“This has UK written all over it”: Another why cyclists don’t use the cycle lane classic; Local wearing builder’s hat drops Israel – Premier Tech pros in Rwanda; Wiggo predicts “amazing” Pidcock success; Britain’s best LTN + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
"This has UK written all over it": Another why cyclists don't use the cycle lane classic
Why don’t cyclists use the cycle lane provided? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/DMXwvzT4yg
— Geoff (@geoffallard) February 28, 2022
It’s been dubbed the ‘Danny MacAskill special edition bike lane’…an opportunity to practise your jumps and tricks on the way to work…
Today’s ‘why cyclists don’t use the cycle lane’ comes from an unspecified, secret location where anyone looking to stay off the road will have to dodge a sneakily well-camouflaged…hmmm, what would you call them? A utility box, perhaps?
Someone speculated this particular ingenious infra idea is in Walthamstow, with another saying that would make sense as Waltham Forest Council, “have a policy of putting in the lanes before street furniture is moved rather than waiting for it all to be shifted before starting as I remember.
“It gives them some leverage with the utilities I guess.” Now we might be getting somewhere (just not in that bike lane, as things stand). Either way, it was a really nice touch to paint the bicycle as close as is physically possible behind the obstacle.
In the meantime you better get practising your bunny-hopping…
Presuming the box will soon be kicked out, attention turned to the end of the lane which appears to quite abruptly chuck cyclists back into the road…
I presume the utility box will be moved when it’s finished, but I’m not happy with that re-entry arrangement. Lurch suddenly back into the traffic unprotected.
— Is this a bike lane? (@IsItABikeLane) March 1, 2022
I’m more scared of the “rejoin the carriageway” bit than the jump obstacle
— Neil Gatenby (@wadoNeil) February 28, 2022
So how will it look when it’s ‘finished’?
Apparently the lane ain’t finished yet and the box will be moved. After that it will be perfect. pic.twitter.com/IRJZZx73Xe
— Shipp_Helm (@Don_Shipp) February 28, 2022
That’s the special “Danny McCaskill” edition cycle Lane!!
— Angus Thomson (@theAngusT) February 28, 2022
Meanwhile in Edinburgh...
Edinburgh’s Leith Walk. New build cycle lane on the widest street in the city. pic.twitter.com/ijZ29NpzTy
— 𝙾𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛 (@overlandertheb1) March 1, 2022
POLL: Pick your fighter?
Let’s have a silly poll to brighten up Tuesday morning…
Backpack-wearing local is more dependent on his teammates’ aero savings for his speed, but builder’s hat-wearing local might tire himself out with an explosive long-range attack.
We know Colombia produces loads of incredible climbing talent too…so maybe the stage profile makes a difference too…
Local wearing builder's hat drops Israel – Premier Tech pros in Rwanda
Respect!#RacingforChange #Rwanda 🇷🇼 pic.twitter.com/NcC3iMuNPQ
— Israel – Premier Tech / Israel Cycling Academy (@IsraelPremTech) February 28, 2022
It’s the long-awaited sequel to Rigoberto Urán drafted by backpack-wearing local at 45km/h. Different continent, different team, different outcome. Not content to just sit on the wheel of the flash pros visiting Rwanda for the country’s premier bike race, this local took an attack, winding up the watts before flying past the three-man group. Sign. Him. Up…
Sporting a fetching yellow builder’s hat the rider powered his mudguards past the group in full team-issue kit aboard their sparkly Factor machines. It’s all about the rider, eh? Shades of Ian Stannard mugging three Quick-Step riders to Omloop in 2015.
Back in June 2020, Urán’s impromptu training partner, a man in khakis, work boots and carrying a backpack, grabbed a tow with the WorldTour pro at 45kph. No amount of Cannondale SuperSlice TT aero tech could budge the plucky punter from his wheel.
Sign him up and he can race for the yellow jersey to match his helmet.
— Blank (@justsnooping74) February 28, 2022
The question is: backpack-wearing local vs builder’s hat-wearing local? Individual pursuit. Who wins?
Britain's best LTN? Snake Pass becomes a cyclist's paradise...
Snake Pass closed. 😍. Best.LTN.ever. Bit of a headwind and didn’t have time to drop down to ladybower. But will be back pretty much every week until it opens I reckon. 🚵 holy grail. pic.twitter.com/YRR0Dn2hW9
— Peter O’Hare (@peterohir) February 27, 2022
Make the most of it if you live near the Peak District…
"Amazing" Tom Pidcock will be a "force to be reckoned with this year", predicts Sir Bradley Wiggins
As far as safe bets go, predicting Tom Pidcock will be successful in 2022 seems sensible. The 22-year-old is making his return to the road after a rainbow jersey-winning winter in cyclocross, and was prominent if not podium-threatening at the Opening Weekend of the Classics.
18th at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad having made the front group and visibly animating the race at Kuurne-Brussells-Kuurne on Sunday, Sir Bradley Wiggins is predicting big things for Pidcock once again this year.
“He is amazing, isn’t he,” Wiggins said on his Eurosport podcast. “Obviously he has moved on now from his Olympic title and the Vuelta a España he rode. He is going to be a force to be reckoned with this year. He has got a very old head on his shoulders, hasn’t he.”
Wiggo also spoke about Mark Cavendish’s early season form, saying you “would not put it past him” to get Tour de France win number 35…
“Another superstar, Mark Cavendish, he is already winning this year,” Wiggo continued.
> Mark Cavendish will race Tour de France if he’s better than Fabio Jakobsen, says Patrick Lefevere
“He has picked up where he left off last year, which is fantastic for us, and he has hit the deck again. If Cav does do the Giro — which starts in Budapest — or the Tour — which starts in Copenhagen, which will be great for Mark because he loves Copenhagen — you would not put it past him to go one better than Eddy Merckx and beat that record.”
Tech detective work...Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl rocking new wheels at Le Samyn?
Greetings from #LeSamyn, the 209km one-day race featuring cobbles, hills and narrow roads that kicks-off the month of March. pic.twitter.com/mjKHabZcdd
— Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team (@qst_alphavinyl) March 1, 2022
You’ll need to go through to the tweet to see the full photos, thanks to the way embedded tweets crop the photo, but Liam reckons he’s spotted some interesting details on the Quick-Step boys’ bikes before the start of today’s one-day race, Le Samyn.
Firstly, those are definitely some new S-Works tyres which interestingly, with the painted sidewall, we can assume are tubeless. Meaning that, well, so are the wheels…a new tubeless offering from Roval?
"You couldn't make it up": Reaction to that dodgy bike lane + another classic of the genre
You couldn’t make it up #cycling https://t.co/QyLv4o1lPf
— VeloVoice (@velo_voice) March 1, 2022
Reaction time…
Do we have a higher bid in the crap cycle lane auction?
Reminds me of this belter in Greenwich pic.twitter.com/CqWuglrlcv
— Sam Hodges (@SamHodges) March 1, 2022
Looks like bring your kid to work day went well…
Luke Edwards had some local knowledge: “That’s a virgin media box, the council can’t remove it so build around then fix after virgin remove it, it’s quicker and cheaper to do that than to wait for its removal first. (Pic is from the Chingford Road side of the Bell junction in Walthamstow)” In the meantime, get bunny hopping…
Ali Dow couldn’t help but point out there’s a “perfectly good bike lane to the right of box”.
Tony Carroll’s after a job at the council…he suggested this edit…
While Alex Hemmingway reckons Danny MacAskill pulling off some of his famous stunts on Britain’s worst infra would be a decent video idea…good luck to whichever producer would have to compile the list of potential sites…
Le Samyn interrupted by rogue tractor on the route
Uno-X driving the peloton, a tractor driving in the opposite direction #LeSamyn pic.twitter.com/yTyu484i6n
— Katy M (@writebikerepeat) March 1, 2022
Tim Declercq may have missed the Opening Weekend, but at least one tractor sighting has made it onto our TV screens this week. We’d rather it was the breakaway-munching Quick-Step pro too, but this will have to do. This incident passed without any riders crashing or tanks being stolen…
Ukrainian tractor driver steals Russian tank. Iconic. pic.twitter.com/i9Uk3efZMf
— Aviva Klompas (@AvivaKlompas) February 27, 2022
Glasgow cycling charity Bike For Good launches emergency crowdfunder
Glasgow Live were the first to report the news that the city’s largest cycling charity Bike For Good has launched an emergency crowdfunder to help fund its work refeurbishing and selling donated bikes, repairing bicycles and enabling people to make cycling their main transport method.
The charity has pointed to inflation and rent and utility increases for its struggles, saying its property costs (rent and utilities) are up 51 per cent, while admin and overhead costs are up 22 per cent.
Bike For Good hopes to raise £10,000 through a crowdfunding campaign and has so far received £3,981 from 117 backers.
Further 70 bike hangars to be installed in Glasgow this week
Following on from the last post, it’s a double-header for Scotland’s most populous city…
In partnership with Cyclehoop the council has announced another 70 bike shelters (like the one in London pictured above) will be installed across the city this week. The Glasgow Times reports Cyclehoop has opened applications for 36 of the shelters, with the remaining units applications expected to go live in early March.
The initial 61 shelters installed last June saw huge demand. More than 1,000 applicants are currently on the waiting list for full shelters.
Cllr Anna Richardson, city convener for sustainability and carbon reduction, said: “It’s great that we are now able to expand our on-street cycle storage scheme following the fantastic response to our initial pilot programme.
“A lack of suitable storage in flats and tenements has long been raised as an issue as bikes kept in stairwells can cause obstructions and be at greater risk of being stolen.
“We always knew there would be interest in the storage scheme but the demand for spaces during our initial programme has been remarkable.”
Spaces will cost £6 per month and each shelter holds space for six bicycles.
G celebrates St David's Day
Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Hapus! Seems like a good day to confirm I’ll hopefully be competing at the Commonwealth Games again this year. Winning the road race in 2014 is up there with the best days of my career 👌 It’s gonna be very special competing in the Welsh jersey again #StDavidsDay pic.twitter.com/61dY6z0zKD
— Geraint Thomas (@GeraintThomas86) March 1, 2022
Happy St David’s Day!
LOOK ends sponsorship of Gazprom-RusVelo Cycling Team "in light of the recent shocking and unforgivable news"
— LOOK Cycle (@lookcycle) March 1, 2022
1 March 2022, 09:00
1 March 2022, 09:00
1 March 2022, 09:00
What better way to get in the mood for Strade Bianche...
Want to ride some US-style gravel in the UK? Check out this guide with some epic UK gravel routes
Ok, so maybe vast desert plains is a bit too much to ask... but there are still plenty of places to ride gravel all around the UK! Check out these routes if you're a fan of the gritty stuff
1 March 2022, 09:00
1 March 2022, 09:00
1 March 2022, 09:00
1 March 2022, 09:00
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Latest Comments
@DrG82 is a liar. First off, who here said they got everything right? "I wouldn’t say that the Welsh government got everything right." The article contains commentary saying they didn't get everything right. I suppose saying something obviously true sets you up to lie later... "They applied the speed limit changes uniformly, without considering exceptions" You are a liar. The Welsh Government guidance contained rules that would allow councils to exempt roads from 20mph. As an example, much of my route into town stayed at 30 and 40mph because my council bothered to apply the exemptions. I particularly enjoyed your unsupported claim of "This has been a massive waste of money". The article states "collisions involving all road users on 20mph and 30mph are down 37 per cent, with casualties dropping by 35 per cent". I'd say a one-off cost of changing road signs for a permanent 1/3rd reduction in collisions is gonna save the taxpayer a chunk of healthcare costs and owners and businesses a chunk of money not fixing car bodywork. Nothing but contempt for you. Take your lies elsewhere.
With so many people using and looking at mobie phones whilst driving and other distractions, may I suggest you always wear Hi viz and stay at home.
The design of the "car" has played a role in this. SUVs and what the Americans call "trucks" are exempt from the pedestrian safety regulations which apply to passenger cars. Had the victim been hit by a car designed in the past twenty years he would have been "scooped" onto the bonnet and either over the roof or off to one side. Still a serious injury risk and potentially fatal but they have the benefit of those passive safety systems to improve their chances. With vehicles with such a high bonnet line as this Volvo has what tends to happen is the person bounces off the bonnet and falls on the road in front of the vehicle where they're then run over. This has happened time and time again and is becoming more of an issue as the numbers of vehicles exempt from the safety standards grows.
@Accessibility for all Reducing the speeds wouldn't have helped in this case as the driver was reported doing 65 in a 40 zone on the approach to the junction, his driving described by the witnesses as erratic and evidently had no intention to stop to give way even though he had been warned by the passenger who apparently shouted "bike" three times just before the collision. He would have likely flown through that junction even if it was traffic light controlled with a red light for him at the time. In my own experience the entire area i.e. east of Lymm towards Warburton and along Dunham Road all the way up to Altrincham and past into Hale Barns, all those wealthy, posh settlements around Manchester Airport are best avoided by road cyclists. A disproportionally high number of psycho drivers must for some reason live in that area because every single time I went there on my road bike in the past, I either got harassed myself or witnessed proper dickhead driving - speeding, close passes, overtaking into oncoming traffic or round a blind bend, accelerating towards pedestrians already crossing the road, you name it. I gave up road cycling in that area years ago and only use the local TPT these days.
In respect of the murder charge: based on him hitting Mr Mullins and making no attempt to help him (this killing him), how would the case compare to a hit and run driver who seriously injures or kills a cyclist, knowingly, and flees the scene without helping? Would this make the cut for a murder charge? Or is there something very different going on here that I’m missing? Genuinely curious because I don’t recall there being a murder charge before for this kind of thing unless it was premeditated. In fact, in my experience most cases like this seem to go the opposite way - where the driver can merely say the sun was in their eyes and get away with a slap on the hands.
@Rendel Harris...and there was me dishing out the praise!
@polainm He must also be an already hardened criminal. It wasn't mentioned during the court proceedings to avoid influencing the jurors and ensuring he had a fair trial, but he had been released from prison shortly before this incident and was couch surfing at his cousin's house days before. Just look at his face, he's only 35, but looks older than his victim who was 56. Must have spent half his adult life in prison.
@jaymack They did offer him manslaughter though but he declined to plead guilty. Without wanting to seem curmudgeonly, yes great that they preferred the most serious charges but hard to see how they could have done differently considering that Richardson got out of the car, saw Mr Mullins was stuck underneath and then got back in and carried on. That clearly moved it above anything that falls under death by dangerous driving.
@thrawed Agree - the UK winters are utterly grim; grey, wet & windy. Not the type of weather you really want to go out and ride. Everything get covered in filth, and takes time to clean it after a ride. Oh for colder, drier & crisper days which can be enjoyable to be out in.
@ymm In my view, lax sentencing of dangerous drivers, especially where cyclists are involved, makes the judge, jury and CPS complicit in UK driver culture. This driver is a sociopath.
9 thoughts on ““This has UK written all over it”: Another why cyclists don’t use the cycle lane classic; Local wearing builder’s hat drops Israel – Premier Tech pros in Rwanda; Wiggo predicts “amazing” Pidcock success; Britain’s best LTN + more on the live blog”
Gina Harris, 82, is preparing
Gina Harris, 82, is preparing to cycle the length of Britain for charity
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-60560375
“I will be riding my old steel touring bike and carrying my luggage, which has a combined weight of more than 30kg, so a lot of hard work and practice begins now.”
Inspirational. And 30 kg is
Inspirational. And 30 kg is not too bad of a load if she’s camping, my last bikepacking trip I was a little over that including two bottles of water. If she’s not carrying camping gear, she’d probably enjoy the ride more if she took less.
The 30kg is bike plus load –
The 30kg is bike plus load – doesn’t say how much is which.
mdavidford wrote:
I’m including it too, I was at about 33 kg with everything on the bike except me and what I was wearing.
At 82, I’d want a good bed
At 82, I’d want a good bed for the night and a couple of concubines to warm it up !
30 kg – you could probably
30 kg – you could probably carry one…
hirsute wrote:
Concubines!
Forsooth, me-thinks tha hath been hitting the wordsearch books again!
I’m just thinking of King
I’m just thinking of King Solomon – 700 wives and 300 concubines !
After yesterday’s positive
After yesterday’s positive Rouvy item, a rather more negative development today. They’ve severely restricted the ability to create your own routes, only accepting ones that meet rigid requirements that allow them to overlay their cartoon gimmickry on the video. As a result of that (and a history of generally rubbish communication / engagement), several of the most prolific and well-rated creators have chosen to ditch the platform and delete their routes from the catalogue.