Should cycling websites leave results out of their Tour de France reports?; Councillor claims cycle network is “at risk of collapse”, but locals say “it’s long dead”; Should Jonas have worked for Wout?; When drivers block your PB + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
“They are to cycle lane construction what Spinal Tap are to rock and roll tours”: Councillor claims city’s cycle network is “at risk of collapse”, as locals say it’s “long dead” and blast “lethally dangerous” new ‘murder strip’
As the Basque Country treated us to a weekend of joyous, infectious bike-loving scenes at the Tour de France (tack-throwing idiots aside, of course), another city with its eye on hosting the race’s Grand Départ in a few years’ time – Belfast – was busy getting skewered once again for what seems like a lack of any kind of enthusiasm or direction when it comes to cycling infrastructure.
As we’ve noted in the past on the live blog, Belfast’s 10-year Cycle Network Plan, unveiled in 2021 by then-infrastructure minister Nichola Mallon, has been slow in getting off the ground (unlike the parked cars that tend to litter the few cycle lanes the city currently has).
However, at the weekend, one local councillor claimed that the Cycle Network Plan was “already at risk of collapse” and about to be superseded by a new travel plan, a final draft of which won’t be submitted until late next year.
“Whilst the Belfast Cycle Network Plan is a deeply flawed plan by the Department for Infrastructure (DfI), it has the potential to lay the groundwork for a better cycling network across the city than currently exists, which is something that we absolutely must strive for,” Micky Murray, a Belfast City Councillor for the Alliance Party, told Belfast Live.
““The main arterial routes of Lisburn Road and Malone Road aren’t due to have cycling infrastructure in place until 2028-31, and the Upper Malone Road, Upper Lisburn Road, and Finaghy Road South have all been completely ignored in the plan.
“Now it emerges that the Department’s new Belfast Metropolitan Transport Plan, which won’t have a final draft until late 2024, may take priority.”
He continued: “Despite there being a huge need and want for safe cycling infrastructure across our city, and the Department stating that walking, wheeling, and cycling, are above public transport in their priorities, the Cycle Network Plan is already at risk of collapse. It’s so incredibly frustrating.
“There has been next to no delivery on the plan to date, and with 10 percent of the overall transport budget to be spent on active travel, it really makes you question just how serious DfI are about prioritising active travel and achieving net zero.”
While Murray claims that Belfast’s cycle plan is doomed under the new proposals, many local cyclists are convinced it’s already dead, anyway.
“There has been zero metres of new cycling infrastructure in the last two years, Micky Murray. It’s long dead,” tweeted Brian Shannon.
Mark Rafferty agreed: “No drive towards net zero. Welcoming cars into the city centre. No parking enforcement. Public transport is patchy at best. A right shambles.”
That “right shambles” was perhaps underlined this weekend by the latest piece of cycling infra to get a fresh lick of paint in Belfast. Though not that we’d ever call ‘murder strips’ like this one on the Cregagh Road a proper cycle lane…
Can’t believe @deptinfra are building “cycle infrastructure” like this in 2023. Lethally dangerous to use and a total waste of time and money to install cc @BelfastCycle pic.twitter.com/sNAI80GzHo
— movingturtle (@movingturtle) July 2, 2023
“I seriously cannot understand the point,” wrote Patrick. “Anyone not feeling confident heading off on a bike is not going to try and tackle that. The Department for Infrastructure should not have bothered spending the money, but sadly will tout this as part of a huge investment in active travel.”
“Putting people in lethal danger for a box ticking exercise. Madness,” said political commentator Newton Emerson.
“Honestly, the DfI just take the piss don’t they?” added Dominic Bryan. “They are to cycle lane construction what Spinal Tap are to rock and roll tours.”
11/10 for the Spinal Tap reference, Dom, great work.
@DfIPermSec @AndrewMuirNI https://t.co/k9tRlQzenq pic.twitter.com/XWx9rzub2z
— CircleLineBelfast (@CircleLineBT) July 2, 2023
Responding to the claims that the travel plans would put the city’s current, ahem, focus on cycling in jeopardy, a DfI spokesperson: “The Belfast Metropolitan Transport Plan is at an early stage of development and will prioritise journeys made by walking and wheeling, cycling and public transport.
“It aims to incorporate the Belfast Cycling Network (BCN) while considering how we best utilise our existing road space to retain a functioning transport network that serves the needs of the Belfast community. Whilst this may ultimately involve some changes from those outlined within the BCN, should this be required the Department will seek to identify additional segregated cycling routes.
“The Department remains committed to improving our cycling and public transport infrastructure as this is a crucial way in which we help to bring about a reduction in car traffic.”
The backlash against Belfast’s admittedly rudimentary attempts at making the city safer for cyclists echoes the disbelief expressed by some campaigners at the news that Northern Ireland appears very keen to host the Tour de France later this decade.
Back in November, the news that Northern Ireland is preparing a joint bid with the Irish government to host the Tour around 2027 or so was described by Cycling UK as “baffling”, especially when everyday safety policy in the region is still putting cyclists “at risk” and omits recent Highway Code changes.
Cycling UK’s spokesperson in Northern Ireland, Andrew McClean, stressed that whilst the charity would “love” to see the race return to the island of Ireland, “a real lasting legacy for cycling would be for Northern Ireland to stop ignoring the essential work required to help people travel cheaply, sustainably, and safely by bike”.
Weekend round-up
Okay, before we turn our attention to the Tour (and those tense scenes at the Jumbo-Visma bus. Popcorn, anyone?), here’s what was going on in this weekend in the rest of the cycling-related world away from that bike race…
> Popular walking and cycling path “(almost) inaccessible to motorists” blocked by crashed car
> Police stop more than 70 motorists in crackdown following cyclist hit-and-run deaths
> Deliveroo cyclist stabbed was reportedly trying to stop thief stealing his bike
> Cycle campaign group says cycling needs to be for everyone, not just Tour de France peloton
That last one is what we’d call a ‘Tour-adjacent story’…
The team door slams, Jumbo’s plans fail: The Vingegaard and Van Aert Show dominates discussion during frantic opening Tour weekend – as Pogačar takes the piss
The Basque crowds, hills, the Yates twins 1-2, Adam in the yellow jersey, the GC battle already bursting into life, more hills, idiots with tacks trying to ruin the race, UAE Team Emirates and Tadej Pogačar racing like there’s no tomorrow, Cofidis ending their 15-year win drought at the Tour, Victor Lafay stealing all our hearts…
It’s been quite the start to the Tour de France, hasn’t it?
And even after one of the race’s greatest, and hardest, opening weekends ever, one storyline – which we all scoffed at when it was hammered at us relentlessly during the recent Netflix Tour series – has dominated discussion between cycling fans: What is going on between Jonas Vingegaard and Wout van Aert?
It’s certainly been a frustrating start to the Tour for Jumbo-Visma. While their big rivals, UAE, have grabbed the race by the scruff of the neck (a bit too ferociously at times, eh Mikkel Bjerg?) and seem to be enjoying themselves while doing so, frustration seems to be the name of the game so far for the Dutch super team.
Zac Williams/SWpix.com
Despite, as usual, boasting numerical superiority in the run-in to Bilbao on Saturday, they were outdone by the might of the Yates twins up ahead, with a lacklustre Van Aert forced to settle for 11th after having his eyes originally set on the first yellow jersey of the race.
Things got even more frustrating for the Belgian star yesterday in San Sebastián, where – despite those yellow and black jerseys dominating the small bunch that survived the Jaizkibel – Cofidis’ Victor Lafay timed his attack to perfection amidst the chaos to once again thwart the Jumbo-Visma numbers, and prompt an angry second-placed Van Aert to throw his arms around as he crossed the line.
The frustration didn’t end there for the Belgian all-rounder. He threw his bottle to the ground before riding on past reporters, refusing to speak to them. At the team bus, he banged his bike down with a thud before letting out an exasperated shout. The 28-year-old was then filmed sulkily getting into a team car for the trip back to the hotel, away from his teammates on the bus.
I bet they were having a cozy dinner at the Jumbo table last night. #TDF2023 https://t.co/hYzvwvQhlj
— Michael Rasmussen (@MRasmussen1974) July 3, 2023
According to the Belgian press, anyway, Van Aert’s post-stage actions were entirely justified – because, they say, he would have won both opening stages if Jonas Vingegaard had decided to pull on the front just for once.
While that charge against last year’s Tour winner was perhaps unfounded on stage one – the uphill drag to the finish in Bilbao would have left him open to shipping valuable seconds if he’d wasted energy in the wind – the Dane’s decision to sit tight and focus solely on GC yesterday, as teammate Wilco Kelderman floundered at the front, creating the opening for Lafay to strike, certainly raised eyebrows, considering one turn from Vingegaard towards the end would have likely granted Van Aert and the team a morale-boosting win.
Instead, Vingegaard and Jumbo-Visma’s tendency towards conservatism – a trait, it seems, not shared by UAE Team Emirates – has opened a can of worms when it comes to internal team dynamics and sparked a Twitter debate between the squad’s two fan factions: Team Wout and Team Jonas.
Wout van Aert’s lead out train if Belgian Press had it their way:#TDF2023 pic.twitter.com/orEpdfU4GF
— Ryan Duff (@RyanDuff99) July 2, 2023
If Pogacar can sprint everytime, Vingegard can surely ride 500meters for Van Aert…
— Elias 🇧🇪 (@Red_Devil333) July 2, 2023
Jonas Vingegaard literally gifted Wout a stagewin last year. Cry me a river, Belgium. #TdF2023 pic.twitter.com/7nElhtUhgR
— Andreas Kastbjerg (@a_kastbjerg) July 2, 2023
Should Vingegaard have pulled, just a bit, to ensure Van Aert secured his stage win, knowing that the Belgian will soon be working for him in the mountains? Or is last year’s Tour winner right to conserve his energy and focus purely on the yellow jersey, which is the team’s main aim, anyway?
Zac Williams/SWpix.com
The Dane, it seems, is unimpressed with the accusations in the Belgian press that he’s not helping out Van Aert enough.
“I think it’s also not fair,” he said at the finish yesterday. “I think I already did something for Wout. I could have been selfish and pulled with Pogačar, so in that case I was also kind of helping in that I didn’t pull.
“For me, I only have to focus on the GC. Of course, we have different goals. I think we’re all super disappointed, me as well, and we all wanted Wout to win today.”
All that Jumbo-Visma drama, meanwhile, proved perfect comic fodder for Tadej Pogačar, who was filmed reenacting Van Aert’s angry bottle throw for the amusement of yellow jersey-wearing teammate Adam Yates, while the two-time winner was also heard commenting that Van Aert was acting “like a child” after his defeat.
👀👀👀👀 pic.twitter.com/QSll8uRtM7
— Eurosport (@eurosport) July 2, 2023
Netflix must be licking their lips…
Meanwhile, on the UAE Team Emirates bus…
Choose your fighter: Dogs and tunes? Or tetchiness and awkward silences? Hmmm….
Brothers in Yellow and Green
It’s not been a bad start to the Tour for Bury’s finest bike-racing twins…
How it started… How it’s going@AdamYates7 💛 @SimonYatess 💚#UAETeamEmirates #TDF2023 pic.twitter.com/Ng6Hhqpm50
— @UAE-TeamEmirates (@TeamEmiratesUAE) July 2, 2023
“You can’t park there mate!” Those pesky motorists, always holding me up when I’m going for a PB…
Spare a thought for poor Fred here, who was all set to record his best ever time on the Lake District’s iconic Hardknott Pass when a van driver got, ahem, stuck on one of the climb’s many bends, blocking his path to Strava immortality (or at least a new PB)…
PB attempt on @100Climbs #84 Hardknott
Fresh legs ✅
Travelling light ✅
Massive tailwind ✅What could go wrong …. pic.twitter.com/35L04Nqnjb
— Frederic Baker (@fredisathome) July 2, 2023
Oh, the pain, it’s not worth thinking about.
There was quite a bit of swearing, before getting the driver/one of the people waiting for the recovery truck to give me a push. They didn’t seem that sympathetic.
— Frederic Baker (@fredisathome) July 2, 2023
You can’t park there mate!
— Nature’s Eye Music-Royalty Free Music & Downloads (@nature_royalty) July 3, 2023
Hills aficionado Simon Warren, meanwhile, has the perfect solution for when your PB attempt is blocked by some poor driving:
🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬 I’d ride straight through it. 👇 https://t.co/lYlO3lhT2R
— Simon Warren (@100Climbs) July 3, 2023
To be honest, I’d probably just turn right away and head for the nearest café…
Answering the important questions at the Giro Donne
While Annemiek van Vleuten has been busy reminding everyone who’s boss early on at this year’s Giro Donne, one roadside fan appears to be on her own mission to defend Italian cuisine from those sacrilegious foreign knock-offs:
Giro Donne scenes 🤌🇮🇹#GiroDonne23 pic.twitter.com/C7p7rJU8H8
— Dani Christmas (@Dani_Christmas) July 2, 2023
Can’t wait for her ‘Pineapple does not belong on a pizza’ sign today. At least we know Elisa Longo Borghini would approve…
road.cc: (Almost) Getting race predictions right since 2008
I have to say, I was feeling a bit smug when Victor Lafay crossed the line first in San Sebastián yesterday, because – as some of you may know – in our Tour preview, I predicted that Cofidis’ 15-year-long stage win drought at the Tour, stretching all the way back to Sylvain Chavanel in Montlucon in 2008, would come to an end this year.
Okay, okay, I picked the wrong rider responsible for ending the drought, but still, I was very close…
(Zac Williams/SWpix.com)
On a serious note (although I do take my predictions very seriously), fair play to Cofidis – as a sponsor, they stuck by a team whose name had become synonymous with the ingrained doping culture of cycling in the 2000s, rebuilt the squad around young French talent, and spent over a decade in the wilderness in the process.
That gulf in wins between 2008 (arguably the year professional cycling hit its lowest ebb, as sponsors bailed like rats from a nuclear-powered ship) and yesterday’s scintillating victory by Lafay is no accident. The French squad are now simply, and finally, reaping the benefits of persistence and stubbornness in a sport where short cuts can be so appealing (and were to the Cofidis teams of certain eras).
Fair play, in more ways than one, I assume.
Elisa Longo Borghini outsprints Veronica Ewers after putting Annemiek van Vleuten under pressure at Giro d’Italia Donne
🏁 Longo Borghini 🥇🇮🇹
🇮🇹 Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl – Trek) wins the sprint, 🇺🇸 Veronica Ewers (EF Education-TIBCO-SVB) is 2nd, 🇳🇱 Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar Team) 3th#UCIWWT#GiroDonne23
📸@GettySport pic.twitter.com/4UmLbA2RUz— UCI_WWT (@UCI_WWT) July 3, 2023
There aren’t too many better sights in cycling than the Tricolore crossing the line first at the Giro… (Ooops, spoiler alert!)
Italian champion Elisa Longo Borghini took her second career stage win at the Giro Donne this afternoon, outsprinting Veronica Ewers and Annemiek van Vleuten in Borgo Val di Taro, after putting the pink jersey under pressure on a descent towards the finish.
EF Education’s 28-year-old American Ewers was the first of the favourites to strike out on today’s hilly stage, attacking solo with 35km to go, a move that would ultimately move her up to third on GC. After brief bursts from Marta Cavalli and Silvia Persico, Van Vleuten finally jumped across on the final climb of the Strela, with Longo Borghini in tow.
After the duo had bridged up to Ewers, Longo Borghini attempted to put Van Vleuten under pressure on the twisty descent. But with the Dutchwoman refusing to budge, the Italian champion had to settle for easily outsprinting the pink jersey – and taking some valuable bonus seconds, cutting the gap to 49 seconds before tomorrow’s decisive mountain stage – and second placed Ewers for a popular home win.
Could Tour surprise package Victor Lafay be on his way to Ineos?
Well, that’s according to GCN’s transfer-sleuth-in-chief, Daniel Benson, who tweeted today that the Cofidis rider – who briefly jumped off the front again earlier today to take some additional points for the green jersey – has been in talks with the British squad for quite a while.
“The rumours of Victor Lafay to Ineos Grenadiers first sprang up months ago and are not related to recent events at the Tour,” Benson tweeted this morning. “He’s been on their radar for some time, he wants a move, and a deal was apparently very close well before the race.”
Say it ain’t so, Victor, the French – and I – will cry upon hearing those rumours. And if it is so, make sure you renegotiate your contract based on the past two days…
A day for the scenery at the Tour
It’s really a bit pretty isn’t it? 🥺💛 #TDF2023 pic.twitter.com/wC5hVnoEt4
— Katy M, Tour Edition (@writebikerepeat) July 3, 2023
Well, at least the first two stages were exciting…
Is today the day Mark Cavendish finally breaks THAT record?
As today’s Tour de France stage to Bayonne winds its way to an inevitable first bunch kick of the Tour, our attention at road.cc HQ just as inevitably turns to the question on everyone’s lips: Can Mark Cavendish finally break the Tour’s all-time stage win record this year?
And while we’re all waiting to see if Cav can create history this afternoon, join me in counting down the Manx Missile’s greatest victories at La Grande Boucle (and let me know if I missed out your favourites!)…
> Mark Cavendish’s top 10 greatest Tour de France stage wins
Cyclists call out latest bike lane vandalism as Manchester named ‘worst in Europe for green transport’
In the same week that a report into the state of shared and zero-emission mobility in European cities ranked Manchester as the ‘worst in Europe for clean and green transport’, Mancunian cyclists have found one of their cycle lanes under attack from vandals removing segregation cones to turn the bike lane into a third motor vehicle lane.
Photos shared on social media show the A56 in Trafford reopened to three lanes again, the lane that was a dedicated cycle lane, formerly separated from traffic with cones, once again filled with queueing vehicles, and the removed cones stacked at the side of the road.
Tour de France: Jasper Philipsen wins chaotic sprint after stunning Van der Poel lead out (as Mark Cavendish finishes sixth)
🇧🇪🇧🇪JASPER. PHILIPSEN.🇧🇪🇧🇪#TDF2023 pic.twitter.com/B4woqEEYMn
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 3, 2023
Jasper Philipsen has picked up right where he left off at the Tour de France, winning a chaotic sprint into Bayonne after a stunning lead out from his Alpecin-Deceuninck teammate Mathieu van der Poel.
The 25-year-old Belgian, who won the last bunch gallop contested at the Tour, in Paris last year, jumped off the wheel of the incredibly strong Van der Poel with 200m to go and held off Bahrain Victorious’ Phil Bauhaus, who secured a promising second place on only his third Tour stage, and Caleb Ewan to put down an ominous marker for the rest of the race.
⏪ Relive a hectic final KM for the first sprint stage of the #TDF2023. Jasper Philipsen of @AlpecinDCK is triumphant.
⏪ Revivez le dernier km du premier sprint de ce #TDF2023, avec Jasper Philipsen, de la @AlpecinDCK qui lève les bras pic.twitter.com/vr9nCBIEeQ
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 3, 2023
However, for a good twenty minutes after the finish, there were murmurings that an anxious-looking Philipsen may have been on the receiving end of a disqualification for deviating from his line during the sprint, a move which appeared to nudge Wout van Aert slightly into the barriers.
However – at least in this writer’s opinion – such a punishment had it occurred would have been terribly harsh, considering that Philipsen’s slight movement to the right was compounded by the direction of the road and the barriers, which in many ways jutted out at a more extreme angle than the Belgian’s sprint.
“There was a bit of doubt, and they made it really exciting in the end,” a notably relieved Philipsen said of the jury’s decision after being told that he had, in fact, won his third career Tour stage.
Away from the prolonged controversy at the finish line, Mark Cavendish didn’t manage Tour win no. 35, but he was at least very much involved in the heart of the action, securing a very encouraging sixth place after a difficult finale.
Don’t be writing that record off just yet…
Me, trying my best to avoid finding out who won today’s sprint at the Tour…
If you’re set on watching the highlights later tonight and don’t want any spoilers, best not to keep scrolling…
Should cycling websites leave results out of their Tour de France reports?
No, I haven’t gone mad (especially after a morning writing almost solely about the Tour de France) – that is a genuine debate currently taking place on the road.cc forum.
“I, like many people who also have full time jobs and busy lives, watch most of my TDF on highlights shows or on catch up and it really takes the edge off when I know how the stage is going to end,” the OP says.
“Journalists will often make the reader get to the end of an article to discover which tyre lever is the best on the latest consumer test but are falling over themselves to tell you the outcome of a sporting event. This is arguably one of the few headlines where clickbait is genuinely justified.
“I don’t want to have to avoid road.cc during the racing season so please stop giving the result away in the headline.”
What do you reckon? Does the ‘Result Spoiler Alert’ poster have a point? Should websites about cycling refrain from mentioning things that happened in a cycle race – the biggest one of the lot, too – on their cycling website? Should we adopt more ambiguous headlines for people who aim to avoid all mention of the results but don’t mind scrolling on cycling websites as they wait?
Probably need to blur these faces out next time…
Could headlines like ‘These twins are both racing the Tour de France together… You won’t believe what happened next’ catch on?
Well, until then, I suppose we better figure out a way to avoid finding out the results of bike races, published on cycling websites. There must be a way, surely…
3 July 2023, 08:58
Maybe he only promised Wout he’d work for him when he’s in the small ring?
Jonas Vingegaard uses 1x gearing for Tour de France opening stages
Team Jumbo-Visma teammate Wout van Aert has switched to a single chainring system too, so what's going on?
3 July 2023, 08:58
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Latest Comments
I like castorama and Astana kits pictured here.
Much as I agree with your comment and opinion, I don't think he's actually having a go at you, rather the article author, given that you didn't say anything about the Grenadier and the author did. If we could have back the previous reply facility, where it was obvious if somebody was making a standalone comment or replying to someone else, it would eliminate these misunderstandings.
Do you work for INEOS by any chance? Each to their own but the INEOS kit has been widely derided, on cycling forums opinion is 90% against at least. No idea why you think Steve's kit in the profile picture is so bad, it's a perfectly neutral black and grey top with a yellow band, you could say it was boring but that's about it. The Grenadier is a foul machine that shouldn't be allowed on sale for numerous reasons, including its disgraceful fuel consumption (15-20 mpg for the petrol version) and its extreme size and weight that puts other road users, particularly cyclists, in danger. Oh and it is totally a Land Rover wannabe, when Jaguar Land Rover announced that they were ceasing production of Land Rovers at their Solihull plant Jim Ratcliffe asked if he could buy the tooling and carry on producing them, when he was told to get lost he started planning to build his own, so that comment is perfectly justifiable.
I am entitled to express my opinion. I don't like the idea of the INEOS association with cycling or the way Ratcliffe and INEOS treat their staff and do all they can do avoid taxation in the UK. I think my comment is very relevant.
Burt actually said above (somewhat to my surprise, I admit) that helmets "probably do" protect against injury, but not death. Something with which I agree.
I actually like the INEOS kit this year. They stand out in the peloton and orange is just an awesome color overall. Light grey is a much better alternative to white, and makes for one of the best kits in the pro peloton this year to my eye. I think the worst kit I’ve seen recently is the one the author, Steve Thomas is wearing in his author profile picture. It basically removes all credibility for him making any fashion or design related statements. Also, maybe learn a little about the Grenadier before making uninformed, derogatory comments that aren’t really necessary or applicable to the subject at hand.
Looking at the casualty statistics it's far more likely that you will suffer death or serious injury riding to Tesco's than participating in racing, primarily because of the presence of cars. If you don't think helmets offer any protection then fine, don't wear one; if you believe they do offer some protection you're probably more likely to experience the benefit if you wear one for everyday commuting and leisure riding and leave it off for racing than vice versa. Certainly if I was offered a choice when riding to my local Herne Hill velodrome of wearing one to ride through traffic to get there but taking it off to ride round the track or vice versa I would choose the first option.
Here is where Burt has a very good point. The stats just don't support the claims of safety benefits, especially when combined with the effects of speeding motor vehicles.
"I think I nearly died doing extreme sport and my main takeaway is that the rest of you should all wear PPE to go to tesco". BBC loves helmet stories. I blame that Dan guy.
Ah yes. Because what a gravel bike needs is a shed ton more weight. None of the 32 tyre options are likely to be in Gravel friendly widths and weights.
45 thoughts on “Should cycling websites leave results out of their Tour de France reports?; Councillor claims cycle network is “at risk of collapse”, but locals say “it’s long dead”; Should Jonas have worked for Wout?; When drivers block your PB + more on the live blog”
http://A&E doctor twice
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12258123/amp/Doctor-avoids-road-ban-telling-court-losing-license-disastrous-NHS.html
Apologies for linking to the Daily Fail, but this is a disgraceful article apart disgraceful driving, with a disgraceful waste of space parading as a judge. So far, almost every comment is saying she should be banned from driving, with only a couple saying that ‘everyone speeds’. I wonder how different the comments would be if she was in court for close passing a cyclist or horse….
“Trains are also not very
“Trains are also not very safe. I am often travelling alone, late in the evening or at night.”
Roads are also not very safe. I am often travelling by bicycle, amongst badly driven and speeding vehicles.
She will not be able to make
She will not be able to make the same claim twice so the standard of driving had better improve
Needs More Bollards.
Needs More Bollards.
By this I mean, if it is a ‘mandatory’ cycle lane (in the sense that by law, vehicles should not be in it, as delineated by a solid whilte line, rather than a dashed line as for ‘advisory’ lanes), then there should be some physical barrier ensuring that vehicles don’t enter it.
Nah, they should just be
Nah, they should just be fining the hell out of them. Fine them £1000 for parking in a cycle lane and then plough that money back into cycling infrastructure.
mctrials23 wrote:
Exactly. We have lots of different rules around the use of roads and we shouldn’t have to force drivers to keep to those rules. Just make it extremely costly for them to keep parking there and then stop them driving when they’ve racked up too many points for dangerous and inconsiderate parking.
Also, whilst we’re at it, how about criminalising pavement parking outside of London?
hawkinspeter wrote:
I’m all up for this!
However given just how frequent the rule-breaking is here I’m not sure it’ll be a money saver, never mind “cash cow”, anytime soon. How are we who cycle / walk / wheel gonna afford the bribes to get the politicians to hold their noses and pass it? If they can find a parking spot to dump their car ahead of the vote they’ll have to ignore the bloodthirsty baying crowds and the likely end of their careers. Probably no longer a nice cosy non-exec directorship at the end either.
I bet some enforcement companies would be up for it. If people just don’t pay though / attack the wardens it’ll be off to the overloaded courts / needing the police. Those folks will quickly be having a word with our political masters at the club / lodge and demanding a LOT more cash and time to recruit / train the extra manpower.
I suspect the only way to “win the war” – unless there’s a sudden breakthrough (perhaps a hitch in oil delivery?) – is the very slow, very costly process of haggling over each bit of slightly less crap infra. And the even slower and more painful fight to reduce the convenience and priveledge of drivers – that we all subsidise. The hope being we reach a tipping point when a substantial minority of trips are cycled and this picks up its own momentum.
chrisonatrike wrote:
I reckon it’d be better to use actual police (on bikes?) to keep the cycle lanes clear. That would give traffic police a much higher profile and they can also tackle the dangerous drivers too. Your average driver would soon change their behaviour if there’s a decent chance that a rozzer could come cycling past them at any time, ready to prosecute anyone holding a mobile phone.
Also, rather than just ticketing the inconsiderately parked cars, the police should just tow them off to their compound and add the cost of doing that onto the parking fine. To improve efficiencies, it’d probably be best to only open the compound one day a week for drivers to get their vehicles back.
hawkinspeter wrote:
If only there were some way to crowd-source some of the evidence-collection of this “administrative offense”-level rule-breaking? No, can’t see how that could be done…
Personally I think we should
Personally I think we should be allowed to smash the headlights and mirrors of any car inconsiderately parked.
hutchdaddy wrote:
As tempting as that may sound, wouldn’t it leave bits of glass in the cycle lanes?
I believe in the power of
I believe in the power of tubeless tyres and latex sealant!
SimoninSpalding wrote:
That’s fair enough for cyclists, but I’m not convinced that covering surfaces with broken glass is particularly good for pets and wildlife.
hutchdaddy wrote:
I tend to fold back the mirrors of any vehicle parked on the footway (if it’s not one of those modern ones where the mirror folds back as soon as the engine turns off).
“Oops! I’m so sorry, I must have walked into it. Oops, I did it again: so sorry…”
Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!
Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!
Kudos to some of the
Kudos to some of the responses to the Belfast infrastructure, wish I had such wit.
I like the way Jonas is
I like the way Jonas is getting slammed for doing exactly what Pog did on stage 1, if Wout didnt have it in him to win Stage 2 thats on him, not Jonas.
Perhalps Wout shoud grow TFU and stop acting like a spoilt man-baby? He’s being paid to help his team retain the GC win. Everything else is secondary – most especially his ego. He needs to stop believe the BS the Belgian newspapers are feeding him.
“It aims to incorporate the
“It aims to incorporate the Belfast Cycling Network…..”
“Incorporate” being civil service speak for sink without trace.
When I lived in Belfast, the Department for Infrastructure’s line was “Well, we could improve things for cyclists, but if that led to more of them, more of them would be getting killed or injured, and we don’t want that, do we?”
Thirty-five years on, not much seems to have changed.
Quote:
A very disengenous headline, there is a huge difference between putting the result in the report, and making the healdine that appears on the home page give away the result, without people even clicking it.
I see there is another parody
I see there is another parody account in response to a PBU and also postings between parody accounts.
If only there were a way to resolve this.
Shame alsosomniliquism has left again, no doubt in protest as before.
Can’t work out if stfd was banned or finally worked out forums were not for them.
Hirsute wrote:
I’d only noticed that STFD was AWOL once you mentioned it.
I don’t know what road.cc can do to stop the Resurrecting Trolls. Clearly they keep finding a way around whatever checks road.cc do do.
I try to avoid engaging with them, but sometimes I get sucked in. Even posting a sarky comment where I consider myself to be laughing at them (not with them) is still engaging.
Back in the day, we used to have users on here who disagreed with the general consensus but kind of did it reasonably, IIRC… But if you tell that to today’s young whippersnappers, they don’t believe you!
Hope STFD is just off for
Hope STFD is OK and just off for holiday / grumpiness reasons, you never know…
IIRC they had (at least one) personal reason to have a strongly held opinion on helmets. That and just internet communication difficulties / default snarkiness is enough, although the last bits of chat involving them seemed to be a bit sour.
You don’t know what’s up IRL for people. Spending time engaging on here is a slightly odd thing to do in the first place. After all you could be riding, shouting at people from your car, browsing for novel and stimulating erotica (nod to Derren Brown there), just wiping up after your family members or even seeking to make local councillors understand the point and value of proper cycling infra.
Hirsute wrote:
I reckon STFD got into an argument with themselves and refuses to comment again
remind me was STFD the one
remind me was STFD the one who believed so strongly in bike helmets that they personally attacked anyone who pointed out that they couldn’t prevent every injury?
Car Delenda Est wrote:
As I recall, they were on a mission to prove that helmets provide a benefit (which is reasonable enough) but got quite angry when there was discussion of the unintended effects of helmets such as children getting theirs caught on tree branches and then asphyxiating (i.e. killer helmets!).
However, I should be careful as they did accuse me of having the M.O. of putting words into other people’s mouths.
Internet comments threads are
Internet comments threads are probably a great medium for triathalete-tourists. Frequently competitive, usually switching the game mid-thread but ultimately no-one can agree about the terms of debate or often what it is really about.
I guess it’s not “for” such things any more than sniffing glue is “for” spiritual enlightenment, but frequently the opposite of the principle of charity / principle of humanity is clearly displayed. Speaking as a serial offender.
OTOH perhaps I should be impressed that everyone doesn’t immediately reach for “I bet your saddle height is set incorrectly too”.
road.cc wrote:
Yep. See you in August road.cc
It’s been 50 years since the
It’s been 50 years since the Likely Lads tried to avoid a football result, accept there are going to be spoilers on cycling sites during races thesedays.
But then I quite like pineapple on pizza as well 😉
I’m not daft enough to open a
I’m not daft enough to open a cycling news website before finding out what the day’s race results are…
But I was foolish enough to open my emails, only to see a marketing email from Ekoi that told me Cofidis had won a stage right there in the subject line, only about 90 minutes after the stage finish!
Well… I am lucky enough to
Well… I am lucky enough to work from home doing stuff that means I can have the whole stage on from start to finish while I work, but I can certainly see both sides of the argument. Would it not be possible, at least until up to a reasonable time when most people would’ve got home from work and been able to watch the highlights, to just have a “click here for today’s Tour de France news” box at the top of the front page rather than the results?
Rendel Harris wrote:
Ha ha ha – what sort of work is that such that you can gawp and hoot at the tele for hours whilst doing it? But perhaps you are a tele programme critic writing for the piffle-faffle sections of a not-really-a-newspaper-at-all, though. 🙂
Why do so many gawp excitedly at other folk riding bikes or knocking various balls about with various bats? One suspects that some brains have been entirely annexed by the mass media sludge of The Spectacle and it’s circus proprietors. As the sports-watching flesh robots gurn and yell at the flickering images on their idiotboxes, the same circus proprietors are picking their pockets and trashing the country beyond the tent for “resources”, especially profit-ore and handy rubbish dump sites.
What a world we humans have created! A theatre of absurdities so ubiquitous that we seem unable to realise how mad we’ve all become.
I’m fond of a drink or two
I’m fond of a drink or two myself old chap, but it’s a bit early to be this plastered isn’t it?
Come now – since I started
Come now – since I started visiting road.cc has been a venue for boldly questioning not just cycling concepts but bigger things. Like the definition of “vigilante”, the desirability of capitalism and whether a “journey” logically requires a different start and end point…
Besides – they may be finishing, not starting!
chrisonatrike wrote:
side-door-wing mirror!
Rendel Harris wrote:
It’s troo that I often feel unihibited by any yen to be a member of this or that interwebbery mutual admiration klub or institute for promulgating tired cliche, trite certainties and “common sense” in the hope of “likes” …… but this is due to a lot of very good coffee, not the grog; and an upbringing surrounded by sceptical folk of various degrees, ilks and tittles, inclined to the derisory snorting at the often thoughtless offerings of the conventional.
Now, I know its much easier to emit a string of potted certainties and “sensible” opinions got from the mass media but why submit to having your mind owned by a gang of PR spinners & twisters basically in the employ of spivs selling gew-gaws or monsters trying to hide their awful doings? Let your own thoughts roam freely about your bonce instead and enjoy the surprises they spring! 🙂
You can obtain “your own thoughts” from “your own experiences” cleansed of your experiences of reading or watching mass media pap, of course.
That alcohol does me no good at all. Although I’m not a-one o’them fighting drunks I can get very giggly, especially in the presence of certain personality types. Yes, I know it can be annoying. But its one off my many hobbies, so there!
But back to cycling. How many of those here employ mirrors on their bicycles, despite this being a fashion crime that should probably be added to The Rules? They’re so much cheaper than them radars or rear view cameras they try to sell us, though. Also, they don’t break down and no yobs are interested in stealing them.
Cugel wrote:
You’re obsessed by some kind of global commerce conspiracy that’s being fed to us human resource work drones via the advertising industry. There’s really no such thing. I’m more than capable of free thought despite the fact that I watch TV, consume advertising and occasionally spend my earned & taxed income on nice things. Sometimes I need that nice thing, sometimes I don’t.
Cugel wrote:
I do! Cateye BM-45 FTW
Yup! Had a zefal (I think)
Yup! Had a Zefal (I think) bar-end one on drops (but it got knocked off / vibrated loose). Much more of a thing on recumbents *.
Bar end ones on drops are a bit of a nuisance – they will get knocked about when parking etc. So it’s a balance between being able to adjust them without too much mechanical fiddling and having them bounced out of position mid-ride. I had a Busch and Müller one (IIRC) with a long stalk (on a recumbent) which was just hopelessly floppy.
* Some say “essential”. I can just about manage the ones I’ve owned without them but you need an owl’s neck. It’s just miles more pleasant with them. For the handful of similar folks out there I’ve currently got Mirrycle mirrors on some upright bar-ends stuck on my “open cockpit” bars – never mastered tiller / hamster-style.
chrisonatrike wrote:
The Cateye one is great for holding its position. It’ll often get knocked out of position when leaning your bike up against something, but it’s easy to make small adjustments whilst riding and doesn’t shift unless you knock it.
+1 for the Cateye
+1 for the Cateye
I have the cateye too and
I have the cateye too and radar.
Too many nsl roads near me and too many fast vehicles. That 2 or 3 seconds of warning is invaluable.
Plus the radar light’s
Plus the radar light’s function of modifying the flash frequency as the vehicle approaches – I can (most of the time) definitely detect a change in sound of a vehicle when it triggers the warning.
The worst spoilers for me are
The worst spoilers for me are the BBC after taking about 6months or more to even mention cycling they’ll blurt out the resul if a Brit has won :-/
HLaB wrote:
Yes, it’s wierd isn’t it? After almost completely ignoring cycling for the past fifty years, they’ve suddenly decided to feature it in prime time news.
But why TDF ? They are easy
But why TDF ? They are way more interesting sports facing the same problem, like DH, you can’t open Instagram or bike portals before you watch it.