Live blog: Leave Vs Remain poll – Near Miss of The Day; Cycle path apple tree vandals offered olive branch; woefully-timed overtake by driving instructor; ‘how to take on a club 10’, ‘Tour of Pembrokshire tractor incident case dismissed, Canyon e-racing+
SUMMARY
Woefull-timed overtake by driving instructor
Does this “professional” driving instructor think that this is an appropriate place to overtake a cyclist? Fucking bellend. pic.twitter.com/FwKgjXGov4
— Richard Stokes (@Stokesy1966) April 25, 2019
Farmer accused of failing to stop tractor after incident at Tour of Pembrokeshire has charges dismissed
A farmer who was accused of failing to stop his tractor at the scene of an accident during last year’s Tour of Pembrokeshire has had the charges against him dismissed.
The cyclist involved, Phillip Withers, said that he was riding towards the back of a group of around 20 riders when they encountered Haydn Williams in his tractor, heading in the opposite direction.
He said several of the cyclists managed to filter through a small gap on the left hand side of the road, but Williams continued moving forward, shouting “get back” from the cab.
As Williams drove past, Withers said his leg was pinned against his bike by the hay rake that was being towed.
Williams said he remembered getting out of the vehicle and shouting at the cyclists to move back toward a layby further down the road. He said he was unable to reverse himself as another farm vehicle and a 4×4 were occupying a layby or farm entrance behind.
Williams has pleaded not guilty to failing to stop after a road accident, failing to report the accident to police and driving without due care and attention.
The Western Telegraph reports that yesterday all three charges were dismissed and an order was made for Williams’ defence costs to be paid from central funds.
Canyon sets sights on eracing future with professional team
Canyon is aiming at the rapidly growing eracing universe with the launch of possibly the world’s first professional e-racing team: Canyon Zcc.
It won’t have escaped your attention that eracing is becoming popular at the moment, largely due to the popularity of Zwift and culminating with the first British national e-racing championships recently.
Canyon’s new Zcc team supports two squads, men and women, with 10 riders in total. They have been competing regularly in the Zwift KISS Community League, one tier below the Super League that has attracted regular professional cyclists to take part.
The team has tasted success already, three riders were able to claim Zwift National Championship titles, and James Phillips claimed second place in the televised live final for the British title.
Impressive results, and striking kit too. Canyon has shown an appetite for daring kit design – the Canyon//SRAM women’s team kit still ranks as one of the best ever – and the Zcc kit is no exception. The bold kit, inspired by the early 90s rave music scene – will be worn by the riders both in real life and virtually.
“It’s about being different to the mainstream and embracing the freedom that comes with that. eRacing is still in its infancy, but we have always seen its potential and are excited to be pioneering the future of the sport”, says Team Manager Rhys Howell.
Here are the riders to watch out for:
Women’s squad
- Kristin Falck (NOR)*
- Eva Buchholz (GER)*
- Siri Hildonen (NOR)
- Nathalie Eklund (SWE)
- Laura van Regenmortel (NED)
Men’s squad
- Alex West (NZL)
- Steve Young (GBR)
- James Phillips (WAL)
- Lionel Vujasin (BEL)*
- Philipp Diegner (GER)
*Denotes Zwift National Champion.
If you’re wondering what bikes and equipment the team will use, they’re on the Aeroad CF SL in both real and virtual worlds, and using a complete Wahoo setup comprising a Kickr, Headwind, Climb and Tickr, with Nuun nutrition.
Is there a big future for professional e-racing teams? Let us know your thoughts down below.
Specialized's new S-Works Roubaix is in the office
Following the launch in Belgium, we’ve now got the brand new Specialized S-Works Roubaix to test on more familiar roads. First look and more coming soon, but here are a couple of pics on our Instagram account.
Essential rules for your next 10 mile TT
How to tackle a club 10!!! You are very welcome, remember not all hero’s wear capes they wear speedsuits too now go get em tiger pic.twitter.com/MOe583JvaA
— 4th cat problems (@4thcatproblems) April 25, 2019
Endless faffing, taking too many pins and making excuses are almost as traditional as the good old British club 10 itself… 4th Cat Problems have nailed it here!
road.cc on GCN and why we do Near Miss of the Day (again)
Ooh, road.cc’s on GCN* how exciting! …You can get the full story here
*It’s like a thing on Youtube
Round-the-world cyclist continuing after bike theft thanks to donations from supporters
Josh Quigley has mourned his old bike and got himself a new one.
Pedal on Parliament pedal on Forest Road, Edinburgh to form people-protected bike lane
Forrest Road human protected bike lane went off safely — thank you everyone who took part! There was loading immediately before and immediately after we finished, just to prove the point!
And, in case anyone was wondering, the lane is 21 Jelly Babies wide! pic.twitter.com/6yToPU2ayL
— Pedal On Parliament #PoP2019 (@POPScotland) April 26, 2019
The campaigners are calling for segregated cycle lanes in Scotland, and this morning a number of supports formed a chain to create a ‘lane’ for cyclists using the very much not segregated cycle lane on Forest Road in Edinburgh.
Bristol to Bath Cycle Path apple tree vandals offered an olive branch
— Claire Snook (@Scribblingsnook) April 22, 2019
If you really want to annoy Bristolians then cutting off their cider supply is a good place to start… and sadly it appears that vandals saw it fit to tear down some apple trees on the Bristol to Bath Cycle Path at the weekend. This disgruntled yet incredibly polite note was photographed by passer-by Claire Snook, and has been called ‘the most Bristol note ever’ by the Bristol Post; although we think it’s definitely lacking a few gerts and ooh-arrrs to qualify as that…
Tasty!
We’ve just had a visit from Clif’s guys in the UK, and they’ve kindly left us with some brand new tasty treats – the Peanut Butter Banana Clif Bar and Ginger Ale Shot Bloks are available now, head to Clif’s website for more info.
Leave Vs Remain poll: Near Miss of The day
Near Miss of the Day is in the news at the moment so what do you think Leave it out or Remain and stick with it? Have your say in our regular Friday non-binding indicative vote above.
Biggest Pedal on Parliament yet will see 20 protests across Scotland
Aim this year is to highlight specific local issues.
More from Pedal on Parliament
So lovely to be at @_OnBikes @POPScotland Pop Up to allow school children to cycle safely in Glasgow’s East End if only for today. We desperately need some safe cycling infra in this part of the city to make this a permanent reality. #popuppop #pop2019 pic.twitter.com/QCL2No6BNa
— GoBike (@GoBikeGlasgow) April 26, 2019
Vittorio Brumotti's a what now?
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Latest Comments
@FionaJJ These officers deployed next-level stupidity, and it must be difficult for the police to find people this dim. It doesn't even need rolling-roads or whatever, just a reputable bike computer on a quickly changed mount for the difficult cases where a proper EAPC has been modded, although you would need to look hard in Lancashire to find a police officer who knows how to make a pedal cycle go. Most illegal electric motorbikes are immediately obvious, not least because the crim is wearing a face mask. I saw an obvious one tonight coming out of Garstang Sainsbury's, not pedalling but without a face mask because everybody knows that the police only come into the town to hide away in the police station 200 yards away.
Gustav Gullholm.. that's not a good look mate
@Chris RideFar I think what you meant to say was "REMOVE this and put it on PODCAST CC".
As Mary Whitehouse never said - one doesn't have to read the article if one doesn't want to read about an off-road bicycle.
@FionaJJ In London they're allowed to stop on single and double yellows to deliver packages or empty pillar boxes; in practice they take this as carte blanche to park wherever and whenever they want, such as this chap on the Brixton Road who pulled into the bus/cycle/motorcycle lane without indicating, as I approached at 20mph, to park on a red route, response to a remonstrance, "I suppose you never get post delivered do ya?"
@Rendel Harris We have a pavement parking ban, but around here at least, royal mail vans are already exempt, subject to certain caveats, such as allowing at least 1.5m, and only being stopped to do their work.
It was already embarrassing for the police that they made such a mess of their attempt to determine whether a bike was legal or not, but I had assumed it was a group of well intentioned, but under-trained officers acting on their own initiative, having spotted something they thought looked not quite right. I'm now discovering this was a planned activity, something sufficiently organised to have been given a name - Operation FRISLEN, designed specifically to identify and remove illegal e-bikes and scooters. It's apparent that the officers were sent out without adequate training, never mind the kind of equipment that should be used for this sort of work. I'm not saying they always need specialist equipment to spot all illegal bikes, but at least if they'd been given a demonstration with that equipment, they'd have realised why their approach was not going to end well.
Have put drop bars on a 2001 B1 mtb, a 2007 stumpy hardtail and a 2010 stumpy full suss. In all cases fairly basic conversións leaving gearing and wheels broadly the same and concentrating on correct positioning of bars and fit. Oddly, with all 3 I was happy with the result when recently done, but after a few months found that the extra speed on easy trails was more than offset by the lack of ability (probably mine) on tougher routes and finally preferred flat bar with slammed and inverted stem as best overall compromise. Good fun playing around, though.
The photos in this review look they are for a different bag?
This is a strange reactionary knee jerk overall. But what is this "are essentially motorbikes in disguise" waffle? "One letter claimed that high-powered electric ‘e-bikes’ were “essentially motorbikes” in disguise, with many being used without lights, helmets, or any hi-vis clothing." Surely, they simply ARE motorbikes?
32 thoughts on “Live blog: Leave Vs Remain poll – Near Miss of The Day; Cycle path apple tree vandals offered olive branch; woefully-timed overtake by driving instructor; ‘how to take on a club 10’, ‘Tour of Pembrokshire tractor incident case dismissed, Canyon e-racing+”
Driving instructorhttps:/
Driving instructor
https://mobile.twitter.com/MrChrisDignam/status/1121692941418942469
Facepalm
On the Tour of Pembrokeshire
On the Tour of Pembrokeshire vs Tractor thing: curious to know on what grounds the charges were dismissed?
brooksby wrote:
He is a local and the cyclists were from outside the area, selfishly disrupting everyone’s daily lives. Or some such bollocks.
Simon E wrote:
Scary thing is that you’re probably right… 🙁
brooksby wrote:
Same lodge as the judge?
I’ve had similar experiences,
I’ve had similar experiences, not instructors, of drivers who wait behind you when there is plenty of space to overtake, then pass you at the most dangerous point possible. One driver actually stopped and asked me why I had shouted at him after he had done exactly that, and he genuinely wanted to know as he had no conception or understanding of what he’d just done.
We seem to have a significant number of people who really don’t know what they are doing in a car and don’t know the most basic facts about driving safely. We need a much more rigorous judicial system which starts with a year’s ban for driving which results in significant danger to another road user, with no exemptions for hardship.
burtthebike wrote:
Coming into a village off a NSL single carriageway road with solid double white lines (no overtaking). A car came up behind me and I waved him through – we could both see that the road ahead was competely clear for over 100m. He refused, pointing at the double whites. OK, fair enough.
Anyway, speed limit becomes 30mph and he was still sitting behind me, the road was getting buiser and narrower in the village. And clearly he got bored sitting there at 20mph, overtook on the narrowest bit of road leading into a 90 degree bend in a populated area! WTF?!
So he’s not willing to cross double whites, even when completely clear. But he’s willing to do a close pass on me at the most dangerous point of the road. Facepalm.
I think the reason drivers sometimes overtake at chicanes or traffic islands is they’ve sat behind for a bit and “judged” the distances and gaps. So they go through the first one behind you and think “oh actually, there was space there” so they just go through.
crazy-legs wrote:
If you slowed down to 10mph, he could pass legally, probably still wouldn’t have though. Maybe Car manufacturers should hire Boeing to give them an automated device, that shouts the highway code at them when needed!
KINGHORN wrote:
The whole 10mph thing is utter bollocks, it’s either safe to pass someone whichever vehicle/width and speed they are going or it isn’t, it’s a very simple binary answer as to your actions. Can you see far enough ahead that you have enough space to get past with room to spare, that’s taking into account the person you are wishing to overtake, the terrain itself, the weather, the speed limit of the road, any entrances/exits/junctions, any chance of livestock/animals, people on foot if there’s no footway and so on.
If you can’t make the jusgement then it’s not safe to get past, that’s what hazard perception is all about, the lines in reality are telling you not to do something, they are there to account for the lowest demoninator who are unable to make correct judgements, it should be a case of ensuring everyone who is on the road in a killing machine can make those judgements as close to 100% of the time as possible, every single time they get behind the wheel. The whole process of driving needs a complete revision, it’s tantamount to urder that all governments have done fuck all to at the very least retest every few years never mind bring the standard of driving up when learning to something closer to that of an advanced driver.
IMHO part of the problem is the lines themselves, just like most signs, you’re taking the thinking and forward planning away from drivers, this has proven not to be a solution to increase safety. Dumbing down driving has proven to be a disaster, drivers are so selfish, lazy, non thinking dangerous pricks for the most part, despite all the tech, bigger/wider tyres, bigger brakes, steering and braking assistance we’ve seen no real improvement in crashes, in the last few years the KSIs hae gone up on our roads. There are still inexcess of 185,000 killed, seriously and slightly injured every year, despite the airbags, despite the crash protection cells and the features that are supposed to lessen the impact on pedestrians.
BehindTheBikesheds wrote:
So so much nonsense I’m not sure where to start. So I’ll just say attitude towards other road users is exactly what is driving behaviour. It’s the attitude of it being “them and us” and that the “them” is all evil and always in the wrong. What your talking about is exactly the same as people wanting cyclists to pass a test and complains that cyclists are a menace.
The vast majority of drivers and cyclists are safe and careful. A minority on both sides are a menace to all. We need to concentrate on attitude and behaviour rather than mode of transport. Good, safe road users need to call for safety for all, not just “us”. Emotive language like “killing machines” and expecting perfection at all times is not helpful. Even the best drivers make mistakes. It’s part of advanced driver training to be aware that you will make mistakes, but should always be aware of this, leave room for error and learn from these. This is the kind of thing ALL road users need to learn. People make mistakes and you need to leave room. Drivers make close passes, but equally we see time and again cyclists not taking the lane or going down the inside of cars that are indicating. The road is not a battle ground and it is not “them vs us”. Bad drivers need to be stopped, but we all have our part to play, and all need to learn to share space properly. From the drivers who makes the close pass to the 10 twats on a club ride last week who passed me by inches moving at least twice my speed when I was out on my mountain bike.
John Smith wrote:
Most of the time, attitude and behaviour doesn’t matter so much when you’re riding a bike as there’s a limit to how much death and destruction you can cause before falling off. “Killing machines” may be emotive, but it’s also fairly accurate as you can put a careless person into one and deaths be the result (it literally happens every day).
“Expecting perfection”? No, we don’t expect perfection, we expect licensed motorists to TRY to follow the Highway Code as otherwise other people can get hurt. However, there does seem to be a small percentage of drivers that believe that anything that gets in their way needs to be responded to with aggression and there’s a larger percentage that believes that they can pay attention to the road whilst using a mobile phone. There’s an even larger percentage that believes that speed limits are more like guidelines which I would tend to agree with in some instances, but when coupled with aggression can become lethal.
Regarding the “them and us” attitude – just the other day, I was cycling home on a dual carriageway that goes alongside a cycle path and a motorist believed that it was his god-given duty to shout out of his window at me something incoherent about a cycle path. I later overtook him and he wasn’t shouting at the drivers blocking the box junction, so there seems to be some double standards going on here.
Those club riders do sound like twats if they’re close passing another vulnerable road user – I always try to leave around a metre or so when passing cyclists (more for a horse). Obviously, if I were to collide with another cyclist, then I’m likely to get hurt (skin in the game) and probably cause damage my bike (which would lead to tears), so there’s a strong incentive for me to leave a good safety margin.
crazy-legs wrote:
Well except he wasn’t talking about safe but the legallity:
(f)in order to pass a pedal cycle moving at a speed not exceeding 10 mph;
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2002/3113/regulation/26/made
burtthebike wrote:
You have to pity that small % of UK drivers who have voices in their heads bellowing “YOU MUST GET PAST!” over and over whilst they hang back behind another road user. Eventually the driver loses the will to still the voices, usually at the least appropriate moment on the road, and past they go, shaving the riders legs…
…I especially enjoy the ones who do it from 10mph in fifth gear.
So ‘eracing’ it’s a thing now
So ‘eracing’ it’s a thing now it seems.
I’m all for peoples life choices, but it does seem that the marketing departments have gotten a little excited with this one.
I hope that the person who
I hope that the person who first thought those congestion, pollution, noise and danger-causing chicane things were a good idea and should be introduced to already crowded roads spends eternity sitting on a bicycle in pointless traffic jams, being close-passed and driven at because of them.
Canyon… the company that
Canyon… the company that voids your warranty if your bike is used on a Turbo Trainer lauches a team just for Turbo Trainers… WTF
bigbiker101 wrote:
lol!
Ah Clif, the energy bar with
Ah Clif, the energy bar with the climber on the packaging. Clif sponsored five clmbers and sponsored a flim called Valley Uprising, in which most (maybe all) of them featured. Not long after, and as the fim was doing the rounds of the film festivals, they dropped all five. It was almost as though they’d seen the film and thought it all looked a bit scary. One of the dropped climbers was Alex Honnold, of Free Solo and best documentary at the Oscars fame. That film’s currently grossed $21.8m. Too bad. A bit like Accenture dropping Tiger Woods faster than you can say ‘extra-marital affair’. Shame he’s top of the tree again.
Re: the new Speshy Roubaix.
Re: the new Speshy Roubaix. Is “Shiny!” he right word for that matt grey paint finish??
Driving instructor video.
Driving instructor video.
Reporting this to the police will result in a learner, probably a teenager who has only been driving for a few hours, receiving a three figure fine and points on their licence.
People supervising learners can only be convicted if it can be proved in a court that they ‘aided and abetted’ or ‘caused or procured’ the learner to do what they did. This won’t happen.
The correct people to deal with this are the DSA Enforcement Team under the auspices of the ADI Registrar.
Unless there is no student
Unless there is no student under instruction. I have seen instructors, or at least fully liveried vehicles with one occupant, staring at smart phones, talking on phones and eating pizza, all at different times though.
And if it was a student under instruction, they will learn what bad driving is all about, never to do it again, and maybe to get a better instructor and to leave awful reviews on the teaching abilities of said instructor.
Either way…
ktache wrote:
Last year, there was a driving school vehicle parked at the end of my road, blocking the dropped kerb and illegally and dangerously close to the junction. When I pointed this out to the driver, they just shrugged.
On that story about apple
On that story about apple trees: Ashley Down and Concorde Way are nowhere near the Bristol and Bath Railway Path, AFAIK
Having taught both my kids to
Having taught both my kids to drive with the small block of ‘so called’ professional lessons, I was dismayed by their hatred of cyclists.
My daughter got downgraded for waiting for a suitable gap on her test because she wasnt making reasonable progress! Sod progress-don’t injure or kill the cyclist.
My son had a block session from a driving instructor and he constantly went on about cyclists getting in the way. We decided rightly not to book any more lessons and I finished his training-he passed.
It’s not just active malice
It’s not just active malice towards cyclists by driving instructors, it’s down right incompetence at doing their jobs properly. When did you last see a young driver use their indicators correctly or put their headlights on when it’s proper pissing down? It’s not a professional I have very much respect left for unfortunately.
On the ongoing driving
On the ongoing driving instructor rants: how much extra tuition does an average person have to undergo before they’re allowed to drive a bus?
I ‘ve been on the bus a lot lately, and to me it seems dangerous for a double-decker bus to follow a cyclist at about ten feet separation (at most) (as First’s drivers seem to do)
brooksby wrote:
Bus drivers are mostly not taught by government approved instructors, it’s mostly other experienced bus drivers/inspectors.
WiznaeMe wrote:
Ah, so bad driving by bus drivers becomes sort of self reinforcing I guess
Driving through Cambridge
Driving through Cambridge yesterday, traffic causing congestion as ever (in mitigation I had 3 passengers and a boot full of musicy things). I noticed a cyclist coming up the inside and waited for him to undertake before moving off and then followed at a respectful distance as he ambled up the road at a very leusurely pace. After just 10 seconds or so my wife expressed exasperation about cyclists holding up the traffic (apparently I am responsible for the actions of all cyclists). We followed for another 10 seconds or so up to the back of the queue of cars waiting at the next traffic lights, whilst the cyclist continued up the inside line, probably and quite reasonably cursing all the stupid cars getting in his way and blocking the road.
My belief is that cyclists test the ability of drivers to exercise self control and far too many people do not have any. Combined with a sense of self entitled priority, jealousy that someone else is using the road for “free” and a basic inability to look much further than the end of the bonnet, let alone plan ahead and manoeuvre around slower road users, cyclists have a natural ability to expose weakness in driving skills and as we all know 80% of drivers rate themselves as above average or well above average in their ability. Therefore any problem must be caused by someone else.
When asked, I’m sure that
When asked, I’m sure that just about every driver will agree that a speed limit is the maximum speed allowed by law. What has also developed in the minds of the same drivers is the firm conviction that the said speed LIMIT is the absolute fucking minimum that a car should move at. Hence the ever increasing frustration when someone doesn’t conform to this alternate rule.
Important questions raised by
Important questions raised by the Pedal on Parliament protest:
There are pictures on the
There are pictures on the main story, end to end, and on a stick.
Jelly Babies are and will always be my cycling emergency energy supply.