My issue is that in the UK we dont have cycle training thats compulsory.
That's the biggest problem, a notion that everyone on the road has to go through theoretical and practical training and examination (in most cases multiple times), but anyone, and I mean anyone, with unicycle, bicycle, tricycle can just hop on and join, without as much as checking if they're not colour blind, heavily myopic or even know left from right, is just completely crazy.
A lot of "hate" also comes from the fact that most cyclists on main roads seem to be of "set in stone" manic high performance type. It's never just a guy in jeans or suit on brompton folder, or a French girl in dress on a bicycle with basket and ribbons. No. It's always spandex, full space age uniform, feet paws permanently strapped to pedals, Bono goggles wearing Lance Armstrong wannabie with magnesium alloy bike on skinny race track slicks. And now apparently also strapped to video gear. And he usually has some sort of score to prove, pace to maintain, time to beat at all cost. He won't slow down, he won't be unslung from pedal clips, he won't stop for red lights, vans or pedestrians. By statistics alone, it's almost like all the car drivers on London Roads were supposed to be fully uniformed Stigs with helmets on, visors down, in Ariel Atoms, on a time lapse around town. And let's face it - drivers should presume any grown man who would wear something like this in public just to get to their work:
does probably not know what compromise is and is ready for anything...
