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Live blog: How to win a Zwift race by Ian Bibby; Will Norman tells Karren Brady that cycle lanes don’t cause congestion; The dead otter question; Deer oh dear; Jens Voigt on racing as a parent; Europe’s best hotel is a cycling hotel + more
SUMMARY

Deer oh dear
Canadian Cycling Magazine reports that this cyclist was descending Mount Lemmon in Tucson, Arizona last weekend when he fell victim to a jaywalker. The footage was captured by the rear-facing action camera of the bike in front of him.
The bike suffered a shattered frame, the cyclist suffered a broken foot and road rash. The deer can be seen bounding off at the end.
More collisions and near misses involving cyclists and deer.
Dimension Data's new BMC race bikes
Team Dimension Data have switched from Cervelo to BMC bikes for the 2019 season, and the team appear to be happy with the new equipment. Well they wouldn’t say anything bad about their new sponsor now would they!
Jens Voigt on racing once you're a parent
Jens has six kids.
“With every child born, I did brake a little earlier,” he said.
Via the Economic Times.
Cross-country cyclist taken out by big slab of ice
It’s not just deer you have to watch out for while cycling in the States (see below) – it’s also great big slabs of ice.
While riding through Pennsylvania on his sixth coast-to-coast ride to raise awareness of breast cancer, Brett Bundy was hospitalised by a great lump of the stuff that came off a passing car.
“If it was any bigger, it would have killed me,” he told KTVZ.
He’s taking a week off before recommencing his journey.
Spring classics are just a few months away
But that hasn’t stopped Team Katusha-Alpecin from doing a recon of the pave for the Tour of Flanders. Seems a bit early no?
and… Ebike Vs Light bike climbing challenge
Big Dave takes on Little Liam on the climb up Cheddar Gorge – watch it here.
Yesterday we were mainly talking about… Grayson Perry on MAMILs
Artist, national treasure, and cyclist Grayson Perry talked about his Dutch roadster and offered the opinion that many MAMILs confused status with function (or was it the other way around?), either way plenty of comment was offered back. You can read more/add your own two penn’orth about that here
Mtb works wonders for mental health
The trails of Glentress in Scotland have been used to test pilot a new mountain bike scheme to support mental health patients in the UK, and shown that 10 participants found the sport beneficial as part of a ‘therapeutic recovery programme’. Read more on off.road.cc.
this is one hell of a thread with a lot of good points
A thread on the hypocrisy of car cultures (feel free to add your own, it’s fun!):
A person driving to the gym is a legitimate road user, but a person cycling to work is not.— Tony Arnold (@TonyArnold74) January 23, 2019
If one person reads it and changes their views a little, this guy’s done a good job.
Cyclist injured after hitting pothole finds legal process has outlasted the road repairs
Injured two years ago, he’s going to be examined in March for signs of long-term damage. Meanwhile, the pothole responsible has already reappeared.
TripAdvisor votes Belvedere bike hotel Best Hotel in Europe, Best Hotel in Italy… 2nd Best Hotel in World!
Always nice to see your friends doing well, especially when you know how much work they put in to being the best. If you’ve ever been there – maybe on the road.cc Italy Week – you’ll know what a special place the Belvedere is. The hotel as been a regular fixture in TripAdvisor’s Traveller’s Choice Awards over the last few years, but they’ve outdone themselves this year. Chapeau!
Oh, and we’ll be heading out there in June for some sun, cycling, and superb food… full details to follow but our stay will include entry in to the local Gran Fondo (quite hilly) if you fancy it.
You can find out more about the Belvedere here.
London cycling commissioner tells baroness that cycle lanes are the solution to congestion not the problem
Last week Baroness Karren Brady said of the decision to repurpose one of two eastbound traffic lanes on the Embankment to create a cycle superhighway, “Everyone knows this was a mistake but TfL and the Mayor won’t say so for fear of upsetting the powerful cycling lobby.”
Writing in the London Evening Standard, she suggested rerouting the cycle lane.
This week, in the same newspaper, Will Norman has responded.
He points out that the road was congested long before there was a cycle lane, “and it still would be if it were again just a motorway. Drivers would fill the available space, when what we need are fewer vehicles and better alternatives — exactly what the cycle lane delivers.”
Extra security for Cambridge's £2.5m CyclePoint as thieves target parts
Victim says security is ‘a joke’.
Dartmoor wildlife expert wants to know why man was cycling along East Devon road with dead otter strapped to his bike
Devon Live reports that the otter was bagged in the middle with its head and feet poking out either side.
“As we overtook the man on his bicycle, we suddenly noticed a huge tail sticking out of the bike rack,” said University of Exeter researcher Adrian Colston on Twitter.
“It was obviously an otter. But we weren’t in a position to stop him and ask him. Maybe it was a road accident, and the man was cycling along and decided to pick it up?”
He continued: “Otters are a protected species and this guy is blatantly cycling with it on the back of the bike – he’s not trying to hide it.
“Perhaps he is a wildlife conservationist himself? I wanted to know from people in my network whether it was someone investigating why it died. He may have even been a taxidermist.”
How to win a Zwift race by Ian Bibby, a man who won won a pro Zwift race
Look at those watts! The moment @IanBibby86 dropped the hammer and smashed the first round of the #ZwiftKSL pic.twitter.com/sHqbeal3F6
— MadisonGenesis (@MadisonGenesis) January 23, 2019
Ride at the front of the group, close down moves early and “go balls out” – hopefully not literally – Ian Bibby’s tips for winning on Zwift after he won the first ever virtual pro bike race on Zwift, earlier this week.
Driver fined after pulling out on triathlete at roundabout
Motorist accepts she “overlooked” cyclist.
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@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.
@Rendel Harris Go and bother somebody else with your opinion.
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
@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?
I'm a bit on the fence. Currently riding a gravel bike with a Force AXS XPLR groupset, Favero assioma pro powermeter pedals, Garmin varia rear light, lupine front light, Edge 1040. 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. BUT....everything's dead easy to set up, no cables to route through the frame, no cable stretch, no derailleur adjustment.....
I saw a similar incident a few years back at the British Champs. Dad and son crossing the road ar the bottom of Saltburn Bank, presumably to get to the beach. Dad made a dash for it leaving the son in the middle of the road. Top parenting. Luckily it was just a solo breakaway rider so easily avoided disaster. It's not like there's not enough warning. Police motorcycles whizzing past sirens blaring. It's just impatience / entitlement.
Very poor from the organisers, as the resident said, "There's always one" and yes, there always will be one, often a confused elderly person lacking the capacity to understand the consequences of their actions, and so you have to fully barrier crossing points in that sort of situation and have marshals in charge of opening and closing. It's very lucky we're not talking about serious injury or death.
Mr Loophole doesn't understand physics or how to drive properly. Speed, as all cyclists know, is related to the amount of power being input and gear selection. If only drivers could understand this.
“What about all the trade that was lost because people could not get to park?” What about all the extra visitors that arrived just for the race? Maybe thats why there was also a lack of parking. Skeg vegas is hardly the most popular out of season destination
I used to say that mechanical shifting was so much better because it was serviceable on the roadside and you could buy a spare derailleur or shifter in the remotest shop on the continent. Oh, how wrong I was proven later, with all the recent standards and pull ratios...
5 thoughts on “Live blog: How to win a Zwift race by Ian Bibby; Will Norman tells Karren Brady that cycle lanes don’t cause congestion; The dead otter question; Deer oh dear; Jens Voigt on racing as a parent; Europe’s best hotel is a cycling hotel + more”
Awesome – almost a twofer
Awesome – almost a twofer
Daily hazard round here but fortunately the forest is relatively flat so you’re rarely doing a full beans descent.
Unfortunately they don’t have insurance or pay road tax. Prefer venison to gammon though.
kil0ran wrote:
Don’t they teach deer the Green Cross Code? Where’s Tufty when he’s needed? Surely he could be brought in to discuss road safety with his forest pals?
Pull the ‘Otter’ one.. it’s
Pull the ‘Otter’ one.. it’s got bells on.
peted76 wrote:
The explanation is clear; their kettle was broken.
So they needed a water otter.
I’ll get my hat.
Baroness Karren Brady says
Baroness Karren Brady says there is a powerful cycling lobby. Oh really? If it’s so powerful, why aren’t the roads safe, why aren’t there proper cycle facilities everwhere, why isn’t 30% of transport funding spent on cycling, why are we still waiting for the government inquiry into road law? Because she’s a liar. You only have to look at the real hierarchy in our transport system to realise who has all the power, and it sure ain’t cyclists.
The only way we are powerful is our arguments, which are utterly compelling, but although we win all the arguments, we still don’t get the funding or support.