The Great Big Bike Blog Roundup they Couldn't Ban

Not, of course, that they've tried - but there does seem to have been an odd trend this week of banning cycling: from a housing association in Dagenham banning cycling (and fun) to a Welsh school which was either failing to see the woods for the trees - or, more likely, more concerned about increasing staff parking than health and safety. In Edinburgh, Lothian Buses (normally the good guys) seem to be lobbying for cyclists to be removed from Leith Walk while in Oxford a narrow path that was bringing cyclists and pedestrians into conflict is fixed with a cyclists dismount sign rather than, say, a wider path. The prize must go to the San Francisco Police, though for attempting to ticket a cyclist for cycling while disqualified...

All of which suggests we still lack political will. As Peter Walker debates cycling policy with Norman Baker, Cycalogical discovers the real reason Sir Chris Hoy was turned down as a cycling champion - and the Freight Transport Association reveals it's been going to meetings for the DfT in Europe. Kennington People on Bikes ask how, if we're not planning for cycling it's ever supposed to happen, while European cities are urged to make better connections between their transport and health policies - which is unlikely to happen when Bert is in charge. Still, although even 20mph speed limits are turning toxic in Brighton, there are a few signs of hope - Wheels for Wellbeing get to share their perspective with Andrew Gilligan and the Liberal Democrats adopt a strong policy on cycling at their conference. Elsewhere in the UK, Sustrans challenges both sides of the Scottish independence debate to take sustainable transport seriously, and in Wales there is some political will although Geoff Rone would be more impressed if the person in charge of transport actually showed up at the cycling conference.

Further afield, with Sydney's mayor calling for an end to the anti-bike hysteria, Brooklyn Spoke wonders if New York's new mayor will be as brave. In Milwaukee the motorbike lobby blocks a vulnerable road user law - while it's the 'bike lobby' whose votes mayoral candidates in Boston are competing for - while one US county commissioner massively improves his designated parking spot.

Here in the UK, perhaps what we need is to unite around a simple message - certainly we need some vision and collaboration, and you can pledge your support for Space 4 Cycling. We need to build bridges between the sports riders and the transport riders (although in Wales maybe it's more about putting rugby player on bikes) - and we also have to get everyone to understand properly what the Dutch are doing. Campaigns like Skirtbike and bikes for life are spreading their inspiration internationally while in London, community cycle training and bike kitchens make their impact more locally - while in Portland, a bike commute challenge all gets a bit competitive.

One thing campaigners can do is to use the economic argument to beat the bike backlash - perhaps local bike business forums are the way to go. At least in Portland the city recognises that investing in cycling will boost the economy - in so many ways (and yes, you can get your shopping home again by bike). Here in the UK, the 'magic tenner' promotes shopping locally while Bristol Cars notes it's not a lack of parking that kills local shopping - although that hasn't stopped one Californian city from ripping out bike parking to make it easier for cars to park. Bike Biz notes how bike marketing is everywhere - literally, in Manchester. Let's hope David Cameron might start to get the importance of bikes after cutting the ribbon on a new bike shop, while the Guardian celebrates an old stalwart (and if either needs tips on marketing to women they're here)

Another innovative campaign is America's Park(ing) Day which invites people to reimagine their cities at least temporarily, mostly with temporary parklets although this year there was one temporary protected bike lane and even a permanent parklet opened to coincide. Will the cities of the future be cycle cities? (or perhaps designed around women?) Not quite at the rate we're going - the Ranty Highwayman is doing his best but a dangerous cycle facility in Sheffield is removed rather than fixed while Lisburn should probably just save everyone's time and put up a 'cyclists not welcome' sign at the entrance. In Coventry, there are 'cycle-buncles' everywhere, but at least in Plymouth they're being replaced by bollards while in Dumfries the bollards are getting a makeover - and in Leeds, designs for a cycle superhighway are actually improving as plans develop. In Ireland, Dublin's cycle network plan includes a grading of the existing (mostly low quality) routes - and hopefully plans to upgrade them, while the Irish government is to review plans for 'fake greenway' cycle routes right next to busy trunk roads. Transport helps make Portland an energy-efficient city - while People for Bikes produces a field guide to North American bike lanes as types proliferate.

Which may have something to do with bike commuting being up by 9% in the US in 2012 with women continuing to close the gap - although in Washington DC the increase comes mostly at the expense of public transport - despite being one of the trailblazers for cycling in the US. Portland can't rest on its laurels - and neither, when it comes to children cycling to school can the Dutch. Seattle, which has turned around its own decline looks at redesigning schools around biking and walking while the Calgary Herald asks what makes kids cycle to some schools but not others with ostensibly similar charactersitics. As Dublin calculates that its cycling network upgrade will carry more people than the trams (for a fraction of the cost), Seattle finds that an official opening celebration of a greenway ups usage dramatically - while in Auckland walkers and cyclists can't wait. 100 days in, the architects of New York's bike share scheme take stock (but have they considered the sartorial impact?). And with the Urbanist asking what's really keeping the younger generations away from driving. Bristol Traffic looks for the evidence (and equations) behind road rage assertions.

Refreshingly, Portland police have celebrated the back to school season by actually enforcing traffic regulations at least around schools - and even the IAM wants to see stiffer penalties for texting motorists - while here a cyclist battles a fine for 'running' a red light after a driver had blocked an ASL, and a teenager is fined for speeding on a bike in Richmond park, although some cyclists are surprisingly law-abiding even where the law is clearly an ass. Cycle Sheffield talk to their local Police and Crime Commisioner - perhaps Cambridge cycling campaign should do the same to theirs. And with a robber shamed into returning a stolen bike, a new crowd-funded appeal sets out to create one universal registry to combat bike theft.

With another very experienced cyclist fighting for his life after being hit by a car, a mother stages a sit-down protest at the spot where her daughter was killed by a texting lorry driver - at least brolly wielding cyclists are mostly a nuisance rather than a danger, except maybe to themselves. Dead Dog Blog argues that if we teach road safety only to children then it's no wonder we're infantalised on the roads. Oh, and talking of road safety, can someone tell the Niceway Code - drivers don't pay any more attention to horses either...

In fact, with the Niceway Code saying goodbye at last, Dave Warnock asks what it will take for the CTC and Sustrans to win back their members' respect. The Road Danger Reduction Forum unpicks the latest advice to cyclists from the Road Haulage Association. A row about cyclists in Surrey ticks all the cliche boxes (apart perhaps from the inclusion of some driverless cars) while the Cambridge News continues its trolling ways and the Telegraph talks to the man behind the most depressing twitter feed ever. With academics exploring the language of promoting cycling (rather than 'cyclsits') the Wisconsin Bike Federation wonders if you can change the informal rules of the road just by the way you drive.

Of course that would involve actually driving, which might be a bit hard if you've given up your car for the bike of your dreams (where do I sign up for that scheme?). And it would mean giving up the joy of commuting by bike - from seeing live bunnies instead of flattened ones, being amused by two legends in their own lunchtime, and simply learning to love the annoyances you encounter on the way - no wonder when it comes to looking for a place to live, 'a short commute' is just not a priority for London's cyclists.

As the Cambridge Cycling Campaign responds to Cambridge's transport strategy, a video guide shows how far the city has to come, while Glasgow seems intent on reverting back into the past. In Leicester, cycle tracks and widened pavements provide handy places to park, not to mention store some pallets. Croyden misses an opportunity to create Space for Cycling while Hounslow by Bike wonders when Boris's cycling vision will come to Chiswick - although a road closure in Tooting could at least offer a trial of what the impact might be of filtered permeability. And in Bristol, the latest bike forum does suggest some progress is being made although the picture is mixed...

With the Dutch continuing to show off with sunken and now interactive bike paths, Delaware may be about to get a bike highway between two of its cities (and its first bike share scheme) while plans for the Italian Po Bike path gather support. Paris is home to some crazy infrastructure but amazingly polite drivers while in Japan, nobody actually knows the rules. In New Zealand, even the drivers would like to see more protected cycle tracks although in Auckland progress seems stuck at just 10km a year - they do these things faster in Detroit. With Brussels testing a shared bike and pedestrian traffic light, in Sacramento they'd like a green wave of their own. Calgary's floods are still making their effects felt while Melbourne's bike hire scheme is cheap, convenient but a little lonely - but at least they're not advertising soft drinks. And as Chicago looks to tackle the weak links in its network downtown, how about a crowdsourced cycle path to the sea - from 1890?

And finally, we give the last word to an old man in Cardiff: what's needed is more of THEM on things like THESE. We couldn't have put it better ourselves. We'll be back, with more pearls of wisdom, next week.