US political candidate’s bike rides on Strava show he doesn’t live in state he’s running to lead; Tadej Pogačar reportedly lobbying team to race in Europeans; Oxford Street pedestrianisation to start next month + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Bagging a carpet
I’m not a fan of many Americanisms. I’m something of a ‘Jen Zed’ evangelist, will always carry a rucksack full of rocket and aubergine and put my rubbish in a bin.
That said, I utterly adore the word ‘carpetbagger’. It has roots in the period after the American Civil War, and I suppose the British equivalent phrase would be that of a ‘parachute candidate’ though that doesn’t quite make the right sounds in the mouth to convey a certain insult.
Anyway, the reason for this lingua-cultural introduction is because in the US State of Iowa, the Republican candidate for Governor, Zach Lahn has been accused of being a carpetbagger, i.e. not living in the state he wishes to lead. So what, if he has a massive house in Kansas surely he can still be living and working in Iowa? It appears not.
US site Raw Story has uncovered Lahn’s Strava account, showing him going on several bike rides around his luxurious Kansas home near Wichita. The bike rides are spread over a period of three months last year and stop shortly before he announced his run for office.
> Cyclist fears thieves used Strava to plan burglary and steal bikes worth £30,000
It appears, from an ocean away, as if Lahn’s campaign is not going that well. Despite the rural state voting three times for Donald Trump, and at pretty comfortable margins at that, polls suggest he’s set to lose his effort to the Democratic candidate Rob Sand. Sadly we can’t find any evidence of Sand’s exercise patterns, though that’s probably for the best, what given the known security flaws of tracking your every exercise…
Accell Group relaunch looking increasingly likely as dozens of bids received for bankrupt bike manufacturer
According to Bike Europe, 60 parties are interested in taking on the doomed bike behemoth that owns brands such as Raleigh, Babboe, Lapierre and Haibike – Accell went into administration in August.
It’s understood that serious talks have taken place with DuTech Holdings, a Singapore-based manufacturer that has interests in a number of EU-based bike brands through its investment arm, Tri Star Inc.
While Accel was granted a suspension of payments by the Dutch government because it could not meet its obligations, it was allowed to continue trading to keep operations running – so Accell-owned brands such as Raleigh still have bikes for sale as normal.
There's cornering, then there's Wout van Aert cornering.
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Wait for it, wait for it… oof.
Nice to see the UCI continuing to take its safety obligations seriously…
Oxford Street pedestrianisation - including 'anti-terrorism barriers' to keep other traffic out including cyclists - to begin on 26 October
The countdown is on for a traffic-free Oxford Street.
Monday 26 October marks a new chapter for the nation’s high street as it becomes pedestrianised. pic.twitter.com/BHzxd245U2
— Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan (@MayorofLondon) September 28, 2026
The much talked about pedestrianisation of London’s busiest shopping street will start from 26 October, Lord Sadiq Khan has confirmed.
Over half a mile of the street will be closed to cars, buses, taxis and cyclists, and it was reported earlier in the year that anti-terrorism barriers would be used to stop anyone other than pedestrians getting through.
The plans have been criticised by Westminster Council, who raised concerns about increased congestion in the road surrounding Oxford Street. According to The Standard, Khan said at the Labour Party’s conference in Liverpool that Westminster Council was “opposed to revitalising and re-energising this great street”.
He added: “I’m somebody who’s worked really closely with the businesses out there, and despite their knee jerk opposition with the council where possible, and I think on October 26, when it’s traffic-free, that’ll begin the real transformation of the nation’s high street.
“And because that council has failed to be decent custodians of our street, I’ll be a good custodian.”
It’s been a busy week for the mayor so far, who has also set out his vision for regulating dockless e-bikes across London as Andy Burnham takes the stage at Labour Conference today. More on those bike share changes later…
Alps!
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@Psi163 The bus drivers in Mallorca are the ones that scare me. They do not seem to care for cyclists.
@mdavidford I like that, and I think it applies to a lot of political compromises: political entanglement, if you will. If road rules are tightened for drivers around cyclists, they must also be tightened for cyclists so that there's no "bias". No matter that the safety evidence that compulsory helmet wearing is weak at best.
Calling something with just 36% merino a merino jersey is a travesty. I'd suggest supporting someone like CimaCoppi.cc. Excellent jerseys. The long sleeve thermal is brilliant for Celtic Isle like climates. The short-sleeve jerseys are incredibly well designed and work brilliantly across cool to hot conditions.
Why go tilebagging when you can go carpetbagging instead?
Looks great - but at £195 I suspect Rapha will have to rely on sales, promotions and SportPursuit to shift any meaningful volumes, thus diluting the consumer perception of the brand even further. There's no reason Rapha can't reduce their price point to increase the addressable market size. If Lusso who make their stuff in the UK can retail a great jersey for £120, Rapha who make their stuff in China should be able to achieve £150. If they did that, Rapha's commercial woes would be cleared by the volume increase pretty quickly - and without having to give margin to third parties.
Nothing to do with the cat - it's the quantum entanglement of rules that affect cyclists and drivers.
The Darimo carbon crank axle seems like a terrible idea. Frame manufacturers have been struggling for many years to make BB shells to the correct dimensions for fitting BBs, partly due to changes in size during the cooling/curing of the carbon. I'm not sure it will be any easier for a crank axle, and that probably needs to have even tighter tolerances. Plus, any unseen voids could cause serious problems - I hope they are doing an x-ray on every crank. Just because something is possible doesn't mean that it's a good idea.
@sclarke3@talktalk.net The scariest close pass I ever experienced was an SUV towing a trailer. The idiot forgot that his trailer was slightly wider than his wankermobile.
@Psi163 Agreed, the Spanish drivers are generally excellent with respect and safety for cyclists, certainly the best I've experienced having ridden in 30+ countries. These new rules should continue to reinforce that.
@AidanR Agreed, I was also struggling to see how Schrödinger’s cat was relevant here. It's okay, the writer is only a journalist, we shouldn't expect him to use language/words correctly.
1 thought on “US political candidate’s bike rides on Strava show he doesn’t live in state he’s running to lead; Tadej Pogačar reportedly lobbying team to race in Europeans; Oxford Street pedestrianisation to start next month + more on the live blog”
Why go tilebagging when you can go carpetbagging instead?