Monopoly launch a pro cycling edition; Alan Shearer’s new gravel bike; Ben Foster and Tao Geoghegan Hart go for a spin; Cycle lane blocked by eight cars; Suspected bike thieves caught cutting lock with angle grinder + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
7,000 capacity bike parking facility in Amsterdam
A massive hole in the ground is what will soon be a new 7,000 capacity underground bike parking facility in front of Amsterdam Centraal station pic.twitter.com/2xTIu1v5Wc
— Hackney Cyclist (@Hackneycyclist) November 19, 2020
Nobody does cycling quite like the Dutch. This massive hole in the ground will soon become a new bike parking facility next to Amsterdam Centraal station. It will have space for 7,000 bikes on top of another 4,000 spaces in a second facility which will be built on the other side of the station when construction begins next year. A similar bike park opened in The Hague in July.
The new 8,500 capacity underground bike parking facility at the main train station in The Hague which opened last month. Just like in the UK Dutch trains and offices are mostly empty, so this parking garage is too. I’m sure it’ll fill up once normal service resumes pic.twitter.com/PmlwLGVmWj
— Hackney Cyclist (@Hackneycyclist) August 16, 2020
Schoolboy completes Everesting to become one of the youngest to complete challenge
Zak Burgess, 14, completed the Everesting challenge back in August and will tell his story at the Kendal Mountain Festival this weekend. Burgess rode 122 miles over 28 hours, amassing 52 ascents of Birdy Brow, near Clitheroe. Remarkably he had only trained for the event for five weeks.
Zak said: “There were some extreme highs and lows as part of the ride. I don’t really get emotional about things but the extreme tiredness brought a flood of emotion at the end. When you’ve been dreaming of that final moment and then it hits you, and it’s big. I’ve never felt anything like it. Crying was my only option – I was speechless.
“Riding through the night was the toughest. It started to rain about 3am and it got cold, I thought I wasn’t going to make it but people stayed out through the night and some rode with me to keep me going – shout outs to them all, I wouldn’t have made it without the support.”
Shearer 'a big fan' of cycling, saying it keeps him fit without the joint pain
Our earlier blog post about Alan Shearer’s new Vielo V+1 gravel bike went down well so we spoke to Trevor Hughes at Vielo to find out more about the Premier League all-time leading goalscorer’s love of cycling…
“Since finishing his football career, Alan’s been a big fan of road cycling. As he’s had a number of operations through injuries from football, he said that he’s found road cycling paired with Speedflex HIIT training gave him the training and fitness buzz, without any pain on joints the following day.
“This year he’s been on the road bike more during lockdown, but was looking for something fast and comfortable to explore the networks of gravel routes the North of England is blessed with. Being a passionate Geordie, he was keen to support a North East company and came to see Vielo (based in Gateshead) to get his gravel fix!”
Police sting catches bike thieves in Newcastle
A pair of suspected bike thieves were caught by Northumbria Police in a sting operation using bait bikes in Newcastle city centre. The Northern Echo report both men in their 30s were arrested, with one using bolt cutters to steal the bike. Sergeant Fran Joyce explained the sting: “We have seen an increase in bicycle thefts during lockdown as more and more people take to two wheels.
“We have increased our patrols in areas that have seen a spike in incidents. The return of students has seen a second spike in thefts and so we have decided to run another sting operation. A similar initiative led to the arrest of nine thieves over the summer and in just a week we have already taken a further two suspects in to custody.”
Scottish cycling deaths hit six-year high
Edinburgh Evening News reports that the number of cyclists killed in Scotland rose to ten last year, the highest number since 2013. The amount of serious injuries also increased significantly from 157 in 2018 to 183 a year later. However, Cycling Scotland spokesperseon Denise Hamilton suggested the jump could be explained by there being more cyclists on the road. She said: “Cycling casualties are increasing in line with increases in people cycling.
“While the likelihood of being killed or seriously injured cycling is relatively low, it’s completely unacceptable that anyone is being killed or seriously injured on our roads. The highest priority to make cycling safer is cycle paths separate from traffic. Police action against dangerous driving behaviour is also crucial, as is reducing the volume and speed of vehicles on streets that people are cycling and walking on.”
Since 2018, kilometres cycled increased by 17% from 313 to 367 million km. Despite this the overall number of casualties fell from 638 to 572 and is at its lowest for ten years. Unsurprisingly the largest number of casualties occured in Edinburgh and Glasgow with more than a third coming from Scotland’s two biggest cities.
Birmingham cycle lane blocked by eight parked cars
8 vans and cars parked half on the pavement and half in the cycle lane 👍 pic.twitter.com/mHonn9yLO6
— Sophie Watson 🚲 (@swat_transport) November 20, 2020
This short stretch of Birmingham cycle lane has eight cars parked, six of which are in the lane…
One Twitter user replied: “Definition of self-entitlement! Too many drivers think society owes them a parking space!”
‘Entitled cyclists’ feel entitled to cycle in a way that helps them stay alive
‘Entitled drivers’ feel entitled to space which should be for the most vulnerable road users. https://t.co/BVtFQ624nr
— Just Another Cyclist (@justacwab) November 20, 2020
Monopoly's pro cycling edition launches... and there's a waiting list already
Monopoly is an inevitable (and often long-winded) part of the festive season for many of us… but what if you could swap Old Kent Road for the Poggio? Professional cycling Monopoly is now a thing, and even Remco Evenepoel is getting in on the act in this bizarre video posted on the young Belgian’s Instagram account.
It seems cycling Monopoly is such a popular idea that the company selling the board game have already sold out. It ditches famous London properties and landmarks in favour of the the key battlegrounds from the spring classics: La Redoute, Carrefour de l’Arbre, Roubaix Vélodrome and the Muur van Geraardsbergen are the prized assets here. Don’t forget to collect two energy gels when you pass go, if you eventually manage to buy it!
Stay safe, be happy, just ride bikes
‘Stay safe, be happy, just ride bikes’ is a slogan we can get behind, and these Just ride bikes t-shirts are in support of a great cause too. With 10% of proceeds going to NHS Charities Together you can do your bit and bag a decent stocking filler at the same time.
Ben Foster and Tao Geoghegan Hart go for a spin
Continuing our football theme following a sneak peak at Alan Shearer’s tasty Vielo earlier… what happens when a cycling-mad international goalkeeper and the winner of the 2020 Giro d’Italia go for a ride? Turns out it includes plenty of dad jokes, coffee stops and chats about football as Foster tries to keep up with Geoghegan Hart, who he describes as “an absolute sicko” and “legend of a bloke”. He’s also giving away a signed Maglia Rosa; you just have to subscribe, comment and like the video on Foster’s YouTube channel by 7th December.
20 November 2020, 09:16
20 November 2020, 09:16
20 November 2020, 09:16
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Nice graph. I'm aware that climate change exists, but so does maths. We are still responsible for 1% of global emissions. Therefore we can only move the needle in proportion to that one percent we create. Going net zero is not without cost, money is not unlimited, and the faster we go the more expensive it will be. If net zero asap is the absolute priority, what do we decide to do without to be able to fully fund it? HS2 should be a lesson in the problems of managing large scale infrastructure and getting it done on time and budget.
* Except when it comes to "fairness" with eg. new legal punishments for causing death, serious injury etc. Then we've got time! I don't think that was necessarily wrong, but it was an odd choice of concern and the rationale from some quarters clearly bogus eg. "we can't do anything about them as things stand!"
Yup. Nothing more going on that "follow the money" can't explain. Well, that and "bikes? We've got bigger things to worry about..." * I'd mention something about the food delivery companies too, only they have excellent lawyers who've been working for some time. And apparently they have been very generous with their parliamentary communications specialists. So I'll just note that legally they have few employees, and apparently even pay some tax.
A fool could have foreseen the consequences of allowing illegal machines to be sold, on the pretence that they would be used on private property only (ha!). You can't collect a motor vehicle from the dealer until it is taxed, insured and registered. Having two wheels and a battery is no reason to waive these safeguards.
@danhopgood The problem is that under the current legislation, there is nothing to enforce at or before the point of sale - it is perfectly legal to buy/sell/own an electric motorbike, and use it on private land (with the landowner's permission). It's only using them on public roads (without registration etc.) that is illegal, and so currently that is the only option for enforcement.
The law seems pretty clear already: https://bikeservicesuk.com/ebikes-and-the-law/?srsltid=AfmBOoqSUKFkKQn3GXXTnyelhu6D87z0ogZda7q01qJ5bvvZ3_A-xjWc As far as I'm concerned it is an enforcement issue. But that enforcement is best done at source, before sale. That's not happening. It means the folks at the bottom - scratching a living being delivery riders - are at risk of their livelihood being confiscated and crushed. The government seem quite happy for all this to carry on. THose delivery riders could and should have driving licences, and ride licensed, taxed, insured and MoT'd e-mopeds. And shut down any delivery company that allows use of illegal vehicles to drive up its profits.
Tacks grow on paved roads during the Spanish winter.
@ravenbait Wait - you're suggesting people should read their own comments when writing them? Next you'll be insisting they read other people's comments before replying to them! Madness!!
@tomlew You really need to work on your communication. You said, "And generally you can’t take any bike into most closed indoor spaces anyway." Any bike. Not "E-bikes that might catch fire." Then you told me, "Wait until a fire breaks out in your house." So the implication is that any bike might catch fire. If that's not what you meant, then perhaps consider whether what you write (all any reader has to go on) is what you mean, because if what you mean isn't what you write, then you might as well not bother.
@Sbloke All my bikes fold around the hinge in the head tube, I don't think I've ever seen a working bike that doesn't do this.
14 thoughts on “Monopoly launch a pro cycling edition; Alan Shearer’s new gravel bike; Ben Foster and Tao Geoghegan Hart go for a spin; Cycle lane blocked by eight cars; Suspected bike thieves caught cutting lock with angle grinder + more on the live blog”
Quote:
Is that like that character in League of Gentlemen who says, “You’re MY wife now”?
Quote:
I once needed to saw through my own bike lock in public, having lost the keys. It’s not a comfortable experience. And I didn’t have an angle grinder, so I was there a while.
Not sure I’d be challenging anyone with an angle grinder.
I had to cut through my own
I had to cut through my own bike lock some years ago, and my motorbike lock more recently. Nobody stopped either time.
Once locked my MkII Golf with
Once locked my MkII Golf with a new steering wheel lock in Carnforth. Key was still in Kendal. Bought a hacksaw from nearby hardware shop, and 20 uninterrupted minutes later we were off.
Just unplug it then approach
Just unplug it then approach them.
Did anyone bike fit Lord
Did anyone bike fit Lord Shearer – looks a tad big…
It’s not at all clear from
It’s not at all clear from the picture which one is actually Deputy Lieutenant Schearer, but it’s true to say that they’ve both got tiny legs. It seems to be the fashion these days.
slappop wrote:
IIRC (it was a *very* long time ago) The Divine Alan Who Sitteth Upon The Right Hand of God was always a bit follically challenged, if that helps…
The cyclists is the one all
The cyclists is the one all in black – tsk – you should know that.
He’s allegedly 6ft,I’d drop
He’s allegedly 6ft,I’d drop the seat down by quite a bit personally, but maybe its just the bike is near and he’s far away…
It would be really good to
It would be really good to state how many cars you could get in to that bike care park, just to show how efficent the use of space is….then talk about the congestion difference between the bike and care parks.
The Ben Foster video is
The Ben Foster video is absoultely fantastic. It put a smile on my face the whole time – even a dad joke at the end! It is also amazing that seemingly no-one notices a grand tour winner cycling around and having a pastry outside Greggs! Ben Foster really does love his cycling and what a great ambassador for our sport.
cycling Monopoly – from what
cycling Monopoly – from what I read, the In Jail square will need to be quite big.
Buy Box Hill for £50: a cycle-friendly b & b is £10 (you can charge £7 /visit) and a bike store £25 (£15 at least if anyone lands on that).
Chance card – close pass, go back three squares; Community Chest – NIP sent to driver – advance three squares. You are assessed for road tax – pay £0.
Free Parking becomes a secure cycle pod. Do the train stations become bike shops? St John, Wiggle, Spa and Ridewill?
On that Birmingham car park
On that Birmingham car park/cycle lane: many councils have put them in but there’s zero enforcement to stop people continuing to use the now-cancelled parking spaces… What did they think was going to happen? And comment 2: why is the new lane on the downhill side of the road?