A56 pop-up cycle lane sabotaged; Man completes 220 mile ride home on tiny kids’ bike; Everesting record attempt underway; Naked cyclist with face mask asked garage worker to perform sex act; New £1,499 Garmin smart watch + more on the live blog

The former pro gives us a glimpse of what life if like for cyclists on busy roads in the US, with plenty of parallels to be drawn with cycling on this side of the pond. As well as answering the video’s fundamental question, Gaimon also treats us to some dodgy infrastructure and explains some everyday annoyances we can probably all relate to.  

For a similarly-themed article from a British perspective, see our “Why don’t cyclists use the cycle lane?” feature. 

My Tour de France:
22 days
44 commutes
308 miles
13,200 calories (52.8 🍺)
£61.60 mileage allowance claimed
(£77 saved for employer)
48.6kg of carbon not emitted

I love this bike. pic.twitter.com/69Cfd9kYUG

— Chris Boardman (@Chris_Boardman) September 20, 2020

Did you know you could claim mileage for cycling to work? Check out this explainer from Cycling UK to see if you could claim up to 20p per mile tax-free. 

The journey is over!! #Glasgow 2 #Manchester on the little pink bike!!
With a sky dive midway through!

But we don’t stop there, we still have money to raise please donate via https://t.co/w3yZFC7rDP pic.twitter.com/bKpgBNwpVm

— Wesley Hamnett (@WezHamnett) September 21, 2020

At some point yesterday evening, Wesley Hamnett arrived back in Wythenshawe after riding 220 knee and back-busting miles from Glasgow on a diminutive kid’s bike that belonged to his young daughter. Mr Hamnett was originally set to ride between Russia and Manchester before the pandemic hit, then decided to head up to Glasgow for a new, rather painful challenge in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support, Christie Charitable Fund, British Heart Foundation and the Wythenshawe Hospitals MFT Charity. 

According to Glasgow Live Mr Hamnett buckled several wheels and suffered from a very sore back, but the good people of Scotland kept him going for the first part of his journey. He added: “The wheels keep buckling obviously because of my weight. There’s a place down in Moffat called Annandale Cycles. The first time the wheels buckled, the guy sorted me out – he swapped me wheels from his grandkid’s bike, for free. That made my day, it nearly made me cry. That’s how generous people have been.”

The journey took six days on “barely any sleep”, and almost £5,000 has been raised at the time of writing – if you want to donate, the fundraising page is here. 

Poole Police have issued an appeal for witnesses after the disturbing incident at a Shell garage on Waterloo Road, Poole on Tuesday 15th September, following reports of a man arriving by bike with no clothes, a backpack and a face covering. The man then allegedly asked a female shop assistant to perform sex acts on him several times before cycling off. 

Police Constable Jack Morrison commented: “This must have been a distressing incident for the female shop worker and enquiries are underway to identify the man.

“I am appealing to anyone who may have been in the area at the time and witnessed any suspicious activity to please get in touch.

“I would also ask any motorists who were travelling along Waterloo Road around the time of the incident and may have captured anything on relevant on dashcam footage to contact Dorset Police.”

 

 

 

 

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We’re just outside of Taunton today, on a nondescript (but quite steep) hill out of Crowcombe. Why? Well young @maxstedman_ has his sights on the Everesting World Record. Will he be the first to ever break the 7-hour barrier? Stick with us to find out… #TheChaseIsOn

A post shared by Hunt Bike Wheels | Road (@hunt.road) on Sep 22, 2020 at 2:52am PDT

Stedman has chosen a hill in Somerset to attempt to complete the 8,848m of elevation faster than anyone before. After a year in which the men’s record has fell at least five times (we’ve lost track), the mark now stands at 7:04:41, set by Ronan Mc Laughlin in July, and Stedman’s wheel sponsor Hunt think a sub-7 might be on. We’ll update when the 24-year-old has finished his attempt and had everything ratified by Hells 500. 

The film, called ‘Il Caso Pantani’, is in Italian so a subtitle job for most of us, but it looks like a pretty intense watch from the trailer – it’s set to hit Italian cinemas on 12th October. 

Assuming they pull it off, the people behind the rearranged world championships in Imola will deserve  multiple pats on the back, having organised the whole thing in a few weeks following the cancellation of the original event in Switzerland. 

The time trial is a 31.7km, mostly flat course for both men and women, with Rohan Dennis going for a historic third win. He said: “The Worlds has been on my mind throughout the lockdown. Regardless of the category it is always a great honour to race with the rainbow jersey. Every time I wear it I race to win. I am in good shape. It is always very special to participate in the most important race of the year, but to get a chance to fight for a win for the third time in a row and join an exclusive group of champions who have achieved this feat will be fantastic” 

The road race will be contained entirely on a hilly 28.8km circuit, with the men covering it eight times and the women five times. Mads Pedersen won’t be there as he confirmed the course is “too demanding” and better suited to climbers, but Annemiek van Vleuten will be attempting to defend her title despite undergoing surgery on a fractured wrist last Sunday. 

She said: “The fracture isn’t too bad, so there still is a slight chance that I might be able to compete with my teammates to defend the jersey on a course that really suits me. I’ll have to see how I am feeling in the next days and do my best to recover. In the meantime I am riding the rollers while wearing a brace to avoid exerting my injured arm”.

Here’s the story of how it happened in a classy vid put together by Deceuninck–Quick-Step: “a combination of unbelievable consistency, resilience and an extraordinary fighting spirit”, so they say. Specialized also sent us some fine photos of Bennett’s celebratory green Tarmac SL7 frameset if you fancy another ogle… 

Once again the new restrictions announced by Boris Johnson live in parliament today have thrown up a few questions for cyclists, but as far as we know (so far) ‘Covid-secure’ outdoor events are unaffected by the changes: “we’re not stopping team sports outside”, said the Prime Minister. 

The fine for being in a group of more than six not including members of the same household will double to £200, so group rides with more than six participants in the same group are very much off. 

This is what we’re up against. https://t.co/NOq1bJ9qoE

— Show Me A Sign In A Limited And Specific Way (@ShowMeASignBryn) September 22, 2020

Once again, this is where you double down with a permanent install.

Want to take the cones? Okay, guess we need to install something less portable.

Prìcks.

— Mike – Towards a Metric America! (@The_NavigatorBR) September 22, 2020

It’s shocking and will surprise no one, but it appears these are the lengths people will go to in order to stop people from travelling to work in a healthier and more sustainable way. OneTrafford say they are now working with their traffic management company Amey to quickly replace stolen signs, trellises and cones that mark out the remaining stretch of pop-up cycle lane between Stretford tip and Stretford Mall.

Despite the popularity of the pop-up route that originally went from Stretford to Manchester city centre, with a 421% rise in cycle journeys observed, most of it was removed following reports of increased motor traffic congestion. This had led to inevitable consequences… 

Today was my last day cycling to work.

Large parts of the A56 pop-up cycle lane were removed last week. I’ve given it a go since but it just doesn’t feel safe any more.

If @AndrewHWestern does deliver a permanent route, I’ll be back.

For now I’m afraid I’ll be using the car.

— Paul Smith (@Paul_SLG) September 21, 2020

Love sports? Recent lottery winner? Garmin’s Marq Athlete Performance Edition range is for you, with the most cyclist-friendly ‘Athlete’ version costing a penny under 1,500 quid with a heart rate bundle included (there’s also the ‘Driver’ edition for £1,899.99 if you’re partial to a bit of F1). 

Described as “a luxury modern tool watch tuned to separate you from your rivals”, it’s got all the smart features you’ll find on Garmin’s top-of-the-range Forerunner but with extra special features such as “a diamond-like carbon finish” to the case, and the Pulse OX sensor to check on your oxygen levels at high altitudes.

If you’re in the market for the Marq Athlete Performance Edition, there’s probably every chance you’re a member of a very exclusive golf club… so luckily for you, the watch comes pre-loaded with maps for over 41,000 golf courses around the world. 

You can check out the full specs over on Garmin’s website. 

If you haven’t had enough facts and figures about the 21-year-old’s shock victory yet, it turns out he’s the first rider to share his Tour de France on Strava… well most of it anyway, as Pogacar’s last upload was stage 18 on the 17th September (he famously didn’t use a computer on the final climb of the stage 20 time trial, of course). 

Commenting on Pogacar’s victory and the healthy number of riders using Strava, their CEO Michael Horvath commented: “People keep people active and at Strava, our mission is to connect athletes to what motivates them and help them to find their personal best.

“There are few things as inspiring and motivating as Tadej Pogacar’s spectacular come-from-behind victory at the Tour. Tadej, Primoz Roglic and Richie Porte embody the highest levels of striving in sport and we take our hats off to them.

“Kudos to Tadej Pogacar on a historic victory, and for becoming the first Tour winner to make his race part of the record of the world’s athletic activities on Strava.”

We surveyed morning traffic in #railtonLTN across two month.
Here is what we found: pic.twitter.com/F4x7rgxDRX

— Railton LTN (@RailtonLTN) September 22, 2020

Despite LTNs getting a rather bad reception from sceptical motorists in some parts of the country, these stats show what can be achieved when an LTN is done right – in a two month observational study, Railton LTN claim that they saw 90% more cyclists on Railton Road in Brixton, and 78% of all traffic on the road was cycle traffic. They also report that there were 96% more women cycling, and a 175% increase in people cycling with children. 

We’re installing more than 500 meters of new protected bike lanes each week. Here is a video of Queensbridge street which shows how these protected lanes make a real difference for cyclists.
This is part of our plan to fast-track 40km of new bike lanes over two years. pic.twitter.com/AJA2oLLokF

— City of Melbourne (@cityofmelbourne) September 20, 2020

In total 40km will be installed in the city, with the works taking place over two years. With Australia not exactly known for its bike-friendliness, do changes like these represent a turning point Down Under? 

 

 

 

 

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World Record pace is out of reach by now as Max’s back pain worsens with every rep. 9 reps left and the British Record is now the target!

A post shared by Hunt Bike Wheels | Road (@hunt.road) on Sep 22, 2020 at 7:46am PDT

According to Hunt Bike Wheels, Stedman is set to fall short of breaking Ronan        Mc Laughlin’s 7:04:41 everesting, but may still break the British record of 7:44:00 set by Phil Stonelake less than two weeks ago.