Last week, at the Rouleur Classic show in London, The Bike Rooms presented Lord Sugar with a new custom designed Pinarello Dogma K8-S in Union Jack colours. He has since suggested that Mayor of London Boris Johnson needs “a whack” after spending an hour in his limo caught in traffic caused by Cycle Superhighway works.
The Pinarello K8-S was developed for the cobbled classics and boasts a suspension system for riding on rougher roads.
Sugar is reported to have said: “The Pinarello DOGMA K8-S looks stunning, especially in my new colours and I’m looking forward to experiencing the new suspension system which will make for a smoother ride on rough roads.”
However, since then, he has been back in the limo, complaining about London traffic.
..@BorisJohnson you need a whack mate . I have been sitting in lower thames st for a bloody hour . What a bloody joke it’s getting worse
— Lord Sugar (@Lord_Sugar) November 23, 2015
The traffic was partly due to Cycle Superhighway works and a number of cyclists were quick to suggest that Sugar could avoid, and indeed alleviate, congestion by using his new bike.
“Your nicked!” Lord Sugar sparks debate on whether cyclists should carry compulsory ID
Pinarello release Chris Froome Dogma F8 Signature collection
13 thoughts on “Lord Sugar picks up new Pinarello… then moans about being stuck in his limo in traffic due to Cycle Superhighway works”
He has no excuse now, new
He has no excuse now, new bike, new cycle superhighway. Off to film his latest series, he might be in a better mood if he cycles 🙂
Somehow I don’t think Lord
Somehow I don’t think Lord Sugar will be using his new Pinarello for commuting.
Piss off Alan, you and your
Piss off Alan, you and your limo are part of the problem, not the solution.
Do you complain every time you are held up by road works or one of London’s many construction sites? No. It’s just a cheap dig from a self-important arsehole at someone who has actually done something to improve London’s infrastructure for people who do not travel in a limousine.
Ha! I actually cycled past
Ha! I actually cycled past him in Kensington Palkace Gardens the other morning – if I had known this was his attitude I would have given him a bit of lip!
How can a cycling ‘enthusiast’ not realise that him and his chauffeur-driven Rolls Royce are part of the problem, as pointed out by Simon E? And exactly how many people actually commute into the City/West End by car? A miniscule percentage of the total commuting numbers, and yet they expect to have the roads to themselves?!?!
I cycled home last night
I cycled home last night along a cycle path which runs alongside a main road. The traffic coming back into the city was nose-to-tail the whole length of it (about six miles). And yet I saw not a single bicycle in that queue. And yet, I would lay down money that – if asked – a significant number of those people would say that cyclists cause traffic jams. (Anecdote disclaimer: not London).
Anyway, my point is that Lord Sugar is hardly unrepresentative – there are too many motorists sitting in their cars (usually just the one person in each car) complaining about how the traffic jams are down to the buses, or the cyclists, or the phase of the moon… Anything except ‘there are too many f-ing cars!’.
brooksby wrote:
No… I was sitting in my car on my own this morning for 1h 40m driving 23 miles of West London thinking, I wish I was on my feking bike… 🙁
PaulBox wrote:
it makes me want to cry on the mornings I know I have no choice but to drive and leave the bike at home.
i suggest him to abandon the
i suggest him to abandon the Rolls-Royce in the traffic jam and hire a tuktuk if he’s too lazy to ride himself ;
Why don’t he suggest that only cars such as Rolls-Royce are allowed on the roads? that’s implicitely what he’s suggesting …
and no, he’s not part of the problem, he is THE problem, the HUGE problem.
And i should add, before the CSH, he was already sitting idle in the traffic jam; but it was “normal”, we haven’t heard him of anything; at least now, some are moving… if he has time to loose, he can stay hours in his limo, texting with his smartphone or whatever, no problem; that’s not the case for most, the reason why we ride a bike and need a Cycle Super Highway.
1. Sadly, this arrogant sense
1. Sadly, this arrogant sense of entitlement that he should be able to drive (or be driven) wher, when, how and for whatever reason he likes, is part of general motorist culture in this country.
2. He – and your correspondent – talk about being stuck in “traffic”.They mean MOTOR traffic.
3. This shows, yet again, that you can be dead keen on cycling as sport or leisure but not go along with what’s right for cycling as a form of transport.
Hope he had to pay for that
Hope he had to pay for that bike….
maybe the winner of this
maybe the winner of this years show will have a business that solves this very problem? that would be worth quarter of a milion …
A timely article quoting
A timely article quoting someone who, unlike Alan Sugar, knows his arse from his elbow – Chris Boardman:
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/bike-blog/2015/nov/24/the-uks-cycling-revolution-wont-take-off-without-proper-funding
Is the current CS construction a significant contributor to this congestion? No. But people like Alan Sugar just do not want to confront the reality. Me-me-me dinosaurs like him get a disproportionate amount of publicity but aren’t representative of businesses (or people) in the capital: https://cyclingworks.wordpress.com/
Housebuilding developments in Shrewsbury (pop. 60,000) are in progress around several parts of the periphery as well as brownfield sites having now become construction sites. This will only make congestion worse, and not just the traditional pinch points at river crossings; it affects nearly every intersection and not just between 8 and 9 am on weekdays. I’m sure this desperate situation is mirrored in many towns and cities across the country but I don’t know how bad it has to get before they wake up.
If he was driving through
If he was driving through Whitechapel he’s completely spot on: it’s attrocious for cyclists as well. Once the superhighway is finished it might be great but in the meantime it’s a blocked up mess that doesn’t do cyclists or motorists any favours. The way materials and equipment are stored whilst they build it may be contributing to the chaos. I don’t think Sugar blames cyclists or cycle infrastructure per se: just that clown Boris which is fair criticism IMHO.