Cyclists, where should they ride?

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Over the last couple of weeks in my local newspaper, there have been letters printed from readers about cyclists in my local town. The first ones I saw was about how younger cyclists were riding on pavements, by younger, I mean school aged children. A few people say that it is irresponsible of parents to let their children ride on pathways in a busy town, as these are meant for pedestrians. Parents however, say that especially for young children, it is much safer to ride on the pavement, as motorists aren’t always considerate of cyclists. My personal view on this is sort of in the middle, I personally live in a village, not actually in my local town, there are a lot less people here, and when I go cycling with my son, if there is a lot of traffic, then I will ask him to ride on the pavement, but he knows to come off the pavement if a pedestrian is on it. However, in a town, there are generally a lot more people about walking around, so I understand them not wanting cyclists on the path. The other letters I have seen of people complaining about cyclists, is to do with them riding on the road instead of using cycle lanes (where applicable). Not all of my local town has cycle path provision, they are few and far between, so even when a cyclist uses the cycle lanes, they still have to leave the lanes to either use the path or road. The complaints over this issue is more directed towards adults than it is children though, and they are more about how unsafe motorists believe it is to have cyclists on the roads alongside cars. In some areas of my local town, the cycle lanes are used by motorists as parking areas, and this is what bothers me most about these letters of complaint, as it is mainly motorists that are complaining about the cyclists riding on the road. If motorists have the audacity to park on the cycle lane, surely they have no right to complain about cyclists not using them? Anyway, to my question for you guys, where should cyclists ride in your opinion?