Work to connect Jacob Rees-Mogg’s favourite cycle lane delayed; Mr Loophole returns; Punchy hills await in TdF Femmes + more on the live blog
Callum is here, and has somewhat inexplicably decided to reference a Bolton comedian in his opening blog entry…
Wed, Aug 05, 2026 10:00
SUMMARY
5 August 2026, 09:34
Keynsham not that keen...
‘Whooo remembers Jacob Rees-Mogg? Eh? What was all that about?’
That’s enough Peter Kay parodying for a month at least. Today’s story centres on the town of Keynsham, which the Conservative MP used to represent as part of the North East Somerset constituency until he lost his seat in the last election.
Longer-term readers might be familiar with the town if only for the botched implementation of a cycle lane on the high street that led to injuries and calls to remove it altogether. Thankfully, the local authorities saw sense and resisted their MP’s calls to remove the lane and adjusted the kerbs.
Here are some chapters from the saga, starting with when the authorities learnt that just painting stuff doesn’t work:
> “Optical illusion” cycle lane that caused 59 injuries in a year undergoes maintenance work
Thankfully, all appears to have calmed down in recent years, helped by there no longer being a loud opponent of the scheme in the Commons. In fact, the new Mayor for the West of England has announced plans to join up the infrastructure to connect the cycle route to the A4 Bath Road. The only downside? It’s been delayed.
Keynsham Voice report that the planned extension of the cycle lane along Bath Hill and Bath Road has been delayed due to “a more complex scope of works than expected and a number of services, including drainage and cabling, that will now need to be diverted.” Rather than beginning this month, construction will instead get underway in January.
And, perhaps wary of some of the local opposition, the construction firm carrying out the work say they will aim to carry out road resurfacing in the evenings and employ traffic management measures during school hours.
Fingers crossed the work, when it does go ahead, goes smoother than last time…
5 August 2026, 12:51
God bless German punctuality
Or, a German fear of late publication at least…
> Shimano 13-speed leak on retail website suggests a possible new freehub standard
5 August 2026, 11:18
Van driver avoids jail after killing cyclist
Some sentencing stories are unfortunately worthy of standalone coverage…
5 August 2026, 11:10
Tributes paid after cyclist dies a day after completing charity ride across Australia
View this post on Instagram
A day after completing a 5,300km charity cycle ride with his grandson across Australia, 82-year-old Bob Montgomery has died.
Montgomery had been raising money for motor neurone disease research following the death of a cousin to the condition. He completed the ride from Broome, in Western Australia, to Bowral, south west of Sydney in six weeks.
“Fittingly, and now poignantly, the ride was named One Last Ride,” the family said.
“At 82 years of age, Bob was still passionately sharing his message only hours before his passing.
“This was Bob’s sixth interstate fundraising ride in support of Motor Neurone Disease NSW, raising vital funds and awareness for a cause that was deeply personal to him.
“Rest in peace a beautiful soul.”
5 August 2026, 11:01
Bike Bobbies on the 'illegal e-bike' beat
Or electric motorbikes, as the law says…
View this post on Instagram
5 August 2026, 10:34
Today at the Tour
For all the criticism thrown towards ASO and TNT for their coverage of women’s cycling, today is one of two stages of the Tour de France Femmes with full coverage from the flag-drop – minus adverts of course.
Climbing from the off, Puck Pieterse will have to get up the road if she’s keen on hanging on to the mountains jersey. Meanwhile, with Marlen Reusser not having as strong a team as other GC favourites, could this be ripe for an ambush territory. Imagine if UAE send Wlodarczyk or Blasi – actually maybe not Blasi – up the road, or anyone in the top-10 manages to sneak into a move!
Even if not, the final 35km have two properly punchy climbs, surely we should see some action there? My money’s on Kim Le Court to try something after falling a little off GC in yesterday’s TT…
Marlen REUSSER (MOVISTAR TEAM) (Image Credit: A.S.O./Gaëtan Flamme)5 August 2026, 10:12
Mr Loophole can't find the loophole
Ah Nick Freeman, in his own words the UK’s leading motoring lawyer, in our words the master of two-tier policing when it comes to letting the rich and famous drive seemingly with impunity…
Yesterday, he appeared on one of the Channel 5 shows that’s not Jeremy Vine but might as well be to ‘discuss’ 20mph speed limits. I would embed the video here but I quite like the fact his own YouTube video only has 9 views, and we wouldn’t want him to accidentally reach double figures.
Freeman also calls himself a road safety campaigner, although the initiatives he campaigns for don’t exactly seem designed with safety in mind.
In addition to scrapping 20mph ‘blanket’ limits, he wants bicycle ‘number plates’ and has criticised the ‘snitch society’ that sees cyclists report instances of bad driving to the police. Mind you, one of his proposals for bicycle speedometers received a rebuke from an unexpected source…
Anyway, the reason we’re talking about him is because he yesterday represented Lynda La Plante, in court after accruing 24 points on her licence for several speeding offences through a 20mph zone.
Sky News report that each speeding offence occurred whilst the crime writer was driving her guard dog to a park for his daily walk. She told the court that a driving ban would likely end her career and put four people out of work. Freeman added that “driving is a vital part of who she is” and that confusing road signs in and around Kingston-upon-Thames were partly responsible.
Ultimately the judge wasn’t very sympathetic, imposing a six month driving ban on the 83-year-old and fining La Plante a total of £3,300.
It brings a slither sliver of comfort to know that, for once, Mr Loophole was not so successful.
5 August 2026, 10:09
Liam's latest adventure...
Help us to bring you the best cycling content
If you’ve enjoyed this article, then please consider subscribing to road.cc from as little as £2.49. Our mission is to bring you all the news that’s relevant to you as a cyclist, independent reviews, impartial buying advice and more. Your subscription will help us to do more.
Callum is a News Writer for road.cc, having initially joined as a freelance journalist in September 2025. He is also a Road Book contributor and has written for the almanac since 2023. He has a master’s degree in Broadcast Journalism from Cardiff University, where his dissertation focused on Geraint Thomas’ retirement and the boom and bust of the domestic racing calendar. He also has a degree in Scandinavian Studies & Politics which is somehow even more niche.
14 Comments
Read more...
Read more...
Read more...
Latest Comments
Rendel Harris 7 seconds ago
@Nigel Garage Is this freewheeling, devil may care, "don't be all nanny state it's a leftwing powergrab" Nigel the same Nigel who, under various aliases, has frequently advocated mandatory helmets and registration tabards for cyclists and the banning of cyclists (though of course not cars) from the Royal Parks as a danger to law-abiding Reform-voting courteous pedestrians? Why yes, yes it is.
PoorInRichfield 12 minutes ago
My wallet told me it's not excited about this news! I'm currently riding Ultegra 2x11 and told myself I won't even consider buying a new bike unless it's 1x with a 13 speed cassette. With 13 speeds, a 1x can deliver nearly identical gear ratios without huge gaps between gears.
Rendel Harris 13 minutes ago
@Mr Blackbird A suspended sentence could at least encompass electronic tagging so only allowed out for work/community service, at least? And yes, an attachment of future earnings possibly as well.
Smoggysteve 19 minutes ago
@Bungle_52 As you say, the reason they are more often charged with Careless and not Dangerous driving is pretty much , from the CPSs point of view, far more likely to result in a conviction. Its a numbers game for them.
tomlew 23 minutes ago
They've missed the perfect chance to promote the new grouppo at the TdF. Now it doesn't really matter when they release it. BTW it's just pathetic how they're pushing another standard for no valid reason. Corporate greed at its absolute worst.
Clem Fandango 27 minutes ago
@wtjs well, it is the school holidays after all
lesterama 28 minutes ago
Dangerous vs careless driving. RTA 1998, S2A: "...a person is to be regarded as driving dangerously if (and, subject to subsection (2) below, only if)— "(a)the way he drives falls far below what would be expected of a competent and careful driver, and "(b)it would be obvious to a competent and careful driver that driving in that way would be dangerous." So how is it in any way possible that failing to spot a fellow human lawfully using the road, with 8-9 seconds to see them, could be anything other than dangerous, by the definition in the RTA?
wtjs 33 minutes ago
@Clem Fandango Yes, the Trolls are multiplying like flies on a turd. I'm looking forward to more hilarious claims from them that they have witnessed cyclists fabricating close passing incidents by deliberate doubling-up at crucial moments while the saintly drivers are driving at 10mph, all while 'shaking fists'. They really are a pathetic bunch of sad gits!
Bungle_52 35 minutes ago
@Smoggysteve It seems to me that part of the problem is the fact that drivers are charged with careless rather than dangerous driving. It is obvious to me that if you hit a cyclist lit up like a christmas tree from behind when they have been in view for at least 8 seconds your driving falls well below that of a careful and competent driver. I would hazard a guess that the driver agreed to plead guilty to careless but would have pled not guilty to dangerous and the CPS go for the easy option which will take up less court time and not burden the prison service. I don't have too much of a problem with lack of jail time but I have a serious problem with the length of the ban. 3 years is an insult to the cyclist's family. On a more positive note the driver did at least stop at the scene and tried to administer CPR according to the report. Drivers who have killed cyclists in similar circumstances and not stopped have received sentences on par with this which is another thing that gets my goat. PS petition signed thanks for the link
pockstone 38 minutes ago
I know you can't use the word 'slither' too often in an article about Mr. 'Freeman-on-the-Road', but you do seem to have misapplied it in this instance.
14 thoughts on “Work to connect Jacob Rees-Mogg’s favourite cycle lane delayed; Mr Loophole returns; Punchy hills await in TdF Femmes + more on the live blog”
If only.
Perhaps if Lynda La Plante is constantly ‘confused’ by simple road signs, then she needs to hand her licence in, rather than a 6 month ban? Also – pleading Exceptional Hardship (which I thought was the only reason to contest a driving ban after accruing so many points) is taking the piss for a world famous author?
Re the Lynda La Plante case. I read about this in yesterday’s Times.
Definitely a case of Freeman laying the mitigating circumstances on thick in the hope that some of them stick. The comment that “a ban could end her career”, was presumably instrumental in getting a 6 month rather than 12 month plus ban.
La Plante’s sense of entitlement was breathtaking. Unlike many banned motorists, she will not lose her job.
So Lynda La Plante was driving on multiple occasions on the same road and recieving points & speeding fines?
Did she not put 2 and 2 together after the first or second and adjust her speed accordingly?
Or did she feel that, with a so called exceptional hardship/not being able to work plea, she would be allowed to do so indefinitely.
Could this be a case of her expecting two-tier policing to be applied (beneficially) to herself…?
She put 2 and 0 together and made 27.
A rare legal defeat for Mr Freeman, and I find his client’s legal arguments quite frankly ridiculous. However, let’s not forget his work road safety campaigning, especially against dangerous e-scooters.
I have mixed emotions about 20mph zones. They are certainly useful around schools and child-heavy areas and would especially work if dynamically assigned rather than prescribed throughout entire towns and cities.
I and plenty of other cyclists ride above 20mph and it can be annoying stuck behind cars driving at 20mph on a road unnecessarily, it feels like a left-wing power grab to curtail people’s freedoms. Instead, I believe that if the existing 30 limit and existing laws on phone use was rigourously enforced it would have a greater impact on KSIs… unfortunately the police have been dragged away to regulate Twitter and act as social services to incapable people.
.
@jackcycles
Is this now Road.cc Gold? I’m loving reading all the classics from yesteryear yet again.
Ah yes the Twitter police, those donut munching types at Surrey Police’s road safety unit – how could we forget your love for them. A bit like your famous 27mph average speed around leafy Essex and your Mr Poopy-Butthole fanboying Nigel.
And whilst we’re at it – “left-wing power grab”? What exactly have the now disgraced 1970’s punk outfit from Redcar got to do with this?
@Clem Fandango Yes, the Trolls are multiplying like flies on a turd. I’m looking forward to more hilarious claims from them that they have witnessed cyclists fabricating close passing incidents by deliberate doubling-up at crucial moments while the saintly drivers are driving at 10mph, all while ‘shaking fists’. They really are a pathetic bunch of sad gits!
@wtjs well, it is the school holidays after all
It is good that at least one motorist has been convicted for excessive speed in 20 mph zones.
Whatever opinions of 20 mph limits might be, given the body of evidence of the reduction in KSIs long may the 20 mph limits continue. Anyone arguing against them is saying that the lives of those who have been spared just don’t matter.
The cycle team are geared up and ready to hit the City streets
Except it looks like they’re having to Google ‘how do we make the bikes go?’ Perhaps it’s a squad they’ve got in from Lancashire?
I know you can’t use the word ‘slither’ too often in an article about Mr. ‘Freeman-on-the-Road’, but you do seem to have misapplied it in this instance.
@Nigel Garage Is this freewheeling, devil may care, “don’t be all nanny state it’s a leftwing powergrab” Nigel the same Nigel who, under various aliases, has frequently advocated mandatory helmets and registration tabards for cyclists and the banning of cyclists (though of course not cars) from the Royal Parks as a danger to law-abiding Reform-voting courteous pedestrians? Why yes, yes it is.