@AC
Oh dear - the anti-cyclists with their bigotry, stupidity, belligerence and intolerance are out in force today.
Firstly, regardless of who pays what, no-one in this country has any right to cause damage to anyone or anything else, regardless of provocation. Punch someone in the face and you leave yourself open to a charge of assault. There is no precedence in law that grants someone paying a tax the right to assault another person through having paid money to the govt. That's just basic. You paying your £130 VED doesn't give you any right to cause damage to me or anyone else who happens to irritate you.
Roads are funded from general taxation anyway; the VAT on my current bike was more than 3 year's of my car's VED. Add to that the sort of income tax that most on here are used to paying, the rather large Council Tax bill that drops on my mat every April, the money that we as a family spend and therefore contribute to general taxation via the VAT element and I think you'll find I pay my way, thank you. Who knows - it might add up to more than what you pay.
This 'all cyclists jump red lights / ignore all traffic laws' idea. Cobblers. You notice the ones that do it. You just don't see me & every other cyclist on my route waiting at zebra crossings, waiting at traffic lights, being careful & attentive at Give Ways etc. You see some do it and then tar every single one of us with the same brush in some desperate attempt at justifying your stupid dislike of cyclists. What is it about some cyclist who jumps a red light that so upsets you anyway? In your dreams they deserve to die for jumping a light; if they do you get to gloat and point as you drive past the aftermath. Is it because when they don't die you're left with that intense disappointment that someone you've never met isn't now dead but has gained a few seconds on you, and has failed to prove you right? I don't get it - you hate being held up by a cyclist, but when they scuttle off out of your way, you hate them even more...?
Lycra - the old chestnut.
@RayOx6 - and I quote - "Why do they wear lycra? It may shave off a millisecond of time per mile's distance (which is probably removed by the stupid helmet that is worn) but it looks ugly and SERVES NO PURPOSE. Ban lycra that's what I say."
You just don't get it do you? If I'm riding 21 miles to work I'm going to get sweat on. Jeans & a jumper are heavy, restrictive and soak up all that sweat, which I'm then going to carry about all day. Stenchtastic mate. If it rains it's even worse, riding in heavy soaked clothes. You know what lycra does? It wicks away sweat from the body. It has handy pockets out of the way round th back to put things in, like a phone, cash, swipe card for the office. It's a stupid lurid colour so that other road users have a better chance of spotting us. The shorts have a nice padded insert that allows a lot of us to ride 80, 80, 90, 100 miles without getting a sore backside. The one thing that lycra isn't designed for is to make us more attractive to other drivers. We don't wear it for that purpose, so don't flatter yourself into thinking that we do. It works, it does what it's meant to do. It's the right kit for the job.
If you get so angry about someone doing some form of exercise wearing the right kit for the job even though he or she may not be up Lance Armstrong's standard, I take it that you also prise yourself out of your pit on a Sunday morning to harangue & berate those Sunday league footballers, you know, the fat late-30s blokes nursing a hangover, wearing something that could be Real Madrid's kit but playing football of a standard that wouldn't get them into the England Ladies Reserve team, or perhaps you wander round Asda on a Saturday afternoon picking fights with fat blokes in Chelsea & Man Urenited tops? You don't? Why ever not?
There a some numpties on here. When I drive to work I'm never held up by a cyclist. It's the queue of cars that holds me up. When I cycle, it takes 20 minutes or so longer, but I feel good. That's what you miss out on. Sitting in traffic jams getting fatter & older, instead of getting the buzz that cycling gives. Try it. Don't mock, have a go. You might then realise why so many people willingly take longer to get to work and put more effort into it. Ponder that. Why do we do? Ever heard of fun?