Welcome to Monday’s live blog, with Jack Sexty, Simon MacMichael and the rest of the team.
Pinarello unveil bike fit for a (World TT) champ; Bahrain-McLaren bike and kit; Tyre dust biggest ocean plastic polluter, says Cycling UK; Freeman ‘too upset’ to attend tribunal; Shanghai Marathon runner caught cycling + more on the live blog
All today’s news from the site and beyond and we start a new week…
Mon, Dec 09, 2019 22:33
SUMMARY
9 December 2019, 22:33
Weekend catch-up
Where have YOU been? If you’ve been otherwise engaged over weekend, here’s what you missed on road.cc…
Ryan Reynolds has a pop at Peloton ad by hiring the actress to promote his gin
Boris Johnson claims pavement cycling is the ‘naughtiest thing’ he’s ever done (and will admit to)
Oxford teen’s penis ‘degloved’ by his bike’s handlebars in freak crash
Rapha boss explains how brand is reducing reliance on discounts
Zwift launches new off-road training plans, gravel bikes and mountain bikes
Cyclist recalls moment her brakes failed on Hardknott Pass descent during Fred Whitton Challenge
9 December 2019, 22:33
Chris Froome, the die-hard Nice football club fan
Fun night out last night with @ogcnice and a few @teamineos mates Congrats on the win! #ogcnice pic.twitter.com/ofrNlmpCuN
— Chris Froome (@chrisfroome) December 8, 2019
In an appearance that was in no way heavily orchestrated by the Nice and Team Ineos owners, you could be forgiven for thinking Froome was a die-hard season ticket holder in a Nice shirt and scarf. Wonder what he thinks about all this VAR lark?
9 December 2019, 22:33
Shanghai marathon runner receives permanent ban... after being caught cycling part of the course
If you thought jiffy bags were scandalous, the scale of cheating in Asian marathons even at amateur level is said to be reaching epidemic level… and this one might just be the most brazen of the lot.
According to Japan Running News, Organisers of the Shanghai marathon that took place on the 17th November have now announced that an entrant has been banned for life for using a bicycle on part of the course. The female runner also ran with a male bib number, and organisers punished other competitors with bans who were said to have been complicit in the fraud, or ‘did not stop the problem from occurring’: “The orderly conduct of the race was significantly disturbed”, they said.
China is in the midst of a running and cycling boom at the moment, but incidents of cheating are said to be rife; another female runner was caught riding a bicycle in March’s Xuzhou International Marathon in a virtually identical incident, and at the Shenzhen half marathon last year, over 250 runners were caught cheating.
Perhaps the most well renowned case of running fraud in the UK came back in 2011, when Rob Sloan was caught hopping on a bus to skip past a few of his rivals and claim third place in the Keilder Marathon.
9 December 2019, 22:33
Who's got £7,680 then?
Yep, no typo here. These wheels from Spengle really are the best part of eight grand.
The tri-spoked carbon wheels are…oh I really can’t be bothered. They’re EIGHT GRAND.
Cool paint though. You can read more here.
Stu has already reviewed a set of the much cheaper 650b gravel wheels.
9 December 2019, 22:33
Fire-up the rumour mill
There’s been more talk of Rohan Dennis joining Team Ineos.
World TT Champ Rohan Dennis to join Team Ineos, says The Advertiser. #cycling #TeamIneos
— Gregor Brown (@gregorbrown) December 9, 2019
It’s not the first time that a deal has been rumoured but ever since Dennis disappeared from the Tour after an apparent falling-out with his then team Bahrain Merida, Dennis has been struggling to find a team willing to match his Bahrain wage.
Surely we’ll have a definitive answer soon.
9 December 2019, 22:33
Wouldn't get away with that attire back here
The GB track sprinters have been training hard down under.
Looks like they’re working on their tans too. We’re not jealous. Much.
9 December 2019, 22:33
Gareth Thomas begins his Sport Relief fundraising ride
On a cold, dark morning in Wales… We began the #TourDeTrophy!!
Go Gareth and team!! Today we make our way from Cardiff to Ludlow, with all involved testing out those cycling legs. Only 500 miles to go…
Support Gareth: https://t.co/wAoOUREwkVhttps://t.co/QFFvO16dhG pic.twitter.com/2Q0UiNNcEp
— Sport Relief (@sportrelief) December 9, 2019
The former Welsh Rugby star is cycling a four-seater recumbent bike 500 miles from Cardiff to Aberdeen.
His ‘mission’ is to collect the Sport Personality of the Year trophy from Geraint Thomas in Cardiff and deliver it for the awards ceremony in Aberdeen in seven days.
Along the way, he’ll be joined by famous faces and beneficiaries of Sport Relief funding who will help with the pedalling.
Lots of Maindy Flyers out early this morning to support @gareththomas14 in his #TourdeTrophy for @sportrelief #DreamBig pic.twitter.com/eJp9uFuCSJ
— Maindy Flyers YCC (@MaindyFlyersYCC) December 9, 2019
Local junior cycling club, Maindy Flyers have already been out lending their support.
We’ll be following Gareth’s progress over the next few days.
9 December 2019, 22:33
Well, that didn't take long
Welcome to the team @RohanDennis!
Watch the world time trial champion’s first interview after signing a two-year deal with @TeamINEOS.
— Team INEOS (@TeamINEOS) December 9, 2019
Rohan Dennis has been officially announced as a Team Ineos rider.
As his contract with Bahrain-Merida was terminated in September, he’ll be joining the team immediately. He’s probably rather keen to get on one of the team Pinarello Bolide TT bikes…
9 December 2019, 22:33
Rohan Dennis to Ineos: technology and equipment key reason behind move
The Australian appears to admit that the attention to detail when it comes to equipment and technology was a key reason for his move to Ineos, saying that he’ll now be “working with the best possible products on the market and available to us. That’s something that I’m really passionate about, especially when it comes to time trialling.”
Although never 100% confirmed, it was widely believed that Dennis’ bizarre abandon of the 2019 Tour de France was because he was unhappy with the equipment made available to him at Bahrain-Merida, particularly the Merida Warp Time trial bike. he’ll now be time trialling aboard the Pinarello Bolide, which has racked up countless victories for Team Sky/Ineos riders over the years.
Read the full story here.
9 December 2019, 22:33
New Look colours
Look have unveiled new colour choices for their whole 2020 range, including metallic blue, black/red combination, and glossy matte black. Head over to Look’s website to see your options.
9 December 2019, 22:33
Latest Extinction Rebellion protests
Extinction Rebellion have glued themselves to blocks of concrete stuck to road outside Leicester Square tube station.
Today’s campaign is all about air pollution. Their sign reads “Air Pollution Kills 25 Londoners Each Day.” @LBC pic.twitter.com/uJa1h3Z0PQ
— Rachael Venables (@rachaelvenables) December 9, 2019
This time activists have glued themselves to concrete blocks on Cranbourne Street outside Leicester Square tube station. There are also protests going on in Manchester.
9 December 2019, 22:33
Zwift unveils new Crit City course
Zwift has today unveiled Crit City, its eighth map, which is an event-only course that offers racing that’s designed to be fun to ride and to watch. Full story here.
9 December 2019, 22:33
Deceuninck-Quick-Step head to the 'Win Tunnel'
The Specialized-sponsored team headed to the cycling-specific wind tunnel in California for several testing sessions, refining position and equipment choices. Quick-Step coach Koen Pelgrim said: “We’ve had some very useful days in Morgan Hill. We’ve mainly focussed on optimisation of the time trial position of our riders, and for that, the wind tunnel is a great tool. The combination of having a team of dedicated bike fitters, a test that checks the physiological effects of changes in position and subsequently a very fine measurement of the aerodynamic drag is a dream for me as a coach. That combination of these three tools makes is the perfect setup to optimise the performance of our riders.”
9 December 2019, 22:33
Ultimate close call?
Car, truck and cyclist collide. Luckily, everyone walks away alive! pic.twitter.com/LhqxprDnJZ
— RT (@RT_com) December 9, 2019
Apparently everyone walked away alive from this horror crash, most surprisingly the cyclist who looks like he can’t believe his luck.
9 December 2019, 22:33
Dr Richard Freeman fails to show at tribunal today, saying he was 'upset' by media coverage
Back at Dr Freeman tribunal where we are told he was due to attend today but has not because he was “upset by media coverage” about O’Rourke’s conduct when questioning Sutton pic.twitter.com/K7WaFSvdlA
— alistair magowan (@alistairmagowan) December 9, 2019
Freeman took issue with articles that brought up his need for a skiing holiday – that his lawyer Mary O’Rourke says was prescribed by a doctor – and also the coverage towards O’Rourke herself.
The panel questioned O’Rourke’s conduct in her questioning of Shane Sutton, and today she’s asked them to clarify their position as to whether she was considered to have bullied Sutton under cross-examination, according to BBC sports journalist Alistair Magowan
9 December 2019, 22:33
Cycling UK research finds the biggest source of microplastics in the oceans comes from car tyre dust
Cycling UK are calling for more journeys to be made by bike and on foot, after new research commissioned by the charity found that tyre dust is the largest source of ocean microplastic in the world. The stats also show that 57% of car journeys made in Britain are five miles or less, and there needs to be better alternatives to electric cars which will not solve the microplastic problem.
“Since the UK had it’s Blue Planet moment, we’ve all accepted the need to change our plastic habits which are visible whether that’s plastic bags or excess wrapping in supermarkets”, said Cycling UK’s head of campaigns Duncan Dollimore.
“However, the UK has failed to address or even acknowledge one other major source of plastic: our car dependence. It’s shocking that car tyre dust is the largest source of microplastics in our oceans –more needs to be done to give people a safe and attractive alternative to driving.
“With 57% of car trips made in Great Britain easily feasible by bike or on foot, it’s clear the next Government must do more to limit the amounts of pollution produced by our car dependent society.
“Unfortunately replacing fossil fuelled vehicles with electric cars is not going to stop the source of the microplastics in our oceans. We need better public transport options, and safer cycling and walking facilities. For cycling and walking that means rapidly increasing investment to at least 10% of the transport budget in the next five years.”
You can find a link to the full paper here.
9 December 2019, 22:33
It should not be possible to go this fast on sand
Catch up on the weekend’s cyclocross action as Tom Pidcock and the Trinity Racing team ride the infamous ‘de kuil’ Zonhoven course.
9 December 2019, 22:33
Cycling UK Scotland join calls to improve train cycle storage
Hi @FrancescoSani, in Oct @WeAreCyclingUK had a positive meeting with @LNER inc. @KateLNER1 to look at these issues and find solutions. @HitachiRailEU tasked with sorting this but no answer yet. Also need @RSSB_Rail to urgently review the safety of cycle storage on Azuma trains.
— Cycling UK Scotland (@CyclingUKScot) December 9, 2019
The bizarre vertical bicycle hooks on LNER and Great Western Railway trains have come in for much criticism since they were introduced, and Cycling UK Scotland say there have been “no answers” yet from Hitachi, who designed the trains.
9 December 2019, 22:33
Bahrain McLaren unveil Le Col kit and matching Merida bikes for 2020 season
First thoughts on the new kit? #TeamBahrainMcLaren @LeColUK pic.twitter.com/9BIvEMyhTn
— Team Bahrain Merida (@Bahrain_Merida) December 9, 2019
Rohan Dennis will be, er… gutted that he’s chosen to jump ship to Team Ineos, as Bahrain-McLaren have unveiled this rather un-subtle kit made by Le Col for 2020. The team, which was known as Bahrain-Merida until recently, have also been restocked with Merida bikes in the new team colours too…
Built for tomorrow.
The bikes that will power our riders in 2020, courtesy of @MeridaBikes. pic.twitter.com/12LjHBxmGq
— Team Bahrain Merida (@Bahrain_Merida) December 9, 2019
Team Principal Rod Ellingworth said: “We were struck from the outset by Le Col’s relentless desire to continuously innovate. The culture fit with McLaren was natural and immediate; we scoured the cycling landscape with the aim of finding a brand that could deliver the best performing kit in the WorldTour. We were blown away by Le Col’s attitude to collaborating with us to create the very best performance products and taking a ‘rider first’ approach to improving athlete performance.”
Le Col also claim their kit was the fastest during initial aero testing by McLaren, which was a strong reason behind the partnership.
9 December 2019, 22:33
Mark Cavendish on "savage" 90km time trial at Bahrain 70.3
Cavendish competed as part of an all-star relay team at the Bahrain 70.3 triathlon over the weekend, that included Australian swimmer Chloe McCardel and Mo Farah on the run leg. Cavendish said he “couldn’t even contemplate” swimming before and running a half marathon after, and said doubling the 70.3 distance for a full Ironman is “crazy”.
He completed the fast and flat 90km bike ride in an impressive 1:54:46; which was a couple of minutes slower than the overall winner of the triathlon in the pro men’s category, Kristian Blummenfelt. The Norwegian beat the all-star team in every discipline, swimming 1.9km in 22:26 as opposed to McCardel’s 25:50 and running the half marathon in 1:07:00, ten seconds faster than Farah.
9 December 2019, 22:33
Sustrans announce Department for Transport funding to improve most heavily-used section of the Bristol and Path Railway path
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Sustrans have acquired funding to improve the busiest part of the popular off-road path to prevent conflicts from arising at the busiest times of day.
A 1.7 mile stretch between Trinity Street (the beginning of the path) and Clay Bottom has been identified as the section marked for improvement, and described as a “victim of its own success” due to the number of people using it during peak times, which can be up to 1,800 an hour. James Cleeton of Sustrans says although they’ve been encouraging path users to ‘share, respect and enjoy’ with their One Path initiative, he admits physical changes would help to solve some of the issues: “We’ve spoken to over 250 people, either out on the Path, in community meetings, online or in specific user groups, to learn from them about what they need. This has included conversations with school communities, disability groups, older people groups, local community organisations, and walking and cycling campaign groups.
“We’ve heard that the excessive speed and close-passing of a handful of the people cycling on the path really does put others off using it. Some parents have even chosen to drive their children to school, instead of using the Path for that reason.”
Cleeton says a number of suggestions have been put forward, including widening stretches of the path to enable segregation between cyclists and walkers and encouraging cyclists to find alternative routes of the busier sections; however the majority weren’t calling for segregation, and as the Path represents “a much-valued traffic-free space”, banning cyclists from some sections has been ruled out.
Cleeton added: “In the next couple of days, we’re holding more workshops with the community to talk to them about the ideas that have been coming out. We’re going to work with them to refine those design ideas so that we can start to develop some firmer designs. Should we ask people to adopt certain thinking while using the path, for example, everybody keep to the left? Maybe we ask people to ring their bells if they want to overtake.
“We will also invite scrutiny of designs from various people who have technical or ‘lived experience’ wisdom to offer. This will help us to further develop the designs for a path that will become ever more inclusive while remaining loved and cherished by the local community.”
9 December 2019, 22:33
... and here's one he will be after his switch to Team Ineos
Dennis said today that one of the main reasons he moved to Team Ineos was because of its innovation in time trialling in particular … given his history with Bahrain-Merida, he clearly wasn’t going to a team that didn’t share his view on making sure everything was perfectly set up for him to perform at his best.
Though announced today, the signing was clearly finalised at least a few days ago … you don’t bash out a Kask helmet, Castelli skinsuit and Pinarello bike in world champion’s colours overnight.
Given the number of people who must have been involved in that process, it’s no surprise either that the news leaked out before it was made official.
And given the co-ordinates printed on the top tube decal, Dennis has no excuse for not knowing where Harrogate is in the future.
9 December 2019, 22:33
Here's a bike Rohan Dennis won't be riding next year ...
The Australian’s former Bahrain-Merida team … renamed Bahrain-McLaren for next season … has unveiled its Merida Scultura Disc bike in its new colourway. Video here on Merida’s Facebook page of Sonny Colbrelli’s bike being put together.
Standing out from the crowd. #TeamBahrainMcLaren @MeridaBikes pic.twitter.com/IgSwFmE86L
— Team Bahrain Merida (@Bahrain_Merida) December 9, 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 5 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 6 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 7 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 9 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 9 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 10 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 10 hours ago
They may have looked, but did they see?
jackcycles 10 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 10 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 11 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.
21 thoughts on “Pinarello unveil bike fit for a (World TT) champ; Bahrain-McLaren bike and kit; Tyre dust biggest ocean plastic polluter, says Cycling UK; Freeman ‘too upset’ to attend tribunal; Shanghai Marathon runner caught cycling + more on the live blog”
Now I would never dispute
Now I would never dispute that the motor car is a massive contributor towards polluting this planet of ours, and that most short journeys made by car could be made using other forms of transport.
But, and I also know that it takes a fair bit keeping up to a two tonne vehicle on the road and stopping it, don’t I, on my little old bicycle, generate tyre and brake particles?
Perhaps several orders of magnitude less, but I do wear out tyres and brakes.
And indeed rubber/plastic shoe soles.
ktache wrote:
Goverrnments allow farmers to spray poisons – herbicides,pesticides,fungicides,etc., on food crops; I think we need to stop that before worrying about the pollution from bicycle tyre wear..although that wear can be dramatically reduced by using hard compound tyres but then they don’t grip so well.
Blimey… that video with the
Blimey… that video with the car, truck and cyclist near miss. Lucky fella. And kudos for him getting up and going to help the truck driver!
PRSboy wrote:
‘help’ the truck driver
“The bikes that will power
“The bikes that will power our riders”
Truck driver wasn’t wearing a
Truck driver wasn’t wearing a belt and was thrown to the right-hand side of the cab, whereas the wheel is on the left – no wonder he couldn’t save the lorry from tipping over. Musta felt 100% impotent.
benbrangwyn wrote:
Another Russian ‘why do I have to follow road rules’ video..Indian and Chinese road crash video’s depicting similar cavalier attitudes to safe driving are also plentiful on u-tube.
Why the extinction rebellion
Why the extinction rebellion news all the time?
Most of the activity is just disruption related not cycling related.
Rick_Rude wrote:
To give you something to moan about instead of trans people.
Bahrain Mclaren, crisp kit, I
Bahrain Mclaren, crisp kit, I like the triangles, and the F1 team, interesting. Googles ‘Bahrain Human rights…’ Nope!
Getting from “57% of car
Getting from “57% of car journeys made in Britain are five miles or less” to “With 57% of car trips made in Great Britain easily feasible by bike or on foot” is a mightily impressive leap.
I travel 5 miles into town for the weekly grocery shopping. I suppose if I did three or four trips I could do it on a bike. Or I could walk but I wouldn’t fancy dragging a loaded shopping trolley 5 miles home. And that’s just one example, there are lots more.
Some of that 57% could be done by bike or on foot but certainly not all.
FrankH wrote:
But it’s the kind of leap we need to make,my grandparents never owned a car and managed to do all their weekly shopping in shops over 2miles from where they lived, so it is possible it takes more planning for sure, but it crazes me to see people drive such short distances and then complain about traffic congestion
Awavey wrote:
Getting from “57% of car journeys made in Britain are five miles or less” to “With 57% of car trips made in Great Britain easily feasible by bike or on foot” is a mightily impressive leap.
— Awavey But it’s the kind of leap we need to make,my grandparents never owned a car and managed to do all their weekly shopping in shops over 2miles from where they lived, so it is possible it takes more planning for sure, but it crazes me to see people drive such short distances and then complain about traffic congestion— FrankH
Yep..climate change and pollution in general has massively increased since WW2; think of how few chemicals were used prior,no nuclear prior,the proliferation of motor vehicles and airline flights since..
FrankH wrote:
Just don’t do such a huge shop. Do smaller shops, more frequently.
brooksby wrote:
More frequent smaller shops works well if you can combine them with a commute that you have to do anyway, but few people will want an extra 5 mile each way bike ride for shopping several times a week instead of one drive.
Another option is to have heavy bulky predictable stuff ordered online and delivered, and have a smaller shop to carry yourself (delivery will usually be by motor vehicle, but one that is carrying shopping for several people, so typically more efficient on average).
Or use a trailer: https://road.cc/content/news/5936-oxfordshire-gets-new-waitrose-bike-trailer-scheme
Or just recognise that some weekly trips that are less than five miles but not feasible are balanced by numerous trips that are more than five miles but still feasible.
FrankH wrote:
Sounds like good training pulling along a trailer or carrying a heavy rucksack to me.
Maybe supermarkets should start hiring jobless youths to deliver shopping on cargo bikes – you do your shopping as normal and hand over your trolley to the delivery person who’d deliver it later on (presumably combining several deliveries in your area). That would reduce the number of motorised vehicles, improve air quality and maybe increase activity levels.
FrankH wrote:
I have gone from driving 12,000km annually to less than 5,000km thanks largely to the cargo bike. That’s almost 60 percent. Carrying a week’s shopping is no problem. There are other alternatives of course, an Andersen Shopper combined with a coupler so you can tow it with a regular bike might suffice.
Its very easy to come up with excuses why something can’t be done. Making a lifestyle change requires making a commitment, and breaking old habits. If you’re not prepared to make changes, nothing will. Conversely, you don’t realise how much unnecessary driving you do until you commit to a change.
FrankH wrote:
I can get a weeks groceries in the pannier bags no problem, however I pass the shops on the way back from work, much as many people who drive short distances do so you don’t have to go out of your way very much for the vast majority of these people who are doing the short journeys
FrankH wrote:
By posting on here, I assume you’re familiar with this thing called the internet.
People use it for shopping. Yep – groceries, bikes, cars, books, flowers, taxis, just about anything you can think of. Even my 80 year old Mum taught herself to do her weekly grocery shopping online. Supermarkets will deliver your order at any time of day until 10 or 11pm, every day of the week. Might be worth a look.
My kids rode 3 miles each way to school from the age of 11. They are not athletes, it was just that I cycled to work and they knew they could do the same (and walking would take an hour or more each way, not an appealling prospect for either of them). Most kids are driven to school in cars and the school run causes significant congestion and pollution. Once children get to ride to school they are able to make other trips by bike. It’s hugely liberating and, given the chance, they’ll be far more likely to cycle throughout their lives. It also has huge physical and mental health implications.
You just need the right bike:
You just need the right bike: Something like a Tern GSD ( Kona Ute if you’ve got strong legs), get a weeks shopping on there.
Tyre and brake dust is
Tyre and brake dust is directly attributable to traffic volume, but other airborne pollution, from the internal combustion engine, more from desiel, goes up with congestion. It doesn’t take much reduction in traffic volume to massively reduce congestion. Notice how much less queues of cars there are on a Friday morning, only a few more people have Fridays off than any other day. And the massively reduced congestion during the school holidays, what’s that a reduction of 10-20%, if that.
We only have to get a few people out of their motor vehicles and air quality improves.
But of course if you reduce congestion and make journey times in cars more predictable, you remove the advantages of the very predictable journey times that active travel can bring, so driving up car journeys. Ho hum.
Doing the shopping by bicycle, you generally get to park right by the shop, often closer than the blue badge spaces and closer than the weird family spots. I live (according to the john lewis website) 50m away from my local Waitrose, even closer for Iceland, and my bakers and butchers, too close to even bother using my shopping trolley (Rosler, fine spanish trolley), but when we finally move I will probably get a bike trailer, possibly the Surly Ted, big, heavy and shockingly expensive, but very customisable and an investment.