Welcome to Wednesday’s live blog, with Jack Sexty, Simon MacMichael and the rest of the team.
Letter to local paper smashes ‘Lycra-clad’ cyclists myth; public wants end to Royal Parks rat-running; Peloton loses $50m in 3 months; Hackney school blames ‘previous administration’ for bike vs car parking blunder + more on live blog
All today’s news from the site and beyond
Wed, Nov 06, 2019 20:20
SUMMARY
6 November 2019, 20:20
Danny Hart appeals for return of three of his stolen bikes
The British downhill superstar had three of his bikes stolen from outside a hotel in Sheffield in the early hours yesterday morning, including a world champs edition Saracen Myst.
6 November 2019, 20:20
Tour of Britain will return to Devon in 2020
With Cornwall announced as part of the route in early September, naturally its neighbouring county of Devon has now followed in announcing that they will host stage two of the Tour of Britain in 2020. The stage will start in the new community of Sherford in the South Hams and finish in the city of Exeter.
The 2020 edition of the Tour of Britain will be its 17th running, and the 11th time Devon has featured. It will takes place between Sunday 6th and Sunday 13th September.
6 November 2019, 20:20
Still on 10 speed?
A group of 10 speed users, yesterday pic.twitter.com/dQMthDq4U8
— Neg (@speedyneg) November 6, 2019
6 November 2019, 20:20
The great mystery of Arnie's e-bike
That’s a ‘Matchless’ badge on the battery. Matchless is an ex British motorcycle manufacturer. So maybe another new brand coming to the market?
— Pete Jennings (@petejenningsbhp) November 6, 2019
We thought we’d found our winner when Katy Moon over on our Twitter page identified Schwarzenegger’s bike as a modified version of Fantic’s Seven Days Living – but now Pete Jennings’ eagle eyes have identified that the livery on the battery is from British motorcycle brand Matchless London… which if anything deepens the mystery, but top sleuthing Pete!
Arnie was snapped riding the bike during his meeting with 17-year-old environmental activist Greta Thunberg in Santa Monica on Monday – read more about their ride over on eBikeTips.
6 November 2019, 20:20
Zdenek Stybar to return to cyclocross racing in the off-season
Deceuninck Quick-Step have announced that three-time CX world champ Stybar will once again compete in the discipline this winter in the build-up to the 2020 season. he said: “I’m really happy to be doing cyclocross again. It’s not just that these races fit really well in my program, it’s also the fact that these are some great events, with fantastic crowds and amazing atmosphere – especially those between Christmas and the New Year – that makes me so excited about taking to the start.”
6 November 2019, 20:20
Hackney New School parking space uproar: local Councillor promises to get spaces removed as they are against the school's planning condition
This is pretty disgraceful and goes against everything @hackneycouncil is trying to achieve on air quality and active travel. It’s also exactly the kind of problem that occurs when local authorities don’t run schools. I’ll be taking this up immediately. https://t.co/yAL885jrlg
— Cllr Jon Burke (@jonburkeUK) November 5, 2019
Councillor Job Burke was scathing in his assessment of Hackney New School’s decision to remove a row of bike parking spaces for pupils with three car parking spaces, saying they go against the school’s planning condition and need to be removed.
I make that 15 bikes removed to make space for three cars. well done https://t.co/VGEYm9EyoB
— Chris Boardman (@Chris_Boardman) November 5, 2019
Update – the parking of cars on the Downham Road frontage appears to be in breach of the school’s planning condition. Planning Enforcement will now progress with enforcement investigations. @RantyHighwayman
— Cllr Jon Burke (@jonburkeUK) November 5, 2019
Replying to numerous comments on Twitter, including one from Chris Boardman, Burke says the Free School’s actions “goes against everything Hackney Council is trying to achieve on active travel, road safety, and air quality.”
Indeed, Hackney Council have received praise in recent months for their clean air policies, including the implementation of eight ‘School Streets’ that ban cars from streets outside schools during the morning and afternoon rush hours.
We still are yet to get a statement back from the school, and they haven’t answered any criticism on social media despite being tagged in hundreds of comments on Twitter.
6 November 2019, 20:20
A petition has begun to circulate for a female version of the classic cycling film 'Breaking Away'
The 1978 film starring Dennis Christopher and Dennis Quaid is about the Little 500, a bike race that raises money for student scholarships at Indiana University – and although it started in 1951, a women’s Little 500 wasn’t introduced until 1988 following a protest.
Now a petition started by Corrine Miller is calling for the film to be remade with the plot based around on the women’s race. It says: “Currently, the women’s field receives much less attention than the men’s and the attendance at the women’s race is historically much lower than at the men’s race. A remake of Breaking Away, based on the women’s race, could have a great impact on the publicity of female cycling.”
You can find the petition here.
6 November 2019, 20:20
Cyclist who swore at Trump wins seat in local election
Remember this photo? The cyclist name is Juli Briskman. She was later fired from her job for flipping off Trump.
Tonight she won her race for a seat on the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors in Virginia, unseated eight-year incumbent Republican Suzanne Volpe. pic.twitter.com/WPvKkA8bAF
— Race Radio (@TheRaceRadio) November 6, 2019
Juli Briskman decided to run for local office in Virginia as a Democratic candidate off the back of her notoriety as the woman who was sacked for ‘flipping off’ Donald Trump’s motorcade… and it’s paid off, as she won the seat on the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors in Virginia that has been held by a Republican for eight years. She got 54% of the vote while Republican candidate Suzanne Volpe got 46%.
Here she is with our Loudoun @MomsDemand tonight pic.twitter.com/LbT9xn7xPA
— ECoppage (@ecoppage) November 6, 2019
Stranger things have happened – arguably including Trump’s own unpredictable rise to power – but the fact that Briskman will now be able to stick a metaphorical finger up to Trump’s government through policies after losing her job for doing so in real life is quite an extraordinary twist of fate. Briskman says she is “looking forward to representing friends and neighbours” in the Tweet below.
Looking forward to representing my friends & neighbors in #Algonkian District who backed me up today! So proud that we were able to #FlipLoudpun #FlipVA #LOCO219 Thank you Loudoun! https://t.co/vRcDUih1AP
— Juli Briskman (@julibriskman) November 6, 2019
6 November 2019, 20:20
After more than 1,000 benefitted from a 'cycling on prescription' scheme, it may now be rolled out across the country
More than 1,000 people have now taken part in a referral scheme named Cycle for Health, aimed at boosting mental health through physical activity across West Yorkshire. Prescribed by health care professionals, the ‘groundbreaking’ scheme aims to ‘tackle health inequalities by offering people with long-term conditions a 12-week programme of cycle skills training’.
Cycle for Health has been hailed a huge success, with 32% of participants displaying an increase in confidence, 29% showing an improvement in feeling close to others and 26% increasing their ability to relax. At the start of the programme 82% were not meeting physical activity guidelines, whereas immediately following the programme 73% were meeting the guideline targets.
The scheme is delivered by the national cycling charity, Cycling UK, in partnership with the West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s CityConnect programme, which encourages more people to travel by bike and on foot. Cycling UK have said it has been such a success that Cycle for Health may now be rolled out nationally. Cycling UK’s Head of Development Jenny Box told the BBC: “Cycling UK has always known cycling can help people with both their physical and mental wellbeing – and in West Yorkshire we’ve now got the evidence.
“We would love to be able to bring the gift of cycling to other parts of the country and help other people on to the path to recovery.”
6 November 2019, 20:20
Do you have a specific winter bike?
With all-season gravel and adventure bikes, and even most road bikes being so versatile nowadays, are dedicated winter and summer bike still a thing? Take part in our poll…
6 November 2019, 20:20
Twitter is divided on winter bikes
my commuter bikes is an all year round commuter bike
— Matthew Dartford (@MushroomgodMat) November 6, 2019
Not taking best carbon out on muddy wet roads
— Tracey Hipkiss (@TraceyHipkiss23) November 6, 2019
Yup, same bike I use all year round. Its a dedicated all weather cycle. https://t.co/1inKpU7vJk
— @2_Wheeled_Wolf (@2_Wheeled_Wolf) November 6, 2019
It appears the notion of a dedicated winter bike is almost as polarising as a certain 2016 referendum, with 55% currently saying yes and 45% no.
6 November 2019, 20:20
Hackney New School parking spaces row - school say spaces were installed by 'previous administration' and there are in fact over 100 cycle racks for students
Statement on bike racks and parking: The picture circulated showing bike racks outside the school grounds was taken prior to July 2017 when the site also housed students from the primary school. They were subsequently moved inside the secondary school grounds. Pictured here. pic.twitter.com/OqgxTlq2QJ
— Hackney New School (@hackneynewsch) November 6, 2019
Hackney New School have now responded to accusations that they took away bicycle racks for students and replaced them with three car parking spaces. The school say teachers are not authorised to use the spaces, and their current administration can’t offer an explanation as to why they were put there. The school have posted photos of cycling racks they have elsewhere on site, with over 100 available to students. The full statement reads:
“The picture circulated showing bike racks outside the school grounds was taken prior to July 2017 when the site also housed students from the primary school. They were subsequently moved inside the secondary school grounds.
“As this was a decision taken by the previous administration prior to July 2019 we are unable to offer further explanation. We currently have over 100 cycle racks available to students which are close to full most school days.
“We have been made aware that the current arrangement, put in place by the previous administration, may be in breach of our planning condition. We will work with the council to ensure any issues are quickly rectified.
“Staff are not currently permitted to park in these spaces. A sign has also been put up to discourage unauthorised motorist.”
Councillor Jon Burke replied to the school on Twitter to say he will “be in touch”, as the parking spaces breach planning conditions.
6 November 2019, 20:20
Annemiek van Vleuten raises €10,000 for her local cycling club by selling signed kit
Big-hearted 2019 World Road Race champ Van Vleuten raised the cash by selling her cycling clothing that is no longer needed, with all the money going to her local club in the Netherlands, Wielervereniging Ede. She posed for photographs and signed autographs and the clothing at the event at the Peerenboom bike shop in Wageningen at the weekend, saying: “It was a very pleasant afternoon that many different people had come for. Thank you all for coming, and for your generous contributions.
“The ‘attic sale’ clearance was a huge success, and the proceeds definitely exceeded my expectations: we made almost €10,000 from my old cycling clothing and kit.”
6 November 2019, 20:20
Peloton increase subscriber base... but loses $49.8 million in its first quarter as a public company
The pricey spin bike brand most actual cyclists love to hate have announced that their revenue increased by 103% year-on-year in its first quarter since going public – and while they now boast 560,000 subscribers and a member base of 1.6 million, they still reported a net loss of $49.8 million in the quarter. Peloton also spent a huge $77.6 million on sales and marketing in that period, compared to just $17.4 million on research and development for their products.
Peloton rolled out a 30 day trial period offer they have called ‘Home Trial’ during the quarter, which could explain an increase in users. A positive is that Peloton’s retention rate for annual subscribers is high at 94% – although at 40 quid a month not including the bike, you’d think even the most affluent Peloton owners would be inclined to persevere…
6 November 2019, 20:20
This is terrific ... and of course, it's the Netherlands not the UK
Dreary weather, but seeing the children cycling to school makes the morning right already. pic.twitter.com/dxiyIQex87
— Mark Wagenbuur (@BicycleDutch) November 5, 2019
6 November 2019, 20:20
YIKES
A poorly maintained cyclepath is sometimes worse, and more dangerous, than none at all. A resident hit this large ridge in the path while cycling into the sun and went over the handlebars. Luckily he is just bruised and battered, but the problem remains. pic.twitter.com/45ItQQ1Y7q
— Bicester Bike User Group (@BicesterBug) November 5, 2019
6 November 2019, 20:20
Parks for people, not cars
Massive public support to keep rat-running drivers out of London’s Royal Parks … we’ll have more on this in the morning.
78% agree that the @theroyalparks "should not be used as commuter routes for cars". Looking forward to the new Movement Strategy & starting to see steps cutting rat-running cars from our parks @Lungs_of_London. Results here: https://t.co/Rr7ZEqzVfa pic.twitter.com/zJ7q10rQJh
— London Cycling Campaign (@london_cycling) November 6, 2019
6 November 2019, 20:20
It's an old one ... but this letter to a local newspaper about "Lycra-clad" cyclists is a cracker
As posted over on our FB page 2 years ago.
This is class…!! pic.twitter.com/dcikinKCts— Stayin' Alive at 1.5 (@SafeCyclingEire) November 4, 2019
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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).
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Latest Comments
chrisonabike 8 hours ago
"All that's required is an to roads policing" - that's a big all... Although no doubt the "idiots just keep coming" aspect does apply: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cz9lel2wz93o "Man charged after car crashes through bowling alley" - luckily they only skittled over skittles.
chrisonabike 8 hours ago
Almost any change to roads and streets is accompanied by a period of heightened danger, and in the UK "look out for cyclists" will need to be learned... practically. And over the time it takes for cyclists to become a regular feature. OTOH once (if...) good designs are in and frequent enough such that drivers encounter them AND the cyclists on them regularly (another big if) I don't think they should be much more difficult than a footway to deal with. These things are all over NL - don't have the collision stats but they should. (NL isn't perfect but collecting info on the safety of designs to feed back into better designs as required is part of the "sustainable safety" philosophy - if they're really a killer I think they'd be altering these.)
wtjs 10 hours ago
I'm in the happy position of agreeing with everybody here! I've never considered a bike with a stand, yet I'm impressed by the ingenuity and adaptability of this axle. I tow a Yak Bob with a Robert Axle, employing my El Cheapo Vitus gravel bike and I just have to be very careful where I stop. Hedges are generally a dead loss, and I seek walls, telegraph poles and signposts and generally lean the widest part of the Bob against it. One very awkward task is removing the two steel pins which lock the trailer arms onto the special mounting slots on the Robert axle, and when you have one out, the sodding weight in the trailer can twist the whole caboodle and bend the Bob fitting before you can get the other out and unhitch. I doubt if a stand would help with that. You can imagine that this combo is a real pain when you have to get it over the bridge at railway stations, and it nearly resulted in Merseyrail nearly parting me and the trailer on the platform from the bike on the train. It's a long story for another time. Another axle example recently featured on here, with a 12mm front axle bearing the Herculean weight limit of a monster American front rack.
HoarseMann 11 hours ago
This has nothing to do with the type of bike - it's the type of behaviour that's the problem. Banning the sale of such bikes will not curtail the behaviour. They'll just find another type of vehicle and continue to drive dangerously as there's such a lack of enforcement. I'd sooner see them ban the bally. But really, all that's required is an improvement to roads policing.
AidanR 12 hours ago
The EAPC Bill is welcome, but full of holes. What's to stop an overpowered but temporarily limited e-bike being sold and subsequently delimited? This is often a trivial process.
Sredlums 12 hours ago
@KiwiMike Yeah, in my over four decades of riding all over Europe I've never 'been for a ride in the countryside'. That must be it. Or, and I know this is a wild concept, you just accept that I just voiced my personal experiences and never missed a kickstand, like I wrote. Anyway, what's the big horror of laying your bike on its side for the very few occasions where there is nothing to lean your bike against?
mdavidford 13 hours ago
They may have looked, but did they see?
jackcycles 13 hours ago
Ds2025: where they are going wrong is that they are crushing the motorbike rather than the person sat on top of it. If they did the latter this issue would be solved in less than 24 hours.
Rod Marton 13 hours ago
I came this way today with the car boot sale in operation. There was a marshal at the entrance, who stopped a car turning right across the cycleway as I was approaching. So that certainly works. I think it necessary for the marshal to be there, I couldn't say if the driver would have turned if he hadn't been there but you always have to suspect the worst. Unfortunately there is no marshal at the exit, and there was certainly a car stopped across the cycleway as I was approaching it. But he pulled onto the road before I reached it, and the following car stayed off the cycleway as I went through. Ideally there should have been a marshal there too. On the whole, though, it's a really high standard piece of infrastructure. Just a pity it doesn't extend a bit further.
eburtthebike 13 hours ago
“absolute carnage” So right! Just look at the bodies piled up, blood running in the gutters and injured people limping away. It's a bit of a problem with a road, delaying some people for minutes at a time: it isn't carnage, let alone 'absolute carnage'. Anyone who exaggerates so ridiculously really shouldn't be allowed to comment in public, unless they want to demonstrate their idiocy to all and sundry.
26 thoughts on “Letter to local paper smashes ‘Lycra-clad’ cyclists myth; public wants end to Royal Parks rat-running; Peloton loses $50m in 3 months; Hackney school blames ‘previous administration’ for bike vs car parking blunder + more on live blog”
Ah, so the school in question
Ah, so the school in question is an academy? And therefore outside of local authority control? I’m guessing their considered response will be “Meh!”.
brooksby wrote:
But if they’re breaking one of their planning conditions for the site, then the council will be able to force them to comply or possibly have the site demolished.
hawkinspeter wrote:
Yes, but they can only get them under planning rules. If it was still a local authority school, the local authority would have
ignored the problembeen able to make the required changes.brooksby wrote:
They’ve stolen almost the entire school system without a whimper of opposition.
It’s no surprise that they’ve moved onto snaffling the pavements.
It’s not just the loss of the
It’s not just the loss of the bike parking that will be a problem. Presumably there is also some sort of crane involved to allow the cars to be lifted over the pavement into and out of the spaces.
Mungecrundle wrote:
I personally think there must be a very lucrative business in hiring out all these invisible cranes to help Hard Pressed Motorists who need to take up public space to store their cars.
It’s OK, they have a Road
It’s OK, they have a Road Safety Week starting on November 18th, everything is fine.
Well, except for the OFSTED report
https://files.api.ofsted.gov.uk/v1/file/50107152
which (having read a few) is one of the worst I’ve ever seen. The only positive they found was that “emergency intervention by external consultants” has made the school physically safe.
kil0ran wrote:
Physically safe except where children and parents have to share the pavement with cars trying to park.
harragan wrote:
It’s all comes down to a bit of give and take really. Can’t the children and parents just learn to share the pavement?
hawkinspeter wrote:
It’s all comes down to a bit of give and take really. Can’t the children and parents just learn to share the pavement?— hawkinspeter
An excellent suggestion. All that is needed is a little signage…
The car parking thing is so
The car parking thing is so absurd. All that space used just for three pampered teachers.
To get to and from those spaces legally they’d all have to drive in and out strictly in order, in a convoy.
And again, I wonder about the views from 2008 on streetview, that show the normal paving extending almost to the building wall (originally there were bollards there). Has the school nicked part of what used to be the pavement? And if that land legally belongs to the school, that’s potential space for a classroom wasted on three people’s car storage.
Academies are part of our general drift towards Putinism. Wanna-be oligarchs building private empires at the state’s expense.
FluffyKittenofTindalos wrote:
It is a converted office block added to / turned into the school. So unless they knocked it down and rebuilt it…… Plus it would be the worlds thinnest classroom to fit the slots (x3 (?) for floors).
However as the school has now come out and stated Teachers aren’t allowed to park there, then who is doing the parking? Have they “hired out” the spaces to stangers?
AlsoSomniloquism wrote:
It is a converted office block added to / turned into the school. So unless they knocked it down and rebuilt it…… Plus it would be the worlds thinnest classroom to fit the slots (x3 (?) for floors).
However as the school has now come out and stated Teachers aren’t allowed to park there, then who is doing the parking? Have they “hired out” the spaces to stangers?
— FluffyKittenofTindalos
Yeah, I gathered that from streetview – it appears to have changed use several times. But focussing on the practical rather recent history of the specific space is not my point.
Space used for storing private motor vehicles is space that could have been used for something more productive. That’s true across the whole city and that it’s been a problem for a long time doesn’t make it any less wasteful. In this case it appears that in recent history that space was previously used to provide more room for pedestrians, and even that would be a better use of the space than parking 3 people’s cars.
The response does indeed make one wonder who’s cars they are. Could it be senior administrative employees of the academy trust rather than those who actually do the teaching? That would make it worse, I reckon.
Chapeau to Russ Mantle!
Chapeau to Russ Mantle!
Almost a million miles.
https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/people/hampshire-cyclist-82-set-to-become-first-person-in-uk-to-cycle-one-million-miles-1-9131385
Mostly all on his cherished Holdsworth.
ktache wrote:
“25-30 miles every other day, now that his fitness has dropped off a little”
I’m not saying people shouldn
I’m not saying people shouldn’t take up the cause, but if Google Streetview is to be believed, the Hackney school bike parking was removed sometime between May and August 2017 and cars seem to have parked there since. Why the fuss only now? Perhaps because the parking spaces only seem to have been painted in sometime after April this year?
Ah, the previous
Ah, the previous administration gambit. School has had something like 5 head teachers since it was formed. Symptomatic of the free school “movement”
I have a “best” bike (rarely
I have a “best” bike (rarely ridden) and a “do everything” bike that gets adapted according to the seasons. Currently on chunky mud tyres (WTB Sendero) plus mudguards. Come dryer weather it will go back on 700c fast gravel tyres. Probably. To be honest it’s so good on the Senderos it might stay on them year round
Fantastic news about the
Fantastic news about the Cycle for Health scheme, proving yet again the health benefits of cycling. I’m sure it will be all over the media any minute. Of course it will, and they’ll probably tie it in to the election promises of the various parties to fulfil the BMA’s demand for £20/head/year for active travel, which has so clogged up every front page and every news prog. Anything else with this level of benefit would be front and centre in all the media.
Or not; it’s cycling, so determindly hated by the media in the UK.
Peloton. £40 quid a month to
Peloton. £40 quid a month to be patronised by some overmuscled git less than 1/2 my age through a TV screen. What has the world come to that this would ever be considered a viable business model?
Why all the hate for Peloton?
Why all the hate for Peloton? They aren’t stopping anyone from riding a bike outside. If it doesn’t appeal to you then don’t buy one of their bikes, and if you don’t think it’s a good business then don’t buy shares in it.
Jackson wrote:
Probably a reaction to a company that tried to trademark the word “Peloton” (which has been in general use in cycling for decades) and threaten legal action against (I think it was) GPLama for daring to use the word in one of his videos referring to an actual peloton rather than the fitness company.
Always seemed a little ironic coming from a company whose logo appears to be a straight rip off of the Pinterest logo.
On the “what biek is that”
On the “what biek is that” question:
https://www.matchlesslondon.com/blogs/luxury-urban-mobility/urban-luxury-mobility
No proce that I can find, so makes me think it is a case of “if you have to ask”.
John Smith wrote:
click the shop now button, but sit down first – €7000! Wallet says no…
A remake of “Breaking Away”
A remake of “Breaking Away” would be a travesty. It was perfect – and it wasn’t about the bike race…
“These go to 11 .” – Nigel
“These go to 11 .” – Nigel Tufnel (1984)
The future is now.