Sigh. I somehow feel like I want to clarify my position on vehicular cycling again. Because I see some folks misunderstand my POV.

As a tactic, I regularly employ VC techniques. When infrastructure sucks (which is often) I get out of the margins and assert myself in the road. So as an approach to riding in many situations, I have no issue with vehicular cycling.

As a philosophy or policy vehicular cycling is a toxic stain on bike culture. Rather than a coping mechanism for imperfect roads it becomes a philosophy to keep them in a state where VC skills seem optimal. It's inherently elitist, saying roads should be configured for experts.

I don't personally think it's hard to spot where the line is, where vehicular cyclists cross from friend to foe. It's where someone either gets to the point where they either A) start insisting that everyone has to ride like they do; and B) start fighting infrastructure projects.

I definitely didn't know John Forester well, but I know his ideas arose at a time when cities might actually have kicked us off the road. And that for him and other avid riders, his ideas made total sense at the time. It's weird to have to say it out loud, but times have changed.

I'm NOT advocating everyone ride in the door zone. I'm saying more folks will ride & fewer folks will die if we solve the problem with protected bike lanes. And as someone who spent decades riding fast on a road bike, I want to carve out safe spaces for those w/less experience.