Live blog: US amateur woman cyclist, 50 gets 4 year doping ban; dog drugged driver who shouted “fu*cking bicyclists” and killed rider gets up to 15 years; teen cyclists pulled of M6; Women’s cycling club appeal after break-in; Brompton Chpt 3 collab +more

Conservative MSP argues that a bike could do more damage than a car in a collision

A Conservative Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) who told a Holyrood committee that a bike could do more damage than a car in a collision was put straight by a transport expert who told him he was making “a minor point.”

Dr Adrian Davis told MSP Edward Mountain: “The science is about mass. There is an equation about that. It’s the mass of the vehicle that’s going to do more damage.

“Being hit by an HGV is the one you really don’t want to get hit by because you’ll be dead. I think there is a bit of difference with respect, chair. The mass is most important.”

Click through on the headline for the full story.

Suspended sentence for motorist who doubled back to deliberately drive into cyclist

A driver has been handed a suspended sentence after he deliberately ran down a cyclist near Plymouth. Paul Nodder, aged 37, chased and knocked over Jeff Stevenson after the cyclist remonstrated with him for driving with his head down.

Click through on the headline to read more.

Cyclist frustrated with bus company that lost his complaint about driver who pulled out on him

A Bristol cyclist who was nearly crushed between a bus and a 4×4 has spoken of his frustration after his complaint about the driver who pulled out on him was lost by operator First Bus.

The incident, which happened in Clifton last December, is the latest in a string of incidents involving its buses that have resulted in complaints by cyclists to the company. 

Two teenage cyclists were escorted off the M6 motorway yesterday evening, with the Central Motorway Police Group saying on Twitter that it was “a fatality waiting to happen.”

Two lads aged 19 and 17 stopped cycling home along lane one of the M6 between Stafford and Wolverhampton in the pitch black. This was a fatality waiting to happen! They thought it was safer than to turn round on the entry slip. The mind boggles!

— CMPG (@CMPG) February 10, 2019

Dummies. Isn’t it strange though that the hard shoulder of a motorway is, rightly, considered unsafe but we paint metre-wide cycle lanes on trunk roads like the A34 and A45 and think ‘job done’.

— Black Country Ste (@CCSteV) 10 February 2019

This commenter has a very fair point, if you’ve ever experienced riding on a dual carriageway…

People of All Ages Formed a Human Bike Lane Today for Safer Cycling on University Avenue https://t.co/dIJXWYck59 pic.twitter.com/qIkc1I9Tcx

— GoBike (@GoBikeGlasgow) February 10, 2019

The protest yesterday on University Avenue, Glasgow involved residents, university staff, students and others to call for segregated cycle lanes to be installed – at the moment it’s simply some painted lines that disappear at the top of the hill. Read more on gobike.org.  

The Liverpool Loopline women’s charity cycling group fell victim to a burglary, with bikes, tools and equipment stolen from their locked container at Norris Green Park in the city. Two brand new Apollo Virtue Bikes were among the items stolen. Club Secretary Helen Ball said: “It is devastating to us. The bikes were so new, not only does it mean women without bikes will no longer be able to participate in our weekly rides, but it is a big confidence blow to the group. For those gaining pace with their cycling, they may re-consider buying a bike for themselves for fear of having it stolen.” 
The group was formed in 2017 with financial support from Cycling UK to purchase bikes and grow a women’s cycling community, with members taking advantage of the health and social benefits through cycling with the club. The theft occurred overnight between Monday 4 and Tuesday 5 January, and ayone with potential information can contact Merseyside Police on 0151 709 6010. If you have a bike to donate to the group you can do so through Cycling UK by contacting their press offfice by email at publicity@cyclinguk.org 

It’s not all near misses and Ronnie Pickerings out there (in fact these incidents are a minority), as demonstrated by a great forum thread started OldRidgeback… our favourite so far is the driver tailing a cyclist at night because he wasn’t in a hurry and thought  the cyclist might like some extra light to guide him through the lanes! Join in with your tales of courtesy here. 

 

 

 

 

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Bont Helix shoes have just shown up at road.cc HQ in a new reflective finish. They really shine in headlights!

A post shared by road.cc (@road.cc) on Feb 11, 2019 at 4:16am PST

…and lucky for us, the Helix Reflective has just turned up at road.cc HQ. Featuring “the latest in retroreflective technology” according to Bont, their Reflex collection consists of reflective versions of their top-end Helix and Vaypor S road shoes only.

KTVZ reports that 42-year-old Shantel Witt, who hit and killed cyclist Marika Stone while under the influence of a number of drugs, has been convicted of first-degree manslaughter and will serve up to 15 years in jail after a Deschutes County judge rejected a second-degree manslaughter conviction as Witt’s defence had sought. 

The case was unusual as the defence didn’t dispute that Witt’s car had caused the death of 38-year-old Stone, a keen cyclist who won her age category at the Sea Otter Classic in the previous year before the fatal incident in December 2017. They sought a second-degree manslaughter charge because they disputed that Witt had shown a shown an “extreme indifference to the value of human life”, the definition of first-degree manslaughter in the state of Oregon; however two friends of Stone who were riding with her on the day provided witness statements to the contrary saying that Witt had shown no remorse for what she had just done. It’s reported she was angry at the “the fu**ing bicyclists” and also saying “this is bulls**t”. 

Witt was found to have nearly a dozen prescription drugs in her system following the crash, several without a prescription including the Xanax which had been prescribed for her dog. Several witnesses testified she’d slurred her words, spoke slowly and appeared to be drunk. Witt would have faced a maximum of ten years for second-degree manslaughter, but now faces up to 15 for first-degree manslaughter plus several other misdemeanour charges, including DUII-drugs, two counts of recklessly endangering and possession of oxycodone and other drugs.

Bike meets something… amazing. No idea what but it was impressive. #tallbike #bike #NewOrleans #nola pic.twitter.com/fOtY6ENz86

— Mikael Colville-Andersen (@colvilleandersn) February 11, 2019

 

 

 

 

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Team Champs is always a fun way to end the season. The guys had a little misfortune on the day with @natjcooke having the worst puncture we’ve seen for a while (4th photo) & @o__en gears breaking before the start. We still managed a strong result though coming in 7th (we think) See you at @incredibly_cross next weekend #echappeecx @bbriffett

A post shared by Sunday Echappée (@sunday_echappee) on Feb 11, 2019 at 6:56am PST

…or should that be screwed over? Anyhow check out the fourth photo in this gallery for possibly the most unfortunate puncture we’ve seen in recent times, from a CX race in West Sussex! 

The new version costs £1,990 in the UK and is limited to a run of 1,000 bikes. Improvements include a fabric scoop saddle, 6 speed gearing on all bikes, new Schwalbe One 35mm tyres and Fabric slim dual texture kraton rubber grips. They can be ordered online on the Brompton X CHPT3 landing page now, click here for more info. 

A 50-year-old amateur cyclist in the United States has been banned for four years after testing positive for an androgenic-anabolic steroid at the Capital City Cycling Classic in Michigan.

The United States Anti-Doping Agency said that Jennifer Pate, of Birmingham, Alabama had accepted the suspension, which resulted from a urine sample collected on 11 August last year, the day of the competition.

USADA CEO Travois Tygart said: “Regardless of the competition level, athletes deserve to be on the starting line knowing that their competitors are free of powerful performance-enhancing substances that can impact the results of races they have worked hard to prepare for.

“USA Cycling’s RaceClean initiative and others like it are giving athletes the knowledge and tools they need to compete clean, while also ensuring that those who choose to use performance-enhancing substances to get an edge are held accountable,” he added.