Welcome to a new week on the road.cc live blog with Simon MacMichael, Jack Sexty and the rest of the team.
Live blog: Police hunt naked cyclist…in February, Poll: Were your guns out in the sun? (no, not like that), Head of MPs’ cycling group urges govt to up infra spend, Your worst mechanicals + more
All today’s news as we start a new week
Mon, Feb 25, 2019 21:46
SUMMARY
25 February 2019, 21:46
Near Miss captured on London’s Cycle Superhighway 7 as SMIDSY driver turns left
Our Near Miss of the Day 258, published on Saturday, grabbed attention – taking place as it did on one of the capital’s much-vaunted Cycle Superhighways (a term that Transport for London will now be dropping, though we’re not quite sure what will be replacing it.
It took place though not on the East-West or North South Cycle Superhighways – which have protected cycle lanes and early-start signals where needed – but on one of the earliest ‘lick of blue paint’ routes (and often lacking the paint), in this case CS7.
You’d think that with a major cycle route sharing the bus lane, motorists using the route would be extra vigilant for cyclists, but … well, watch the footage here and see for yourself what happened.
25 February 2019, 21:46
French mountain biker reported to police after cycling down dam in Australia
Utility company The Water Corporation has lodged a complaint with Western Australia Police after French mountain biker Kilian Bron posted a video of himself riding down the wall of the Mundaring Weir near Perth.
“Not only is this act illegal, it is extremely dangerous and stupid,” a spokesman said. “At around 40 metres, the wall is very high. While it is unlikely to cause any damage to the wall itself, trespassing onto the wall would be an extreme risk to personal safety.”
Read the full story and watch the video here.
25 February 2019, 21:46
Live blog: Ofo users out-of-pocket while complaints fall on deaf ears
UK users of the dockless bike-sharing service Ofo have been taking to social media to ask what has happened to the credit they had lodged with it – while others, unaware that the company has exited the country, have complained about the app not working or asking for abandoned bikes to be removed.
The company launched in the UK amid much fanfare in Cambridge in early 2017, expanding to a number of other cities as well as several London boroughs, but has now shut down its UK operations.
The last tweet from the @ofo_bicycleUK account on Twitter was posted on 18 December, nearly four weeks before it emerged that the company was pulling out of the UK and its wider international operations.
The Guardian reported last month that Ofo’s 60 staff here had been made redundant, explaining the deafening silence with which Twitter users wondering about their money or why they can’t use the app are being met.
Withdrawal from international operations follows the news before Christmas that Ofo’s Chinese parent company was on the verge of bankruptcy.
25 February 2019, 21:46
Danny MacAskill throws his mountain bike around Glasgow
Worth watching just for the double-take the Deliveroo rider does as he passes.
Here’s a few clips of me trying to be like @tonibou on the mtb yesterday 😉 @dave_mackison #mountainbiking #street #glasgow #scotland pic.twitter.com/imiR5wdPkQ
— Danny MacAskill (@danny_macaskill) February 24, 2019
25 February 2019, 21:46
When the wheels come off...
After a rider’s crank fell off on the local club run this weekend, we want to know; what’s the worst mechanical you’ve had on a ride?
You can nominate a friend’s mishap, points awarded for the most bizarre!
25 February 2019, 21:46
Magic bus…
Ah the Swinging Sixties the decade that had it all… mods, jangly guitars, The Beatles, the moon landings… specially adapted buses for taking cyclists over the Dartford Crossing.
Did you know back in the 60s cyclists were transported across the Dartford Crossing in our specially modified double-decker? #FunFact #TBT pic.twitter.com/K0YsBxdRmx
— Highways England (@HighwaysEngland) February 21, 2019
Highways England celebrated that last one (well it was their bus) with this tweet the other day, and it certainly does look cool – and suggests that back in the day plenty of people wanted to get across the Thames at Dartford by bike. These days although you’re not allowed to cycle over you still can have your bike transported over – if you’re a solo cyclist and you’re bike will fit on a standard car rack you don’t even need to book full details here. Not sure what the method of transport now is – although we’re guessing it involves a car rack…
25 February 2019, 21:46
Poll: Did you get your guns out in the sun this weekend?
In our Friday Leave Vs Remain poll 58 per cent of you said you’d be leaving the longs behind this weekend to get some flaming February sun on your legs. So who actually did?
Was it actually warm enough to risk your knees where you were or did caution getter the better of valour? You’ve only got one set of knees.
If it’s any help a quick straw poll of the road.cc office got a typically perverse result – with some of those who said they would get their legs out having second thoughts (it was chillier than expected in the Cotswolds apparently) and some of those who said they’d be keeping covered getting ‘em out – although he did keep his knees covered. On that bombshell over to you…
25 February 2019, 21:46
All Party Parliamentary Cycling Group chair urges government to raise spend on cycling to get more people on bikes
The MP who chairs the All Party Parliamentary Cycling Group (APPCG) has called on the government to increase the current level of spending on cycling in England, with Whitehall’s own projections revealing that under current policies, only a third of the stated goal of doubling cycling’s share of trips by 2025 will be achieved.
Writing in the parliamentary magazine The House, Ruth Cadbury, who is Labour MP for Brentford and Isleworth, highlighted that almost two thirds of adults believe it is too dangerous to ride on the road, with the figure higher among women.
“Only significant increases in funding to redesign urban streets will make them safer for all, whether that’s children getting to school, adults to work, or shopping and other short journeys,” she said.
Cadbury also highlighted that the cost:benefit analysis on cycling expenditure produces a much higher return – 20:1 for health benefits alone against money spent – far outstripping those found on major infrastructure projects with budgets of tens of billions of pounds, such as HS2.
“We need the government to go beyond the small stuff and, in partnership with local authorities, embark on truly making our cities fit for cycling,” she added.
25 February 2019, 21:46
Unseasonably warm weather brings out naked cyclist ... in Warrington
Okay, we’ve been enjoying some unseasonably warm weather in the UK the past few days, with reports of people wearing summer cycling kit, scoffing ice creams, and sitting outside to eat – global warming FTW, eh? – but even so we were surprised to see reports that police in Cheshire are looking for a bloke seen riding naked near Warrington yesterday.
Currently dealing with a few reports of a male cycling naked near to the ferry boat yard and Penketh Mount, anyone with any extra info please contact 101 #alwayswearsunscreen#iwanttoridemybicycle pic.twitter.com/QG2FOdv4xQ
— Penketh and Cuerdley Police (@PenkethCuerdPol) February 24, 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.
4 Comments
Latest Comments
yodhrin 5 hours ago
@robgodd The poor guy himself suffered a traumatic brain injury and his skull was so badly shattered a significant portion of it had to be removed - do me a favour, have a look around cycling helmet manufacturers and see if any of them claim the foam hats they produce will protect against or even mitigate that level of injury. I'll wait if you like, but I can save us both the time and tell you what you'll find: none of them. Not a single one of them will. Because they don't, and they *can't* based on simple physics. Once the point of failure in a material is reached all(or as near as makes no odds) of the additional force beyond that necessary threshhold transfers through to the object beneath. Since bicycle helmets are rated for forces roughly equivalent to being dropped straight down from a stationary start 1.5m above a hard surface. Now, I'm not an expert in vehicle crash investigation, but I'm *fairly* sure that any impact or series of impacts powerful enough to render a quarder of your skull into gravel, put you in a weeks-long coma, give you massive amnesia, and leave you with ongoing symptoms of traumatic brain injury are a little bit, a teeny-weeny amount, a little smidgeon-widgeon more than what bike helmets are rated for. That's why none of the companies that make them claim they will help in such circumstances: because they know it would be a lie, and that unlike uninformed punters, carbrained journalists, or "medical professionals" who think wearing a helmet would save you from a broken arm(an actual scenario encountered by a mate, who's nurse at the A&E tutted and harrumphed her way through his whole treatment due to his lack of helmet despite his bonce having come through *being hit by a car* - another scenario bike helmets are worthless in - completely unscathed), the lawyers for those companies know their business and understand that if you lie in advertising you will get sued into the ground.
Mr Blackbird 6 hours ago
The Battle of Ypres April 1915. The German infantry division advanced using das Brumptstadt Fahrarden. The slow speed kept them behind the cloud of chlorine gas as it drifted towards the Commonwealth trenches. The offensive cleaved a two mile gap in the Western Front. The use of cycles was copied by the Japanese as they invaded Singapore and Burmah. By then war technology had embraced wider low pressure tyres, carbon frames and hydration gels. The German forces decided not to incorporate cycling as part of Operation Session, as bike theft in London and the South East was rife and would have caused huge casualties. Ironically superior advancement of tyre technology led to a British victory at El Alamein. This technology played a key part in the US Marines victory at Iwo Jima.
ROOTminus1 6 hours ago
The appropriate response to Google pissing on your cereal is not a fancy new sugar that removes the taste of urine. Stop using Google products where you can. Firefox browser and DuckDuckGo search engine have had noticeable upticks in market share by explicitly NOT pushing AI.
belugabob 7 hours ago
my thoughts exactly...I wonder how that approach is working, with motor vehicle drivers...🤔
Anonymousattorney 7 hours ago
I do not wish to diminish the personal tragedy, but one never hear calls for pedestrians or even hikers to wear clothing with integrated lightening rods.
chrisonabike 7 hours ago
RE Andy Burnam / Heidi Alexander - this is the best thing in many ways - set an example (even if currently it leads to lots of online name-calling). And imagine some of the political alternatives! The folks in the apparently second-placed party seem incredibly unlikely to be doing so. And even the current "new Greens" seem less interested in ... y'know, environmental things. OTOH I wish Heidi could be bolder. And I fear that like anyone ambitious enough to get to the top (exception B Johnson - well, I guess there was the Corbyn bicycle...) Burnam will be trimming his transport policy sails to fit the wind (should that be "bunker-fuel-burning engines"?)
Rendel Harris 7 hours ago
@mattsccm Bull bars aren't banned, they just have to conform to regulations so they are deformable or have plates that allow crumple give on contact, rather than rigid steel bars that can smash into pedestrians and cyclists with no give at all, catch them and drag them under the wheels. If you think that's a problem, do one. Why should who is responsible for a collision remove the responsibility of people driving a tonne of machinery on the road from having safety features to at least mitigate some of the effects of a collision?
AidanR 7 hours ago
I'd be willing to bet that's lazy use of stock photography rather than deliberate misinformation, but the result is still the same.
Backladder 7 hours ago
@smallbeer You obviously don't realise how many bulls there are wandering around Chelsea, in and out of the china shops, that he needs to protect his Range Rover from.
chrisonabike 8 hours ago
I agree, it's bloody 'elf and safety overreach, can't help some people, I put some meat, sorry, neat decoration on the front of mine and the polis were round poking their noses in like that (mind you, that was a mistake...) (etc)
4 thoughts on “Live blog: Police hunt naked cyclist…in February, Poll: Were your guns out in the sun? (no, not like that), Head of MPs’ cycling group urges govt to up infra spend, Your worst mechanicals + more”
All those owed money by Ofo
All those owed money by Ofo will probably become ‘creditors’, and as such probably have zero chance of getting it back. I hope nobody has too much dosh tied up in this mess.
Did you get your guns out,
Did you get your guns out, yes they went a bit red.
Go on, patronise me some more.
HarrogateSpa wrote:
.
had the ‘guns’ out three
had the ‘guns’ out three weeks ago and short sleeved top though early into work I’ve had a thin long sleeve jersey plus the walking shorts.
How typical of plod to be ‘hunting’ down a supposed naked cyclist, what’s the crime exactly?
I see plenty of motorists and pedestrians in attire that is offensive and grotesque but I don’t start whining about it to the police. If it bothers you, look away ffs!