How not to encourage people to ride bikes...

If the masses are ever to be convinced that riding bikes will save their money, lives, and planet, then they need to be convinced that cycling is fun, convenient and safe.

Not suggest that the best way to be safe is to dress in garb resembling a police officer from a distance, like Bike Week has done on their twitter account here. This is just another notch in the arms race! Need to get the message to drivers to look, not make cyclists wear fancy dress!

Or to offer free "survival kits" to newcomers when they complete a cycling introduction course like this scheme in Gateshead. Give stuff away, but call them "goody bags" or similar. Wikipedia defines survival as "the struggle to remain living" Hardly the stuff to get mothers and children riding.

I know these guys mean well and do a lot of good and hard work promoting cycling, but at best these do not help to "normalise" riding a bike, and just perpetuate the myth that it is dangerous.