“I’ve seen toddlers on training bikes in the middle of the road”: Police accuse cyclists of treating island “as a big cycle path” – but locals slam speeding drivers; Tadej Pogačar: “I have no secrets”; Lego releases first road bike + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
“I’ve seen toddlers on training bikes in the middle of the road”: Police officer accuses cyclists of treating island “as a big cycle path” and “leaving Highway Code behind them” – as residents raise concerns about speeding drivers “pelting” around corners towards oncoming traffic
On the Isle of Cumbrae, off the west coast of Scotland, locals have raised concerns about motorists speeding away from the ferry terminal and “pelting” around corners towards oncoming traffic, increasing the risk of head-on collisions.
So naturally, the local police have taken the opportunity to admonish the island’s cyclists, including toddlers on balance bikes, who apparently “leave the Highway Code behind them” when they depart the mainland at Largs.
Cumbrae has long been a popular destination for day tripping cyclists, the flat 10-mile road that runs around the island once being described by the local tourist board as “probably Scotland’s busiest cycle lane”.
That particular moniker, however, has resurfaced this week, after local police highlighted concerns regarding the behaviour of cyclists during a community council debate on road safety, the Largs and Millport Weekly News reports.
“We have seen it on a regular basis that unfortunately some locals, but mainly visitors, treat Millport as a big cycle path and they leave the highway code and traffic law behind them at Largs,” a member of Millport Police told Cumbrae Community Council.
“I have even seen wee toddlers on training bikes in the middle of the road on some of these corners. I think visitors forget it is actually a road and treat it like a path.”
The officer’s comments came as residents raised concerns about dangerous driving in the wake of a recent ferry timetable change.
According to locals, motorists leaving the early morning ferry in Millport are “accelerating” away from the terminal and “pelting around the corner” a local house, sometimes into oncoming traffic.
The local authority was also told that drivers attempting to catch the ferry are speeding in the other direction, leading to the possibility of a head-on collision, with calls made to introduce improved warnings or traffic-calming measures near the terminal.
The resident branded the situation “especially dangerous” as drivers are travelling at speed in both directions, claiming that motorists are rushing to get somewhere while anticipating a clear, quiet road after the ferry docks.
Thankfully, the police officer attending the meeting did address the issue of dangerous driving, noting that road traffic offences are up on the island, with ten tickets issued in the past month.
However, he admitted that while he would give the locals’ concerns “attention”, the police are currently more concerned about the standard of driving on Cumbrae in general, with dedicated road traffic officers set to return to the island.
“We are looking for local people and commercial visitors in the morning to set the standards of safe driving to visitors, not speeding. They should be setting the precedent,” he said.
“I have no secrets,” says Tadej Pogačar… two months after his agent insisted “every team has its training secrets”
What’s the secret to Tadej Pogačar’s all-conquering, era-defining success? Well, according to the four-time Tour de France winner, there are no secrets.
“The secret? I have no secrets,” the UAE Team Emirates leader told Swiss TV station RSI following his latest win at the Tour de Romandie.
“I just know that I get more annoyed not when I lose, but when I can’t show my best. If that doesn’t happen very often, it’s because I always push myself to the limit and am driven to give my best. Yes, I’m always quite happy, even if I lose.”
(For anyone struggling to keep track, Pogačar has 11 race days under his belt so far this year. His results sheet looks like this: 1-1-1-2-1-6-1-1-4-1-1, plus the GC and points classification at Romandie. He doesn’t lose that often, so no surprise he’s not annoyed.)
If Pogačar’s claim that there are no secrets to his bewildering success rings a bell, you’re not alone. In March, the Slovenian’s agent Alex Carera told us that the International Testing Agency’s plans to assess riders’ power and training data as an anti-doping measure were a bad idea, insisting that teams, in fact, need to have secrets – and that doping isn’t a big issue in cycling anymore, anyway.
“I heard that they want to take all Training Peaks from all riders. But why do we need to do that? In football, Barcelona can’t say to Real Madrid, ‘today we need to stay three hours on the trainer, tomorrow two hours.’ No,” Carera said.
“Every team has its secrets about training. Otherwise, why do I need to spend money on the technology and after that other people copy it? If you copy, you arrive always second. But if you copy, it is not good for investment.”
“I don’t really pay much attention to it. But of course, when certain things are constantly repeated in press conferences, interviews, and races, then it’s hard not to notice,” he says.
“To be honest, though, I’m not the type to chase something. In fact, I don’t chase anything at all. I just want to live in the moment, enjoy what I have now, and see where my path takes me. And if I break some records, I break them, otherwise it doesn’t matter. I’m not obsessed with it.
“Of course, I’m happy that people say I’m special, but I think it refers exclusively to what I do on the bike. I’m lucky to have legs, lungs, and a heart that allow me to do something special on a bike, yes, but outside of that, I’m a very simple guy. In my daily life, I do normal things like everyone else: I cook dinner and lunch, I clean the apartment, I take care of paperwork, and I go to the supermarket.”
Lotte Kopecky finally lands Vuelta win and takes red jersey in messy sprint (complete with collapsing barrier)
Fourth time’s a charm. Or at least that’s what Lotte Kopecky and SD Worx will be telling themselves tonight, after the Belgian sauntered to what in the end proved an easy first stage win of the 2026 Vuelta in Antas de Ulla.
After two second places and a relegation, Kopecky wasn’t going to let one of the Vuelta’s last sprint opportunities slip through her mitts, bursting clear with 150m to go, aided by Anna van der Breggen’s fastidious rear wheel guarding, a job that netted her second place behind her teammate.
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Despite Kopecky’s serene progress to the line, the finale was another messy affair. After the two surviving breakaway members, Lauretta Hanson and Marta Jaskulska, were finally caught within the last 3km (with around 7km the pair had a lead of around a minute, but that swiftly evaporated on the grippy run-in), a flurry of attacks meant no team was able to control the front of the peloton.
That lack of control and messiness also applied to the route itself. One of the race barriers on the finishing straight collapsed onto the road, just after the final corner, prompting officials to dash onto the course to both move the now potentially catastrophic fencing and direct the bunch (by then at full tilt) onto the other side of the road.
Well, it wouldn’t be the Vuelta without some drama, would it?
Not that Kopecky noticed all the chaos on the finishing straight, as the two-time world champion powered to the win, the bonus seconds at the line proving enough to overhaul Franzi Koch on the GC and take the red jersey. It may have taken four days, but I doubt Kopecky cares too much right now.
“The driver should be driving not filming. Get off your f*****g phone”
The Traka debacle shows no signs of slowing down…
“The sport deserves better”: Traka fall-out continues as gravel racer claims “little care was given to the riders”
After Angus Young and Nino Schurter’s public criticism of this year’s Traka (covered on yesterday’s blog), Slovenian rider Adam Jordan is the latest gravel racer to question the Girona event’s organisation, calling into question whether gravel racing is currently outgrowing the structures currently in place to support it.
“I’m happy that The Traka week is finally over. It took me some time to write something about it, because honestly, I left Girona feeling pretty sad about some of the things that happened, mainly around the 560, which I was also a part of,” Jordan wrote on Instagram.
“The Traka has become huge. There is serious attention around it now. Sponsors are watching, media is watching, and for some riders, results like this can genuinely influence their future.
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“But the structure around gravel and ultra racing has not grown at the same speed.
“Right now, it still feels like there are no clear regulations, no proper complaint process, no independent body making decisions, no proper sanctions for wrongdoing, and no real system making sure the sport is clean and safe.
£For the 560, it felt like very little care was given to the riders. Tracking issues, confusion around start times, questions around support, route cutting, and the general control of the race. I understand that self-supported racing is hard to regulate, but there has to be more effort than simply sending people out there and hoping everything works.
“The biggest contradiction is this: events say it is ‘not a race’, but then they announce winners, create podiums, promote results, and the cycling industry treats those results as important. At that point, it is a race. And if it is a race, it needs standards.
“I still love gravel and ultra racing. That is why this matters to me. Because the riders deserve better. And the sport deserves better.”
Things Tom Pidcock describes as a “mental refresh”: Driving a racing car around the Nürburgring
Scroll for some footage of Pidcock’s unsurprisingly flat-out driving (at least he was on a track and not the road, I suppose). Very on-brand, Tom…
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Giro team news, part three: EF Education-EasyPost announces stage-hunting squad, featuring James Shaw and Darren Rafferty
The Giro team news is rolling in thick and fast this afternoon, EF Education-EasyPost the latest squad to announce which riders will be racing around Bulgaria and Italy over the next three weeks in a garish green alien-themed kit (granted that last part only applies to EF).
With 2019 Giro winner Richard Carapaz forced to pull out at the last minute after undergoing surgery to remove a perineal cyst last month, EF will instead be focused on stage hunting, with British rider James Shaw and former Irish champion Darren Rafferty leading the way.
Shaw and Rafferty will be joined by Samuele Battistella, Markel Beloki, Alexander Cepeda, Madis Mihkels, Michael Valgren, and Jardi van der Lee.
“I feel good, fresher than last year, when I went in a bit fatigued. So, to be here in Bulgaria is pretty sweet,” Shaw said in the team’s press release, which contained a lot of space-themed puns I won’t repeat here.
“We want to win as many stages as possible. Madis can win from a sprint, and then the rest of us are going to try to win from breakaways. Trying to win a grand tour stage is the thing that’s been hacking around in the back of my head for my whole career. It would validate all the work that I’ve done in the sport.”
Rafferty added: “I feel a lot more relaxed going into this Giro than last year. I think the second one feels just as nice, but without a lot of the stress and unknowns. So far, so good.
“It is weird not having Richie this year. The last two grand tours that I’ve been a part of have both been for GC. This year, I should hopefully have my own chances during the three weeks. I’ll grab the opportunity with both hands and see what I can get out of it. We’re each going to get our own chances. I think that will work out well in the end.”
“World’s lightest” e-bike conversion kit smashes crowdfunding target by 3,000%
Last Wednesday over on ebiketips, you may remember, we took a look at Cyplore, a new e-bike conversion kit designed for road and gravel bikes, aiming to bring lightweight electric support to existing set-ups.
It uses a rear hub motor, aero bottle-style battery and wireless control system, and is offered in two versions: a ready-to-ride wheel, or a build kit. Cyplore launched on Kickstarter last week with early bird prices starting at $599 (around £444) for the build kit, surpassing its crowdfunding target within minutes.
And, just seven days later, it’s already reached £228,758, exceeding its original target of £7,526 by around 3,000 per cent. Not a bad week, then.
“It’s great to see so much excitement around the product,” the founders said in response to their backers. “We’re continuously working to improve the overall experience. Looking forward to hearing your feedback once you’ve had a chance to ride it.”
“New chapter” begins for Netcompany Ineos, as Egan Bernal and Thymen Arensman set to lead rebranded British team at Giro d’Italia
New era, new name, same old photoshoot in front of one of Sir Jim’s glorified Land Rovers…
Anyway, Egan Bernal and Thymen Arensman will lead the British team into the bluey-greeny-grey Netcompany Ineos age at the Giro d’Italia, the GC pair heading a strong team that also includes local hero Filippo Ganna, a seven-time stage winner at the Italian grand tour.
Bernal, who won the Giro back in 2021, recently finished second at the Tour of the Alps (one place ahead of Arensman) and secured a strong fifth at Liège–Bastogne–Liège.
Arensman, meanwhile, will look to recapture the form he showed at his lats grand tour, the Tour de France, where he won two mountain stages and finished 12th overall. The Dutchman’s best grand tour placing remains his fifth on GC at the 2022 Vuelta, though he also has two sixths to his name at the Giro, in 2023 and 2024.
Alongside Bernal, Arensman, and Ganna, the Netcompany Ineos line-up is completed by Jack Haig, Magnus Sheffield, Embret Svestad-Bårdseng, Connor Swift, and Ben Turner, who took his first grand tour stage victory at last year’s Vuelta (and who is currently linked with a move to Soudal-QuickStep next year).
“It’s a new chapter for us racing as Netcompany Ineos, and the Giro feels like the right place to start it,” the team’s director of racing (and two-time Giro podium finisher) Geraint Thomas said in a statement.
“We’ve got two good GC leaders in Thymen and Egan, who’ve both performed well at the Giro before. They’re going well and super-motivated to go there, race hard and get the most out of it.
“We’ve got a strong team around them who can be competitive on all types of terrain. We’ll be looking to go and race aggressively and get as much from it as possible. There’s a long individual TT which is a big focus for us and will also be important for the GC. The team has started really well so we’re looking at continuing that momentum.
“So much can happen in the Giro – the weather is often a factor and the terrain makes it hard as well – especially with a final week that’s always super-difficult. Things can go right or wrong pretty quickly, so it’s about being adaptable and ready for those moments.”
Bernal added: “The Giro is always a special race for me and I’m excited to be back racing it again, and with this group of riders. I feel calm, well prepared and motivated to be competitive again. We have a strong group and that gives us confidence, so we’ll race together and aim to be up there in the GC.”
Wilier’s new Rapida road bike comes with 36mm tyre clearance and sub-£3k price
More Giro team news
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This time, our Giro team news comes courtesy of Soudal-QuickStep, where Jasper Stuyven will be looking to capitalise on his strong spring classics form by nabbing a first ever grand tour stage win.
Paul Magnier will also be eyeing a breakthrough Giro sprint victory and Filipo Zana could be one to watch out for as a surprise GC package.
Fancy a new bike for just £110? Lego’s got you covered… (though your 10-mile TT times may suffer)
Is this the ultimate cycling n+1? Just when you thought the shed was starting to look a bit full, Lego has come up with a cunning idea that will leave your spouse, once again, shaking their head in exasperation. Just in a slightly different way this time.
Yes, that’s right. The Danish brick builder, beloved by nerds everywhere, has delved into the equally nerdy world of road cycling, thanks to its brand-new Icons Road Bike, which Lego says brings “the precision engineering of modern road bikes to life in brick form”.
I’m not a massive Lego fan (I have small cousins who love it though), but I have to say, that looks pretty cool. It beats a bike-shaped pizza cutter when it comes to Christmas presents, anyway.
Made up of 1,015 bricks and standing 14 inches tall, the bike features “smooth” front-wheel steering and a working pedal-and-chain drive with a one-way gear mechanism for coasting and free back-pedalling.
It’s also got derailleurs, brake callipers, clipless pedals, a silver-coloured drive chain, and a removable water bottle and rear light. A cool Lego logo along the frame would have been the icing on the cake, but you can’t have everything.
The bike, the first of its kind in Lego’s Icons range, is now available to pre-order and is priced at £109.99. So, the price of a very rideable bike 15 years ago. Or even now, if you look hard enough. I wonder what it’s like on the commute…
Vuelta Femenina stage four preview: Lumpy final day in Galicia awaits as frustrated Kopecky hunts stage win and red jersey
So far, it’s fair to say the Vuelta Femenina hasn’t been lacking when it comes to hills. But – sorry, sprinters – things are set to get a lot lumpier from now on.
Today’s fourth stage, the race’s last in Galicia, is a constantly undulating 115km affair, up and down all day with two sharp Cat 3 climbs and a tough, uphill run to the line in Antas de Ulla.
Lotte Kopecky’s been knocking on the door (and her rivals) all Vuelta – is this the day the SD Worx star bags her stage win? That finish has Kopecky written all over it. She’s only two seconds behind red jersey Franzi Kock on GC too, so a lot to play for this afternoon.
“A bicycle lane that’s very rarely used. I’ve declared bicyclists a rare breed here”: Rupert Lowe’s at it again…
‘Bicyclists’… For a politician who seemingly wants to restore Britain, Rupert sure is fond of Americanisms, isn’t he?
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Latest Comments
Don't worry. The Gulf Stream will collapse soon enough. Then you won't have to worry about hot weather anymore.
I was going to say let’s proofread better, the article is littered with toilet humor typos but upon a closer look the name really has been anointed after solar urine
I think that Burnham has more backbone than Starmer, so I don't think there'll be any U-turns. Let's hope that he brings that determination to active travel policy, Boardman as transport minister is quite possible. He could be made a peer and appointed as a minister that way
@Sredlums my reply with a link is awaiting moderation but they are a hybrid caliper, the cable actuates a hydraulic piston.
@wtjs seems it is not just Burnham and Labour's policies that are crackpot.
Mountain bike bars have gotten much wider.
@Sredlums Quite obvious nipple ended cable, one you pointed it out...
Those don't look like vehicle stopping bollards.
Drivers seem to be using the pavement as well, perhaps there will be calls to remove this to if enough of them decide that's the place to park.🙄 https://www.facebook.com/share/1D5GaMsTkF/
@Clem Fandango Like this?
36 thoughts on ““I’ve seen toddlers on training bikes in the middle of the road”: Police accuse cyclists of treating island “as a big cycle path” – but locals slam speeding drivers; Tadej Pogačar: “I have no secrets”; Lego releases first road bike + more on the live blog”
Does the police officer serving Cumbrae not realise that “toddlers on training bikes” have as much right – and, legally speaking, more right that motorists – to use the road as anyone else?
A generally quiet (as I doubt there will be many drivers outside ferry times judging by the fact the island is tiny with only one village), flat island road is about as good as it probably gets on the road network for kids to cycle. It’s exactly the place drivers should be expecting pedestrians and cyclists “in the middle of the road”.
We definitely have as much right to use the road, not sure we can claim that legally we have more right. I’m presuming you’re thinking of the fact that we don’t have to be licensed but I’m not sure you can segue that into having more right to be there.
We all have equal right to use the road, but we do not have any right to bring a motor vehicle with us – only a licence and other, additional responsibilities.
That does not affect priority on the road, but for that, we have H1.
I think it’s rhetoric that I would support.
I agree with your comment regarding toddlers having as much right.
However when reading the article it sounds to me as if they have got the cyclists mixed up with the motorists as per the comment below;
“locals have raised concerns about motorists speeding away from the ferry terminal and “pelting” around corners towards oncoming traffic, increasing the risk of head-on collisions.
So naturally, the local police have taken the opportunity to admonish the island’s cyclists, including toddlers on balance bikes, who apparently “leave the Highway Code behind”
Of course the island cyclists are not motorists and I’m surprised that it has been put forward in this way!
It’s quiet all right, outside of Millport (the only village on the island) there’s traffic to/from the ferry, farm vehicles, a few residences dotted around and tourists driving round or visiting Fintry Bay (cafe/ice cream stop). I used to go there on holiday as a kid and have been down a few times on the bike since.
There does need to be care taken though, whilst the cyclists of all ages have a right to be on the road, it’s pretty much single track so keeping to one side especially near corners is sensible. Anyone driving there though should be aware of the number of cyclists, especially during the school holidays when it’s mobbed. Last time I was there the cycle hire shop had wide 4 wheel pedal vehicles as well.
PC Plum?
Re the Lego bike.
I am interested to know what width tyres it has and at what pressure?
Do the clipless pedals require you having holes in the bottom of your feet?
Holes in the bottom of your feet are easy to come by if you combine kids, Lego and uncarpeted floors.
Someone will be along shortly to bemoan the lack of a rim brake option.
At least it’s a road bike…
It’s going to be press fit bottom bracket though…
You appear to have mistakenly written ‘glorified’ when you meant ‘reviled’.
I see Jaecoo branded vehicles as the option for people who really wanted a RangeRover, but are either aware of the terrible security of the vehicles and their theft rate, or just lack the conviction to admit they are a bit of a knob.
By comparison Jim Ratcliffe’s monstrosity is for people who wanted a RangeRover as a child, but lack a basic threshold of intelligence and/or introspection.
On the isle of Cumbrae there have been 15 collisions involving cyclists during the 26 year period from 1999 to 2024. Not only is that a pretty low number, it’s astonishingly low for what is said to be Scotland’s “busiest cycle lane”. This is a total non issue.
Anyway, the sense of entitlement from a few drivers who don’t want to cut cyclists, including child cyclists, a tiny bit of slack on a 10 mile loop around a holiday island is breathtaking. It’s not like the road goes anywhere except to/from the ferry.
I think you’ll find * that as long as a driver stops to consider buying chewing gum at some point, that’s two “meaningful journeys” and not just some pointless recreational round- in-circles jolly like cyclists (by definition?) indulge in…
* By what we may the Nigel definition.
Also for most of the day if you miss the ferry then the next one is only 20 minutes away!
UK Govt Petition; Tax cyclists for road use
https://tinyurl.com/2928gbne
I wonder what cyclists have done to raise Mr Whittle’s ire.
I’m not going to sign it, naturally, but alright, I’d pay it.
My better half pays 20 quid for her Hyundai i10, so less than a quid for my three bicycles…
Is the idea that if electric vehicles pay VED so should cyclists?
What about pedestrians though? They use the roads also (and given numbers probably cause more wear and congestion than cyclists)?
Or … has this chap just invented a “road tax” that he wishes to only apply to cyclists?
Or … has this chap just invented a “road tax” that he wishes to only apply to cyclists?
Yes, but if the new cyclist tax is as voluntary as VED is for drivers, we haven’t got much to worry about. I decided to give you all a rest from BF64 TGE so here’s one I’ve seen often over the last year, so the police must have seen it too. Having seen it on the single entry road to a network of residential streets early in the morning, I finally got around today to tracking it down to where it very likely lives
Then there’s HY66 ZZB (now no VED for 7 years), seen here at notorious local deadbeats and crims hostelry 2 years ago. I thought it must have gone, but I saw it passing Garstang Police Station a couple of weeks ago when the camera wasn’t running. In the background is J Whitaker Groundworks black Nissan WU59 UMH, which also achieved 7 years without VED until it disappeared in January 25 after a continuous month hiding at this very spot 150 yards from the police station when it must have been sold on to some different crims.
I think you’re on to something – why stop with cyclists? There are all sorts of road users who don’t currently pay “road tax”, whom we ought to be taxing.
Thinking about it, since most roads are maintained by local authorities, maybe the easiest way to administer this hypothetical tax would be for local councils to collect it. We could call it “Council Tax” or something like that?
No, that’s a tax on properties. They only watch the road but never use it.
How about “poll tax”? That’s got a popular ring to it.
Still seems like extracting value from it to me. Of course, ability to watch the road will depend on the number of windows available – maybe there’s something we could tax there…
Maybe he works for a company that would supply the IT system that would collect the tax – likely the only beneficiary of such a scheme?
He is proposing taxing the cyclist and not the vehicle. Does that mean cyclists would have wear a licence plate (on their compulsory hi-viz)?
If so then so should motorists – ie they should have to display a number plate that identifies the driver personally and thus we could get rid of the issue of driver identification.
I would gladly pay it if in return compulsory speed and power-to-weight ratio limiters are fitted to all motor vehicles, otherwise this idea can go whistle.
The petition creator suggests £30 per cyclist per year.
That would raise a pittance compared to the cost of road maintenance.
And given the current system is that VED is paid per motor vehicle, he clearly hasn’t thought it through as I’m glad he isn’t suggesting £30 per CYCLE per year, as some of us have more than one bike.
“… cyclists should have to pay a personal tax to ride their bikes …”
So the problem with the cyclists on Cumbrae is that they are… cycling? On the road of all places? And some of them happen to be children?
Methinks the police officer should check what the Highway Code actually says. It doesn’t say only adults can cycle on the road, nor that cyclist must travel at any particular speed, nor that cyclists must pull off the road and doff their cap to any nearby motorist.
I would note that the road around Cumbrae is designated a Core Path under the Land Reform Act by North Ayrshire council, which is intended to facilitate the public in exercising their access rights under that Act (which are rights for non-motorised access, including by bike, foot or horseback).
the road that encircles great cumbrae is a 10 mile loop … make the speed limits 20mph in millport, 30mph elsewhere, and do enforcement,
.. should solve the issue of drivers coming off the ferry, doing a loop and getting back on the same ferry sailing.
LTN! Just create modal filters by installing bollards facing Bute and north of Ballochmartin.
Or simply only allow residents’ cars, vans and motorbikes on the ferry. You’d think locals might approve?
set it up like Rum where all the residents leave their cars parked in Mallaig.
A good idea. Better cater to tourists? Just ensure hire bikes (maybe a variety, with a couple of adapted cycles) are available at Millport.
Hire bikes are already available at Millport, what they need is hire bikes available at the ferry terminal.
This Policeman should consider you see learner drivers in the middle of the road straddling the center line all the time. This is why qualified drivers have a responsibility to drive carefully and be able to stop in the distance seen to be clear ahead – because learners are on the roads. I doubt he would ever question the position of a learner driver on the road. Again Police bias against law-abiding citizens who happen to be on cycles is on full display.
Did the loop myself a few years ago. Great place to cycle. Roads could do with resurfacing though and the standard of hire bike maintenance wasn’t that good.
Is this him?