Here are two versions of the same story. The way the authorities tell it, London's "cycle revolution" is set to intensify thanks to the brilliant innovations of its mayor, Boris Johnson. May's completion of two of his promised dozen "cycle superhighways" linking the capital's suburbs with its core will be followed by the summer launch of his central London bike hire scheme. Mindful that apprehension deters many potential converts to pedal-power, he has just produced a cycle safety plan that firmly asserts that "Cycling levels in London have increased sharply in recent years while the rate of casualties has declined," and that Johnson wants these parallel trends maintained.

But some of London's two-wheel travellers relate the tale differently. One has made a video of riding a stretch of one of the superhighways-in-progress and isn't impressed. It seems to amount to a long, narrow strip of Smurf-blue where there were previously shorter narrow strips of green. I posted the clip here and high-grade comments ensued. All were critical, not least because the lanes aren't wider or more protected against incursions by motor vehicles. "I've yet to hear a single experienced cyclist say anything good about the 'superhighways" wrote JimG, who linked to this critique of Transport for London's plans. Its author, Dave Hembrow, was born in the UK but lives in the Netherlands. He says they do city cycling much better there.

And then there are the deaths. There were 13 in London last year and 15 in 2008. One took place near Guy's hospital on Tuesday, coinciding with the cycle safety plan's appearance. Another happened in Hackney the following day. Both followed collisions with tipper trucks. Lethal contact with large commercial vehicles is cyclists' greatest safety fear, one Boris Johnson surely shares given his "near-death experience" in Limehouse. The safety plan points out that a "significant growth" in the number of cycle journeys between 2003 and 2008 was accompanied by a relatively small increase in the number of cycling casualties of all kinds, but also acknowledges that collisions involving cyclists are "still one of the most serious challenges to road safety in the capital". Recorded injuries ranging from fatal to slight totalled 3,409 last year.

Anxiety about safety is a major obstacle to maximising cycling in London. Around half a million journeys are made on a bike each day, double the number in 2000. Yet this is a fraction of the number made by car, and Boris has argued that many of those could be cycle ones instead: a daily 2.4 million in the 12 Outer London boroughs alone – around half. His safety plan lists training courses, better information and education, improved vehicle technology and stronger action against irresponsible road-users as aspirations. His goal is for the present number of cycling journeys to have quadrupled by 2026. He's obviously working on it, not least by setting a conspicuous example. The London Cycling Campaign seems broadly behind him. But should he be doing more?

As a bus addict I'm unlikely to ever switch to two wheels in a big way, but until London's roads feel far less hostile to cyclists I remain reluctant to even sample joining their ranks. When commenters at my blog – enjoy their insights here and here – advocate doubling the width of cycle lanes, bold adjustments to road rules, markings and architecture or doing far more to highlight safe routes, it strikes a chord. I start imagining a future in which cars and trucks are minority road transport modes and buses and bicycles dominate. To reach it, though, would require the political will and skill to persuade voters to support bolder measures. The present mayor, mindful that motorists regard him as their friend, seems prepared to go only so far. Until a successor goes much further, the term "cycle revolution" will sound more like hype than reality to me.