Please note that our live blog can sometimes be slow to load. If it seems to be taking too long, try refreshing your browser.
Live blog: ‘make cyclists wear numbered bibs’, says former West Ham footballer, Belfast university gets a (timely?) EU award for being a cycle friendly employer, end of the road for Velothon Wales +more
All the news from the site and beyond as we start a new week
Mon, Nov 26, 2018 16:08
Help us to bring you the best cycling content
If you’ve enjoyed this article, then please consider subscribing to road.cc from as little as £1.99. Our mission is to bring you all the news that’s relevant to you as a cyclist, independent reviews, impartial buying advice and more. Your subscription will help us to do more.
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.
24 Comments
Read more...
Read more...
Read more...
Latest Comments
Miller 4 hours ago
Here's a photo I took on Alpe d'Huez at TdF 1991. L to R: Gianni Bugno, Miguel Indurain, Luc Leblanc. They would finish the stage in that order, Bugno winning. Yes, colour film was available in 1991 but that day I chose to use black and white knowing that many years hence it would look epic.
tomlew 5 hours ago
Riding a bike is green. Pro cycling is not. Don't greenwash us by confusing one with the other.
Rendel Harris 7 hours ago
The first 750 words of this article comprise a detailed explanation of the ways in which cycling continues to feel the full force of climate change. Perhaps more time reading what's actually written before rushing to spaff nonsense everywhere might help your comprehension.
60somethingcyclist 7 hours ago
Sadiq Khan and TfL cannot be accused of neglecting cycling. They have greatly improved provision in London. Yes there is a lot more that could be done, but we need to be patient. The public finances aren't in good shape, so things are going to b e tight for some time.
tomlew 8 hours ago
@Rendel Harris "ultimately football at every level is played on roughly the same size to pitch, the goals are the same size and there are eleven players on each team." Except they don't. In a senior team a 16-year-old plays against adults, under tougher competition, plays more matches and under greater mental strain. If your argument was vaild, I could easily counter it by sayng that riding the very same bike on the same roads as in training, 150 km a day, should not be such a big deal for a pro cyclist.
MaxiMinimalist 8 hours ago
The TdF yearly circus generates human and atmospheric pollution. Big time. Airplanes, choppers, trucks, cars for teams, media, VIP and other involved parties. But pro cycling is a profitable business, ask ASO. Don't spoil the party with questions about carbon footprint, side-road waste, recycling (pun intended). Also, why does ASO not have a plan B case of high temperatures - earlier departure times, shortened stages, ... ? Based on this week's weather forecasts, several stages are likely to be cancelled. Quote of the day : "But as cycling continues to feel the full force of climate change, ..." In what ways?
Pub bike 9 hours ago
@Podc I heard that Scunthorpe CC's experiment with wrapping the name around the jersey under the arm to make it fit didn't go too well either.
IanMK 10 hours ago
Be interesting to see if UAE chase down any breakaway today to ensure that Jonas stays in yellow.
Rendel Harris 14 hours ago
@Rendel Harris Interestingly, and it sort of supports my theory that UAE were being cunning, Pog has the mountains jersey today because he was the quickest up the final climb, which argues that he hadn't burnt all his matches when he got to the finish.
eburtthebike 15 hours ago
@JLasTSR It takes time. I got knocked off nine years ago in broad daylight on a roundabout, by a driver who was wearing very dark glasses, I'm suspicious that he was actually visually impaired. No prosecution. It took me a few years to get my confidence back. I wish you all the best in getting the enjoyment back.
24 thoughts on “Live blog: ‘make cyclists wear numbered bibs’, says former West Ham footballer, Belfast university gets a (timely?) EU award for being a cycle friendly employer, end of the road for Velothon Wales +more”
The most informative quote
The most informative quote from the Frank McAvennie piece: “I’m no expert on road safety”
A quick google of ‘Referee
A quick google of ‘Referee books wrong player’ quickly puts Frank’s plan to bed.
More like: Who needs
More like: Who needs Handlebars, when you’ve got 3 Hetchins?!
I’m not sure Airbus would win
I’m not sure Airbus would win an EU award for being a cycle friendly employer, a colleague was handed this when arriving on-site.
very odd given the horrendous traffic in Toulouse, you’d think they’d be encouraging more people to cycle to work.
ChancerOnABike wrote:
I’d prefer brakes on the bike rather than any of the other advice.
ChancerOnABike wrote:
McAvennie is ridiculed annually in a BBC Scotland comedy show broadcast at New Year.
The two things his character is identified as.
He was a fine footballer in his Celtic days, but not the sharpest.
Edit – This is from Wikipedia
During his playing career he reputedly enjoyed a playboy lifestyle involving drink, drugs and womanising.[14][12][52] His lifestyle was the inspiration for a parody character played by Jonathan Watson in the Scottish comedy TV programme, Only an Excuse?[12][53]
In 2000, having been cleared in court of an incident involving the supply of controlled drugs,[12][54] McAvennie found himself in severe fiancial difficulties and resorted to selling his medals to Celtic-supporting businessman Willie Haughey for a small sum; these were later returned to him in 2017.[54]
On 12 January 2009, McAvennie received a four-month suspended sentence for affray following an incident in July 2008 in which he head-butted a man in Douglas on the Isle of Man.[55]
Ideal role model to take advice from.
Quote:
But they aren’t held to the same standards at present. He’s right. At present, drivers are dealt with a great deal more leniently…
Quote:
This one really annoys me.
Bicycles and cars are not the same things, and I firmly believe the rules and regulations should reflect that (which they don’t at the moment, for the most part).
Arguing that cyclists should be held to the same standard as drivers calls on that non-existent equivalence. We often hear demands that we should be held to the same standard, or be made to obey the law in the same way, or pay the same taxes, or be subject to the same enforcement regime (cf the proposed dangerous cycling law) and yet at the same time, we are also told that we should get out of the way of faster vehicles, ride in the gutter at all times, not ride in the centre of the lane and so on, and so on.
The law in this country should recognise the differences between modes of transport and allow for different regulations where appropriate (e.g. permitting cyclists to turn left through red lights, for one example).
brooksby wrote:
It is a fundamentally stupid thing to say. In almost every aspect of life, standards are stricter for owning and operating more potentially dangerous items of equipment. Hence it is easy (in the UK) to get hold of an air pistol but nigh on impossible to own an assault rifle. Pretty much any adult can buy fireworks but very few can buy Semtex. Anyone can ride a bicycle but very few people are allowed to fly jet aircraft (and then only after long and rigorous training).
A 10-kg bicycle, propelled by human power is potentially FAR less dangerous than a two-tonne steel vehicle propelled by anything up to 200 bhp. Anyone who cannot understand the difference between the two and the accompanying operating standards is an idiot.
Good of that footballer to
Good of that footballer to come along and confirm the stereotype of footballers being as thick as two short planks!
“At the moment, they have no
“At the moment, they have no accountability — and I have a brilliant idea to change that. Cyclists need to be held to the same standards that drivers are.
So, wearing a numbered bib would allow cyclists to cause the same levels of death & destruction as drivers? Really?
So, as an example from DfT statistics, on 20mph roads 86% of cars exceed the limit, that would have to be reduced to ~15mph to make it possible for 86% of cyclists to break the limit – genius!
I bet motorists would be happy with you mr ex footballer,
and I’d love to hear your ideas on BrexitWill the bib come with
Will the bib come with electric lighting?
Good to know there are no hit and runs by any driver.
hirsute wrote:
Yep: 100 per week motorised hit & runs in London alone. Maybe cars need bibs.
Can footballers also be made
Can footballers also be made to wear bibs, so they can be clearly identified as they are generally immune from prosecution due to the services of Mr Loophole?
National Cake Day, wish I’d
National Cake Day, wish I’d known. but I did start the day with a glazed knot ring doughnut, from my local bakery. And yesterday I did manage, on my 4th attempt to make caramel shards, which I used to make The Violet Bakery’s butterscotch blondies, which are very sticky and nice.
“I don’t want it to seem like
“I don’t want it to seem like I hate all cyclists…”
Is this a newer form of “I’m not racist but…”?
He’s a footballer. His plan
He’s a footballer. His plan for numbered bibs will run into trouble as soon as he gets past 10. Maybe 20 if he takes his socks off.
Mungecrundle wrote:
12 or 24 for his type.
BehindTheBikesheds wrote:
Hey! I’ve got friends from Bridgwater, you know.
hawkinspeter wrote:
Sandwich city!*
*(All in bread)
And congratulations for being one of the 5% who can spell it right.
I’m sure Frank has thought
I’m sure Frank has thought this through rigorously but surely numbered bibs would be wide open to fraud
Sadly Biggins wrote:
Yeah – I’d get bib numbered 69 (dude) and after jumping red lights, I could just turn it upside down and get away with it.
hawkinspeter wrote:
You might also get some attention from ladies who misunderstand your sign.
burtthebike wrote:
I don’t think there’ll be any misunderstanding.