This is a great time to be a British cyclist. Our track cyclists are the best in the world, taking an unprecedented nine gold medals at the recent World Championships. Last year, the English episode of the Tour de France was one of the few high points of an otherwise depressing spectacle. From being a fringe activity, cycling is now firmly positioned in the mainstream.

Cycling is also hailed as the answer to problems as diverse as the obesity crisis, rising stress levels at work and climate change. The main candidates for mayor of London are queueing up to prove their cycling credentials. Ken Livingstone, Boris Johnson, Brian Padddick and Sian Berry all want to increase the number of cyclists on London's roads, and Berry and Johnson both cycle regularly. They all endorse the London Cycling Campaign's manifesto and are keen to publicise the fact that they have promised to spend money on improving the lot of cyclists in the capital. At the top of their shopping lists is a series of improvements to the London Cycling Network, which no doubt means that there will be more white and green paint on London's roads in the very near future. But will this make the roads safer for cyclists? I am not convinced.

I rode up and down Clerkenwell Road in central London thousands of times as a bicycle messenger, and it now forms part of my commute. Clerkenwell Road is narrow and congested and a bicycle lane has recently been painted on the eastbound carriageway. My habit, born of a belief that passing down the left-hand side of stationary traffic is less safe than passing on the right, is to move out to the centre of the road when overtaking. Drivers are more likely to look in their righthand mirrors than their left when manoeuvring, and drivers of oncoming cars can see you clearly.

I was proceeding in this manner, at a decent clip, when the motorcyclist behind lost patience, and squeezed past me on the right. He immediately braked and pulled in ahead of me, blocking my path. Despite my anticipating this and braking hard, his disc brakes slowed him quicker than my cantilevers stopped me, and I rebounded off his luggage carrier. Having slowed almost to a stop and been pushed left across the road, my handlebar was then struck by a following taxi.

Despite this alarming ricochet, I remained upright and unhurt. The cabbie said to me, "You should stay out of the way on the left, it's safer there," pointing to the new bicycle lane. I remain sceptical. The overwhelming majority of cycle fatalities occur when the cyclist encounters a vehicle turning left - when the cyclist is on the inside - so I prefer to avoid the gutter. The traffic on Clerkenwell Road has been forced over to the right by the new lane, and there is now even less room between the traffic and the centre line, which is why I got squeezed out.

Cycle lanes are provided to make potential cyclists feel that cycling is safe, and thus encourage more people to cycle: the number one reason given in surveys for not cycling is danger. But are cyclists are safer in lanes? Not according to the evidence.

A 2005 report by the Warrington Cycle Campaign, The Effect of Cycle Lanes on Cyclists' Road Space, concludes that "the effect ... is to reduce the amount of road space available to cyclists and therefore makes conditions significantly worse for cyclists". In 1997, when the London Cycle Network was first considered, Jeremy F Parker wrote: "The idea of a London Cycling Network forgets that there is one already. The entire London street network is the London Cycling Network, supplemented by various other stuff, such as canal towpaths. The idea that we need a duplicate street network, just for bicycles, is ludicrous."

I fear that the push for cycle lanes will result in cyclists being pushed off the road altogether. Those of you who might dismiss such a view as paranoia brought on by galloping monoxide poisoning would do well to remember the words of Edmund King, of the Automobile Association: "I think separating out cyclists [from other traffic] can only be good for everyone." In other words, get off the road - you know it makes sense. If one of the main obstacles to getting more bums on bikes is lack of confidence, then surely it would be better to spend the money on training so that potential cyclists will know how to handle their bikes and to recognise and negotiate hazards. This will instil confidence. And a confident cyclist is a safe cyclist.

· "Buffalo" Bill Chidley is editor of movingtargetzine.com, a messenger website.