[ndsipa_pomu]

> We should strive to make bicycle infrastructure straight and easy, and make cars take detours.

This is the key to encouraging Active Travel. So much infrastructure is designed primarily for motor traffic and provision for cyclists tends to be just tacked on and not really thought about in any depth.

One big problem with cycling is when you get a road with lots of light-controlled junctions that makes you keep stopping and starting - the loss of momentum can turn an easy ride into an exhausting one. It's particularly galling when you can see that there is room for cyclists to safely go through a red light (c.f. Idaho Stop style laws) and so you have to decide between being a law-abiding citizen of the road, or instead treat red lights as advisory. Sometimes, it's even worse than just slowing you down as junctions can be quite dangerous if you're setting off at the same time as motorists - I aim to anticipate the lights changing and get a brief head-start so that I can be highly visible in front of the drivers and across the junction before anyone has a chance to turn across me.