R E Foster (Letters, April 4) exhibits the typical arrogance of too many cyclists, assuming that the simple ownership of a bicycle bestows the unlimited right to ride it.

He or she states that "the choice is between a £30 fine for riding on the pavement, or chancing maiming or death on the highway".

Quite apart from the fact that the chances of receiving any kind of penalty nowadays are so remote they can almost be ignored. I would point out a third choice - the option to dismount and push the wretched machine until a safe and legal place to resume riding is reached.

Cycling on pavements (and this includes the narrower strips of seafront esplanade) ruins the quality of life of the people for whom they were designed - pedestrians.

It is not only actual collisions which contribute to this effect but also the sense of always having to be on one's guard as cyclists speed along - sometimes two or three abreast and often passing within inches of those quite legitimately trying to walk in peace. The freedom to amble in safety in a relaxed manner has become a thing of the past thanks to the selfishness and laziness of these inconsiderate oafs.

-Steven Skull, Hove