Elinor Barker everests Great Dun Fell…in a Jaguar…we’re not sure why; NC500 record smashed; Phil Gaimon takes on LA’s steepest climb; Macaw-esome ride; Scaffolders’ lane; Tao’s heartbreak; Cargo bike removals; Traffic jams + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
MotoGP rider forced out of home grand prix after crashing...bicycle while riding the track
Much like Jay Cartwright in The Inbetweeners, MotoGP rider Alex Rins found out the hard way that skill on one type of bike doesn’t necessarily carry over to another. Luckily, Rins did not crash his mate’s 18th birthday present into the garage it was bought from…but the Suzuki rider will miss this weekend’s Catalan Grand Prix in Barcelona after crashing his bicycle as he rode the track, breaking his right arm.
According to a statement released by his team, Rins was taken to Dexeus Hospital and will undergo surgery later today to stabilise the break…
The Spaniard fell during a training lap and as a result he suffered damage to his right arm, with a large contused area and a lot of pain.
He was quickly taken to Barcelona’s Universitari Dexeus Hospital for further examinations and the medical checks revealed a fracture in the radius bone.
The fracture was immobilised and tomorrow morning Alex will undergo surgery to fix it.
Rins told his fans about the news on Instagram: “Shit happens…but you know what they say: When you are going through hell…keep going! Better times will come.”
Just last month, triple Superbike world champion Troy Bayliss fractured a vertebrae and suffered spinal damage in a cycling crash with another rider near his Gold Coast home. Bayliss had no recollection of the incident when he was taken to hospital, however reports suggest he collided with another bike rider who moved out from between two parked cars.
We're not going to need a bigger bike...cargo bike removal service via Pedal Me
Moved house yesterday with @pedalmeapp and they were just the best, if you need something moving in London hit them uuup. Special shout-out to Chris for being an absolute legend. 🙌🙌🙌 pic.twitter.com/InZBcrMjLk
— Will Orton (@WJOrton) June 3, 2021
Fair play to Chris from Pedal Me for putting in a proper shift as a cargo bike removal man…I hope someone bought that man a beer…
"Cars are the menace—ban them": Reaction and solutions aplenty to yet more beauty spot traffic jam footage
Imagine if we made cycling THE feature of Richmond Park.
Implement a free bike borrowing scheme like in De Hoge Veluwe park in the Netherlands where there are 1,800 free bikes for people to use while visiting the park. https://t.co/OCdQr0BG4j pic.twitter.com/kgzjAOv5hS— filter more streets (@iambrianjones) June 4, 2021
We asked, and you delivered…the footage of a child cycling in Richmond Park while being passed by a steady stream of drivers, coupled with the bank holiday queues in the Lake District got us thinking. What can be done to encourage people to leave their cars at home when visiting beauty spots?
Improved public transport access, cheaper tickets and investing in cycling infrastructure were popular suggestions for encouraging less driving…restricted motor vehicle access, tolls and extortionate parking charges were some of the top ideas for possible deterrents.
Here’s what you had to say…
Carrot
Cheaper, more obvious and accessible public transport especially for families.
Stick
More Draconian parking charges and restrictions esp in places like lakes and snowdonia.
And just ban cars from some roads completely..— Real Gaz on a proper bike #fbpe (@gazza_d) June 3, 2021
Just going to point out Snowden has a massive park and ride car park…. It’s laziness and entitlement.
— Charlie (@Charlie_k1234) June 4, 2021
Shut some roads to private motor vehicles.
Reduce car parking.
Provide cheap, convenient and safe alternatives to driving.— Don Shipp (@Don_Shipp) June 3, 2021
Over on Facebook, Felix Rayner made the case for a more hard-line approach: “Cars are the menace…Not bikes, not people, not wildlife. Ban them. Big external car parks with buses. Think of how quiet and peaceful the park will be.”
PyroTim pointed out that any rules need to be properly enforced: “Roadside parking is banned in the New Forest, but it doesn’t stop them. BBQs and fires are also banned in the New Forest, but it doesn’t stop them. Shitting in public is banned, but it doesn’t stop them. Rules if we are going to have them, need to be enforced, and properly. Tow the cars away, and make it eye-wateringly expensive, linked to means. I know some wealthy people that don’t care if they get a ticket, because they can afford it, so park where they like.”
This sort of guff doesn’t help.
https://t.co/6j1fVABAaA— Mud Dock (@Mud_Dock) June 4, 2021
Thoughts?
Small Beer Brew Co. launches 100 per cent recycled jersey with Paria in support of mental health charity Mind
Small Beer Brew Co. has released this funky cycling jersey…it’s been made using 100 per cent sustainable recycled fibres and 100 per cent of the profits will go to mental health charity Mind, so it is for a good cause too. Paria has provided the cycling kit expertise and if you send in an old jersey to be upcycled then you’ll get a handy discount on this bright, new one…
Priced at £75, the low percentage beer specialists think these are your perfect summer colours…
"Hi, please don't be a dick when passing cyclists..."
This is going on a bloke’s windscreen in the village tonight. pic.twitter.com/v8k3uMFBBA
— Duncs (@__Duncs__) June 4, 2021
This reminded us of those homemade parking tickets one cyclist, fed-up with drivers parking where they please, handed out in Glasgow before Christmas. The motorist’s charming reaction? “I own my own law firm, now f*** off.” I guess you can’t please everybody…
UCI Track World Championships to be moved from Turkmenistan to Glasgow
A now-deleted tweet suggests that the 2021 UCI Track World Championships is to be moved from Turkmenistan to Glasgow. The UCI posted a tweet saying: “New location! The 2021 UCI Track Cycling World Championships presented by Tissot will now take place in Glasgow. More info to come #Glasgow2021.” Before it was hastily removed.
The event was originally scheduled to take place in Turkmenistan in October but was cancelled at the request of the organisers due to health constraints and Covid-19 restrictions. One man likely to be displeased at the news is President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, the dictator who was recently pictured going for a spin in front of crowds of thousands of adoring citizens…
The UCI had been criticised for giving the event to a country with an authoritarian rule and woeful human rights record. It is the second major track event to be relocated following concerns about the host country. Last week, Belarus was stripped of hosting next month’s European Track Championships following the Ryanair flight incident.
Sun's out wings out...Primrose Hill cyclist takes his parrot for some exercise
Parrots must be the new must-have pet…I saw a man walking a pair to Sainsbury’s last night…no, really. I’ve got no idea if they let him in…
The late Michele Scarponi also famously used to be joined on training rides by a parrot called Frankie who would fly after the cyclist as he rode through Filottrano.
Alejandro Valverde wins stage six of Critérium du Dauphiné outsprinting Tao Geoghegan Hart
🏁 Un sprint entre leaders pour la victoire de 🇪🇸@alejanvalverde. 💪
⏪ Revivez le dernier kilomètre de la 6ème étape du #Dauphiné.🏁 Sprint between the favourites and victory for 🇪🇸@alejanvalverde. 💪
⏪ Relive the last kilometre of stage 6. pic.twitter.com/G2FLygftjk— Critérium du Dauphiné (@dauphine) June 4, 2021
At 41, Alejandro Valverde has the 129th win of his career and first at a WorldTour race since the 2019 Vuelta a España. Valverde tracked the early sprint of Tao Geoghegan Hart, toying with the Brit, before powering past in the final metres to take an impressive win. Bora-Hansgrohe’s Patrick Konrad was third.
Alexey Lutsenko finished in the select front group and will take the yellow jersey from Lukas Pöstlberger ahead of the penultimate stage tomorrow. Stage seven will take the riders above 2,000m to the summit finish at La Plagne before another relentless Alpine mountain stage concludes the week on Sunday.
Robbie Mitchell smashes NC500 record by more than two hours
Congratulations to Robbie Mitchell who has just set a new record for the fastest time to cycle the North Coast 500 🚴♂️🥇
He absolutely smashed my time going 2 hours and 14 minutes quicker, so I can only respect and applaud such a strong performance.
Well done Robbie and team 👏 pic.twitter.com/WKi3ipRP3s
— Josh Quigley (@JoshQuigley2026) June 4, 2021
Robbie Mitchell has set an incredible new record for the fastest ever ride around the famous NC500 route in the Scottish Highlands. Raising money for the Edinburgh Sutherland Association, Robbie completed the 516-mile route in 29 hours, five minutes and 42 seconds smashing Josh Quigley’s previous record of 31 hours, 19 minutes and eight seconds by more than two hours.
Quigley set that time last September having recovered from life-threatening injuries sustained when he was hit by a car while riding around the world. Quigley took the time to congratulate his successor…but I wonder if he will be tempted to have another crack?
Incredible ride, Robbie…Chapeau…
Why we can't use cycle lanes: road.cc reader submits these photos of a Euston lane blocked by scaffolding firm's vehicles
These photos were sent in by road.cc reader Max…anyone got any sympathy for the scaffolders in this instance? Could we soon see cargo bike scaffolding? Now that would be something…
Phil Gaimon takes on the steepest climb in Los Angeles (and the third steepest in the US)
After last Friday’s silly steep climb featuring Chris Froome, this Friday it is Phil Gaimon taking on the leg-shredding gradients. The former pro and former Everesting world record holder goes for the KOM up an impossibly steep road to nowhere that I think we’d all just be glad to get up it…
Elinor Barker everests Great Dun Fell...in a Jaguar electric car...we're not sure why either
This is a weird one…Elinor Barker Everesting Great Dun Fell would normally be right up our street. A GB Olympic champion on the track completing an epic cycling challenge on the UK’s highest surfaced road? Class. Oh, she’s doing it in a Jaguar electric car? Right. Why?
Promoting the manufacturer’s I-PACE electric car, the 2016 Olympic team pursuit gold medallist climbs the 848m elevation road 16 times to show off the model’s regenerative braking technology to complete the challenge on a single charge…I am glad that’s been cleared it up…
Barker explained, possibly with some input from the brand, that: “Even as a professional rider, it’s a daunting feat of endurance, so I was happy to do it behind the wheel of the all-electric Jaguar I-PACE. When I found out that Jaguar Racing drivers typically need to regenerate 30 per cent of their I-TYPE’s battery capacity in a Formula E race, as a competitor I naturally wanted to beat that figure! I’m delighted to have smashed that target – all while enjoying the comfort, silent power delivery and single-pedal driving of the I-PACE.”
Earlier this week, Barker encouraged drivers to be patient after she was knocked off her bike by a hit-and-run motorist while training in Manchester.
4 June 2021, 08:01
4 June 2021, 08:01
4 June 2021, 08:01
4 June 2021, 08:01
Here's the full story on the World Champs moving to Glasgow...
Glasgow set to host October’s UCI Track Cycling World Championships?
Governing body has taken event away from Turkmenistan – and yesterday dropped a strong hint they may be headed to Scotland
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Latest Comments
@Astralstroll The Hierarchy of Road Users, announced with great fanfares in 2022, has been rendered into complete fiction by the attitude of the police: there is this hierarchy/ priority list but we don't take it seriously and if drivers ignore it we don't care! The same applies to the ludicrous notice of close-passing - No KSI'd cyclist = No Offence ttps://upride.cc/incident/lwa190_minicooper_hierarchy/
Hope Barcelona keep the transport improvements (they've been making for a while) coming! Better streets, more infra to help active travel where necessary. And while it's a major investment (though can be lower operating cost than busses) maybe more trams where they can. That may be more effective in making places active travel friendly and replacing taxis than mass public bike hire. They've a good start with 6 lines already.
I think this is a positive story. They're not getting rid of public hire bikes - they're expanding their in-house one. They're merely kicking out cowboys who've shown they've a lack of interest in the game they claim to be playing. It seems logical that companies whose business model is to extract (venture capital) money by invading public space are even less likely to make the efforts to keep things in order than a local "in house" scheme. (After all the "bikes and riding" part of these schemes always *costs* money, they don't generate it.) So not surprising their experience shows those firms are not particularly motivated to follow the rules - especially when scrapping for "market share". It's nice the European Cyclists’ Federation is thinking about tourists also (i hesitate to say "follow the money...") - as they note, where it's safe to cycle locals will largely get their own bikes. Tourists aren't going to stop coming because lack of public bike share - I think this is mostly a "nice to have" ("hey - why don't we go on one of those bikes there? ").
Harm minimization - at least they're not driving...
I'll counter that by saying the Bryton 750se I have drives me nuts at times. Inconsistantly picks up on routes created on Komoot and the app re-syncs every few seconds when trying to set up the device and sends me back to the home screen. The most infuriating one is that I turned live track on. Once. It now won't turn off and repeatedly flags up the live track is starting, and then disconnecting every few seconds whilst riding. I haven't timed it but it wouldn't suprise me if 10-20% of the time the the screen is covered with an error message. That's been about 6 weeks now. Other than that it's great :/
RE: Police launch road safety operation... by clamping down on cyclists using footbridge Meanwhile in Glasgow, Police Scotland are riding their motorbikes over the pedestrian and cyclists only bridge. https://x.com/FietserGlasgow/status/2065106152917012523?s=20
@Paul J Van Schip certainly seems a bit of a dick, but he's a European and multiple World Champion on the track, pretty sure you don't get there without having some talent in your legs.
Poor Vincent cannot get over the simple fact that given the choice people prefer dedicated cycling spaces, rather than pretending to be cars like vehicular cyclists.
What is the point of the fancy air sensor if it can't account for changing weather conditions?? If all you care about is a delayed approximation of aerodynamic watts in steady conditions, you don't need any special sensors for that. Just your speed on a decently flat course is enough to approximate rolling resistance and drivetrain losses. And the rest must be aero. If you assume a less aero body position at the same watts, your speed will drop while rolling resistance also drops, which means approximated aero watts goes up. And that's enough to demonstrate what you've shown in your testing protocol ("I sat upright and the number went up a little while later").
Your correction is accurate - it's almost always been "the (lack of) thought that (doesn't) count". "Massive" - less than a billion a year spent on active travel (trying to catch up / building a network across the entire country) Not massive - 6 billion every year (2026-2030) spent on road *maintenance* of existing "already built, goes everywhere, very convenient" road network for inactive travel Ultimately the reason "cycle infra" is *needed* is those unbelievably colossal amounts spent every year (and for more than a century now) on making mass motoring not just viable but apparently the "best choice" for most journeys. As the Dutch and others have shown, the majority of people *are* prepared to cycle and even mix with very light, slow local motor traffic *if* cycling is also made safe and convenient for the whole of their journey (including secure parking at both ends). (The history of the financial drivers of the current situation are a complex topic but note that while people complain about "crumbling roads" and underfunded motor infra - with some reason - by us continuing the fuel duty escalator freeze (for example) we're actually helping motorists pay *even less* for that activity / subsidising more of the cost of driving than ever.)
42 thoughts on “Elinor Barker everests Great Dun Fell…in a Jaguar…we’re not sure why; NC500 record smashed; Phil Gaimon takes on LA’s steepest climb; Macaw-esome ride; Scaffolders’ lane; Tao’s heartbreak; Cargo bike removals; Traffic jams + more on the live blog”
https://www.chroniclelive.co
https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/hexham-head-michael-thompson-driver-20733469
Killed a cyclist by not looking round his pillar, spared jail as the victim wasn’t wearing a helmet.
Doesn’t say he was spared
Doesn’t say he was spared jail due to that but it does say
“He drove directly into Mr Thompson on his bike and Mr Thompson was projected from his seat over the handlebars and through the air, colliding with the road surface and sustaining severe injuries to his head that ultimately proved to be fatal.”
What difference would a helmet have made ? Standard test is a fixed drop not propelling someone through the air.
And why did the prosecutor bring it up – was Comb the defense lawyer?
I think it was insinuated
I think it was insinuated with the below when doing his deliberations on why the sentence was mtitgated.
Judge Adams added: “Tragically, Mr Thompson chose not to wear a helmet and not to follow the advice of the Highway Code and died as a result of a blow to the head.”
I’m the glad the judge knows
I’m the glad the judge knows he would have survived with his comprehensive analysis of intial velocity, impact velocity, forces involved, forces the helmet is rated for. No doubt he would have walked away without a scratch and wouldn’t have been a paraplegic or a vegetable on life support instead.
Where can I get one of these magic helmets?
Another pearl from the judge:
Another pearl from the judge:
“he approached the junction but didn’t see the cyclist as he was not looking for a cyclist, possibly because of the layout of his car.”
AlsoSomniloquism wrote:
In the judge’s mind was, “Tragically, Mr Thompson chose not to wear a helmet and not to follow the advice of the Highway Code and died as a result[b],[/b] of a blow to the head.” But the punctuation is lost in transcription.
How does the punctuation make
How does the punctuation make that any better though ?
Awavey wrote:
It clarifies what the “as a result of” refers to. It’s the difference between:
“Tragically, Mr Thompson chose not to wear a helmet and not to follow the advice of the Highway Code and died as a result. He died of a blow to the head.”
Rather than;
“Tragically, Mr Thompson chose not to wear a helmet and not to follow the advice of the Highway Code and died. He died as a result of a blow to the head.”
So the difference is, did he die as a result of his choice not to wear a helmet (elective death), or as a result of a blow to the head (caused by the actions of the driver)?
I suspect the judge is saying he died as a result of his choices. In choosing not to wear a helmet he’d already sealed his fate and it was only a question of who would be at the wheel.
Indeed.
Indeed.
You could similarly say that the cyclist died as a result of not taking a different route. It’s the same complete nonsense as mentioning a not-required helmet not being worn at the time of the driver’s dangerous driving.
I guess I’m just reading it
I guess I’m just reading it whichever way its punctuated, even if it clears up the as a result of bit up, the judge is still putting some blame on the victim,which to I’m sure all our thinking is wrong
Poor motorist! Imagine being
Poor motorist! Imagine being left with with the trauma of thinking you might be in some way responsible for the death of someone too foolish to be wearing a cycle helmet when they got themselves run over.
Wow, 6 months suspended for
Wow, 6 months suspended for killing someone because you weren’t looking where you were going. That’ll really stop drivers from killing vulnerable road users!
Recommended clothing and magic hats needs to be removed from the Highway Code… unless they add that motor vehicle occupants, pedestrians etc all should wear helmets, high viz and white trainers. Either blame all of the victims or stop victimising cyclists for what they choose to wear.
The judge continued: “It
The judge continued: “It seems likely to me that Mr Armstrong was looking out for other cars as he approached the junction but didn’t see the cyclist as he was not looking for a cyclist, possibly because of the layout of his car.
So if the layout of a car is responsible for the death of a vulnerable road users, has the judge made the appropriate referrals to hse /dvsa, so that these flawed and deadly vehicles can be recalled?
lllnorrislll wrote:
nail on the head there! Maybe if they were not always going so fast they might not be so deadly.
Surely it’s the flawed and
Surely it’s the flawed and deadly driver though? He admitted he wasn’t looking for cyclists, and he didn’t bother trying to allow for the pillar partially blocking his view – which they all do. No car is perfect in terms of design and visibility, but the onus on the driver to observe correctly remains. The judge has literally succeeded in finding every possible excuse for the actions of this driver and piled blame onto the killed cyclist.
Judge Robert Adams said the
Judge Robert Adams said the case was “absolutely tragic” and nothing he could do or say would alleviate the suffering of Mr Thompson’s family
It is not surprising that this scandalously lenient sentence has taken over the entire topic. If the judge’s statements have been even approximately accurately reported, then he should be ashamed of his blatant victim blaming and offender excusing. There is a new twist introduced in the quotation above, which could be paraphrased as: this is such a tragedy that no punishment would be sufficient, so I am taking the opportunity to impose almost no punishment at all.
And as for: Armstrong was looking out for other cars as he approached the junction but didn’t see the cyclist as he was not looking for a cyclist!! They would all like to be able to get away with that, but this judge is doing it for them. We are all becoming familiar with what we can expect from the law should one of these b******s continue to avoid the bother of looking out for cyclists and plough straight into us. The deterrent effect of such a sentence is negligible.
PS I always wear a helmet but agree with Boardman et al. that the absence of a helmet should not be used in defence of the killer
Next it will be ‘failed to
Next it will be ‘failed to wear a recommended helmet’
https://road.cc/content/tech-news/safety-research-recommends-three-helmets-out-23-tested-283839
There is a benefit at low speed but where people think they protect from anything as seems the case here, it is worrying.
where [judges] think they
where [judges] think they protect from anything as seems the case here, it is worrying.
As is ‘punishing the driver won’t bring the victim back’, or ‘the poor driver will have to live with it for the rest of his life’
Poor affected drivers,
Poor affected drivers, thinking that if only the’d looked out of their big glass windows then they wouldn’t have killed a valued member of society.
Incidentally, what does the Highway Code have to say about looking whilst driving motor vehicles…?
All Rat Runs (including RP)
All Rat Runs (including RP) are perceived as short cuts by drivers that are too impatient to use the main roads. It therefore makes sense that they self select the type of diver using them – ie there is bound to be a large percentage of impatient dicks.
I don’t understand the logic
I don’t understand the logic of this. If road A is shorter and will get you to your destination quicker than road B which is a main road, why would you use the main road? That doesn’t sound like impatience, it sounds like common sense. Plus less time spent driving is good on many counts right?
And yet that’s never accepted
And yet that’s never accepted as a valid excuse for not using a cycle path…
Go along the main road, or use the off-road cycle path which takes you away from the Sight of Man and forces you to stop at every driveway entrance and minor junction…
You are thinking of that one
You are thinking of that one from a few days ago !
The trouble is that rat runs
The trouble is that rat runs are not always quicker. Inevitably they fill up very fast and are not designed for high volumes of traffic. In my experience that only makes drivers more impatient as evidenced by RP where drivers are squeezing past and not keeping below the speed limit.
Yep, the reason to rat run is
Yep, the reason to rat run is to get to the location first so they normally speed to ensure they do.
because all residential
because all residential streets should be considered as through routes?
What a distopian view of urban planning
wycombewheeler wrote:
Is it? Sounds straight out of the text book to me…
Leisure is the top reason for
Leisure is the top reason for driving – 30% of all trips.
So the idea that there is a certain fixed number of driving trips that must be done, and that if you go the shortest route that will be most efficient and keep vehicle miles to a minimum, is nonsense.
What’s the advice of the
What’s the advice of the Highway Code then, to wear a helmet, or something else? Whilst whatever sentence won’t bring the victim back, it might just possibly MAKE ONE OTHER LAZY BASTARD DRIVER LOOK PROPERLY.
If there was proper
If there was proper sentencing for driving offences this bell-end wouldn’t have been driving anyway. Given that he’s allready been convicted of drink driving offences.
Should have been banned for life at that point.
Quote:
How far the U.K. has fallen…
we’re asking the question:
we’re asking the question: how do you encourage people to ditch the car when visiting Britain’s beauty spots?
And now I’m asking the question: How do you encourage peoples dogs to become vegetarian? fuckinell
I don’t understand. Is the
I don’t understand. Is the answer to the second question, buy Vegetarian dog food?
Dogs are obligate carnivores,
Dogs are obligate carnivores, vegetarian or vegan diets are harmful to them.
Smiffi wrote:
Simply wrong. Cats are as they cannot synthesize their required vitamin intake from anything other than meat and/or fish. Dogs are omnivores and can. Thirty seconds with Google is all you need.
10 seconds looking at a dogs
10 seconds looking at a dogs teeth tells you they are not omnivores in the way that humans are. And in my 30 seconds on Google I learned that they lack many of the adaptations to thrive on an omnivorous diet, such as amylase in the saliva or an extensive GI tract. But not to the same point as cats.
Another few seconds on Google tells me that by definition, if it is a “vitamin”, it’s because whilst it is essential to the organism it can not be synthesised from the diet.
If you have a one-way road,
If you have a one-way road, with a contraflow cycle lane, and someone blocks the contraflow cycle lane, are you allowed to ride around them (the wrong way on the one-way road) or are you expected to wait until they move?
I’ve seen some people on
I’ve seen some people on YouTube with the skills to ride over them. I’d so love to see it happen!
err paid for promotion is
err paid for promotion is obvious paid for promotion would be my guess on the e-Jaguar story, even though I thought there were certain rules on social media platforms meant to make such things more obvious, than just adding #ad to them.
Getting rid of those huge car
Getting rid of those huge car parks in Richmond Park and returning them back to land with trees and flowers will make a big difference to the amount of traffic in the park – there are 8 of them, it’s a park, not a shopping centre.
TT bike in one pic with full
TT bike in one pic with full disc rear (ouch), road bike with drops in another. was he swapping?
They won’t be beauty spots
They won’t be beauty spots for long if you encourage the dumping of old cars there ?