Bizarre attack on cyclist by shirtless man wielding metal pipe; Phil Gaimon almost hit by speeding drivers overtaking on blind bend; Rate that infra…where is UK’s best (+ worst); Local paper fun; Nico Roche goes dancing + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Rate that bike lane...where is Britain's best (+ worst) infra
Loads of infra pics popping up this morning so I thought we could play a game of ‘rate that cycle lane’. Take a look at these and have a think what they should score out of ten…like Come Dine with Me but for active travel. Yes, I’m aware that all sounded very Alan Partridge.
First up this shiny headline-grabbing segregated route over Westminster Bridge. Possible extra points for it’s ultra-quick assembly, some on social media said construction took less than a month.
Westminster Bridge’s westbound protected cycle lane is now open!
The eastbound lane should be finished in a few weeks. This will not only make cyclists safer but also allow for the removal of the ugly temporary protection that has been in place since 2017. pic.twitter.com/BBqO6vwF8N— SafeCycleLDN (@SafeCycleLDN) December 14, 2021
Just look at all those bollards…I’m saying 8.9/10 for this one…but, in the words of every football pundit covering their back…”it’s a game of opinions”…so feel free to tell me how disgraceful an 8.9 is…
Next up, we’re off to Glasgow for something at the other end of the scale…
Interesting cycle infrastructure in western side of Glasgow! 😯
It’s mostly paint between park cars and moving lane… 😬
Though, has interesting islands at junctions, and one advance cycle phase at a junction! 🤔
A lot space here for better design with trees! 🌳 pic.twitter.com/RYODOnTEIk
— Thomas O. Cornwallis (@UrbanistTOC) December 14, 2021
That’s more like it…faded paint, a van parked in the cycle lane, no real segregation…3.2? Or is that being too generous? Finally, we’re dipping back into England, to Sheffield, for this…
I see there are a lot of people against the bus lane extensions on Ecclesall Road currently. But surely anything would be better than it currently! How could anyone want MORE cars and MORE parking allowed on Ecclesall road. It’s horrendous. No wonder so few cycle. pic.twitter.com/1ZWKFo5eMz
— CButton (@sheffbicycle) December 10, 2021
Suddenly that 3.2 from Glasgow is looking a lot more appealing. Anyway, can I give this a score if there isn’t any infra to rate? It’s got to be a 0…
I’m off to scour the web for more bike lanes to rate. Back in a minute…
One good, one bad: two more for your rating...
A reader got in touch to share his submission of how not to do bike lanes. This one from Wadebridge in Cornwall got a fresh lick of paint recently, including that confusing give way…my only guess is that a crossing is going to be built on top of that speed bump? Otherwise, who knows?
For the good column, we’ve this one between Haringey and Waltham Forest…
Wot a difference a day makes! North/ East Bound @wfcouncil #ForestRdE17 reservoir stretch of improved walking, cycling, planting & public realm works! Connecting @haringeycouncil with @RedbridgeLive via @wfcouncil @WeSupportWFMH @allpartycycling @London_Cycling @willnorman pic.twitter.com/ZK6igbrbcX
— Labourstone (@Labourstone) December 15, 2021
Marks out of ten?
Phil Gaimon + American pro riders almost hit by speeding drivers overtaking on blind bend
Here’s @alex_howes @Kielreijnen with a close call from motorists going double the speed limit and passing over the double yellow with oncoming cyclists. pic.twitter.com/4JKHP5Nhd5
— Phil Gaimon (@philgaimon) December 15, 2021
Back in 2019, Phil Gaimon made a hard-hitting video titled ‘Please Share This When I’m Killed by Someone Driving a Car’, in which the ex-pro racer recalled an incident where a driver, speeding on the wrong side of the road, almost hit him while overtaking another motorist on a blind bend.
> “When I’m killed” – ex-pro Phil Gaimon’s powerful YouTube film about vulnerability of cyclists
Gaimon signed off the video saying, “I know how I’m going to die. It’s going to be something like this.”
Last night Gaimon was back with another video from the very same stretch of road, another chillingly similar incident…this time two speeding motorists, seemingly racing down the hill, overtaking on the wrong side of the road, drive straight at the group which included US-based pros Alex Howes and Kiel Reijnen.
Gaimon’s camera shows him urgently jump off the road as the drivers speed past, before picking up him saying “fuck that” having narrowly avoided another catastrophic collision.
Nico Roche goes dancing
“Could we incorporate maybe a bicycle into a dance routine?” 🚴
Now THAT we’d LOVE to see @nicholasroche 🤣#dwtsirl pic.twitter.com/yavOhS7i86
— RTÉ One (@RTEOne) December 16, 2021
F1 star Fernando Alonso eyes end of recovery from cycling crash — set for surgery to remove titanium plates from jaw
Double world champion Fernando Alonso will undergo surgery in January to remove the titanium plates from his jaw which were fitted after the F1 star was hit by a driver while cycling back in February.
> F1 ace Fernando Alonso sustains “multiple fractures” after he was hit by driver while cycling
Alonso was hit by a motorist making a turning into a supermarket car park near Lugano in Switzerland.
The Alpine driver told F1’s website that he will have the plates removed in January before taking two weeks off before preparation for the 2022 season begins.
Great bike shark
Given the order is always swim, cycle, run, I don’t fancy your chances 😉
— Paul Blake (@Paulblake8A) December 13, 2021
Local paper letter fun: Bournemouth is not Amsterdam
Today we’re on the South Coast for a Daily Echo letter that made us chuckle…
David Meads from Bournemouth titled his input ‘Bournemouth is not Amsterdam where cycling has always been a way of life’ and went on to bemoan the fact the cycling and walking investment from the Department of Transport has, in his mind, seen an “unseemly rush to provide wide cycle lanes” in places where “the lesser spotted cyclist is a rare sighting”.
Which builds to the crescendo…”Cycling may well be the big thing in the future but there is still the here and now that should be dealt with. Bournemouth is not Amsterdam where cycling has always been a way of life, and probably will never be.”
We can’t be thinking of the same Amsterdam…
🙈
Amsterdam was no different to most UK cities. Letters like this are Always written seeing the world from the wrong end of the telescope.A few 00k spent on cycling is castigated but the millions spent on car infra which takes up the majority of the space is never criticised pic.twitter.com/DLw9wCTvy5
— ChancerOnABike (@chancer_a) December 16, 2021
Wood you be so brave?
I didn’t fall off pic.twitter.com/q2ACY6tCnq
— Nihilistic Gherkin (@NihilisticAbyss) December 16, 2021
What we don’t know is if there was a whole Christmas tree there at the start of the journey…
How much? Reaction to Rapha's eye-watering coffee machine
You’ve probably seen Rapha has another premium product with a premium price tag…this time it’s a £2,735 coffee machine. As I said, a premium price tag.
> Fancy a Rapha coffee machine? That’ll be £2,735, please
Captain_slog is on board (to an extent)…”Oh, I like this. I imagine using it would feel more like driving a steam train than making a cup of coffee. But even if space and funds allowed I don’t think I’d get one. I use a cafetiere at home and like to save up the cafe-stop espresso (plus big wodge of cake, natch) as a reward for getting those miles in or climbing that hill.”
On Facebook, John Bull is absolutely not on board, and started with the (completely unsubstantiated) conspiracy theories…”Surely this is a Rocket Espresso for twice the price because someone’s labelled it Rapha?”
Dan Flower read the small print: “You can only use it if you have a moustache and live in black and white. And for gods sake, don’t smile.”
And David Walker’s clearly having a bad day…”Some mug will buy it because they’re a knob.” I hope that “mug” was a deliberate hot drink-based punsult. If so, top work!
I only came here for a bicycle tyre...
One of our Canadian readers got in touch with this amusing tale of trying to buy a bicycle tyre. You can almost imagine the manager’s conversation…”Ah where shall we put these bike tyres?” “I dunno just hang ’em up there out the way”…
To be fair, if I got to watch someone on a power lift pick my tyre off the ceiling every time I bought one, I’d definitely keep going back…
Another cycle lane classic
One of your drivers has abandoned one of your HGVs in a cycle lane @Tesco #yplac pic.twitter.com/ILP5pslAir
— ReCyclingDave (@cycling_dave) December 15, 2021
You can build the nicest cycle lane in the world…but if someone parks in it it’s not much use. Fair enough, you could argue the nicest cycle lane in the world would be constructed so nobody can park in it, but hey, someone will try.
This driver got the You Park Like a C*** treatment (I wish I could shoehorn an every little helps joke in)…
Tesco’s social media team replied asking for more details, saying they would be looking into it. We’ll see if we hear from them again…
Bizarre attack on cyclist by shirtless man wielding metal pipe
Today is turning into a US special (with some UK-based bike lane blunders in between)…
This shirtless pipe-wielding attacker, 29-year-old Zachary Nulsich, has been arrested by the Harris County Sherriff’s Office and now faces 20 years in prison having been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a second-degree felony.
The victim, 46-year-old Steven Blum, said he was riding along the newly opened trail for the first time. When rounding corners he often shouts out to pedestrians to let them know he’s there, something he did as he passed the attacker for the first time.
On the way back down the trail, however, the shirtless man was now armed with a metal pipe which he jammed into the front wheel of the IT worker’s Specialized Roubaix. Thanfully he managed to avoid crashing and pedalled away before calling the police.
“I had no idea what his intentions are after that,” Blum told Chron. “I can only assume more harm. It’s pretty scary to see a huge shirtless guy running after you with a pipe. I had no words or incidents prior to that. I don’t get out on the trail very much either. I don’t really know his motivation, not that it really matters.”
Records showed Nulisch lives in a home which backs onto the trail, he is due back in court in January.
16 December 2021, 09:06
Just a cheap stocking filler then...
Fancy a Rapha coffee machine? That’ll be £2,735, please
British cycle clothing brand teams up with Rocket Espresso of Milan for limited edition collaboration
16 December 2021, 09:06
16 December 2021, 09:06
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Some places are just getting on with it though. I visited Bristol again after about a year and while it's a slightly unlikely cycling venue (very lumpy, the motor traffic is terrible) they really seem to be making an effort. Roads and streets are being redesigned to accommodate cycling and pedestrians. A bit rough and ready? Missing links (especially outside the centre)? Certainly, but I saw loads more parents cycling their children places than Edinburgh and even kids cycling places on their own.
@FionaJJ perhaps. Perhaps the last transport secretary (that didn't get going) would have been "too bold" and brought down bikelash? And with the fact that motoring is built into the culture and (literally) to planning and infra, the overwhelming power of the motoring-related industry lobby etc. And that cycling - at a very low level - has existed despite all that, in the gaps as it were. On the other hand, as the likes of David Hembrow point out the "wrong kind of compromise" has been the norm here. Asking for too little ("it's the best we can hope for") and getting less. Leading to stuff which might even set things back overall ("nobody uses it... waste of money and space"). Plenty of impossible "take it or leave it" choices... So far I think Chris Boardman has found a good way: heavy on local engagement, lots about children's journeys / people doing basic tasks / nicer places. This does seem to end up being mostly "crossings" and quieter streets - pedestrian and public transport measures with cycling a quiet addition. Is that enough? Not sure.
I've often said in debate with drivers that a pedestrian should be able to complete their journey safely even if they are a complete idiot and entirely ignorant of the rules of the road. I can't then say that this doesn't count if the result of their error is that they are hit by a bike. There's a responsibility here for everybody to take the duty of care that they have over vulnerable road users seriously. As cyclists we want drivers to be alert to our presence and to take precautions that, even if we do something they don't expect us to do, they will not hit us. We must apply that same responsibility to ourselves and pedestrians. I have one question. Did any one of the cyclists in that group observe the lady approaching the road and ring their bell?
@mdavidford Yes. There's plenty of evidence, well known to the advertising and sales industries, that once people have decided they want to buy something, they will dismiss new negative information on the item while embracing positives. It's why so many organisations persist with, and get away with having additional 'hidden' costs that appear once you've already decided you want to buy those tickets. I'm sure most of those who still wanted to buy an SUV despite the added dangers to the rest of the population were convincing themselves those stats only applied to the bad drivers, but not them because they are good drivers etc. But also a little voice telling them that the bad drivers out there causing havoc confirms they need one too. Education about the dangers of SUVs needs to come before people are thinking of buying them, or possibly more realistically, needs to focus on the issues with the worst offending SUVs. Rather than 'SUV drivers are out there killing people', it should talk about the consequences of different bonnet height and shape, as well as the weight and power. Lots of people just want an SUV so they can get into and out of the car without it hurting their knees. Explain they can get that without buying a tank and they are less likely to go on the defensive. I'd also tax the worst offenders, and introduce speed limiters for the most powerful ones. See how many people who need one to tow a caravan once a year are put off if they can't speed on the motorway. I'd also suggest that in the case you are involved in a serious collision, that your choice of vehicle is considered an aggravating factor in allocation of blame and any sentencing. If you don't have a good reason for driving around in something big, heavy, and powerful with terrible close-range visibility, and go on to kill or seriously injure an eight year old, when they probably would have survived with just minor injuries if you were in a Fiesta - that's a consequence of a choice you made just as much as deciding to get behind the wheel while drunk, or to look at your phone. The only difference is time scales. Most people would at least try to come up with a justification for needing their personal tank, but it might at least make a few more people think about the potential negative consequences for them.
@chrisonabike I get the impression that Heidi is a true believer when it comes to the benefits of cycling and active travel, but she's also a moderate and team player when it comes to temperament, and will co-operate with the PM of the day, and will compromise according to what is assumed to be electorally popular. That's not necessarily a bad approach, especially if you hope to stay in power for long enough to get sustained change, or if you are happy to get on with making useful changes when the attention isn't on you.
@chrisonabike I agree that PPE is always the last line of defence, and having safe systems is always more important. But I'd say that being visible is still very useful in a lot of locations where effort has gone into safe systems (like railway tracks). Proper H&S 'hi-viz' will include reflective bits appropriate to the work and setting. What's right for improving visibility while cycling will depend on when you are cycling, where you are, what conditions are likely. What Heidi is wearing looks adequate to me, assuming her full route is in good light. I don't know much about the Reading end, although I'm sure I spotted a segregated cycle path, but London has a lot of good routes, and crucially, most drivers there know to expect cyclists. Her block of bold red will stop her from blending into the background, and as that's the bit of her that's moving, that's a great way to help the subconscious brain notice there's a human up ahead. Her hair, feet and sandals are all light, so help to catch the eye against dark backgrounds. I suspect the light coloured rim of her helmet is reflective, and I've got spoke reflectors and stickers on my bike, which is an easy way to add reflectivity regardless of what you are wearing. Particularly useful in Winter when there are a lot of competing lights. I favour using running lights all year to keep me a bit more visible when going through areas of shade and in the hope drivers will register that there is a bike ahead. But I also live in an area where most drivers are not expecting to see someone cycling, so it's more important to announce yourself here than in London. Anyway - good for Heidi. The complaints about not wearing hi-viz will only help to get the video seen by more people, and a great reminder that cycling isn't just for men in lycra.
Could we get some updates, the glove world hath changethed.
Google is broken. Even if they are forced to roll back on the made up summary (a German court said it was original content so they're liable), it will still be a front page of SEO slop. Images full of geometry nightmares. Another vote for switching search to DuckDuckGo. You can turn all the crap off in Settings. Ah, bliss.
If you're not trying to escape from wild animals, what would be the advantage of putting a tent on top of a car, rather than setting up a similar tent on the ground? Seems rather unnecessary to me - even if the price was comparable, I would choose a ground-based version.
29 thoughts on “Bizarre attack on cyclist by shirtless man wielding metal pipe; Phil Gaimon almost hit by speeding drivers overtaking on blind bend; Rate that infra…where is UK’s best (+ worst); Local paper fun; Nico Roche goes dancing + more on the live blog”
Not sure we can give
Not sure we can give Westminster points for swiftness, it was supposed to be completed in 2017 but the awful terrorist attack in March that year delayed it far longer than necessary. Some very stupid people claimed that the painted cycle lane that was there at the time facilitated the terror attack – hard to see how as the terrorist actually drove his car down the pavement – and there’s been faffing about ever since. In fact the cycle lane now will offer protection against terrorists as – as on other London bridges – it will now be impossible to get a vehicle onto the pavement to attack pedestrians.
For all that though, now it’s here it’s really good!
Call that bad infrastructure?
Call that bad infrastructure? Luxury! We had to cycle on square wheels across a wolf-infested minefield with targets painted on our back, with a headwind in both directions.
You tell that to kids nowadays, they won’t believe you.
Infrastructure? Luxury. When
Infrastructure? Luxury. When I were a lad, there were nothing but roads.
chrisonatrike wrote:
Rourds?? You were loocky to have rourds…..
Interesting read on the Slate
Interesting read on the Slate (US) –
The American Addiction to Speeding
How we became obsessed with driving fast, no matter the cost
https://slate.com/business/2021/12/speed-limit-americas-most-broken-law-history.html
Interesting indeed. It
Interesting indeed. It baffles me, though, that a police officer would (from a standing start) chase a car going at 90mph to pull them over and issue them a ticket. Surely it would be much safer and more efficient to put it in the post?
You do know the prime
You do know the prime moitvator for taking up the profession?
visionset wrote:
Are you suggesting that it’s not to protect and to serve?
AidanR wrote:
The more enlightened (I know, US, but everything’s relative) forces have abandoned the policy of pursuing drivers over minor offences, due to the death toll resulting from car chases
Captain Badger wrote:
Wait – the cops pursue drivers?! Oh – maybe you mean “offenders in cars” not “people who commit driving offenses”? (See any number of stories on e.g. Streetsblog NYC etc. The US generally has an even more generous definition of “accident” than the UK!)
chrisonatrike wrote:
Fack me….
The forces that actually analysed outcomes found that a high percentage of fatal collisions resulted from chases that were started on things like dodgy tail lights, but then found that the real reason for running turned out to be personal use possession or a licence infringement. Important, maybe, but the RBA on the chase just didn’t stack up
There have been similar studies in the UK, with similar findings. What’s more important than training officers in high-risk driving, is training them in public risk assessment, and when to stop (or even not start) chasing. Few chases are ever abandoned due to risk to the public, and this has tragic results.
Captain Badger wrote:
Probably an over-simplification of the current situation. All police pursuits are assessed over the radio by an experienced controller and the decision to continue is theirs, not the police driver’s. This removes, or at least reduces, the ‘red mist’ effect from the equation.
Obviously no system is perfect and mistakes will be made but they are many fewer than years ago.
mike the bike wrote:
The controller relies primarily on RA by the driver – as they’re are largely the ones who can actually see what’s going on. That doesn’t mean they’re objective.
Not Just Bikes on Youtube
Not Just Bikes on Youtube does alot about the americans obsession with multilane “choads” and no alterantives to car travel,
Also from Bournemouth Echo,
Also from Bournemouth Echo, the council have decided to remove the well used LTN https://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/19786796.bcp-council-votes-reopen-tatnam-road-poole-traffic/
I posted last week in the
I posted last week in the blog Suffolk county council were planning to remove this segregated lane in Ipswich, its already gone within 7 days of that article https://www.ipswichstar.co.uk/news/traffic/ipswich-cycle-barriers-down-after-tom-hunt-complains-8536176
Ah yes, Bournemouth.
Ah yes, Bournemouth.
Been there on my bike, arrived on Swanage Ferry, left via Christchurch. Took ages to weave my way through seemingly endless gridlock, nearly got taken out a few times by RLJing motorists who wanted to get across a junction to the next standstill before their fellow
moronsmotons. Abused by irate peds when cycling at walking pace along supposed “shared use” path. Shan’t be going back. not. ever.Sounds like you had a
Sounds like you had a positive day in Bournemouth. They normally drive at you to run you off the road. Having ridden a 100 miles a week, every week for several years, this year I’ve ridden about 100 miles total on the roads. Since lockdown it got worse, and I’d rather live. The lanes they are building look fantastic from the car, but actually ride them, and you realise that you have to stop and press the beg botton to leave, only to cross and find yourself on a pavement where cycling is forbidden.
Just to bring a bit of
Just to bring a bit of balance to the letter in the Echo.
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/dec/14/anti-cycling-lobby-is-on-the-wrong-path?CMP=fb_cif&fbclid=IwAR3uqcLtIBeVMN_ib4N2OJhjwoa6FN1t-oEqk1xiQZc0UASkcaYM3DLFEpE
Quote:
Here in the UK, that would probably have been written off as a mere jape by a bloke having a bad day, and nothing more said about it…
Christmas Trees on a bike:
Christmas Trees on a bike:
I can’t help but think, after looking at some of the images shown on here, that if a car decided to carry a load the same way that cyclists have – we’d all be shouting, ranting and raving about what a dangerous arse they were being.
I know we’re all cyclists, but are we *really* ok with loads being carried horizontally, or over hanging the rear without markers?
Are we *really* ok with loads being carried in the front of a cargo bike that obscure the forward vision of the rider?
The site seems to be celebrating these dangerous acts, rather than pulling the riders up for it.
Go on – show us how it’s done
Go on – show us how it’s done, you know you want to…
(sorry – half the lights are round the back…)
I confess, I’ve done worse,
I confess, I’ve done worse, much worse – but not on roads.
Oldfatgit wrote:
I confess, I’ve done worse, much worse (well – as bad). But for what it’s worth not on roads (I’m blessed with an mini car-free network nearby).
Agreed – people gonna stupid on whatever form of transport. If someone was cycling poorly secured trees down an A-road or even just a busy urban road that wouldn’t be clever. Nor if they strapped one crosswise and rode down a busy pavement.
“Dangerous” though? The examples don’t seem to be doing that, though?
Reason for shouting about drivers is they’re a risk to everyone – with the possible exception of bigger vehicles. Cyclists? Mostly other cyclists and pedestrians. My feeling* is that if you correct for the fact that we exclude pedestrians from lots of “car spaces” cyclists are less dangerous to pedestrians than cars – on their own or transporting stuff.
A bike is not likely to be transporting as big / heavy a tree as a motor vehicle, nor moving it as fast. Electic power does make a difference – but again speed is still limited. I wouldn’t like to be hit by a cargo bike – even unloaded – but I’d take my chance with that over a car anytime.
Bike transport is arguably less hazardous in that for overhanging loads they will be lower e.g. than having them on a car roof / van. So the “dropping them on” likelihood would be less. Finally if you missed with the bike but the tree hit someone I don’t think you’d drag someone along with the tree – as you could with a car – because you’d also be off.
* I’ve zero data on that and there are plenty of circumstances which could skew things e.g. if tons of people ride pissed-up / careless kids “scaring” the old or disabled / maybe there are more TT bikes than I think (wink). Possibly rich_cb might have some numbers…
Here is what I found
I came across two BT vans parked completely on a cycle path yesterday, and the front van blocking some of the pavement too. Sorry I can’t work out how to rotate the picture, it is upright in my pictures but it has pasted it side on. You get the idea.
The Bournemouth letter (“it’s
The Bournemouth letter (“it’s not Amsterdam”) reminded me irresistibly of the novel The Better World of Reginald Perrin (if you only know the TV series, I heartily recommend the novels, some of the funniest books of the last quarter of the last century): Reggie sets up his ideal hippie community in Brockley and the neighbours come round to complain (from memory so forgive errors):
“I quite understand,” said Reggie, “Brockley is not Montmartre.”
“No, it’s not.”
“It’s not the Reeperbahn in Hamburg.”
“Exactly.”
“It’s a pity, isn’t it?”
This is on NCN 54 between
This is on NCN 54 between Stourbridge and Brierley Hill. It’s about as good as it gets from Dudley Council. They did get some emergency active travel funding and installed some bike stands but alas no pop up lanes around here.
Ah, good old Notional Cycle
Ah, good old Notional Cycle Network! Still, on the bright side, that’s parking for you and five friends when you want to go drink Super Pils / get high behind a bush…
“This shirtless pipe-wielding
“This shirtless pipe-wielding attacker, 29-year-old Zachary Nulsich, has been arrested by the Harris County Sherriff’s Office and now faces 20 years in prison having been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a second-degree felony.”
The Americans, once again, showing us how pathetic the UK legal system is.