Welcome to the Christmas Eve Live Blog with Liam Cahill, Simon MacMichael and some of the other road.cc team that also picked a short straw!
Live Blog: University Challenge team guess that 2019 Transcon was won by skateboard; Are Rapha wearers all meanies?; MET decorate their tree with festive little helmets; Revisiting THE best Twitter thread of the year + more
All the news from the site and beyond
Tue, Dec 24, 2019 20:10
SUMMARY
24 December 2019, 20:10
Josh Quigley recovering in hospital
RECOVERING IN HOSPITAL
AMERICA CAR CRASH
Sponsor: @elixinol_eu pic.twitter.com/WauCncsD2d
— Josh Quigley (@JoshQuigley92) December 23, 2019
After being hit by a car in America, the around-the-world rider has been recovering in a hospital in Texas.
He speaks of being “lucky to be alive” after being hit at 70mph and “thrown 50ft through the air”. The crash resulted in 10 broken ribs along with a long list of other injuries, but that hasn’t dented his mental strength which he describes as being just as strong as ever.
This family turned up in my room tonight to pay me a visit.
I was very confused as I’d just had surgery
But I did recognise them and it turns out it was Reynold and Olivia who I met in Nepal in 2018
They drove here from Austin when they heard what happened.
— Josh Quigley (@JoshQuigley92) December 24, 2019
A family that Quigley met in Nepal back in 2018 came to visit him and the Scot is still aiming to complete his ride!
24 December 2019, 20:10
Which cyclists would be best at speed-skating?
A fabulously random video popped up on our YouTube channel this morning.
Turns out that Jumbo-Visma is also a speed-skating team. We reckon Wiggo would be decent on the ice with his height, and errr…beard?
24 December 2019, 20:10
Van Aert cleared to race
— Wout van Aert (@WoutvanAert) December 23, 2019
It’s the news that all cyclocross fans have been waiting for. Wout Van Aert is back!
The three-time World Champion be lining up in Loenhout this week at the Azencross, a traditional post-Christmas race.
It’s a great indication of which riders had a ‘fun’ Christmas. Here are the highlights from 2017.
24 December 2019, 20:10
2019's gift that kept on giving
Oh Peloton, you’re hated for suing a YouTuber, your sexist ads, and the terrible quality and value of your spin bike.
But this Twitter thread was pure gold.
Our architect suggested a Peloton nook for our pied-à-terre. They do not belong in nooks. They belong where an observatory would be, if you didn’t own a Peloton.
We fired him. pic.twitter.com/p02yYLbE50
— Clue Heywood (@ClueHeywood) January 28, 2019
24 December 2019, 20:10
So Rapha wearers, do you wave?
Getting passed on a climb happens to us all, but surely a little wave or even a nod wouldn’t hurt? Pro cyclist Alex Dowsett seems to think that Rapha wearers are particularly bad for not waving. It all started with this Tweet…
Was passed on a climb the other day, (not an uncommon occurrence) by a rider decked head to toe in shiny Rapha, they did not wave, nor say hi or anything, it was game face, seemingly hardly breathing whilst easily cruising past (& likely dying a thousand deaths on the inside)…
— Alex Dowsett (@alexdowsett) December 23, 2019
Before Mr Dowsett eventually cooled off on the Rapha prejudice and wished us all a Merry Christmas…
To the folk I offended, and it appears there are a number of them.
Fundamentally I get irked by riders that don’t acknowledge other riders on the road when there’s a clear superiority complex. Even in the deepest darkest depth of an interval I’ll wave, there’s no excuse.
— Alex Dowsett (@alexdowsett) December 24, 2019
Our own Jo Burt, meanwhile, hates all you Altura wearers….
i got ignored by someone in an Altura top once because they were just riding to work and didn’t know why i was waving at them
i now hate everyone wearing that brand
— Jo Burt (@VecchioJo) December 24, 2019
And finally, TT specialists Ryan Mullen and Michael Hutchinson both claim that Dowsett did the unthinkable and didn’t wave to them while racing TTs…
He caught me at the Glasgow Commonwealths. Did he offer me a licquorice allsort? He did not.
— Michael Hutchinson (@Doctor_Hutch) December 24, 2019
So based off baseless anecdotal evidence, what do you think is the most miserable cycling apparel brand that is the least likely to give you a wave on your festive ride tomorrow? Do let us know in the comments, for some reason or another…
24 December 2019, 20:10
MET are celebrating Christmas with... tiny helmets
Italian lid maestros MET have been bolstering the crash protection of their Christmas tree by making tiny 3D-printed versions of the Vinci, Rivale, Manta, and Trenta helmets. MET say: “This winter, our Engineers worked on a new top-secret project: making helmets smaller and more compact than ever. By chance, they were the perfect decorations for the MET Christmas tree!”
We’re reading that as: “We got bored one day and made some mini helmets and it’s Christmas so here’s a press release”, but even so… MET made them by 3D printing to get a shape to begin with, cleaning and coating them to “add strength to their little bodies”, before drying and spray painting in a glossy festive red. Beats those stale decorative Christmas tree chocolates, I suppose…
24 December 2019, 20:10
Cycling legend Hugh Porter to celebrate 80th birthday - by riding 80 laps
Cycling legend Hugh Porter will next month celebrate his 80th birthday – by riding 80 laps of the Wolverhampton track where he trained for his four World Championship individual pursuit victories, still a record number of victories in the event today.
The Hugh’s 80 for 80 challenge on Sunday 27 January will see him and friends ride the equivalent of 22 miles to raise money for Compton Care Group, a charity of which Porter is patron and which helps people with incurable diseases.
On his Just Giving page Porter, known to younger generations of cycling fans for his broadcasting, covering events such as the Olympic Games for the BBC among others, says: “Many cyclists choose to ride a distance the same as their milestone birthday but this event will be special and unique.
“At 11am the Mayor of Wolverhampton will start the event and I will cycle 80 laps (approximately 22 miles) with friends. At the same time, there will also be spin bikes by the side of the track where other riders will be matching our efforts on the track.
“As a former World Champion, Aldersley Stadium is close to my heart as it played a major part in my career.
“It is where I raced as a youngster and I also won a British National Team Pursuit Championship as a member of the Wolverhampton Wheelers at this track.
“It is where I prepared for my World Championships and Wolverhampton City Council honoured me by naming a road nearby the Hugh Porter Way.”
He added: “I am a Patron of Compton Care and so the best birthday gift you could give would be to make a donation to this extremely worthy cause which supports local people with complex and incurable illnesses to live their best life possible.
“Please support me if you can and if your donation could contain an 8 in it then so much the better – whether it is £8, £28 or £88 it will all make a difference.”
24 December 2019, 20:10
It's London's annual Christmas Day Ride tomorrow - and it's a lot of fun!
If you’re in London tomorrow and free of family or other duties, you could do a lot worse than pop along to the annual Christmas Day Ride organised by the Dog & Bell Crew, who are based out of a back street pub in Deptford but who include members of Cycling UK and local London Cycling Campaign branches.
The ride is a lot of fun and starts at Cutty Sark Gardens, Greenwich, at 10am, but if you can’t get there in time, don’t worry – most join it an hour later at the Southwark Needle at the south end of London Bridge.
Ridden at a family-friendly pace and full of stops to discover hidden features of the city’s history (and perhaps even have a festive tipple), it concludes as ever with lunch at around 1.30pm at the Beirut Cafe on Edgware Road.
More details can be found on the Southwark Cyclists website, and you can find a write-up be our news editor Simon – who plans to be there tomorrow – of last year’s ride here.
24 December 2019, 20:10
Christmas in Amsterdam...
Merry Feelgood Christmas to all potential Cycling Cities out there!
(Video: @BicycleMayor020) pic.twitter.com/2uWAsNrN6W— Stephanie Krone (@FrauKrone) December 22, 2019
24 December 2019, 20:10
Fiona's next challenge? University Challenge team guess that 2019 Transcon was won on a skateboard...
The quiz show’s festive special edition pitched notable alumni from Leeds University and Clare College, Cambridge against each other, and the Leeds team featuring Rev Richard Coles and Tim Allen were given a sporting events question that the vast majority reading this page (we’d hope) would know straight away: “In August 2019, Fiona Kolbinger of Germany beat more than 200 men to win the Transcontinental, a race across Europe by what means of transport?”
Their answer? Skateboarding! Anna Haslock, organiser of the race which was founded by her partner the late Mike Hall, said on the Transcon Facebook page that it was “a rather surreal moment” to have the event mentioned on the show… even if it didn’t quite go to plan for the Leeds alumni team.
We’d love to know if any skateboarding experts/maths geniuses could work out how long it would actually take to skateboard 4,000km across some of Europe’s toughest terrain, and how uneven your legs would be in size after completing such a feat… meanwhile, you can recap one of the greatest sporting achievements of 2019 by reading our feature on Fiona Kolbinger, and find out how she did it with a breakdown of her equipment list here.
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Son of a Marathon runner, Nephew of a National 24hr Champion, the racing genetics have completely passed him by. After joining the road.cc staff in 2016 as a reviewer, Liam quickly started writing feature articles and news pieces. After a little time living in Canada, where he spent most of his time eating poutine, Liam returned with the launch of DealClincher, taking over the Editor role at the start of 2018. At the weekend, Liam can be found racing on the road both in the UK and abroad, though he prefers the muddy fields of cyclocross. To date, his biggest race win is to the front of the cafe queue.
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Latest Comments
swagman 22 minutes ago
A few people go camping in their cars with bikes so should you start car reviews on the best vehicle for that ?
swagman 30 minutes ago
I think you’re crossing the line here . I cycle camp and for that I might expect reviews for camping gear sleeping bags, stoves etc. But if im cycle camping im not looking for roof tents that are aimed at campers and nothing to do with cycling.
htcltd 2 hours ago
You have a good memory! I commented on my route decision. WUCA has really tried to clarify things with the supported vs self supported approach. In my Letter of Intent I laid out that I was going to do it self supported using the Tour Divide principles. So when my derailleur failed in China I organised a new one to be sent to a hotel in Mt Isa, when I tore my rain pants I got a Warmshowers host in North Dakota to receive the replacement, I never sought out people to ride with me, etc. But I still failed. I saw my wife at the end of each day in NZ (but I carried 100% of my kit at all time!), and I spent 2 nights staying with friends. So I think I got as close as possible to the principles of self supported as I could.
htcltd 2 hours ago
You have a good memory! I commented on my route decision. WUCA has really tried to clarify things with the supported vs self supported approach. In my Letter of Intent I laid out that I was going to do it self supported using the Tour Divide principles. So when my derailleur failed in China I organised a new one to be sent to a hotel in Mt Isa, when I tore my rain pants I got a Warmshowers host in North Dakota to receive the replacement, I never sought out people to ride with me, etc. But I still failed. I saw my wife at the end of each day in NZ (but I carried 100% of my kit at all time!), and I spent 2 nights staying with friends. So I think I got as close as possible to the principles of self supported as I could.
htcltd 2 hours ago
@mctrials23 When I was planning my 2025 World Record ride I raised this issue with Jenny Graham. She said Guinness was set up for records like balancing the most number of books on your head, not these multi day efforts. Fortunately, WUCA are putting in place much clearer rules and I expect that the Guiness rules will be less relevant. They are also quite limiting, I am the first disabled person to do the challenge, but Guiness don't recognise brain injury under their disability category. With regard to comparing the different routes, Mark Beaumont did a great GCN interview on this at the time of Laels last attempt. He pointed out that there are two approaches. Go fast which means avoiding Asia with big loops in North America, or keep to the 'spirit' of the challenge. The latter means if you put your route on the living room wall it looks like you circumnavigated the world. Jenny and Mark's rides were the latter, Lael's the former. I originally had a route very similar to hers but decided my record would be 'tainted' by being within the rules but not the spirit. So I went to one like Mark suggested, with over 7,000 km in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and China.
wtjs 3 hours ago
@mdavidford Same day, Same badge. They're out there! and no such driver has ever considered 'not driving' anywhere, or climate change, or not having a Panzer or 'cyclist ahead' etc. etc. ttps://upride.cc/incident/pg21fwa_bmw_uwlcross/
htcltd 3 hours ago
@mctrials23 When I was planning my 2025 World Record ride I raised this issue with Jenny Graham. She said Guinness was set up for records like balancing the most number of books on your head, not these multi day efforts. Fortunately, WUCA are putting in place much clearer rules and I expect that the Guiness rules will be less relevant. They are also quite limiting, I am the first disabled person to do the challenge, but Guiness don't recognise brain injury under their disability category. With regard to comparing the different routes, Mark Beaumont did a great GCN interview on this at the time of Laels last attempt. He pointed out that there are two approaches. Go fast which means avoiding Asia with big loops in North America, or keep to the 'spirit' of the challenge. The latter means if you put your route on the living room wall it looks like you circumnavigated the world. Jenny and Mark's rides were the latter, Lael's the former. I originally had a route very similar to hers but decided my record would be 'tainted' by being within the rules but not the spirit. So I went to one like Mark suggested, with over 7,000 km in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and China.
chocim 3 hours ago
@mdavidford Yeah, definitely Wilcox. And the depth of the research used here is also attested to by the consistent misspelling of Victor Bosoni's name...
Rendel Harris 4 hours ago
@swagman - Lots of cyclists own cars - Lots of those car-owning cyclists like to drive their bikes nice places to cycle (we don't all live in the Lake District) - Lots of those holiday-making-car-owning cyclists like to use campsites when they do that - Lots of those holiday-making-car-owning-camping cyclists would find this setup interesting – Ergo, it's not a new low for road.cc but a perfectly legitimate and appropriate product review.
Rendel Harris 4 hours ago
@swagman - Lots of cyclists own cars - Lots of those car-owning cyclists like to drive their bikes nice places to cycle (we don't all live in the Lake District) - Lots of those holiday-making-car-owning cyclists like to use campsites when they do that - Lots of those holiday-making-car-owning-camping cyclists would find this setup interesting – Ergo, it's not a new low for road.cc but a perfectly legitimate and appropriate product review.
24 thoughts on “Live Blog: University Challenge team guess that 2019 Transcon was won by skateboard; Are Rapha wearers all meanies?; MET decorate their tree with festive little helmets; Revisiting THE best Twitter thread of the year + more”
I saw that Dowsett tweet and
I saw that Dowsett tweet and thought it was a bit of a weird thing to say tbh.
Probably 60-70% of people I say hello to (even when I’m hammering it) dont say hello back – pretty much all.of them are not wearing rapha. Mostly castelli /endura/altura and so on. If they say hello back then great, if not I dont really care tbh, and I wouldn’t hold it against the brand they wear.
A lot of the tweet replies were basically people who consider themselves ‘proper’ and ‘old school’ cyclists and they don’t like the new lot and the clothes they wear. Bit sad really.
Quote:
I’ve never been waved at, smiled at, or “Good morning”-ed by another cyclist. Ever.
brooksby wrote:
Really? Not even a head nod?
I acknowledge other cyclists if there’s not loads around, so generally not in the middle of Bristol. I’m never bothered if it isn’t reciprocated though most of the time it is.
brooksby wrote:
all the time, maybe you need to try it on others and see what happens
tbh I thought the replies to
tbh I thought the replies to Dowsetts tweet were more OTT than what he was saying, Im amazed some people even dare ride their bikes in public for fear of encountering someone who might wave at them, and clearly they dont go hiking or walking their dogs where complete strangers dont just wave they even stop to speak to you.
the majority of riders I see wave or wave back,I dont really care if they do or dont its their choice, though fwiw the one time I know I was deliberately snubbed by other riders they were in Rapha gear.
Somebody waved at me today. I
Somebody waved at me today. I was so surprised I didn’t have the wherewithal to wave back, as it’s rare where I am, plus on narrow lanes there wasn’t much time. I hope he didn’t think I was aloof.
I was wearing altura gilet over FWE rain jacket. Adidas gym trousers if you’re interested. The only Rapha I have is the festive500 badges.
But not waving gives credence to the idea that we’re not a homogenous group of “cyclists”. Riding a bike has a very low barrier to entry so even knobs can do it!
I tend to cycling but the
I tend to cycling but the nodding thing on motorbikes gets tiresome and I’m usually too busy to be shaking my head about. Never nod at Harley riders though.
I have noticed the waving on cycles is linked to the type of bike. Roadies wave to roadies etc. Never get a wave off a roadie on the mtb.
Rick_Rude wrote:
This is true: Roadies never wave at me on my MTB, and only a very few when I’m on the – look away, dirty word coming – “Hybrid” (there, I’ve said it).
Obvs you’re not going to say hello to everybody when commuting through a busy town, but on a quiet / remote path or road surely it’s just a nice human courtesy to at least smile & nod. In a vehicle / motorbike at normal speeds, there is clearly no point.
My experience is that MTB’ers tend to be a much more relaxed, sociable crowd who mostly will say hello – even when caning down trails – or make a positive comment about your bike at the cafe even when , like mine, it’s buried under a pile of mud and actually isn’t even a very swish bike.
On the continent I found almost everyone at least nods: (but then I feel the French and Germans in particular are much friendler and respectful to each other generally in most walks of life compared to a lot of people in the UK, so maybe not a cycling thing)
My theory: your hard core, heads down roadies tend to be so much more competitive than MTB riders (or Hybrid riders!) and therefore can’t / won’t risk losing that valuable fraction of a second of “being aero” by waving because it will ruin their Strava / Average Wattage / Speed etc.
Christ. People need to get
Christ. People need to get over not being waved at. I say hello to others but honestly could not give a shit if it’s not acknowledged.
Rapha Nadal wrote:
this.
Rapha Nadal wrote:
But so many people, and so many articles, go on as if waving at other cyclists or chatting to other cyclists when stopped at the lights, is the norm; all I was really saying was that it isn’t the norm, taken from my experience. YMMV, as they say.
brooksby wrote:
That wasn’t a dig at you by the way. Just my general opinion.
Rapha Nadal wrote:
I am a full Rapha wanker by the way!
Got plenty of waves from
Got plenty of waves from Lusso branded riders today.
I used to nod or say hello to
I used to nod or say hello to cyclists in the UK. There weren’t many about and we had some common experience. When I first went to mainland Europe people would just look confused because of course they didn’t consider themselves cyclists and had no idea what was going on. Touring in more remote places still often gets a response but I don’t bother in cities anymore.
The waving thing is weird. I
The waving thing is weird. I don’t wave at other car driver s when I’m driving or at other pedestrians when I’m walking.
Eton Rifle wrote:
A long, long time ago, when I had an MG Midget, other MG Midget drivers used to wave at me.
Later, when I got a motorbike, other motorcyclists used to wave at me.
Now I ride a bicycle, other cyclists wave at me.
I think it’s an acknowledgement that we’re cool dudes.
I’m just jealous of people
I’m just jealous of people who have the visual acuity to read the branding on other riders kit.
Chris Hoy tweeted something a
Chris Hoy tweeted something a few years ago about how he’d been out in the lanes of Cheshire and noted that most of the “non-wavers” were wearing Rapha (he didn’t actually state the name of the brand but it was very obvious what he was going for).
I couldn’t care less – I might wave at another rider if I don’t happen to need both hands on the bars at that moment. I equally couldn’t care less if people wave back at me or not.
That Dowsett thread spurred another Twitter thread from a girl who’d said hi to some random guy while out for a ride and he got overly chatty and then followed her home so she now completely ignores everyone. Can see her point entirely.
If I’m passing people who are
If I’m passing people who are, based on their apparel and bikes not your regular road going cyclists I’ll always slow down to their pace, say hello and have a quick chat, weather/words of encouragement for the kids, warnings if I know there might be some roadworks/goings on ahead etc. I might be in full on kit with the best bike but that doesn’t stop me from simply being a human being that likes to chinwag with other people.
Most roadies you’ll get a nod oncoming, I’ll give a nod or a raised finger, a hello if we’re going at a slower pace otherwise at speed an audible greeting is wasted/pointless. If overtaking then a quick grunt/morning/ey up is fine (I hate the ‘on your right’ carp, overtake with the same mentality as if driving a car so if I have to move out then you as the overtaker have to account for that, so on your right should never be used as a way to say hold your line.
If you don’t say owt in return or say owt when breezing past I’m not going to get narked, I would say it’s the hi-vis helmet wearing idiots who ride on the footway/footpath (and never on the road) that get you the least responses, in fact their hazard awareness seems to be pretty poor all round from observing their behaviour patterns in built up areas particularly.
I’ve never understood the
I’ve never understood the fascination with waving either. I generally do it, but not always – and never get marked when people don’t wave back. I notice waving is much more prevalent Oop North, since moving here five years ago – and I’ve started to do it more as a result. Makes zero difference to my life though…
A car driver said “Merry
A car driver said “Merry Christmas” to me on Christmas Eve at traffic lights. Might have been something to do with the tinsel, holly, fairy lights, baubles and figure of Santa on my bike. Or perhaps they’re just nice.
There’s definitely a solemn,
There’s definitely a solemn, po-faced Rapha wearing type (male or female) and I’ve noticed on my travels that they’re very common in the South of England/London/Home Counties and N American. Very cliquey. They take themselves far too seriously and they can be found on Instagram without much trouble. They go to great lengths to live up to the stereotype that’s caused so much grief to us Rapha wearers who’ve had to put up with all the online abuse from cycling forum ‘legends’ and club kit tossers over the years. Back in the old days (said with tongue in cheek) when Rapha pretty much only offered us a merino jersey, bibs and a cap, we would have slapped these moody wankers round the legs.
Anyway, dressed in my finest Brevet or Pro Team attire, I will continue to nod, raise a finger from the bars, verbaly acknowledge or wave to my fellow cyclists, no matter what they’re wearing or where I’m riding in the world. We’re on our bikes FFS. We’re not at work. We’re taking a break from life’s shite. Enjoy the moment you miserable sods!
A nod, a wave, a cheery smile
A nod, a wave, a cheery smile….makes people wonder what you are up to.