Bjarne Riis set for WorldTour return with NTT; Rohan Dennis on eating disorders; Boss trolls new cyclist; Pointless cycle lane; Aussie cyclist cops $915 fine; Cycling booms in Paris; Shocking close pass on 11-year-old girl + more on the live blog

24 thoughts on “Bjarne Riis set for WorldTour return with NTT; Rohan Dennis on eating disorders; Boss trolls new cyclist; Pointless cycle lane; Aussie cyclist cops $915 fine; Cycling booms in Paris; Shocking close pass on 11-year-old girl + more on the live blog”

1. Maybe I am getting sadly

   Maybe I am getting sadly conditioned to close passes but I didn’t think that one was so bad.  I am not saying it was great, just that I recently had my elbow grazed by a tractor so close probably means something different to me. I still think all drivers should be forced to ride a bike on the road as part of the course as I honestly don’t think many of them see close passes as either close or an issue.

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2. No @Bobbinogs that’s not a

   No @Bobbinogs that’s not a good close pass.

   A close pass is a close pass, whether it’s 2 inches or 2 feet. If that girl had gone manoeuvered around a pothole, or hit a pothole or even sneezed when that car overtook it could have been a very different outcome.

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3. My commute is like that at

   My commute is like that at 60mph on B roads.

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4. 54% rise in cycling in ONE

   54% rise in cycling in ONE YEAR?!  Well done, Paris.

   Of course, that couldn’t possibly be done in London, Birmingham, Bristol or wherever because, er…

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   • jollygoodvelo wrote:

     54% rise in cycling in ONE YEAR?!  Well done, Paris.

     Of course, that couldn’t possibly be done in London, Birmingham, Bristol or wherever because, er…

     — jollygoodvelo

     They let cyclists treat red traffic lights as give-way signs – I can’t see the UK’s motorists agreeing to that.

     They also don’t have juries for traffic collisions to determine fault.

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5. Perhaps one of the Boris

   Perhaps one of the Boris bikes could be named after the man who started it: Ken Livingstone.

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   • burtthebike wrote:

     Perhaps one of the Boris bikes could be named after the man who started it: Ken Livingstone.

     — burtthebike

     https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2014/jun/23/boris-johnson-bikes-ken-livingstone

     I feel bad about knocking one of the London left’s most cherished articles of faith – but Ken Livingstone did not “hand over” London’s public bike hire scheme to his successor and Boris Johnson did not “steal” the idea from him (Diary, 20 June). The Tories proposed a public cycle hire scheme in London on 12 September 2007. It took until the following February for Ken to make a similar commitment – seven-and-three-quarter years after he became mayor – and no work was done to implement it in the three months before he left office. The only thing he handed over to the new City Hall team was a well-stocked wine cupboard.

     — Andrew Gilligan

     Did he?

     Also, see https://www.libdemvoice.org/londons-bike-hire-scheme-20713.html

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     • hawkinspeter wrote:

       Perhaps one of the Boris bikes could be named after the man who started it: Ken Livingstone.

       — hawkinspeter

       https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2014/jun/23/boris-johnson-bikes-ken-livingstone

       I feel bad about knocking one of the London left’s most cherished articles of faith – but Ken Livingstone did not “hand over” London’s public bike hire scheme to his successor and Boris Johnson did not “steal” the idea from him (Diary, 20 June). The Tories proposed a public cycle hire scheme in London on 12 September 2007. It took until the following February for Ken to make a similar commitment – seven-and-three-quarter years after he became mayor – and no work was done to implement it in the three months before he left office. The only thing he handed over to the new City Hall team was a well-stocked wine cupboard.

       — Andrew Gilligan

       Did he?

       Also, see https://www.libdemvoice.org/londons-bike-hire-scheme-20713.html

       — burtthebike

        

       Someone did put in an foi request and the hundreds of bottles of chateauneuf Dr pape seemed to be unsustainable, when asked for a copy of the invoice for the wine the only one that appears to have been disclosed is one for two twelve bottle cases for £400 and something ponds.  Try whatdotheyknow, it should be findable on there, I could be wrong on the details

        

       Could Boris have lied?  That would be soooooo out of character

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       • spen wrote:

         Perhaps one of the Boris bikes could be named after the man who started it: Ken Livingstone.

         — spen

         https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2014/jun/23/boris-johnson-bikes-ken-livingstone

         I feel bad about knocking one of the London left’s most cherished articles of faith – but Ken Livingstone did not “hand over” London’s public bike hire scheme to his successor and Boris Johnson did not “steal” the idea from him (Diary, 20 June). The Tories proposed a public cycle hire scheme in London on 12 September 2007. It took until the following February for Ken to make a similar commitment – seven-and-three-quarter years after he became mayor – and no work was done to implement it in the three months before he left office. The only thing he handed over to the new City Hall team was a well-stocked wine cupboard.

         — Andrew Gilligan

         Did he?

         Also, see https://www.libdemvoice.org/londons-bike-hire-scheme-20713.html

         — hawkinspeter

          

         Someone did put in an foi request and the hundreds of bottles of chateauneuf Dr pape seemed to be unsustainable, when asked for a copy of the invoice for the wine the only one that appears to have been disclosed is one for two twelve bottle cases for £400 and something ponds.  Try whatdotheyknow, it should be findable on there.

          

         Could Boris have lied?  That would be soooooo out of character

         — burtthebike

         I think you’re referring to this: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/mayor_johnson_wine_inheritance_f#outgoing-110132

         Boris undoubtedly lied – it’s as natural as breathing to him.

         However, he did seem to have had far more of an impact on the Santander Bike scheme than Livingstone did – unless anyone has evidence to the contrary?

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         • hawkinspeter wrote:

           Boris undoubtedly lied – it’s as natural as breathing to him.

           However, he did seem to have had far more of an impact on the Santander Bike scheme than Livingstone did – unless anyone has evidence to the contrary?

           — hawkinspeter

           During his time in office TfL appeared to make more progress to promote and facilitate cycling than his successor, ‘Inaction Man’ Sadiq Khan.

         • hawkinspeter wrote:

           Perhaps one of the Boris bikes could be named after the man who started it: Ken Livingstone.

           — hawkinspeter

           https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2014/jun/23/boris-johnson-bikes-ken-livingstone

           I feel bad about knocking one of the London left’s most cherished articles of faith – but Ken Livingstone did not “hand over” London’s public bike hire scheme to his successor and Boris Johnson did not “steal” the idea from him (Diary, 20 June). The Tories proposed a public cycle hire scheme in London on 12 September 2007. It took until the following February for Ken to make a similar commitment – seven-and-three-quarter years after he became mayor – and no work was done to implement it in the three months before he left office. The only thing he handed over to the new City Hall team was a well-stocked wine cupboard.

           — Andrew Gilligan

           Did he?

           Also, see https://www.libdemvoice.org/londons-bike-hire-scheme-20713.html

           — spen

            

           Someone did put in an foi request and the hundreds of bottles of chateauneuf Dr pape seemed to be unsustainable, when asked for a copy of the invoice for the wine the only one that appears to have been disclosed is one for two twelve bottle cases for £400 and something ponds.  Try whatdotheyknow, it should be findable on there.

            

           Could Boris have lied?  That would be soooooo out of character

           — hawkinspeter

           I think you’re referring to this: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/mayor_johnson_wine_inheritance_f#outgoing-110132

           Boris undoubtedly lied – it’s as natural as breathing to him.

           However, he did seem to have had far more of an impact on the Santander Bike scheme than Livingstone did – unless anyone has evidence to the contrary?

           — burtthebike

            

           Guess we’ll have to wait twenty or so years to find out who’s telling porkies

     • hawkinspeter wrote:

       Perhaps one of the Boris bikes could be named after the man who started it: Ken Livingstone.

       — hawkinspeter

       https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2014/jun/23/boris-johnson-bikes-ken-livingstone

       I feel bad about knocking one of the London left’s most cherished articles of faith – but Ken Livingstone did not “hand over” London’s public bike hire scheme to his successor and Boris Johnson did not “steal” the idea from him (Diary, 20 June). The Tories proposed a public cycle hire scheme in London on 12 September 2007. It took until the following February for Ken to make a similar commitment – seven-and-three-quarter years after he became mayor – and no work was done to implement it in the three months before he left office. The only thing he handed over to the new City Hall team was a well-stocked wine cupboard.

       — Andrew Gilligan

       Did he?

       Also, see https://www.libdemvoice.org/londons-bike-hire-scheme-20713.html— burtthebike

        

       Surely not the same Andrew Gilligan who ‘sexed up’ the report about Saddam Husseins WMDs that resulted in the death of Dr David Kelly? Who had most London boroughs refusing to work with him because he was such a dick?

       [i]That[/i] Andrew Gilligan?

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       • zanf wrote:

         Perhaps one of the Boris bikes could be named after the man who started it: Ken Livingstone.

         — zanf

         https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2014/jun/23/boris-johnson-bikes-ken-livingstone

         I feel bad about knocking one of the London left’s most cherished articles of faith – but Ken Livingstone did not “hand over” London’s public bike hire scheme to his successor and Boris Johnson did not “steal” the idea from him (Diary, 20 June). The Tories proposed a public cycle hire scheme in London on 12 September 2007. It took until the following February for Ken to make a similar commitment – seven-and-three-quarter years after he became mayor – and no work was done to implement it in the three months before he left office. The only thing he handed over to the new City Hall team was a well-stocked wine cupboard.

         — Andrew Gilligan

         Did he?

         Also, see https://www.libdemvoice.org/londons-bike-hire-scheme-20713.html— hawkinspeter

          

         Surely not the same Andrew Gilligan who ‘sexed up’ the report about Saddam Husseins WMDs that resulted in the death of Dr David Kelly? Who had most London boroughs refusing to work with him because he was such a dick?

         [i]That[/i] Andrew Gilligan?— burtthebike

         Yep, even a stopped clock etc.

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         • hawkinspeter wrote:

           Perhaps one of the Boris bikes could be named after the man who started it: Ken Livingstone.

           — hawkinspeter

           https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2014/jun/23/boris-johnson-bikes-ken-livingstone

           I feel bad about knocking one of the London left’s most cherished articles of faith – but Ken Livingstone did not “hand over” London’s public bike hire scheme to his successor and Boris Johnson did not “steal” the idea from him (Diary, 20 June). The Tories proposed a public cycle hire scheme in London on 12 September 2007. It took until the following February for Ken to make a similar commitment – seven-and-three-quarter years after he became mayor – and no work was done to implement it in the three months before he left office. The only thing he handed over to the new City Hall team was a well-stocked wine cupboard.

           — Andrew Gilligan

           Did he?

           Also, see https://www.libdemvoice.org/londons-bike-hire-scheme-20713.html

           — zanf

            

           Surely not the same Andrew Gilligan who ‘sexed up’ the report about Saddam Husseins WMDs that resulted in the death of Dr David Kelly? Who had most London boroughs refusing to work with him because he was such a dick?

           [i]That[/i] Andrew Gilligan?

           — hawkinspeter

           Yep, even a stopped clock etc.

           — burtthebike

           He was also Cycling Commissioner for London under Boris, so he’s not exactly an impartial voice in all of this, is he.  He might have to give back his London Cycling Campaign award if he admitted it was all down to someone else.

       • zanf wrote:

         Perhaps one of the Boris bikes could be named after the man who started it: Ken Livingstone.

         — zanf

         https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2014/jun/23/boris-johnson-bikes-ken-livingstone

         I feel bad about knocking one of the London left’s most cherished articles of faith – but Ken Livingstone did not “hand over” London’s public bike hire scheme to his successor and Boris Johnson did not “steal” the idea from him (Diary, 20 June). The Tories proposed a public cycle hire scheme in London on 12 September 2007. It took until the following February for Ken to make a similar commitment – seven-and-three-quarter years after he became mayor – and no work was done to implement it in the three months before he left office. The only thing he handed over to the new City Hall team was a well-stocked wine cupboard.

         — Andrew Gilligan

         Did he?

         Also, see https://www.libdemvoice.org/londons-bike-hire-scheme-20713.html— hawkinspeter

          

         Surely not the same Andrew Gilligan who ‘sexed up’ the report about Saddam Husseins WMDs that resulted in the death of Dr David Kelly? Who had most London boroughs refusing to work with him because he was such a dick?

         [i]That[/i] Andrew Gilligan?— burtthebike

         Er, no. Your memory of the Iraq farrago is confused. Gilligan didn’t ‘sex up’ that report, he accused the Blair government of doing so, and one of the absurdities of that situation was in the end he was the one who lost his job, not those who actually took us to war based on misrepresented piss-weak ‘evidence’.
         Almost nobody is consistently wrong about everything, any more than anyone is consistently right. Livingstone and Boris are both flawed characters (as is Khan, only his flaws are less dramatic and more boring).

         I don’t mind giving Johnson some credit for the cycling stuff – it doesn’t come close to outweighing all the bad things he’s done in any case.

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       • zanf wrote:

          Surely not the same Andrew Gilligan who ‘sexed up’ the report about Saddam Husseins WMDs that resulted in the death of Dr David Kelly? Who had most London boroughs refusing to work with him because he was such a dick?  [i]That[/i] Andrew Gilligan?  

         — zanf

          

         Talk about shooting the messenger.  Your implication is beyond outrageous; Gilligan is the journalist who, at great personal and professional cost, spoke on the Today programme and revealed the level of duplicity in the Iraq report.  

         Perhaps you should limit your outbursts to Twitter, where you would be in good company.

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6. The Northern Ireland bike

   The Northern Ireland bike lane is rather magnificent.   The splendid Warrington Cycle Campaign facility of the month doesn’t seem to have been updated for the best part of a year, but this would definitely make it in.

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   • Edgeley wrote:

     The Northern Ireland bike lane is rather magnificent.   The splendid Warrington Cycle Campaign facility of the month doesn’t seem to have been updated for the best part of a year, but this would definitely make it in.

     — Edgeley

     I agree, it is so far past ridiculous it’s almost perfection in illustrating how completely out of touch some planners are.  There are no redeeming qualities to it all all, I wonder who would admit to designing it / signing it off?

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     • grumpyoldcyclist wrote:

       The Northern Ireland bike lane is rather magnificent.   The splendid Warrington Cycle Campaign facility of the month doesn’t seem to have been updated for the best part of a year, but this would definitely make it in.

       — grumpyoldcyclist

       I agree, it is so far past ridiculous it’s almost perfection in illustrating how completely out of touch some planners are.  There are no redeeming qualities to it all all, I wonder who would admit to designing it / signing it off?

       — Edgeley

       Perhaps they thought that they were being helpful: providing facilities for Belfast commuters to hone their skills at slaloming…?

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7. Can’t believe that NI bike

   Can’t believe that NI bike lane picture.  Thought it was doctored when I first saw it but no, it looks like the bloody thing is real.  Who can be THAT stupid?

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8. You know what’s really

   You know what’s really depressing about that close pass, it wasn’t a punishment pass it’s just the inconsiderate, incompetent and dangerous way they use the road every time they sit behind a steering wheel.

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9. Quote:

   Bjarne Riis is set to return to the UCI WorldTour with Virtu Cycling, a company in which he has a one-third stake, set to take a 50 per cent holding in NTT Pro Cycling.

   So he owns 33% of 50% of the team? Somehow “Mr. 16.66%” doesn’t have quite the same ring to it as “Mr. 60%”.

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10. ooh ooh…got one from down

    ooh ooh…got one from down under 20km+ segregated route $m spent on infrastructure and mostly excellent but so one council didn’t have to contribute to moving parking spaces to the other side of the road here is a very unusual use of sharrows ……yes that is an on road contraflow…the road services the delivery bays and rear exit to car park at a large retail mall but the layout is ok because “traffic volumes are low” 

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11. It’s good to see NI planners

    It’s good to see NI planners catering for the needs of mountain bikers with withdrawal symptoms by putting a slalom on the commute.

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