Council list ‘too many cyclists’ with fly-tipping + speeding as pandemic ‘challenge’; Rail worker stops theft and reunites cyclist with bike; Bollards installed to stop pavement drivers; British Cycling correct cycle licence poll + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Mitchelton-Scott part ways with GM Shayne Bannan following Manuela Fundación farce
Read into this what you will, but Mitchelton-Scott have this morning released a statement announcing a “management shake-up” in which Shayne Bannan – the general manager and founder of GreenEDGE Cycling (the team’s default name when they don’t have a headline sponsor) – has left alongside assistant Alvaro Crespi. Darach McQuaid will become the team’s first chairman as a ‘direct liaison’ with the team’s owner Gerry Ryan, and Brent Copeland will join as general manager after departing Bahrain-McLaren.
Although Mitchelton-Scott haven’t given any reasons, these changes have come suspiciously soon after a bizarre episode in which the team announced they would be known as Manuela Fundación for the rest of the year after signing a deal with a little known Spanish not-for-profit (we can only assume Bannan and Crespi were heavily involved). They got as far as unveiling a whole new purple strip, before suddenly announcing that the deal had fallen through on 18th June. Manuela Fundación still insist a deal was made – which GreenEDGE deny – so it’s possible this saga is far from over.
"The world needs more Abduls": heartwarming tale of railway worker who waited four hours to reunite commuter with his bike after foiling a theft attempt
Something nice pic.twitter.com/i3eV1fmXbc
— Nick Burton (@cervelo_nick) June 30, 2020
Some good news to start the morning, as the story of a railway worker is going viral after he waited four hours to reunite a commuter with his bike after stopping a thief from stealing it at Cannon Street Station. Abdul Muneeb reportedly saw Steve Farmer’s bike being cut with bolt croppers, challenged the thief and then waited with the bike after his shift. When he spotted Mr Farmer, he asked him to dial in the code on his broken lock to prove it was his and then gave him his bike back. His employer Southeastern have been made aware:
@DrewGibs0n I can’t see the post you’ve shared, but I’m guessing it’s about our star at Cannon Street?! We have and we’ve passed it on, along with all this feedback, to his manager 🙂 ^RK
— Southeastern (@Se_Railway) June 30, 2020
Chapeau Mr Muneeb, we need more like you…
Ineos unveil massive 4x4
It’s an exciting day as the wraps come off the new @INEOSGrenadier.
Rugged. No-nonsense. Built on Purpose. #GrenadierUnwrapped #INEOStogether
See more: https://t.co/WiddyBcrNF pic.twitter.com/aDeSEBwizo
— Team INEOS (@TeamINEOS) July 1, 2020
Well at least they can’t be accused of greenwashing in this instance…
More cycle-friendly signs spotted in Manchester
I do love these signs by @OfficialTfGM. Make me smile each time I see one. Keep sharing.#SafeStreetsSaveLives #KeepGMMoving #BetterByBike pic.twitter.com/hWCxRMbkd9
— Eve Holt (@evefrancisholt) June 30, 2020
Transport for Greater Manchester are beaming out the words of encouragement to ensure the cycle boom continues. Recently Chris Boardman unveiled the UK’s first CYCLOPS junction in the city, a design that protects people cycling and walking while actually improving journey times for drivers – full story here.
Police act to stop drivers mounting pavement to get around low traffic neighbourhood roadblocks in London
Very grateful to local roads policing officers who deployed this morning to this location and enforced offences for driving on the footpath. I understand later today the local council will put new bollards in place to resolve future issues.
You said we did! #RoadSafety #London https://t.co/Iiv0zG6q4B
— Andy Cox (@SuptAndyCox) July 1, 2020
This morning, Superintendent Andy Cox said that officers were sent to the location in Lewisham to fine drivers who were going around the planters on the pavement, and later today the council will be installing new bollards – a result for those who were outraged by the footage above posted by BBC journalist Tom Edwards.
Transport for London announce Euston Road pop-up cycle lane, with work set to begin this week
The latest major announcement as part of the mayor and TfL’s Streetspace plan is a new temporary cycle lane on the busy Euston Road, that they say will “transform the key corridor for cycling” between an existing pop-up lane on Hampstead Road and Cycleway 6 on Midland Road/Judd Street. Construction will begin on Thursday, with lanes on either side of the road.
While there will be consultations on many of London’s new cycle lanes to make them permanent in the future, a hurdle for this one is that the road space allocated for it is already proposed to be used for the construction of the HS2 high speed railway network from late 2021 onwards. TfL say that if and when this happens, they will “work with local boroughs to develop alternative routes along side streets” when the lanes are removed.
Cycling fans not impressed with Ineos 4x4
The Team Ineos account has now shared the news that their parent company has launched a new gas guzzler, and it’s fair to say not everyone is thrilled…
Cycling team promoting a pedestrian and vulnerable road user endangering vehicle. Priceless. Poor economy, not even a nod to electric power. We don’t need more SUV’s. There was a reason the defender was dropped.
— AndrewFS02 (@AndrewFS02) July 1, 2020
I really need to take my kids on daily short journeys to school. Would this be a suitable vehicle for me to buy?
I’m thinking in terms of ease of use, economy and safety
I’d love to hear your response
— Captain Badger (@CaptainBadger3) July 1, 2020
I now see why Froome might want to be moving on!
— SimonE (@soncaliucyclist) July 1, 2020
Just the vehicle to terrorise cyclists with … pretty disgusting.
Had struggled to support the team with current sponsor, think I’ll move on and may even consider my future castelli purchases.— Michael Hassan🏴 (@bianchimick) July 1, 2020
It's time to say thanks to turbos for getting us through the lockdown
Source unknown…
Alpkit - the outdoor store behind Sonder bikes - have crowdfunded £1.5 million in under an hour
The outdoor specialists surpassed their £750k target in just eight minutes and took another 44 minutes to reach their cap of £1.5 million on the CrowdCube investment platform, gaining an extra 1,380 shareholders. They will use the investment to open new stores and support Alpkit sustainability programmes, at a time where their like for like sales were reported as up by over 50% in the past 12 weeks.
CEO and Co-Founder, David Hanney commented: “This is an exciting time for Alpkit and we’ve been completely overwhelmed by the support from our customers. For a long time, they’ve been asking us whether it would be possible to invest in Alpkit and we’ve always wanted to extend our ownership and deepen our relationship with our customers. So when we looked to add financial strength to our growth plans, we wanted to involve them ahead of other financial institutions. The response has been incredible and we know we wouldn’t be in this position today without their loyal support.”
Pavement-mounting drivers update: extra blockades now installed to prevent motorists ignoring pop-up infrastructure in Lewisham
PC Darren and PC Grant are currently in Upwood Road due to issues raised. Hopefully this will now stop. They are still in the area checking out further roads and talking to residents pic.twitter.com/sOsfyaHkYM
— Cycle Safety Team (@MetCycleCops) July 1, 2020
Our story yesterday about drivers in Lewisham ignoring planters deployed to close a road to through traffic has reached a positive conclusion, with a bollard and extra blockades added to stop more drivers using the pavement to get around them. The Met Police also attended this morning and fined any motorists caught driving on the footpath.
Lewisham Councillor Sophie McGeever – who said yesterday that there was “no excuse” for the drivers’ behaviour – has thanked Superintendent Andy Cox and officers who attended to curb the illegal curb-mounting.
Many thanks to the officers who attended this morning. I’ve been told it made a big difference and things were much calmer (& law abiding!)
Thanks also to @SuptAndyCox who has been giving renewed and import focus to #RoadSafety – increasing confidence which enables🚶🏾♀️& 🚲 https://t.co/wdJe5JGGFx
— Cllr Sophie McGeevor (@SophieMcGeevor) July 1, 2020
As ever, the World Bollard Association have approved of the changes…
#WorldBollardAssociation pic.twitter.com/Bk9LP7qp5h
— World Bollard Association™ (@WorldBollard) July 1, 2020
Cyclist berated for not having a licence plate or high-vis... by a police officer
police getting more bored by the day, whole bully van parked cos a black yute riding his bike🤦🏽♂️ pic.twitter.com/Io6GRbbAkn
— dimi (@7dimii) June 30, 2020
We’ve had plenty of positive policing news today, and it’s a shame it must be balanced out with this bizarre incident. Full story/some sort of analysis to follow…
Your daily "Why don't cyclists use the cycle path?"
Why don’t cyclists use the ‘perfectly good’ cycle path? 🤔 This is why. 👇🤕 1/2 pic.twitter.com/xXFoW8SV3V
— Bicester Bike🚲 Users🚴♂️ Group🤝 (@BicesterBug) June 30, 2020
Looks appealing…
British Cycling 'correct' cycling licence poll
We already had to correct the @Telegraph poll for this question guys 🙄
Should the UK introduce a compulsory cycling licence?
— British Cycling (@BritishCycling) July 1, 2020
The latest one from the Jeremy Vine On 5 Twitter account (we think we know which way its presenter would vote) has been altered by British Cycling, who continued: “We should be making cycling easier rather than more difficult.”
Council list 'too many cyclists' alongside fly-tipping and speeding in survey question on challenges residents faced during the pandemic
A road.cc reader said he was “less than amused” with one of the questions included in a survey from Hart District Council about the community’s recovery from the pandemic, which appears to suggests ‘too many cyclists’ is as high up the list as bonfires, fly-tipping and speeding drivers when it comes to things that peeved residents.
Question 11 of the survey (screenshotted above) lists “bonfires, increased fly-tipping, cars speeding, more noise, too many cyclists” as suggestions for ‘challenges’ that residents may have faced during their time in lockdown. The road.cc reader who sent it to us also commented: “It appears that from Hart Council’s perspective, being a cyclist is now akin to an environmental crime such as noise or fly tipping.”
Hart Council respond to complaints over 'to many cyclists' survey question
It is not our intention to single out or offend cyclists. During the pandemic, cycling has increased but there’s not always sufficient infrastructure to accommodate it. We want to rectify this and the survey is one of several ways to gather evidence to support these improvements.
— Hart District (@HartCouncil) July 1, 2020
After receiving further backlash on social media, Hart District Council have now said it wasn’t their intention “to single out or offend cyclists”. They claim cyclists were included in the list of pandemic ‘challenges’ faced by residents because of a lack of sufficient infrastructure to accommodate it, and that they want to rectify this.
1 July 2020, 08:30
1 July 2020, 08:30
They're back and they're cooler than ever...
Special-edition 25 year anniversary Shimano SPD sandals launched. Still comfort over style, then.
No, they don’t come with the socks. Take the hint.
1 July 2020, 08:30
Could power on your wrist become a thing?
Apple Watch with cycling power estimation is a step closer to reality
The move could give power estimates from you wrist
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@jackcycles I'm not sure my grandchildren got that memo. Cycling should not be just for hardened road warriors.
Chrisonabike There are a number of police forces in England and Wales that are using portable testing equipment already... How effective it is another matter, I haven't looked into the results of failing (I would hope they just seize and crush the motorbike without any faff but I am sure there are appeal processes, promises not to use them on public roads etc).
Woah there - a precision-engineered European-made product, with unparalleled adaptability, is somehow a ‘rip off’? Compared to what - Temu? As per the article, most quality through-axles go for £50-60+, but aren’t adaptable and don’t provide any stand or trailer capability. If you want to balance your £3-4-5k suspension or carbon bike, or bikepacking setup on a budget product subject to highly focused stresses, fair play. Cycling’s a broad church.
@eburtthebike I've found Spanish drivers to be almost entirely excellent around cyclists.
I agree, the study was made after cycle paths that had been introduced in Berlin during the 70’s and 80’s caused a big increase in cycling deaths. It is an interesting study for cyclists to read in order to know what dangers exist at badly designed junctions. Here in Paris we have very few bi-directional paths. The ones I have cycled on have no building entrances or courtyards (so no cars crossing the path) and every junction is traffic lights to prevent accidents.
We have enough regulation. They're running a motorbike without insurance/registration and possibly without a licence, and the punishment for being caught with all that is pretty severe already. The problem is lack of enforcement.
In my experience with anything less than one of those serious mid-bike two-foot kickstands, a wall / tree / hedge is the better option, or the bike will sometimes show you the alternative and lie down by itself. Maybe I've got panniers that are just too large and the wrong balance of (too much) cargo though? And of course Edinburgh streets are great at funneling gusts of wind...
I agree there's a clear legal line * but I do see something here. Like much tech it's entirely opaque from the outside (without even invoking things like the VW emissions cheating).** I know in NL they have trialled semi-portable "test stations" to check max motor speeds. However with the latest "but there's no money" crisis I can't see that over here. Indeed it's hard to see the police being motivated to do any more roads policing, with this even further down the priority list. Hope I'm wrong... While I guess many of us *would* be fine with EAPCs as a means to attract "non-cyclists" ... perhaps there's an "attractive nuisance" element to this? We're ushering people into an apparently effortless, easy and minimal consequence mobility mode without the "learning experience" of managing a lighter, unpowered machine on roads. And it's still (busy) *roads* where the new power-assisted riders will often find themselves. Not like in more advanced countries where people usually cycle in much safer and more controlled environments. OTOH we should always balance such concerns against "but cars and full-power ICE motorbikes now" though! Number plates, licences and insurance aren't necessarily mitigating that well... * As soon as there are laws games will be played. How long can you be above the "continuous rate power" for? Can we have *multiple* legal motors on one machine? ** Is the power / speed actually regulated by software, and how long will that keep a child armed with the internet from unlocking it?
And maybe a planning obligation to have traffic Marshalls controlling access out of the site not obstructing the path and restricting it if cyclists are likely to be obstructed …one can hope
I'll stick to my low rider with Karrimor Kalahari dry bag panniers and Karrimor Kalahari barbag thanks.
40 thoughts on “Council list ‘too many cyclists’ with fly-tipping + speeding as pandemic ‘challenge’; Rail worker stops theft and reunites cyclist with bike; Bollards installed to stop pavement drivers; British Cycling correct cycle licence poll + more on the live blog”
Don’t use cable locks; you
Don’t use cable locks; you might as well use overcooked spaghetti and save a bit of weight. Use a decent (10mm) chain with a disc detainer lock. I use the Kryptonite Evolution (the short one works fine for me) which the Lock Picking Lawyer thought was pretty decent when he tested it.
slappop wrote:
But don’t forget the chapeau for Mr Muneeb. Not only did he challenge the would-be thief and rescue the bike, he then waited hours after his shift to return it. That’s going above and beyond.
OldRidgeback wrote:
Absolutely! The point of the story is not the lock, it is the humanity and consideration of Abdul Muneeb. Can we elect him an official Cycle Hero with some sort of award?
Hope that the railway have
Hope that the railway have decided to pay Abdul for his four hours overtime. Amazing thing for him to have done!
I agree, Mr Muneeb has
I agree, Mr Muneeb has definately gone above and beyond, his humanity really does deserve some sort of lasting recognition.
It’s great that he did that
It’s great that he did that and many kudos to him, but it’s not really a scaleable solution to the problem of bike theft. (I’m sure he doesn’t want to hanging around for four hours every day or mixing it with possibly aggresive thieves).
While there are no perfect solutions, use of a lock which at least can’t be cut open with a tool that can be carried in a jacket pocket can go a long way.
The point of this story is very much about the lock; it’s a kind of British thing to rely on solo heroes, but you can’t run a society around that concept.
I smell a rat with this story
I smell a rat with this story. If it’s all kosher, fair play to the guy, he needs recognition. However ( call me cynical ) but it would have been very easy to stage this. Here’s a hypothetical, a theoretical guy working for a theoretical train company, fancies a bit of a Twitter attention seek. Theoretical train company guy, looks for a commuter locking his bike up at the theoretical train station. Theoretical train company man, then phones up a theoretical mate, and tells him to bring a pair of bolt croppers, and cut the lock off of the bike, then wait for theoretical train guy to come outside. Theoretical train man and theoretical friend, then put on a show for the cameras, and theoretical train company man ends up with the commuters bike in his possession, with the cut lock. Then he waits for the owner of the bike to to come back. One instant ‘super hero’ and ( presumably ) gets paid overtime whilst he waits. I hope I’m wrong, and the situation was genuine, but I just can’t see how a genuine bike thief wouldn’t just have told our ‘Clark Kent’ to do one, and ridden off when challenged.
Judge dreadful wrote:
You’re cynical.
I’m slightly ashamed to admit
I’m slightly ashamed to admit I think the Grenadier looks…. really cool. Perhaps if I win the lottery I’ll buy one to be my support car for a round-the-world bike ride.
I loathe all massive 4x4s.
I loathe all massive 4x4s.
They are too big for our roads & parking spaces, bad for the climate, bad for air quality, dangerous to vulnerable road users, and unless you’re a farmer totally unnecessary.
People with money but no community spirit buy them because it makes them feel important.
Used in their ‘proper habitat
Used in their ‘proper habitat’ they are fine. Sadly, they’re not used so much in the country in farms, etc
Far too many of them are used on normal roads, were they’re far too big, driven by people who can’t handle/drive them.
4x4s and SUVs are an absolute blight on modern roads….and more and more are being bought.
It’s built for going off-road
It’s built for going off-road, stupid, like these ones 😉
https://mobile.twitter.com/bbctomedwards/status/1277974899768700935
HarrogateSpa wrote:
Oh dear, someone is a bit confused. If you are referring to massive SUVs, then none of them appeal to farmers, but if you mean double-cab pickups then they have a huge appeal beyond farming. All vehicles, not just motorised vehicles are dangerous to vulnerable road users and all motor vehicles are bad for the climate. Massive SUVs and double-cabs are all smaller than buses, large vans, lorries and the like which seem to fit onto our roads just fine, and my Volvo XC90 is shorter than the current V90 estate car, Audi A7 Ford Mondea (and numerous others) and fits nicely into my garage. As for your final statement I have both and don’t need to feel important, just want to tow my caravan and carry my gear. Save your emotional energy, loathe something worth loathing. Like caravanners 🙂
You must have a very big
You must have a very big garage then.
I do, yes, 6m wide, 7m long
I do, yes, 6m wide, 7m long
But shorter or longer isnt
But shorter or longer isnt the point,its the width imo, I seem to be plagued with meeting Ford Rangers at the moment on single track roads,not only do the damn things fill the whole width of the road up,so you have to push into a hedge or ditch to let them by,the driver looks at you as if you are the one causing the problems. Now fine if these were working vehicles,but they carry not a speck of dust,mud,dents,or even tools/materials in the back,they do appear to be bought by people compensating for something
I was going on the remark
I was going on the remark about fitting into car park spaces where the standard is 2.4m x 4.8m, although I’m seeing more plans with 2.5m x 5m spaces. As for the width of various vehicles, you picked an odd one as it seems it’s only the mirrors that make a Ranger particularly wide, and even that is still narrower than a Transit which is the last vehicle I encountered on a single track road. A current S-Max is as wide as my XC90, which underlines the point about singling out large SUVs.
Height and weight more the
Height and weight more the issue
Oh dear, someone is a bit
Oh dear, someone is a bit confused.
Yes, someone.
I presume you also loath the
I presume you also loath the electric Tesla as they’re actually bigger than the Grenadier (height aside) and all their models fulfil all the other criteria of your argument. Even the much vaunted Nissan Leaf is only 300mm shorter.
“Built on Purpose” – Do many
“Built on Purpose” – Do many complex motor vehicles get built by accident…?
Oh no, the “accidents” come
Oh no, the “accidents” come later….
Bad translation of the day,
Bad translation of the day, there.
I have an insecure and small (in more ways than one) personality – the other guys tease me; buying one of these rectify these deficiencies, render me An unconquerable king of the road and – bonus – my kids will be super-safe on the suburban school run.
And everyone else’s kids will
And everyone else’s kids will be less safe going to school. Incredibly selfish and totally unjustifiable.
Haven’t most studies
Haven’t most studies determined that SUVs/4x4s are actually less safe in accidents than an equivalent estate or saloon car?
It depends upon the
It depends upon the circumstances. Older “body on top of a rigid chassis” is good for low speed (low ratio gears engaged) off-roading – you can hit a rock etc and still drive away. But they are very poor, compared to monocoque designs, at absorbing the energy during high speed collisions so your get much more passenger injury.
I like the unashamed
I like the unashamed references to an ‘iconic’ design without ever mentioning how it can rove over land, although the bonnet is copied from Lego bonnet plate 45677.
If I won the lottery I would set up a mountain bike guide and uplift service in Morocco’s Anti-Atlas mountains with one.
It’s a product engineered for
It’s a product engineered for a specific market, British from the ground up (obviously using bought-in parts in places), and we should all hope it succeeds.
Now, that doesn’t mean we should encourage everyone to buy one for the school run…
Machine helps destroy planet
Machine helps destroy planet – booo!
British machine helps destroy planet – hooraaay!
There’s no point in saying that they’re not for the school run, because you know that’s where 99.9% of them will end up.
jollygoodvelo wrote:
BMW engines…
Goes against everything I
Goes against everything I espouse to loathe in a vehicle, but, but, but, deep down it appeals to the little boy who had Tonka toys.
Maybe if it had electric drive, and I lived up a farm track and promised to never ever buy another car…
“During the pandemic, cycling
“During the pandemic, cycling has increased but there’s not always sufficient infrastructure to accommodate it. “
So why not write insufficient cycle provison then – the problem
not
too many cyclists – the problem
Plenty of roads, I’m sure.
Plenty of roads, I’m sure. Surely the problem is insufficient infrastructure for all the cars?
Cyclist berated for not
“Cyclist berated for not having a licence plate or high-vis… by a police officer.” She also seemed to think that helmets were mandatory.
With her complete ignorance of the law, I’d be tempted to think that the WPC was fake and on her way to a fancy dress party, but there was a whole posse.
Another case for Supt Andy Cox.
Did she actually say ‘licence
Did she actually say ‘licence plate’ because that bit of dialogue was very muffled.
hirsute wrote:
Yup. “…not got a licence plate….” is what I heard.
Got it that time. It was
Got it that time. It was another bit that was indistinct that I thought was the bit refered to.
The lad was a Mr Winston Codoogo of 55 Mercer Road.
I get the distinct impression
I get the distinct impression that Hart Council aren’t particularly in favour of bicycles. Their vision for the future up to 2040 has pictures of cars, a helicopter and a narrow boat but not a single bicycle, and it only mentions them once, saying that they will be supplying hire bikes.
The Telegraph poll and the
The Telegraph poll and the Hart’s Co poll kind of confirm that cycling as ‘normal’, safe transport is still a long, long way off.
Hart District Council is
Hart District Council is controlled by a coalition of Liberal Democrats and Independent Councillors.