The Great Big Morning After the Olympics Before Bike Blog Roundup

Ah, with the Olympics over and the Paralympics not yet begun, the giddy mood that temporarily overcame us all seems to have thoroughly dissipated leaving nothing but a hangover and a chance to go cycling with our heroes (or anti-heroes, if you're a councillor in Sussex). The attempt to leverage some legacy continues with an ambitious motion in Edinburgh council (a place where even a man who cycles on railings for a living is calling for more bike lanes), prompting Pedal on Parliament to ask if you're ready to pedal on postbox.

But mostly the mood has been fractious, with the statistics flying - never a good sign. The attempt to unpick last week's 'dangerous' 20 mph story continues from Full Fact and the CTC while TLATET wonders if Open Street Map might actually have some data on the question, thereby spoiling the fun. The War on the Motorist suggests a proper randomised trial while Auto Express wades in with the made up stats game - as does the Alternative Department for Transport.

Of course the only thing more depressing than bandying stats around is the helmet debate so naturally that one rumbled on, with Chester Cycling examining the case for helmet laws and responding to yet another call for compulsory helmets. I'd like to think that this was the last word on the matter, but I've a feeling we'll be back here next week.

Even the real stats aren't much help, with casualties continuing to rise - along with bike thefts - and something seriously awry in Kent - and in Bromley a dooring is considered just an accident. The Huffington Post looks to London and suggests New York's bike share will result in carnage (despite the fact that you're actually safer on a Boris Bike. Magnatom wonders if he's being too negative or just realistic - and tackles the health and safety question (after all, driving to work isn't that great for you either). Perhaps we need to learn to conquer fear, whatever it is we fear - or perhaps we need to recognise it's not a phobia if most of the population fear it. Are we in danger of forgetting that cycling is also fun? All the more reason for cycling infrastructure that allows kids to be kids, and adults to get dressed. Gosh, perhaps the two Johns are right, and Dutch infrastructure does encourage dangerous behaviour? Far better just to make people sign a contract and agree they will behave.

Cycalogical wonders why we're so good at olympic cycling and so rubbish at the ordinary kind. Perhaps it's because we're not thinking strategically - like mapping out how cycling habitats are fragmented. Luv2Cycle would recognise that picture - although Aberdeen Cars (caution, contains sarcasm) is delighted to see cyclists brought into conflict with pedestrians. Joe Dunckley pulls out some telling quotes from the latest research to tell us what we already know, people cycle more and keep cycling where there are nice places to do it - yet we continue to waste opportunities to provide such things and instead think up pie in the sky schemes that have the sole advantage (to politicians) of not taking space from cars. Portsmouth finally signs up to the Times Campaign (well, sort of) and Freewheeler provides a handy translation for Richmond's cycling strategy while Glasgow's approach gets skewered on War against the Motorist. Kats has a look at innovative parking strategies in Newcastle - while Cycle Stuff hands out the awards for signage. But it wasn't all gibes and sarcasm in bike blog land - the Cottenham Cyclist suggests a cheap way to fix a local traffic problem.

It's all about the economics really, with the case for cycling so financially compelling yet apparently ignored. Steinsky looks at who really shops on Leith Walk while As Easy as Riding a Bike shows how cycle tracks and parking can coexist - one day Tesco will be encouraging us all to shop by bike - after all it's money in your pocket. Maybe we'll just have to pool the money we all save and crowd fund the infrastructure we want?

Should we perhaps do as Grid Chicago is doing and look overseas? They aren't making much progress in Dublin either - although there are moves afoot to stop making cycle track use compulsory. Even Moscow is attempting to sort out its traffic problems with cycle lanes while a dangerous road in LA gets a little safer (as does a rain grate, thanks to the power of twitter. Copenhagen looks at making suburban commuting more beautiful while Latin America gears up for the bike (and all is not quite lost in Beijing. Even the Dutch remove bike paths sometimes - when replacing them with something better. Meanwhile both Bikeyface and Pedestrianise London have been busy redesigning things.

But let us not be completely grumpy in this Olympic Hiatus, there is some good news. Women are to be allowed to cycle in North Korea! Pretty soon they'll be having a their own summits and marketing campaigns. Naturally Cycling has joined the Brompton Gang (welcome aboard!) (best not tackle this on it though). And Bike Hour shall be upon us soon...

See you next week