Dennis eat your heart out: Dutch cyclists battle monstrous headwind; Oakley Valentine’s promo; Anti-cyclist/Brexit fan’s immigration queue tweet; Cyclist’s ruptured testicle update; Shapps forgets cycling in emoji-laden tweet + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Just a young Paul McCartney cycling
He is: cycling 🚴🏻 pic.twitter.com/KEwe63pylU
— 𝓔𝓶𝓶𝓪🖤 (@AmbRhodes_love) February 13, 2020
It appears Sir Paul was quite the day tripper on his bike back in his younger days.
Man cycles 600km across India to meet his favourite film star Salman Khan
Assam: Bhupen Likson, a cyclist from Tinsukia reached Guwahati yesterday after cycling a distance of over 600 kms, to meet Salman Khan. He says,”I started this journey on Feb 8 from Jagun (Tinsukia) on a cycle to meet Salman Khan who will be in Guwahati to attend Filmfare Awards” pic.twitter.com/td28ojdXIS
— ANI (@ANI) February 14, 2020
If you thought celebrity culture was a little obsessive in the west, it’s got nothing on the lengths 52-year-old Bhupen Likson went to in order to meet his hero Salman Khan.
According to Hindustan Times, Mr Likson began his journey in his home town of Tinsukia on February 8th, and after roughly 600km in the saddle reached Guwahati on February 13th, where Mr Khan was attending the Filmfare Awards.
If you thought that sounded tough and/or obsessive, Likson has form for extraordinary cycling feats; it’s also claimed he cycled an astonishing 48 kilometres in one hour without touching the handlebars for an Indian record, although as far as we can tell this is unverified; the Guinness World Record for cycling with no hands for one hour is 37 kilometres and 417 metres, achieved by Erik Skramstad of the USA in 2009.
Trek's accessory brand Bontrager launch new performance road pedals
The Elite Road Pedal is brand new from Bontrager, compatible with Look Keo cleats and featuring a carbon composite body for a claimed weight of 250g per pair. They have sealed cartridge bearings on the underside to keep things clean, and a fully adjustable tension-release bolt lets you dial in or out for optimal ride feel. They cost £84.99 a pair and are available to buy on Trek’s UK website now, and you can read our full story here.
Fundraiser for Derbyshire cyclist killed in crash passes £3,000
25-year-old Josephine Gilbert died in a collision with a lorry on the A52 near Marketon Island on January 21st, and a JustGiving page has been set up in her memory to raise funds for the mental health charity Mind; so far, £3,165 has been raised.
It says: “Instead of flowers, we are asking for donations to be made on Jose’s behalf to Mind. Jose was not only an impressive sportswoman but a huge advocate of the benefits and importance of sport for the mind.”
If you want to donate, click here.
Transport Secretary celebrates staying in his job by tweeting stream of vehicular emojis... and forgets cycling and walking
Honoured to be back as Secretary of State for Transport. In a government working hard to level up Britain, connecting communities means everything! 🚆🚍🚎🚘🚡✈️🛩️🚢🚀
— Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP (@grantshapps) February 13, 2020
Trains, planes, automobiles and, erm… rockets. First spotted by Chris Boardman yesterday evening, Grant Shapps’ tweet to announce his continuation in the role as Transport Secretary has been met with disbelief that he managed to pepper his post with emojis featuring pretty much every mode of widely-used transport known to man… except for cycling and walking.
Congratulations @grantshapps on your re-appointment but a missing emojis on your Tweet, surely? 🚲🚴🚴♂️🚵🚵♂️🚴♀️🚵♀️. Look forward to joining you on a bike ride soon.
— Cycling UK (@WeAreCyclingUK) February 13, 2020
He’s actually put a space rocket in before cycling
— Mark Lees (@KenZulu) February 13, 2020
Well we see what your priorities are. And they’re not 🚲👩🏼🦽🧑🏼🦼🧑🏽🦯🏃🏾♀️🏃🏿 as they should be.
— Tom Staniford (@tomstaniford) February 13, 2020
Some believe it sends out the wrong message when the environment and the climate crisis is such a hot topic; and if anyone should be at the forefront of promoting sustainable transport, you’d hope Britain’s Transport Secretary would be one of them.
Shapps was also criticised last week for tweeting in support of the expansion of Bikeability cycle training for children, when there is supposedly little evidence that the government is backing this up with investing in safe places to ride.
Do you think the offending tweet was simply a case of Shapps missing a couple of keystrokes in his excitement at not suffering the fame fate as some of his (now ex) cabinet colleagues yesterday, or do you find it more worrying/sinister? Do let us know your thoughts in the comments as always…
A genre of bike "designed to ride on the boring fire-road-type tracks that mountain bikers avoid"
Fair play to the cycling industry for creating a highly successful new genre of bikes designed to ride on the boring fire-road-type tracks that mountain bikers have long aimed to avoid.
— Jon (@ormondroyd) February 13, 2020
The ultimate in gravel pessimism…
The best pothole pic ever?
Show me a better pothole photo than this. I’ll wait (📸 Steve Robards) @angrypiln pic.twitter.com/DPVS8bKhBf
— Sam Dixon-French (@samdfjournalist) February 13, 2020
This might just be local newspaper nirvana, although the ever-reliable Angry People in Local Newspapers were quick to offer some healthy competition…
You were saying… pic.twitter.com/8bvi7Euq7Y
— Angry People in Local Newspapers (@angrypiln) February 13, 2020
To read more about the problem blighting Britain’s roads for cyclists and motorists alike, check out our interview with Mr Pothole to mark National Pothole Day from last month.
Pro cyclist who ruptured testicle posts health update
If you’ve been eagerly awaiting some more ruptured testicle news from Team Sunweb’s Chris Hamilton, fear not as he’s recently posted an update on the state of his ‘spuds’.
Hamilton posted on Instagram: “To speed up the healing process of my spuds, I decided to do the most manly thing I could think of. Rip the motor out of my car, pull it apart, and put it back together in the hope to make it a little faster, leak less oil and drop phat skids. I succeeded. And in the process I did in fact heal much quicker than everyone thought. I’ve been properly training for about a month now, and will be racing again in about a week and a half!”
Hamilton’s unfortunate balls-up happened in late December due to a ‘small crash’ on a bike path while out training in Australia, and although he’s missed out on racing during their summer, it’s given the 24-year-old more time to spend with his family.
How nice is this stem top cap?
Have you ever seen a more lovely stem top cap than this new limited edition one from Fairlight Cycles?
“This is not the Brexit I voted for”: Prominent anti-cyclist tweeter gets Schiphol airport trending worldwide for complaining about immigration queue;
Colin has a bit of a problem. He voted for something that we all told him would make his life worse but he didn’t listen.
Colin also hates cyclists passionately. I detect a theme… pic.twitter.com/fy88UgaCyB
— Alan Stedman 🇪🇺🇬🇧#RejoinEU#FBPE (@alanjstedman) February 14, 2020
It’s not been the best morning for Colin Browning (assuming he’s a real person and not a ‘bot’, as some have suggested), who took to Twitter to complain about the immigration queue at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport last night: “This is not the Brexit I voted for”, said Mr Browning.
What does this have to do with cycling? Nothing at all, but we’ve had a peruse of Mr Browning’s account and found the majority of his tweets don’t have a lot of kind things to say about cycling, cyclists and anything with two wheels, so it seems. On a clip posted by broadcaster Jeremy Vine in which he is almost left-hooked by a van driver who failed to signal in time, Mr Browning replied: “You’re far to close to him, would he be able to see you in his mirrors? And to me it looks like you’re trying to undertake him. Yet again though like all cyclists it’s the big bad motorists that are in the wrong.”
Alarmingly, in the tweet above Alan Stedman has suggested Mr Browning’s political views and his anti-cycling rhetoric are related… what do you think?
*Since we posted this update, ‘Colin’ is now also trending worldwide and Mr Browning has become the subject of a debate on James O’Brien’s LBC radio show.
University of Bristol Cycling Club plan 'carbon-neutral' bike tour
Epigram reports that the students will travel by Eurostar and French rail instead of flying back from their trip to the Alps, which UoBCC President Sam Tiller said will be similar in price to flights and could reduce overall emissions for the return journey from 255g/km to 6g/km.
32 students will embark on the trip in total, with a vegetarian-only menu on offer for the duration of the trip which Tiller said “proved popular” on their last excursion to Snowdonia in November.
Rower Hamish Bond wins New Zealand National Time Trial Championships
The 34-year-old 2012 and 2016 gold medallist in the coxless pairs beat Jumbo-Visma’s Sam Bennet to clinch the title by a margin of 15 seconds, crossing the line in 46 mins 52 secs.
Bond has always supplemented his rowing with cycling, and rode at elite level in 2009. He had his eye on cycling at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, but recently decided he would row again.
Brompton pop champers to toast 50,000 bikes sold in a year
15 yrs ago when we were making around 10k a year @BromptonBicycle I put a bottle of champagne, given to me by some students who used us as a case study, under my desk. I vowed not to open it until we sold 50k. 15 years later, countless desk moves I opened it! pic.twitter.com/wS8VfsmPHZ
— Will Butler-Adams (@Will_Brompton) February 14, 2020
Brompton have finally reached the milestone after selling 48,956 bikes to March 2019, and are now firmly established as Britain’s biggest bicycle manufacturer. They were founded in June 1976 by Andrew Ritchie, with Butler-Adams taking up the post of CEO in 2008.
Oakley launch strange Valentines-themed promotion for new retro shades
“What is love?” Ask Oakley in their Valentine’s marketing campaign that also celebrates the launch of their first shades in 1984… apparently it’s the new Sutro Eyeshade (from £135 via Oakley’s website) with absolutely massive vented lenses and Oakley’s original logo that are modelled on the originals from the 80’s.
The differences between new and old are mostly found in the Prizm lenses that improve colour vividness and clarity, and they’re available in an array of loud colours: “The definition of eye-candy”, boast Oakley.
Was it love at first sight when you first saw Oakley’s Sutro Eyeshades, or is this particular style best left consigned to history? Let us know in the comments…
Video shows Dutch cyclists battling unreal headwind
The Dutch cyclist: unstoppable!
We might not have mountains, but we have our own challenging conditions. Don’t complain, plow on!pic.twitter.com/Zz4HVEZYz2
— Cycling Professor (@fietsprofessor) February 14, 2020
This clip could give the actual Dutch Headwind Championships a run for its money and perhaps even surpass it, as hardy Dutch commuters attempt to ride on despite facing winds that are so strong, numerous bikes appear to be blowing away from their owners.
As The Cycling Professor says, what the Dutch lack in hills they more than make up for in gusts…
That's not ideal!
Ever seen this before? Happened to tech ed Dave on his lunchtime ride. Check out this nifty bodge that got him home
Hmmm that's not ideal pic.twitter.com/NWf2hiOqvw
— david arthur (@davearthur) February 14, 2020
14 February 2020, 08:10
Dib Sports launch 2-in-1 hydration and storage bottle
"Ditch the saddlebag": Dib Sports launch 2-in-1 hydration and storage bottle
Designed and made in the USA, the Dib Bottle is available in regular and large sizes and is designed to house both fluid and repair kit
Help us to bring you the best cycling content
If you’ve enjoyed this article, then please consider subscribing to road.cc from as little as £1.99. Our mission is to bring you all the news that’s relevant to you as a cyclist, independent reviews, impartial buying advice and more. Your subscription will help us to do more.
39 Comments
Read more...
Read more...
Read more...
Latest Comments
"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.
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.)
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.
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.
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.
@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?
They may have looked, but did they see?
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.
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.
“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.
39 thoughts on “Dennis eat your heart out: Dutch cyclists battle monstrous headwind; Oakley Valentine’s promo; Anti-cyclist/Brexit fan’s immigration queue tweet; Cyclist’s ruptured testicle update; Shapps forgets cycling in emoji-laden tweet + more on the live blog”
There’s something fishy about
There’s something fishy about that Indian cyclist story, but eel clearly go any plaice to see his hero.
Are you referring to a fishy
Are you referring to a fishy typo that’s now corrected by any chance? 😉
Jack Sexty wrote:
– Maybe!
Does Grant Schapps have the
Does Grant Shapps have the faintest idea that his remit covers cycling and walking? Or perhaps he just doesn’t care. One might have thought that they would be in there somewhere, possibly higher than ski lifts and rockets.
A perfect demonstration of what this ultra-shambles of a government really thinks.
Often forgotten that he was
Often forgotten that he was sacked for bullying.
Though one big plus point he has going for him, and one that will never go away is that at least he isn’t Grayling.
So people are getting upset
So people are getting upset about how many “correct” emojis a politician uses in a tweet, because that’s the really important part of his new job isnt it ? Not delivering or promoting better transport schemes for the country but how to emote properly on social media to his 88,000 followers ? and we wonder why noone treats politics seriously anymore.
I think people are getting
I think people are getting upset because it very neatly sums up the lack of prioritisation that the government (and local governments) give to walking and cycling, despite all the positive evidence with regards to investment, they still seem to see transport as cars buses and trains and little else.
I hadnt realised government
I hadnt realised government policy was determined thesedays by which 32x32pixel art ministers left in or out of tweets. No doubt had he included a bike emoji ?♂️ people would then be arguing over the ordering,he has trains ahead of busses after all in his tweet,clearly an indication he must favour HS2 I guess instead of bus routes.
Imo it all neatly sums up where people who get excised about this stuff real priorities lie,if they used half the energy they spend getting worked up on this kind of trivial nonsense,literally people are just complaining about pixels that only exist electronically, directed on tackling real decisions about delivering better transport solutions,promoting sustainable travel,and helping inform politicians to understand those choices better, maybe things would be a whole lot better all around
But there you go Shapps now knows some social media groups care far more about which tweet emojis he uses,rather than what his dept does with 1 billion pounds.
You may not have noticed, but
You may not have noticed, but the US is run by tweets these days.
Sniffer wrote:
Twits, surely?
I recognised that was the
I recognised that was the obvious response, but decided to leave the door open for someone else to put it away from inside the six yard box.
it’s possible to call him out
it’s possible to call him out on the one thing and care deeply for/spend a lot of time lobbying about the other thing, Cycling UK being an obvious example of that. It’s not either/or.
One of those headlines is a
One of those headlines is a bit fishy…
I did hear that Khan had a mild form of Tourette’s when he was younger though my wife tried to correct me and told me that he actually had some unusual form of epilepsy that people often grow out of. Either way, it wasn’t worth arguing over Salman ticks.
Paul McCartney? https:/
Paul McCartney? https://lailasnews.com/my-dead-wife-appeared-to-me-as-a-squirrel-paul-mccartney/
Did you know that Linda, his dead wife only ate plants though I expect you’ve heard of herbivore.
Are those Bontrager pedals
Are those Bontrager pedals really 250g each? That seems awfully heavy, pretty sure my Assioma Duos are only a little more than that for the pair…
250g *per pair, apologies.
250g *per pair, apologies. Full story by Mat who isn’t a buffoon here… https://road.cc/content/tech-news/271173-bontrager-unveils-elite-road-pedals
So I went on the pothole
So I went on the pothole Twitter thread and I found this one which tickled me.
After seeing a few of the
After seeing a few of the ones that have developed on our club routes I’ve started wondering, at what point do you stop calling “hole” and start shouting “crater”?
Cyclolotl wrote:
Just shallow depressions. You know it’s really deep when you get an echo.
On the subject of potholes,
On the subject of potholes, what happened to that fella who called himself Wanksy, painting potholes as a gentleman’s sausage to encourage council to fix them?
Others have taken up “the
Others have taken up “the baton”
So are council coming on time
So are council coming on time and filling the holes?
That Fairlight top cap is
That Fairlight top cap is mega. Always looking to add weight to my Faran and it will look great atop the gold Hope headset.
On a slight devils advocate
On a slight devils advocate to Colin, as all the politicians for leave pointed out that most of the current status quo would be the same and it would only bring benefits to the UK, he probably has a point it wasn’t the Brexit he voted for.
However I imagine from other posts on the timeline, he just saw we will stop foreigners coming over here and voted for that.
AlsoSomniloquism wrote:
Is that like all the pro-Brexit tabloids who got all worked up when the EU suggested that following Brexit, Britons would need a visa etc to go on holiday to the Med? (I mean: the very thought of it!)
Surely all he can argue it
Surely all he can argue it wasn’t the Brexit he thought he was voting for. Given this is the result of the leave vote winning, this is the Brexit every leave voter voted for whether they realised it at the time or not.
Only people who can complain about not getting what they voted for are the losers (in this case remain voters).
Definitely seen a nicer stem
Definitely seen a nicer stem cap – the ones from Isen Workshop are gorgeous! https://www.isenworkshop.com/bikes
Bond is a complete beast.
Bond is a complete beast. Rowed against a relative of mine for years. Undefeated for something like 8 years, never really got close to them – seconds behind in 2nd when races are usually decided by fractions.
Agreed. Look at him compared
Agreed. Look at him compared with Bennett. He has
the watts and the VOmax in spades!
NZ Vegan Rider wrote:
In oars, surely?
Definitely needs to be
Definitely needs to be investigated for sockdoping; all of them.
When he switched from rowing
When he switched from rowing a couple of years ago he rode some UK time trials for Aerocoach and set some very impressive times. Anyone who could put 2 minutes into Josh Williams’ 49-minute record for one of our local 25 mile courses, and do 17:55 in only his second ever 10 mile time trial, is right up there. His focus is apparently on rowing at the Tokyo Olympics.
I had always wondered if
I had always wondered if plastic folding money was as effective as paper folding, wouldn’t really want to be risking a £20.
Yup can confirm it works. And
Yup can confirm it works. And the £10 note was still in perfect condition when I got thankfully! Best to carry a proper tyre boot really, but if you forget, this is a neat solution.
Chris Hamilton V8 ute to do
Chris Hamilton V8 ute to do burnouts in ;-( Let’s hope he mangles the engine before it goes back in.
Chris Hamilton has
Chris Hamilton has demonstrated again the value of engine oil and degreaser as a healing agent.
Colin Browning is 100% a
Colin Browning is 100% a parody account.
Parody or not you have to
Parody or not you have to laugh at a brexthicker complaining about the inconvenience of NOT having freedom of movement.
Are you sure? He is parodying
Are you sure? He is parodying a cyclist hating, Brexit loving, Misogynistic homophobe so well that he has turned into all of the above. Scroll down his timeline and he is even cheering on the footage of someone pushing an old lady cyclist into the hedge.