Welcome to Tuesday’s live blog, with Jack Sexty, Simon MacMichael and the rest of the team.
Live blog: Club cyclists accused of riding London to Brighton sportive route without having an entry – Oxted CC Chairman responds + more
All today’s news from the site and beyond…
Tue, Jun 18, 2019 17:23
SUMMARY
18 June 2019, 17:23
The Bike Project are offering bikes and cycling programmes to refugees as part of #RefugeeWeek
A bicycle saves on transport costs but it can also mean much more to a refugee than just getting from place to place. We provide free bikes & offer cycling programmes for refugees. Our #PedalPower cycling classes for refugee #women are celebrating all things bike for #RefugeeWeek pic.twitter.com/GiKpEdQLy2
— The Bike Project (@The_BikeProject) June 18, 2019
“A bicycle saves on transport costs but it can also mean much more to a refugee than just getting from place to place”, say the Bike Project as part of their drive to empower refugees with two wheels. Find out more about their work here.
18 June 2019, 17:23
London to Brighton: 'hundreds' of club riders accused of riding the sportive route without having an entry
The annual London to Brighton sportive took place on Sunday, and since then a lively debate has sprung up on our forum regarding ‘hundreds’ of cyclists, many adorning club colours who (allegedly) hadn’t entered the event and were just taking advantage of the route and its closed road sections. Forum member wknight said: “3 Clubs had large groups out, all riding for free”…
“These rides costs a huge amount of time and money to organise, you get the benefit of marshals, closed off section roads, feed stations, signed route. What if everyone road for free, the ride would disappear.
“I am absolutely disgusted with these 3 clubs and everyone else who rode the route for FREE today. Are you so hard up with your fancy bike that you can’t afford the entry fee? Anyone else agree with me?”
Many agreed that non-paying cyclists using the closed roads is poor form, however some are of the opinion that there is little you can do about members of the public using the open road sections. mc says: “If it’s an open road sportive, there is nothing you can do about people riding the route. However, as you mentioned closed road sections, then it’s up to the police to enforce that. Only those with permission should be on a closed road.
“And if they’re using feed stations, then it’s up to the organisers/marshals to ensure only those who have paid, get access to the feed stations.”
Were you riding London to Brighton on Sunday, or were you one of those riding on the roads while it was taking place? Let us know your thoughts, in the meantime we’ll be contacting the clubs mentioned in the original forum post for comment.
18 June 2019, 17:23
Eddie Vedder reunited with dutch cyclist who gave him a lift after a concert... in 1992
Eddie Vedder en Valeska: ‘Je hebt nog dezelfde glimlach’ https://t.co/S85uuyfxsy pic.twitter.com/DLi9R38BtZ
— I Am Amsterdam (@I_Am_Amsterdam) June 14, 2019
The NL Times reports that Pearl Jam frontman Vedder told the anecdote of a woman who gave him a lift on the back of her brother’s bike after a show 27 years ago… so Amsterdam newspaper Het Parool tracked the woman down, named Valeska Custers, and 24 hours later she was backstage with Vedder again. He recognised her smile instantly, according to reports.
18 June 2019, 17:23
In Utrecht, roadworks cause bike traffic jams...
Utrecht Central reports that the intersection at the Biltstraat is currently closed in the bike-mad city due to roadworks. Both cars and bikes are being forced to take alternative routes, and if cyclists want to use it they have to dismount. This has reportedly caused huge bike pile-ups as cyclists either scramble to dismount or turn back the other way. Cyclists who don’t comply face being fined.
18 June 2019, 17:23
Instagram 'influencer' couple who set up a GoFundMe page to finance dream African tandem trip still not popular
Last week a couple named Cat and Elena, who run the Another Beautiful Day Instagram account, posted this asking for donations to the tune of $10,000 to fund a tandem bicycle trip to Africa: “A celebration of life, as we ride freely across mountains, by the sea and through metropolitans. We will show the beauty of this planet and it’s inhabitants, but also the ugliness. But we can not do this on our own. We need you!”, they say in the Instagram post.
Many responses have been a tad scathing, accusing the couple of narcassism, and in their latest post it’s not much better. Cat has decided he will step away from social media to “find himself” and “go on a walk” after, we presume, an unsuccessful crowdfunding campaign for the tandem trip… to which the first reply reads: “Try walking to a job interview.”
18 June 2019, 17:23
7Mesh adds new Women’s Ashlu jersey to summer range
If you’re on the lookout for a new summer jersey (yes, summer will return fear not), then news reaches us from 7Mesh and its brand new Ashlu jersey.
It’s a Merino wool and nylon fabric jersey intended to provide good temperature regulation for changeable weather conditions, like those that you get in the summer. It’s also anti-bacterial so good for multi-day rides like touring and bikepacking.
Details include reflective details, full-length zipper, three rear pockets and two extra zipped pockets for stashing all your valuables.
It’s available now from https://7mesh.com/womens-ashlu-jersey and costs £110.
18 June 2019, 17:23
Trek and Voxwomen partner to show Giro Rosa on TV for free
Trek and Voxwomen will provide an hour-long broadcast with English commentary of all ten Giro Rosa stages from the 5th-14th July. The episodes will air online shortly after the conclusion of the day’s Tour de France stage, including stage previews with Trek-Segafredo directors sportifs Ina Teutenberg and Girogia Bronzini, highlights from the full Giro Rosa stage, and post-race content. it will be available in most countries worldwide on Trek’s racing page and Voxwomen’s website.
Further information on the broadcast, including how and where to watch, will be available in the lead-up to the race.
18 June 2019, 17:23
Bike beehive madness
bee swarm on bicycle in tribecahttps://t.co/OveRK1eHPP
— Rebecca Baird-Remba (@thecitywanderer) June 17, 2019
Two specialist NYPD bee officers (yes, apparently they exist), were called to safely contain a swarm of bees without harming them yesterday after they attached themselves to a lone bicycle, reports the New York Post. The brave beecoppers (see what we did there) reportedly had the situation under control in around an hour and a half.
18 June 2019, 17:23
Brailsford to lead Ineos at the Tour?
Tough to see the champ on the deck. @GeraintThomas86 appears to be indicating how he crashed. #TourdeSuisse pic.twitter.com/TBAfTr7qOF
— DANIEL McMAHON (@cyclingreporter) June 18, 2019
Someone at Team Ineos needs to own up to breaking a mirror, as it’s been confirmed that defending Tour de France champion Geraint Thomas has crashed out of the Tour de Suisse. Full story here, and important updates may appear on this here blog sporadically if/when we get more information.
18 June 2019, 17:23
Re London to Brighton sportive debate - here's a response from Oxted Cycling Club
Russell Hicks, Chairman of Oxted CC, sent this response to road.cc:
Yes, a lot of clubs do a very early morning dash to Brighton on some of the roads used by the BHF (British Heart Foundation) ride. A few points…
1) A few years ago, when I was with another club, we did this early morning dash and raised several hundred pounds from our riders. We sent the BHF a nice letter and a cheque which they banked, they didn’t object.
2) Of course we don’t want to take advantage of someone else’s sportive, particularly a fundraiser, so we sponsor riders who are entered for the whole route. We raised several hundred pounds for BHF last Sunday, another club raised nearly £1000.
3) As a club we are doing charity rides all the time. We have helped a blind girl in our club who rides ‘stoker’ on a tandem raise thousands for her charity, Sparks. She and many other Oxted riders are in the Pru (Prudential Ride London) this year (link here).
Also this weekend coming we have several riders in this incredible fundraiser. Amongst many charity rides we do is the ‘Circuit of Kent’, every year we have 40 to 50 riders in that.
4) Many of us have done the BHF Brighton ride in the past but it isn’t good for club riders, there are just too many people, too many jams, too many accidents, too many dramas. We go down fast very early, using the almost empty public roads which we have all paid for many times over. We don’t use any BHF facilities or feed stations and we turn right in Brighton, away from the BHF finish, our finish is in Hove. We return via a different route and are back home by 1/2pm… like nothing happened.
5) When marshals/police see us in the early morning, they always seem very excited at seeing fast pelotons flashing past. It’s a different scene to what happens later!
6) As a busy club, we run six to eight volunteer led rides every weekend, 50 weeks a year. That’s 300 to 400 rides a year PLUS midweek rides and many other events – so we more than do our bit for cycling, for the community and for healthy hearts.
BHF could write to dozens of clubs saying ‘don’t do it’ but I suspect people will simply still do the ride but not in club kit. The real problem is the 4/5000 (estimated by police) occasional riders who ‘just join in’ during the middle of the day.
18 June 2019, 17:23
UK Cycling Expert wishes G well (sort of)...
Now Sir Thomas Geraint has crashed at the Tour de Swift!!! Very hard to crash on Swift but he’s managed it!!! Waiting to hear from the experts whether it was an accidentally-on-purpose crash like Sir Froome’s or a real one?
— UK Cycling Expert (@ukcyclingexpert) June 18, 2019
We’re particularly liking the illuminati/conspiracy theory references to Froome’s crash! You can read more about that on yesterday’s live blog, and be prepared to facepalm…
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Jack has been writing about cycling and multisport for over a decade, arriving at road.cc via 220 Triathlon Magazine in 2017. He worked across all areas of the website including tech, news and video, and also contributed to eBikeTips before being named Editor of road.cc in 2021 (much to his surprise). Jack has been hooked on cycling since his student days, and currently has a Trek 1.2 for winter riding, a beloved Bickerton folding bike for getting around town and an extra beloved custom Ridley Helium SLX for fantasising about going fast in his stable. Jack has never won a bike race, but does have a master’s degree in print journalism and two Guinness World Records for pogo sticking (it’s a long story).
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Latest Comments
MaxiMinimalist 22 minutes ago
For their own safety, cyclists shan't expect motorists to pay attention to them. Like it or not, we are the most vulnerable road users. Consequently, we better anticipate the worse case scenario. Suburban areas being particularly hazardous.
MaxiMinimalist 31 minutes ago
Whatever one do on two wheels, they are wrong - too slow on climbs, too fast on twisty downhills. That said, safety shall prevail at all times. It can be frustrating to be stuck behind traffic, but this is also the opportunity to eat, drink and relax.
fernblau 1 hour ago
back in around 2013/14 I was attacked and robbed of my bike in Bermondsey, very close to where this incident happened. They were in a large group of around 15-20, one of whom came up behind me and whacked me with a hammer. fortunately he missed my head and hit my neck/ shoulder. anyway some kind person called the police & 2 plainclothes officers arrived after a few minutes. I got into their car and they drove to a nearby housing estate. the officers went into a building and returned a couple of minutes later with the bike, which I still have and often ride. I wouldn't be at all surprised if it's the same group doing it all these years later.
matthewn5 1 hour ago
I'd be wary of quoting Vincent on anything. He's notorious in London for opposing segregated cycling infrastructure.
Paul J 2 hours ago
Oh, the driver reporting this is just, is my conclusion. The team's response is also somewhat troublesome: " does not reflect the values or standards that govern us as a team". Except, their riders will be riding like this in training all the time, almost certainly. Pros are not exactly slow on descents...
Hirsute 2 hours ago
Trying image tags [img]https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:mkhjvd5flljqdjyqz3kbmsn6/bafkreiddx3f5bs2e3jugatletplx6x7ao3t5muy645ho3yr265hbidrbua@jpeg[/img]
mctrials23 2 hours ago
Theres something that blows my mind about drivers and logic. "Then they ask for 1.5m after one cyclist does this. The absolute temerity of it!" For some reason, every cyclist negatively represents all of us in car brains. Lets try this with cars. "Look at that guy in the ditch after crashing his car. And then drivers ask for cheaper insurance premiums".
Rendel Harris 2 hours ago
Those figures I quoted were from the Crime Survey for England and Wales which has been running since 1982 (originally the British Crime Survey) which assesses the true level of crime, not just reported crime.
mitsky 2 hours ago
Also, as I said on a previous news item about a cycle lane closure... (Unless the cycle lane has solid barriers all the way along it, there is nothing stopping a cyclists walking past the end of the cycle lane that has the "closure"/sign and simply hopping on to it. So, in the same way, the gaps in the barriers on Oxford Street won't be small enough to prevent people in wheelchairs or parents with baby buggies getting through ... and thus also cyclists. The question of how feasible it is to then cycle through throngs of pedestrians is a different matter.
Paul J 2 hours ago
Cyclists are just a lot faster than cars on those twisty mountain descents. Faster than motorbikes too often, IF the straight bits are not long enough for the motorbikes to accelerate away again . You have to overtake somewhere, and by the nature of a narrow road you will pass close by the car as you do so. Usually in Spain the locals, if they react at all, cheer you on as you pass!
19 thoughts on “Live blog: Club cyclists accused of riding London to Brighton sportive route without having an entry – Oxted CC Chairman responds + more”
Not sure about this specific
Not sure about this specific sportive, but, if handcycles aren’t permitted?
Fuck ’em, if I can and want to, I will. Start allowing handcycles in and then we’ll see, but otherwise I’ll just chance my arm – it’s literally the only way I might get to participate!
As long as they didn’t use
As long as they didn’t use feed stations, who cares? Public roads and all that.
Hijacking a sportive is not
Hijacking a sportive is not something I would do (having a fully functioning conscience and all that), but I can’t see what you can do about it. Even stopping those without bona fide sportive numbers (helmet, front of bars etc) at feed stops would be tricky, given they are mostly staffed by unpaid volunteers who understandably wouldn’t want to get into an argument over a few flapjacks.
The cycling community, although we like to think otherwise, reflects the wider society we live in – ie there will always be a fair share of dicks.
Rocking up and joining
Rocking up and joining someone else’s paid-for event without paying is seriously bad form.
Following the same route outside of the event is fine as it’s public roads but not a (semi) closed road event with all the benefits that go with it. Even if they don’t use the feed stations there are many benefits; liaising with the authorities to close the roads, marshalls, emergency services, etc.
I’m sure the individuals considered are feeling pretty smug but they, and their clubs should be ashamed – they are not a good advertisement for the cycling community who, on the whole, tend to be decent human beings (despite what the anti-cyclying lobby might say)!
Really not on – it’s a
Really not on – it’s a charity event! Especially bad if they used feed stations. It also reflects badly on their clubs. As others have said not a lot you can do, I hope they contact the clubs to complain though. If they wanted to do it, do it a different day
I don’t really see the appeal
I don’t really see the appeal of doing this. Surely the whole point of participating in such an event is the ‘raising money for charity’ thing. Otherwise I would have thought it would be far more pleasant to do it on some other day when the route isn’t packed with other cyclists (including, I would imagine, a lot of unconfident novices). Not sure a few bits of closed road would outweight the crowds.
Personally that day is a day I remember specifically deciding NOT to cycle to Brighton.
So I pirated the London to
So I pirated the London to Brighton a few years ago – I joined a group that already had entries but I was too late and entries were closed. I donated the entry fee to the Charity independently, didn’t use any of the feed stations and set off at stupid o’clock to avoid the crowds. Feel free to lambast me.
That is the first and last time I will ever ride it. Despite the early start, there were too many cyclists not used to riding in large groups – nor in these kind of events – making sudden, unexpected manoeuvres riding unsuitable bikes (badly maintained shopping bikes) and I felt uncomfortable for pretty much the whole ride – dodging sudden dismounters on the Beacon was particularly frustrating.
You won’t find me riding the Marmotte either – for not totally dissimilar reasons – though I have attempted it on a different day to the organised event (and failed – some unfinished business there…).
But let me be clear, I have no problem with others treating L2B as a challenge and I always support the encouragement of cycling in (almost) all its forms – this is my personal view and I have made my personal decisions.
As for Clubs pirating these events, I agree that is really not the right spirit and they should take a careful look at themselves and the message they are giving.
Three times now I’ve ridden
Three times now I’ve ridden roughly half of the L2B route all three times as part of a club ride. Never have I used the feedstops and each time I’ve set off at 7am to avoid the crowds. This year there were two British Heart Foundation volunteers collecting donations on the seafront. I was surprised to find they could only take card payments. The fiver I had in my pocket couldn’t be taken.
On a separate note I’m not sure I’ll ride the route again – certainly not if the weather was like this year – as each year more and more of the route is open to cars and it’s less clear where roads are open to traffic. The run in through Brighton is full of people busting to get a ‘good time’ through live traffic and over road crossings bit too stressful for my liking.
I’m not sure how long L2B is for this world. Given that RideLondon seems to have surpassed it as ‘the’ charity ride in the South East/London.
I’ve done it a couple of
I’ve done it a couple of times as a charity entrant, although the most recent was about 10 years ago. Even at 6 am in Clapham, the route was packed with all kinds of cyclists, and whilst I enjoyed it, I haven’t felt the need to do it again.
On Ridelondon, you get clubs (with some hangers on, probably) with whistles blowing to get slower lesser mortals out of their way, desperate to set fast times. I hope none of that was going on!
Tell them to shove it up
Tell them to shove it up their arse. BHF hijacked the event anyway. When push comes to shove ( up your arse or not ) it’s mostly an open road route. Just don’t use their stop points, or bag any bling / swag, and divert around the closed road bits, and what can they do?
The “we do lots for charity”
The “we do lots for charity” line is a favourite excuse of rich people who avoid paying tax and like to justify obnoxious stuff. Look at how all the fat old men who got caught at the Presidents Club the other year defended their behaviour.
There are are plenty of other roads out there to ride on – if you haven’t got a place and you decide to crash the route then you are probably the sort of person who likes to think they are doing good but in reality everyone else thinks you are a scum bag.
Bet the the guy from cycling club quoted in the article is an estate agent.
Ouch. That’s a cringeworthy
Ouch. That’s a cringeworthy response regardless of the rights or wrongs of their members’ actions. Probably best not to try and defend nor offer ‘yeah but …’ rationale.
I think that if they’re open roads then technically it’s fair enough to ride them, but why would you choose to take a club run down a route that’s going to lay yourself open for criticism like this? Very odd.
I don’t think it is at all.
I don’t think it is at all.
Why take a Sportive down popular roads for cyclists… Oh yeah!
Do we know how much of the route they travelled on and if it’s a path well trodden by them, they may be the ones that suffered by having the fair weather brigade around and about them…
One if the biggest jokes is
One if the biggest jokes is “commercial” sportives hijacking the names days and routes of longer established club sportives. Or clashing routes. Many of the charity sportives I used to consider entering demand an entry fee and sponsorship; so I tend not to bother now.
Legin wrote:
Another victim of Austerity Britain I’m afraid. Cuts to charity helping government funds plus people being less likely to just give one off payments as meant more and more alternate fundraising ways are required. So running their own sportives (or taking it over as mentioned above) and setting high minimum raise figures are ways to be able to make up for missing other funding they used to have.
AlsoSomniloquism wrote:
Another victim of Austerity Britain I’m afraid. Cuts to charity helping government funds plus people being less likely to just give one off payments as meant more and more alternate fundraising ways are required. So running their own sportives (or taking it over as mentioned above) and setting high minimum raise figures are ways to be able to make up for missing other funding they used to have. — Legin
Given we are one of only five countries to actually give out the 0.7% of GNI (that is in law and set by the UN) maybe we as a country should taper down to that of most of Europe who rarely if ever meet that target (including the Germans)?
Big charity is big business now, fat cats take the piss with massive over inflated salaries plus all the perks, there should be tighter regs on charities paying their top bosses disgusting sums of money whilst putting pressure all the time on joe public. I’ve volunteered for my charity for 17 years, they work as a regional org seperate to the national, the national charity despite its relative small income (copared to a lot of the big ones), the CEO gets a sickening amount of money, it boils my piss.
As it is charitable donations have gone up by £2Bn since 2017 to 2018 (£75Bn – £77Bn) and BHF is worth £1.3Bn, aside from taking large sums from people ion bikes I don’t see them adding value to cycling as a whole in our society despite the massive benefits that cycling brings to the heart and is a preventative intervention as well as aiding recovery.
Tough ,roads are free for
Tough ,roads are free for anyone to use . It’s like the idiots who pay for these cycling holidays to ride alp d huez etc . Just book a flight use air bnb etc etc and you save a sh&£ load of money and ride when you want to . It’s a total rip off. Just go ride your bike .
I rode a sportive recently
I rode a sportive recently but didn’t read the small print about having to wear a helmet and so didn’t get an official time. Still helped myself to the feed station. It’s a leisurely ride with others, not a race.
Found this on the Guardian-
Found this on the Guardian-
How they built cycling tunnels under the Tyne by hand – in pictures
https://www.theguardian.com/cities/gallery/2019/apr/02/how-they-built-cycling-tunnels-under-the-tyne-by-hand-in-pictures
Seperate tunnels for cyclists and pedestrians. Could be completed in the Summer. Which could of course happen any month now.
It would appear they have a Cycling in the City bit which seems to be seperate to their Bike Blog and neither featured the Offroad thing from a little while back. Anyone know of another bike thing hidden somewhere?