I disagree vehemently. While my experience on UK roads isn't that big, I have not seen any well designed bicycle road. Even the roads in the residential areas I've seen are quite bad; small, many cars parked on them (bad for visibility) and of considerable lacking quality. The bicycle roads in London are just lines painted on top of whatever surface the route encounters: curbs, manholes, poles in the middle of the road, pedestrian areas... Sudden and unmarked bicycle road stops where cyclists can't make out where to go. See also: https://ssj3gohan.tweakblogs.net/blog/11985/city-cycling-in-...

No, if anything, UK roads are specifically not designed to handle bicycle traffic. I wonder what makes you think so?

I was referring to the normal road itself, not the bicycle specific infrastructure. London for example would be fantastic for bikes if vehicles were removed. Most of the roads (even the narrow ones) are exactly the right size to accomodate a large number of bikes, but instead it is used to accomodate a very modest number of private cars. Even if there were no bikes or pedestrians our roads would still be wholly unsuitable for the volume of traffic. The country is riddled with narrow and windy single lane roads with very high commuter traffic.

Yes cyclists in the main have to share the same network. And that network in many places is just overburdened. My fastest route to town is down a country road that has the national speed limit. Local drivers complain about cyclists even using this road - because it 'slows' them down. Anyway the road has become hellish, and I've witnessed enough after/accidents to just bypass the road these days for an inferior, but safer dirt track. The irony of course is that that very same dirt track could make for a very good cycle lane. Build them and they will come. The pedestrians/country side ramblers won't be too impressed mind.

Roads in the UK have generally had some work done on them since the automobile was invented.

Saying that they are designed for bike traffic, when they are continuously rebuilt to the needs of motorised vehicles, is a bit like complaining that it is problematic marching a centuria down the middle of the A59 out of York, given that is what the Romans designed it for.

And we do have a solution to this problem, it is that of creating dedicated bike routes, like the Bristol to Bath cycle path, or where they have to run alongside roads with cars doing 60mph and above, keeping them separated by more than just paint.

Dude, the A59 would be great! You could march XX Valeria down that thing abreast.

In fact, that may be what happened to IX Hispania: they were having so much fun, they just kept going.

> a bit like complaining that it is problematic marching a centuria down the middle of the A59 out of York, given that is what the Romans designed it for.

Thank you, this observation has brightened up an otherwise mundane Wednesday.

I hope I haven't ruined the mundanity. Is what Wednesdays are for.

I mean, you say that, but every time I see cyclists on an A road or pedestrian crossings on a 2-2 lane highway I die a little inside

Assuming you see them when you're driving, it's probably the sedentary living that's killing you rather than other road users.

You can live again! Get out of the car.