Welcome to Friday’s live blog, with Jack Sexty, Simon MacMichael and the rest of the team.
Live blog: Irish Senator who complained about cyclists goes for ride after being challenged to on Twitter; Frozen Froome turns to Cryotherapy; No Viagra in Testogel package; Boardman encourages active travel to lift burden off NHS +more
All today’s news from the site and beyond…
Fri, Nov 15, 2019 20:18
SUMMARY
15 November 2019, 20:18
A $750 pump (and it's not even the whole pump)
Enve’s new $750 Air Pressure Station is intended to be super accurate and precise to .5% PSI, make tubeless inflation easier and be quick and convenient to use – and for that wad of cash you don’t even get an actual air compressor! Read all about it here.
15 November 2019, 20:18
Way ahead of his time...
This might be our favourite video of the week! Honestly, who needs an office when you’ve got the Winnebiko and can just type in binary code?
15 November 2019, 20:18
Wout van Aert's recovery steps up a notch
My rehab is in full swing. Proud on what I achieved already & grateful for all the support I had
Credits: @movetocure pic.twitter.com/y2zVUV3puG— Wout van Aert (@WoutvanAert) November 14, 2019
Van Aert suffered a horrific crash in the stage 13 time trial at this year’s Tour de France, and finally looks to be making some decent progress towards recovery. Initially this was hampered by a flawed operation immediately after the crash in France, before he had further surgery to correct it in his native Belgium.
15 November 2019, 20:18
New research reveals North East as cycling capital of the UK
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A survey of 7,600 adults carried out by sports retail giant Decathlon has found that the North East is the most popular region for cycling, with 16% of residents ‘regularly participating’ in cycling for sport. The researchers say the facilities on offer at Middlesborough Velodrome could be a strong contributing factor.
Elsewhere, 39% of Londoners run, 27% of Scots enjoy swimming and 34% in the North West regularly hit the gym.
15 November 2019, 20:18
Chris Boardman on Question Time: Active travel and "moving more" can lift burden off NHS
.@Chris_Boardman says if we can get people into more active lifestyles it will benefit healthcare and the environment #bbcqt pic.twitter.com/iopttQx1J4
— BBC Question Time (@bbcquestiontime) November 14, 2019
Although Manchester’s Walking and Cycling Commissioner wasn’t given a great deal of airtime – with most of the programme focussing on something beginning with ‘B’ – he did chip in during a discussion about the NHS. Boardman talked of the £8 billion the NHS spends every year treating patients who have illnesses related to inactivity and obesity, and said we need to get more people walking and cycling in an attempt to ease the burden. He cited the Netherlands and Denmark as examples of nations who are already far ahead of us, with over 60% of commutes in those countries taken on foot or by bike.
On the ‘B’ issue, Boardman said: “I think it’s crazy to have three years of learning and then treat the population as children”, and is in favour of a second referendum on Britain leaving the European Union.
15 November 2019, 20:18
'Why don't you use the cycle lane?' continued
Dear @Edinburgh_CC @edinhelp @adamrmcvey I would like to know why you are laying concrete blocks on the Mound totally blocking the bicycle lane? How does this fit with the green transport plan for #Edinburgh ? Why is it carried out by illegal Xmas market under cover of night? pic.twitter.com/0VbKirXU5o
— Lord Woolamaloo (@LordWoolamaloo) November 14, 2019
This time in Edinburgh, it’s because of a massive truck laying concrete blocks on it, thus rendering the cycle lane unusable. Councillor Lesley Macinnes has promised to ‘follow up’ today…
No, it’s not and I have not been made aware of any plans to essentially render the cycle lane impassable, as the photos appear to show. Will be following up this morning.
— CllrLesleyMacinnes (@lmacinnessnp) November 15, 2019
15 November 2019, 20:18
Weird...
Here come the cyclists in Zhongshan Suits @vincenzonibali @MATTEOTRENTIN @CalebEwan @s_kruijswijk @Eganbernal
Costumes traditionnels pour les champions #ShanghaiCriterium pic.twitter.com/haPdTLS7Xf— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) November 15, 2019
15 November 2019, 20:18
Melbourne drug addict jailed for 11 years after killing Dutch cyclist
A grieving Dutch family has travelled to Melbourne to see a drug addict sentenced to 11 years behind bars for running down a young cyclist. https://t.co/3aOBBcmCIV @cassiezervos #7NEWS pic.twitter.com/kSQAsyMQML
— 7NEWS Melbourne (@7NewsMelbourne) November 15, 2019
The family of Gitta Scheenhouwer travelled to Melbourne to see 28-year-old Michael Panayides sentenced for causing her death. Panayides was on his way to buy drugs and travelling at twice the speed limit in a stolen Mercedes-Benz when he hit Ms Scheenhouwer, 27.
Panayides ran away, before later pleading guilty to culpable driving causing Ms Scheenhouwer’s death. He will serve a minimum of eight-and-a-half years, with the prosecutor labelling his driving as “incomprehensible”. The judge said: “It’s a serious case of negligent culpable driving emanating from blatant disregard for the life and safety of others on the road.
“Failing to stop in these circumstances is a despicable and cowardly act.
“Mr Panayides, each of your victims has had a profound, senseless, needless loss at your hands.”
15 November 2019, 20:18
Non-handed Penny Farthing cyclist sets three world records
It was @GWR Day yesterday – and my buddy @NeilLaughton set the riding a Penny Farthing without using your hands: 10km – 23 mins, 23 secs; Furthest distance in an hour – 26.0 km and Fastest average speed over 100m – 29.6 kph pic.twitter.com/lcbAPSlih0
— Mark Beaumont (@MrMarkBeaumont) November 15, 2019
To celebrate Guinness World Record Day, Neil Laughton rode for what we think was an hour on a Penny Farthing non-handed – he cycled 26 kilometres in an hour, and on the way to that he also rode the fastest non-handed Penny Farthing 10km and the fastest average speed over 10 seconds. He was congratulated by fellow world record holder Mark Beaumont, who cycled the fastest hour on a Penny Farthing with hands allowed earlier this year.
15 November 2019, 20:18
Police not to blame for death of cyclist killed by fleeing burglar during pursuit
Gary Lynch reversed into Arthur Bourlet while trying to evade officers.
15 November 2019, 20:18
Freeman tribunal: there was no viagra
Confirmed in Richard Freeman hearing that there was no Viagra in the Testogel package.
— Matt Lawton (@Lawton_Times) November 15, 2019
According to The Times’ Matt Lawton, the tribunal has just confirmed that there was no Viagra in the disputed package containing Testogel. You can catch up on yesterday’s events at the tribunal here.
15 November 2019, 20:18
Tom Pidcock leaves some massive skidders
15 November 2019, 20:18
The full contents of the infamous Testogel order
OK, definitely no Viagra in the 2011 order. Phil Burt, who opened the package, giving evidence. Order note says there were five items: Testogel, Logynon (contraceptive pill), Montelukast (asthma drug) , Noxil (“for acne” says Burt. PanOxyl maybe?) and Valoid (antihistamine)
— Tom Cary (@tomcary_tel) November 15, 2019
Giving evidence at the tribunal today, Dr Phil Burt has confirmed all five contents of the Testogel order made by Richard Freeman. It was said yesterday that British Cycling ordered Viagra to help with some riders’ ‘nerve issues’, but Steve Peters denied it was used for the benefits of performance enhancing.
The hearing continues…
15 November 2019, 20:18
Freeman case adjourned until next Wednesday at 9.30am
Today’s evidence was shorter than the previous days, where the lead physiotherapist at British Cycling Phil Bury was the witness. As detailed below, he said what else was in Richard Freeman’s 2011 order from Fit4Sport that contained the Testogel, and also referred to a falling out Sutton had with Freeman over an expensive flight ticket fromthe track world cup in Australian in 2015.
15 November 2019, 20:18
First cupping, now...
In today’s episode of my recovery #RoadToTDF2020 #RoadToTokyo2020 #cryotherapy pic.twitter.com/lOL2pwaJBh
— Chris Froome (@chrisfroome) November 15, 2019
It appears every trick in the book is being used to help Chris Froome recover from his latest surgery – this time it’s cryotherapy, which involves freezing or near-freezing temperatures, so whatever he’s standing in it won’t be warm.
15 November 2019, 20:18
Steven Burke retires
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Steven Burke MBE (second left in this photo from the 2012 Olympics) has announced his retirement after a 14 year career with British Cycling. Burke was an integral member of the team pursuit squad who claimed the gold medal in both the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympic Games, and in Beijing 2008 he won bronze in the individual pursuit aged just 20. He also won three elite European titles and one elite world title during his career.
Via a statement from British Cycling, Burke said: “Firstly, I would like to thank all of my team mates throughout the Great Britain Cycling Team. I have enjoyed working with them all. It has been an epic journey achieving Olympic gold with Geraint Thomas, Brad Wiggins, Pete Kennaugh, Owain Doull and Ed Clancy and I will look back on some great moments with them.
“Although I have retired from international duty and looking forward to new challenges, I still plan to race in the Six Day events, help out the local riders in Team SB Hub and Cycle Sport Pendle, and to ride my bike for years to come.”
15 November 2019, 20:18
How far is too far? The dilemma of long commutes
Our forum has come alive after cycle.london asked what the longest feasible commute is, with his new round trip journey after moving house being 44 miles a day. Do you put in some serious mileage to get to work and back, and what distance can you realistically do day-in-day-out and still have energy for other stuff? Take part in our poll and let us know your thoughts, as we’re keen to crowdsource some info and tips from other super commuters for a future article on dealing with long bike commutes.
15 November 2019, 20:18
Senator Craughwell gets on his bike after being challenged over anti-cycling tweet
Hey @PatKennyNT Speaking of cyclists I have just driven through Terenure and guess what 4 cyclists & one motor cyclists broke a red light and weaved in and out of traffic in order to continue their journey. Rules must apply to all road users.
— Senator G Craughwell (@GCraughwell) November 11, 2019
You may recall from Wednesday’s live blog the story of Senator Gerard Craughwell, who was challenged to go for a ride around Dublin after posting the above tweet complaining about cyclists. Senator Craughwell said “I might just do that” – and even though he admitted to not having ridden a bike for 50 years, today he kept his promise!
So I said I would undertake the challenge of a cycle around Dublin. Today I collected the bicycle. Took a tour around the city from Capel St to Leinster House. It was scary. So let’s see how this exercise goes. pic.twitter.com/AUYErEVX3Q
— Senator G Craughwell (@GCraughwell) November 15, 2019
Senator Craughwell said it was “scary” and mentioned that he found delivery vans parking in cycle lanes a nuisance, which forced him into traffic. In another reply, he said: “I guess it would have been wrong to speak on cyclists & cycling without giving it a go.”
He was accompanied by I BIKE Dublin members, and says he will be back out on Monday as part of his own personal project to see Dublin by bike for himself.
It’s refreshing to see Senator Craughwell was willing to change his perceptions, and hopefully he can use his political influence to improve cycling infrastructure in Dublin after his experiences.
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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
Krislord 6 hours ago
As always we get half truths. The number of bikes and cameras needed for the current coverage, is that any different to full coverage? I would say no, it’s the same number of cameras just working for longer. They don’t magically change camera bike riders mid stage so I don’t see that as an extra cost. Perhaps the helicopter camera for longer is an additional cost. Commentary - that comes from the broadcaster and not a cost of the organiser. TV broadcast costs - again minimal for the host, but given we’re in the age of streaming if they are offered the rights owner will likely broadcast them. So far the tour has been great but missing the key parts of each stage is pretty poor. The fact it only became normal on the men’s recently is irrelevant - that was the era of broadcast TV not streaming.
ceebee247 6 hours ago
We are talking about the Highway Agency here. You know the same ones that think it is perfectly acceptable for a cycle lane to stop just before an exit or entry spur on a carriageway. Or the same ones who thought it was better to infill disused railway bridges and so block local paths, rather than actually spend the money on fixing the issue. Motorised traffic is their only concern. If you use the Dartford Bridge bike service you need to be very sure of your cycling skills and confident of your route to get to the pickup point, it is not for the faint of heart. The service itself is excellent, just a shame you have to risk your life to get to it.
tomascjenkins 7 hours ago
Maybe Shimano will do the same with 13 speed road as on CUES, the largest sprocket is dished inward and hangs slightly in bound of the free hub, so the 11 speed CUES fits on a 10 speed free hub
quiff 7 hours ago
I wonder what happens when they're not trolling here. Does that mean life's going well and they don't feel the need? I hope so. Or are they doing the same thing in rotation on a cooking / photography / historical re-enactment forum?
alchemilla 8 hours ago
Either: Close the road to all vehicles except EVs. This seems an obvious solution to me. Or: if it's a dual carriageway, make all traffic use one side as a bi-directional single lane carriageway, and leave the other side for cyclists and pedestrians. At least then they could ride a bit further away from the fumes (but not much).
hairyairey 8 hours ago
Agreed, if you want to kill someone a motor vehicle gives the least punishment. Unless you reverse back over them, that's a bit of a giveaway. I am not even joking, it's happened before
chrisonabike 8 hours ago
If interested GCN did an interesting video about this (albeit with a heavy focus on one contributor): https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dHRfClVJg70&pp=ugUHEgVlbi1HQtIHCQlkAqO1ajebQw%3D%3D
chrisonabike 8 hours ago
I agree about the nonsense around the two offences *. As others have suggested, while the law should be applied perhaps taking a step back and moving focus from a legal framing towards a "health and safety" perspective would be productive? * I believe these were created in the first place to "drain the drama" / remove the "but they didn't mean to" factor since it was noted people were reluctant to convict killer drivers for eg. murder and manslaughter. Alas "they didn't mean to" has followed, thus we see the "incompetence defense".
Mrazi 9 hours ago
The ski jumpers are puting ali kind of stuff in their underwear to increase lift. Here we have something similar 😄
Robert Hardy 9 hours ago
Having once been blown off my bike by a tunneled gust by Centre Point tower, much to the amusement of the black cab driver next to me, this looks fit to hugely enhance black cab driver amusement.
13 thoughts on “Live blog: Irish Senator who complained about cyclists goes for ride after being challenged to on Twitter; Frozen Froome turns to Cryotherapy; No Viagra in Testogel package; Boardman encourages active travel to lift burden off NHS +more”
For those that missed it
For those that missed it (including me): https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000b9f5/question-time-2019-14112019
(and a barely disguised excuse to post Saint Chris)
Stay up to watch Chris on QT
Stay up to watch Chris on QT last night, glad to see him there and his message got one of the stronger receptions on the from the audiences. Highlighting the link between obesity and the NHS and the role an active mode of transport can play in that is an important message and one often not found in the MSM.
kt26 wrote:
I saw it too and appreciated his attempt to get this very important subject discussed, but it was ignored by the chair, the panel and the audience. I rang the radio prog which was talking about the issues on QT, but they didn’t call back. Similarly, R5 had Boris on this morning on a phone in, but they had a long discussion about transport without once mentioning active travel. I rang in again, but they weren’t interested.
burtthebike wrote:
I think that may be largely an issue with the format of QT, speaking time is only really given to those to offer contrasting views, agreement only seemed to be shown by audience applause which – to which there was a generally postive response to Chris’ point.
As to you experience with the Radio, very frustrating and disappointing. It always looked a bit of a token gesture to have Chris on the show, but what a token he is to have. Hopefully he has given some people food for thought.
Viagra was used to give
Viagra was used to give certain athletes nerves of steel… and definitely not used to “enhance their performance” 😀
Chris Boardman showing what a
Chris Boardman showing what a sensible gent he is.
On that Edinburgh concrete
On that Edinburgh concrete blocks story, Bristol council put concrete blocks across lots of the cycle lanes approaching the centre, as an anti terrorist thing before the remembrance Sunday stuff last week. Apparently they were worried about an attack. Only the cycle lanes, though: not the roads or the footpaths… And, they were still there on Wednesday.
brooksby wrote:
That seems fair; everyone knows that all cyclists are terrorists.
burtthebike wrote:
better than terrorists, we don’t actually have to do anything to terrify drivers. They’re already terrified by us – terrified that we will scratch their precious car, terrified that we will take their space, terrified that we might get in front of them… terrorists can only wish for that kind of influence!
Quote:
Dr Strangelove said it best:
“Shoot, A Fella’ Could Have A Pretty Good Weekend In Vegas With All That Stuff”
The Irish Senator couldn’t
The Irish Senator couldn’t help resorting to type though.
“… As bad as the worst driver.” FFS !!!
“My taking to the bicycle was to experience hazards for myself. I admit that on a bicycle cars can only be described as weapons of mass destruction. The road is for all of us so the cyclists who were 4 abreast on the Enidkerry road this morning are as bad as the worst driver”
https://twitter.com/GCraughwell/status/1196040925488832512
I don’t know about Ireland
I don’t know about Ireland KarlM77, but in the UK I think that 4 abreast cycling cannot be as bad as the worst driver, for me that’s Gary Hart, killed 10 on a train by bad driving. Anyone got anything worse?
This entire thread is
This entire thread is heartbreaking.
https://twitter.com/ormondroyd/status/910244326567006211