I read and reread the article and found links showing the extensive cycling network of paths and routes within Great Britain. I think what I got most out of this article and the subsequent links was that the British Gov along with various cycling groups have developed a more cycling friendly place than we have here. They also more actively promote all kinds of cycling. I don't know from what I have read so far, how the cycling community and the driving community coexist but hopefully Stapfam will chime in.

I know that in all the trips to Europe in the last couple of years I noticed that cycling in the places I visited, was much more mainstream for commuters as well as more serious cyclists of other persuasion.