Sky News cycling poll slammed by Sarah Storey & West Mids Police; Video preview of worlds finishing circuit; THAT team car; Road champ v MTB champ; Recovered bikes alert; Kiwi driver who doubled back to hit cyclist gets grounded; Cool Ritchey stem + more
SUMMARY
12-month ban for Kiwi driver who doubled back to hit cyclist on pavement
This is quite the sentence. A Kiwi motorist who deliberately hit a cyclist and broke his leg has basically been grounded.
Sean Woollgar, a cyclist from Carterton just outside Wellington, was riding home from the supermarket in 2017 when Joshua Rowland started beeping his horn at him.
Woollgar said he turned and said, “Hey, what’s up?” and the motorist then started tailgating him and driving alongside “really close.”
“At that point I got a bit angry, and I went up onto the pavement and swore,” said Woollgar.
He tried to ride away, but Rowland followed him. Stuff reports that he eventually turned round, mounted the pavement and drove into Woollgar.
As the cyclist lay on the ground with a broken leg, Rowland walked up to him and said, “serves you right”.
Woollgar’s leg was so badly broken he will likely never have full use of it again.
In court this week, Rowland’s lawyer said his client’s head “was not in a good space” when the incident took place.
Rowland pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm and also admitted driving in breach of his limited licence terms, unaccompanied and without displaying an L plate.
He was sentenced to 10 months’ home detention, 200 hours of community work, disqualified from driving for a year, and was ordered to pay $5000 emotional harm reparation to Woollgar. He also has to take treatment programmes and counselling as directed.
Woollgar said he never wanted Rowlands to go to prison. “He has got anger issues. He needs to deal with it and prison is not the place for that.”
He did say that he would have liked him to be banned from driving for more than 12 months though. “Hopefully he will appreciate how lightly he got off,” he said.
"A mountain of pure muscle and blond hair"
Mark Cavendish has paid tribute to Marcel Kittel after the German sprinter agreed to have his contract with Katusha Alpecin terminated early by mutual consent yesterday.
1/3 For many years of my career I felt unbeatable, invincible. 1 rider came that changed that. A mountain of pure muscle and blonde hair. That rider is @marcelkittel. It seemed like cyclings version of Rocky IV. He was the first rider I ever had to “work out” how to try and beat.
— Mark Cavendish (@MarkCavendish) May 10, 2019
2/3 Marcel, I want to say thank you for a rivalry that lifted my game, but above all gave an excitement to cycling fans.
— Mark Cavendish (@MarkCavendish) May 10, 2019
3/3 As competitors, we all try to have an edge on each other. But as humans, we should only wish for peace and happiness for each other. From my heart, I wish you the all the best for your next chapter. pic.twitter.com/R0sq6JlObY
— Mark Cavendish (@MarkCavendish) May 10, 2019
New Ritchey Chicane stem with magnetic top cap launched
Weighing 175g for the 100mm version, this snazzy new 7050 aluminium stem has aero in mind with hidden bolts and a smooth external shape, and an angle of 80°. Price in euros is quoted at €109.95, and it’s already for sale online at Depor Village.
Recovered bikes alert - haul found at Cardiff property
South Wales Police Cardiff have uploaded a gallery of stolen bikes recovered from a property in the Riverside area of the city. If you or anyone you know has had a bike gone astray, the number to call and a reference number is there.
HGV blind spot project that will save hundreds of lives up for award
Loughborough Design School project led to the introduction of the Direct Vision Standard.
If you think that lorry drivers actually being able to see pedestrians and cyclists is a good thing, maybe you’d like to vote for them.
National Road Champ vs National MTB Champ
Matt Walker and Connor Swift go head-to-head in a race down Cwmcarn’s legendary black run, followed by a climb up the Gospel Pass.
From the forum - Your cycling deals
We’ve got a brand new spot over on the forum where you can post links to cycling deals that you find.
That way, you can share the savings and point out stuff that we might have missed!
Sky News have been discussing “whether it’s a motorist’s responsibility to make a cyclist feel safe”
West Midlands Police were unimpressed with the tone used.
Society is defined by how we take care of the vulnerable in any given situation. Driver behaviour has created an environment where people are now scared to make positive life choices & use #activetransport, the onus for change lies with those who pose the #greatestthreatofharm.
— West Midlands Police Road Harm Reduction Team (@WMPRHRT) May 10, 2019
Dame Sarah Storey also stepped in when the Sky News Twitter feed published a follow-up poll asking whether it was time for cyclists and motorists to “bury the hatchet”.
Hatchet? Please stop such inflammatory reporting. People moving around their villages, towns & cities shouldn’t have to do so in fear of their life because there’s a bully in a metal box who wrongly perceives they have right of way.#greatestthreatofharm https://t.co/jg6N6CRBql
— Dame Sarah Storey (@DameSarahStorey) May 10, 2019
Citroën teams up with Surrey County Council to fill potholes
It’s “part of the brand’s commitment to advanced comfort” apparently.
Swingeing penalties in the Giro
If getting banned from cycling doesn’t discourage you maybe this 2000points fine will. pic.twitter.com/u5epzM7wZQ
— Thomas De Gendt (@DeGendtThomas) May 10, 2019
Irish cyclist dies after hitting parked motorbike during road race
Gardai investigating.
A number of reporters are saying Simon Yates is *very* confident ahead of the Giro
@SimonYatess: “There are many favourites for the Giro but I do believe that I’m in great shape and I’m confident in winning it. I’m confident in my abilities. I’ve dedicated the last twelve months to this race now”. #Giro pic.twitter.com/41hlijR2lb
— Giro d’Italia (@giroditalia) May 10, 2019
Video: On bike recce of the finishing circuit of this year's Road World Champs course in Harrogate
Your chance to join legendary bike tester, rider, and proud Yorkshireman, Guy Kestevan on a one off, on bike recce of the 14km finishing loop of this year’s Road Worlds, round the lumpy (not bumpy) roads of Harrogate. The start/finish goes the wrong way up/down a one way road so the only way for Guy to get the recce vid was to jump on to the course (he got the nod to do so) ahead of the Women’s Tour de Yorkshire – which also used the same loop. Guy’s always entertaining an enlightening company and he is in this vid too. He’s also a strong rider – at the very top end of ‘mere mortal’, so you get a good impression of how hard that finishing lap is going to be even for the pros.
There are team cars, and then there are team cars
This McLaren will follow Bahrain Merida’s Vincenzo Nibali in the tomorrow’s Giro d’ Italia opening time trial. Lucky for some.
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Here's a photo I took on Alpe d'Huez at TdF 1991. L to R: Gianni Bugno, Miguel Indurain, Luc Leblanc. They would finish the stage in that order, Bugno winning. Yes, colour film was available in 1991 but that day I chose to use black and white knowing that many years hence it would look epic.
Riding a bike is green. Pro cycling is not. Don't greenwash us by confusing one with the other.
The first 750 words of this article comprise a detailed explanation of the ways in which cycling continues to feel the full force of climate change. Perhaps more time reading what's actually written before rushing to spaff nonsense everywhere might help your comprehension.
Sadiq Khan and TfL cannot be accused of neglecting cycling. They have greatly improved provision in London. Yes there is a lot more that could be done, but we need to be patient. The public finances aren't in good shape, so things are going to b e tight for some time.
@Rendel Harris "ultimately football at every level is played on roughly the same size to pitch, the goals are the same size and there are eleven players on each team." Except they don't. In a senior team a 16-year-old plays against adults, under tougher competition, plays more matches and under greater mental strain. If your argument was vaild, I could easily counter it by sayng that riding the very same bike on the same roads as in training, 150 km a day, should not be such a big deal for a pro cyclist.
The TdF yearly circus generates human and atmospheric pollution. Big time. Airplanes, choppers, trucks, cars for teams, media, VIP and other involved parties. But pro cycling is a profitable business, ask ASO. Don't spoil the party with questions about carbon footprint, side-road waste, recycling (pun intended). Also, why does ASO not have a plan B case of high temperatures - earlier departure times, shortened stages, ... ? Based on this week's weather forecasts, several stages are likely to be cancelled. Quote of the day : "But as cycling continues to feel the full force of climate change, ..." In what ways?
@Podc I heard that Scunthorpe CC's experiment with wrapping the name around the jersey under the arm to make it fit didn't go too well either.
Be interesting to see if UAE chase down any breakaway today to ensure that Jonas stays in yellow.
@Rendel Harris Interestingly, and it sort of supports my theory that UAE were being cunning, Pog has the mountains jersey today because he was the quickest up the final climb, which argues that he hadn't burnt all his matches when he got to the finish.
@JLasTSR It takes time. I got knocked off nine years ago in broad daylight on a roundabout, by a driver who was wearing very dark glasses, I'm suspicious that he was actually visually impaired. No prosecution. It took me a few years to get my confidence back. I wish you all the best in getting the enjoyment back.
12 thoughts on “Sky News cycling poll slammed by Sarah Storey & West Mids Police; Video preview of worlds finishing circuit; THAT team car; Road champ v MTB champ; Recovered bikes alert; Kiwi driver who doubled back to hit cyclist gets grounded; Cool Ritchey stem + more”
David Beckham banned from
David Beckham banned from driving for using mobile phone
Good.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-48213106
The outcome of this could
The outcome of this could have been so different. The cyclist could have been killed, so the sentence appears lenient. There is no mention of any treatment for his “anger problems”.
leaway2 wrote:
Can’t disagree with the leniency of the sentence but he will have to attend treatment for his problems: “He also has to take treatment programmes and counselling as directed.”
leaway2 wrote:
Should have a perma until he can prove he is capable of using public highways safely
This isn’t one of those
This isn’t one of those tragic one punch knockouts to serious head injury things, even the stupidest of people knows that driving a car into a person is going to result in serious injury. I don’t really know how you can write it off with a lenient sentence. He may as well have shot him as the intention was the same.
So, when Sky News are
So, when Sky News are discussing domestic abuse, do they think its acceptable to ask whether its the responsibility of the abusing partner to not scare or harm the weaker partner? I would have imagined that they’d take that as a given…
brooksby wrote:
I too am struggling with the question they pose and the premise from which the begin.
Does a driver have no responsibility to other road users, whether cyclists, pedestrians or other drivers?
Why are we supposed to “bury the hatchet”? What a dumb-fuck term to use!
And what are people who both drive and cycle supposed to do? Apologise to myself, kiss and make up with my non-lycra self when I’ve done nothing wrong?
Goodness me, and people wonder why we blame the mainstream media for stoking hatred!
They clearly don’t want their readers, viewers or listeners to get along with people they define as a ‘them’ and not part of ‘us’. It doesn’t seem to matter whether that group is gypsies, migrant workers and refugees, Johnny Foreigner (whether here or minding their own business in his/her own country), LGBT, ethnic or religious minorities etc etc… they seem to put so much effort into turning us against each other. It’s about time we all turned on them.
Simon E wrote:
It’s Kay Burley, she is to news reporting what Boris Johnson is to integrety
Simon E wrote:
It’s Kay Burley, she is to news reporting what Boris Johnson is to integrety
Why the focus on car drivers
Why the focus on car drivers responsibility toward just cyclists, unless the agenda is to perpetuate the “us v them” narrative?
I mean, why not re-title the section “Is it the motorist’s responsibility to make pedestrians, cyclists, horse riders, other vulnerable road users and each other feel safe?”
Or maybe run a section entitled “Is it the responsibility of HGV drivers not to crush motorists and their families to death in flaming wrecks due to careless driving?” and see if there are the same kind of responses?
The Guy Kestevan video of the
The Guy Kestevan video of the ride around the World Championship course is well worth a look. I enjoyed it very much. A lovely ride around Harrogate.
Perhaps if there weren’t
Perhaps if there weren’t quite so many people driving SUVs over them there wouldn’t be quite so many potholes in the roads needing filling.