Don’t be fooled by common myths about cycling – use these explanations to help spread the truth!
- Our roads are too narrow
- It’s too hilly here
- Shopkeepers rely on people driving
- Shops won’t get deliveries
- We’re not Dutch or Danish
- Cycling isn’t safe
- People with physical disabilities can’t cycle
- Elderly people can't cycle
- Liability laws will make people drive safely
- Everyone needs to share the road
- We need more cycle training, not cycling infrastructure
- The weather isn’t right
- People should wear helmets when cycling
- Cycling infrastructure slows down cycling
- Cycling causes danger to people walking
- It’s too expensive to provide for cycling
- People don't use cycling facilities that already exist
- Higher standards of driving would make cycling safe
- People break the rules when cycling
- Cycling causes congestion
- Cycling infrastructure is unsafe
- We need more electric cars
- We’ll be stuck on terrible cycle paths
- People should cycle at the side of the road, not in the middle
- People who cycle don't pay for the roads
- Bus lanes provide good conditions for cycling
- People should wear hi-viz when cycling
- Cycling makes you sweaty
- You need lots of special stuff to cycle
- People won’t or can't cycle very far
- Cycling is not practical in big cities
- Cycling should require a licence and registration
- Nobody would choose to cycle if they could drive instead
- Cycling means breathing in more polluted air
- Collective responsibility, collective guilt
- Cycling should require mandatory insurance
- Cycling infrastructure causes pollution
- Cycling isn't practical for shopping or for carrying loads
- Cycling with children isn't practical
Fallacies collated by popular topic…
- Cyclists should pass a test to ride on the road
- Cycle lanes are always empty, and they have caused the roads beside them to become congested
- Cycling infrastructure hinders emergency vehicles
- Roads were built for cars, not cycles
- The only people who cycle are middle-class white men (MAMILs)
- Women don't cycle because it messes up their hair
Are we missing a fallacy or two? Let us know!