Welcome to Monday’s live blog, with Jack Sexty, Simon MacMichael and the rest of the team…
Lord Winston wants cyclists … to raise money for his charity; Parkun runner pushes cyclist off bike on towpath; W Sussex cycle path perfect prep for ‘cross season but not much else; Boardman: advisory cycle lanes “money down the drain” + more on live blog
All today’s news from the site and beyond…
Mon, Oct 07, 2019 17:04
SUMMARY
7 October 2019, 17:04
Weekend catch-up: top stories this weekend
Zwift national champion stripped of title because he didn’t earn the ‘Tron’ bike he rode within the game
5 per cent of Scots commute by bike – but country set to miss 2020 cycling target by miles
Trentin calls for safer barriers after team-mate Hodeg seriously injured in Eurometropole crash
Leicester removes £5,400 New Walk anti-cycling blocks as nearby cycle lane approaches completion
7 October 2019, 17:04
Trentin pulls no punches in damning the UCI's attitude towards rider's safety
But the most important things are :
-socks lengt
-dsq someone for something that always happend
-no feed from the cars in the 30 km and last 20 of a race
-no race radios in the worlds
– no cutting our 45x45cm numbers
-be on time on team pres that are always late#showmustgoon— Matteo Trentin (@MATTEOTRENTIN) October 5, 2019
Trentin, runner-up in the men’s elite road race at the UCI Road World Championships last weekend, has been calling for safer crash barriers at pro bike races after his Deceuninck-Quick Step team mate Alvaro Hodeg sustained multiple fractures in a crash at the Eurometropole one-day race in Belgium on Friday.
This tweet sums up where Trentin thinks the UCI’s priorities lie…
7 October 2019, 17:04
White lines don't go a long way, says Boardman
Proven to actively make cyclists LESS safe, their only purpose is to look as if you’ve done something helpful without disturbing anyone driving as the imperative.
Dashed white line cycle lanes are possibly THE best ways ever invented for a council to pour money down the drain. https://t.co/x3DI6a4XGU
— Chris Boardman (@Chris_Boardman) October 6, 2019
It appears dashed white lines acting as cycle lanes certainly aren’t in Chris Boardman’s vision dreams of passion. Manchester’s Walking and Cycling Commissioner says they are “proven to actively make cyclists less safe and “possibly the best ways ever invented for a council to pour money down the drain.”
Boardman is currently overseeing a transformation of cycling and walking infrastructure in Greater Manchester, with a planned 1,800 miles of segregated cycling and walking routes that are protected from motor traffic – is he right about the ineffectiveness of paint to denote a cycle lane? It certainly seems it’s not doing much in video above…
7 October 2019, 17:04
Do you wear 3/4 length bib shorts?
We’re interested to know if you go for 3/4 length bib shorts at this time of year, or do you stick to shorts or going to full-length tights?
Do you wear 3/4 length bib shorts at this time of year?
— road.cc (@roadcc) October 7, 2019
7 October 2019, 17:04
Extinction Rebellion protests: Lambeth Bridge, Westminster Bridge and Trafalgar Square all blocked (to cars)
The moment #ExtinctionRebellion took Lambeth Bridge today. Let mayhem commence pic.twitter.com/smaMvUsdtJ
— Tom Brook Derbyshire (@chunkyfunkymunk) October 7, 2019
Protestors from #ExtinctionRebellion fully in control of Westminster Bridge. Police managed to stop them building a stage but not much more. pic.twitter.com/KWAyC8wKS0
— James Bickerton (@JBickertonUK) October 7, 2019
Despite reports of heavy-handedness from Police, protestors have managed to shut down many major London routes to motor traffic and have even erected a stage on Northumberland Place.
Extinction Rebellion started to block Lambeth Bridge just as I cycled over it. Police response more gung ho than I’ve seen before, but they were massively outnumbered, and bridge is now blocked. pic.twitter.com/QY0vZFMFfq
— Peter Walker (@peterwalker99) October 7, 2019
7 October 2019, 17:04
Winning grand tour time trial easier than dressing daughter...
I have a degree in engineering and I’ve won a time trial in a grand tour, but getting my infant daughter’s arms through her onesie sleeves is the hardest thing I’ve ever done.
— Chad Haga (@ChadHaga) October 6, 2019
7 October 2019, 17:04
70-year-old woman becomes oldest person to ride race on Bolivia's 'Death Road'
A 70-year-old woman who took up cycling after her son passed away suddenly has become the oldest cyclist to take part in a 60-kilometre race held on Bolivia’s notorious ‘Death Road’, reports the Guardian.
Skyrace follows the route in the Andes of the Yungas Highway, which once claimed between 200 and 300 lives a year.
The toll has dropped since it was replaced by a new, paved highway, but around 30 firms still offer backpackers the opportunity to ride the route on mountain bikes, and the dangers remain very real – earlier this year, a New Zealander participating on one such trip plunged 100 metres to his death.
Mirtha Munoz this week became the oldest competitor ever at Skyrace, which has an altitude gain of 3,300 metres, after she was advised to take up cycling by a therapist after her son died.
“He told me … the bike could help me get through my pain, and to rebuild,” she explained.
“It’s a vertical climb, you go up and up and there’s no rest,” she said afterwards.
7 October 2019, 17:04
Dangers of cycling on notorious 70mph A-road is remedied with... a dirt track.
This is a brand-new path that’s been built alongside the A264, a 70mph road carrying 35,000 vehicles a day.
Because of West Sussex’s idiotic policies, it has… a mud and gravel surface pic.twitter.com/nA35PFIEfs— Mark Treasure (@AsEasyAsRiding) October 7, 2019
This is the ‘solution’ for cyclists that has just been installed next to a busy stretch of the A264 in West Sussex, as filmed here by GB Cycling Embassy chairman Mark Treasure. Looks like your next bike really should be a gravel bike…
7 October 2019, 17:04
Parkrun runner pushes cyclist off bike on towpath
Kingston Parkrun says that a participant who pushed a cyclist off her bike on a towpath alongside the River Thames at the weekend will no be welcome at future events..
Founded in southwest London in 2004, the 5-kilometre timed events are now held on Saturday mornings in around two dozen countries worldwide, with more than 600 locations in the UK alone.
In a post on its Facebook page on Saturday, Kingston Parkrun said that “the runner who chose to push a cyclist off her bike today is not welcome” at the event.
In a reply on the thread, the cyclist said: “Thanks for your concern, I am ok, but at the time was really upset and in shock that this happened. I might have been shoved but it certainly felt like I was punched in the arm and with enough force to stop me cycling. It was painful and I was in tears. No one stopped to check I was ok and the person who hit me certainly didn’t even though I shouted after them. Thank you to the race director for taking time to listen to me and to follow this up. I regularly use the towpath and usually avoid using it on Saturday mornings but forgot today and by the time I’d met the runners couldn’t change to a different route. But this shouldn’t have resulted in someone physically assaulting me.
In reply, Kingston Parkrun said: “I am so sorry that this happened to you. It is not acceptable for any runner to assault anyone and doing it during parkrun is against the ethos of parkrun. I hope someone can step forward and identify who it was.”
The perpetrator does not appear to have been identified as yet but another post on the thread highlighted a similar issue elsewhere on the river (although not on a Parkrun event): “It’s sad to hear but as a cyclist who has also been shoved into brambles on the tow path by a runner (Walton part and another event not Parkrun) it is far more common than just this.
“There are more and more running events along the river path and it really does become too much on the weekends. Parkrun isn’t the problem at all. Maybe the path needs to be closed off for some of the other events that aren’t as well stewarded,” the poster added.
7 October 2019, 17:04
Last night an e-bike changed my life
This BBC article details the positive impact e-bikes have had on numerous cyclists, and dispels the myth that they are ‘cheating’.
Luckily for you we’ve already gone into detail as to why e-bikes aren’t cheating in this feature over on our sister site eBikeTips, where you’ll find all the e-bike news, reviews and info you could possibly need!
7 October 2019, 17:04
Sunweb development rider Edo Maas sustained 'severe injuries' in Picollo Lombardia collision with car
We’re sad to report that @EdoLM has sustained severe injuries after a crash at #PiccoloLombardiayesterday.
The Team Sunweb family send their thoughts, prayers and strength to Edo and his loved ones at this incredibly difficult time.
More: https://t.co/Y248ep3lEz pic.twitter.com/lgM00whU99
— Team Sunweb (@TeamSunweb) October 7, 2019
19-year-old Maas crashed with a car while descending the Madonna del Ghisallo and was immediately transported to hospital in Milan with severe injuries, said his team in a statement. He’s currently sedated but his injuries are not considered life-threatening, and has sustained fractures to his neck, back and face. Further investigations are ongoing to determine the full extent of his injuries.
7 October 2019, 17:04
Department for Transport make £2 million e-cargo grant fund available to save businesses up to £1,000 on bike purchases
Under the scheme ran by the Energy Saving Trust and funded by the DfT, businesses will be able to apply for a grant of up to 20% off an e-cargo bike purchase, with the max discount set at £1,000 per bike. Full story over on eBikeTips.
7 October 2019, 17:04
Finland offers free cycling lessons to immigrants
Finland is offering cycling lessons to immigrants with the aim of helping them get mobile and better integrate into life in the Nordic nation.
The lessons in Helsinki, mainly funded by the state lottery, are run by the Finnish Cyclists’ Federation, which has so far taught riding skills to more than 300 people, many of them women recently arrived from Africa or the Middle East, reports Asian Age.
The federation’s Federico Ferrara said: “Many people who come to Finland, mostly women, they don’t have this bicycle skill and it’s a very important part of Finnish society.
“Many of our clients have some kind of taboo with these biking skills, maybe they’ve fallen down when they were kids and they have this trauma in their head for 20 years, or maybe it’s not socially or culturally accepted for them to bike.
“If they are in a refugee centre, many times they are in the middle of nowhere and the bike can be the only way of commuting,” he added.
7 October 2019, 17:04
Anti-cycling peer wants cyclists ... to raise money for his charity
It seems that despite a number of utterances in the House of Lords that may give the opposite impression, Labour peer Lord Winston isn’t that averse to cyclists after all – provided, that is, you do it in the south of Spain, not London, and raise upwards of a couple of grand for a charity he founded in the process.
The charity, the Genesis Research Trust, is now recruiting riders for next year’s Cycle Andalucia, which takes place from 13-17 May with three days in the saddle and is said to be “open to all.”
Accompanying a picture of Lord Winston on the sign-up page is the following endorsement:
You could be part of the incredible #TeamGenesis and cycle from Cabra to Seville. By signing up for this challenge you will be helping us fund world class research which saves the lives of women and babies. Miscarriage, stillbirth and premature birth are just three of the areas of research we fund, everyone will know someone affected by these three tragedies. Genesis Research Trust with your help can prevent these tragedies from happening… but we need you to pedal for our researchers!
A worthy cause, we can all agree, but it’s a shame that Lord Winston doesn’t seem to understand the benefits of getting more people cycling on his own doorstep.
In addition to a registration fee of £199, there is a fundraising target of £2,350 or £2,450, the former applying for those who arrange their own travel, and participants are told: “You must make it clear to your donors that their donations are helping towards the cost of the event.”
7 October 2019, 17:04
Another train operator that's making it impossible for many cyclists to take bikes on board ...
Cross-Country joins GWR and LNER in providing vertical bike storage that many find impossible to use, if their bikes fit in the first place …
Not physically able to use the appallingly bad cycle storage hanging rails on our trains? Screw you, basically. This is pathetic https://t.co/BJ6mC6a0lE
— citymobility (@citycyclists) October 6, 2019
7 October 2019, 17:04
Fair point ...
Or like you cheated and unlocked it https://t.co/SeAe1hZcUP
— SuzeCY (@festinagirl) October 5, 2019
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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
Mr Blackbird 31 minutes ago
villages not villagers. Am I not allowed to edit my crap spelling and grammar anymore?
Mr Blackbird 33 minutes ago
Daffodils were out before the end of January in some Cambs villagers. I heard a yellowhammer singing a week ago ( not usually heard before mid March to early April) and saw a very large bumblebee at a garden centre today - it was buying some gardening gloves.
Mr Blackbird 52 minutes ago
I wouldn't mind watching live coverage of construction of the artificial hill. As long as it isn't on a TNT subscription channel. (And I hope the event organisers don't employ the pillock in the earlier article from Notts who flattened a cycle path embankment to create a flat area for caravans).
open_roads 2 hours ago
Hope: “here’s our latest frame that shows our amazing craftsmanship in an incredible eye catching finish” Hope: “no you can’t buy it apart from in Black - even at additional cost for the finish” 🤷♂️
Surreyrider 2 hours ago
Agree with that. But it doesn't look that packable from the pictures.
SaneRebel 2 hours ago
I've recently had a rotator cuff shoulder injury which has made signalling with my right arm difficult and painful (but cycling all day has been fine). This got me thinking I might need indicators (but bike mounted). Thankfully my shoulder is improving now, but I would have welcomed them if the only way to keep cycling safety. That, or move to Europe and have the left arm indicate my moves across traffic lanes.
rct 2 hours ago
As opposed to my Steel reynolds frame, where the top, down tubes were bent, and the lugs pushed into the top tube.
robike 2 hours ago
A minor dooring went just behind my saddle and hit the pannier rack. Bending it and the back wheel, also knocking me off causing grazes and ripped clothes. It was a young woman who was parking up outside work - a car sales garage. Her manager came out and was very good at calming the situation and offered to cover my losses. I was quite annoyed that the trousers I had bought only about a month before were then not in stock.
Dodonline 3 hours ago
I use my Boost in day and night. In daytime, I have it on Day Bright flash and, at night, I have it on constant. If I needed more than the 12 or 2 hours respectively, I would choose a different light altogether. I can't really think of a use case, other than an emergency, for the lower power modes, and certainly don't need to use them regularly so the fact that they are more difficult to access is a plus. I would find cycling through all six modes much less convenient.
arowland 3 hours ago
What! It's a game? Ugh, I've been cycling seriously :(
33 thoughts on “Lord Winston wants cyclists … to raise money for his charity; Parkun runner pushes cyclist off bike on towpath; W Sussex cycle path perfect prep for ‘cross season but not much else; Boardman: advisory cycle lanes “money down the drain” + more on live blog”
Boardman hits nail on head
Boardman hits nail on head again. Has St Chris been utterly wrong about anything yet? (or, as we like to call it, “doing a Winston“)
brooksby wrote:
I love Chris Boardman more than any pig [1], but he is a little bit wrong on this one. Greenwich council have found an ingenious way of wasting even more money by putting ‘armadillos’ at regular intervals along the painted white dashes, sometimes even within the dashes, on Trafalgar Road, so that avoiding the parked delivery vans becomes even more dangerous as you have to slalom between the fucking armadillos to avoid being thrown over and crushed ‘neath the might wheels of a truck.
Dumb fuckwits.
[1] Blackadder reference
I *genuinely* think that
I *genuinely* think that painted cycle lanes should be banned. As usual, Lord Sir Christopher of Boardman is correct.
We should create high quality minimum standards of cycle infrastructure (using a version of the most recent TfL guidance as a starting point), and refuse to accept anything less. They are a waste of paint and resources, and actually make it more dangerous because of some drivers’ entitlement in thinking that cyclists *must* use these lanes, and be punished if they don’t, and because less experienced cyclists use them uncritically without knowing that they would be safer if they just took a more assertiv road position.
Should also be banned due to
Should also be banned due to reinforcing the perception that the minimum required passing distance is the thickness of a white line!
Although, in the defence of the ones with a solid white line, at least it gives me a clear run past all the nose-to-tail cars on my way to work – the rest of the time, I really don’t want or need them.
Whilst white lining may be
Whilst white lining may be money poorly spent it’s an effective way to direct motorists’ and motoring groups’ anger at poor highway infra at someone other than the councils.
Why moan at the council about potholed roads when you can moan about cyclists not using the (potholed) painted cycle lane?
Not only that, with the cyclist in the road you can take instant revenge as complaining to the council will only waste time.
Quote:
Ooo – well, that told ’em!
brooksby wrote:
Especially as they don’t actually know who it is, then how are they supposed to ban the offender?
So these running gangs
So these running gangs basically just expect to take over shared used paths by force of numbers?
I hear complaints about cyclists going through red lights, blah, blah but what about the plague of runners, nearly all of which have music poured into their ears, so are paying zero attention, who also seem unable to even stop when they get to a crossing of any sort? They should have licence plates on their backs! Some of them won’t even run on the pavement either!
Rick_Rude wrote:
My wife says:
“Probably a regular runner who pays no attention to the brief given before every run that we share the space and other users have as much right as us to be there.”
Also nearly all proper competitive running events ban the use of headphones and earphones.
Rick_Rude wrote:
Yeah, these runners all need to be licenced, registered, wear number plates, pay tax to use the public parks, wear helmets and hi-viz… etc.
Rick_Rude wrote:
And helmets, obviously.
It’s a shame that the cyclist
It’s a shame that the cyclist felt she should avoid a public space on a Saturday. Why can’t we all just play nicely together?
Bloody Parkrunners, coming to
Bloody Parkrunners, coming to our parks, taking our trails. Send em all home!
I parkrun sometimes and I think, in the main it’s a real success for the country as a whole. I can’t think of another scheme which has ever gotten so many people together on a Saturday morning for some exercise. In the summer my local parkrun will get upto 650 runners of all sorts together. There is however ‘always one’ dog walker going in the opposite direction looking grumpy about it. It’s all over by 09:45, I think you’ve got to be pretty grumpy to begrudge a parkrun.
Park run is great – people
Park run is great – people are idiots.
Parkrun is a bit like a clubrun / groupride. Operates in (usually public) spaces so should follow the rules of the road (or path). Parkrun are very clear in all instructions to give way to other park users. Sadly there are people who think that they are more important that others – even to the point of violence.
Practically the only thing Parkrun can do if they find who did it is to ban the person. But they could set up a new account with different personal data. Like Strava really.
I’d hope that other ParkRunners can come forward as witnesses and then the person can be charged via the correct route – via the Police (presumably for assault?).
alan sherman wrote:
There are 4 within easy reach of my house. Banning the offender from one would just mean re-registering with a different email address and going to a different one. Not sure there is anything they could do beyond that, without making entry for Parkrun more difficult … which would kind of defeat the point.
On the towpath thing – whilst
On the towpath thing – whilst there can be conflict between users, and a little bit of common sense goes a long way, there does appear to be a pattern whereby Canal and Rivers Trust bang on about anti-social cyclists, but do bugger all about violence towards cyclists by other people who think they own the canal. Near us there have been regular threats by other towpath users towards cyclists, including some actual attacks on cyclists, and the Canal and Rivers Trust have done absolutely nothing about it, other than to victim-blame the cyclists.
the little onion wrote:
To be fair to them, what are they supposed to do about individuals attacking other individuals? That’s the job of the police (assuming they can spare time away from disrupting XR disruptions).
hawkinspeter wrote:
Well, at least they could tell people at these public meetings that threats of violence towards cycling are unacceptable (been there, witnessed the failure to even condemn comments like “i’m going to push the next cyclist I see into the canal”. The response was something like “oh well, we put signs up telling cyclists not to speed”)
I wear 3/4 length baggies for
I wear 3/4 length baggies for when winter properly hits, supplemented with water resistant thermal knee warmers when it gets really cold/wet.
What happened on the towpath
What happened on the towpath was an assault. A criminal offence. That is that really. You’ll find most of the things outlined by various correspondents are against criminal law.
That they are a) not reported b) not dealt with by police does not make them any less criminal.
“Anti-cycling peer wants
“Anti-cycling peer wants cyclists … to raise money for his charity.”
I’m pretty innured to the utter nastiness of the privatised “charity-fund-raising” business (where huge amounts go to the ‘private-sector-events-organisers’, and small change to the charity). Utterly nasty.
But Winston’s cynicism defies belief … WTAF?
The fact that Parkrun and
The fact that Parkrun and cyclists are competing for the same space says one thing: we need more space.
Our community spaces, the roads, have been denied us by drivers who demand that we bow down before them and get out of their way. If if wasn’t for drivers, there would be plenty of safe space for cyclists and pedestrians to co-exist, but we are all denied that space by those with power and money. XR are right; we don’t need minor changes, we need a fundamental change, in this case, one where drivers are the ones with no rights, and pedestrians and cyclists have rights, not just whenever the jucicial system feels like we deserve them.
Simple solution burtthebike,
Simple solution burtthebike, if it isn’t moving it isn’t using. Take away on street parking and make roads solely for people moving, there will be plenty of space. A parked car is an inanimate object with no rights, so it can’t feel hurt by being excluded.
Philh68 wrote:
Unfortunately, not quite that simple. Remove all the parked cars and motor traffic speeds would increase significantly. All the parked vehicles effectively create pinch points and slow the rest of them. If the parking element was removed and converted to proper, segregated cycle routes, then yes, that would solve a lot of the problems.
Philh68 wrote:
I remember seeing a map which showed how much area within various cities was taken up with parking for motor vehicles, and it was extraordinary – and that was before you started counting in on-street parking (ie. cars lined up alongside the roadway and up onto pavements, obviously).
Quote:
I’ve just read through that tweeter thread. Pretty awful response from Cross Country – “You’ll need to find a way of hanging it up yourself, or get help” – and I’ve had a look through the link to their website.
As someone who (almost) never travels by train, and never have with a bike, is this standard operating procedure?
tl:dr translation: We have a train that can carry hundreds of people but only two bikes (maybe three, at a push). You can reserve a space or just turn up, but our staff might decide there isn’t room and turn you away. Well, not you, but your bike, so you’ll need to go and lock it up somewhere and then come back to the train before it leaves. But the bike was important for your journey? Not our problem, but we can offer you a link to a Brompton rental place…
The A264 cycle path, being of
The A264 cycle path, being of mud and gravel will soon become overgrown with weeds, and even more useless.
regarding the e-bikes, in the
regarding the e-bikes, in the period 2008-2017 in the European country with the biggest sales (Germany) cycling overall has gone down dramatically, coinciding with year on year increases in e-bike sales. The period 2002-2008 saw a 17% increase in cycling journeys, for the 02-17 period cycling journeys had gone up by only 13% which means a fall in journeys. Modal share of cycling has also not increased unsurprisingly.
I can’t figure out how to do the maths to work out the reduction for the 08-17 period but it’s interesting that when you look at car sales for the 02-08 period they were down and the 08-17 period car sales in Germany were on the up (as has been e-bike sales)
The Netherlands also shows exactly the same problem, huge e-bike sales but overall cycling has not changed in modal share. So going by the bare facts e-bikes are not encouraging motorists out of their cars in the two leading European e-bike user countries, somewhat worrying for their proponents who state that they will create a revolustion in transport.
113/117 = 0.9658
113/117 = 0.9658
0.9658 x 100 = 96.58%
100 – 96.58 = 3.42% reduction from 2008 to 2017
However these things are always open to manipulation. Pick your start and end dates to paint the picture you want to show. I suspect choosing a date other than 2002 would tell a different story.
@Brooksby this is interesting
@Brooksby this is interesting – https://www.move-lab.com/project/whatthestreet/berlin?bike=0.33&rail=0.33&car=0.33
peted76 wrote:
Thanks, thats really interesting.
I think this – http://www.copenhagenize.com/2015/12/arrogance-of-parking-space-copenhagen.html – was the article I was thinking of.
EDIT: I had a play with your linked site, peted76, and it says “London has 12,000,563 m2 of car parking. This area is about 4.5 Hyde Park”.
It also says “London has 156,808 m2 of (presumably dedicated) bike parking. This area is about 22 Soccer Fields.”
For a moment I thought the
For a moment I thought the A264 cycle-path story was related to the photo immediately below it. “I mean, that is a bad surface, but at on the plus side you can’t see the A264 from it, and it’s actually quite scenic, so it’s not all bad”
FluffyKittenofTindalos wrote:
Looks a lot safer than the A264 as well.