For all the talk of a 'cycling revolution', commuter cycling has remained static at 2.8% across England and Wales over the past decade. Outside certain pockets - inner London has seen an 144% percent rise - cycling is very much a marginal form of transport.

We asked our readers what's putting them off from cycling to work, and we received a deluge of responses. Certain themes emerged, and we have compiled the top ten. You can add your own in the comments thread below.

1) Bad driving

Cars queueing at a junction. Photograph: pedrogers_peter

Roads were not built for cars. But they certainly dominate them now, and our readers cited dangerous driving as the most likely reason to put them off cycling.

My commute comprises roads with parked cars lining the sides, drivers passing way too close and shouting abuse when I take up the middle, and generally driving 40+ miles per hour in 30 mph zones.

anneoeyed

I wear high viz and bright lights and ride conservatively yet "so what part of a big fat old bloke in high viz lit up like a Christmas tree didn't you see?" is my most common question to road uses who casually try to kill me.

ID903166

2) Dangerously designed roads

A busy road in the centre of York. Photograph: Andy D'Agorne

Roads may not have been built for cars, but they've certainly been designed for them since.



I do cycle to work occasionally but what stops me doing it more often is having to cycle on a transport network designed solely for cars: a network that has for decades so effectively "designed out" cycling that rates of cycling could hardly be any lower if was made illegal.

stuckinfirstgear

3) Substandard infrastructure

This Sheffield cycle path is "particularly hazardous in the dark." Photograph: Tim Mullett

Last year, we asked Guardian readers to send in substandard cycle infrastructure they'd spotted across the country. What emerged was piecemeal, inconsistent, and sometimes dangerous.

The most direct route from my home to work involves on-street riding with traffic squeezing past you at 40mph, and once you get to the centre having to go the long way round and cross the tram tracks multiple times due to the one way system. On the odd bit of contra-flow cycle lane you have to pray that the buses coming the other way won't cross into it.

kevjs1982

I'd love it if there were more cycle paths. By providing cycle paths, it would reduce pressure on inexperienced cyclists to share the road with cars, motorcycles, buses and lorries. They have a safer alternative, which might be all it takes to convince more people to get on their bike.

weasel0bear



4) Perception of danger

Is cycling dangerous? Cycle paths that compels you to cycle close to car doors doesn't help. Photograph: Andy D'Agorne

What's more dangerous, sitting down or cycling? What's clear is that the fear of having an accident - an understandable one given reasons 1, 2 and 3 - is keeping plenty of our readers out of the saddle.

I've always found the idea of cycling to work absolutely terrifying - even before I moved to London. All I ever hear about are people who have been knocked off their bike and injured, or worse. Granted, I have plenty of cyclist friends who have overwhelmingly positive experiences on their bikes, but I can't shake the cycling fear.

elenacresci

5) Lack of facilities

Bike racks run over by a truck in Camden. Photograph: willperrin

Lack of showers at work was an issue that came up again and again, as did frustration at a lack of space for cycle parking at home, at work, and at stations.

How many employers offer changing and shower facilities? Who wants to arrive at work wet or sweaty and have nowhere to change or to store their cycling kit? A cycle shed at one end of the car park isn't enough!

Porthrepta



6) They've had an accident

A broken collar bone. Photograph: ID543038

This fell into two main categories: readers who have had an accident and now fear returning to the roads, and those who, like the gentleman who sent in the x-ray above, are itching to get back as soon as their bones are willing.

I had an accident about three years ago. I was cycling home form work and a black cab pushed me off the road at Kennington. My right elbow got injured, I lost almost a month salary (I was working in hospitality with no sick pay). I also suffered from depression for a few month. I tried to get back cycling but I can't. The first time a driver shouted at me after the accident, I froze and had to walk home. Never again.

alkopop79



Despite coming off my bike I am counting down the days until I can get off the tube and control my own destiny again on the roads. For the record it was my own fault. No other road users involved...

ID543038

7) State of the roads

'I had to carry my bike over this unswept section of NCR 13/136.' Photograph: David Storey

In short: pot-holes, pot-holes, pot-holes.

The cycle routes are covered in a rubbishy grit surface that is unsuitable for cycling and destroys your bike in the rain (which we get the odd drop of now and then) covering it in a concrete layer. The alternative rural roads are basically pot-holed strips with a fast-fading memory of tarmac filigree between the gaps. Our council do not understand cycling or what facilities are needed.

Houfous

8) The roads being no country for old men

Should cyclists be expected to keep up with this kind of traffic? Photograph: robichris

A number of our readers said they'd been put off cycling as they didn't feel able to keep up with the motor traffic any more. This is backed up by the figures. If cycling is to be a transport for all, huge improvements to infrastructure are required.

I am still fit enough to maintain a high enough speed to keep pace with the traffic, which is important because the main risk of interaction with motor vehicles is when there is a significant speed differential between us. However, I am now in late middle age, and I can sense that I am slowing down. My sight and hearing are fine but I think my reactions are not what they were and my ability to achieve the 20mph sprint advocated in the Vehicular Cycling manuals is steadily bleeding away. In a few short years it is just not going to be possible for me to keep up.

pablo2205

9) Not being in Germany or the Netherlands

Bicycle parked up over a canal in Amsterdam. Photograph: Snakeshole

Some of our readers have made the mistake of seeing how it's done in other European countries. One hasn't come back.

We used to live in Cambridge in the UK but it was so crap for cycling we decided to move to The Netherlands. We cycle every day here with no problems at all, ever.

JodeG

I grew up in Germany and cycled a lot as long as I lived there - possibly being spoilt in the process due to the specially marked cycle lanes and traffic lights. 15 years living in London never tempted me to cycle - it just seems so backward and primitive compared to cycling facilities in Germany.

WitNit



10) Rain... and hills

Does the rain put you off? Photograph: tonicwater

I'd argue the feeling of rain on your face and the exhilaration of successfully climbing a steep hill are part of the fun of cycling. Unsurprisingly, this view is not shared by all.

It's been so wet and miserable recently that I just can't be bothered to use the bike. Hopefully now that Spring is here I'll use it more. But the topography and climate of Britain are hostile to cycling and it's hard to imagine them changing for the better.



EnglishroG