Live blog: Egan Bernal and the benefits of the bunch (in watts); Huub-Wattbike aiming to blow Hour record ‘out of the water’; Scottish MSPs reject ban on parking in cycle lanes; Echelon hire designer who sued Peloton (who are suing Echelon) + more

17 thoughts on “Live blog: Egan Bernal and the benefits of the bunch (in watts); Huub-Wattbike aiming to blow Hour record ‘out of the water’; Scottish MSPs reject ban on parking in cycle lanes; Echelon hire designer who sued Peloton (who are suing Echelon) + more”

1. So in Scotland an empty

   So in Scotland an empty stationary car is still seen as having more entitlement to public space than a person on a bicycle actually going somewhere. Idiocy of the highest level. It’s either a bicycle lane or it’s car parking. Stop pretending it can be both, it can’t.

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   • Philh68 wrote:

     So in Scotland an empty stationary car is still seen as having more entitlement to public space than a person on a bicycle actually going somewhere. Idiocy of the highest level. It’s either a bicycle lane or it’s car parking. Stop pretending it can be both, it can’t.

     — Philh68

     It is a missed opportunity and another example of where our politicians are not brave enough to move us to a new place.

     • Scotland knows it has an obesity crisis.  Many areas don’t do well on other health statistics.  Pushing society to be less dependant on cars would be a significant change.
     • Scotland has already declared a climate emergency.  It has a target to be carbon neutral by 2040, 10 years earlier than the UK govenrnments target.

     but even with those clearly identifed drivers of policy ther debate can’t get past a car dominated society.

     The move to allow local authorities to tax employer provided car parking spaces (like Nottingham has done) is positive although probably only Glasgow and Edinburgh are interested in using the powers.

     Our leaders will need to lead society to a different place, but they can’t see where that place might be and won’t push a society stuck with private cars as the dominant transport imperative.

     Every day I commute by bike I have to go round cars parked in a cycle lane.  For me it is not a huge inconvenience, but it is just a little indication that our leaders don’t have the vision to change our car dominated society.

      

      

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     • Sniffer wrote:

       Our leaders will need to lead society to a different place, but they can’t see where that place might be and won’t push a society stuck with private cars as the dominant transport imperative.

       Every day I commute by bike I have to go round cars parked in a cycle lane.  For me it is not a huge inconvenience, but it is just a little indication that our leaders don’t have the vision to change our car dominated society.

       — Sniffer

       Unfortunately, it appears that the vast majority of our politicians are paid to keep things as they are.

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       • hawkinspeter wrote:

         Our leaders will need to lead society to a different place, but they can’t see where that place might be and won’t push a society stuck with private cars as the dominant transport imperative.

         Every day I commute by bike I have to go round cars parked in a cycle lane.  For me it is not a huge inconvenience, but it is just a little indication that our leaders don’t have the vision to change our car dominated society.

         — hawkinspeter

         Unfortunately, it appears that the vast majority of our politicians are paid to keep things as they are.

         — Sniffer

         Indeed, not representing the public but representing their paymaster.

         It’d be refreshing for MPs to say fuck off and not take the pay check from big business and look after the health and welfare of their constituents, and reduce the burden on the NHS.

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     • Sniffer wrote:

       It is a missed opportunity and another example of where our politicians are not brave enough to move us to a new place.

       • Scotland knows it has an obesity crisis.  Many areas don’t do well on other health statistics.  Pushing society to be less dependant on cars would be a significant change.
       • Scotland has already declared a climate emergency.  It has a target to be carbon neutral by 2040, 10 years earlier than the UK govenrnments target.

       but even with those clearly identifed drivers of policy ther debate can’t get past a car dominated society.

       The move to allow local authorities to tax employer provided car parking spaces (like Nottingham has done) is positive although probably only Glasgow and Edinburgh are interested in using the powers.

       Our leaders will need to lead society to a different place, but they can’t see where that place might be and won’t push a society stuck with private cars as the dominant transport imperative.

       Every day I commute by bike I have to go round cars parked in a cycle lane.  For me it is not a huge inconvenience, but it is just a little indication that our leaders don’t have the vision to change our car dominated society.

        

        

       — Sniffer

       I think we can make it simpler than that. Cycle lanes exist to separate road users for safety and improved traffic flow. It’s the same for any special purpose lane, bus only lanes exist to benefit both bus users and motorists by enabling each to travel without interference from the other. They’re actually preventing the cycle lanes from doing what they are meant to do by allowing parking in them – forcing cyclists out of that lane into vehicle traffic and disrupting the flow of both. And any traffic engineer will tell you that mixed traffic only moves as fast as the slowest vehicle.

       So what they’ve done is continue to prevent efficient use of road space for all users. And in turn this will perpetuate the stereotypes as cyclists are forced out of their lane, where they will be blamed for hindering traffic. Because no politician has ever grasped the fact that parked cars move zero persons per hour, and that roads were not meant as storage space for private possessions, we have to find a way to put that into an economic cost to society before they will understand.

        

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       • Philh68 wrote:

         It is a missed opportunity and another example of where our politicians are not brave enough to move us to a new place.

         • Scotland knows it has an obesity crisis.  Many areas don’t do well on other health statistics.  Pushing society to be less dependant on cars would be a significant change.
         • Scotland has already declared a climate emergency.  It has a target to be carbon neutral by 2040, 10 years earlier than the UK govenrnments target.

         but even with those clearly identifed drivers of policy ther debate can’t get past a car dominated society.

         The move to allow local authorities to tax employer provided car parking spaces (like Nottingham has done) is positive although probably only Glasgow and Edinburgh are interested in using the powers.

         Our leaders will need to lead society to a different place, but they can’t see where that place might be and won’t push a society stuck with private cars as the dominant transport imperative.

         Every day I commute by bike I have to go round cars parked in a cycle lane.  For me it is not a huge inconvenience, but it is just a little indication that our leaders don’t have the vision to change our car dominated society.

          

          

         — Philh68

         I think we can make it simpler than that. Cycle lanes exist to separate road users for safety and improved traffic flow. It’s the same for any special purpose lane, bus only lanes exist to benefit both bus users and motorists by enabling each to travel without interference from the other. They’re actually preventing the cycle lanes from doing what they are meant to do by allowing parking in them – forcing cyclists out of that lane into vehicle traffic and disrupting the flow of both. And any traffic engineer will tell you that mixed traffic only moves as fast as the slowest vehicle.

         So what they’ve done is continue to prevent efficient use of road space for all users. And in turn this will perpetuate the stereotypes as cyclists are forced out of their lane, where they will be blamed for hindering traffic. Because no politician has ever grasped the fact that parked cars move zero persons per hour, and that roads were not meant as storage space for private possessions, we have to find a way to put that into an economic cost to society before they will understand.

         — Sniffer

         One way to prevent people from parking in cycle lanes is to allow members of the public to submit photos of badly parked vehicles in return for a “finders fee”. Couple that with an increasing scale of fines for repeat offenders and sooner or later drivers will avoid known blackspots as there’ll be people just waiting for the vehicle to stop in the wrong place.

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       • Philh68 wrote:

         It is a missed opportunity and another example of where our politicians are not brave enough to move us to a new place.

         • Scotland knows it has an obesity crisis.  Many areas don’t do well on other health statistics.  Pushing society to be less dependant on cars would be a significant change.
         • Scotland has already declared a climate emergency.  It has a target to be carbon neutral by 2040, 10 years earlier than the UK govenrnments target.

         but even with those clearly identifed drivers of policy ther debate can’t get past a car dominated society.

         The move to allow local authorities to tax employer provided car parking spaces (like Nottingham has done) is positive although probably only Glasgow and Edinburgh are interested in using the powers.

         Our leaders will need to lead society to a different place, but they can’t see where that place might be and won’t push a society stuck with private cars as the dominant transport imperative.

         Every day I commute by bike I have to go round cars parked in a cycle lane.  For me it is not a huge inconvenience, but it is just a little indication that our leaders don’t have the vision to change our car dominated society.

          

          

         — Philh68

         I think we can make it simpler than that. Cycle lanes exist to separate road users for safety and improved traffic flow. It’s the same for any special purpose lane, bus only lanes exist to benefit both bus users and motorists by enabling each to travel without interference from the other. They’re actually preventing the cycle lanes from doing what they are meant to do by allowing parking in them – forcing cyclists out of that lane into vehicle traffic and disrupting the flow of both. And any traffic engineer will tell you that mixed traffic only moves as fast as the slowest vehicle.

         So what they’ve done is continue to prevent efficient use of road space for all users. And in turn this will perpetuate the stereotypes as cyclists are forced out of their lane, where they will be blamed for hindering traffic. Because no politician has ever grasped the fact that parked cars move zero persons per hour, and that roads were not meant as storage space for private possessions, we have to find a way to put that into an economic cost to society before they will understand.

          

         — Sniffer

         I don’t disagree with you.  Just putting the lack of change into a wider perspective. 

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2. We all need to order some

   We all need to order some ‘Congratulations for parking like a c**t’ certificates and carry them when we’re out on our rides 

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   • StraelGuy wrote:

     We all need to order some ‘Congratulations for parking like a c**t’ certificates and carry them when we’re out on our rides 

     — StraelGuy

      

     if these aren’t available yet, someone should start making them. I’d buy them.

      

     in the meantime, I’d just scratch that message into the paintwork 

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   • StraelGuy wrote:

     We all need to order some ‘Congratulations for parking like a c**t’ certificates and carry them when we’re out on our rides 

     — StraelGuy

     You’d have to carry hundreds and be stopping every few metres.

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3. Really hoping Huub-Wattbike

   Really hoping Huub-Wattbike manage to achieve great things on the track, just to show how the UCI are stifling grassroots racing. If riders can only compete by being part of a national team, then it really does make it a poor show. Especially when they clearly were able to compete at the required level.

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   • RobD wrote:

     Really hoping Huub-Wattbike manage to achieve great things on the track, just to show how the UCI are stifling grassroots racing. If riders can only compete by being part of a national team, then it really does make it a poor show. Especially when they clearly were able to compete at the required level.

     — RobD

     Just another UCI ‘O’Bree’ moment, ‘you can’t do that, it’s not cricket’!

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4. Huub Wattbike should seek

   Huub Wattbike should seek nominations from countries to represent them as their national team. Like Tuvalu, just to stick it to the UCI… 

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   • Philh68 wrote:

     Huub Wattbike should seek nominations from countries to represent them as their national team. Like Tuvalu, just to stick it to the UCI… 

     — Philh68

     Or just declare ‘Derbados’ a nation state, as in ‘Passport to Pimlico’.

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5. But who is this Huub-Wattbike

   But who is this Huub-Wattbike fellow? I haven’t heard of him winning any TTs, how is he going to smash the hour record?

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6. Imagine that you parked your

   Imagine that you parked your car on the motorway and walked away.  The response would be that it would be towed away, and you would get the bill.

   If that was what happened to cars  parked in a bicycle lane I have little doubt that the practice would end.

   I spent 3 weeks in September touring Burgundy with my wife on our tandem.  Drivers there were much more courteous to us, weather we were riding or walking, than drivers are in the USA.  I understand that if you hit a cyclist in France you have to prove that the cyclist was at fault.  Same for pedestrians. 

   Not too difficult to figure out: people respond to rewards and punishments.

    

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   • Dangerous Dan wrote:

     Imagine that you parked your car on the motorway and walked away.  The response would be that it would be towed away, and you would get the bill.

     If that was what happened to cars  parked in a bicycle lane I have little doubt that the practice would end.

     I spent 3 weeks in September touring Burgundy with my wife on our tandem.  Drivers there were much more courteous to us, weather we were riding or walking, than drivers are in the USA.  I understand that if you hit a cyclist in France you have to prove that the cyclist was at fault.  Same for pedestrians. 

     Not too difficult to figure out: people respond to rewards and punishments.

      

     — Dangerous Dan

     Presumed liability.  Another missed opportnity that has been discussed in Scotland.

     https://www.cyclinguk.org/news/20141031-pressure-increased-introduce-presumed-liability-scotland

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