Welcome to Monday’s live blog, with Jack Sexty, Simon MacMichael and the rest of the team.
Orange Bikes confirms death of Michael Bonney; Shane Sutton testimony at Freeman tribunal delayed; Suction cups aid Chris Froome recovery; Porn Pedallers in controversy with Remembrance tweet (now removed); Bikini cafe row + more on the live blog
All today’s news from the site and beyond…
Mon, Nov 11, 2019 20:59
SUMMARY
11 November 2019, 20:59
Weekend catch-up
Been otherwise engaged this weekend? Shame on you, but here’s what you missed anyway…
Danish ultracyclist completes 5,000km virtual Race Across America – in a shopping centre on Zwift
World champion track cyclist targets Tokyo Olympics a week after cancer surgery
Velon alleges discrimination after UCI rejects women’s race
11 November 2019, 20:59
Jurassic Parcours
11 November 2019, 20:59
Probably a bit inappropriate...
Remembrance Sunday is a time of quiet reflection for most of the UK, remembering the brave soldiers and servicemen/women who gave their lives in the two World Wars and later conflicts; however, not everyone is convinced the Porn Pedallers – a group of cycling enthusiasts who work in the adult industry – have managed to pay their respects appropriately in this tweet…
In more a respectful and contemplative mood @more_milf #InRemembrance #LestWeForget #CockDestroyer pic.twitter.com/nku0aGwWDR
— Porn Pedallers (@pornpedallers) November 10, 2019
The photo shows Rebecca More, who tweets under the handle ‘more_milf’, standing next to a cenotaph in her Porn Pedallers cycling kit, which doesn’t seem too untoward – but some couldn’t help but question whether the hashtag #CockDestroyer was appropriate to use on a post to mark Remembrance Sunday.
“So we’re cyclists who work in porn”
“Yep”
“But we also respect the war dead”
“Sure do”
“So let’s put a tweet out very respectful, in front of some poppies”
“Ok”
“#InRememberence #LestWeForget that sort of thing”
“Hmm bit off brand”
“Well now that’s where my 3rd hashtag comes in” https://t.co/rNUXmKq6Bm— James Felton (@JimMFelton) November 10, 2019
There will never be a more respectful tweet. https://t.co/T9zi3D7H2A
— Alan White (@aljwhite) November 10, 2019
If you wanted to sum up the confusion of the age, this tweet has it all. A twitter account detailing porn stars into cycling posts it’s heartfelt Remembrance Day tribute with the hashtags #LestWeForget and #CockDestroyer https://t.co/at6CFbBh9J
— . (@twlldun) November 10, 2019
The Porn Pedallers appear to be revelling in the notoriety, retweeting most of the coverage their post has generated. Perhaps they should have sat this one out, or at least dropped that last hashtag…
11 November 2019, 20:59
Porn Pedallers defiantly tweet further remembrance photos
Cycling ‘degenerates/skanks/slags’ (*insert your slur here) paying their respects at the Menin Gate, Ypres @more_milf @PascalWhiteXXX @TVXboss @VeriMeAV @avyourself #LestWeForget pic.twitter.com/go5va3XNJJ
— Porn Pedallers (@pornpedallers) November 11, 2019
It appears the group did more than most to pay their respects, although this morning Rebecca More – who appeared in the original tweet with the hashtag ‘#CockDestroyer’, said she had nothing to do with the words that accompanied the photo. The original tweet has now been removed.
So I see all the hate below and I see the love too, I didn’t write this # I didn’t see it and i would not have posted it, I’ve asked for the tweet to be removed. I pay my respects every year and will continue to. To those of you who know me and what I’m about thank you
— Rebecca More (@more_milf) November 11, 2019
11 November 2019, 20:59
Portland 'Bikini coffee shop' owners in hot water after fight with cyclists
Oregon Live reports that Jon Elston and Amanda Ingles, owners of Hot Bikini Brew in Portland, got into a fight with cyclists outside his coffee shop
Lt. Tina Jones said that Elston and Ingles were driving south on Southeast 6th Avenue towards their shop when the incident began, with Elston yelled aggressively at a cyclist. Jones said another cyclist yelled at Elston, who then got out of his car holding a hammer and approached the cyclist. Jones said Elston dropped the hammer amid a struggle, but then allegedly punched the victim. The man’s glasses got smashed and he had a facial injury that Jones said required stitches.
Jones said other cyclists joined in the fight, and Ingles knocked a woman’s phone out of her hand. She said Elston then punched that woman and knocked her unconscious. Ingles fled the scene in her vehicle, and officers later arrested Ingles and Elston.
They were booked into jail and released the same day – Elston is charged with second-degree criminal mischief and two counts of fourth-degree assault, and Ingles faces one count of second-degree criminal mischief and one of harassment. Both don’t deny there was a fight, but Ingles claimed the cyclists started the argument after one of them cut across in front of them without signalling. She also said Elston happened to be carrying a hammer because he planned to board up a broken window.
For those not familiar, a bikini coffee shop is simply a coffee house where the servers wear bikinis (to our knowledge customers don’t have to). Back in March, California-based bikini coffee shop Bottoms Up Espresso had their licence revoked after city council members decided unanimously that it was operating more like ‘an adult business’ than a café.
11 November 2019, 20:59
Almost makes up for how freezing it is
Top end of Norway, coldest November for 100 years. People still #cycling through the snow are rewarded with bike stands with seat covers.
Wonderful. pic.twitter.com/N7Ufx1NvZZ— Birdy (@BiddyBike) November 10, 2019
In one of their coldest Novembers on record, at least Norwegians who are cycling through it have something to keep the worst of the ice and cold off their saddle when the bike is parked up!
11 November 2019, 20:59
Kendal Mountain Festival to host Rapha Road Bike session on Saturday 16th November
Once again the Trek Bike Night will appear at the north’s premier festival for all things outdoors – and this year there will also be the Rapha Road Bike Session for those who prefer drop bars and gravel adventures. Hosted by Harry Dowdney, guests will include Lachlan Morton, who will be telling all about his ‘alternative calendar’ which included taking on GB Duro, Dirty Kanza
and The Three Peaks in 2019.
There’s a whole load more going on at Kendal between 14th-17th November – much of it bike-related – so click here for tickets if you fancy heading over.
11 November 2019, 20:59
Next level banter from sexist clickbait Twitter account with bought followers
Queue the triggered cyclists. pic.twitter.com/nzQSz8RbUv
— Men’s Humor (@MensHumor) November 11, 2019
Imagine thinking it’s ‘queue’?
11 November 2019, 20:59
Glasgow e-bike hires now twice as popular as regular bikes
NEW Electric bikes being hired twice as much as standard bikes at month-old Glasgow rental scheme @nextbikeUK @GlasgowCC @CyclingScotland @ForthEnviroLink @cyclehire_edi https://t.co/26p0D6sJIu
— Alastair Dalton (@AlastairDalton) November 10, 2019
Nextbike have reported their e-bike hires are now double that of their regular bikes in Glasgow, with each e-bike getting hired 2.8 times a day on average compared to 1.4 times a day for the regular bikes – the e-bikes were only introduced to the streets of Glasgow a month ago. Full story on eBikeTips.
11 November 2019, 20:59
Froome's recovery from latest op continues
Another day, another physio session
The work never stops #RoadtoTDF2020 #roadtotokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/bhqeCKBGLb— Chris Froome (@chrisfroome) November 11, 2019
Some followers/supposed medical experts of Froome’s on Twitter have replied to question the use of suction cups in the photo, which is presumably an effort to promote blood flow and reduce inflammation in the areas where a metal plate was removed from the four-time Tour de France champ’s leg. Rather than imparting our medical wisdom (of which we have none), we’ll be seeking the opinion of an expert to ask them what they think of ‘cupping’ to aid recovery.
11 November 2019, 20:59
Children in Need Rickshaw challenge nears the end of day 4
As the sun begins to set on Day 4, Josh pedals on the final push to Crewe Show him your support by hitting #RickshawChallenge pic.twitter.com/fBDL0dCRCq
— BBC Children in Need (@BBCCiN) November 11, 2019
For the eight day challenge to raise funds for Children in Need, The One Show’s Matt Baker plus a six-strong team of youngsters are taking on a 400 mile route from Holyhead to London with a modified rickshaw. They’ve already taken on Ffordd Pen Llech in Harlech, the recently-crowed world’s steepest street, and today they’ve arrived in Crewe. The donation link is here.
11 November 2019, 20:59
Orange Bikes confirms death of Michael Bonney
Orange Bikes has confirmed “with great sadness” the death of Michael Bonney, its former managing director and company “lynchpin,” who was paralysed from the neck down after a crash during a sportive in 2013 and took the decision last Wednesday to refuse further medical assistance.
Bonney announced the decision to bring his life to an end in a Facebook post last Tuesday, saying it was “time to end the suffering,” with his refusal of further treatment including the ventilator he relied on to breathe being switched off.
His post was widely reported in the mainstream media, and this evening Orange Bikes said on Facebook that he passed away on Saturday.
The UK bike industry is a close-knit one and many of us at road.cc and our sister sites knew Michael. We offer our deepest condolences to his family, friends and colleagues.
11 November 2019, 20:59
Sutton appearance at Freeman tribunal delayed
Shane Sutton, who had been expected to appear at the tribunal into Dr Richard Freeman today, is now due to give evidence tomorrow after today’s section was taken up by legal arguments.
The pair both worked at British Cycling and Team Sky at the same time, with Freeman claiming that Testogel that he ordered and which was delivered to the National Cycling Centre in Manchester was not meant for an athlete, but rather for Sutton to help him overcome an erectile dysfunction.
Sutton denies ever having heard of the product, let alone suffering from the condition, reports the Guardian.
However, separately, Mary O’Rourke QC, who is acting for Freeman, says she plans to cross-examine Sutton about an affidavit she believes he gave to the Daily Mail which she asserts is “totally inconsistent” with what he told a parliamentary committee investigating doping in sport, and which she claims is kept in a safe in the office of the newspaper’s editor.
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Jack is group editor across road.cc, off.road.cc and ebiketips, overseeing all three sites in the F-At Digital group to make sure everything’s up to scratch. He’s been writing about cycling and multisport for over a decade, arriving at road.cc via 220 Triathlon Magazine in 2017. He worked across all areas of road.cc including tech, news and video, and also contributed to eBikeTips before being named editor of road.cc in 2021 (much to his surprise). Jack has been hooked on cycling since his student days, and currently has a Trek 1.2 for winter riding, a beloved Bickerton folding bike for getting around town, and an extra beloved custom Ridley Helium SLX for fantasising about going fast in his stable. Jack has never won a bike race, but does have a master’s degree in print journalism, and two Guinness World Records for pogo sticking (it’s a long story).
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Latest Comments
chrisonabike 8 hours ago
"All that's required is an to roads policing" - that's a big all... Although no doubt the "idiots just keep coming" aspect does apply: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cz9lel2wz93o "Man charged after car crashes through bowling alley" - luckily they only skittled over skittles.
chrisonabike 8 hours ago
Almost any change to roads and streets is accompanied by a period of heightened danger, and in the UK "look out for cyclists" will need to be learned... practically. And over the time it takes for cyclists to become a regular feature. OTOH once (if...) good designs are in and frequent enough such that drivers encounter them AND the cyclists on them regularly (another big if) I don't think they should be much more difficult than a footway to deal with. These things are all over NL - don't have the collision stats but they should. (NL isn't perfect but collecting info on the safety of designs to feed back into better designs as required is part of the "sustainable safety" philosophy - if they're really a killer I think they'd be altering these.)
wtjs 10 hours ago
I'm in the happy position of agreeing with everybody here! I've never considered a bike with a stand, yet I'm impressed by the ingenuity and adaptability of this axle. I tow a Yak Bob with a Robert Axle, employing my El Cheapo Vitus gravel bike and I just have to be very careful where I stop. Hedges are generally a dead loss, and I seek walls, telegraph poles and signposts and generally lean the widest part of the Bob against it. One very awkward task is removing the two steel pins which lock the trailer arms onto the special mounting slots on the Robert axle, and when you have one out, the sodding weight in the trailer can twist the whole caboodle and bend the Bob fitting before you can get the other out and unhitch. I doubt if a stand would help with that. You can imagine that this combo is a real pain when you have to get it over the bridge at railway stations, and it nearly resulted in Merseyrail nearly parting me and the trailer on the platform from the bike on the train. It's a long story for another time. Another axle example recently featured on here, with a 12mm front axle bearing the Herculean weight limit of a monster American front rack.
HoarseMann 11 hours ago
This has nothing to do with the type of bike - it's the type of behaviour that's the problem. Banning the sale of such bikes will not curtail the behaviour. They'll just find another type of vehicle and continue to drive dangerously as there's such a lack of enforcement. I'd sooner see them ban the bally. But really, all that's required is an improvement to roads policing.
AidanR 12 hours ago
The EAPC Bill is welcome, but full of holes. What's to stop an overpowered but temporarily limited e-bike being sold and subsequently delimited? This is often a trivial process.
Sredlums 12 hours ago
@KiwiMike Yeah, in my over four decades of riding all over Europe I've never 'been for a ride in the countryside'. That must be it. Or, and I know this is a wild concept, you just accept that I just voiced my personal experiences and never missed a kickstand, like I wrote. Anyway, what's the big horror of laying your bike on its side for the very few occasions where there is nothing to lean your bike against?
mdavidford 13 hours ago
They may have looked, but did they see?
jackcycles 13 hours ago
Ds2025: where they are going wrong is that they are crushing the motorbike rather than the person sat on top of it. If they did the latter this issue would be solved in less than 24 hours.
Rod Marton 13 hours ago
I came this way today with the car boot sale in operation. There was a marshal at the entrance, who stopped a car turning right across the cycleway as I was approaching. So that certainly works. I think it necessary for the marshal to be there, I couldn't say if the driver would have turned if he hadn't been there but you always have to suspect the worst. Unfortunately there is no marshal at the exit, and there was certainly a car stopped across the cycleway as I was approaching it. But he pulled onto the road before I reached it, and the following car stayed off the cycleway as I went through. Ideally there should have been a marshal there too. On the whole, though, it's a really high standard piece of infrastructure. Just a pity it doesn't extend a bit further.
eburtthebike 13 hours ago
“absolute carnage” So right! Just look at the bodies piled up, blood running in the gutters and injured people limping away. It's a bit of a problem with a road, delaying some people for minutes at a time: it isn't carnage, let alone 'absolute carnage'. Anyone who exaggerates so ridiculously really shouldn't be allowed to comment in public, unless they want to demonstrate their idiocy to all and sundry.
18 thoughts on “Orange Bikes confirms death of Michael Bonney; Shane Sutton testimony at Freeman tribunal delayed; Suction cups aid Chris Froome recovery; Porn Pedallers in controversy with Remembrance tweet (now removed); Bikini cafe row + more on the live blog”
#Cockdestroyer. Lest we
#Cockdestroyer. Lest we forget.
I think we’d better forget.
Time to press the reset button the world.
Quote:
If that’s the case then they probably need to adjust their saddles…
That hashtag made me chuckle.
That hashtag made me chuckle.
I’m not a big fan of wearing poppies to show respect – I tend to believe that we should take on board the lessons of WWII and not allow demagogues to become popular and gain power.
However, it looks like a lot of people are happy to wear poppies and vote for Boris, so I must be a minority.
Hawkinspeter, I think there’s
Hawkinspeter, I think there’s a big group of people who can combine poppy wearing with a hatred of war and distaste for all that Mr Johnson brings to the world.
Someone I knew, who died a couple of years ago, was never the same after navigating bombers in WW2. He was staunchly committed to peace and social justice and would have loathed where we have got to as a nation. But he took Armistice Day and the support work for those who lost more than he had extremely seriously.
Those who drag this into thoughtless pseudo-patriotism and xenophobia do us all a dis-service.
And frankly I think Porn Pedallers need to decide if they are about conquering discrimination against their industry, or becoming notorious. Either of those is fine by me, free speech etc, but they can’t credibly do them both at the same time.
TheBillder wrote:
Yes, I didn’t mean to disparage poppy wearing.
My issue is with the automatic wearing of poppies without considering why they should (or should not) be worn.
hawkinspeter wrote:
Yes, I didn’t mean to disparage poppy wearing.
My issue is with the automatic wearing of poppies without considering why they should (or should not) be worn.— TheBillder
And with those people who insist you MUST wear a poppy, or ask why you aren’t wearing one.
(Answer 1: None of your business, Answer 2: I made a donation, but I don’t wear any badges or symbols).
They died so you could coom.
They died so you could coom.
Even more ironic the Porn Pedallers were out in No Nut November.
TheBillder wrote:
People who have sacrificed their lives for FREEDOM to choose what they feel is right and DEMOCRACY of the people you mean right?
If you think that the generation that endured WWII weren’t nationalistic then you have absolutely ZERO understanding of the majority of the people of that time, particularly service personnel. I’ve been amongst them a lot more than most so I know first hand how they have felt and are feeling about the political maters at hand.
You also fail to grasp or don’t want to grasp that many are more concerned about the impact on our communities in so many different ways, the way things have gone economically that have continued to slide/get worse whilst within the common market and the imbalance in many aspects due to being a member state that have impinged negatively upon the UK, often more than most other states.
Some of us have seen the massive injustice in trade terms/conditions that has undermined and destroyed businesses in the UK, that jobs were lost on a massive scale right from the outset and on our own doorstep, the people with lived amongst, friends and families left to ruin and poverty due to these imbalances. For some towns/cities they’ve never recovered having the heart ripped out and 40 years on still struggling due to the after effects.
Yeah, you talk about pseudo patriotism and for sure some people are looking at the picture in the wrong way but you’re so far off the mark with regards the WWII generation and so much more and that freedom, right to free speech and democracy is precisely what your elderly friend fought for!
CyclingInBeastMode wrote:
People who have sacrificed their lives for FREEDOM to choose what they feel is right and DEMOCRACY of the people you mean right?
If you think that the generation that endured WWII weren’t nationalistic then you have absolutely ZERO understanding of the majority of the people of that time, particularly service personnel. I’ve been amongst them a lot more than most so I know first hand how they have felt and are feeling about the political maters at hand.
You also fail to grasp or don’t want to grasp that many are more concerned about the impact on our communities in so many different ways, the way things have gone economically that have continued to slide/get worse whilst within the common market and the imbalance in many aspects due to being a member state that have impinged negatively upon the UK, often more than most other states.
Some of us have seen the massive injustice in trade terms/conditions that has undermined and destroyed businesses in the UK, that jobs were lost on a massive scale right from the outset and on our own doorstep, the people with lived amongst, friends and families left to ruin and poverty due to these imbalances. For some towns/cities they’ve never recovered having the heart ripped out and 40 years on still struggling due to the after effects.
Yeah, you talk about pseudo patriotism and for sure some people are looking at the picture in the wrong way but you’re so far off the mark with regards the WWII generation and so much more and that freedom, right to free speech and democracy is precisely what your elderly friend fought for!— TheBillder
I’m confused. What does wearing or not wearing a poppy have to do with supporting “Austerity (TM)” and the Conservatives’ gutting of British heavy industry?
I used one of the e-bikes in
I used one of the e-bikes in glasgow last night to zip along to the next train station from the one I was at which was closed. Given that it was raining and about 3 degrees, I was more than happy to pay the extra £1 to get there in half the time!
In response to the stats on how popular they are, there is only 1 or 2 max at the stations, and I would say only about a third of stations roughly have them available so its no surprise that where there is so few, that they are relatively popular compared to the regular bikes which can see piles of 20+ sitting at stations at a time.
Regarding poppies – I have no
Regarding poppies – I have no idea.
I know two of my grandparents hated the poppy and were cynical about the whole remembrance business, because they were very bitter about losing fathers in WW1 and consequently their families being left in poverty with no support. From what I remember, they always saw the remembrance rituals as being in bad-faith – politicians pretending to care, while busily preparing for the next war – the same politicians who did nothing for them back then.
On the other hand, it’s clear that many others of their generation (and later) who experienced war and its effects feel entirely differently. So I don’t know either way, myself, whether to go with what my grandparents felt, or what other people’s grandparents felt.
(And there seems to be a strong whiff of attention-seeking about the porn-pedallers lot…though I guess more than a few of those being commemorated would have had a fairly ‘robust’ attitude to sexual matters themselves)
To balance my political slur
To balance my political slur against Boris – I bet Tony Blair happily wore a poppy whilst planning the Iraq war (I still think he should be put on trial for war crimes).
I think we’re largely in
I think we’re largely in agreement on the Remembrance question. There certainly are people who misuse the symbol (across the political spectrum), and many who either conform automatically or assume that all should. They’re all wrong.
[Must say I’m glad to agree with you as I usually do – tho this level of harmony isn’t what the internet was invented for. Might need some sort of cute pic of a small mammal to redress the balance…]
TheBillder wrote:
Will this do?
Perfection. Balance restored.
Perfection. Balance restored.
Cut across in front of them
Cut across in front of them without signalling = Threaten to hit with a hammer
I’m not sure that’s a proportionate response…
brooksby wrote:
Anecdote alert. People do seem to get really incensed by this. I met a charming van driver some months ago who thought that another cyclist weaving in front of his van seemed to present some unacceptable risk to the safety of his darling daughter, but seemed to think it was perfectly ok for her to sit illegally on the bench seat beside him without a child seat, while he shouted out the window threatening to kill cyclists, and swerved into their path.
I’d rather listen to the
I’d sooner listen to the views of someone who fought in several WWII campaigns.
https://www.express.co.uk/videos/6094878428001/BBC-Breakfast-War-veteran-says-he-could-cry-over-Brexit
Victor Gregg’s book is also an excellent read and a proper tribute to a generation who gave so much for our country.