“It was cringeworthy how Mark Cavendish sold his own farewell,” claims columnist who believes Manx Missile’s exit from pro cycling was “toe-curling” and “like Elvis’s last tour through shady casinos in Las Vegas” + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Questionable puncture fix sees cyclist stuff flat tyre with... grass?!
I’ve been distracted thinking about this ever since it popped up on Facebook this morning. Shared originally by Bike Life, it appears to show an unfortunate puncture sufferer stuffing his tyre with roadside grass in a desperate attempt to get some firmness back in there.
Despite the crowded group ride stood around watching, nobody seems to offer a spare tube which has me slightly dubious this might all be for the internet clicks, call me cynical… or maybe they’re all so confident in their tubeless/have lovely dry roads/a wonderful significant other who’ll pick them up from wherever, so they never bring spares?
Unfortunately, or fortunately for those very fancy wheels, there’s no follow-up footage of the ‘grass tube’ in use… just how much grass would you have to get in there to get yourself home?
The jury was out in the comments, some reckoning you could just about limp a short distance, others already feeling the pain the man’s carbon wheels would go through to get there…
“That’s a good fix till you get home. Does the ride feels different or not?”
“Fine until your tyre comes off and you destroy your $2,000 wheelset”
“Or just carry a spare tube”
“No vegan jokes here. This is a great idea. It does work.”
I think we’ll leave it to others to try first, although I’m in no position to preach about puncture repair after last Saturday’s flat, change tube, flat, change tube, flat, catch a lift home with South Western Railway debacle.
You’d have thought after the first lazy check for offending tube-puncturing item, and subsequent second flat not long after, I’d be a bit more thorough on the second tube… nope… I can tell you now, it feels really silly to find that tiny sharp stone lodged in a tyre cut only once you’re back at home and another tube down… painful.
Move over disc vs rim brakes... there's a new great cycling debate... socks over or under bib tights/leg warmers?
Okay, I said ‘new’, there’s nothing new about this ‘debate’. Do you go over? Do you go under? Does anybody actually care? It’s the final option for me, but plenty have a strong opinion on this one… in fact, the ‘roadbike cycling’ Facebook group has seen a discussion on this very topic get 76 comments (including some quite amusing, light-hearted answers)…
“There is no debate. There are only people who are right and people who are wrong.”
“Do you wear underwear on the outside of your jeans?”
“Plot twist. Socks go under leg warmers but over bibs.”
“Depends on the weather and the colour of the socks! Dry and cool – white socks over tights. Damp – black/dark socks under tights. Proper wet or cold – overshoes.”
“Never occurred to me to put socks over tights. Obviously, I’m in the under camp.”
“Over. For me, in the winter everything gets tucked. Anything to keep the cold off my skin.”
“Over only if you’re playing baseball afterwards.”
That was actually quite a fun comments section. Time to settle it, in what will invariably be the biggest democratic event of November… (we can’t think of anything else bigger anyway)…
"I've never felt as cold": Paddy McGuinness hits Scotland on epic Raleigh Chopper ride
Paddy McGuinness is in Scotland for day four of his 300-mile Wrexham to Glasgow charity ride for Children in Need. Oh, he’s doing it on a Raleigh Chopper, if you hadn’t heard.
Despite being “completely broken, dejected and finished” McGuinness made it over the big hills on yesterday’s route and was pictured sat by the roadside having reached the 420m summit of Shap Fell. He made it into Scotland too, which is where day four has begun, the planned route from Ecclefechan to Dumfriesshire through to Lanarkshire.
“The sun’s just come out in Scotland which is amazing because it’s been absolutely freezing this morning,” he told the BBC earlier. “Warming up a little bit now but I’ve never felt as cold as this morning like my toes and my fingers are freezing so I’m really looking forward to a hot cup of tea.
“After doing Shap yesterday it’s my quads today. They are so tight, and my fingertips and my toes today, I’ve never felt them as cold, no matter what I’m doing, you know? I’m trying to wiggle my hands, put on toe warmers, you know, it’s just absolutely freezing. And my backside, my noisy neighbours are still there… but I’m just ignoring them for now.”
"British Cycling went all guns blazing and threw a load of money at research into females and the chamois": Dame Laura Kenny details "career-changing" developments in female-specific kit that helped her overcome "almost unbearable" saddle sores
Speaking to the Telegraph, Dame Laura Kenny explained how “horrific” saddle sores left her unable to go to the toilet without being in significant pain and that British Cycling’s extensive research into female-specific kit finally saw an end to her problem.
Kenny called the advances in women’s kit “career-changing” as up until that point she had struggled with “almost unbearable” saddle sores.
“Every time I went to the toilet it really, really hurt. And I just thought, ‘Well, this is the norm’. And it wasn’t actually until 2016 and I went to the doctor and I said, ‘This is getting unbearable, I can’t really sit on the saddle, this is awful’,” she explained.
“It was because we didn’t actually have a female-specific chamois in our skinsuits. We all had the exact same, which was fine for the men because they could just have it kind of flat, kind of plain, they didn’t really need much else to be honest. And then we added into the mix that the saddles also weren’t really female-specific at the time.
“British Cycling just went all guns blazing and threw a load of money at research into females and the chamois, and, honestly, it was career-changing for me. Like the difference between pre that research and post… It meant basically I wasn’t missing sessions. But I find it mad that it took until then, 2016 is not that long ago really. The amount of female cyclists that must have passed through the system, that have had to have operations because the kit was based around men rather than women.”
Government "prioritising active travel over safety", claims councillor – who says new bike lane was so wide "I thought it was a dual carriageway they were building!"
"For some, it's lines and wasted space, But for others, a much safer place"... a fitting response to anti-bike lane poetry...
You’ve heard of rap battles, but what about cycling infrastructure-related poetry battles? On Tuesday, we shared the bizarre news that a local newspaper had published one Wirral resident’s interesting poetic protest…
Well, we’ve received a rhyming reply, Cllr Ed Lamb of the Wirral Green Party forwarding the following work… an Ode to the New & Existing ‘Active Travel’ Paths of Wirral (and Beyond!)…
On Wirral’s roads, where wheels now turn, A path to change, though tempers burn. For some, it’s lines and wasted space, But for others, a much safer place.
Beneath the skies, through sun and rain, Runs the vision for bright new lanes— Where walkers stroll and cyclists glide, And breathe fresh air as fumes subside.
A network growing, step by step, Though costs seem high, the gains are kept— In health, in joy, in cleaner air, A legacy for all to share.
Some grumble now, these paths are “new,” But thoughts did rise as patience grew. For here, no ambulance delays, No blocked-up streets, no lost ways.
And yes, the roads are still your own, For those who drive, or call car home. With fewer cars as walkers grow, More space to ease the traffic flow.
Congestion fades as wheels spin free, And life reclaims the right to be. Let leaders stand, and see it through, To build a Wirral bold and new.
Where young and old, with paths to roam, Can journey safely close to home. A cycle lane—a simple line, But what it brings, in time, divine.
In the comments today: Does the grass 'hack' actually work? Who's paying for Paddy McGuinness's knees? What to do with your socks in winter? road.cc readers ask all the most important questions
Comments time…
chrisonabike is concerned by our promoting of a potentially dangerous practice. No, not what happens when the grass-filled tyre inevitably comes off and that carbon wheel decides it doesn’t like what you’ve put it through.
“That all sounds fine until you realise that this may attract the unwanted attention of another moode of transport (which kills tens every year) — cows.”
Owd Big ‘Ead has pulled it off successfully (the grass hack, not hailing herds of cattle with your flat-fixing): “Used grass before, to get me out of the shit, during my messenger days, many moons ago.”
Smoggysteve: “I saw a demo of the grass in tyre truck and was surprised how effective it was. You do have to cut your innertube in half and if the puncture is near the valve you’re screwed. But it just involves cutting the tube. Tying both ends up with a knot then pumping it up on the rim and the grass fills the gap in the tyre. It’s messy but rather that than waking home… or just tubeless and it’s not an issue.”
I’ve got a video idea to pitch to Jamie, back in a sec…
Shout out to Steve K for doing the job I should have done. He found this in the road.cc archives, ‘12 of the best emergency bike fixes — get going again with these smart bodges‘. In there we heard from a rider who mentions the old tie the tube in a knot method, as well as Andy Fraser’s… “I once stuffed my mtb tyres with grass to get me home” method. Nice.
Rendel Harris: “Never tried it myself as I am what you might call a puncture paranoid, usually like to carry at least five tubes between two of us as well as patches, but the grass method in an emergency was often talked of by touring and adventure cyclists way back when I were a lad, definitely a thing.”
Elsewhere in the comments there’s a bit of discussion about the great sock debate…
lesterama: “Belgians wear their socks over their bib tights. Everyone else has socks underneath. When in Flanders, do as the Flandriens do.”
Oh, brooksby is wondering if Comic Relief will be paying for Paddy McGuinness “to get new knees” after his Chopper epic? I can see the tabloid headlines already: ‘Selfish Lycra-clad cyclist steals charity money for knee operation’…
What makes a great kids bike? Beginner-friendly balance bikes to junior road bikes explained, plus a selection of our favourites
It's a landslide! The people (well, 270 of them) have spoken...
Shoehorning this into the blog
Incredibly tenuous connection to cycling in the UK via potholes…
"Allowing Zwifters to take Watopia on their outdoor adventures": Pinarello and Zwift release limited-edition Dogma F
News from Rouleur Live to finish the day… where Pinarello and Zwift have joined forces to unveil a limited-edition Dogma F to “allow Zwifters to take Watopia on their outdoor adventures”. The Watopia-inspired colourway will be available on 50 of the Italian bike brand’s flagship framesets.
“Blending the meticulous craftsmanship of the Dogma F with the number one fully immersive indoor cycling app, this collaboration marks the next step for cyclists looking to merge the two worlds of indoor and outdoor cycling,” Pinarello tells us.
It’s bringing the “striking frameset” which had been available in-game to the real world… if you’ve got a spare £5,500 knocking around. It’s on display at Rouleur Live today and will be “a special collector’s item for Pinarello and Zwift fans worldwide”.
Fines issued to pavement cyclists will be based on "behaviour, not location" says council, in town where female cyclist was fined £100 for riding on cycle path and others threatened with £1,000 penalties by "cowboy wardens"
"It was cringeworthy how Mark Cavendish sold his own farewell," claims Dutch columnist who believes Manx Missile's exit from pro cycling was "toe-curling" and "like Elvis's last tour through shady casinos in Las Vegas before his body gave out"
Strap yourselves in…
A columnist for the Dutch daily newspaper AD, has penned a piece bemoaning the fact Mark Cavendish’s final race in pro cycling came at the questionably competitive, but extremely lucrative for those involved, Tour de France Singapore Criterium.
Across the world’s media, and even in some cycling-specific media, the event was often portrayed as a competitive race that was won by Cavendish. Just as a reminder, this is the flat crit that Jonas Vingegaard ‘won’ ahead of Chris Froome and Vincenzo Nibali two years ago.
With that said, 99 per cent of cycling fans don’t actually have any issue with the riders cashing in and entertaining the fans. After all, it’s the off-season and it’s not like they’d be doing anything other than sitting at home with their feet up anyway, so the whole spectacle is pretty harmless, right?
Well, Dutch journalist Thijs Zonneveld has a different view. He called it (according to Google Translate) “cringeworthy how Mark Cavendish sold his own farewell” and opted for the Singapore Criterium his final race. As I said at the start, strap yourself in for this one…
Zonneveld began by saying everyone watching Cav’s final race was left with tears in their eyes… “from laughing” and said “no matter how hard he (along with a handful of fellow sprinters) tried to make it look epic and iconic and historic: it didn’t work”.
“Even in the interview after the race, in which he tried to sound emotional, you got the feeling that you were watching hastily thrown together amateur theatre,” the columnist wrote.
“Mark Cavendish could have ended his career in so many ways […] But instead he sold his own farewell. Cashing in one last time in a fake race on the other side of the world, like Elvis who took one last tour through shady casinos in Las Vegas before his body gave out. Ugly, that’s what it is. Toe-curling.
“But it also suits Cavendish in a way. He has so many faces. That of a multiple winner and a star, but also that of a kamikaze. One day he’s cursing you, the next he’s your best friend. He can tear through the peloton like a wrecking ball, but he can also sing a children’s song with tears in his eyes or talk about his depression. Twenty years as a pro, 165 victories, endless stories. With one common thread. It chafed. Until the very very end.”
I’d actually pay incredibly good money to see one of those ‘celebrity reacts to mean things someone on the internet said about them’ videos. Now THAT would be worth watching. Anyway, I’m not sure Cavendish will (or should) be losing any sleep over this one…
I think we’ll end this by leaving this here…
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Latest Comments
Your correction is accurate - it's almost always been "the (lack of) thought that (doesn't) count". "Massive" - less than a billion a year spent on active travel (trying to catch up / building a network across the entire country) Not massive - 6 billion every year (2026-2030) spent on road *maintenance* of existing "already built, goes everywhere, very convenient" road network for inactive travel Ultimately the reason "cycle infra" is *needed* is those unbelievably colossal amounts spent every year (and for more than a century now) on making mass motoring not just viable but apparently the "best choice" for most journeys. As the Dutch and others have shown, the majority of people *are* prepared to cycle and even mix with very light, slow local motor traffic *if* cycling is also made safe and convenient for the whole of their journey (including secure parking at both ends). (The history of the financial drivers of the current situation are a complex topic but note that while people complain about "crumbling roads" and underfunded motor infra - with some reason - by us continuing the fuel duty escalator freeze (for example) we're actually helping motorists pay *even less* for that activity / subsidising more of the cost of driving than ever.)
yes, but people will still object - which was my point.
So ' Priority of Road Users' and 1.5 metre clearance at 30mph has been been reduced to 'sharing'? NCN route 2 here in South Hams is an absolute scream with white vans, tractors and total idiots who refuse,or are totally incapable,to reverse on high Devon banked lanes ...means you have to get off and pedal back to a passing place....could be at that all day...so I don't bother...
@MaxiMinimalist Agreed. The big problem I see now is today's parents grew up being driven to their schools, and therefore, see private motor vehicles as the only viable form of transport. The vast majority of UK infant and primary schools have a catchment area that is within easy walking distance from home to school. Yet, the traffic caused by pupils being driven to/from school is astonishing. Banishing the "School Run" should be a priority for all schools.
When I was a kid (that was during the previous millenium when phones were connected to a plug in the wall), I rode my bicycle to school, music academy, sport grounds, parties even during the winter. The government didn't have to spend, correct that, didn't have to think of spending massive amounts of money to build cycling specific infrastructures. Over the past 3 or 4 decades, cars have grown bigger, taller, safer (for their drivers) and faster. Meanwhile, motorists have become abusive, aggressive, hypersensitive to people moving on two wheels, aka cyclists. Spending billions upon billions on new infrastructure won't address the crux of the matter. Sadly.
Obree had some actual talent in his legs though, in addition to his bike/aero engineering talent.
Малко като опит за доказване е излязло... Никой няма нужда от толкова голям въртящ момент и мощност на шосеен велосипед с тънки гуми, които дори трудно ще предават тази мощност върху пътя. А ако има и ограничение от 25 км/час е още по-безмислено.
Not sure how informative that is. I imagine for all most of us know it could be Europe's only 'volumetric modular building'. 🤷♂️
Yes, but they're copying the adults of today...
Indeed - but alas I think this is an effective argument for very few folks indeed. As for push-back, what else could we expect *? I think there are ways of selling this but we're far more likely to see headlines about the problems, while the successes are relegated to footnotes, because at that point it just works and there's nothing to see... * Given that this time there aren't politicians being persuaded to overlook thousands of deaths and the demolition of property by the billions from the motoring trades (and the excitement of being able to drive out with the bright things for a party at a roadhouse). Nor are we as tolerant of "accidents". (And noting that publicity about the cases of a handful of people killed by cyclists continues to reach the media; deaths related to motor vehicles not so much).
41 thoughts on ““It was cringeworthy how Mark Cavendish sold his own farewell,” claims columnist who believes Manx Missile’s exit from pro cycling was “toe-curling” and “like Elvis’s last tour through shady casinos in Las Vegas” + more on the live blog”
Tour de France riders used to
Tour de France riders used to use the stuff-it-full-of-grass trick, back in the day, so it must work to some extent.
They also used heavy bikes,
They also used heavy bikes, one gear, amphetamines, strychnine, any other drugs they could get their hands on. And even local vin de table!
Are you sure? Don’t know how
Are you sure? Don’t know how you’d go about stuffing grass inside a tubular!
Indeed. They also carried
Indeed. They also carried pumps and spare tubs.
As reported by Albert Londres
As reported by Albert Londres in the Parisian newspaper in 1924…………
Belgians wear their socks
Belgians wear their socks over their bib tights. Everyone else has socks underneath. When in Flanders, do as the Flandriens do.
When in Flanders, do as the
When in Flanders, do as the Flandriens do
You have to hand it to the Dutch speakers- there are a large number of male and female cycling super-heroes among them.
Live next door to Homer
Live next door to Homer Simpson 🙂
re: grass, https://www
re: grass, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwO7f1wxUzM
Will Comic Relief be paying
Will Comic Relief be paying for Paddy McGuinness to get new knees, after this exercise?
Never tried it myself as I am
Never tried it myself as I am what you might call a puncture paranoid, usually like to carry at least five tubes between two of us as well as patches, but the grass method in an emergency was often talked of by touring and adventure cyclists way back when I were a lad, definitely a thing.
I’m quite proud of the time I
I’m quite proud of the time I made a tyre boot from litter on a country lane. Not so proud of the reason I needed a boot.
Wasn’t there a story on here
Wasn’t there a story on here a while back about some bloke fixing a puncture with some banana skins? In any case I can no longer find it.
I may be misremembering – or
I may be misremembering – or it may have been another site – but I could have sworn there was an article on this site once about emergency repairs which include the grass for puncture repair.
The joys of google (other
The joys of google (other search engines are available) – it may just have been the brief mention here that I am recalling https://road.cc/content/feature/12-best-emergency-bike-fixes-273323
I think the socks-under
I think the socks-under people and the socks-over people should unite against their common enemy.
Cyclists who wear black socks.
I thought you were going to
I thought you were going to say triatheletes (non-sock wearing heathens
)
Clem Fandango wrote:
they aren’t the enemy. They are worse than that
the little onion wrote:
Reform UK?
the little onion wrote:
Hang on, I’m confused. Black socks match my saddle, tyre sidewalls, bar tape, and more often than they should, my chain. I never turn the socks upside down so surely this is OK?
In winter I tend to put
In winter I tend to put thicker black socks on over white socks. The white socks go under my leg warmers, yet the black socks are too thick to go under so they have to go over. Overshoes then go on top of the black socks, Where does that leave me in all this?
Can we agree that socks go
Can we agree that socks go over trousers like my dad showed me to do (and still does.)
Ill admit to wearing black
I’ll admit to wearing black socks, under tights and over shoes this time of year.
I think I speak for most of
I think I speak for most of us when I say “Thijs Zonneveld can get to fuck”.
Cav has earned the right to end his career any way he damn well pleases.
Dutch sports media: Max
Dutch sports media: Max Verstappen is a legend & walks on water. Anyone who says anything even remotely questioning his saintly status is just a biased/racist member of the British media
Also Dutch sports media (with not a shred of irony) : Mark Cavendish can be petulant & ruthless in his pursuit of victory. Oh and a “race” was fixed in his favour.
rubydash cam featuring Mitsky
rubydash cam featuring Mitsky from here
Thanks.
Thanks.
No idea how to report that as I did not give permission for anyone else to use it.
why report it It just generte
why report it It just generte more hits for you. Plus you post a video on the worlds biggest video shareing site U tube You can see the share button? It there for people to share videos they seen or like. 34k views you should be thanking him for posting your link instead. And yes I do artwork and I dont care if someone shares my works or even uses it for there own works Just dont post it as your own work. Anyways If you want to Lawyer up just get your lawyer to email him a cesed and desit letter or whatever it called in your country.
There is a world of
There is a world of difference between allowing your own video to be shared and other people lifting your video and including it in their own compilations. It’s akin to the difference between allowing your books to be borrowed from libraries and allowing other people to copy sections of your books to put in their own work.
Mitsky, if you click on the three dots on the right directly under the video there is the option to report the content to YouTube. Whether they will act or not I don’t know, I have noticed in the past to that they are better at reacting to complaints than Facebook or Twitter so they may…
Rendel Harris wrote:
Or letting it be pirated so ChatGPT and their ilk can learn how to replace you…
At 4:30 – some sort of swing
At 4:30 – some sort of swing arm on a lorry swinging round like a helicopter rotor
That appeared on a rival
That appeared on a rival series too. I think it’s the lifting arm for heavy pallets.
They are all useful for reminders of typical hazardous situations that you can recognise when on the road. What beats me is the numbers of drivers speeding into the hazard instead of easing off.
I saw a demo of the grass in
I saw a demo of the grass in tyre truck and was surprised how effective it was. You do have to cut your innertube in half and if the puncture is near the valve you’re screwed. But it just involves cutting the tube. Tying both ends up with a knot then pumping it up on the rim and the grass fills the gap in the tyre. It’s messy but rather that than waking home.
or just tubeless and it’s not an issue
Used grass before, to get me
Used grass before, to get me out of the shit, during my messenger days, many moons ago.
My socks always under.
My socks always under.
The real argument is stirrups. Elasticated rubber bands on the ankle don’t work very well over socks – <flame>sensible people like ME buy leggings with stirrups</flame>.
Am I the only poster worried
Am I the only poster worried about this site promoting the use of grass in tyres? That all sounds fine until you realise that this may attract the unwanted attention of another moode of transport (which kills tens every year) – cows.
Plus emissions (affecting hayfever sufferers).
chrisonabike wrote:
No – inhaling all those rubber fumes seems like a terrible idea to me.
Socks always under bib longs.
Socks always under bib longs. When the weather is really vile and the socks are waterproof, then the several wraps of wide, good quality masking tape stops the water running down your legs and filling your socks up. Masking tape over tights doesn’t work.
The real debate is masking tape or gaffer tape…..
I’m sure gaffer tape is superior, but I’m just not brave enough!
Rod Stewart considers selling
Rod Stewart considers selling his sports cars because of local potholes
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/nov/14/rod-stewart-considers-selling-his-sports-cars-because-of-local-potholes
“I am selling…I am selling.
“I am selling…I am selling…”
I don’t think he wants to
I don’t think he wants to talk about it…