I MAY look like accident-prone Frank Spencer on the occasions when I get on my bike but that doesn’t mean I want to end up prone in the road.

There are, of course, a number of biscuit-for-brains buffoons on bikes who do other cyclists no favours by riding without lights or whizzing past pedestrians. But cycling’s a fine way of getting around. It’s cheap, green, good exercise and, despite the odd pedalling hobnob-head, you’re far less likely to be badly injured by a bike than a car.

To be honest, I drive far, far more than I cycle but occasionally do like to re-introduce my rump to the saddle and tootle round town.

And when I do I’m humbly grateful for cycle lanes that at least remind motorists that they are passing someone vulnerably balancing on two wheels and a bit of metal.

But what about that new cycle lane on Poole’s Penn Hill Avenue that’s located a few feet out from the kerb to allow cars to park inside it? Is it a danger to cyclists or a boon?

Could there be mileage in having the cars parked on the outside of a cycle lane that would be next to the kerb?

It’s tempting, if only to slow speeding traffic but a line of parked cars in the middle of the road would cause other serious accidents. And you could still flatten an innocent cyclist by suddenly opening your passenger door.

Wherever the lines are drawn, the problem for cyclists aren’t cars but the thoughtless comedians too often inside them.

Believe me, riding a bike in traffic can be hard. And the hardest thing by a mile is the road when you’re knocked off one.