John Forester (cyclist)

[3] He later attended the University of California at Berkeley,[3] starting as a physics major, but graduating with a bachelor's degree in English in August, 1951.

The unexpectedly large estate, its contents, and its disposition proved to Forester that his father, whom he had loved and admired, had consistently lied to him for years, and strongly suggested evidence of another secret life.

[8] His first published article—the first of his many publications on alternatives to bikeways over the following four decades—appeared in the February 1973 issue of Bike World, a regional Northern California bimonthly magazine.

[9] In 1972, the City of Palo Alto initiated the development of a bicycle network by implementing various types of bike lanes and routes.

He recounted this experience as "the one valid test of a sidepath system," stating that sidepath-style bikeways were "about 1,000 times more dangerous than riding on the same roads."

Forester utilized this experience and his engineering background to oppose bikeways, contending that sidewalks, sidepaths, and protected bike lanes were hazardous and would increase liability for designers and cities in the event of a crash.

A facility that is designed only for childlike and incompetent cyclists encourages the 'toy bicycle' attitude and discourages cycling transportation.

Forester gained significant recognition for his staunch opposition to protected bicycle infrastructure as documented in the book Pedaling Revolution.

The aggressive manner in which he presented his arguments was observed to create unease among both supporters and opponents, who were taken aback by the forcefulness of his attacks on his adversaries.

He suggested that psychological analysis was needed to understand the beliefs associated with this hypothesis, as a purely traffic engineering perspective could not fully account for its effects.

Forester believed that this approach, which he described as a consequence of protected bikeways, had a high potential for conflicts with motor traffic at every turn.

That October, Forester published an article in Bike World denouncing both the California Department of Transportation and the CPSC.

[18] His Effective Cycling educational program, developed after his research which claimed that integrating motorists and educated cyclists reduced accidents more than creating separate bicycle lanes, was implemented by the League of American Bicyclists (formerly, the League of American Wheelmen) until Forester withdrew his permission for that organization to use the name.