Long way from home...

Once again the success of Britain's cyclists at the London Olympics is leading to commentary relating to how we can make the UK's roads safer for cyclists.

This is all connected to the thrust to increase participation in cycling.
The discourse goes something like: if more people cycle they will be healthier, it will cost the NHS less money in the long run and traffic congestion will be reduced.  But to achieve this, people need to feel safer on the roads.  There needs to be better infrastructure, better road surfacing and a more 'European' attitude toward cyclists and cycling.
Out on the club run on Sunday I was reminded of the attention which a group of people riding can garner.
On two occasions, random people shouted stuff at us as we rode along.  It's not that what they said was particularly offensive or upsetting in any way, but it demonstrates that for some people, even as cycling is riding the crest of a wave, it will always be an incomprehensible pursuit undertaken by an alien people.
Cycling has revelled in its status as Other and it's often marketed to us as such.  While the Olympians are doing wonders for the sport, we need to champion the everyday cyclist too if the unimpressed are to be educated.
Ride safe.