Welcome to a new week on the road.cc live blog with Simon MacMichael, Jack Sexty and the rest of the team.
Live blog: US amateur woman cyclist, 50 gets 4 year doping ban; dog drugged driver who shouted “fu*cking bicyclists” and killed rider gets up to 15 years; teen cyclists pulled of M6; Women’s cycling club appeal after break-in; Brompton Chpt 3 collab +more
Alll today’s news from the site and beyond as we start a new week
Mon, Feb 11, 2019 21:14
SUMMARY
11 February 2019, 21:14
Weekend catch-up: Tory MSP talks nonsense about cycling + more
Conservative MSP argues that a bike could do more damage than a car in a collision
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A Conservative Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) who told a Holyrood committee that a bike could do more damage than a car in a collision was put straight by a transport expert who told him he was making “a minor point.”
Dr Adrian Davis told MSP Edward Mountain: “The science is about mass. There is an equation about that. It’s the mass of the vehicle that’s going to do more damage.
“Being hit by an HGV is the one you really don’t want to get hit by because you’ll be dead. I think there is a bit of difference with respect, chair. The mass is most important.”
Click through on the headline for the full story.
Suspended sentence for motorist who doubled back to deliberately drive into cyclist
A driver has been handed a suspended sentence after he deliberately ran down a cyclist near Plymouth. Paul Nodder, aged 37, chased and knocked over Jeff Stevenson after the cyclist remonstrated with him for driving with his head down.
Click through on the headline to read more.
Cyclist frustrated with bus company that lost his complaint about driver who pulled out on him
A Bristol cyclist who was nearly crushed between a bus and a 4×4 has spoken of his frustration after his complaint about the driver who pulled out on him was lost by operator First Bus.
The incident, which happened in Clifton last December, is the latest in a string of incidents involving its buses that have resulted in complaints by cyclists to the company.
11 February 2019, 21:14
Teenage cyclists escorted off the M6 at night
Two teenage cyclists were escorted off the M6 motorway yesterday evening, with the Central Motorway Police Group saying on Twitter that it was “a fatality waiting to happen.”
Two lads aged 19 and 17 stopped cycling home along lane one of the M6 between Stafford and Wolverhampton in the pitch black. This was a fatality waiting to happen! They thought it was safer than to turn round on the entry slip. The mind boggles!
— CMPG (@CMPG) February 10, 2019
11 February 2019, 21:14
Re the cyclists pulled off the M6...
Dummies. Isn’t it strange though that the hard shoulder of a motorway is, rightly, considered unsafe but we paint metre-wide cycle lanes on trunk roads like the A34 and A45 and think ‘job done’.
— Black Country Ste (@CCSteV) 10 February 2019
This commenter has a very fair point, if you’ve ever experienced riding on a dual carriageway…
11 February 2019, 21:14
Human bike lane formed on Glasgow street to highlight safety issues
People of All Ages Formed a Human Bike Lane Today for Safer Cycling on University Avenue https://t.co/dIJXWYck59 pic.twitter.com/qIkc1I9Tcx
— GoBike (@GoBikeGlasgow) February 10, 2019
The protest yesterday on University Avenue, Glasgow involved residents, university staff, students and others to call for segregated cycle lanes to be installed – at the moment it’s simply some painted lines that disappear at the top of the hill. Read more on gobike.org.
11 February 2019, 21:14
Women's charity cycling group "devastated" by theft of bikes appeal for their return
The Liverpool Loopline women’s charity cycling group fell victim to a burglary, with bikes, tools and equipment stolen from their locked container at Norris Green Park in the city. Two brand new Apollo Virtue Bikes were among the items stolen. Club Secretary Helen Ball said: “It is devastating to us. The bikes were so new, not only does it mean women without bikes will no longer be able to participate in our weekly rides, but it is a big confidence blow to the group. For those gaining pace with their cycling, they may re-consider buying a bike for themselves for fear of having it stolen.”
The group was formed in 2017 with financial support from Cycling UK to purchase bikes and grow a women’s cycling community, with members taking advantage of the health and social benefits through cycling with the club. The theft occurred overnight between Monday 4 and Tuesday 5 January, and ayone with potential information can contact Merseyside Police on 0151 709 6010. If you have a bike to donate to the group you can do so through Cycling UK by contacting their press offfice by email at publicity@cyclinguk.org
11 February 2019, 21:14
On the forum: let us know your experiences with considerate drivers!
It’s not all near misses and Ronnie Pickerings out there (in fact these incidents are a minority), as demonstrated by a great forum thread started OldRidgeback… our favourite so far is the driver tailing a cyclist at night because he wasn’t in a hurry and thought the cyclist might like some extra light to guide him through the lanes! Join in with your tales of courtesy here.
11 February 2019, 21:14
Bont Helix and Vaypor S now available in reflective versions
…and lucky for us, the Helix Reflective has just turned up at road.cc HQ. Featuring “the latest in retroreflective technology” according to Bont, their Reflex collection consists of reflective versions of their top-end Helix and Vaypor S road shoes only.
11 February 2019, 21:14
Oregon driver who killed cyclist while high on Xanax prescribed to her dog is convicted of first-degree manslaughter
KTVZ reports that 42-year-old Shantel Witt, who hit and killed cyclist Marika Stone while under the influence of a number of drugs, has been convicted of first-degree manslaughter and will serve up to 15 years in jail after a Deschutes County judge rejected a second-degree manslaughter conviction as Witt’s defence had sought.
The case was unusual as the defence didn’t dispute that Witt’s car had caused the death of 38-year-old Stone, a keen cyclist who won her age category at the Sea Otter Classic in the previous year before the fatal incident in December 2017. They sought a second-degree manslaughter charge because they disputed that Witt had shown a shown an “extreme indifference to the value of human life”, the definition of first-degree manslaughter in the state of Oregon; however two friends of Stone who were riding with her on the day provided witness statements to the contrary saying that Witt had shown no remorse for what she had just done. It’s reported she was angry at the “the fu**ing bicyclists” and also saying “this is bulls**t”.
Witt was found to have nearly a dozen prescription drugs in her system following the crash, several without a prescription including the Xanax which had been prescribed for her dog. Several witnesses testified she’d slurred her words, spoke slowly and appeared to be drunk. Witt would have faced a maximum of ten years for second-degree manslaughter, but now faces up to 15 for first-degree manslaughter plus several other misdemeanour charges, including DUII-drugs, two counts of recklessly endangering and possession of oxycodone and other drugs.
11 February 2019, 21:14
This should help to deter near misses...
Bike meets something… amazing. No idea what but it was impressive. #tallbike #bike #NewOrleans #nola pic.twitter.com/fOtY6ENz86
— Mikael Colville-Andersen (@colvilleandersn) February 11, 2019
11 February 2019, 21:14
Nailed it...
…or should that be screwed over? Anyhow check out the fourth photo in this gallery for possibly the most unfortunate puncture we’ve seen in recent times, from a CX race in West Sussex!
11 February 2019, 21:14
Chpt3 launch updated signature Brompton
The new version costs £1,990 in the UK and is limited to a run of 1,000 bikes. Improvements include a fabric scoop saddle, 6 speed gearing on all bikes, new Schwalbe One 35mm tyres and Fabric slim dual texture kraton rubber grips. They can be ordered online on the Brompton X CHPT3 landing page now, click here for more info.
11 February 2019, 21:14
US amateur female cyclist, 50, banned for 4 years for doping
A 50-year-old amateur cyclist in the United States has been banned for four years after testing positive for an androgenic-anabolic steroid at the Capital City Cycling Classic in Michigan.
The United States Anti-Doping Agency said that Jennifer Pate, of Birmingham, Alabama had accepted the suspension, which resulted from a urine sample collected on 11 August last year, the day of the competition.
USADA CEO Travois Tygart said: “Regardless of the competition level, athletes deserve to be on the starting line knowing that their competitors are free of powerful performance-enhancing substances that can impact the results of races they have worked hard to prepare for.
“USA Cycling’s RaceClean initiative and others like it are giving athletes the knowledge and tools they need to compete clean, while also ensuring that those who choose to use performance-enhancing substances to get an edge are held accountable,” he added.
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Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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chrisonabike 35 minutes ago
@hawkinspeter Hmm... while there is sensible stuff in there it's even better where the design and human nature carries more of the weight than rules or guidance. Speed limits being one; if it was just on the rules that would be a lesser way of ensuring safety than the road / space design. (Of course just changing a number on a sign *does* work to some extent, presumably in part via the "anchoring" effect and "when in Rome"). I'm thinking more of what we have in eg. UK motorway-design-level thought and applying that *. One example would be the Dutch taking the observation that a certain fraction of people will make dangerous overtake no matter the rules, paint or even considerations of their own safety and a muffed overtake can have very severe consequences ... and then simply banning overtaking on some classes of roads (and even bringing in physical barriers some places). Hey presto - a whole class of problems they don't have! (It's not perfect of course, lots of legacy roads there). * Only some classes of vehicles allowed, everyone going the same direction with no crossing traffic or stopping / parking, rumble strips at edges, energy absorbing crash barriers, curved layout to stop people falling asleep...
ktache 1 hour ago
I liked his graphs.
Rendel Harris 1 hour ago
And yet not three weeks ago you were actively canvassing likes. Good liars need good memories, Nigel.
hawkinspeter 2 hours ago
@chrisonabike - the Highway Code is a good example of fool-tolerant rules. The emphasis is on how to minimise causing danger to others, but also avoiding collisions even if the other road users are being arseholes (e.g. not running over cyclists even if they're blatantly cycling on the wrong side of the road)
jackcycles 2 hours ago
Bless you, I didn't realise you place your self-worth on the number of likes you receive on an internet forum. I've never yearned for the approval of others, I'm just satisfied in the knowledge that I've constructed a coherent and noteworthy post. The best one I've done so far was the one I gave with your pipe, ale and suggestion to move to my leafy cul de sac. I have to admit I cheekily read it back to myself a few times and chuckled *every single time*!
chrisonabike 2 hours ago
Yeah, I think you're right, it did get a bit more "oh yeah? Well what about this?!" latterly. There's a lot more polarising going on. I blame myself. And the unicyclists.
mdavidford 3 hours ago
"They want us all locked in our homes...!" "Not all, only some..."
chrisonabike 3 hours ago
@hawkinspeter fool-tolerant design? Fool-foiling designs sound better but they tend to have unfortunate side-effects - at least when combined with human nature *. "Sustainable Safety" - design expecting mistakes and some rule-breaking eg. corner-cutting - but be *forgiving*. That means while *feedback* is provided (see adverse camber, slightly uneven driving surface etc) favour "everyone gets to their destination safely" over "the rules must be respected even at risk of collateral damage!" The penalty for failure shouldn't be serious injury or death. * Few want to be thought a fool and some may prove it if they believe that assumption was made.
hawkinspeter 3 hours ago
@mdavidford - are those the new 0-minute cities that I've heard so much about?
hawkinspeter 3 hours ago
@Rendel Harris - yeah, I can't deal with that kind of thing when cycling is inherently an inclusive activity (not that all cyclists treat it as such).
5 thoughts on “Live blog: US amateur woman cyclist, 50 gets 4 year doping ban; dog drugged driver who shouted “fu*cking bicyclists” and killed rider gets up to 15 years; teen cyclists pulled of M6; Women’s cycling club appeal after break-in; Brompton Chpt 3 collab +more”
Why didn’t the teenagers on
Why didn’t the teenagers on the M6 just walk back on the grass the otherside of the barrier? It must have been obvious after a very short interval that it was a motorway.
hirsute wrote:
They’re teenagers.
Ronnie Pickering – never
Ronnie Pickering – never heard of him.
People predictably get
People predictably get hysterical about cyclists on the hard shoulder of a motorway. I haven’t done in the UK because it is illegal but I have done it in Montana, Idaho, Utah and Colorado and riding on a 10ft wide “cycle lane” well away from traffic always felt a lot safer than many single and dual carriageways that I normally have to use. I don’t think it is just the traffic volumes on motorways that make it unthinkable but more the attitude of drivers.
Dingaling wrote:
Huh? It isn’t a case of being hysterical, it’s just plan common sense. 70MPH+, heavy flow, auto pilot mentality, debris, and the point of the hard shoulder is it is somewhere to breakdown in/emergency vehicles etc. Drivers aren’t looking out for a cyclist and nor should they be. Yep, many dual and single carriage ways aren’t much better but in most cases a cyclist can avoid them if they so choose.