What "backlash" are you talking about? It's true that there are some journalists,eg Dorothy Rabinowitz of the WSJ and someone at the WashingtonTimes, who rail against cycling; and there are a few others, including one that I won't mention, otherwise this thread will be sent to Politics and Religion, as was I thread I started on the A&S forum.

People are now realizing that you can't have a city if the only transportation available is the private car; and many young people, who live and work in the city, find car ownership is more trouble than it's worth, choose to go car free.