Even a step beyond teaching them to ride properly, is changing their view of the traffic system and their place in it — wiping the scales of cultural bias from their eyes. Once we let go of the car-culture crap that’s been heaped upon us, we see the roadway and our place within it in an irrevocably different and wonderful way. As a man who sees the outside of a prison in which the door has been open all along but he just didn’t recognize he could leave.

Cyclists who have made this transition have escaped the Matrix. They will not accept marginalization as accommodation.

But the recent attempt by the League to write a defense of facilities paper pointed to a similar weakness on the League’s part, i.e., it was unwilling or unable to clearly articulate that our cycling leadership needs to be a critical advocate of good design, equally vocal critic of bad design, and a strong advocate of universal cycling education adequate to 21st century cycling. I hope some good came out of that issue.

But as you say:

“…The philosophy Keri & I are taking is to teach people to ride properly in as supportive an environment we can manage, and let them figure out for themselves whether or not bike-specific facilities help them or hinder them.”

Exactly.

In addition, this approach helps individual cyclists tell the difference between good facility design and “crap facilities”, to quote Andy Clarke. Seems to me the best outcome is to teach people to ride properly and have them be out there working on cycling issues with a critical and open mind.

The philosophy Keri & I are taking is to teach people to ride properly in as supportive an environment we can manage, and let them figure out for themselves whether or not bike-specific facilities help them or hinder them.

As far as the cycling camps? I recently quipped to Fred Oswald that the battle between the two camps reminds me of the Great Crusades, where I imagined the facilities-centric legions facing off against the VC crowd, Perhaps the LAB Board and John Forester on opposing great stallions. Meanwhile, neither side alone can prevail against the traditional motorized culture we all have to deal with.

Horses don’t do well against tanks, as the Poles discovered. Its about time the protagonists started working together.

http://www.grist.org/article/global-warming-is-a-hoax/

In light of the entire basis for climate change turning out to be a hoax and a fraud, shouldn’t that reason be removed from this statement?

Good bike-handling skills kept you safe from an actual crash. Staying safe on the sidewalk requires a combo of hyper-awareness, slow speed and good bike handling skills.

I’ve been almost-hooked several times on the Cady Way extension side-path, but because I was prepared for the likelihood, they didn’t actually get me.

Maybe Keri and Eddie could, but not me ;^)

The last time I used a sidewalk to try to bypass a long back-up I got right-hooked. I assumed nobody would be turning right down the cross-street I was about to cross. Oops! Only good braking technique kept me from plowing into the side of the car.