“Tone deaf”: Cyclists slam NSPCC Land Rover giveaway; Timmy Mallett finds “new bike trap” on National Cycle Network route; First summit finish of the Giro won by Davide Bais; Anti-cycling story coming to a national paper near you? + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
First summit finish of the Giro — a return to Gran Sasso d'Italia
Here’s what’s on the menu today…
The race is headed to the highest point in the Apennines, the climb where in 1999 (off the back of a Giro-Tour double the previous year and just two weeks away from that fateful positive test) Marco Pantani soared to victory by 20 seconds at the end of a seven-hour-long 253km stage. Just the 218km today.
More recently, in 2018, Simon Yates took the first of three stage wins that year, eventually cracking three days from home as Chris Froome launched a comeback for the ages. So cautious optimism for whoever wins today, you might be the best in the race now, but there’s still no guarantee of pink in Rome…
Thibaut Pinot was second that day in 2018, wouldn’t a Giro stage win in his final year as a pro be a popular victory.
The pink bikes of the Giro
Simon’s over in Italy, snapping pink bikes (some of which may or may not be horror movie worthy)…
The next anti-cycling story coming to a national newspaper near you?
*Jaws music*
Recognise this “keen cyclist” – helmet on, foot down on a Lime Bike?
Journo from Mail or Telegraph come for a put up job by Chiswick’s anti cycling group and happy puppets of the far right culture war?
Watch out for a hatchet job on #Cycleway9 this weekend 😉 pic.twitter.com/zmM69Z3u2Z
— Paul Campbell 🚲 (@PauloCampbell) May 11, 2023
Weather for ducks AGAIN at the Giro
Serves ’em right for enjoying yesterday’s sunny jaunt along the Amalfi Coast and making us all very jealous…
Lots of standing water and water flowing down the roads early in todays stage ☔️
It’s weather for ducks, eh @AG2RCITROENTEAM 🦆 take care peloton and team care 🤞 #Giro pic.twitter.com/BFI0GEmTRS
— Hannah Walker (@spannawalker) May 12, 2023
"It's really disappointing to see new ones going in": Cycle route barriers... a familiar problem
This group ride playing ‘how many cyclists does it take to lift a cargo bike over cycle route barrier?’ made our live blog back in March…
On the same lines as Timmy Mallett’s post (and dare I say the never-ending talk about bike storage on trains), fine if you’ve got skinny bars and can lift your bike, not so fine for those in wheelchairs, riding cargo bikes, wider handlebar bikes etc.
And from the replies to Mallett’s Strava activity, he’s not the only one pissed off…
Karen: “There are campaigns to take these out all across the country. It’s really disappointing to see new ones going in.”
Rob: “To those saying to turn the bars 90 degrees. We need to be making our cycle ways more accessible for those with a wide range of abilities riding a wide range of bikes. Simply letting these gates be installed and only used by the able isn’t the answer.”
Simon: “This has happened in Portsmouth, also on a Sustrans route.”
Crispin: “Such barriers are in breach of equality legislation. They should be being removed, not installed. Report to Sustrans.”
Andrew: “Supposed to stop motorbikes, but still rubbish for people with wide bars and even wheelchair users.”
Charlie Quarterman living a "dream" at Giro d'Italia
We mentioned on yesterday’s blog that British rider Charlie Quarterman had made the day’s breakaway, coming a long way since being berated by Jeremy Clarkson during lockdown… no, really…
> Clip of Jeremy Clarkson berating pro cyclist for riding in lockdown surfaces
Speaking about his day in the break (back of shot in the purple jersey), Quarterman called it a dream to be back racing against the best riders in the world.
“I wouldn’t say no to winning a stage like I did at the Tour du Loiret but quite a change. Felt the difference riding through towns yesterday so loud with fans I couldn’t hear the radio or any of the riders shouting next to me. Even if it’s hard, it’s already a dream to be here.”
"I couldn't be happier for the guy. He's a genuinely lovely lad": 10-mile TT chat with Colin Sturgess after George Fox sets blistering road bike TT time
Our story on George Fox’s 18:41 10-mile road bike time trial certainly got some attention…(and not just for my unapologetic cocktail of metric and imperial measurements)…
We spoke to Colin Sturgess, pro rider-turned-DS who had a few fast times of his own back in the day, not least the then-10-mile TT record of 18:48, which stood from 1988 until 1992. Oh, did I mention Sturgess set that time… yep, on a bike from the 80s and only seven seconds slower than Fox’s 2023 time.
Both George and Colin have said it is a pretty pointless exercise comparing eras, Sturgess telling road.cc he “couldn’t be happier for the guy. He’s a genuinely lovely lad”. And while we initially said Fox had ‘broken’ the road bike TT record, as that record doesn’t officially exist (with Cycling Time Trials, so George would have to beat Marcin Białobłocki’s supersonic TT bike time of 16.35), saying ‘set’ could make more sense as we’ve only got Sturgess’ time to compare to, especially considering bike tech has hardly stood still for the past 25 years…
“He and I have spoken at length about it, and I couldn’t be happier for the guy. He’s a genuinely lovely lad,” Sturgess told road.cc. “When I broke the 10 record it was outright comp record (low profile bikes etc. were allowed). My rear Campag Ghibli disc wheel hadn’t arrived from Italy, and I didn’t have a low-profile bike at the time, so I used my normal road bike, with a pair of 28-spoked wheels. Used the bike the next morning in a crit.”
Speaking to CTT after Sunday’s impressive ride, George added: “It was never about comparisons, nor ever will be. I’ve said it before and I’ll continue to say it, Colin Sturgess is another level and 18.48 was way ahead of the game when it was set!”
“It was never a case of comparing to his ride,” George explained. “It was more the fact there was a record which using technology and science we think is theoretically possible. That was always the premise that it was breaking a number not comparing to the ride which was done previously.”
This is 1987. Afraid I scanned it badly but it gives an idea as to what Boardman and Sturgess were riding in that era pic.twitter.com/9AVVgnBsgd
— Ex roadman (@ExRoadman1) May 11, 2023
Hey Conor 👋 I’ll see if I can find one mate
— Col Sturgess (@ColinASturgess) May 11, 2023
😂😂😂😂ffs!
— Col Sturgess (@ColinASturgess) May 11, 2023
So there, hope you enjoy reading about time trialling…
Is it a gravel or a road bike!? Check out the new 2023 Vitus Venon Evo
Is it a gravel or a road bike!? Check out the new 2023 Vitus Venon Evo!https://t.co/Kf2bpKlXH5#cycling #newbike#Sponsored pic.twitter.com/87mTooVbtE
— road.cc (@roadcc) May 12, 2023
> Vitus launches versatile new Venon EVO RS & GR bikes — first look and first ride impressions
"I have the feeling that Roglič is nervous": Remco begins the mind games
We’ll see how well these words age in about an hour or so…
Speaking to Rois de la Pédale, one of Eurosport’s talkshows, Remco said he believes his big GC rival Primož Roglič is nervous…
“I have the impression that Roglic is nervous,” he told Philippe Gilbert. “He knows he is 44 seconds behind. Jumbo-Visma rides nervously through the peloton anyway. They push a lot, but that’s their style. After the time trial and the stage the day before yesterday, I think I am the strongest at the moment.
“For now it is an ideal scenario for us. In Catalunya I was behind, now in front. There is no stress for us. It’s more the case with them, I think.”
The opening summit finish of the race is just half an hour away…
Demi Vollering wins opening stage of Itzulia with dominant solo display
There’s more than just the Giro to enjoy this weekend. Don’t worry we won’t bore you with what’s happening at the Tour of Hungary, but the world’s best women’s racers are having a showdown in the Basque Country, a week on from Annemiek van Vleuten’s somewhat controversial (urinating-related) win at La Vuelta.
Demi Vollering got revenge, of sorts, winning today’s opening stage in dominant fashion, 47 seconds ahead of teammate Marlen Reusser, with Katarzyna Niewiadoma third and Van Vleuten fourth.
Nice weather for it…
🎊🥳 @demivollering 🥇
LIKE 2022, STARTS WINNING 🙌🏻@teamsdworx
🏆 @eitb #ItzuliaWomen2023 pic.twitter.com/5YNIHrBPhJ
— Itzulia Basque Country (@ehitzulia) May 12, 2023
Godspeed! Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby fined £500 for speeding
This news Just-in…
The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has been given three penalty points and a fine of more than £500 after being caught driving at 25mph in a 20mph zone last year. The 67-year-old was travelling along the Albert Embankment towards his official residence at Lambeth Palace and was sentenced at a private magistrates’ court hearing, the BBC reports.
Lavender Hill Magistrates’ Court ordered Mr Welby to pay a £300 fine, a £120 victim surcharge and £90 in legal costs, as well as the penalty points.
A spokesperson for Lambeth Palace said: “He has tried to resolve this and pay the fine three times. He has all the paperwork to prove that he has tried to pay. Admin errors seem to be causing problems.”
"What a shame": Timmy Mallett finds "new bike trap" on National Cycle Network route
Timmy Mallett was back out on the bike yesterday, on familiar off-road paths near Maidenhead and Windsor, including a stretch of National Cycle Network 50. Unfortunately the take-home message from this spin in the countryside was that “sadly it looks like the end of cycle route 50” because of this…
“For decades I’ve been riding the green ways of Britain and this green way, like many others, is by permission of the landowner,” Mallett told his Strava followers. “Oh dear. This week a new bike trap at Lighlands lane, Cookham, has gone in on cycle route 50, and I can’t get my handlebars through.
“The result is the green way is now off limits and not accessible for cyclists, hand bikes or wheelchairs. What a shame.”
“It is of course the prerogative of the landowner how they choose to make the way accessible and for whom. Sadly it looks like the end of cycle route 50,” Mallett continued. “Instead the detour is over the treacherous Widbrook common, which is utterly scary.
“I pedalled along a road into Maidenhead, picked up NCN4 where the bike gates have been removed and the green way is shared safely and happily. Across the new cycle path by the side of the M4 over the Thames to Dorney and down past Boveney chapel to the lovely meadows by Eton.
> Utterly brilliant: An interview with Timmy Mallet on all things e-bike
“May is a gorgeous month to enjoy Britain’s cycle paths. There’s a new pedestrian area being constructed by Queen Victoria’s state next to Windsor castle. The way home came through fields of buttercups and cascading white may blossom. There were also huge flooded footpaths.
“A Sustrans volunteer was at work on the Jubilee River doing an audit of these bike hazard entrance gates/traps. The Highway Code has made the vulnerable a priority. The green way landowners have some way to go to make the cycle paths accessible…”
"A life changing moment at the Giro d'Italia": Davide Bais wins stage seven
Here was the moment…
“A life changing moment at the Giro d’Italia”
25-year-old Davide Bais wins a bike race for the first time in his career!
What a time to do it! 🇮🇹 #giroditalia pic.twitter.com/v1vmSOlQsO
— Eurosport (@eurosport) May 12, 2023
Not a classic Grand Tour stage by any means, in fact almost instantly forgettable but don’t let that take anything away from Davide Bais’ achievement. A first win as a professional… and it comes at his home Grand Tour, on the first summit finish of the race at a famous mountain, the site of a Marco Pantani victory way back when. Chapeau.
"Tone deaf": Cyclists slam NSPCC Land Rover giveaway
Roll up, roll up, let’s finish the live blog week with some social media outrage… after this fairly easy to criticise giveaway from… *checks notes*… *checks notes again to make 100% sure I’m reading this correctly… the NSPCC…
Would you like to win this Land Rover Defender as well as your dream home?! 😍
Every entry supports us to help keep children safe 💚
Enter by Sun 14 May! 👉 https://t.co/mf6UrdDyag pic.twitter.com/LtTBOSBHsC
— NSPCC (@NSPCC) May 12, 2023
Needless to say the ratio of two likes to 75 replies is telling, many followers saying they donate to the charity but have been left somewhere on the scale of shocked to dismayed to downright furious…
Well, objectively some children will be less safe thanks to this corporate partnership. Perhaps you haven’t thought this through quite as carefully as you should have done https://t.co/I6Wl0Hbdyu
— Leo Murray @crisortunity@urbanists.social (@crisortunity) May 12, 2023
“Road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death for children and young adults aged 5-29 years.”
This is in very poor taste, as others have pointed out.https://t.co/3F0IFNpu47
— Edward Lamb (@edwardlamb) May 12, 2023
— Simon (mzdt@toot.wales) 🪗 (@mzdt) May 12, 2023
Streets for people campaigner Jo Rigby replied: “Oh come on — I’ve a direct debit with you and couldn’t think of anything less appropriate to put up as a prize.”
Another called it “utterly tone deaf”.
Nice quiet Friday afternoon in the NSPCC offices then…
12 May 2023, 08:08
12 May 2023, 08:08
12 May 2023, 08:08
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Latest Comments
oh, there are totally predictable, unfortunately. I predict that they will kill 5 people, today, in the UK
Presumably there is some ideal city where everything is within cycling distance but there's also lots of space to store bikes. Hmm. I wonder if some of those car spots that occupy the same space as 10 bikes (or more) could be utilised?
If you're cycling in the UK. But just be careful about picking up discarded perfume bottles, watch who you drink tea with, don't cycle near Russian warships etc.
Vittoria Corsa NeXT are the answer for anyone who actually isn’t pro. Still better than Conti GP5000’s, more durable, better ride feel and better price. …the best way to not pay too much? Buy something else.
I'm am more at threat from dangerous drivers than I am from russian snipers
But again, it's irrelevant to the argument.
The thing that makes cycling more dangerous (among others) is poor skill and situational awareness. Both of which will be exacerbated by this thing full of screens sensors and other distractions which will do nothing to help a novice ride better.
Good to hear that people are keen and they won't be doing the Lambeth Walk if they can help it. Now, can we have a rule that new buildings (that the government wants more of built) have to include decent cycle storage space? Like in NL? (Of course not - that would be insanity as nobody cycles, and anyway Nige and Kemi and anyone else will be shouting "nanny state" and "government overreach". And frankly the planning process is a giant hot mess as it is and we're already worried about being slated for missing housing targets ...)
Those wheels are certainly a major advance in road safety for squirrels trying to cross the road.
@momove maybe they mean "more pure cycling *marketing*"?
52 thoughts on ““Tone deaf”: Cyclists slam NSPCC Land Rover giveaway; Timmy Mallett finds “new bike trap” on National Cycle Network route; First summit finish of the Giro won by Davide Bais; Anti-cycling story coming to a national paper near you? + more on the live blog”
Re. the bike trap – Goodness,
Re. the bike trap – Goodness, I hate (old) sustrans. This is proof of why they should never (have) get involved in any kind of cycling infrastructure.
The new chief executive has produced warm words about the past failures of Sustrans, and the need to create proper infrastructure. But I’m afraid the jury is still out on whether they will start actually producing usable cycle routes.
Looks like it’s not new; it’s
Looks like it’s not new; it’s showing in Google Maps as far back as Oct 2018, and prior to that (Apr 2012) it was even worse.
The point is valid though; the route is clearly not suitable to be marked as a NCN.
And the surface looks crap
And the surface looks crap
the little onion wrote:
pretty standard for the national cycle network.
Notional Cycle Network, or
Notional Cycle Network, or National Sign Network…
On the one hand it’s clearly useful for many and gives some interesting route suggestions.
On the other they should have a warning: “may not be suitable for riders with disabilities. Or those not equipped with fat bike tyres. Or those riding bikes. Occasionally a boat may be advised. Use of other navigational aids (satnav, drone) strongly advised. Be prepared for detours – which may be from a few hundred metres to tens of miles.”
It looks like there has been
It looks like there has been a restriction there for some time, but Timmy’s gate does look different from what’s on Streetview, assuming this is it: https://goo.gl/maps/2F3teKeA5qTx8WHBA.
Timmy should come back with
Timmy should come back with his Mallet and give a good whacking.
Alternatively I dont live that far away – where do I get one of those battery powered angle grinders all the tea leaves use?
The A frame about which Timmy
The A frame about which Timmy Mallett is complaining is right next to a sign saying national cycle route this way. What did the landowner think was going to happen if they put up a gate which you cannot get a bike through?
Is there any kind of standard
Is there any kind of standard bike that would go through that barrier? Maybe a kid’s bike would.
Standard unicycle
Standard unicycle
I dunno given how much wider
I dunno given how much wider MTB bars are than road bars, I reckon you could through, although only by stopping and walking through.
I like the baloonybike.
I like the baloonybike.
Great paint job on Timmy’s
Great paint job on Timmy’s bike, especially the mudguards, pic on the far right.
Needs more bells.
Needs more bells.
I wonder if this could catch
I wonder if this could catch on ?
Would have liked a ‘park’
Would have liked a ‘park’ sign on the right Vs a ‘parking’ sign on the left for maximum realism
The problem is folk want the
The problem is folk want the option on the right with one addition – their car. Which means no driving restrictions, which means everyone else’s car as well. Which leads to the option on the left.
Have you noticed all the car ads for “city cars” (things that shouldn’t really exist as mainstream) feature cars smoothly slipping through otherwise deserted city roads?
But but the evil cycling
But but the evil cycling lobby control the media… (I can’t recall any ads at the cinema for Colnago but maybe I don’t watch enought Italian films?)
Can’t find it now but there were some realistic ones here a while back (think from a German activist) – “ideal for congestion” etc.
Not quite the same but:
chrisonatrike wrote:
Reminds me of one of my favourite sayings: electric cars were invented to save the car industry, not the planet.
hawkinspeter wrote:
Although as a result of lobbying from Germany & Italy (and their car industries), the EU have rowed back on a total ICE vehicle sales ban by 2035, granting an exception for e-fuel. While this is technically CO2 neutral, it’s still setting fire to volatile chemicals in a confined space to provide propulsion, with the accompanying effect on air quality.
Plus ça change, c’est la même chose!!
cant believe this hasnt
cant believe this hasnt popped up on the live blog yet…
https://youtu.be/GKKYCkO3xZU
Excellent, can’t believe it’s
Excellent, can’t believe it’s passed me by. I was actually waiting for the part where someone got run over, must get my happier hat on…
Presumably they’re hoping that the service station business will continue, with an expansion of cake / pastries sales replacing the petrol?
“Comments are turned off”
“Comments are turned off”
I can’t imagine why?
I dont know, but theyve got
I dont know, but theyve got really low view counts on their videos I cant believe theyve had that many gripes.
but maybe Matts tips on commuting safely by bike will up the stakes 😉 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfDtCijrrr0
90% good advice but the
90% good advice but the inclusion of some things (PPE) but not others (road position) will no doubt excite some cyclists… and some questionable things in the video (passing the lorry a bit close, those mudguards…)
Yes. The last one at the
Yes. The last one at the cinema was memorable for a 0.5 second clip of an ebike.
The make of the car was unmemorable = fail.
What about weight? Ban
What about weight? Ban vehicles which weight over a metric ton. That would force out lorries, vans, and all but the smallest vehicles. Forcing innovation (thus sales) and appeasing the majority who feel a car is their right, cutting down on emmissions and freeing up traffic flows and ‘oh so much space’ in our cities to build better active travel and public transport routes. ‘Emissions’ is one thing.. but the moton industry seem to have bypassed that by building heavier and larger cars with batteries in..
RE:The next anti-cycling
RE:The next anti-cycling story coming to a national newspaper near you?
I had to chuckle as I went down the comments on Twitter of the number of people who picked up in the first thing that I thought when I saw that picture – what exactly is the photographer taking a picture of with that focal length lens?
A stock image of the
A stock image of the handlebars of a lime bike (giyf for the type of thing) with lots of bokeh.
It looks like a Canon lens, maybe the 70-200mm or 100-300mm with f2.8 glass, it’s the f2.8 glass that makes it a big lens not always the zoom length.
It looks more like a more
It looks more like a more budget friendly f4.5-5.6 as most canon f2.8 at that sort of length have internal barrelling, where the physical length of the lens doesn’t change when increasing the focal length. Apologies if coming across pedantic.
Not at all,I just assumed a
Not at all,I just assumed a pro photographer would never shoot with anything less than a 2.8 lens
My budget friendly f4.5-5.6 is half the size and weight of the f2.8 equiv which has shorter max focal length.
> it’s the f2.8 glass that
> it’s the f2.8 glass that makes it a big lens
Tell me you know nothing about photography in one sentence.
Peowpeowpeowlasers wrote:
What? stonojnr is correct. A lens with a constant max aperture (e.g. f/2.8) needs a bigger barrel, compared to a lens with variable max aperture (e.g. (f/4-5.6). That’s because the aperture expressed as an f-number is a ratio that’s related to the focal length, so the size of the physical hole in the aperture blades will be bigger at the long end than the short end of the range. Therefore a bigger hole in the blades needs a wider barrel. Also why constant aperture lenses are usually much more expensive and complex than variable.
You can tell it’s Friday
You can tell it’s Friday
Cycle lanes you can’t cycle on, imperial and metric measurements being squashed together, and cyclists debating camera lenses.
Second that…explained a lot
Second that…explained a lot better than I could.
Excited about today’s giro
Excited about today’s giro stage, that’s a big hill !
Supremely boring…
Supremely boring…
Unless your name is Davide
Unless your name is Davide Bais, I guess.
“Enter our competition to win
“Enter our competition to win a #wankpanzer and you too could help keep children safe… This is shockingly tone deaf ”
Omaze? Isn’t that the telly
Omaze? Isn’t that the telly advert with the woman who looks like she’s about to go for your throat? (and not in a good way)
One thing that strikes me
One thing that strikes me about this advert: how car-brained people must be that the Land Rover is the headline, and the house just an afterthought.
Absolutely. The car delivers
Absolutely. The car delivers the person’s insecurities, erm I mean status to a wider audience than £3.5 million static building. Always puts a smile on my face when I see a really nice, tasteful house with just a modest runaround car in the drive, not the usual fleet of obvious ‘wealth’ cars.
OnYerBike wrote:
An advert for this competition popped up this morning before a YouTube video I wanted to watch: the presenter is walking down the front hall of the house and says, “Imagine waking up in this amazing £3.5M Cotswold house, walking outside and what’s waiting for you in the drive? The amazing Land Rover Defender!” The rest of the ad, 55 seconds of the minute, was spent eulogising the motor vehicle. I guess you can’t flaunt your house to people unless you invite them there, whereas with a vulgar wankpanzer you can show off everywhere. This may explain why people will take on car finance agreements/leases with higher repayments than their mortgage just to have something flash.
Re the cycle trap, went
Re the cycle trap, went through there a couple of weeks ago and that wasn’t there! but I can remember when it was a locked gate that you had to haul your bike over to access the cycle lane!
I imagine there will a news
I imagine there will a news item on this.
“This harrowing footage shows the dangers posed by those who drive whilst under the influence. You are putting your life and the lives of others at risk. The driver was sentenced to jail after running over a cyclist in broad daylight.”
When it says The video contains footage that is shocking in nature they are not kidding
https://www.surrey.police.uk/news/surrey/news/2023/05/drunk-driver-jailed-after-he-ran-over-cyclist-in-haslemere/
That footage is indeed
That footage is indeed shockingly. For anyone who suffers from PTSD from collisions make sure your grounding exercises are to hand either that or don’t watch.
Deep respect to the victim for giving permission for its release and I hope she experiences some really deep recovery physically and emotionally from this experience.
I’m really disappointed that the courts didn’t hand out a sharper sentence. A life time ban should have definitely been in place.
The video and impact
I imagined you were referencing the guy caught after driving for 50 years with no licence or the BMW driver caught drifting around a Minehead roundabout but this makes them seem like exemplary drivers.
The video and impact statement must not have been presented in court as what human being could hand down such an absolute joke of a punishment after seeing them?
I would not recommend
I would not recommend searching for Northern Ireland DoE’s Road Safety adverts. They were my early adult trauma.
This video wouldn’t look out of place amongst them.
Sickening
That was my passing thought.
That was my passing thought. Shown on tv after the watershed and at the cinema only with a 15 rating.
Regarding the cycle trap.
Regarding the cycle trap. Couldn’t the rider loosen the handlebar stem clamp and twist the handlebars and then fit through? Not ideal but a way through. Most cyclist would carry a multi tool if they were going for a ride anyway.
BIRMINGHAMisaDUMP wrote:
Is that a joke? “You can fit through just fine, so long as you are confident to start taking your bike apart”
Kind of defeats the purpose
Kind of defeats the purpose of cycling to be simple and convenient.