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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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Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn’t especially like cake.
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I believe "hi-vis" isn't actually worth that much - certainly not compared to eg. the value of "reflectives" as soon as it gets darker. But even those are still just PPE though - this is the lowest rung (least effective) on the hierarchy of health and safety hazard controls. And "visual aids for drivers" do nothing if drivers don't do their part, no matter how much is worn...
Not the best timing, but not the major issue he's trying to turn it into either. Fitness amongst young people is a problem when it comes to armed forces recruitment, as many are having trouble with the requirements needed to pass the tests because of their inactive lifestyles. This investment will help deal with the problem.
Seemed pretty visible to me - and she was sporting light-coloured hair, bag, footwear and bright trousers. What if she'd been approaching a motorist "out of the sun", or passing a field of oilseed rape or stand of autumnal trees later in the year? If you think that's flippant, note that "sun" and "tree leaves" have been advanced as defense / mitigation in court despite cyclists following guidance ('should'). Frankly she's already done the best preaching possible: been a "normal person" riding a bike.
@60somethingcyclist Looks like you've stepped straight into silly comment mode without looking at all at the actual facts of the case. It has nothing to do with shared paths, the cyclist was on a public road on the vehicle carriageway, the pedestrian was standing on a traffic island waiting to cross. Evidence from independent witnesses shows that the pedestrian stepped out into the path of the cyclist without warning when he was around two metres from her. Much has been made of the fact that he was possibly riding at 5mph more than the motor vehicle speed limit for the road but he could have been riding at 10 mph and he still would have had no chance of avoiding her. The pedestrian was solely responsible for the incident and no amount of "mutual consideration and respect" would have changed that. Suggest reading the articles and evidence in future before commenting with such nonsense.
@yodhrin I should know, I was one.
@60somethingcyclist hmm... that's a good lesson, but perhaps not one to draw from this case where someone stepped out in front of and close to an oncoming cyclist. There may be other lessons from this case - eg. how do we best train people to expect cyclists, understand that cyclists can move unexpectedly quickly, and educate cyclists that speed awareness matters for them also (even if not explicitly in law). And perhaps what places it's appropriate for cyclists to train / exercise in (and provision of such places if there's sufficient demand but they're lacking)? But it's hard to extrapolate that from even a handful of incidents, never mind one.
Good to see the Secretary of State practicing what she preaches, especially adhering to DfT advice on wearing a helmet. Usual keyboard clowns having a dig. One valid point though, the Highway Code advice on cycle wear clearly states "Daylight & Poor Light: You should wear light-coloured or fluorescent clothing (such as neon yellow, orange, or pink) to help other road users see you" Some form of hi-viz would have been a good example.
“I agree near schools and places like that but all these road [sic] elsewhere are ridiculous,” Leon began. “You had cars in the 80s that had no power steering, ABS, all manual cars, and 30 mile an hour limit. “Now you have cars with every gadget under the sun, stops on a dime, and they wanna drop it to 20mph." I feel that this is part of the problem... modern cars are, if anything, too refined. They accelerate more quickly, are more comfortable at speed, have aircon, airbags, power steering and decent radios - all of which make the driving experience more relaxing and requiring a little less input/attention from the driver (who doesn't really realise how fast they are going, or how quickly they got there) The "stopping on a dime" argument is particularly worrying, as all this means is the the driver's false sense of safety, so they can tend to push things further. As for the "cars weren't designed to do 20 mph" angle, design aims and capabilities are not mutually exclusive...in fact, I'd say that modern cars are better, in this respect, due to engine refinements.(and how many older cars are there, nowadays, in this leading age that we live in?)
I think this case is a lesson for us all, cyclists and pedestrians to be careful and mindful of others when we're out and about, especially on shared paths. Both groups have as much right as the other to be there. Mutual consideration and respect will help a lot.
I’d say that colour was more like fuchsia (and coming soon to a Rapha Pro Team jacket near you).
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.