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Live blog: “You bleedin stupid woman” – London Assembly Member abused by driver while cycling at one of city’s most dangerous junctions, New Balance boss appointed USA Cycling CEO, CES cycling highlights + more
All today’s news from the site and beyond
Tue, Jan 08, 2019 16:09
SUMMARY
8 January 2019, 16:09
Iconic Wirral cycling cafe up for sale
The Eureka Cyclists’ Cafe in Woodbank on the Wirral is something of an institution in that part of the world – after all, it’s been trading for 90 years. Now the current owners, who have run it for 17 years, are looking to sell up and are seeking someone to take it on. Interested? Contact them via Facebook.
8 January 2019, 16:09
This gym in China will get your legs burning - and your stomach churning
Wait for it …
8 January 2019, 16:09
Take a look at this self-inflating airbag gilet for cyclists, on show at CES
We’re looking out for bike-related gear from the world’s biggest consumer electronics show, CES, and here’s something that caught our eye – a self-inflating airbag gilet.
An inflating vest that uses accelerometers and a gyroscope to determine when you are falling off a bike is genuinely cool. #CES19 https://t.co/HKGrnusQk5 pic.twitter.com/Tdvivqjt1L
— Nicholas Thompson (@nxthompson) January 7, 2019
There’s a more extensive video about it here from the BBC, including an interview with one of the people behind the company that produces it, Helite..
8 January 2019, 16:09
Some more curiosities from the CES show 2019
There’s plenty of weird and wonderful cycling-related inventions on display at the world’s biggest consumer technology show this week… and firmly in the weird camp is this penny farthing-inspired e-cycle named the JackRabbit.
…also at the show is the world’s first bike powered by a hydrogen fuel cell, the Pragma Industries’ Alpha bicycle.
…and the rather fetching R-Pur Nano anti-pollution mask, that lights up to indicate poor air quality.
We’ll be keeping an eye out for more interesting stuff from the show this week, watch this space.
8 January 2019, 16:09
A little too immersive?
Remember those Back to the Future and Star Wars ride simulators that were popular in 90’s theme parks? Well here’s that but on a spin bike. No thanks…
8 January 2019, 16:09
Rob DeMartini, who steered New Balance through “official shoes of white people” PR gaffe, appointed CEO of USA Cycling
USA Cycling has announced that Rob DeMartini, who has served as CEO of shoe brand New Balance for the past 12 years, has been appointed as their new CEO. USA Cycling’s last two bosses were both former elite cyclists, and although DeMartini describes himself as a keen recreational rider according to the Denver Post, the new appointment was mostly due to his many contacts in the business world.
DeMartini presided over a turbulent time for New Balance in 2016, when it emerged that their owner Jim Davis had personally donated $400,000 to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, and a New Balance staff member appeared to offer support for Trump’s planned Trans-Pacific Partnership; however the company said the comments were blown out of proportion and only related to trade, and that New Balance “does not support Trump” or “tolerate bigotry or hate in any form”. It didn’t stop democrat supporters from burning their trainers en masse and promise lifetime boycotts of the company, and the comments also impressed Neo-Nazis who dubbed New Balance “the official shoes of white people”; but two years on it appears little lasting damage has been done to their image.
Will DeMartini make USA Cycling great again? He starts work in February 2019.
8 January 2019, 16:09
Check out the Convercycle, a cargo and a regular bike 2-in-1
The back wheel of this bike flips out to create a cargog bike, and it comes in e-bike or manual versions. Read about it over on eBikeTips.
8 January 2019, 16:09
Jack Monroe goes out for a ride
I dug my bicycle out of the shed. I have only ever ridden it once before because roads terrify me and I’m nervous and skittish. I got on it and cycled for an hour. To the sea, to the boundaries, to the horizon, and home. I wasn’t afraid, today. #DayEleven #ODAAT pic.twitter.com/IbzbLQIZJI
— Jack Monroe (@BootstrapCook) January 8, 2019
The popular food writer and journalist, who last year went up in everyone’s estimations even more by suing and almost bankrupting far-right sh*t stirrer Katie Hopkins for libel, has been impressing the cycling community too by going out for a spin in the countryside. Monroe is “looking into local Bikeability courses” and admitted to being nervous and skittish on the bike previously, but all went well this time around.
8 January 2019, 16:09
London Assembly Member told to "get out the way you bleedin stupid woman" by driver as she cycled round one of capital's most dangerous junctions
Green Party Assembly Member Caroline Russell has tweeted about how she was abused by the driver of a Range Rover as she cycled round the Highbury Corner gyratory in North London, which is due for an overhaul under Transport for London’s Safer Junctions scheme to make it less dangerous for vulnerable road users.
Her tweet has seen her receive a lot of support from other Twitter users, some of whom recounted their own experiences of being abused by motorists.
Just been yelled at to “get out the way you bleedin stupid woman” by a man in a Range Rover on Highbury Corner. I was riding correctly, arm out, round the gyratory. So much anger. Shaking.
— Caroline Russell (@CarolineRussell) January 8, 2019
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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
chrisonabike 16 minutes ago
@Smoggysteve "Most would happily ride on the roads and be treated with respect by drivers". But people aren't - and as far as I can see they won't be. Not until there is a lot less driving and it's slower around cyclists, and far more people driving have "skin in the game" eg. they sometimes cycle and their friends and family do also. That's what leads to the model - which is perhaps most advanced in NL - where cycling, walking and driving are all seen as separate normal transport modes. Their needs, vulnerabilities and any dangers to others are considered. And *that* leads to "mix / share when possible, separate when necessary". But "possible" is "where your 10-year old would be safe to cycle unsupervised" - so very few motor vehicles, going slow! And AFAICS everybody - even "existing cyclists" - is happy with the result. (I dunno about a few pro cyclists - but don't they tend to have training camps in different counties anyway?)
chrisonabike 29 minutes ago
@quiff as an Edinburgh resident I can confidently say he's speaking without moving his lips in one sense: - while as I noted in a separate comment there *is* now some real separated cycle infra, all the examples i can think of have *at least as much space* for pedestrians. The rest of the "cycle infra" is essentially similar to the situation in the rest of the UK: eg. bus lanes*, cycle lanes and shared use paths (eg. "build" infra by sticking up a sign). Edinburgh is one of the places with a moderately extensive network of former railways which have been converted to "shared use" paths (completely motor traffic few). However though shared they are not narrow by UK standards. And this is all effectively a "free extra" for all non- motorised users, not like the "sign a cycle path" where pedestrians do lose space. I think this all comes from the "popular understanding" of cycling in which ultimately cyclists are the "other". They don't fit "motor vehicle" or "pedestrian" (including wheelchairs on the very rare occasions people think about that). Thus "cyclists are cheating" in multiple ways! They shouldn't get their own space as "there aren't enough" of them. And "they can just use the road / path". But being able to *choose* "on the road" or "on the footway" (shared use path) is clearly unfair - nobody else gets to do that! BUT of course even if they did pick just one of road OR pedestrian space it's still not fair anyway because they're "too slow" for the road (don't pay "road tax" etc...) and "far too fast" for pedestrians... * Though some existing cyclists may appreciate them when there are few buses, buses and bikes are a very poor mix for several reasons.
mikecassie 42 minutes ago
Whilst a shame for any employees, their bib shorts had the worst chamois pad I’d ever encountered, utter waste of my money. Even though they were Strava challenge discount purchases, still a waste of money.
ktache 2 hours ago
Thanks, just going to have to suck it up. Got next week off and will take the easy, if expensive option...
Rendel Harris 2 hours ago
@ktache Just go for the TNT Sports only package, £30.99 for a month. Alternatively have you considered experimenting with a VPN for a few pounds, allowing you to sign up for a free stream abroad, e.g. SBS Australia which streams the Tour live? If I didn't have a kind mate's login that's what I'd do!
ktache 3 hours ago
So, it's now the month of July and I'm going to have to pay to watch the TdF, for one month only. On a tablet unfortunately, as I didn't manage to get a laptop to rig up to the TV, grrr. Just wondering, what package will I have to fork out for? Not wanting to pay for the wrong one...
Rendel Harris 3 hours ago
Not that it sounds like a dealbreaker given the other faults you've identified, but that cable isn't really a "proprietary" cable, four pin magnetic cables like that are quite common on bone-conducting headphones and other devices (my inexpensive smartwatch uses one) and they can be had for £4.99 on UK Amazon.
mctrials23 4 hours ago
There was never really anything to say about le col kit. Most of it was alright. Some of it was poorly designed/made. Trying to position yourself as a Rapha competitor whilst always offering 40% or more off doesn't scream premium though.
ROOTminus1 4 hours ago
Up next in the MucOff product line; for when the cassette won't budge, (chain)whip-it!
10 thoughts on “Live blog: “You bleedin stupid woman” – London Assembly Member abused by driver while cycling at one of city’s most dangerous junctions, New Balance boss appointed USA Cycling CEO, CES cycling highlights + more”
I’m continually astonished
I’m continually astonished and amazed at the ingenuity and general all round cleverness of so many of my fellow human beings. The inflatable gilet has me gobsmacked with admiration at the ability of people to design pointless, useless crazy things while real problems go unsolved.
The gilet, like the helmet, won’t make cycling any safer, not least because it doesn’t protect the most vulnerable parts of the body, won’t prevent serious injury and last but not least, risk compensation.
Please tell me it’s April the first and I’ve suddenly woken up from a coma.
burtthebike wrote:
I found it hilarious. Rier demonstrates by gently dismounting onto a crashmat at less than walking speed… then the video shows a dummy faceplanting into a car and then the tarmac. Amazingly stupid design… unless you fall off your bike and into a body of water 😀
ChrisB200SX wrote:
Sod an inflatable jacket, I want a rocket powered ejector seat to propel me to safety.
ChrisB200SX wrote:
Indeed… the crash-test video was not especially encouraging.
It did show just how hideous and potentially dangerous even a low speed collision like that is on a bike, just the sort that results from a driver pulling out, or turning, in front of a cyclist.
Similar videos should be included in ‘driver awareness’ courses.
I wanna go on that spin bike
I wanna go on that spin bike with the big screen!!
I want a BFG9000 and a
I want a BFG9000 and a Railgun for good measure just for BMW and Audi drivers… can we make them a thing.
I do like the converticycle
I do like the converticycle cargo bike. It’s a really neat piece of design. The rear end is a bit reminiscent of a Moulton frame with its cantilever design so I hope there isn’t an issue of patent infringement.
“driver of a Range Rover”…
“driver of a Range Rover”… Says it all, really. What do you expect?
brooksby wrote:
I liked the tweets which called it a Rage Rover.
The Jack Rabbit is very neat,
The Jack Rabbit is very neat, but no pedals. So it’s a primitive Motor Bike not an ebike in the UK legal sense? Throttle only?