Cyclist (nearly) escapes terrifying smash; UCI postpone Chinese races due to Coronavirus; Rory Stewart wants more hedges; Dockless bikes parked on bike lane; Chris Boardman makes discovery; Bournemouth seafront bike ban review + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Zebra crossings at side roads aren't permitted in the UK... except at the Transport Research Laboratory
Visited Transport Research Laboratory today to get progress report on our Zebra crossings at side road study. These aren’t allowed in UK at the moment yet TRL already seem to have one in the car park! The irony… pic.twitter.com/014XVN51G0
— Chris Boardman (@Chris_Boardman) February 21, 2020
Rapha to the rescue: cycling apparel brand step in with sponsorship to save Lincoln GP
Rapha Takes Title Sponsorship Of The Lincoln Grand Prix – https://t.co/rM3l9scjYs
— Rapha Lincoln Grand Prix (@LincolnGrandPri) February 21, 2020
The prestigious race is now known as the Rapha Lincoln Grand Prix, after Rapha took over as title sponsors to allow the race to continue. In a statement Lincoln GP’s race organiser Dan Ellmore said: “The Lincoln Grand Prix team are excited to be working with Rapha for the 2020 and 2021 events and to help develop a more sustainable approach to the race to ensure we can continue adding to the history of the event for many years to come. Having a brand such as Rapha recognise the importance of the event and get behind us to keep it running is a fantastic position to be in and we’re really looking forward to working with them”
The initial title sponsorship deal runs for two years.
Is dockless bike sharing a bad idea?
I’m generally a fan of bike share but feel hire bikes should be left in repurposed on-street car parking spaces. And definitely not placed by the operating company in the way of cycle infrastructure. pic.twitter.com/SUGSkiLHhT
— Adam Tranter (@adamtranter) February 20, 2020
Even the most fervent cycling advocates (the video above was shot by Coventry’s new Cycling Mayor Adam Tranter) have suggested that dockless hire bikes are perhaps a hindrance rather than a help, particularly if they’re blocking the cycle lanes that their customers are supposed to use.
Should all hire bikes have dedicated spaces?
KPMG Belgium partner with Flanders Classics Women races to 'close the gap'
The firm are supporting Flanders Classics with a three-year plan that aims to professionalise women’s cycling further and improve the ‘overall level’ of women’s cycling races, with more events in the pipeline and working to increase the exposure of existing ones. Flanders Classics’ CEO Tomas Van Den Spiegel said: “As Flanders Classics we have always been trying to help move women’s cycling forward. We think it’s now time to move into a higher gear. Women’s cycling is already growing at many levels but there is still a lot of potential left. We are very happy and grateful with a partner like KPMG who want to work together with us in the development of the sport in the upcoming years. Hopefully it also inspires other companies to invest in the sport.”
Why don't cyclists use the cycle lane, part 10,547
“Why don’t cyclists use the perfectly good bike lane…?” pic.twitter.com/MjsJlYogGU
— EricEatsPickles (@EricEatsPickles) February 19, 2020
Figure quoted possibly isn’t entirely accurate. We all know it’s actually far higher…
Man disgruntled at the Danes' love of cycling wouldn't be surprised if they 'cycle from the bedroom to the toilet to take a sh*te'
Wouldn’t be surprised if these cunts in Denmark cycle about their hoose, pure waking up in the middle of the night cycling from the bedroom to the toilet to take a shite
— Jack AD (@JckDre) February 21, 2020
Tell us how you really feel about Danish cycling culture, Jack AD from Glasgow… can any Danes confirm if this is true?
The Tour of Antalya is a bit soggy
Very wet @tourofantalya pic.twitter.com/swjsgtye1Q
— José Been (@TourDeJose) February 21, 2020
It’s not just the UK experiencing relentless deluges at the moment, as the Tour of Antalya on the famously warm and sunny Turkish Mediterranean appears to have took place on more of a river than a road today. Even so, the riders battled on and the stage was won by Giovanni Lonardi of pro conti team Bardiani-CSF-Faizane (check out their fictional 90’s TV dinosaur-inspired kit on our live blog from 17th December last year).
SON DAKİKA – Yağışlı günde 2. etabı Bardiani-CSF-Faizane’den Giovanni Lonardi kazandı! Tebrikler!
BREAKING – Giovanni Lonardi from Bardiani-CSF-Faizane won 2nd stage on wet day! Congrats!#tourofantalya pic.twitter.com/ZpLjbxLXGW
— Tour of Antalya (@tourofantalya) February 21, 2020
Rory Stewart accused of missing the point in hedge-praising tweet... as the illustration shows three cars parked on the drive
A very powerful illustration – from Bromley yesterday – of how much difference a hedge can make to Air Pollution – the PM 2.5 pollution is 4.2 at the road side of the hedge and only 1.5 at the front door. More hedges!!! pic.twitter.com/18CKEolpQ7
— Rory Stewart (@RoryStewartUK) February 21, 2020
The study itself Stewart references was a very well-meaning one conducted by Tim Webb and Stephen Sangster (watch the full video here) in which they experimented to find out the impact of hedges on air quality in London; however, people have criticised Stewart for referencing the study with an illustration featuring a driveway that has three cars on it…
Slightly missing the point of your own graphic.
I’m sure we’d all rather reduce the source of #airpollution to start with.
— Alec James (@AEWJ) February 21, 2020
Perhaps not owning three cars and paving over your front garden to store them might help?
— Will Bradley (@W_Bradley) February 21, 2020
The solution to air pollution near roads is to remove the majority of cars from cities & replace car trips with walking/cycling/public transport trips. Usefully, this is also an effective way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions..
— StopSilvertownTnL (@SilvertownTn) February 21, 2020
In fact, a Rory Stewart parody account even accuses the London mayoral candidate of missing several crucial votes on reducing carbon emissions. All this appears to be at odds with Stewart’s previous comments praising cycling, particularly his speech in parliament from October 2018 in which he referenced a Harvard study that found cycling is better for your sex life.
Should Mr Stewart be encouraging Londoners to cycle and walk first and foremost, or is hedging his bets on everyone growing hedges to cut pollution a fine strategy? Let us know your thoughts as ever…
Andalucia live TV images down due to military testing
🇪🇸 #66RdS: Se mantienen siete hombres en la fuga de @EnricMasNicolau, que cuenta con 2′ de ventaja a menos de 40 km del final. AST controla atrás. Queda todavía la subida a Baeza (2ª) y los repechos finales hacia Úbeda.
📱 Tweets → @VCANDALUCIA pic.twitter.com/1jKFcFTbXf
— Movistar Team (@Movistar_Team) February 21, 2020
If, like us, you were planning on watching some sunny bike racing while at your desk on a Friday you might be a bit disappointed.
#66RdS – So apparently no live images at the moment due to military tests in the area.
— La Flamme Rouge (@laflammerouge16) February 21, 2020
The live images from the Vuelta a Andalucia keep going down due to military testing in the area.
Hopefully we get pictures back before someone drops a wattage bomb…
UCI postpones all Chinese races scheduled for April and May due to Coronavirus fears
The UCI have released a statement on the precautions they’re taking due to the threat of the virus, saying they will announce new dates for all April and May competitions due to take place in China on 15th March.
They also say they will ‘gather information’ about riders and staff members from delegations who are threatened by the virus, with all having to submit information on their movements and training locations three weeks leading up to an event. The UCI clarified their position in a statement, saying: “The UCI is following the evolution of this epidemic and the potential consequences for the organisation of international competitions on a daily basis. It is also concerned with protecting riders from all risk of contamination and avoiding the spread of SARS-CoV-2 to other countries.”
'Lucky' cyclist (nearly) escapes terrifying collision as van smashes into a car in front of him
Hope the cyclist went out and bought a lottery ticket after this close call. Also, #itsvancrime. pic.twitter.com/NencXYbcCJ
— Chris Holmes (@greenlaker) February 21, 2020
This gentleman definitely has eight lives left and thankfully appears to be ok; as after hitting the side of a van that just ploughed into a car, he’s able to stand and watch on in disbelief with his hands on his hips.
We’ve no further information yet other than the clip was uploaded by Chris Holmes, a brand director at Marin Bikes, who says he was sent the footage from a friend in Taiwan. We’re awaiting further details…
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"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.
12 thoughts on “Cyclist (nearly) escapes terrifying smash; UCI postpone Chinese races due to Coronavirus; Rory Stewart wants more hedges; Dockless bikes parked on bike lane; Chris Boardman makes discovery; Bournemouth seafront bike ban review + more on the live blog”
Dockless bikes: – my office
Dockless bikes: – my office is the one with the steps in the background. That’s a fairly good day at Holborn Circus. On a bad day, they’ve all been blown over by the wind. It’s also a Santander bike hub, but that is very well managed and staffed by a diligent and polite crew.
The problem with the prom is
The problem with the prom is that its a fantastic surface to cycle on and encourages you to go bombing along, which you can’t safely do because there’s a lot of cross prom traffic from beach huts and concessions and the like. And obviously kids going backwards and forwards and playing and generally not paying attention. In theory it should be self-regulating because as a cyclist you’d have to be crazy to do more than 10mph along it in peak season but it is only going to take one accident with a child for their to be an Allison-style OUTRAGE response. The locals are particularly gammony about it because there was a child seriously injured on a zebra crossing by a hit and run cyclist (who ended up being jailed for GBH)
https://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/10889269.jailed-cyclist-who-mowed-down-nine-year-old-leila-crofts-given-12-month-sentence/
Just down the coast at Mudeford there’s a section of prom with a dedicated painted cycle path, I’m not aware of any issues. It’s wide, but not as wide as Bournemouth prom and speeds are low. Further along at Friars Cliff there’s a narrow section of prom where cycling is banned, which makes sense. Bournemouth prom is like a motorway in comparison, should be straightforward to paint a dedicated cycle path.
The reason it’s popular is because its a flat route bypassing all the chines which are seriously good workout.
kil0ran wrote:
There’s a dedicated bike path on Brighton seafront (promenade?) which is used well by cyclists… and pedestrians. Doesn’t seem to be any issues though.
From memory the path in
From memory the path in Brighton is at road level though, isn’t it? Rather than at beach level?
Yep, but there are loads of
Yep, but there are loads of pedestrians to
knock overavoid as you negotiate the layouts and narrow parts. Just by the zebras is great !I wouldn’t say there werent
I wouldn’t say there werent any issues in Brighton with it,there are sections iirc that arent cycle permitted and the route takes you back to the road,but its roundly ignored,which does lead to conflicts with pedestrians. And I remember walking along the prom and seeing alot of near misses at the road crossings as the cycle route tries to keep you nearer road side than beach side,but people cross towards the beach and suddenly find a cyclist in their way,I also saw one guy on a bike whose choice was slow down and share the cycle path with the oncoming cyclists,or keep riding at speed and just veer into and around the groups of people walking on the prom instead and he chose the latter. So there are conflict points and people riding bikes like idiots there for sure just like Bournemouth.
For Bournemouth, if they put
For Bournemouth, if they put a cycle track on the prom, they’ll need something better than white paint. White paint cycle lanes do not work on the roads for drivers who are required by law to take notice. Why would anyone expect them to work on the prom for pedestrians; many of whom are going to be rather more interested in sandcastles, ice creams and wondering what their kids are doing 😉 ?
On the Bournmouth thing, is
On the Bournmouth thing, is there carnage outside the limited ban?
Sir Chris has gone to the TRL, the shared use cycle route from Crowthorne village to the road that goes to the TRL has those Beware Concealed Entrances nonsense signs, and beyond, going to Bracknell (and Swinley) has so many dark grey speed limit posts and huge signposts for the motorists, with those awful white triangles painted on the tarmac, which are of course covered in filth.
Now generally good route, and far better than sharing the terrifyingly fast roads with shockingly impatient drivers, but it has been there for the best past of 30 years (or more?) on the way to and from Britain’s Transport Research Laboratories, cover or paint those dark grey metal posts with white (or even reflective) stuff, and maybe ask the householders to angle the hedges down when they cut them, same for the fences when they get replaced, and they have been.
Given it’s postition it should be the best in this country. Pretty much all other bits of road has been improved over the years.
Typical ex-tory pandering to
Typical ex-tory pandering to hedge funds…
That hedges thing – quoting
That hedges thing – quoting ‘pollution parts per million’ (whatever that might be). If you look at that photograph and assess ‘stuff parts per hundred’ (or percent if you’d rather), you get something along these lines:
Tarmac and hardstanding for cars – 30%
Cars – 20%
House – 10% (of which garage for car = 30%)
Hedges and and stuff- 40%
Fantastic to see that the
Fantastic to see that the Lincoln Grand Prix has got sponsorship. I spent the first thirty odd years of my life living there and several summers riding up either Michaelgate or Steep Hill to my student holiday job. They’re both absolute bastards (but in a good way) and it’d be criminal if a race that finished with them was allowed to go to the dogs.
Chapeau Rapha, if I ever win the lottery I’ll buy some of your kit.
I have just seen quite a good
I have just seen quite a good Co-Op mini artic, cyclist (person) detecting side bars on the trailer, lowered windscreen, with angled binacle/dash to make use of the lowered windscreen and little windows in the bottom of the doors (like trucks used to have). Not exactly Direct Vision cab, but a definite improvement.
Kind of spoilt by the nasty message on the back..
Stay Alert – Stay Alive….