Live blog: Do kids who take hire bikes just want to ride? Amazon Alexa bike; record breaking year for Boris Bikes + more
SUMMARY
Record breaking year for Boris Bikes
More than 10.5 million journeys were made using Santander Cycles in 2018, reports BikeBiz.
That’s an average of 29,500 hires each day – the highest daily average since the scheme began in 2010.
David Eddington, head of cycle hire at Transport for London, said: “Despite the Beast from the East, Londoners and visitors continued pedalling to help us reach our best year ever.
“We’ve seen a huge increase in the numbers of people choosing to cycle in London, with a 35 per cent increase since our cycle hire scheme was introduced, and hope that number will continue to rise.”
Bike chained to roof of Debenhams in Bournemouth
Do we need to add a line to our ultimate guide to locking up your bike?
Locking your bike up on top of a building surely adds another layer of security.
The Bournemouth Echo isn’t quite sure how long the one locked on top of Debenhams has actually been there.
Fashionably wide MTB bars need not apply
Cycling in Nepal. Two tips:
1. Check the brakes before cycling.
2. Don’t look down.pic.twitter.com/u6GGOvuIyW— James Melville (@JamesMelville) January 3, 2019
New roads should prioritise cyclists and pedestrians says NICE
Health watchdog recommends reallocating road space and charging motorists. Certain newspapers respond to this much as you’d expect they would. (Which is to say with frothing outrage.)
Gocycle's new GX e-bike folds in less than 10 seconds
Find out more over on eBikeTips
World's first Amazon Alexa-enabled bike is coming this summer
“Alexa, climb this hill for me!” Yep, you can tell the new Cybic Legend to switch lights on, play music and even order dinner… full article on eBikeTips.
Dashcam captures footage of cyclist with child on the back nipping between two HGVs
HGV driver Richard Hook was approaching a mini roundabout in Weybridge, Surrey when a cyclist overtook him.
The man had a child on the back of his bike, but this didn’t dissuade him from passing the lorry and sashaying past another that was turning off the roundabout heading in the opposite direction.
You can watch the video over at the Mirror.
Video: Peter Sagan – “Hey, life is too short to be too much serious”
This video starts with Peter Sagan’s massive “Why so serious?” tattoo – a phrase which represents his attitude to life.
Sagan certainly has an admirably easy-going approach to things. That said, ‘why so serious?’ is probably an easier philosophy to maintain when you ride a bicycle for a living.
Unprecedented interest since Geraint Thomas’s Tour de France success but Welsh cycling needs more investment
Welsh Cycling has reported a six per cent rise in membership from 2017 to 2018, but investment is needed to capitalise on this interest, according to its chief executive.
Bay Crits - Behind the scenes with Alex Dowsett
Katusha Alpecin pro riders Alex Dowsett, Nathan Hass and Marco Haller joined up with two local elite racers to compete in the Bay Crits. This series of Australian criterium races looks fast and hotly contested with a number of World Tour pros ditching the cold Northern hemisphere for the Aussie summer sun.
Looks like they did rather well too!
Do kids who take hire bikes just want to ride?
In the wake of this morning’s news about Santander Cycles’ record year, here’s an interesting piece by a criminal defence solicitor who regularly represents youths accused of stealing them.
He reckons that the thefts are symptomatic of a basic desire to ride from those who can’t afford to do so. He advocates handing out free bikes to address this.
London’s cycling commissioner hits back at critics of cycling strategy
Critics said there was no new infrastructure or funding and therefore little of consequence.
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 £2.49. 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.
No Comments
Read more...
Read more...
Read more...
Latest Comments
@Nigel Garage ...and then everyone applauded my courtesy and I waved courteously to all the people who were courteously throwing flowers and cheering and courteously waving flags that said "Nigel is the best!"
The picture from street view clearly shows give way lines from the roads to the green painted cycle/pedestrian lane.
If I recall there is a cave or two along the route - perhaps they were sheltering from the heat in one of those having taken it for a Golf bunker?
“So if there’s a cyclist travelling down the cycle path at the moment, from this position I can’t see them because my blind spots are too big on the left hand side of the vehicle”, claims Hill. Well, there's your problem, right there...🙄
First impression from the headline that he's likely a twit. Then the detail he was expelled from Reform makes you suspect that failing even their low bar requirements he really is. Then he clearly explains his vehicle is unsafe for the highway because he can't see to give way when turning. Any collision he now has should have that video run out explaining he drove a vehicle he knew to be unsafe. Advice for motorists; instead of thinking that pedestrians and cyclists are low risk 100kg objects, imagine them as a 300 Tonne trains that will crush you and your vehicle if you cross into their paths. You'd give way to the train, so you equally can to the others.
I've had a brief look on Facebook, and Ed Hill (who now appears to be affiliated with Advance UK) seems to have taken some useful road safety improvements under his remit, including an initiative to help local pedestrians on unpaved roads, where the wider council won't help due to planning failures. Regarding the cycle path, I think this is linked to a wider misunderstanding about giving way at junctions and I'm afraid I cannot agree with Mr Hill's conclusion. Regardless of the suitability of the cycle path, vehicles should give way at the junction to both pedestrians crossing and cyclists. It seems to be a poorly understood rule among motorists where some believe they have priority at junctions like this, where they certainly do not. I once had a similar issue myself, while leisurely walking to Waitrose to buy some lunchtime fripperies. A driver beeped their horn as I crossed the junction, despite me having priority, and was shocked and apologetic when I explained I had priority. A polite conversation later, the driver departed, educated and updated on the rules of the road.
"A cycle lane that traverses the entrance to a side road in Exeter should be changed so that “cyclists give way to vehicles”, according to an independent county councillor" Newsflash: Bicycles are vehicles. Now what?
Bland and overcooked spaghetti
@mdavidford That would seem likely.
@StuInNorway Presumably they pulled out from the parking on the other side without paying any attention to the oncoming traffic / police car.