Originally Posted by
John Forester
Originally Posted by
Bekologist 
I've been highway riding since the 1970's and bike touring since the early eighties.
Are we going to run that foolishness? OK. I started cycling in London traffic in 1937 and did my first independent touring in 1940.
Just for grins, what was the typical speed of traffic back in the day? Not what speed could cars go if pushed hard, but what was the typical speed of traffic in London at the time?
Shortly after I started cycling in earnest, the national speed law went into effect at 55MPH... while motorists may not have strictly adhered to that 55, surface road speeds were often much lower.