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Live blog: Geraint Thomas back in Cardiff for homecoming parade this evening, Ned Boulting quits as Metro columnist after their victim-blaming tweet, Tokyo 2020 road cycling courses announced + more

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@FionaJJ These officers deployed next-level stupidity, and it must be difficult for the police to find people this dim. It doesn't even need rolling-roads or whatever, just a reputable bike computer on a quickly changed mount for the difficult cases where a proper EAPC has been modded, although you would need to look hard in Lancashire to find a police officer who knows how to make a pedal cycle go. Most illegal electric motorbikes are immediately obvious, not least because the crim is wearing a face mask. I saw an obvious one tonight coming out of Garstang Sainsbury's, not pedalling but without a face mask because everybody knows that the police only come into the town to hide away in the police station 200 yards away.
Gustav Gullholm.. that's not a good look mate
@Chris RideFar I think what you meant to say was "REMOVE this and put it on PODCAST CC".
As Mary Whitehouse never said - one doesn't have to read the article if one doesn't want to read about an off-road bicycle.
@FionaJJ In London they're allowed to stop on single and double yellows to deliver packages or empty pillar boxes; in practice they take this as carte blanche to park wherever and whenever they want, such as this chap on the Brixton Road who pulled into the bus/cycle/motorcycle lane without indicating, as I approached at 20mph, to park on a red route, response to a remonstrance, "I suppose you never get post delivered do ya?"
@Rendel Harris We have a pavement parking ban, but around here at least, royal mail vans are already exempt, subject to certain caveats, such as allowing at least 1.5m, and only being stopped to do their work.
It was already embarrassing for the police that they made such a mess of their attempt to determine whether a bike was legal or not, but I had assumed it was a group of well intentioned, but under-trained officers acting on their own initiative, having spotted something they thought looked not quite right. I'm now discovering this was a planned activity, something sufficiently organised to have been given a name - Operation FRISLEN, designed specifically to identify and remove illegal e-bikes and scooters. It's apparent that the officers were sent out without adequate training, never mind the kind of equipment that should be used for this sort of work. I'm not saying they always need specialist equipment to spot all illegal bikes, but at least if they'd been given a demonstration with that equipment, they'd have realised why their approach was not going to end well.
Have put drop bars on a 2001 B1 mtb, a 2007 stumpy hardtail and a 2010 stumpy full suss. In all cases fairly basic conversións leaving gearing and wheels broadly the same and concentrating on correct positioning of bars and fit. Oddly, with all 3 I was happy with the result when recently done, but after a few months found that the extra speed on easy trails was more than offset by the lack of ability (probably mine) on tougher routes and finally preferred flat bar with slammed and inverted stem as best overall compromise. Good fun playing around, though.
The photos in this review look they are for a different bag?
This is a strange reactionary knee jerk overall. But what is this "are essentially motorbikes in disguise" waffle? "One letter claimed that high-powered electric ‘e-bikes’ were “essentially motorbikes” in disguise, with many being used without lights, helmets, or any hi-vis clothing." Surely, they simply ARE motorbikes?
5 thoughts on “Live blog: Geraint Thomas back in Cardiff for homecoming parade this evening, Ned Boulting quits as Metro columnist after their victim-blaming tweet, Tokyo 2020 road cycling courses announced + more”
Well done Ned for standing up
Well done Ned for standing up for what you believe in, not just knuckling under like so many other journalists have done. I hope that some other, rather more ethical, publications snap up a contributer of such proven worth.
Not sure that the utter idiot of a driver being known to the police is much of a surprise, I’d have put money on it.
Agreed, well done to Boulting
Agreed, well done to Boulting, definitely one of the good guys. And yet some idiots are still arguing it’s the responsibility/fault of the rider ffs!
Horrible for the US guy, let’s hope he’ll be back on a bike in short order, as nasty as losing a part of your leg is there is no reason he can’t carry on cycling even if that might not be at a top level but you just never know.
The women only doing 137km for the Olympic course is pretty sad, just why, in this age of equality why are the races still so short, surely the strongest riders will benefit from a harder/longer ride and that’s really what we want isn’t it?
Admire your conviction Ned,
Admire your conviction Ned, but would’t it have been better to eductae the stupids from within the organisation?
don simon wrote:
I very much doubt it. He may have tried that previously.
The fact that he is prepared to give up something he liked doing means it’s important to him. On top of that the publicity is likely to be much more effective – a number of Ned’s twitter followers are likely to give them some entirely justified grief, flagging the issue for their own followers in the process.
opportunity lost perhaps? I
opportunity lost perhaps? I wonder if Ned might have remained had the Metro published a full page correction in the next edition.