I love bike lanes most of the time.... yeah, I've seen some pretty crappy designs and yeah, I've seen both cyclists and motorists abuse them.... but that stuff happens on *normal* roads just as well.

Bike lanes are really great for slower cyclists...I ride about 10-12mph in a couple bike lanes all the time. I can and do ride faster and more agressively in traffic, but I *rest* in bike lanes. But what if I was old or fat or just slow and slogged along all the time? Isn't cycling for those folks?

Here the USA, cycling is a sport for thrill seekers, fitness junkies, hammerhead Lance wanna-be's. Go to N. Europe-- everybody rides bikes there and there's tons of bike lanes for all the old grannies, welfare moms, students, business people and all the other non-hammerheads riding along though life. Don't confuse riding a bike with anything in life that's really hard.... like finishing Med school, or getting your a$$ chewed by the boss for crap you can't control, or raising kids, or staying married to the same person for your whole life.

Riding a bike is child's play....why would anybody get so freaked out about a bike lane? You can still pretend you're passing Lance when you're riding in one! (I know this from personal exsperance)

So relax. Watch for parked cars so you don't get doored and ride at reasonable speeds to give yourself time to stop if something comes up. If you are in a bike lane or narrow street, you just have to use common sense.