach the pavement


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## Copepod (Aug 31, 2017)

@Northerner - I find this post confusing. Which words come from Chris Boardman, quoted in Guardian, and which, if any, are Northerner's words? I'm guessing the part of paragraph after URL in quotation marks are by Chris Boardman, followed by comments by Northerner, but it's not clear.


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## Northerner (Aug 31, 2017)

Copepod said:


> @Northerner - I find this post confusing. Which words come from Chris Boardman, quoted in Guardian, and which, if any, are Northerner's words? I'm guessing the part of paragraph after URL in quotation marks are by Chris Boardman, followed by comments by Northerner, but it's not clear.


Yes, that's right. I quoted Chris's sentence and then said why I felt I could agree with the sentiment he expressed.


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## HOBIE (Aug 31, 2017)

Depends where you are talking about too. ?


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## Radders (Aug 31, 2017)

I think it's a shame he's said this. There is a general fear of cycling which is out of proportion to the danger it actually poses. I read somewhere that mile for mile walking has as many serious injuries as cycling. Much more dangerous to be inactive, in my opinion, and not everyone has the time or equipment to go off-roading or track cycling. He should be encouraging cycling not putting folk off.


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## Northerner (Sep 1, 2017)

Radders said:


> I think it's a shame he's said this. There is a general fear of cycling which is out of proportion to the danger it actually poses. I read somewhere that mile for mile walking has as many serious injuries as cycling. Much more dangerous to be inactive, in my opinion, and not everyone has the time or equipment to go off-roading or track cycling. He should be encouraging cycling not putting folk off.


I think he was talking in connection with his role in Manchester - " “If it’s not the easiest solution, they’re not going to do it. If it looks a bit intimidating, they are not going to do it. And that means space, and it means joined-up space."

As a non-cyclist I can't possibly imagine getting mixed up in today's busy city traffic. His point was that you can only encourage people by creating the conditions which will make people feel safe, and that's a big job because most cities are designed with the motorist in mind. For me, a big start would be improving public transport so you get more cars off the roads, then people will feel happier about venturing out. Mind you, I don't drive either, and that's partly because I didn't enjoy driving in such traffic, so I may be an extreme example which I fully admit!


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## Radders (Sep 1, 2017)

Northerner said:


> I think he was talking in connection with his role in Manchester - " “If it’s not the easiest solution, they’re not going to do it. If it looks a bit intimidating, they are not going to do it. And that means space, and it means joined-up space."
> 
> As a non-cyclist I can't possibly imagine getting mixed up in today's busy city traffic. His point was that you can only encourage people by creating the conditions which will make people feel safe, and that's a big job because most cities are designed with the motorist in mind. For me, a big start would be improving public transport so you get more cars off the roads, then people will feel happier about venturing out. Mind you, I don't drive either, and that's partly because I didn't enjoy driving in such traffic, so I may be an extreme example which I fully admit!


I avoid driving whenever possible. It has become a lot easier now we've sold the only car I was insured for!


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## Chris Hobson (Sep 1, 2017)

I think that the tiring level of concentration that is referred to becomes less of an issue with experience. I cycle in traffic pretty regularly and watching out for hazards and anticipating problems now comes pretty naturally to me. On another forum the issue of brakes on cycles was being discussed and, at the time, it occurred to me that I very rarely have to brake hard when out cycling. This suggests that I am fairly competent at anticipating problems. I do find it a concern that I now regularly see idiots driving while looking at their phones though.


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## Matt Cycle (Sep 1, 2017)

I can fully understand why he's said it after the tragedy of losing his Mum but he also says statistically it's still safe.  Hopefully over time he'll be able to get back on his bike on the road.  Better cycling infrastructure is definitely needed though to get more people on their bikes.

Personally I've never found things too bad on the roads (still got my Cycling Proficiency certificate and badge issued by RoSPA after a 6 week course on Saturday mornings at Abbeydale Grange School in 1977 ) with only the occasional stupid behaviour by a small minority.  Yes, there are idiots in cars but also idiots on bikes and idiot pedestrians.  I suppose the difference is an idiot in a tonne or more of metal travelling very fast can do a lot of damage, an idiot on a bike can do some damage and an idiot pedestrian is only likely to damage themselves.


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## Chris Hobson (Sep 1, 2017)

There has recently been an incident involving a pillock riding a track bike with no brakes on public roads colliding with a pedestrian who allegedly walked into his path while staring at her phone. As far as I am aware,the pedestrian died and the cyclist went to prison.


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## RFS (Oct 1, 2017)

Outside of the back roads to the main road I have yet to have the courage of riding my bike on the main road into town. Instead I cycle to the big parade of shops and then pretend to be browsing which shop I want on the opposite side I should be cycling on, until I get to the lights, cross and then pick up a cycling path to the Thames tow-path.

Then I cycle down that into town, leave the bike at the humongous Sainsbury's and walk 10 mins to the gym! Still... gets the calories burned, eh!!!


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