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Dutch rail operator pledges more space for bikes; Huge anti-pollution bicycle wheel artwork stolen in Bath but no-one knows when or how; Roglic wins world’s biggest yacht race; Merckx in hospital; CX rider v mud; Nico Roche Xmas pud tip +more on live blog

All today's news from the site and beyond as we start a new week...
14 October 2019, 19:14
Dutch train (via NS.nl)
Dutch state railways pledges to cater for cyclists in next generation trains

The Dutch national rail operator, NS, has pledged to improve bike storage in the next generation of inter-city trains, due to enter service between 2021 and 2023.

While the Netherlands is rightly considered something of a cycling utopia by foreigners, lack of space on trains to take a bike will be familiar to any cyclist in the UK.

As we’ve reported recently on road.cc, the situation here is worsening, with limited storage that many find impossible to use on high-speed trains introduced by GWR, LNER and Cross-Country.

Across the North Sea, the Dutch cyclists’ union, Fietsersbond, is urging NS to address the needs of cyclists, with current rules placing a number of restrictions on taking bikes on trains.

While busy rush-hour services mean that many people will have a bicycle at each end of their rail commute – something that abundant cycle parking facilitates – Fietsersbond highlighted that lack of provision on trains also affects people cycling for leisure.

The organisation says that the number of people wanting to take a bike on trains is rising by between 10 and 20 per cent a year.

Fietserbond president Saskia Kluit, quoted on English language website NL Times, said: "On beautiful cycling days in particular, it is doom and gloom and often families or groups of cyclists have to stay behind on the platforms. We advocate for separate, single-story bicycle wagons on railway lines to popular recreational areas."

A spokesperson for FS said the operator was aware that the issue needed to be addressed, saying: "We are therefore going to investigate the possibilities, in consultation with Rover [an organisation that represents rail users] and the Fietsersbond. We will also ask our travellers for ideas."

14 October 2019, 18:22
Huge anti-pollution bicycle wheel artwork stolen in Bath

An anti-pollution artwork made up of 69 bicycle wheels covered in red textiles has been stolen in Bath – but no-one seems to know exactly when or how thieves made off with them.

The installation was put in place on the city’s George Street last month, with the number of wheels matching the 69 micrograms of nitrogen dioxide per cubic metre measured at the location – 60 per cent above the limit of 40 micrograms per cubic metre limit set by the EU Air Quality Directive.

Bath George Street bike pollution demo 1.JPG

They were stolen between 2 and 4 October, the latter being the day one of the team who installed them noticed they were missing.

Batheaston-based artist Alison Harper, who created the installation, told Somerset Live: "It's like a piece of me has gone. I have been a bit immobilised the last week and it’s still not sunk in that someone would do this.

"I feel a sense of loss. They had been a part of my life for 18 months and so much work went into them."

She added: "The artwork is really difficult to remove, as it was all attached by cable ties to one another and to the railings.

"The artwork is really big and bulky, it fills two cars when we move it around the city so it must have been very well planned."

The piece was commissioned from Harper and environmental campaign group Transition Larkhall by Bath & North East Somerset’s Liberal Democrat cabinet member for transport services, Joanna Wright.

"I was very shocked to hear that they had been stolen. Obviously people just don't want to know that air pollution kills people,” she said.

A spokesman for Avon and Somerset Police said: “There are no further lines of enquiry and the matter has been filed, pending any new information.”

Bath George Street bike pollution demo 5.JPG
14 October 2019, 16:42
Bad weather doesn't affect cycling levels, says Dutch study

A new study from the Netherlands overturns one assumption often made about cycling - namely that poor weather discourages people from getting in the saddle.

We'll be taking a closer look at the research tomorrow, but if you want to take a look at it now, follow the link in the tweet below. 

14 October 2019, 16:34
Iceland sacks driver who was fiddling with mobile phone when he almost hit cyclist

Frozen foods retailer Iceland has sacked a driver who was fiddling with his mobile phone when he almost hit a cyclist - with the incident, back in December 2016, caught on camera.

14 October 2019, 16:27
14 October 2019, 16:27
UCI sanctions Binck Bank Tour organisers for safety breaches

The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) today announces that it has imposed a series of measures on the organisers of the Binck Bank Tour due to safety failings noted during the 2019 edition.

The UCI has imposed a series of measures on the organisers of the Binck Bank Tour following complaints by riders about safety during this year’s race, held over nine days in August in Belgium and the Netherlands.

The news comes after world cycling’s governing body met with the professional cyclists’ organisation last week to discuss a number of safety-related incidents in races in recent weeks.

A fine has been imposed on the organisers of the race, which remains on the UCI WorldTour calendar for next year, subject to the following requirements:

The presence in 2020 of a Technical Advisor, appointed by the UCI and at the cost of the organisers.

The implementation of a plan of action devised by the UCI and approved by the Professional Cycling Council (PCC) in preparation for the 2020 Binck Bank Tour.

An evaluation of the standard of quality and safety of the organisation of the event, which will remain part of the UCI WorldTour Calendar in 2020. A decision regarding the status of the event will then be made based on that evaluation.

14 October 2019, 14:18
Mark Cavendish back at Lee Valley velodrome - for Great Ormond Street hospital

He's won a rainbow jersey there, and this weekend, Mark Cavendish has been back on the boards at the Lee Valley velodrome - this time to raise money for Great Ormond Street Hospital.

14 October 2019, 12:59
Primož Roglič 'wins' world's biggest sailing race... less than 24 hours after 7th place finish at Il Lombardia

Is there anything this man can't do? The former pro ski jumper turned Vuelta-winning cycling champion is also apparently a sailor now, as he was part of the team that won the Barcolana Regatta yesterday. Starting in Trieste, it's the world's biggest sailing race with more than 2,000 boats and 15,000 sailors taking part in yesterday's edition, which was the 50th running of the event.  

We understand that the winning boat, called 'Way of Life', was sailed by Zan Luka Zelko from Slovenia and Gasper Vincec from Finland, completing the course in 1 hour, 54 minutes and 10 seconds. We're not too sure what Roglič' role was on the boat, but it's not like he'd have added too much weight in any case. He made the trip from Lombardy to Trieste to take part a few hours after his 7th place finish at Il Lombardia, and he also won Giro dell'Emilia and Tre Valli Varesine in Italy last week. 

Looks like Roglič will be bowing out of the 2019 season on a high with the wind in his sails after a season that's saw him ride a wave of great form. Here all week etc etc...  

14 October 2019, 12:44
France wants to triple number of cyclists

According to stats presented by the World Economic Forum, the country has a similar issue to the UK when it comes to utility cycling because most French people see cycling as a sport - just 3% of trips are made by bike in France. The government will spend €350 million on bike paths in the next three years, and will also offer cycling lessons in schools and make all new buildings have bike parks to prevent cycle theft in their efforts to treble the number of cycle trips. 

14 October 2019, 10:44
Watch as CX rider struggles in mud

The start of cyclo-cross season inevitably means videos surfacing of riders struggling in the mud - and the unfortunate cyclist in this clip from the weekend's round of the Coupe de France is Arnaud Jouffroy, who was having a very hard time getting up that hill.

He wasn't the only one either - take a look at the poor kids in the junior race below.

14 October 2019, 10:30
Eddy Merckx rushed to hospital after falling off his bike, with wife reportedly saying he is "not too bad"
tour-blog-5

Nieuwsblad reports that the five-time Tour de France-winning legend fell off his bike during a group ride with friends, suffering a head injury described as 'serious'. He was rushed to hospital in Dendermonde, Flanders, and as he wears a pacemaker doctors reportedly wanted to examine him further today to ensure no long-term damage has been done. 

Merckx' best friend Paul Van Himst reportedly said the damage is "not too bad", and he spoke to Merckx' wife last night who also said that her husband is "all good."

Merckx was honoured at this year's Tour de France, with the race starting in Brussels to mark the 50th anniversary of his first Tour victory in 1969. 

14 October 2019, 12:40
Why don't cyclists use the cycle lane, continued...
14 October 2019, 08:34
Dave Brailsford "back to serious training" for first time after operation
Dave Brailsford strava October.PNG

Brailsford was in Vienna to cheer on Eliud Kipchoge to his mind-boggling 1:59:40 marathon at the weekend, and also managed to get in his first sizeable ride as he recovers from surgery following a prostate cancer diagnosis earlier in the year. 

14 October 2019, 01:31
Car-dooring sign – helpful or victim-blaming?

Here's a sign snapped in Beeston, Nottingham, by road.cc user mike, and it's difficult to now where to start with it.

Beware of opening car doors.PNG

Is it addressed to cyclists, or drivers and their passengers? It could be either, going by the wording.

The council does seem though to have put down broken white lines on the shared-use path to let cyclists know where the door zone is.

What do you think?

14 October 2019, 08:38
What are we going to do?

 

14 October 2019, 07:57
Nicholas Roche substitutes Christmas puddings for energy bars on long rides
nicolas_roche_homeroads.jpg

Speaking to the Irish Independent about his nutrition and training, Roche says that's it's not essential to carry specific energy bars because muffins, cakes and even good old Christmas pudding can perform the same job of providing fuel: "At the national championships in 2015 I forgot my energy bars and won the title on some mini muffins and cakes that I bought at a petrol station on the way to the race.

"Even now, my Auntie Carol makes me a Christmas pudding that I'll cut into slices and wrap in tinfoil to bring with me out training. I'll have a slice of that after two or three hours and it keeps me going for the rest of the spin. I'll have it in my pocket on every long spin from December right through to April. My Sunweb team uses banana bread as a recovery food sometimes and I like that for training too."

Roche swears by a mid-ride coffee stop to fuel the second half of his training even though dad Stephen disagreed because he said he would "catch a cold". He also reveals that he eats yoghurt and cereal post-race instead of pasta and vegetables because it's hard on the stomach after consuming so many carbs in the saddle. 

14 October 2019, 00:28
Wiggins: I don’t want my son to be a pro cyclist

Sir Bradley Wiggins has said that he does not want his son Ben – now aged 14 – to become a pro cyclist, despite the teenager recently coming within a whisker of winning the North West Youth and Junior Tour in August.

Mail Online reports that the five-time Olympic gold medallist and 2012 Tour de France winner, who described his son as “very talented,” made the comment as the national tour of his one-man show drew to a close last week in London.

“I'm not going to push him into that now so I can stand there in 10 years' time when he wins Olympic gold and the reflected glory – ‘That's my son’,” Wiggins said.

"I can't do that, it's cruel,'” he added.

Anyone who has followed Wiggins' career will know that he is a complicated character, and that much of that has to do with his father Gary, who enjoyed a lot of success on the six-day circuit, abandoning  the two-year-old Bradley and his mother, which led to them moving from Belgium to London.

Had that not happened, would the 'Kid from Kilburn' have gone on to become a multiple wporld and Olympic champion on the track, and enjoyed so much success on the road?

Wiggins also spoke to The Sunday Times about his home, and his collection of cycling memorabilia.

“I’ve probably got one of the biggest, rarest collections of cycling memorabilia in the world,” he said. “It’s race jerseys, mainly, from the biggest names in the sport.

“At one time, jerseys weren’t like they are today, they were wool with advertising stitched on by hand. To me, they are works of art.

“My most treasured is my Sean Yates yellow jersey. I associate it with being 14 and wanting to do what I got to do for a living.

“Sean and I have become close – he’s an inspiration, and when I won the Tour he was my directeur sportif,” he added.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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34 comments

Avatar
ktache | 4 years ago
2 likes

The driver has a responsibility for all of their doors being opened in a proper and legal manner, so as not to hurt others.  And it is not really the done thing to allow children to get out into traffic, is it?  Being hit by large motor vehicles does tend to hurt and can result in some rather severe injuries.

And I will say again, the Dutch reach should not be promoted as a way to keep cyclists safe, it should be to keep the car user and their vehicle safe, they care about their own safety and their precious vehicle, many do not care one fig about cyclists.

Avatar
Velo-drone | 4 years ago
1 like

So yeah, in my "why aren't you using the cycle lane" box ... the answer is, "because someone's decided to fully park up blocking the whole lane and pavement with their car and trailer.  Uh huh.  No way I'm trying to squeeze past that with my son on tag-along behind me, so we have to join the main road instead.  

How about "why aren't you using the car lane?"

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Vlad the Impailer | 4 years ago
0 likes

Did they check the wheelie bins under the railing for theose missing wheels of the art work in Bristol.

Wouldn't be suprised if they went in there overnight as cable ties can be cut very easily with a pair of scissors.

Now - if they had been car wheels.... thats a different story.   cheeky

Avatar
Hirsute | 4 years ago
3 likes

Perhaps it was the council's street scene graffiti squad that removed the wheels.
Seems more likely to be error than theft. It's not a gold toilet.

Avatar
brooksby replied to Hirsute | 4 years ago
2 likes
hirsute wrote:

Perhaps it was the council's street scene graffiti squad that removed the wheels. Seems more likely to be error than theft. It's not a gold toilet.

My thoughts exactly. The right hands of many councils often don't seem to know what their left hands are doing, so...

Avatar
Sriracha replied to Hirsute | 4 years ago
1 like
hirsute wrote:

Perhaps it was the council's street scene graffiti squad that removed the wheels.
Seems more likely to be error than theft. It's not a gold toilet.

She probably missed the sign warning that cycles attached to the railings will be removed.

Avatar
brooksby replied to Sriracha | 4 years ago
1 like
Sriracha wrote:
hirsute wrote:

Perhaps it was the council's street scene graffiti squad that removed the wheels. Seems more likely to be error than theft. It's not a gold toilet.

She probably missed the sign warning that cycles attached to the railings will be removed.

laugh  OK, you win!

Avatar
Hirsute replied to Sriracha | 4 years ago
1 like
Sriracha wrote:
hirsute wrote:

Perhaps it was the council's street scene graffiti squad that removed the wheels.
Seems more likely to be error than theft. It's not a gold toilet.

She probably missed the sign warning that cycles attached to the railings will be removed.

Could be !
Once the public sector can be involved, it's nearly always cockuo rather than conspiracy.

Avatar
ridein | 4 years ago
0 likes

Eddy Merckx was wearing a pacemaker, but so far nobody has stated whether a helmet was worn.

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Pyro Tim | 4 years ago
0 likes

That's not the biggest sailing race. Not even close.

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brooksby | 4 years ago
0 likes

Erm... So, cyclo-cross is fun, is it? 

Avatar
peted76 | 4 years ago
0 likes

More road signs.. brilliant 

Avatar
Kendalred | 4 years ago
1 like

I don't think we should be complaining that the sign is there - but should be complaining that there is a need for it in the first place. There does seem to be a general acceptance that the standard of driving in this (and a lot of other) country/ies is shite and that we as a society find it easier to warn against the idiots in motor vehicles than actually tackle bad driving practice. It's as if the authorities have thrown their collective hands in the air and claimed they can't/won't do anything about bad driving, so every other road user needs to mitigate their behaviour instead.

All that sign in the photo is missing is the word 'idiots' between 'of' and 'opening'.

 

 

Get well soon Eddy.

Avatar
FrankH replied to Kendalred | 4 years ago
0 likes
Kendalred wrote:

I don't think we should be complaining that the sign is there - but should be complaining that there is a need for it in the first place.

Once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far away, in a parallel universe, there was a land where everybody was perfect. And they all lived happily ever after.

Meanwhile, in the real world...

Avatar
FluffyKittenofT... replied to FrankH | 4 years ago
1 like
FrankH wrote:
Kendalred wrote:

I don't think we should be complaining that the sign is there - but should be complaining that there is a need for it in the first place.

Once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far away, in a parallel universe, there was a land where everybody was perfect. And they all lived happily ever after.

Meanwhile, in the real world...

Meanwhile in the real world, there are other options other than complete moral perfection of everyone, and everything being exactly as it is forever with no change or alternative ever possible.

It's funny though that the meaning of that sign depends on whether 'opening' is meant as an adjective or a verb. Bloody English language, constantly introducing ambiguities.

Avatar
Hirsute replied to FrankH | 4 years ago
2 likes
FrankH wrote:

Once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far away, in a parallel universe, there was a land where everybody was perfect. And they all lived happily ever after.

Meanwhile, in the real world...

It's not about perfection though, it's about recognising that driving standards are pretty low and something needs to occur to improve them. As an example, I've just got home after a close pass in a 30 where the driver was speeding and there was no one coming the other way.

Avatar
wycombewheeler replied to Hirsute | 4 years ago
0 likes
hirsute wrote:
FrankH wrote:

Once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far away, in a parallel universe, there was a land where everybody was perfect. And they all lived happily ever after.

Meanwhile, in the real world...

It's not about perfection though, it's about recognising that driving standards are pretty low and something needs to occur to improve them. As an example, I've just got home after a close pass in a 30 where the driver was speeding and there was no one coming the other way.

It we could recognise that a car has 4 doors, one of which is used by the driver and others are used predominantly by children. But sure make children responsible for your safety because they have a legal obligation.

Avatar
fixedwhip | 4 years ago
5 likes

People are reading far too much into a bloody sign. It's there to warn you that parked cars will open their doors, stop getting upset.

Avatar
FrankH | 4 years ago
4 likes

The sign is obviously there for the benefit of everybody, cyclists and drivers/pasengers. It reminds vehicle occupants of their responsibilities and it reminds cyclists of the danger. Some people DO open car doors carelessly and dangerously, some cyclists DO ride into carelessly/dangerously opened car doors. A sign reminding  both sets of people of the danger is a GOOD THING*.

Some cyclists really are touchy.

* © Sellar & Yeatman

Avatar
Mungecrundle | 4 years ago
3 likes

It's not a bad sign per se, but it should be displayed prominently inside the motor vehicle, maybe somewhere near the door handle.

Avatar
P3t3 | 4 years ago
2 likes

Looks very pragmatic dual use of the sign post, deter cycling in the door zone by putting a post in the way, then pop a sign on the post to say why they did it...

A much nicer approach could have been to put a lightly textured strip along the part of the pat next to the cars so that bike rides unconsciously chose to ride on the smooth tarmac away from the cars.

Oh, and some signs at car occupant eye height facing the cars would also help. It'd generate discussion and increase awareness of the problem of dooring. They could even suggest the opposite hand technique for opening doors.

Avatar
IanGlasgow replied to P3t3 | 4 years ago
0 likes
P3t3 wrote:

Looks very pragmatic dual use of the sign post, deter cycling in the door zone by putting a post in the way, then pop a sign on the post to say why they did it...

A much nicer approach could have been to put a lightly textured strip along the part of the pat next to the cars so that bike rides unconsciously chose to ride on the smooth tarmac away from the cars.

Oh, and some signs at car occupant eye height facing the cars would also help. It'd generate discussion and increase awareness of the problem of dooring. They could even suggest the opposite hand technique for opening doors.

Glasgow City Council have done the lightly textured strip approach. But they did it on a road with double yellows that never has any parked cars.
They've used exactly the same material on the new bike lane on Sauchiehall At. It seems to imply that cyclists are supposed to cycle on the narrow textured strip beside the road. Either that or they've deliberately chosen a bike unfriendly surface for their new bike lane. Weird.

To me the sign suggests there's been an incident with a cyclist getting doored and the council have put up a warning sign so nobody can claim compensation because of poor infrastructure if it happens again.
Maybe I'm cynical.

Avatar
visionset | 4 years ago
3 likes

To clarify, the sign in my photo is on a shared use path. The same objective would be met with a rewording of the sign, aiming it at those with the legal obligation. Otrherwise we propogate the continual myth that everyone should jsut get out of a driver's way.

Avatar
Sriracha | 4 years ago
0 likes

Well, at least they have come up with an arrangement where the cars must park in the road traffic lane and not in the cycle/shared use lane. That's worth some praise. It does present a door-opening hazard, which they have done their best to mitigate with the dashed line. Given that car passengers exiting on the pavement side are far less likely to be as circumspect as when they exit road side, children especially, is it wrong to highlight this residual risk to vulnerable cyclists and pushchair pushers?

Avatar
Bmblbzzz replied to Sriracha | 4 years ago
0 likes
Sriracha wrote:

Well, at least they have come up with an arrangement where the cars must park in the road traffic lane and not in the cycle/shared use lane. That's worth some praise. It does present a door-opening hazard, which they have done their best to mitigate with the dashed line. Given that car passengers exiting on the pavement side are far less likely to be as circumspect as when they exit road side, children especially, is it wrong to highlight this residual risk to vulnerable cyclists and pushchair pushers?

They haven't really mitigated it, though, have they? They've introduced it, by putting the parking on that side of the road rather than the other. Alternatively, by putting the 'shared use' on that side. 

Avatar
Sriracha replied to Bmblbzzz | 4 years ago
0 likes
Bmblbzzz wrote:
Sriracha wrote:

Well, at least they have come up with an arrangement where the cars must park in the road traffic lane and not in the cycle/shared use lane. That's worth some praise. It does present a door-opening hazard, which they have done their best to mitigate with the dashed line. Given that car passengers exiting on the pavement side are far less likely to be as circumspect as when they exit road side, children especially, is it wrong to highlight this residual risk to vulnerable cyclists and pushchair pushers?

They haven't really mitigated it, though, have they? They've introduced it, by putting the parking on that side of the road rather than the other. Alternatively, by putting the 'shared use' on that side. 

You missed a bit. I've highlighted it in bold for you. By the way, cars have doors both sides.

Avatar
grumpyoldcyclist replied to Sriracha | 4 years ago
0 likes
Sriracha wrote:
Bmblbzzz wrote:
Sriracha wrote:

Well, at least they have come up with an arrangement where the cars must park in the road traffic lane and not in the cycle/shared use lane. That's worth some praise. It does present a door-opening hazard, which they have done their best to mitigate with the dashed line. Given that car passengers exiting on the pavement side are far less likely to be as circumspect as when they exit road side, children especially, is it wrong to highlight this residual risk to vulnerable cyclists and pushchair pushers?

They haven't really mitigated it, though, have they? They've introduced it, by putting the parking on that side of the road rather than the other. Alternatively, by putting the 'shared use' on that side. 

You missed a bit. I've highlighted it in bold for you. By the way, cars have doors both sides.

I think the point that was trying to be made was that if the shared use path was on one side of the road and the parking was only allowed on the other side, then it wouldn't matter how many doors the cars had, they wouldn't be able to car door a cyclist at least.

 

Avatar
brooksby replied to Sriracha | 4 years ago
0 likes
Sriracha wrote:

Well, at least they have come up with an arrangement where the cars must park in the road traffic lane and not in the cycle/shared use lane. That's worth some praise. It does present a door-opening hazard, which they have done their best to mitigate with the dashed line. Given that car passengers exiting on the pavement side are far less likely to be as circumspect as when they exit road side, children especially, is it wrong to highlight this residual risk to vulnerable cyclists and pushchair pushers?

You know what, I hadn't even noticed the dashed line until you mentioned it.

It seems to me that line marks out an area a lot less than the width of a car door, and I would venture that the occupants of a car are more likely, not less, to just fling the door open to its full width if they're exiting onto - as they see it - a pavement (ie. not the roadway).

Avatar
brooksby | 4 years ago
2 likes

FWIW I'm sure they mean well, but it's still victim blaming 

Avatar
Bmblbzzz | 4 years ago
0 likes

There have been similar warning just outside Chepstow (on one of the few genuinely useful shared pavements) for a decade at least. 

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