My guess is that London cycling is also ageist and ableist and really need to change, right now!

What is London cycling going to do to ensure more cyclists are younger than 12 or disabled?

How many blind cyclists are using the bikeways, I bet none, and that's the real scandal.

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That said, expanded, safe, machete free bike routes would probably be a good start.

When you come right down to it, what else is there for a cycling chief to actually do?
Dispensing the flat tire patching kits would require the cyclists to do the work themselves, thus taking bread from the mouths of the working men who are no doubt hired to do it.
I suspect the underrepresented communities in the area are too busy with life to bother with virtue signaling by peddling.

Great points, both. Yes, must have more blind people on bikes. More quadriplegics!

Gotta justify that job!

It's the perfect storm of political correctness. How are they going to discourage those undesirable white males from cycling? Maybe they'll have special bike paths for women and minorities only.

The really laughable thing is the contrast between the underlying sanctimoniousness, and what would happen if they actually succeeded. You just know that if cycling reached a sufficient level of popularity, the regulators would be right behind; before you know it, you'd need a license and insurance to ride a bicycle, your bike would need a license plate, and there would be all kinds of requirements for safety geegaws and inspections that would cause the price of bikes to go up. "Cash for Clunker Bicycles", anyone?

There were very few periods of time in my life when commuting by bicycle would have been practical or even possible. I live in the Philadelphia area, where the weather is very hot and humid in the summer and we get our share of freezing temperatures and snow in the winter. I'm not going to leave home early to make the 14 mile commute to town only to arrive soaked in sweat and/or rain. There are some hellacious hills along this commute that challenge even dedicated cyclists. That's the best case scenario, when I was younger, fit, and child-free. Where would I have put two kids and groceries if I biked everywhere?? Now I am middle-aged, kids grown, and theoretically could get into good enough physical shape to make long bike trips, but I have issues with nerves in my tailbone and my elbows and hands that make riding a bike very painful. These coercive bicycle initiatives seem blind to these issues--dare we say that they are ageist, sexist, and anti-child?

There is only one question to be asked. "Is there a discriminatory barrier to anyone for entry to the profession or practicing of the activity?"

If not, it is entirely up to the individual to decide whether or not to partake.

Jay put it perfectly.

If you want a grin, read this story about a Portland bike ride where an unfamiliar guy joined in and was later reported by the "bike community" to be an undercover cop. He wasn't; he was just new in town and looking to make friends.

http://www.wweek.com/portland/blog-29975-bikeportland-alleges-wrong-asian-man-is-undercover-cop.html

Since you usually can't get the favored group that isn't interested to join up this is usually solved by imposing a limit on how many of the disfavored group you can have. So the London cycling chief will be responsible for stopping the wrong types of people from biking.

This would be a target in the public sector in the UK. They really really don't matter. If they are not reached, no one will be affected, no one will care, no bonuses are lost, there won't be any bonuses anyway. No story really

I guess I won't be able to go skiing, camping, or hiking until a whole bunch more black people decide to take it up.

This will suck.

It must be noted, of course, that the "too many" descriptor can only be applied in certain ways:

-- There can be too many whites, but never too many blacks.

-- There can be too many men, but never too many women.

-- There can be too many straights, but never too many gays.

-- There can be too many conservatives, but never too many "progressives".

You get the picture ...

From the humor book "Stuff White People Like" (the author is white):

https://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/2008/01/20/9-making-you-feel-bad-about-not-going-outside/

"As mentioned earlier, white people love to be outside. But not everyone knows that another thing they like to do is make people feel bad for wanting to watch sports on TV or play videogames. While it would be easy to get angry at white people for this, remember it is hard wired in their head that the greatest thing a person can do in their free time is to hike/walk/bike outdoors.

"Usually, they will see that you are preparing to enjoy your life and they will say 'hey, lets go for a hike in the park,' and most people will say 'hey, thanks but I’ve been working all week and I’m really excited about watching this game,' and then they will respond “don’t be a lump on the couch, you’re wasting your life away, etc…” If you ignore them, they will eventually go away.

"And much like most things with white people – they win both ways. If you decide to go with them, they feel good about getting someone off the couch and 'into the fresh air,' and if you don’t decide to go, they can spend their entire time outdoors saying “boy, this is great, X doesn’t know what he/she is missing!” and running on a mix of self-satisfaction, Odwalla juice and muesli."
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There are more than 800 responses.

Personally, I don't enjoy running like a hamster in a wheel, indoors or out. But since anyone knows that the average American doesn't get nearly enough exercise, I DO go outdoors and walk on as many errands as I can - or walk to some fun DESTINATION - and I don't think it should be acceptable not to get exercise, if only for the children's sake. They can't be blame for doing what adults do, and they ruin their health as a result.

So, preventing blacks from driving is okay if it's done in the name of cycling diversity?

George Wallace is kicking himself in his grave.

Kevin - that story is so typical of folks on the left - so typical!

The idiot who posted that the new bike guy looked just like the cop didn't even realize that he was saying "Asians all look alike!"

What a clown!