BBC responds to complaints about “shameful” LTN report; Cllr won’t apologise for anti-cyclist “w*nking off the Dutch” tweet; Calls to ban park through-traffic; Will Suez Canal blockage affect bike industry?; Maintenance near miss + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
More calls to ban through traffic as another cyclist is injured in a Royal Park crash
We hope the cyclist makes a full recovery. Why was the van there in the first place? Most commercial vehicles should not be in the park at all. Surely parks should be for sport and recreation only! Let people drive to the park,
Not through it.— Parks for People (@Lungs_of_London) March 24, 2021
There have been more calls to ban through traffic from London’s parks after RegentsParkCyclists, shared a photo of the aftermath of the latest crash involving a driver hitting a cyclist in one of the Royal Parks. RegentsParkCyclists, a group for all bike riders who use the park, claims the driver was doing a U-turn when they collided with the cyclist.
One person replied to the tweet saying the cyclist was their son and that he had been taken to St Mary’s Hospital with multiple injuries and underwent double surgery last night. The cyclist has no memory of the crash and the father says they are looking for witnesses.
Just last month, the London Cycling Campaign and many others called for through traffic to be banned from Richmond Park after a cyclist was taken to hospital with injuries sustained in crash with a driver whose wrecked car was found off the road nearby. Questions were asked about how the vehicle was so badly damaged when the incident happened in a 20mph zone.
how many times? Keep the vans and trade vehicles out of the parks
— KoKo🇨🇾 (@gevagora) March 25, 2021
"Nothing's changed": Adam Yates not putting success down to Ineos transfer
Sheer class 🤌
Enjoy your first win as a Grenadier, @AdamYates7 #VoltaCatalunya100 pic.twitter.com/MOYhIi2Ys5
— INEOS Grenadiers (@INEOSGrenadiers) March 24, 2021
Adam Yates poured cold water over speculation that his impressive form is down to his new team Ineos Grenadiers and insisted “nothing’s changed”. Yates told Cycling Weekly after winning stage three of the Volta a Catalunya that he’s still the same rider that was racing last year and a change of colours hasn’t impacted that.
“I was looking pretty good last year too. Nothing’s changed. I am just doing my thing and it doesn’t really matter what team. It’s a great environment and it’s an environment that helps you win bike races but at the end of the day I am still the same guy and I want to keep the ball rolling.
“Every team can be a little bit different, but in the end it’s all the same – everyone’s trying to win bike races.”
Yates has started the season in top form, finishing second behind Tadej Pogačar at the UAE Tour before winning yesterday’s summit finish at Valter 2000. The win puts him in a commanding position, 45 seconds clear of his teammate Richie Porte and 49 seconds ahead of João Almeida, who struggled on the final climb. Three of the top four on GC ride for Yates’ Ineos Grenadiers with Geraint Thomas in fourth, 53 seconds back.
You can't take that on a bike...
But you can possibly take that by bike… pic.twitter.com/4AOqgOqR2c
— Kim Harding (@kim_harding) March 24, 2021
Split belt start-up
A Californian start-up is seeking crowdfunding for their “next-gen drivetrain for the future” of e-bikes and other electric vehicles using a split belt. Veer are selling shares in their business manufacturing “bombproof carbon fibre drive solution with built-in gear shifting.” It says the split belt boosts durability, performance, range and affordability over a traditional drivetrain without ever needing lubrication and with its own in gear shifting.
Founded by Sean Hacking, a Biomolecular Engineering and Bioinformatics graduate with experience in automation and robotics, the carbon fibre split belt can be retrofitted onto most frames and was called “true progress” by a judge at Eurobike…
Shawn Bradley update: police report details crash that left former NBA star paralysed
We are thinking of former 76er Shawn Bradley and his family. Wishing them all the best during Shawn’s recovery. https://t.co/7joHRz0qNN
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) March 17, 2021
A police report into the January crash which left Shawn Bradley paralysed says the former NBA star was hit by a driver and then collided with a parked car. Bradley couldn’t immediately recall the incident but later told police he was riding past a stationary car when he was hit.
The driver told police she gave the former Dallas Mavericks centre “plenty of room” and that as she looked in her rear view mirror she saw Bradley “flipping through the air”. His GPS data showed he was travelling at low speed when he was hit.
“V1 driver looked into their rear view mirror as they passed V2 (a Saturn) and saw the cyclist flipping through the air and landed on their back,” the report read. “The cyclist had impacted the driver side rear bumper of V2. After which the bicycle and cyclist travelled along the top of the trunk and the cyclist continued along the side of V1 causing scratches and several dents to V2.”
So far, no criminal charges have been filed. Bradley underwent neck fusion surgery after the crash in Utah and remains hospitalised for rehabilitation.
Will the Suez Canal blockage affect the bike industry?
Lets hope the Suez canal ship is not full of carbon bike bits.
— Camille McMillan (@camillemcmillan) March 25, 2021
We’ll be keeping our eyes peeled for any news about the Suez Canal blockage impacting the bike industry. We’ve not heard anything yet but with trade from the Far East to Europe likely to take a hit and 12 per cent of global trade passing through the route, it’s got us thinking there could well be some bikes or components on, or delayed by, the cargo ship…
The ship was headed for Rotterdam in the Netherlands where quite a few bike and component brands, including Shimano and Cannondale, have distribution hubs so we could be hearing from them if the situation isn’t resolved soon. It’s been well-reported that there have been global shortages of gear in the past year, so let’s hope this isn’t another setback…
Let’s hope @TrekBikes and @GiantUK that there aren’t any bikes on boats stuck in the Suez Canal!? If so, I’m prepared to pitch in to rent a Chinook to get bikes to the UK!
— Cyclexperience Bike Hire New Forest (@CycleX) March 24, 2021
Councillor refuses to apologise for anti-cyclist "w*nking off the Dutch" tweet
Councillor Liam Walker refused to apologise at Wednesday’s Oxfordshire County Councillors meeting for agreeing with a tweet which said cyclists who are “wanking off the Dutch” should “fuck off over there then”. Walker resigned from his role as Cabinet Member for Highways Delivery & Operations before Christmas after a panel concluded he breached Oxfordshire County Council’s code of conduct. The Oxford Mail reports Walker was asked to apologise for his breach of conduct by Lib Dem councillor Liz Leffman but said he wouldn’t as “the matter is closed and we live and learn don’t we?”
He added that none of the 8,000 residents in his ward had written to complain about the incident. In December, the monitoring office found his breach to be “particularly serious” as he was in a role working on highways delivery…
In a statement following his resignation in December, Walker offered an apology of sorts. He said: “I have apologised to those who were genuinely offended by the tweet. It is regrettable that the process has taken up valuable staff time and that taxpayers’ money has been used to investigate; at times, aspects of the response have felt disproportionate.”
Oops...
Probably the biggest near miss of my life so far 😅🔫 pic.twitter.com/ZKqUMwMQ13
— Taylor Mackenzie (@taylormac77) March 25, 2021
Huge increase in cycling in Bolton with cycle journeys up 167 per cent during lockdown
Positive news from Greater Manchester shows a huge increase in the number of people cycling during lockdown. Transport for Greater Manchester’s on-street sensors on the Chorley New Road in Bolton show that cycle journeys are up by 167 per cent during this lockdown. Nine other locations across Greater Manchester have also seen cycling levels rise since last March.
Bolton News says that a Covid-19 recovery survey found that almost half of respondents want keep on walking and cycling more often as the lockdown eases. The news comes as Bolton Council is running a consultation on more segregated cycle lanes in the borough.
Greater Manchester’s Cycling and Walking Commissioner, Chris Boardman said: “It’s fantastic that half of people living in Greater Manchester have said they plan to travel more on foot or by bike post-Covid. Many have tried it during lockdown and they’ve decided it’s a daily habit that they want to keep. We intend to make sure they have the safe space to do it.”
Deliveroo shunned by investors because of concerns about workers' rights
Four big investment firms have rejected the idea of buying Deliveroo shares because of concerns over workers’ rights. The BBC reports that although the company hopes to be valued at £8.8bn when it lists its shares next month, BMO Global, CCLA, Aberdeen Standard and Aviva Investors have all been put off by riders’ working conditions.
The four firms manage £1.5tn combined, with Andrew Millington, the head of UK Equities at Aberdeen Standard saying the conditions were a “red flag”. Deliveroo riders aren’t entitled to minimum wage, holiday or sick pay as they are self-employed. Deliveroo responded to the news by saying their riders have “freedom” to choose their working hours.
Millington compared avoiding Deliveroo to his firm’s decision to sell off Boohoo shares following allegations of worker exploitation and said “we wouldn’t be comfortable that the way in which its workforce is employed is sustainable.”
David Cumming of Aviva said investors were taking social responsibilities more seriously and that it is hard to justify investing in a company that doesn’t offer guaranteed working hours or a living wage to its employees.
Why the Royal Parks isn't the best target for people's anger about traffic in Regent's Park
Best wishes to you and your son, all hopes for a speedy recovery and forthcoming witnesses. DM us if there’s anything we can do to help.
— The Royal Parks (@theroyalparks) March 25, 2021
We read 16 replies to The Royal Parks’ tweet above saying something along the lines of “ban through-traffic”. Here’s some words from news editor Simon MacMichael on why the Royal Parks isn’t the best target for people’s criticism and anger about traffic problems in Regent’s Park:
While people are rightly angry about the incident, those criticising the Royal Parks for allowing motor vehicles in Regent’s Park are aiming at the wrong target.
Unlike Hyde Park, Green Park and Richmond Park, among others, the roads within Regent’s Park are not the responsibility of The Royal Parks, but rather the Crown Estate Paving Commission – described by Laura Laker in this 2019 article on road.cc as “an unelected and effectively unaccountable Georgian quango.”
BBC responds to LTN report complaints
Our Patron Lord Berkeley (@tonyberkeley1) has received a response from a BBC News Editorial Adviser following his complaint on the reporting of Low Traffic Neighbourhoods last week. pic.twitter.com/M4WEwsJWbF
— APPGCW (@allpartycycling) March 25, 2021
The BBC’s report on LTNs was branded “shameful” and the creation of a broadcaster who had “embarked on its own journey to stir up a manufactured culture war” by the All Party Parliamentary Group for Cycling and Walking’s patron Lord Berkeley. Today, the group received the BBC’s response to their complaint, in which the broadcaster’s editorial adviser, Sarah Nelson, refuted the claims the report lacked impartiality and stirred up controversy.
“This story was specifically about how divisive LTNs have been in some communities,” the letter read. “Justin [Rowlatt] made that clear from the start. This is important precisely because the discussion over LTNs is now neither ‘normal’ or ‘reasonable’. Opposition to LTNs is widespread and very vocal, and has made many local authorities across the country anxious about extending existing LTNs and introducing new ones.”
Nelson claims that in this context “it was necessary to use examples of the passions LTNs have provoked”. She also insisted the report “did not ‘normalise’ the death threats, vandalism and other illegal behaviour” and defended Chief Environment Correspondent Justin Rowlatt’s commitment to reporting in an “engaging and informative way”.
The BBC’s response hasn’t gone down well with one reader on social media describing it as a “pathetic, disingenuous response” and another saying it is “unforgivable”.
Or what the letter in reply should have said: ‘Yes, it was a rotten bit of clickbait journalism – sorry about that.’
— Hedgehog Cycling (@HedgehogCycling) March 25, 2021
That’s a response which needs a response.
Doubling down on the ‘taxis can’t reach addresses’ lies is unforgivable.
— Michael (@baoigheallain) March 25, 2021
The statement did address Rowlatt’s tweet after the video went live commenting that his “inbox is already filling up” and describing the video of a man’s swearing rant, included in the report, as “brilliant”. Nelson said their reporter deeply regretted his choice of words and had made it clear that he misspoke…
British sprinter with track pedigree wins stage of Coppi e Bartali...Spoiler alert: it's not Cav...
We think Ethan enjoyed that one 😅📡
He’s had some tough luck this season, so that is richly deserved. Chapeau @ethan_hayter 👏 #CoppieBartalipic.twitter.com/SM6infeAYF
— INEOS Grenadiers (@INEOSGrenadiers) March 25, 2021
Just listen to what that win meant to Ethan Hayter…The promising 22-year-old got his first win of the season over in Italy this afternoon. Elsewhere, Esteban Chaves won the summit finish on stage four of Volta a Catalunya as Adam Yates kept the leader’s jersey…
Timed to absolute perfection 😍@estecharu wins Stage 4 of #VoltaCatalunya100 🇪🇸 pic.twitter.com/q0MJsLGDHs
— Eurosport UK (@Eurosport_UK) March 25, 2021
25 March 2021, 09:04
25 March 2021, 09:04
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Latest Comments
@C3a Presumably it's to do with turnover stability while moving. I saw a Tentbox today, just being driven through Garstang. I can certainly see the advantage of these boxes over tents, because I have suffered lifelong from the 'Get orf my land' brigade, and there's a much greater tolerance among them for those 'camping' in vehicles than for those much more worthy real campers in tents. Add to that the convenience of just stopping in any old free spot by the roadside, where there isn't a decent site for a tent, and you can see the attraction.
Most of the cars that I have owned have had a roof-box limit (bars, box and contents) of 70kg. How does a textbox fit with that? Is the limit only applicable when the vehicle is moving?
@Chris RideFar For starters, by being 1,5 m above the ground you are mostly protected from dew. In many countries it also protects you from frost or really low temperatures. You'd be surprised how much of a difference it actually makes. Bugs, ants, spiders etc. are another thing, as is the purely mental feeling of security by being isolated from the ground. You'd be surprised how much that means to some of us and our better halves ;-) Sleeping on the ground also means more mechanical damage to the floor from rocks, hard roots etc., which could make a big difference in some areas and on longer trips, where a ripped tent floor could really break your holiday. I'm not saying a roof tent is the answer to all one's troubles with camping. But these factors definitely to make a difference to many of us.
When was the last time you had a groundsheet with a built in mattress? The point is predictable comfort.
Is it because cars and driving are about convenience (for a price), so there is mileage in selling more (quite expensive) related things that are about convenience?
@FionaJJ that's the crux of the issue i guess. Minority causes can have this where the mainstream has the power to steamroll you (figuratively and literally). There's always "fear of angering the giant" (or alienating the decision makers / majority, where any politician has the temptation to gain attention by criticising this. And business salespeople stand to gain by selling "convenience and status" instead). But ... it's also easy to keep getting "small wins" while losing the main argument. (That would be where rules and public space remain suited to or are further modified to reinforce motor dependency and thus reduce active travel - even if perhaps it's now autonomous vehicles and "they're more efficient / much safer than human drivers").
@Secret_squirrel If you put it on the ground, you don't need a "giant solid base". I still don't get the point of it.
@chrisonabike I'd personally prefer it if she were bolder, but on the spectrum of terrible to brilliant options for Transport Secretary, having someone who believes in cycling, but is a bit timid about it, is a net positive. Yes, those of us who can see opportunities missed or delayed will be frustrated, but it could easily have been much worse. That doesn't mean there's not a role for encouragement and constructive criticism. Agreed Chris Boardman has a good approach. He is ambitious, but communicates it in a way that is meaningful to the majority, and makes it hard for all but the most brazen anti-cycling activists to disagree with his ambitions.
31 thoughts on “BBC responds to complaints about “shameful” LTN report; Cllr won’t apologise for anti-cyclist “w*nking off the Dutch” tweet; Calls to ban park through-traffic; Will Suez Canal blockage affect bike industry?; Maintenance near miss + more on the live blog”
Gotta admire the ingenuity of
Gotta admire the ingenuity of those 3 lads transporting that metal object, but it looks extremely dangerous.
Pretty sure it is an old
Pretty sure it is an old video and a country where H& S is more lax.
AlsoSomniloquism wrote:
Best i can tell it’s a giant trough for the mens toilets. The shape makes it hard to identify.
I suspect the van was stuck
I suspect the van was stuck in traffic, bikes were filtering down the traffic and van pulled to do the U without checking nothing was coming down behind him.
Hope the cyclist makes a good recovery
AlsoSomniloquism wrote:
Very plausible. I would add that the van isn’t just stuck in traffic, the van is traffic and is part of the wider problem.
AlsoSomniloquism wrote:
Hard to say isn’t it. Looks to me like the driver was on the 2nd point of a 3 pointer and the collision happened on the drivers a- post causing damage to windscreen, mirror and wing (not to mention serious injury to the rider). I agree that it looks like the rider and driver were initially travelling in the same lane/direction.
Hope they make a full recovery too
‘The driver told police she
‘The driver told police she gave the former Dallas Mavericks centre “plenty of room” ‘
Of course she did(!), especially taking into account that parked car that he would inevitably have to negotiate. Because otherwise, she’d be guilty of a motoring offence, and we all know that a driver of a motor vehicle, being licensed and all, wouldn’t do something silly like that(!)
‘ “V1 driver looked into their rear view mirror as they passed V2 (a Saturn) and saw the cyclist flipping through the air and landed on their back,” the report read. “The cyclist had impacted the driver side rear bumper of V2.’
Don’t you just hate it when your bike spontaneously does that next to an overtaking vehicle — when they give you “plenty of room”, but your bike just flips out(!!)
I do wonder where motorists
I do wonder where motorists think a cyclist is going to go when they approach parked cars. Do they think that the cyclist will stop and indicate or something…?
My understanding is that the roadway lane is just a single lane that cars happen to be parked in, so you are not changing lanes by moving to the right to overtake said parked cars. And if the overtaking motorist is behind you then you have priority anyway…
You missed the weird detail
You missed the weird detail further on in the report (unless it was a typo).
“After which the bicycle and cyclist travelled along the top of the trunk and the cyclist continued along the side of V1 causing scratches and several dents to V2.”
So it seems to state he impacted on her car unless they meant V2.
As I mentioned on the first thread about his “accident”, he is 7ft 6 so not a small cyclist. He probably needs lots of room compared to us when cycling.
GMBasix wrote:
But in all fairness, apparently cars do that all the time… (how many stories have you read about cars spontaneously flipping onto their roof without any input from the driver?)
GMBasix wrote:
In my experience drivers who do not give enough room pay a lot of attention to their rear view mirros after the event. While drivers who know they have given enough room do not feel the need to check what is happening behind and can instaed focus on where they are going.
How does Walker know who was
How does Walker know who was genuinely offended?
brooksby wrote:
Cos he said so. Those that are genuinely offended clearly have an agenda, so aren’t genuinely offended
Liam Walker wrote:
Yes it is regrettable and also an embarassment that you felt the need to make such an unforced error of judgement that caused it.
Bearing in mind Taylor rides
Bearing in mind Taylor rides superbikes (the motorcycle version) very fast for a living and falls off at 150mph fairly regularly, that’s quite a statement.
Sean: ‘Hi…’ Me: ‘Nope.’
Sean: ‘Hi…’ Me: ‘Nope.’
On the Deliveroo story, a lot
On the Deliveroo story, a lot of the media are painting it as investors shying away amidst concerns about Deliveroo treating its workers badly. I suspect it is more likely that investors are shying away because they worry that if Deliveroo is forced to actually treat its workers well (as employees) then that will detrimentally affect its profitability…
exactly, if Deliveroos cost
exactly, if Deliveroos cost base goes up because it has to pay workers more,which results in customers being charged more, its profits ultimately go down, which means its shares are worth less and theres less share dividend for investors, ethical investing ? pull the other one its got bells on.
Awavey wrote:
Worse, if they lose the case there could be a considerable back pay obligation.
Exactly, ITN basically said
Exactly, ITN basically said that their business model will have to change going forward and that investors were staying away from them for ethical reasons. Laughable journalism just reciting the press statement.
find it hard to believe that
find it hard to believe that the split belt video is real….april fools surely…does this nonsense style work to rasie money???
The concept interests me,
The concept interests me, then number of chains I have burned through this winter on my 3×7.
Getting my Rohloff build back very soon, less chain wear and stronger chain, but…
No openable rear triangle so I cannot go witht the market leader Gates Carbon, so a splitable belt would work.
The filth I ride through means I have to spend time cleaning and lubing the chain every night during the winter, just for the time saving, let alone the cost in chains, I’m tempted. I won’t invest, but I will give them a few years to develop the next bit then I might have a think about it.
find it hard to believe that
find it hard to believe that the split belt video is real
I suspect it is real, and that the ‘advance’ is the split link. We already have belt drive but I’ve never seen one on a pushbike on the roads. Chains are a pain, but not much of one and have served me well for many decades,and I think these belts will just disappear after a while. I suppose the acid test is the appearance of a reputable bike designed for a split belt. I can’t see it myself, but I thought indexed shifting was unnecessary!
wtjs wrote:
The point of a split belt is that that it fits a conventional single speed or hub gear bike design wihout needing the frame to be designed to split the way a standard belt drive does.
(If you mean a mainstream bike manufacturer offering a belt option as standard, that would be significant.)
I’m not so sure belts will
I’m not so sure belts will just disappear – for certain bikes they are the natural progression – single speed, or those fitted with internal gearboxes such as Pinion. On a commuter or town bike they make an awful lot of sense over a chain and derailleur setup. My n+1 town bike is going to be a Desiknio Pinion Urban. Yes I know it’s not cheap but just look at it!!!
https://desiknio.com/pinionurban/
It’s basically advertising
It’s basically advertising that’s directly subsidised by potential customers.
I suppose it must work to some extent because people keep doing them …
While it’s great that Lord
While it’s great that Lord Berkeley can get a response from the BBC, their complaints system seems to have ground to a halt for the rest of us; maybe they’ve taken their cue from twitter, where my appeal is now four months old and counting.
The contributor who called it a “pathetic, disingenuous response” was spot on. The BBC hates active travel, especially cycling, and loves cars; Top Gear anyone?
With regards to the canal
With regards to the canal blockage (fnarr fnarr), Planet X emailed me yesterday to advise the build of my gravel bike will be delayed as the incident is affecting availability of Sram groupsets
hmas1974 wrote:
But why are Regents Park
But why are Regents Park roads being run by Georgians? And are they from the country, or the US state?
The UK has a lot of very very
The UK has a lot of very very old and exclusive white boys’ clubs (because they usually are) which control and run large parts of the country…
(Here in Bristol we have the Society of Merchant Venturers, established in fifteen something and which has in the last year or so allowed in its first female and Black senior members…)