Welcome to Friday’s live blog, with Jack Sexty, Alex Bowden and the rest of the team.
Doncaster create cycle race circuit with cobbled climb; Belfast Radio station forced to apologise; Pavel Sivakov wins Tour of Poland; Tyson Fury turns spectator; Stage one of tour of Scotland abandoned; + more on the Live blog:
All today’s news from the site and beyond…
Fri, Aug 09, 2019 18:13
SUMMARY
9 August 2019, 18:13
Why don't cyclists use the cycle lane part 4,235
TfL @TfLTPH One of your partners seems to be a little confused Both well below the standard that should be expected from (A)a regulator and (B) a minicab driver pic.twitter.com/u1CTilWqOS
— martin phillips (@martinp57437911) August 8, 2019
9 August 2019, 18:13
An excellent thread on the joys of cycling
So it’s nearly 16 years since my wonderful Dad was killed in a cycling accident (it was an accident – no blame). I see lots of photos of children cycling and the positive effects of cycling so here’s my take on why making roads safe for kids is good for all pic.twitter.com/VE6nRdRycL
— David Standard (@DaveStandard) August 8, 2019
“The point is this, cycling has an effect, group sport of any type has a very direct positive effect on society. We become a group, rather than isolated in our metal boxes. It builds character, resilience and builds a healthy mindset into children”, says former GB cyclists David Standard in tribute to his late father.
9 August 2019, 18:13
Egan Bernal gets hero's welcome in his homeland
.@Eganbernal‘s Tour de France victory has had an incredible impact in Colombia #GraciasEgan pic.twitter.com/0p7Sr7TSOR
— Team INEOS (@TeamINEOS) August 8, 2019
It must be still sinking in for the Colombian superstar, as he returns to his homeland to find huge crowds gathering to catch a glimpse and murals made in his honour.
An incredible homecoming for Tour de France winner @eganbernal pic.twitter.com/R8B0OoGkl8
— Eurosport UK (@Eurosport_UK) August 8, 2019
9 August 2019, 18:13
'Extreme filtering'
This video was originally spawned from a thread on Reddit, where the uploader says “this should be shown to every person who goes to buy a new car in Glasgow.” Allegedly an accident 20 miles away on the M80 caused this tailback, and motorists were stuck in jams for two hours or more. Bet they wish they’d have cycled instead…
9 August 2019, 18:13
TfL are working to raise the profile of cargo bikes at the minute
They’ve just announced the winners of a ‘best cargo bike’ competition.
Douze’s G4e bike won the Best Cargo Bike – Business category. The judges were particularly impressed with the model’s manoeuvrability and comfort.
The Bakfiets Long won the Best Cargo Bike – Families category, which assessed bikes suitable for carrying children. The bike scored highly for its affordability and judges were also impressed by the bike’s ease of use.
Will Norman, London’s Walking and Cycling Commissioner, said: “I’m delighted that this competition has helped showcase how cargo bikes are a greener, cleaner and often faster alternative to polluting cars and vans. We were really impressed with the standard of all the entries, and hope families and businesses will be encouraged to make the switch and help clean up London’s toxic air.”
9 August 2019, 18:13
Bloke whose bike was crushed by lorry driver still waiting for company to pay for it
Kent Live reports on a cyclist whose bike was hit by an Olleco lorry while it was locked to a fence.
Stephen Taylor had left his bike outside Suzanne’s gift shop in Broadstairs while he went to get his hair cut. He came to a bent frame and a knackered wheel.
“When I got back, the lorry was still there,” said Taylor. “So I spoke to the driver and he said to speak to the company. They were very nice and helpful, they told me to send all the details and photos which I did.
“I took it to the bike shop in St Peter’s and they said it was a write-off, then they did a report and sent it off to Olleco.
“I’ve not heard a thing from them – they promised they’d get back to me and didn’t bother.”
The loss of the bike means that Taylor’s commute has increased by 40 minutes.
He says he’s attempted to contact Olleco every week since the incident happened on July 10, but he’s had not response.
“It’s not the money – it’s just really irritated me,” he said.
“I work at A&E and get the train from Ramsgate to Medway and cycle the rest of the way. After a 12-hour night shift I’ll have an extra 40-minute walk.
“Why should I pay £500 of my money on a new bike when this lorry reversed over it?
“If it was a car I could claim on my insurance. It’s not my fault. The lorry driver was very nice and he admitted liability.
“If I damaged one of their vehicles they would be on me like a ton of bricks. Even if they just give me £50 I will be happy because at least they have done something.”
9 August 2019, 18:13
Tour of Britain land art competition
Do you have a bright idea for creating a display and a location along the Tour of Britain route? If so you can enter the National Land Art competition here:
here: https://t.co/cRTmkrl869 @TourofBritain #TourofBritain #LandArt— Tameside Council (@TamesideCouncil) August 8, 2019
9 August 2019, 18:13
Mosaic Cycles launch new RS-1 steel road bike
Couple of new steel road bikes launched this week, starting with this RS-1 from Boulder brand Mosaic Cycles. Full story here.
9 August 2019, 18:13
Zig-a-zig-ah! Zig Zag is All-City's new disc-equipped road bike
And here’s the amusingly titled Zig Zag from All-City, another popular US brand of steel road bikes. Read the full story here.
9 August 2019, 18:13
Cycling UK wants to hear from clubs affected by council’s absurd Velolife cycle cafe ban
“Saying that cyclists are welcome to use the café, but must not arrange or organise themselves to do so, is an absurdity of Catch 22 proportions.”
9 August 2019, 18:13
Stage one of women tour of Scotland abandoned
The organisers of the race said: “Due to extreme weather conditions we have taken the unfortunate decision together with Police Scotland and the other relevant authorities to abandon today’s stage.”
“Conditions have proven impossible due to heavy sections of standing water. Rider safety is therefore paramount and conditions were no longer safe to continue.”
“The winners of today’s Event Scotland Queen of the Mountains and Motorola Solutions Sprints classifications will still be presented in Dunfermline, however the rest of the teams have returned to their accommodation.”
At the moment stage 2 is still due to go ahead
1/3 #WTOS pic.twitter.com/hC6cdXZN3m
— Women’s Tour of Scotland (@womenstourscot) August 9, 2019
9 August 2019, 18:13
Professor killed after van driver opened door without looking for cyclists "started cycling after 7/7", say family
The professor of genetics Maria Bitner-Glindzicz, who died when a van driver opened his door without looking which forced her to swerve into the path of an overtaking taxi, started cycling after narrowly escaping the 7/7 terror attacks, according to her family. Speaking to the Evening Standard, her husband Professor David Miles said she only didn’t board the Piccadilly Line tube that exploded back in 2005 because of overcrowding: “She reckoned she was extremely close to being on the carriage that had the bomb on it. Since then, she was always cycling.”
The van driver who was deemed to have caused the incident was charged with opening his door ‘so as to injure or endanger’, but died in the days before a hearing in April of this year.
9 August 2019, 18:13
We should emphasise that it's only stage one of the Women's Tour of Scotland that's been cancelled
As it stands, we still plan to commence the start of Stage 2 in Glasgow tomorrow. #WTOS
— Women’s Tour of Scotland (@womenstourscot) August 9, 2019
Here’s Katie Archibald on why she thinks it’s such an important event.
9 August 2019, 18:13
Mum of cyclist killed in road traffic collision launches petition for all bikes to be sold with lights
The Labour MP for Kensington, Emma Dent Coad, tweeted support – despite opposing a segregated cycle lane in her constituency recently.
9 August 2019, 18:13
Pavel Sivakov wins Tour of Poland
@PavelSivakov of @TeamINEOS wins @Tour_de_Pologne #TDP19 #TDP2019 https://t.co/URSGoLuBGV pic.twitter.com/D0UMcCqAQA
— World Cycling Stats (@wcsbike) August 9, 2019
9 August 2019, 18:13
Tyson Fury gives some gentle encouragement to cyclists in Marbella
If you ever needed some motivation while cycling up a mountain, just call @Tyson_Fury #NoFilterBoxing special episode in Marbella drops tomorrow night on BT Sport 1 HD pic.twitter.com/YtEe7BzLGL
— Boxing on BT Sport (@BTSportBoxing) August 8, 2019
9 August 2019, 18:13
Everyone's favourite interviewee talks about the conditions on stage one of the tour of Scotland
“It was crazy conditions!” Your QoM jersey leader @CUttrupLudwig @BiglaTeam looks back on Stage of the #WTOS pic.twitter.com/izEHhPG4Ou
— Women’s Tour of Scotland (@womenstourscot) August 9, 2019
9 August 2019, 18:13
Cyclists deride 13.6-km detour on Canadian Canal bike path
Authorities in Canada have recommended a 13.6-kilometre detour to circumnavigate a 1.5-kilometre section of a popular cycling path. That’s reasonable isn’t it?
“Is this a joke?” wrote one irate cyclist on the Parks Canada Facebook site. “A detour of 14 km to replace a stretch of 1.5 km? Do you ever bike?”
Totally unacceptable and disconnected from reality,” wrote another. “How can you pretend that imposing a detour that’s 10 times longer than the zone under construction could be reasonable?”
Parks Canada announced that starting last Monday, the stretch of the bike path running north of the canal between Dollard Ave. and Angrignon Blvd., south of Ville St. Pierre and Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, will be closed because of renovation work on the canal’s retaining walls until June 2020.
https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/cyclists-deride-13-6-km-detour-on-lachine-canal-bike-path
9 August 2019, 18:13
Belfast Radio station forced to apologise after posting meme attacking cyclists
Belfast radio station U105 has been forced to apologise for a post on social media attacking cyclists.
A meme, shared widely online, was posted on the station’s Facebook page on Thursday.
It showed an image of the actor Robert Downey jr looking relieved with the caption: “When you thought you ran over an animal but it was just a cyclist…”
The station then went on to write “Drive safe folks!” under the post.
On Friday afternoon, the station, unsurprisingly made an apology.
“We posted a meme that has offended and upset some members of our audience,” a statement said.
“It was not our intention and an error of judgement on our behalf, and we would like to apologise to anyone who was upset or offended with the content of the meme.”
9 August 2019, 18:13
1km race circuit in Doncaster will include cobbled climb
Work on a new world-class cycling facility at Doncaster Dome has been completed and it will open to the public after 27 September 2019.
The council are looking to grow cycling in the region following the upcoming World Championships which are being held in Yorkshire.
The event takes place in Yorkshire in September and the Women’s Junior Road Race and Men’s U23 Road Race will start from Doncaster Dome on Friday 27 September.
According to the Doncaster council the track will;
- be closed from traffic to create a safe environment for cyclists
- include a learn to ride area for children and young people
- be ideal for beginners right through to elite racers
- feature a cobbled climb as part of a regional specification race circuit
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Jack is group editor across road.cc, off.road.cc and ebiketips, overseeing all three sites in the F-At Digital group to make sure everything’s up to scratch. He’s 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 road.cc 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).
16 Comments
Latest Comments
Backladder 12 seconds ago
@Pub bike People might even be tempted to leave them on if they were halfway competent, a courtesy car I had recently insisted that a 3t weight limit sign was a 30mph sign.
Backladder 9 minutes ago
@mattsccm Can you be a bit more specific, is that 955 worldwide since the invention of the motor car?
mattsccm 26 minutes ago
I think we have to be realistic. It appears that the pedestrian was at fault and thus the cyclist should have no blame what so ever. Indeed they should be compensated, ideally from the pedestrian house insurance and if not through the MIB which exists for similar purposes. Equally motorised vehicle users should not be penalised for the stupidity of people. I recall, but sadly cannot prove it, evidence that something like 955 of all car/pedestrian collisions were the pedestrians fault and yet drivers are penalised by having to have ridiculous "soft" panels on cars which serve little or no purpose when linked to cars hitting road users. Think also 4wd bull bars being banned for no legitimate reason.
open_roads 34 minutes ago
I’m sorry for the Mr Griffith’s loss but it was widely reported at the time that his mum stepped into the road without looking and around 2 metres from the approaching cyclists. Had the cyclists been a car she would have likely been run over and killed and the story wouldn’t even be reported as “news”. Likewise had she stepped out, knocked over and killed the cyclist it would likely not have been “news” worth reporting. The root cause of the death was failure to look before stepping out into the road.
chrisonabike 1 hour ago
Unfortunately (at least in the UK now) you just have to expect the unexpected around pedestrians *. Just slow down and be prepared for sudden odd moves - or indeed the opposite, people freezing when you "appear out of nowhere" (despite sporting hi-viz, daylight running lights, ringing bells / running spokey-dokeys...) Annoying but ultimately to your benefit as well as theirs... * And indeed drivers...
chrisonabike 1 hour ago
Your reminder also that "penalties as deterrents" for road crime is ... very questionable. For those affected - one is too many. But cyclist-caused deaths stand out by their rarity AND because we have normalised - well, minimized protests about - deaths due to motor vehicle drivers. How to stop deaths in the first place? You can't go wrong with a "sustainable safety" approach, instead of the UK's one which has leant heavily on reducing the number of vulnerable road users out and about and invoking the law as a backstop. While impossible to know why she stepped out here I suspect in cases like this one it is simply "not expecting cyclists" or "being unfamiliar with the speed cyclists can attain". And alas the only thing that really changes that is having *more* cyclists and enough "practical learning"...
chrisonabike 2 hours ago
Your reminder that there is nothing to stop cyclists being prosecuted for causing death by the manner of their riding - indeed there are (are they in use?) new laws on this. ...and indeed cyclists have been prosecuted and convicted. How *easy* this is - that's another thing. Hard to gauge given how uncommonly this occurs.
MaxiMinimalist 2 hours ago
@the little onion Hit the deck because a pedestrian crossed the road while the light was green for road traffic. I shouted "watch out!", she froze then reversed while I was riding around her from behind. Bang! A pedestrian collided with me and my bike while crossing the road when it was forbidden. Crikey!
MaxiMinimalist 2 hours ago
And there would be no discussion about "dangerous and speeding cyclists" which has yet to be defined.
check12 3 hours ago
Motivated - this is the mur Strava top 10 for men and women, times are not similar at all - Women top 10 - 3:48-4:07 Men top 10 - 3:04-3:14
16 thoughts on “Doncaster create cycle race circuit with cobbled climb; Belfast Radio station forced to apologise; Pavel Sivakov wins Tour of Poland; Tyson Fury turns spectator; Stage one of tour of Scotland abandoned; + more on the Live blog:”
“Bet they wish they’d have
“Bet they wish they’d have cycled instead…” I’ll take you up on that bet Jack. They won’t wish anything of the kind. They’ll simply think “Bloody traffic, why doesn’t the council / government do something” and “Bloody cyclist, what’s he doing here, doesn’t even pay road tax . . .” Putting 2 and 2 together is beyond them.
I think Magnatom has many
I think Magnatom has many videos of his seemingly daily commute through huge tailbacks in Glasgow.
Me and the better half were
Me and the better half were catching up with “Beneath the Surface II” the other night. We do like BBC4s Saturday night shows, often subtitled, though foolishly watched Marky Mark’s first Transformer movie, that’s three hours of our lives we shall never get back. I had forgotten that we did very much enjoy the first series, but we had previously liked the Transformer movies, especially the first two. Beneath the Surface is a Danish drama, and the first action scene after the titles featured our hero, Phillip, chasing down some kidnappers, who were in a car, whilst riding a Bakfiets. The stereotypical Danish Bakfiets mother had previously been shown in a plot development with her child in the box. Being Denmark our hero on said Bakfiets, Phillip, managed to catch up the evil motorist kidnappers on several occasions. Him being able to take shorter more direct routes whearas the car had to take the longer more circuitous route.
Good luck with the move Legs..
Hi – I’m the guy in the
Hi – I’m the guy in the filtering video. Honestly, getting on Road CC made my day.
The accident was thankfully something benign – a 5 car crash with no serious injuries or worse. According to Traffic Scotland it completely shut off all southbound lanes on the M80 for about half an hour and according to the Evening times it reduced the northbound lanes for a while. This happened near Cumbernauld, which is about 20 miles away from where the video ends. I filtered past two miles of almost stationary traffic.
From what I can gather the 2-hour tailback the other redditor mentioned wasn’t the same one.
On another note, there is no reason why there shouldn’t be cycling infrastructure on that road. It is plenty wide to fit a segregated path without reducing motor traffic capacity at all.
technone wrote:
I work in north Kent and commute on the A2/M2 daily. It’s a very busy road and when there’s a crash, the tailbacks can go back for miles. I filter through similarly long, long lines of stationary cars on my motorbike pretty regularly, maybe once/month.
Only in winter do I switch to travel option no 2, cycling to the railway station and letting the train take the strain.
I cannot for the life of me imagine why so many of those people I overtake as I filter, the vast majority of whom are sitting in their car by themselves, choose to travel in such a way.
I’ve driven my car to my office just twice in the time I’ve worked for this firm, once to pick up a printer and another to deliver a large box. Neither of these could be strapped to the motorbike.
The motorbike trip takes 45 minutes, bicycle and train takes 1 hour and the car (on a good day) takes 1 hour 15 minutes.
At my previous firm in central London I cycled 4 miles to the office and then back again every day. There was a car park and it astounded me that several colleagues would choose to drive there.
Small claim court for crushed
Small claim court for crushed bike?
This is also another good advert for membership of an organisation like British Cycling or Cycling UK – I bet Olleco would take more notice of a letter from a lawyer.
Surely the crushed bike is
Surely the crushed bike is just a straight forward insurance claim against the vehicle that caused the damage? You don’t have to hit only another car to get claimed against.
I really feel for the bloke
I really feel for the bloke trying to deal with the lorry company regarding his smashed bike.
I was knocked off my bike over a year ago by someone who turned into me and then admitted straight up to me and the police that it was her fault and that she hadn’t seen me (despite lights etc.).
Initially I would have settled for repayment of my material losses despite the not insignificant injury I received. The drivers insurance company totally refused to deal with me and then tried to claim it was my fault. I’m now chasing them with a no win no fee lawyer. 15 months in and there’s still no sign of progress. Anyone know how long these things take to sort out normally?
My daughter claimed through
My daughter claimed through Cycling UK’s scheme when she got hit. It took well over a year even with lawyers involved, probably partly due to the Bulgarian driver’s insurance company being based in Bulgaria. They finally paid up after court procedings started. Patience and persistence paid off in the end. Frustrating, though.
On the BrewDog story on
On the BrewDog story on eBikeTips, they do seem to be losing some of their probicycle Chain Gang image.
Charging points with secure bike parking might draw them in some cyclist customers.
I went for a job in Dundee, the interviewer could not believe that I would continue to cycle around the city as a form of transport and I would have to start driving. Little could he possibly know. And I hadn’t even discovered winter and spiked tyres and really effective winter wear. Stunning surrounding countryside.
To be fair, that’s the
To be fair, that’s the driving standard I’ve come to expect from taxi drivers
It’s good that Doncaster have
It’s good that Doncaster have made a cycle track at Donny Dome.
On the other hand, I looked at the cycle infra around the Dome when researching the U23 men & junior women’s World Champs race routes https://speedyhedgehog.com/uci-world-champs-2019-U23-mens-road-race.html
The bike lanes are absolute rubbish. As well as riding on the track, people should be able to get to the track safely on a bike – and at the moment, I suggest they can’t.
Danny MacAsKill’s Drop and
Danny MacAsKill’s Drop and Roll show featured on BBC2 fringe coverage, with Duncan Shaw, and Nish Kumar riding badly on a trials bike.
BBC anti bicycle bias?
Driver calls other driver a c
Driver calls other driver a c*** for driving in cycle lane, while apparently filming incident from behind the wheel. Despair.
“We posted a meme that has
“We posted a meme that
has offended and upset some members of our audiencewas an utterly irresponsible normalisation of dangerous and/or violent behaviour” a statement [should have] said.“Audrey Godin-Champagne, a
“Audrey Godin-Champagne, a spokesperson for Parks Canada, said the federal body wanted to suggest protected bike path alternatives similar to the route under construction, separated from car traffic, to ensure a similar level of security.
Putting a temporary bike path on St-Patrick St. that runs alongside the south edge of the canal was not feasible, she said, because the road is too narrow and sees considerable traffic.”
Because obviously a fully protected temporary bike path is the only option…
How about spending a few minutes thinking about some alternative approaches for accommodating cyclists on the route, like, say, putting up some “cyclists ride central / do not overtake cyclists” signs for example?