Furthermore, skilled cycling is not the province of only the super-fit. Integrating safely with traffic depends much more upon technique than physical strength, which is a decisive advantage in only a few situations. To progress further a cyclist needs to learn how to negotiate with other drivers, which is the skill of establishing co-operation with others to facilitate progress and to protect you from the dangers which might otherwise be present. There is nothing awesome about negotiation nor, practised properly, is it at all unsafe. In all facets of life the great majority of people respond willingly to a direct appeal for assistance.
Negotiation is such an appeal.
It does require, however, that the cyclist seeks deliberately to integrate with traffic. In this, and other aspects of skilled cycling, the biggest hurdle to overcome is putting aside the prejudice that cyclists and motor vehicles should not mix. The cyclist who learns positioning, negotiation and good judgement is able to share most roads in most places with a minimum of difficulty. Although such skills are seldom taught, they have been the stock trade of experienced cyclists for decades. They confer safety, mobility and freedom for cycling in a way that no form of separate infrastructure has yet succeeded in achieving, and this explains why, in countries where cyclists have the choice, most cyclists of wide experience prefer to do most of their cycling on the road.