It’s such a bizarre article as to be funny. I guess that it has raised the number of visits to the Bournemouth Echo website, so they have got what they wanted!
The best comment in the article has to be about children cycling on busy roads. I assume that those parents cycling with children should be in robust vehicles, increasing the traffic and childhood obesity.
I commute on my bike through the National Park and I have to admit not (to my knowledge) to have frightened anyone. Over the years I have reduced (in a very small way) air and noise pollution, helped out at the scene of various car / motorbike crashes and have contacted landowners when the cows are on the road. Sadly, on my 9 mile ride there are no traffic lights to jump.
The New Forest is a great resource but for off road riding it seems largely under used – which I guess is how the National Park would like it. On early morning rides I rarely see other cyclists.
Now when it comes to being frightened on roads my vote goes to the vehicle overtaking in the dark and rain on a blind corner, when you’ve lost any sense of where the pot holed edge of the road should be due to oncoming glare from un-dipped lights – suddenly you feel very fragile.