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Live blog: Gangland killer caught because he recorded recon ride on his Garmin; VOTE! What’s your favourite bike colour? Sheffield active travel; Pippo Pozzato launches new career in… roller hockey + more
SUMMARY

Pippo Pozzato launches new career in... roller hockey
The 2006 Milan-San Remo winner Filippo Pozzato somewhat reluctantly retired from cycling last month.
This weekend he embarks on a new career in roller hockey.
Ready: Set: Go #maestro #hockey #hobby photo: @pocispix pic.twitter.com/pel8JBJ4vk
— Filippo Pozzato (@PippoPozzato) November 29, 2018
Sporza reports that Pozzato will be turning out for Hockey Bassano, a second division roller hockey team in Italy.
Highlights: Defending champion Daryl Impey takes stage four of Tour Down Under
Four favourites got away on the Corkscrew climb but were caught by the group behind before the finish.
Stage five is hilly but unspectacular, so stage six to Willunga Hill will decide the race.
Time for compulsory re-testing?
Heard from the police today. The 90 year old that knocked me off my bike has surrendered his licence as a result of the crash. Isn’t it time that we introduced a re-test for drivers every 10 years so that folks don’t have to go through what I have.
— Velotastic (@Velotastic) January 17, 2019
While the incident mentioned above could have been much worse, mandatory driver re-testing has been a topic of debate this week after the 97-year-old Duke of Edinburgh crashed while pulling out onto a main road near Sandringham.
Haunting
Spotted in the Cam #mobikesmoproblems #humansoflatecapitalism pic.twitter.com/PNWNPT3ZTv
— Hannah Shepherd (@naan__sequitur) January 17, 2019
Obviously...
How cool is this?
Cyclo Retro might just be our new favourite Instagram page at the moment – as well as this shiny Dura-Ace 9000 crankset, there’s also shots of blinged up Campagnolo Potenza and a Rotor 3D crankset. They also do some seriously tasty bike builds, head over to cycloretro.com to find out more.
Jess Varnish proud she helped create "a better and fairer environment" at British Cycling
CeramicSpeed launch oversized pulley system for 1x
Just a couple of days ago we reported on the first oversized pulley wheel system for 1x set-ups by the fledgling US brand SLF Motion – and now the market leader in supersized derailleurs CeramicSpeed have launched their own, the OSPW X for SRAM Rival & Force 1. They promise the system delivers 30-40% less friction than conventional systems, and has already being used by British cyclocross champ Tom Pidcock. If you want one that’ll be 479 euros for the standard black one and 559 for a coated version, available on CeramicSpeed’s website now.
Sheffield launches search for Active Travel Commissioner
“Our current transport system in the Sheffield City Region is not fit for the 21st century. If we don’t act now, it’s not going to improve,” said Mayor Dan Jarvis.
“Here in the Sheffield City Region, we will build a transport system that works for everyone. A vital part of this is enabling people to travel in a more active way, whether by foot, bike or public transport. By prioritising active travel, we can improve people’s health, cut carbon emissions and reduce congestion.
“Through my Mayoralty, we now have a clear vision. In December, I launched my Vision for Transport, which has active travel at its heart. We have also submitted funding proposals to the Government’s Transforming Cities Fund for four active travel schemes across South Yorkshire.
“Action is already being taken; but I’m stepping up efforts by seeking an Active Travel Commissioner to take the lead on this important work. I look forward to appointing the Commissioner and, together, delivering an ambitious plan that makes real improvements for residents, businesses and visitors to our region.”
Cycle trail and cyclo-cross track approved in North York Moors
The North York Moors National Park Authority’s planning committee has agreed plans to extend a cycle trail and build a cyclo-cross track at Sutton Bank.
The Darlington and Stockton Times reports that if the scheme receives EU grant funding, work should start in September.
The circuits will be in the plantation at Hambleton. There had been concerns that they would be too close to a horse racing centre, but amended routes will be further away.
Near Miss of the Day 238: Exeter motorist barges in at roundabout
What's your favourite bike colour
Given the news today that the nation’s favourite car colour is now grey (what, not hi-viz yellow?), we thought we’d ask the question of you about bikes. What would you pick? Given that no-one can agree whether Bianchi’s Celeste is blue or green we’ve stuck it in both slots. Vote away!
Mandatory e-bike insurance?
That could become a reality in the EU if MEP’s vote in favour of the proposal on the 22nd January – read more on eBikeTips.
That cyclist-firing-fireworks-at-moped video's doing the rounds again
It was produced by Dafne Fixed a couple of years back.
You can find a bunch of their other equally bonkers stuff here.
World Naked Bike Ride London date announced for 2019
Event will coincide with the Queen’s official birthday.
Gangland killer was caught because he recorded his reconnaissance on his Garmin
The Liverpool Echo reports on gangland assassin Mark Fellows, who was caught by police in part because he carried out his reconnaissance on his bike and recorded the rides on his Garmin.
Fellows was already a murder suspect when officers spotted a photograph of him taking part in the Bupa Great Manchester Run wearing a Garmin watch. Reviewing the Garmin data later, they found it correlated with CCTV and mobile-phone data to indicate he’d carried out a “reconnaissance run” a couple of months before killing notorious crime figure Paul Massey.
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@Freddy56 @hotspanners Hi, just for for starters I didn’t boycott the race, if you read to the end of the article you’d have seen that I decided I was going to attend and try and implement a positive change… Just for clarity, if it helps with the credibility of my words and something I didn’t include in the blog for brevity and fear of willy-waving here’s an incomprehensive list of cycle events I’ve helped organise over the years - all Brighton Big Dog MTB events (about 12 i think), three league CX races and one Singlespeed CX Euro Champs (niche, i know), a few SAMS MTB races - maybe three or four it was a while back now, a Morvelo City Cross, I’ve stood on a corner in a high-vis vest at quite a few MTB, CX and road races too, and just helped wind up tape at last weekend’s CX race. I’ve also had the privilege to design logos, draw images, and create one-off pieces of artwork and give away prints as prizes for enough races and events for me to forget how many, all for free as part of ‘doing my bit’… Also if you made it through to the second half of the article you’ll have read that I have every sympathy for event organisers because of the experience of all the above and also from having conversations with various organisers on a regular basis so I am acutely aware of all the challenges faced. I chatted today with the future local CX race organiser mentioned, face to face in a field, and he has a similar hatred of AI and is more than happy for me to create a hand-drawn image to promote that race and also help out on the ground where possible… Might even draw a duck in there somewhere for giggles…
@Borisface Not entirely sure why some alleged good times set in the last century validate the silliness and ignorance of your rejection on the grounds of materials and weight of a bike that the reviewer (who, if you look at his bio above, has rather a lot of experience himself, not only of riding bikes but of engineering too) describes as "absolute perfection in every aspect". Thanks for the unrequested permission but I'm not actually looking to spend 6k on a bike at the moment; if I was, on the basis of this review and the photographs I'd certainly be putting this on my shortlist and looking for a test ride. But then in this area at least I have an open mind, you see.
@Freddy56 as the article says, Jo boycotted our race because he thought we’d used AI to design our flyer. I’m with him 100% but he got the facts wrong. People don’t like AI slop. It’s lazy and generic. But you’re right - these grassroots events run off volunteering. I wave flags, design kit and artwork, ferry things to our lockup etc - perhaps Jo could be the change he wants to see. He could volunteer to the London and SE CX league that he races in to help them out with artwork - he created Mint Sauce!
Currently riding home powered by this for the last 6 months after someone stole my SeeSence beam, LOVE it. super durable and batter life gets me home on full beam for 55 minutes
Comments and an article by people who organise NOTHING! Promoting an event is mostly by volunteers and an AI poster done at midnight after sorting the British cycling insurance, the toilets, the Marshalls, the council and a landowner is so draining. The effort is massive for usually a small team. Grab a flag and help rather than moaning about a generated image...o look the image is eye catching so it must work .
I have Wizzard works bag from 2018 (bought for my 30th) and this is a complete rip off it!!
6 times division champion, 1st cat road man, semi-pro for 3 years. Sub 21 min 10 and sub 55 min 25 on a steel road bike. Forty five years riding. Forgotten more about riding bikes than most on here will ever know. If you want to pay £6k for an aluminium road by all means go ahead.
@Borisface Probably for the best, if you're as ignorant about bikes and materials as your comment suggests you wouldn't appreciate it anyway. Go and buy something on the UCI weight limit made out of the latest space age super carbon and wobble around on it looking daft and feeling uncomfortable and to hell with aesthetics, practicality and real-world use cases, at least you'll have the right numbers ("6.85 kg, awesome!") and words ("Yeah, it's UHM 12k carbon, actually") for the cafe. Enjoy!
Why not use winter to explore other interests and thus use it to your advantage? It could easily turn out as a win-win: you recover from cycling-related injuries and fatigue, get to miss your favourite pastime and rekindle your love for it or who knows, maybe even discover a new one! Oh, did I mention that changing your movement patterns is also quite awesome for the body, too?
@hotspanners I think Jo's issue is with slop. I didn't get the impression that this article makes you look rubbish as a club! Hopefully CX league will take better steps next time and include input from the clubs. Perhaps Jo will make it clear that it was generated by the league opposed to individual clubs.
12 thoughts on “Live blog: Gangland killer caught because he recorded recon ride on his Garmin; VOTE! What’s your favourite bike colour? Sheffield active travel; Pippo Pozzato launches new career in… roller hockey + more”
I heard on the news that the
I heard on the news that the council is considering reducing the speed limit from 60 to 50 where the Duke’s accident took place.
It’s probably a good idea, but what a shame that someone well-known has to have an accident before better safety rules are considered. If it had been a normal person, I guarantee nothing would have been done.
HarrogateSpa wrote:
Unfortunately, Mr Loophole has got himself another ten minutes of fame out of the Duke’s little prang/careless driving/whatever: taken from The Grauniad https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/jan/18/prince-philip-car-crash-norfolk-police-to-investigate
HarrogateSpa wrote:
To be fair to the council,not a phrase I’m used to saying alot,in this case it was already under consideration,the report recommending the speed limit change was issued last week,and was already on the agenda to be discussed at their council meeting today & has been since been approved
The word search took me ten
The word search took me ten minutes, but I got there in the end. The other half isn’t convinced that it is a sign from god though.
North York Moors story: “if
North York Moors story: “if the scheme receives EU grant funding, work should start in September.”.
who’s going to tell them…?
Re retesting.
Re retesting.
Statistically the under 25s and new drivers have a far higher accident rate than the over 75s. It might be better to have mandatory retesting at 24 months after first passing the driving test.
I’d also suggest a mandatory retest at 6 penalty points.
Mungecrundle wrote:
I agree with the retesting thing.
Society seems to accept a higher collision rate for younger drivers because of the belief that they will learn and improve. It would seem that from a certain point it’s all downhill for the very old with driving.
I’ve never driven, can any driver out there please explain to me the attitude of ploughing on even though you’re completely blinded and cannot see?
The Sheffield thing, about
The Sheffield thing, about needing a dedicated active transport mayor, is interesting. But how come its London plus Manchester and Sheffield? Does anywhere else have someone who’s dedicated to expanding active travel?
Here in Bristol – the first cycling city, remember – our council is still only really paying lip service to active travel IMO, and has stuck with Metrobus as the answer to all congestion. Millions of pounds spent on special guided-in-some-places bus lanes that don’t go anywhere near where I might want to go. Any speed advantage to Metrobus is lost because so much of their routes involve just mixing it with the normal road traffic.
Bike lanes that aren’t at all joined up, some paint here and there, and no political will to actually discourage or remove motor traffic from the city centre.
The Centre got reorganised again “to make it better for pedestrians “. That would be “better” in the sense of the Exhibition Road style road on the plans and consultation being built as a bog standard blacktop road with a looong period light controlled crossing and a dedicated bus lane being put in which is so busy it’s practically a bus park, with a light controlled crossing that the bus drivers regularly ignore.
I had a point but seem to have misplaced it…
The Bristol area desperately needs political will and money to be spent on active travel, before it becomes completely logjammed with motor vehicles. But the will just isn’t there in the political class, and the voice of White Van Man is too loud.
brooksby wrote:
Have you seen this? https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-west-of-england-transport-summit-debate-tickets-53344701438?utm_campaign=event_reminder&utm_medium=email&utm_source=eb_email&utm_term=eventname
A transport summit with a huge panel, but no cycling representation (Sustrans is not one) and they didn’t invite cycling organisations until it was full. After I sent them a rather strongly worded email, they released some more tickets for all the cyclists who’d heard about it too late and went on the reserve list. I’m now going, and if given the chance, will be raising the matter of why Manchester and Sheffield have Active Travel commissioners, concrete plans and actual money, we don’t.
A lot of the Bristol area is in South Glos, and if you think Bristol Council is bad, SGlos is ten times worse.
burtthebike wrote:
No, I hadn’t. Dammit! That completely supports my point – I thought I’d vented my spleen and now it’s all full again…
I’ve heard your stories of South Glos. I live in NOrth SOmerset, so we get the not as rural as it thinks it is Council who won’t change anything ever. We bl00dy well wouldn’t even sign up for the West of England May as it was (King Elfed was worried the other councils would bully NS into accepting the regions quote of new homes, and that might spoil the view of some elderly conservatives living in wraxall or something).
brooksby wrote:
Have you seen this? https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-west-of-england-transport-summit-debate-tickets-53344701438?utm_campaign=event_reminder&utm_medium=email&utm_source=eb_email&utm_term=eventname
A transport summit with a huge panel, but no cycling representation (Sustrans is not one) and they didn’t invite cycling organisations until it was full. After I sent them a rather strongly worded email, they released some more tickets for all the cyclists who’d heard about it too late and went on the reserve list. I’m now going, and if given the chance, will be raising the matter of why Manchester and Sheffield have Active Travel commissioners, concrete plans and actual money, we don’t.
A lot of the Bristol area is in South Glos, and if you think Bristol Council is bad, SGlos is ten times worse.
[/quote]
No, I hadn’t. Dammit! That completely supports my point – I thought I’d vented my spleen and now it’s all full again…
[/quote]
Sorry about your spleen, and I know just how you feel. From what I hear NS is no better than SGlos.
As well as the councils and the West of England, we now have the Local Enterprise Partnership to worry about and spend our taxpayers’ money. I’ve spent some time looking at our local LEP and they seem to have millions to spend and have development and transport policies, but I’m damned if I can understand how they work or what representation us taxpayers have.
brooksby wrote:
No, I hadn’t. Dammit! That completely supports my point – I thought I’d vented my spleen and now it’s all full again…
I’ve heard your stories of South Glos. I live in NOrth SOmerset, so we get the not as rural as it thinks it is Council who won’t change anything ever. We bl00dy well wouldn’t even sign up for the West of England May as it was (King Elfed was worried the other councils would bully NS into accepting the regions quote of new homes, and that might spoil the view of some elderly conservatives living in wraxall or something).
[/quote]
Well, that was interesting. The headline was Transport Summit, but the agenda on the day was all public transport. When I tackled them about this, and fought off the chair who clearly didn’t want this raised, they didn’t really have an answer about why they weren’t featuring active travel. I spoke later to one of the organisers, and it turns out that they thought cycling and walking were public transport. No, really they did. I left feeling that I was in some kind of parallel universe.