“Are they also warning of sneaky motorists with dashcams too?” Cyclists blast taxi driver’s “staggering victim blaming” over phone use; “Focus on dangerous drivers,” says DCS Andy Cox; Pilot kicked off race after barrier chaos + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
‘You’re the Wout to my Mathieu’: Cycling Valentine’s Day cards
Have you just noticed the date on your office calendar, panicked, and have now spent the last ten minutes desperately scrambling to find something cheap and perfunctory for the pro cycling-mad person in your life?
Well, worry no more, as the internet – as ever – has got you covered (and yes, before you ask, Thibaut and the goats are there)…
Cycling Valentine’s cards – A thread ⤵️
I’ll add some more throughout the day ❤️ pic.twitter.com/uo2qLlV1lK
— Cycling What Ifs ❓ (@cyclingwhatifs) February 14, 2023
— Cycling What Ifs ❓ (@cyclingwhatifs) February 14, 2023
— Cycling What Ifs ❓ (@cyclingwhatifs) February 14, 2023
— Cycling What Ifs ❓ (@cyclingwhatifs) February 14, 2023
Alright, that’s enough of that…
‘But as long as it targets cyclists, I’m fine with it…’
Shouty man at the Social Club doesn’t like facial recognition software, all very big brother apparently … I’ve told him it’s going to be used to catch cyclists running red lights and he’s okay with it now… 😂 🤦♂️ This is how urban myths start…be in the daily fail tommrrow 😉
— Mark Hodson (@markandcharlie) February 13, 2023
A National Cycle Network classic
I feel like the sign could’ve been more persuading. pic.twitter.com/WmEOTbVue7
— Oskar Scarsbrook (@osk_scars) February 14, 2023
I think the ‘may’ is doing quite a lot of heavy lifting in that sign…
Cycling UK calls for bike shops to get involved with the Scotland Cycle Repair Scheme
Cycling UK has renewed its call for Scottish bike shops and mechanics to get involved with the charity’s Scotland Cycle Repair Scheme.
Launched in 2020 and funded by the Scottish government, the scheme provides free bike repair and maintenance work up to a value of £50 for standard bikes and up to £100 for non-standard cycles, and aims to get neglected bikes out of garages, sheds, and gardens and back out onto the road for people who need them the most.
To facilitate the scheme, grants are provided to bike shops, mechanics, and any other organisations that repair bikes.
Funding is still available, and Cycling UK has renewed its call for cycle repairers to get involved, ahead of the 24 March deadline for applications.
The charity has worked with hundreds of independent bike shops, mechanics, social enterprises, and more through the scheme, with the grants providing both a guaranteed source of income and a good source of potential new customers.
So, if you’re a bike repairer based in Scotland, get involved! More details can be found on the repair scheme’s website.
The definitive list of things which seem good but are actually bad, according to the internet
Deep breath…
From what I can tell from online, schemes that seem good but are actually bad…
20mph limits
ULEZ
Congestion Charging
LTN’s
Protected Cycle Tracks and Bus lanes on main roads
15 min cities / 20 min neighbourhoods
Parking chargesWhat’s good – leave as is!
— Dermot Hanney (@HanneyDP) February 13, 2023
And then of course, there’s the NIMBY online discourse:
Look, it seems good but not in this location.
— Dan (@dank4000) February 13, 2023
Sonny Colbrelli and Claudio Chiappucci dropped by voters in Italian regional elections
2021 Paris-Roubaix winner Sonny Colbrelli suffered the political equivalent of a puncture in the Arenberg Forest at the weekend, as he failed to get elected to Lombardy’s regional council at the weekend.
The 32-year-old, who retired from pro cycling last October after being diagnosed with an unstable cardiac arrhythmia, announced in January that he would stand for Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party in the regional elections, which took place in Lombardy and Lazio on 12 and 13 February.
While still a pro, Colbrelli professed his admiration for the controversial, tax-dodging Berlusconi, and in 2014 posted – and swiftly deleted – a Facebook comment suggesting that Mussolini was required to deal with immigration in Italy.
His inaugural candidacy was largely based on developing sport and improving road safety in Italy, especially following the tragic death of fellow pro Davide Rebellin in November.
When it came to the weekend’s final sprint, however, the former European champion was boxed in (I’ve got hundreds of these) and received just 1,387 votes in Brescia, placing him fifth and out of the running for a council seat.
The electoral outlook was even worse for another retired pro cyclist, Claudio Chiappucci, who failed to scale the dizzying heights of his Alpine and Pyrenean exploits and whose vote instead resembled a pan-flat Belgian kermesse (told you).
Chiappucci, a dazzling climber who lit up the EPO-fuelled Tours de France of the early 1990s, managed to collect a measly 121 votes in Monza while standing for Letizia Moratti’s centrists.
Ouch. Claudio must have felt like he was up against Miguel Induráin all over again…
Egan Bernal pulls out of Ruta del Sol with knee problem
2019 Tour de France winner Egan Bernal’s stuttering early season continues, as the Colombian is forced to pull out of this week’s Vuelta a Andalucia thanks to a knee complaint stemming from last month’s Vuelta a San Juan, VeloNews reports.
The 26-year-old Ineos Grenadiers rider is currently building towards a return to the Tour de France this July following his career-threatening training crash last year, but was forced to withdraw from his debut race of the season in Argentina, despite looking strong on the climbs, after sustaining a knee injury.
While Ineos staff insisted that the injury wasn’t serious, Bernal returned to Europe instead of racing his home national championships last week.
“The knee still continues to bother me. We know what knee injuries are like, so we are going to see how things go and make the best decision. But as I’ve said, I’m still thinking about the races in Europe,” Bernal told NoticiasRCN.com at the time.
With the injury showing no signs of abating, Bernal has now withdrawn from the five-day Vuelta a Andalucia – also known as the Ruta del Sol – which starts tomorrow with a mountainous route to Santiago de la Espada.
All being well, Bernal’s European debut for 2023 will instead take place at Paris-Nice next month, where he is likely to encounter Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard in their first pre-Tour clash of the year. No pressure then, Egan.
Construction to start on Cycleway 50 next week
Work will begin on a new major cycle route between Finsbury Park and Holloway Road next Monday, Transport for London has confirmed.
The new Cycleway 50 will include the creation of two new segregated cycle lanes, running westbound along Seven Sisters Road and eastbound along Isledon Road and Tollington Road, as well as the overhaul of the intimidating and outdated Nag’s Head gyratory, providing much-needed transport links for cyclists and improving the safety of roads and junctions in the area.
Transport for London says that the cycleway will be built as an experimental route and that a full consultation on the scheme will begin when the work is completed at the end of the year.
Further sections of the Cycleway could begin construction later this year, connecting the Nag’s Head gyratory and Holloway Road with York Way via Hungerford Road.
“More Londoners than ever are choosing to walk and cycle around the capital. We need to continue to make London’s roads safer and journeys easier by building more high-quality cycling infrastructure,” says London’s walking and cycling commissioner Will Norman.
“This new cycleway between Finsbury Park and Holloway will be yet another step towards making cycling easier and more appealing to people in the capital, and help build a safer, fairer and greener London for everyone.”
‘More needs to be done to promote cycling, but…’
A classic of the local authority ‘cycling is important, but we removed all the cycle lanes’ genre here, from Cheshire East Council:
The Leader of Cheshire East Council explains how they support cycling infrastructure by removing it. Not clear if the same open and fair approach applies to roads. pic.twitter.com/blILF2HVBk
— Macc Active Traveller (@lkchdschh) February 13, 2023
‘Why don’t cyclists use the cycle lanes?’, Jeremy Vine edition
This just happened.
He did say “sorry I didn’t see you.”
An apology is always accepted.
But this gent needs a refresher driving course. pic.twitter.com/9WV6H067ob— Jeremy Vine (@theJeremyVine) February 14, 2023
And, neatly rounding up today’s focus on victim blaming and the choice of clothing of vulnerable road users, Twitter’s finest have responded to the broadcaster’s near miss with some inevitably depressing comments about, you guessed it, hi-vis…
To be fair. You might be quite hard to see all in black. I do wish hi viz was mandatory as the amount of cyclist who to ‘blend’ with their surroundings is quite high.
— Jo Ryan (@JojoRy77) February 14, 2023
Remember the old cycle safety ad “get yourself seen”
— peter (@lego1604) February 14, 2023
Some things never change…
Helicopter pilot booted off Tour of Oman after blowing barriers across road right in front of riders
Yep, that’s right folks, it’s time for another instalment of ‘unnecessarily dangerous finishes at early season bike races’ (nope, still haven’t thought of a catchier title…).
Today’s episode of this soon-to-regular series comes courtesy of the Tour of Oman, where a helicopter pilot for Omani TV flew too low while trying to capture images of the finale of yesterday’s third stage to Jabal Hatt, and in the process blew a section of barriers right across the finishing straight:
I’m glad no rider was hit by that flying barrier. 😳pic.twitter.com/sfBcHBYYmy
— Benji Naesen (@BenjiNaesen) February 13, 2023
With the barriers stretched across the width of the road, prompting a mad dash from race officials to put them back in place, a group of riders who were battling it out for a top 20 on the stage – behind winner Matteo Jorgenson, who took his first ever pro win and the leader’s jersey – were impeded by the chaos, though fortunately no-one was injured.
One of the impeded riders, Arkéa-Samsic’s Michel Ries, tweeted after the stage: “Luckily we could just avoid the barriers flying on the road at the finish of today’s stage!
“But things like that should definitely not happen! Imagine this happening during a bunch sprint!”
Luckily we could just avoid the barriers flying on the road at the finish of today’s stage!
But things like that should definitely not happen! Imagine this happening during a bunch sprint! 🤯 https://t.co/tZguGk2Mb9— Michel Ries (@RiesMichel) February 13, 2023
Another member of the ten-strong group suddenly faced with a road full of advertising hoardings, Bora-Hansgrohe’s Ben Zwiehoff, had a slightly more light-hearted take on proceedings, writing: “Wild finale here in Oman. The barrier was a bit too high to bunny hop.”
I bet Van der Poel could have managed it…
The blocked riders, which also included Zwiehoff’s Bora teammate Emanuel Buchmann and Intermarché-Circus-Wanty’s Louis Meintjes, were awarded 20 seconds by the UCI’s commissaires for their troubles.
The low-flying helicopter pilot, meanwhile, has been booted off the race, with a new pilot taking his place for the remaining two stages.
The replacement pilot seems to be slightly more conservative in his approach to capturing images of sprints, as Diego Ulissi managed to win this morning’s stage to Yitti Hills with little to no interference from TV choppers:
Diego Ulissi won stage 4 of @tourofoman after a reduced bunch sprint in Yitti Hills. 👏 Nice work by Cofidis in the last km, Zingle was so close to do it. Tomorrow it’s the decisive, last day of racing on the big MTF Jabal Al Akhdhar. #TourofOmanpic.twitter.com/JTRmQpICTM
— Mihai Simion (@faustocoppi60) February 14, 2023
“Let’s focus all our attention on dangerous drivers”: DCS Andy Cox responds to Police Scotland’s “victim-blaming” call for pedestrians to wear hi-vis
Another story from yesterday – this time focusing on the “victim-blaming” row currently engulfing Police Scotland after a chief inspector urged pedestrians to wear “reflective or fluorescent” clothing, following the deaths of six people who were hit by other road users while walking in the space of just 13 days – has attracted lots of online debate, with Detective Chief Superintendent and well-known road safety advocate Andy Cox reminding everyone on Twitter that our focus should remain on the actions of “dangerous drivers”:
We rightly never tell a victim of sexual assault what they should, or should not wear, and instead focus entirely on the perpetrator. Road crime should be no different. Let’s focus all our attention on the dangerous drivers, who through their selfish actions cause so much harm.
— Andy Cox (@AndyCoxDCS) February 14, 2023
Cox, the head of crime at Lincolnshire Police and national lead for fatal collision investigations, tweeted under our story this morning: “We rightly never tell a victim of sexual assault what they should, or should not wear, and instead focus entirely on the perpetrator.
“Road crime should be no different. Let’s focus all our attention on the dangerous drivers, who through their selfish actions cause so much harm.”
Cox’s stance has been praised by other Twitter users, who have described the emphasis on hi-vis clothing as the “21st-century version of warning against wearing short skirts while walking down dark lanes after midnight”:
@RSAIreland & @GardaTraffic would do well to heed this and adjust their policies accordingly. Current policy is the 21st century version of warning against wearing short skirts while walking down dark lanes after midnight. Clothing never prevented rape, hi-vis won’t prevent death https://t.co/deSJ3UCsUF
— Mary Caulfield @SusanTheSilent@mastodon.ie (@SusanTheSilent) February 14, 2023
The former lead for Vision Zero at the Met has a been a consistent proponent of amplifying the voices of those affected by road danger and last May spearheaded a campaign to bring road danger reduction to the “forefront of the national conversation and prevent the needless deaths and injury on our roads”.
Incidentally, during that campaign, which saw Cox complete 30 miles of physical activity (such as walking, running, or cycling) per day for a week, the DCS – along with riding companion Jeremy Vine – was close passed by a lorry driver, despite being decked out in hi-visibility clothing clearly emblazoned with ‘Police’ on the back.
After several social media users criticised the cyclists for not riding single file before the close pass – which led Vine to suggest that British motorists have been “dehumanised” – Cox once again took to Twitter to firmly remind everyone that “drivers have a responsibility to protect vulnerable road users. That way everyone gets home safely, alive.”
“Are they also warning of sneaky motorists with dashcams too?” Cyclists react to taxi driver association’s “staggering self-justification and victim-blaming” over phone use
‘And I would have gotten away with my incessant phone use too, if it weren’t for you meddling kids!’
Yesterday, we reported that a concerned taxi driver’s association rep had warned cabbies in the UK that they should avoid being “tempted to pick up your mobile phone” while driving – thanks to “sneaky” cyclists and their helmet cameras (you didn’t actually think he was concerned about road safety, did you?).
> Taxi association warns drivers of “sneaky” cyclists with cameras catching law-breaking behaviour
Unsurprisingly, the Licensed Taxi Driver’s Association executive’s call (in this case, not an actual phone call) to all “unknowingly guilty” mobile-using cabbies has been greeted with incredulity within the cycling community.
(The kind of incredulity typically reserved for a taxi driver caught using their phone, apparently…)
— phil wright (he/him) (@ukwrightphil) February 13, 2023
Here’s what road.cc’s readers had to say…
First up, eburtthebike described the LTDA’s warning as “staggering self-justification and victim-blaming”.
They continued: “Bloody cyclists, always breaking the law themselves but just because I made a perfectly innocent phone call which is illegal and threatens their lives the snotty b***ards reported me!
“If the warning has the effect of preventing drivers making phone calls, then good. If it has the effect of making drivers even more hostile to cyclists, not so good. It sounds very much like the LTDA rep has been caught and fined themselves.”
“I commend this excellent initiative from the LTDA,” wrote road.cc reader Mungecrundle. “Reminding their members about regulations they may think are trivial, the possible consequences to their livelihoods and the ability of the police to prosecute based on video footage submitted by members of the public.
“All wrapped up in a ‘Don’t be a victim’ messaging style rather than antagonising their members with a Nanny State diktat about how they must follow rules.”
Cabbies: We’re professional road users and deserve to be treated as such.
*Person films them on the phone.
Cabbies: Not like that.
— J.G. Bollard (@JamesNonchalant) February 13, 2023
“Are they also warning of sneaky motorists with dashcams too?” asked Das. Good point…
Brooksby was just glad that the LTDA seem to “have their priorities in order”, while quiff couldn’t help noticing the executive’s rather dubious distinction between a cyclists “or possibly a member of the public”.
A social meme I’ve noticed recently: in Britain you get in more social trouble for pointing out wrongdoing than the wrongdoers.
— The Man Who Stares at Boats (@Stewieatb) February 13, 2023
Ktache, meanwhile, couldn’t seem to move past the description of the phone-using cabbie as “unknowingly guilty”.
“Otherwise law abiding highly trained professional driver unaware of decades old law,” they wrote.
“Of course, the cabbie was unknowingly guilty”.
Good to know London’s black cab drivers are so well versed in the law.
— Brendan Macaroon (@BrendanMacaroon) February 13, 2023
Though IanMK reckoned the whole warning thing just proved that the LTDA “have mastered the art of satire”.
Finally, over on Twitter, Lib Dem councillor for South Oxfordshire, Alexandrine Kántor, proudly declared her status as a “pesky cyclist”:
#PeskyCyclist and proud. 📸 https://t.co/U7m1XK3r9g
— Cllr Alexandrine Kántor ASD 🎃 (@Alexa_Kantor) February 13, 2023
14 February 2023, 09:55
UPDATE: The UCI has insisted that rider safety at upcoming Glasgow worlds is “absolute priority”, and that concerns over potholes on the road race course have been forwarded to the Local Organising Committee “responsible for ensuring safe conditions”
Cyclist raises alarm over "dangerous" potholes on 2023 World Championships road race routes
Pictures from the Scottish roads to be used for the elite men and women's road races paint a concerning picture six months out from the showpiece event
14 February 2023, 09:55
14 February 2023, 09:55
14 February 2023, 09:55
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I only get punishment passes when Im riding close to the gutter usually when there's a painted farcility!
I reckon you should go for some patriarchal system - you might grow to like it and I reckon it would be popular with lots of men who seem to feel hard-done by. Perhaps you could institute a holy sacrament which would allow you to circumvent local drugs legislation, or at least get some tax exemptions (coffee?). Anyway - we all love a good protected-characteristic-fight - today misogyny versus religious discrimination!
@This Wreckage I never realised it wasn't misogyny if it was based on religion, I wonder what else I will be able to get away with once I found my own religion!
"Landcross Road is now like a rat run, cars bomb through there. Surprised that there hasn’t been a smash there or somebody hasn’t been knocked down yet." Is that a vote for a modal filter there? Or - better - seeing how this could be fitted into a broader pattern of LTNs for residents? Or even starting a conversation on what they expect from travel locally / regionally and how could that be delivered. If the answer is - predictably - "like now but driving is more convenient" how much is that *really* going to cost / affect them going forward? Spoiler - they might well get lucky and have a few more years of "help for the hard- pressed motorist". (Particularly through the influence of Reform moving the conversation at a national level). But with more people here, more bills from people living longer (and all the other changes, the wars we're paying for...) the *real* costs of mass motoring may come back to bite pretty soon.
Scrapbook or it didn't happen?
This make me think of the early days of the bicycle - European countries which at the time still had prescriptive and quite restrictive views of female roles and appropriate behaviour and there were certainly outpouring of concern about the idea of women cycling. (Although I believe there was more acceptance of the zoo of "wheeled self-propelled contraptions" of the Victorian era). And ... maybe they were right in that perhaps this did lead (eventually) to some social liberalisation / young people mixing? Also thinking about an example the other way where NGOs working to help people have provided bicycles to eg. assist women bringing produce to market, only to find that these are all appropriated by men. (Perhaps a bit like "the man drives the car" which can still be seen to some extent in the UK). Of note is that Dutch women on average make more cycle trips than men. That's nothing to do with ebikes, but the efforts made (infra and built environment) to make driving not be the default for shorter trips. Plus women still do more of the admin / (child)care than men there.
Even better, there's a 4 hour rolling road block on this afternoon as the carnival parade travels through the town. Those on social media complaining about this work have known about it for months and despite what they may claim, they are not the silent majority but a vocal minority.
Indeed - and before *that* Abellio who had the franchise for Scotrail had bikes ("Bike and Go") at (a few) stations. At the time I didn't understand this, not being cognizant of the Dutch OV Fiets system which presumably this was based on. Unfortunately I don't think many others understood it either. Given the small numbers of people braving Scotland's unfriendly and inconvenient cycling environments it was a case of "too soon for the location". Didn't help that these were unpowered public hire bikes (so robust and heavy * ) and some of the places they were offered are hilly. Plus there's the UK expectation of people cycling on the road accelerating like a motor vehicle and flowing with the traffic. * Ones I tried were something like the Batavus Personal bike with all the trimmings, racks etc. They had been sensibly given them a large number of gears (7) for a hire bike and who knows what you could carry. But even just carrying me they were ponderous.
Yes, clearly it would have been preferable for him never to have ridden a bike and driven everywhere, then he could have ended up an obese, bitter and spiteful specimen stuffing his face with crisps and fizzy pop sitting in front of his keyboard in mummy's basement leaving stupid comments on other people's obituaries. That would have been a much better use of a life.
"The Voi bikes have been much more successful than their predecessor, the Just Eat Cycles run by Serco which ended in 2021." The predecessor to VOI bikes in Edinburgh was not - as your version says - Voi bikes.
7 thoughts on ““Are they also warning of sneaky motorists with dashcams too?” Cyclists blast taxi driver’s “staggering victim blaming” over phone use; “Focus on dangerous drivers,” says DCS Andy Cox; Pilot kicked off race after barrier chaos + more on the live blog”
Is that helicopter pilot’s
Is that helicopter pilot’s day job being a London cabbie?
No, if he was a London cabbie
No, if he was a London cabbie he would have landed on the finishing straight, still on his phone moaning on twitter about cyclists.
So now we’ve reached the
So now we’ve reached the point where this live blog exists by repeating today all the comments made in this section yesterday about a story and packaginf it up as new content. Yay.
Surreyrider wrote:
To be fair, cyclists tend to be slightly more environmentally aware than the average citizen, and are therefore more likely to support a bit of recycling.
I’ve heard that joke before!
I’ve heard that joke before!
I’m surprised the LTDA hasn’t
I’m surprised the LTDA hasn’t rushed out an apology and said the views expressed yesterday are not representative of our members or organisers. Actually, I’m not surprised.
C50 is going to be a welcome
C50 is going to be a welcome addition. Central areas of London are introducing some really good infrastructure.