another cycling forum

  => The Knowledge => Topic started by: Agony Guy on February 25, 2013

Title: What will 'Get Britain Cycling'?
Post by: Agony Guy on February 25, 2013
Carlton Reid writes, (https://www.roadswerenotbuiltforcars.com/getbritaincycling/)

Quote
Presumed liability won’t Get Britain Cycling. Cycle training won’t Get Britain Cycling. Separated cycle tracks won’t Get Britain Cycling. Subjective safety won’t Get Britain Cycling. Health messages won’t Get Britain Cycling. Better cycle security won’t Get Britain Cycling. ‘Go Dutch’ campaigns won’t Get Britain Cycling. 20mph zones won’t Get Britain Cycling. Taming cars won’t Get Britain Cycling. High-level political support for cycling won’t Get Britain Cycling. Millions more cash for cycling won’t Get Britain Cycling.
It’s a mix of all of the above, and more. Much more…

Can history teach us anything?

If history teaches us anything, it's that the past already happened and the future is a bright rainbow until the present mucks it up, which is an ongoing process. Though opinions vary.

(https://www.notanothercyclingforum.net/acf/pics/deadwoodfuture.jpg)
Our descendants screening Deadwood (https://prettygoodbritain.com/wp/?p=1745) will marvel at our pessimism before scuttling back into their crab holes.

From the moment the first bicycle was pointed at our starry destination as an enlightened species it has been headed inexorably into the dustbin of history. Britain's love affair with the past notwithstanding, man will always seek the easy road and somebody or something else to carry him along it, from horse to taxi to warp engine. (https://notanothercyclingforum.net/bikereader/solo/startrek.html) Bicycles were merely a way station and are now more or less an anachronism despite the best efforts of enthusiasts, who non-cyclists often dismiss as joy killing moralists or cranky rebels with a cause.

Nothing short of a time machine will Get Britain Cycling; even Armageddon (https://www.notanothercyclingforum.net/index.php?topic=212.msg378#msg378) is unlikely to offer hope. On the other hand, as Morlocks (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morlock) are good at "maintaining ancient machines that they may or may not remember how to build," there could yet be a renaissance.