The problem here is with the word 'incompetent'. It's an unfortunate 'catch-all' word that allows some folks to define everyone else as incompetent, and also allows anti-VCers to claim that all VCers include everyone but themselves as incompetent. I think we need to come up with a better word, or a more accurate description of what it means to be an incompetent cyclist. After all, I've been defined by my local DOT official as one of the "Strong and Fearless", yet I can't even perform a quick turn to save my life. I know the LAB's Smart Cycling course like I know the back of my hand, yet I doubt I've ever cycled faster than 30mph. I've cycled 10,000 miles through 15 countries, yet the Tour de France leaves me cold. So am I elite or incompetent?

The word is surely meaningless, when it can only create division. A better word would surely be 'unsafe'. All of the behaviours that we decry are surely unsafe. That is what incompetent cycling is, at it's root - and that is, I think, a far better way to approach this issue.