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Live blog: Jenny Graham smashes round-the-world record, protest organised against lack of police action over spate of bike muggings in Manchester, new 3T Exploro + more
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Thu, Oct 18, 2018 14:34
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Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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Latest Comments
kil0ran 1 hour ago
I was a few bikes away from the fatal collision during Ride London a few years ago, I barely avoided the victim's dog which was running loose. Definitely one of those slo-mo adrenaline fuelled moments and I was only doing about 40kph. At lead out speeds it really doesn't bear thinking about.
open_roads 1 hour ago
@Xenophon2 "That’s a lot of batteries to keep track of, to the point that I have a dedicated charger with 3 m USB-C cable in my office, another one at home. Can’t imagine having to deal with another battery such as on the Flight Attendant." Top tip: In reality most of the SRAM stuff lasts a month or two even with pretty heavy usage. I just charge all the batteries on the last Sunday of every month and have yet to be caught out. The SRAM batteries are so cheap / small / light it's also worth keeping a spare in a saddle bag or similar.
ajuk.uk@gmail.com 2 hours ago
@chrisonabike There does seem to be evidence that 20 mph limits work on roads that already lend themselves to such low speeds, and I do think the lack of a 25 mph limit option is an issue for some roads. Speed limits should especially not be set very low in the hope that many or most drivers will only exceed them by a set amount because, not only is it not true that many people drive like that, the opposite can happen. Instead of targeting the drivers most likely to cause harm, you're putting the prohibition onto the behaviour of more sensible drivers and forcing the police to target them. The DfT guidance used to have a paragraph calling out this presumption. The extent to which road design and conditions at the time dictate traffic speeds is too stark to ignore. I've seen urban roads with signed 40 mph limits have lower average speeds than some roads with posted 20 mph limits. And yes, that road in Gloucester has signs openly inviting drivers to go faster, and almost none of them do: the non-compliance was about 2%. Compare that to over 99% non-compliance on some roads in Wales. What I'm mainly talking about is the increasing imposition of 20 mph limits on much higher-standard main roads. That's where you see extreme levels of non-compliance. In some cases, the average speed has even been known to go up after the limit has gone down. Showing such contempt just brings speed limits into disrepute and my contention is that drivers should take speed limits seriously.
ajuk.uk@gmail.com 2 hours ago
@chrisonabike There does seem to be evidence that 20 mph limits work on roads that already lend themselves to such low speeds, and I do think the lack of a 25 mph limit option is an issue for some roads. Speed limits should especially not be set very low in the hope that many or most drivers will only exceed them by a set amount because, not only is it not true that many people drive like that, the opposite can happen. Instead of targeting the drivers most likely to cause harm, you're putting the prohibition onto the behaviour of more sensible drivers and forcing the police to target them. The DfT guidance used to have a paragraph calling out this presumption. The extent to which road design and conditions at the time dictate traffic speeds is too stark to ignore. I've seen urban roads with signed 40 mph limits have lower average speeds than some roads with posted 20 mph limits. And yes, that road in Gloucester has signs openly inviting drivers to go faster, and almost none of them do: the non-compliance was about 2%. Compare that to over 99% non-compliance on some roads in Wales. So no, when speed limits match the road, compliance is much higher, but speeds are not. What I'm mainly talking about is the increasing imposition of 20 mph limits on much higher-standard main roads. That's where you see extreme levels of non-compliance. In some cases, the average speed has even been known to go up after the limit has gone down. Showing such contempt just brings speed limits into disrepute and my contention is that drivers should take speed limits seriously.
Rendel Harris 2 hours ago
@jaymack Yes...to an extent, and I'm happy at the moment with my twelve-year-old Dura Ace mechanical, but I must admit when I had Ultegra Di2 I did notice not so much the ease of shifting but the perfect trimming of the gears after every shift so that the chainline was always absolutely perfect and that did enhance the simple pleasure of being outside, for me anyway. At least until that day I forgot to charge the battery which died at the turnaround on an eighty-mile ride and had to ride a very lumpy forty miles home stuck in 50x14...
Rendel Harris 3 hours ago
@Daclu Trelub Well no, given that I object to the use of derogatory slurs against people with mental health issues I think I'll "bother" the person who's using derogatory slurs against people with mental health issues. Have a little think, if capable: if your mother or someone else close to you had dementia or mental health issues, would you be happy for people to be pointing at them mockingly saying, "Looks like she's a few chips short of a fish supper"? Stop it.
Daclu Trelub 3 hours ago
@Rendel Harris Go and bother somebody else with your opinion.
jaymack 3 hours ago
I'm sure electronic gears, pedals, seat posts etc. are each a modern marvel but they all seem to solve a problem I've never encountered. However I have encountered others faffing while searching for batteries, cables and even a firmware update. All of which just gets in the way of cycling's simple pleasure - being outside
Rendel Harris 3 hours ago
@Daclu Trelub Yeah...that sort of expression is OK when being jocular about someone who's a bit dense or slow on the uptake, is it really appropriate for someone who quite obviously has mental health/dementia issues?
17 thoughts on “Live blog: Jenny Graham smashes round-the-world record, protest organised against lack of police action over spate of bike muggings in Manchester, new 3T Exploro + more”
I’ve always wanted my bike to
I’ve always wanted my bike to ride itself, leaving me to watch tele and get fat while notching up all those verifiable Strava miles
MarkiMark wrote:
it gives the autonomous cars something to aim at
From the Irish Article…..
From the Irish Article…..
“He told me he saw the cyclist ahead of him. He told me he saw the cyclist turn his head but the cyclist did not alter his position on the road,” Garda Vance said.
Ms Harrington, who was in the front seat, heard a bang and her husband realised the car had collided with the bicycle as they passed.
Mr Carney was not wearing a helmet or high visibility clothing, the court heard.
Forensic Collision Investigator Garda John Culleton said both the car and the bicycle were travelling in the same direction at a similar speed along Butterfield Park when the collision occurred.
“Both parties were travelling alongside and either could have encroached on the other. One moved towards the other and contact was made.
“I cannot say who made the contact between these vehicles. There was contact between both parties but I can’t say who made the manoeuvre that resulted in contact,” Garda Culleton said.
The jury of three women and three men returned a verdict of accidental death and made a recommendation that all cyclists wear helmets.
FFS!
Deeferdonk wrote:
Quite staggering. What else can be said?
Regarding the inquest verdict
Regarding the inquest verdict, despite the driver admitting he saw the cyclist and that the cyclist didn’t alter direction (read – didn’t get out of the way), the cyclist ends up dead despite what’s practically an admission of fault the old victim blaming should wear a helmet nonsense appears again. Not a word about drivers taking more care and overtaking safely.
The three men and three women of the jury should be made watch the effect of a ton+ of metal rolling over a foam hat (I’m not completely sadistic – I wouldn’t insist their heads be in it at the time) to see what utter pointless shite that is as a verdict
JMcL_Ireland wrote:
Clearly the three men and three women of the jury haven’t been told what a bicycle helmet is – and isn’t! – designed to help protect the wearer from…
brooksby wrote:
Spot on there!
77 years old, eh? Probably
77 years old, eh? Probably been driving the thick end of 60 years without any further scrutiny. Eyesight could be shot as well.
vonhelmet wrote:
In a fair and reasonable society, they would obviously have checked his eyesight at around the same time they checked that he wasn’t drunk etc.
Quote:
What is the possible relevance of this given that the motorist and his wife both admitted having seen him?
I saw the cyclist ahead of me
I saw the cyclist ahead of me and decided to run him over anyway.
On what informed basis, having regard to all the benefits and cons of a helmet did they come up with that recommendation?
How about recommending that drivers don’t run cyclists over? That drivers give an appropriate amount of room? That drivers don’t drive right next to a cyclist, maintaining the same speed?
Oh on their lack of facts basis, drivers of that age need to pass a retest and eye test before being allowed to drive.
hirsute wrote:
Ah, but remember: “the cyclist did not alter his position on the road“. Clearly his fault, then…
You wonder how it’s possible
You wonder how it’s possible to have a fatal accident on a residential street like this…
Until you look at google maps and see how it’s a great little rat-run parallel to a main road. Perfect if the rush hour traffic is bad and you’re running late on your way to the train station. Maybe…
Surely the police can tell
Surely the police can tell where the car hit him ? If the damage is at the front he’s just run him down.
If it’s the side it’s more complicated.
RIP fellow cyclist.
We’re not sure if he forced
We’re not sure if he forced his penis inside of her or whether due to his close proximity she fell onto his exposed penis, so accidental ‘relations’, the rape cannot be proven. The victim was wearing a low cut top, short skirt and was walking down a street minding her own business, we recommend long dresses, big baggy tops and chasisty belts for all women.
Fucking cunts.
Hopefully this gets taken to
Hopefully this gets taken to a court of appeal, with expert witnesses for the deceased. That summary of facts sounds like an admission of guilt to me
Professor Mingguo Zhao, who
Professor Mingguo Zhao, who led the team that developed the bike, said:“Our project is about how a bicycle can keep its balance like a human. We chose the most similar method to a human, making use of centrifugal force produced by controlling the handlebar to keep balance,”
Nope. No such thing as centrifugal force. What sort of professor makes that statement?