An interesting thread.
Yes, 'back in the day' off road cycling came as a bit of a surprise to most of the Great British Public, and although the Rough Stuff Fellowship had been 'Laning' for years previously, the arrival of the Mountainbike introduced a greater percentage of cyclists to the countryside. Generally when we were riding off road in the 80s the folk we met off road were aghast and genuinely interested that anyone would want to ride a bike where only walkers and horses had previously trod, and of course 'trail damage' was not on the menu. Damage caused by hoof and footfall seemingly being ignored at the time.
But of course familiarity breeds contempt and eventually the popularity of off road riding along with altercations with other ROW users has raised the problems we are now facing.
It is true that the stigma attached to the cyclist is one born of the modern age and 'keeping up with the Jones's attitude. Whereas in the 30s through to the 50s the bike and motorcycle were the kings of personal transport in conjunction with a wide ranging railway network, once the car became affordable and the road network improved[together with the loss of the local rail links] anyone still riding a bicycle was considered either poor or something of a freak. This view is obviously reflected in the almost total lack of any form of cycling infrastructure in Britain today, even with the fact that cycling is more fashionable now than it has ever been.
Mrs JBD and I have been to The Netherlands in September for the last 2 years running to visit the area around Arnhem, and it is interesting to see how different it is to Britain. We spent the time walking and riding around the area and in fact did'nt start the car again from our arrival until the day of our departure. The cycle routes are just incredible and run alongside all of the roads and footpaths everywhere , from the city itself and out into the countryside and surrounding towns. In fact we found it hard to find anywhere that you could'nt actually ride a bike[maybe the main train line eh?!]. The infrastructure appears to be set up so everyone gets a fair share of the pie; cyclists, pedestrians and motorists alike. I don't know if this is the same throughout Holland, and we probably viewed it all with rose tinted specs, but it all just seemed so much more relaxed and the people all more tolerant of the other users. It appears that everyone 'rides a bike' regardless of wether they are motorists or pedestrians, and the cycle has kept its important place in the whole scheme of things. It would be interesting to know from our Dutch colleagues on here how it really is.
Watch out for the 'Twist and go' though