WHY is it so hard to cycle across town – answer because the safety of pedestrians takes precedent over lazy cyclists.

James Styring states in ‘On yer bike’ (OxfordMail, November 3): “There is a popular notion that bikes are a menace to pedestrians.”. It’s not a popular notion it's a fact.

My wife and I are not as nimble on the feet as we once were and do not have eyes in the back of our heads.

But we do like to walk from Headington to town once a week and do a little shopping.

We meet manic cyclists on every footpath on the way down. I wonder why the council spent all that money on cycle tracks that the majority of cyclists never seem to use.

Perhaps if you got off your bike and took up walking you might see things from the pedestrians point of view.

Again Mr Styring states “there is no precedent of cyclists killing or seriously injuring pedestrians in Oxfordshire.”

So that makes it all right. A cyclist can knock down or run into a pedestrian with a clear conscience knowing that they will not kill them as their cycle is not a lethal weapon like a car.

What about the mental angst of being old and knocked over? Perhaps the person concerned will never venture out on the town again. Ah well, there will be less pedestrians to dodge.

He mentions alternative routes when crossing town from east to west without negotiating Queen Street.

Would it be longer or quicker to cycle up the High, dismount and push your bike along Queen Street then remount at the other end and continue your journey. Unless you are a speed merchant I suspect that it would be quicker.

Richard Self, Headington, via email