They're allowed to ride side by side, I'll be honest i think a lot of car drivers need to grow up when it comes to cyclists, in London it strikes of jealousy that they can get through traffic easy, while mr rich and unfit sits in his stationary BMW.
Another is they get held up from doing 40mph briefly on the b road to work because they can't overtake.

As to the original question - they sensible ones don't bother me. The idiots on the other hand do! At the Saints game at Headingley earlier this year I was waiting to cross the road outside the Original Oak and when the traffic stopped for the lights I was nearly mowed down by some beardy-weirdy on a bike who decided the lights didn't apply to him. I'm still regretting that I didn't clothes-line the 2@! As a keen walker I encounter cyclists on mountain bikes churning up the trails as they seem to like riding through muddy puddles and on canal towpaths they can be a danger often going way too fast. I move away from the canal in such cases so they have to skirt the waters edge rather than me. We have a few ultra-keen cyclists at work who spend literally thousands on their bikes and equipment and a couple of them are basically at war with motorists. Every morning there's some tale about a run-in with a motorist which seems utterly stupid to me as there is only going to be one "winner" in a coming together. One of them is still involved in legal proceedings trying to recoup damages to his equipment after being knocked down which left him requiring lengthy physio but the main thing is he was in the right! It is down to attitude but on both sides! The ones listening to music whilst cycling should be made to carry a donor card!

I have but it didn't tell me anything I didn't already know.
I am heartily in favour of better infrastructure for cycling, it could reduce congestion (as in London, where cycling uptake has been huge since the introduction of the congestion charge), reduce emissions and make people fitter and healthier ... all good things.
Not that it's possible everywhere in Britain but we have to start somewhere and, I suggest, cities are the place to begin because most bike journeys are going to be short ones (as with most car journeys).
Painting a cycle lane on an existing road is, to my mind, insufficient, at least a kerb is required to separate the lane from the road to keep motorists from parking on the cycle lane or driving along it.
I'd also like to see, in conjunction with anti-congestion charging, park and ride car parks on major roads into cities, where lockable bike racks/lockers for overnight storage of privately-owned bikes, plus bikes-for-hire, as well as buses into town are available.

On the other hand, the A64 eastbound towards York has had a cycle path, separated from the main road by a generously wide grass verge, ever since it was upgraded to dual carriageway (either just before or shortly post-WWII) and, whilst it might well get used, I have personally never seen a cyclist on it.
Ditto regarding the beautifully-smooth and brand new cycle track alongside the Calderdale Way (aka Elland Bypass) ... not a soul to be seen on it.

At the other end of the scale, Hull, Norwich, Oxford and urban York strike me as places that are already bike-keen.

Sweeping generalisation but in Leeds the rule is " I'm a cyclist why don't you f off the pavement when I'm speeding along them and allow me to cause chaos and go down 1 way streets the wrong way as well as through pedestrian crossings and lights at red."

That just about sums it up.

To be honest all that is needed is a painted lane for the morning (or evening) commute to be a much more pleasant affair, I used to use the cycle lane from Headingley up to Cookridge every night at around 5.30pm, it just a three foot red stripe down the left hand side of the A660, one of the busiest commuter roads into and out of Leeds but the lane provides enough separation from cars as to take away the ever present fear that some distracted idiot is going to pass to close or even hit you from behind and it also takes away any guesswork on your part, "how far out from the kerb can I ride to avoid drain covers and potholes etc".

Kerbs and special traffic control lights would be fantastic but not absolutely necessary, even when the A660 crosses the ring road at Weetwood roundabout (as busy a roundabout that you'll see at 5.30pm) you have a cycle lane at the white line and even if the lane doesn't go across the roundabout it still gives you space to set yourself up to dive into the flow and it prevents you from holding up a car behind you while waiting for a bike speed sort of gap.

Conversely going back down into Leeds on the same road the bike lane is shared with the bus lane which seems to me to be the sort of suicidal planning decision that could only have been made by someone who has never traveled in anything but a council limousine.

Well again, that sort of attitude diminishes when even simple segregation of bikes is applied, there is no excuse for pavement riding when you have a cycle lane and there is every reason then for proper policing.

Like an earlier poster I just don't understand the attitude of some cyclists who take on the job of urban warrior and film their commutes while looking for similar tools in cars to pick a fight with - there are hundreds of them on YouTube - you need to be defensive in heavy traffic not offensive and as in all walks of life if you go looking for a fight you'll always find one, its just that you versus a car is not a fair fight even if you are recording it on a helmet cam.

At least your relatives won't have to try and imagine your last moments in the funeral home.

People rarely cycle side by side, it's a bit of a myth that gets massively overused by cyclist haters. My local PCSO always comes up next to me on his plod pedaller if I'm biking into town as he likes my bike and always wants to chat but that's it.

Help me! I agree with Dally!

May I also add:

5. Cycling on the pavement
6. Hurtling along the canal bank as fast as they can yelling at anglers, boaters and walkers "Get out of the f*@!ing way!"

The canal towpath from Leeds City Centre out to Saltaire is an ongoing project between British Waterways and Sustrans (the national cycle route people - excellent long distance routes), hard to believe in some places but it will eventually be a properly surfaced cycle and walking path.

Its a mistake in my opinion and I've used it as both a cyclist and a walker, and a dog walker who can't let his dog off the lead to wander free because of the risk to cyclists - pedestrians and cyclists don't mix on the same pavement especially when they are both heading in the same direction, people like to walk in groups, side by side and chat as they walk along, ignoring anything coming up quicker behind them, it just doesn't work.

The tow path along the Leeds - Liverpool Canal that passes through the Wigan Flashes has been paved really nicely and is excellent for walking along to view the birdlife on the flashes and is also a nice strech of water to fish. It is blighted by mountain bikers. I have long since given up fishing canals close to urban locations due to inconsiderate cyclists and dog walkers, despite the fact that I have to pay to fish them whereas the mountain bikers don't. I don't mind the boats because they were the reason the canals were built and they also pay for the right to use the water.

As an angler I avoid blocking the towpath with my gear, placing my tackle parallel to the bank. I use a standard rod and reel so don't need to occasionally block the path with a long pole. Next year the Div 2 National Championships are on the Wigan DAA section of the Leeds - Liverpool canal. Can see there being some conflict of interest then as the vast majority of the several hundred anglers taking part will be pole fishing.

I wonder how many of those cyclists have a canal permit? It doesn't cost anything but is still a legal requirement to cycle along a towpath

I've got one, its a useless piece of bureaucracy that I'm not even sure anyone in authority even knows exists, you can download them from the BW web site and fill it in yourself leaving only your name and address behind - and never in a million years will you ever get asked to produce it anywhere, in fact I probably threw mine in the bin so I might run another unnecessary copy off.

On the subject of fishing the canals, I agree with the previous poster, canals+fishing+walking=good, mix in cyclists and its not good and I've approached the problem from both ends, but it will get worse because as I mentioned before, Sustrans are part-managing some of the Leeds/Liverpool towpath now in return for listing as a route, a canal towpath can be an excellent place to cycle (its generally flat) and great to take the kids on their bikes and get the whole family cycling in a traffic free environment but some days its like the walking equivalent of the M1 on the Leeds-Shipley stretch.

A570 Rainford bypass, large dual carriageway with wide cyclepaths seperated from the main carriageway on either side yet the lycra brigade (including Sir Brad himself) are usually found on the main road with the lorries and busses. I just don't get it.

The Sunday Times reports that this government is spending £80M to pay for more cycle lanes to protect cyclists from traffic and encourage more people to cycle.

Good, they should treble it.

How much will climate change and obesity cost us?

Trebling it? Why, because the number 3 has magical powers?

I'd include a section on cyclist etiquette in the written car test, i mean a bigger section than they already have.
I'd make cycle proficieny tests compulsory.
A one off bike registration fee that gets you a plate number that is yours for life, to be retro fitted to the bike to help prevent flaunting of the road rules, and something that helps the police identify riders.

For the latter, are they going to start actually tackling the manifold things that cause much obesity, then? Like sugar in diets – particularly hidden sugars? Like the over-dependence (still encouraged by some doctors) on starchy carbs? The two biggest consumers of breakfast cereals (sugared, salted cardboard, sometimes with extra sugar) are the US and UK – coincidence?

Let me add.

The money made from the proficieny test & the one off fee for bike registration/rider identification could be ploughed back into bike schemes.

Your bike registration number would end up longer than your phone number, including the dialing code - there are more bikes than cars in the country and there are more cyclists than drivers.

We don't need more bureaucracy, just a different approach.

To fish the local canal I have to be a member of my local club who rent the water off BW or buy a day ticket which means I have to shell out £30 pa or £ 3 a session. On top of this I also have to fork out £30 pa for a rod licence. I don't object to paying out because this helps maintain the water quality / fish stocks / banks. While the club bailiffs do the rounds of all the club waters on a regular basis in 30+ yrs of angling I have never been asked fot my rod licence. Apparently only 6 EA bailiffs cover the entire NW.

While I am shelling out £60 pa it's so nice to know that cyclists need get a free permit to cycle along the canal. Do you think I have a cat in hells chance of getting the local old bill to enforce it?

LOL - you want the police to waste their time enforcing something that is free ?

There is an estimate from Sustrans that up to 21 million visits are made to canal towpaths each year by cyclists, can you put a fixed civil penalty on ignoring something that is free, or would the fine be free too ?

I just think it might encourage people to behave a bit more responsibly and help lower the numbers of cyclists using the towpaths as their own private race course.

Maybe a few signs from BW informing cyclists that they need a permit wouldn't go amiss either.

The whole BW permit thing is just a red herring (have you ever caught one of those), something that you can download off the internet for free is pretty useless as a method of encouraging responsible shared use of a facility particularly when in recent years BW have been so keen to team up with Sustrans to ensure maintenance of their towpaths - which are in a shocking state of repair in many places and have obviously not had any maintenance carried out at all for decades (the towpath west of Skipton for instance is virtually impassable even on foot after a light shower and even well used areas just before Shipley are collapsing).

I doubt that BW have enough money to support themselves let alone a few signs to scatter around stating that you have to have a free piece of paper to cycle here.

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Its a good start, not the money, but the encouragement to shift attitudes when planning new roads and new road layouts, speed reduction schemes, road lane marking etc.

Most of the money being allocated to Leeds for the next 12 months is unfortunately already spent, not on improvements but on resurfacing the routes that will be used in the city when Le Tour starts here next year, just in time for spectators to spray paint all over the nice new tarmac