“We couldn’t see where we were going”: Pogačar leads safety charge as Italian classic cancelled mid-race due to excessive flooding, with “water as high as disc rotors”; Valtteri Bottas’ gravel obsession; brat summer cycling edition + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Why cyclists don’t use the bike lane? Because it’s the “cyclist execution chamber”
No I mean it, literally!
Meanwhile, in the cyclist execution chamber pic.twitter.com/WDXEBaVRVg
— The🚴♂️Infra-PM 💚 (@theInfraPM) October 7, 2024
I think Mel C Thompson best summarised how such a dastardly thing probably came to be, commenting under the tweet: “City planners be like: The punishment for making us do these lanes in the first place.”
Drug driver who caused horrific crash which seriously injured cyclist avoids jail, given 10-month suspended sentence
The “impatient” driver was overtaking a stalled vehicle at traffic lights in Blackburn, pulling into the opposite lane and hitting a cyclist described as “very fortunate not to have died”.
“brat summer”: Cycling edition in Bratland (ft. very brat bike lane)
I know summer’s over, but brat summer? It still lives on!
If you’re as terminally online as me, you’re probably vaguely aware of the cultural storm of British pop star Charli xcx’s 2024 club album ‘brat’ (erm, aka your live blog host’s favourite album of the year!), and how it’s minimal yet garish album cover has basically claimed the colour neon green as it’s own. So this image of the bike lane with that green paint with the lower-caps text and that sans serif font… come on now, that’s a brat-coded bike lane!
And once again, if you’re as terminally online as me, you might’ve seen the host of TikTok dance videos it’s given rise to, primarily the song ‘Apple’. So it was only a matter of time we’d have cyclists recreate the video.
And it’s not just any cyclists, it’s Ed, James and Tommy, or as they are known by the Instagram account ‘thehairlessbikers’, who cycled the length of Norway and stopped at Bratland to film the dance video!
One of them even got himself a brat green helmet. Wow, sooo brat…
Irio Tommasini, legendary builder of racing bikes and founder of iconic brand Tommasini Bicycles, dies aged 91
After starting working on bikes at the young age of 15 and then going on to start the now-iconic Italian brand Tommasini Cycles in 1957, legendary frame builder Irio Tommasini died yesterday, aged 91.
Tommasini Cycles shared the news via a Facebook post, writing: “With deep sadness, we announce the passing of Irio Tommasini, who, with his passion and genius, founded our company in 1957.
“Irio, who has left us at the age of 91, lived a life deeply rooted in the world of bicycles since 1948, first as a cyclist and later as a master craftsman. His attention to detail, love for tradition, and constant drive for innovation, which made Tommasini frames true works of art known and admired all over the world, will continue to guide us in the work we do every day, carrying forward the story of Irio and the Tommasini company.”
Besides being completely enamoured by cycling from a very early age, Irio, originally from Buriano, gained a hands-on experience in dealing with bikes at a large Milanese cycles company when he was still a teenager. He then moved south to Grosseto, Tuscany where he founded his namesake frame-building company in 1957. In the 1970s, the company expanded its production and sales network in Italy and abroad.
Irio served as an inspiration to many venerated craftsmen who came after him, such as the late Mark Reilly, one of the UK’s most respected frame-builders and widely seen as the country’s leading exponent of using titanium as a material for bicycle frame.
Tommasini frames were and still are appreciated both for their finish and size. Many amateur and professional riders have relied and continue to rely on the company winning with these frames. Today, the company’s workmanship remains artisan thus rewarding experience and choice of the best materials.
> Bob Parlee, founder of legendary US custom frame builder Parlee Cycles, dies aged 70
Introducing the best “dogmestique” in the peloton: Maurice Ballerstedt’s ride with his slick, suave dog
“It’s a lottery that does not favour the cyclist”: Cyclists worried about roundabout layout which goes against Highway Code, but council which has ignored calls to fix the area for two years says it’s “aware of issues”
Continuing the theme of poor roundabout layouts in the UK on today’s live blog, here’s another one from Stirling in Scotland, as cyclists are worried about the appalling state of the Cornton Road cycle lane (which, let’s be honest, is a strip of red paint) before each junction, which gives motorists the right of way and forcing cyclists to stop in order to allow traffic.
Dr Crispin Bennett, who commutes along the route, said: “It causes confusion and conflict, in addition to being dangerous. It always goes against the Highway Code.”
Kevin Simpson, a local resident and father who also cycles the route with his daughter, said: “The danger is from both sides when cycling, especially with my daughter; it’s a lottery that does not favour the cyclist as to what drivers will do.
“Both drivers exiting onto Cornton Road, but worse from those coming off Cornton Road and into a side street without a pause.”
Dr Matt Kidd, another commuter along the road, said: “They cause danger and uncertainty when I cycle to work. Drivers on the whole are considerate and understand that cycles are going to cross the side roads, giving way to me which is nice, but there’s a good deal of uncertainty which is where the risk of an event increases.
“I’ve cycled in many European cities and applaud that vision the council has.”
Sally Stovell, a local resident and mother who cycles with her children to school. She said: “It prioritises cars instead of bikes and it’s a bike lane. It would also make more people use the bike lanes rather than just going on the road.
“Why would you go on a lane where you have to slow down at every junction when you can go on the road and have right of way? Imagine they made cars give way on a main road at every side street. The need to make active travel appealing and work if they actually want people to use it.”
Daily Record reports that Dunblane and Bridge of Allan Green councillor, Alasdair Tollemache has been calling for action on the route for the last two years and says he has been inundated by emails and messages about the issue from concerned cyclists.
Cllr Tollemache said: “Over the last two years, cyclists have contacted me frustrated by the lack of action on this issue. We’re trying to encourage active travel and simply changing the priority at the junctions along the cycle path alongside Cornton Road would comply with the highway code and make cyclists safer. I have pressed the council again this week for a timescale.”
A Stirling Council spokesperson said: “We are aware of these issues on Cornton Road. Officers are assessing what improvements are required to the road and the wider network following the changes to the Highway Code in relation to bike prioritisation. A decision will be taken on this as soon as possible.”
Sky Sports broadcaster Sanny Rudravajhala asking the right questions: After finishing 133rd in men’s 35-39 category of gravel world championship, what’s next for F1 star Valtteri Bottas?
If you hadn’t seen this, the gravel world championship over the weekend had a familiar yet surprising face amongst its riders, 10-time F1 race winner and former teammate of seven (erm, eight, if you ask some) time world champion Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas.
Familiar — because the Finnish racer-cum-rider is known for his love of gravel riding, to the point that one might ask if he’s really more of a cyclist than a driver now, driving Formula 1 cars as his day job and coming back to ride backs as his true passion.
And yet surprising because, what was an F1 driver doing at a gravel world championship?! Don’t get me wrong, he’s more than welcome, it is just — a bit surprising.
But without a contract for next year, and as his current F1 team Sauber gets taken over by Audi next year — it looks more and more unlikely that the Finn will be out an F1 seat. So what’s next for him?
Maybe a chat with ex-Barcelona and Stoke City player Bojan Krkić might be handy?
Question for the pod:
After F1’s Valtteri Bottas swapped four wheels for two this weekend at the Gravel Worlds, which sports star would you like to see get on a bike?#cycling #OnYerBikePod @writebikerepeat pic.twitter.com/okYKM0rXsX
— Sanny Rudravajhala (@Sanny_Rudra) October 7, 2024
Strava no longer allows you to add links to uploads and deletes all old ones: frustrated users hit out at social fitness giant that claims "ongoing situation" of URL removal "necessary to protect the community"
Strava will no longer let you add URL links to posts and has deleted all links in existing posts, a move that has been criticised by some users frustrated by the inconvenience and impact it could have, particularly on those hoping to raise money for charity.
Users noticed URLs being automatically removed from posts over the past couple of weeks, new uploads no longer showing the link and existing uploads now displaying a ‘This content is not available’ message.
A quick visit through high-profile athletes’ pages shows the new Strava world without links, Chris Froome’s much criticised posts advertising mobile banking app Curve now looking like this.
“I don’t have airbags, I need to brake”: Cyclists slam “entitled” driver creeping along at roundabout without giving way to rider and forcing cyclist into emergency stop
You see someone in a motor vehicle who should be stopping and letting you pass, but you know that they’ve seen you and decided that they’re still going to give it a try, you slow down and just as the two of you are on the collision path, wits take over the driver and they gracelessly stop, but so do you, because of course, you’re the one who’s got the most to lose… But yet, the driver gives you the look saying, “I don’t know where you came from mate!”, or worse, a honk to say, “Come on now, don’t waste my time here”.
I’m sure this exact incident, in some way or the other has happened to so many of us, yet it’s always a pretty disarming moment… This time, it happened on the roundabout junction between the A4020 and Church Road and St George’s Road in Ealing, London to the cyclist who goes by the name of Das_Pig on social media.
“I don’t have airbags. If you don’t look like you’re going to stop, I need to brake,” they said. “No need to shout your face off because I prioritised my safety. Another Hats Group driver with an irrational hate towards cyclists.”
I don’t have airbags. If you don’t look like you’re going to stop, I need to brake 🤷
No need to shout your face off because I prioritised my safety. Another @Hats_Group driver with an irrational hate towards cyclists 👎@SafeUxbridgeRd @BetterEaling @EalingCyclists @THINKgovuk pic.twitter.com/MNMZ7ycZTx
— Das_Pig (@Das_Pig) October 7, 2024
Several cyclists replied sharing their stories of how many times this has happened to them. One even mentioned the most disastrous hiccup you can face on the bike: Having to pull an emergency stop while being in a big gear and then struggle to get up-up and away.
“I would tend to fluff my restart there. It can sometimes take me an age to get back down the gears after an emergency stop. If only they had waited correctly in the first place, neither of us would have had the unnecessary delay, whilst I fluster and apologise for taking so long.”
Another person talked about how motorists don’t get what it means to be a cyclist, writing: “This is the number one thing car drivers don’t get. Hit a car in your car, it’s a big bill. Get hit by a car on your bike, it’s serious injury or death. ‘Over’ cautiousness is a given.”
Eddie Coldrick also mentioned another instance of poor driving by a Hats Group driver, saying: “I nearly got squashed by a Hats Group ambulance at a pinch point on my bike. Wrote an email to them, but no response. Somehow they are RoSPA [Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents] accredited, but all I see are complaints about their poor driving and disregard for cyclists. RoSPA also ignored the complaint.”
Some other comments:
“You totally did the right thing there mate!”
“Sometimes the drivers know full well they’ve driven poorly, but like a guilty child who’s done something wrong they just blame someone else. There’s only you, so they blame you. At least you don’t live with them, everything would be your fault.”
“Entitled d*** of a driver.”
What do you guys make of it? If you’ve experienced similar near-miss events like this, let us know!
Asking all the homo a sullas: Your thoughts on the Larry and Paul ‘Broken News’ sketch about cyclists “breaking away from humanity to form superior race with Jeremy Vine as their god”?
What’s news and what’s satire? You never know these days (that’s why you come to road.cc, we hope!), but if you’re interested in some firmly tongue-in-cheek “satirical news” — if you can call it that — a new sketch from Larry and Paul in their series ‘Broken News’ attempted to take a fair few digs at cyclists…
The premise of the story? “Cyclists have today announced that they’re to break away from humanity and form a new master race. The announcement was made by broadcaster Jeremy Vine, who will become their supreme overlord and unquestioned deity.”
⚠️ NEWS: Cyclists are to split from humanity and form a new “superior race” with Jeremy Vine as their god.
👇 #BrokenNews has the details and an EXCLUSIVE interview with HRH @theJeremyVine.
— Larry & Paul (@larryandpaul) October 8, 2024
The reporter goes on to assert the well-known fact that cyclists are better than humans. Why? They have “more powerful limbs, bigger lung capacity, and many have enough disposable income to spend six grand on a f****** pedal bike.”
Ouch.
But that’s the baseline for why cyclists — of course, the millions of cyclists in this alternate timeline — have apparently decided to not identify as homo sapiens anymore, but instead, homo a sullas, Latin for man from the saddle. Or, as Paul says “wheeled man”.
Okay…
What’s special about homo a sullas? They have developed an “inch-thick reinforced perineum, and a second skin — an organic lycra which stretches over the taut, glistening hydraulic meaty thighs of each rider, as well as their firm, generous and heaving cock and balls.”
Coooooool!
If anything, some might argue that the video’s worth the watch just for the insanely ridiculous impersonation of Vine, who gets showered with several titles, His Excellency, the most Holy Baron of Brakes, Shimano Supreme, Prince of Pedals, Sovereign of Saddles — set to rule from atop his penny farthing wearing a crown of 360-degree 4k cameras.
But what do you guys make of the video? All in good fun or a bit too on the nose? Let us know in the comments!
“We couldn’t see where we were going”: Pogačar leads safety charge as Italian classic race cancelled mid-race due to excessive flooding, with “water as high as disc rotors” and “manhole covers getting lifted up off the floor”
The prelude to the showdown between Olympic double gold winner Remco Evenepoel and newly crowned world champion Tadej Pogačar at the Il Lombardia on the weekend has been hampered, as the incessant downpour and excessive flooding has caused the Italian classic race Tre Valli Varesine to be cancelled after 60km of racing.
The race was supposed to be a reduced distance one with two laps cut. However after three laps around Lombardy , the riders including Pogačar, seemed to stop at the finish line at Varese — which has received an orange warning for thunderstorms — to speak to the race organisers, soon after which the race was abandoned.
Adam Hansen, the president of the riders’ union CPA, said: “The riders stopped during the Tre Valli Varesine due to excessive water accumulation on the roads, which in some sections reached as high as the disc rotors.
“Riders described the conditions as ‘rivers flowing across the roads’, with ‘moving stones and mud on the surface’, making visibility nearly impossible during descents. Faced with worsening weather, they made a united decision to stop for their own safety.”
Other teams also posted pictures and videos of the treacherous conditions, with standing water collecting on the roads and a constant downstream of water from higher altitudes.
Ben Swift from Ineos Grenadiers said: “It’s a massive shame for the race, for the riders, for the fans, for everybody. We tried to come to come to a conclusion with what would happen, we know the weather was going to be bad.
“We don’t mind racing in the rain, but this was extreme. On the downhill on the second or the third lap it was up to the hubs. I somebody crashed there… you don’t want to think what could happen. It was about safety. It’s a shame that actually the weather has improved now but when you descend and you can see manhole covers getting lifted up off the floor, it just wasn’t possible unfortunately.”
Meanwhile, Lidl-Trek’s Tom Skujiņš wrote: “A real pity we couldn’t put on a good show today at one of the legendary Italian races. However the flooded roads weren’t safe and nobody wants to see riders getting injured. I’d like to thank the Tre Valli Varesine organisers for making the very difficult, but right call.”
Tadej Pogačar also spoke to other riders and the organisers. “We tried to race and did a good race until we could. Then on the last lap, on the downhill, I was in second position behind [Alessandro] Covi and we couldn’t see where we were going,” he said before going to his UAE Team Emirates bus for a warm shower, reports Cyclingnews.
“Everybody wanted to stop. It was just a matter of time about when some guy would crash. When there’s standing water, it’s not good.
“We understand the organisers — that they want to race — but in the end the riders made the right decision not to. We are sad for the race to not continue, but it’s like this. We talked with the organisers, luckily everybody was reasonable.
“I could see how heavy it was for the boss of the organisation. There were tears in his eyes. This race means a lot to them and it’s a beautiful race, but when you can’t race you can’t. They understood that immediately. I’m really thankful for that and happy that they decided to end the race.”
The Tre Valli Varesine men’s race has been called off due to poor weather conditions. A strong field, including World Champion Tadej Pogačar, were set to compete in this final tune-up ahead of Il Lombardia. 🌧️#cycling #roadcycling pic.twitter.com/mcVFsQtIde
— Eurosport (@eurosport) October 8, 2024
Race organiser Renzo Oldani also spoke briefly and accepted that safety comes first, saying: “It was a difficult decision. Safety comes first, for the riders and for the spectators. This hurts after a year of hard work but I’ll try to encourage my staff and volunteers after the riders promised to be back next year.”
The women’s race, meanwhile, had started earlier and managed to brave the tough weather conditions and finish the race, with Ceratizit-WNT’s Cédrine Kerbaol winning solo ahead of Silvia Persico and Liane Lippert.
8 October 2024, 08:54
In case you missed this cheery latest (for a change) from the bike industry...
Brighter days ahead for bike industry? Raleigh owner reports inventory levels back to normal
Accell Group has reportedly reached an agreement to reduce its debt by €600 million
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A cooling sleeve cools you down for maybe 30 minutes and then it becomes a hassle, it also prevents heat leaving the body as an "empty" sleeve now becomes an extra layer. It does make some sense for a time, but in the long run it's just problematic to use. It's just much easier to just pour water over your body.
This kind of journalism makes me laugh. As climate change brings ecological breakdown and migration on a biblical scale and international food security puts the price of food out of most people's pockets then there isn't going to be any bike racing in the morning or any other time. Get an allotment and learn how to protect it. Good luck everyone.
I often wonder why they don't wear cooling arm sleeves and cooling hats under their helmets. At a guess it's probably something to do with 'the rules', as this is road racing. Headsweats caps and similar make a big difference to how hot you get and you avoid getting your head sunburnt through the gaps in your helmet.
It's good going to keep the Vanquish price at £485, especially if you can still get a discount through Cycling UK or British Cycling, or maybe a cashback site (I've seen 10% via Complete Savings before). Shame Halfords didn't change the cassette as road.cc suggested in their review last year though.
Plenty of distinguishing features to identify the place including "Dubai, UAE" right at the top of that Insta post. And using a mobile phone while driving is illegal in Dubai and across the UAE.
The Guardian isn’t a source of scientific data It's a much better source than climate change denying nutters!
Given that he is holding his hand on the steering wheel while controls on the central panel, including the driving mode selector, are illuminated, it is highly doubtful that the car is parked with the engine off.
This is over-simplistic and false. The Guardian isn't a source of scientific data.
Seeing as his car is probably a gold wrapped Hummer or G Wagon, it would appear that his taste mechanisms have been out of action for some time.
41 thoughts on ““We couldn’t see where we were going”: Pogačar leads safety charge as Italian classic cancelled mid-race due to excessive flooding, with “water as high as disc rotors”; Valtteri Bottas’ gravel obsession; brat summer cycling edition + more on the live blog”
‘Cyclist Execution Chamber’ –
‘Cyclist Execution Chamber’ – “No, Mr Boardman, I expect you to DIE!”
Ah yes, the mysteries of the
Ah yes, the mysteries of the mini-roundabout. Seems these particular road infrastructures tend to illicit the most brainless of manoeuvres. I’ve had countless instances of having to shout ‘give way to the right on a roundabout!’ to morons pulling out on me here, and it’s downhill so scrubbing even more speed off is necessary:
From many discussions in the
From many discussions in the past, even though the current highway code says give way to the right, the police think the law is give way to vehicles ALREADY ON THE ROUNDABOUT to the right. Mini roundabouts are intended to slow down traffic.
In this case the cyclist is already on the roundabout and the van crossed the give way line so it should be reported in my opinion.
Drivers round my way often
Drivers round my way often ignore the existence of the mini roundabout and drive as if it’s a continuation of the road they’re on. But standards generally at any type of roundabout these days are pretty poor with slowing or stopping not being many drivers’ first instinct.
That Ealing incident, I cycle
That Ealing incident, I cycle that exact stretch of road occasionally. It’s an absolute zoo. It’s buses, cars, delivery riders, lorries, lime riders, pedestrians, cyclists all mixed up together with multiple traffic lights, ped crossings, junctions and shops. Without in any way excusing the van driver, it’s frustrating for everyone and requires maximum vigilance all the time. I’m glad to get off that bit or road.
Quote:
Disarming, unless used in the literal sense of taking weapons away, means to ingratiate oneself by defusing criticism and hostility; don’t know about you but that’s not really the way I feel when someone pulls out in front of me…
‘Discomposing’ is possibly
‘Discomposing’ is possibly the kind of thing that was intended?
Indeed, or perhaps
Indeed, or perhaps discombobulating.
Rendel Harris wrote:
Maybe a mix up between
Maybe a mix up between alarming and disturbing.
bikes wrote:
You’re thinking of “alurbing”
Going to try using this at
Going to try using this at work tomorrow.
Eddie Coldrick also mentioned
Eddie Coldrick also mentioned another instance of poor driving by a Hats Group driver, saying: “I nearly got squashed by a Hats Group ambulance at a pinch point on my bike. Wrote an email to them, but no response. Somehow they are RoSPA [Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents] accredited, but all I see are complaints about their poor driving and disregard for cyclists. RoSPA also ignored the complaint.”
RoSPA have a long history of wilfully neglecting the safety of cyclists, with at least one instance of CTC (CUK now) leaving the group. An early demonstration of motonormativity i.e.”we only care about the car occupants.”
I’m not sure they’ve improved, and they certainly used to promote helmets as “the” answer to cyclists being killed by drivers.
https://road.cc/content/news
https://road.cc/content/news/61675-rospa-calls-sentencing-parity-dangerous-cyclists-ctc-agrees-twist
They don’t seem that great, to be honest.
404 on that link.
404 on that link.
You need to strip the final
You need to strip the final few characters off starting from the %, probably artifact of copy-paste into the road.cc editor, let’s see if this works:
https://road.cc/content/news/61675-rospa-calls-sentencing-parity-dangerous-cyclists-ctc-agrees-twist
“whilst I fluster and
“whilst I fluster and apologise for taking so long.”
I don’t think so. Shift onto the small ring while you are standing there, very carefully making sure not to unship the chain, and then ride off at a leisurely pace, all the while keeping an eye on the vehicle of the dodgy driver who caused the situation in the first place in case it should start moving before you are safely out of the way. If it does, stop again.
john_smith wrote:
How do you change gear while stationary? I was under the impression that you need to be actually moving for derailleur gears to – er – change gear?
The chain and sprockets need
The chain and sprockets need to be moving. It’s sufficient to lift the rear wheel off the ground and turn one of the cranks.
That is more or less easy (or
That is more or less easy (or possible – see tandem example / with child strapped in).
Similar on my recumbent – you learn not to stop from speed without down-shifting. Lifting the rear while turning the cranks is a bit of a stretch-and-balance fandango affair with a heavy bike – I can’t do it without dismounting.
Gearboxes for the win – select any gear at stop! (Really starting to appreciate my Shimano one for utility use).
chrisonabike wrote:
How do you manage if Clem’s not out with you ?
I don’t know – he’s always
I don’t know – he’s always asking me if I can hear him so I just expect him to be around…
I suppose it would teach the
I suppose it would teach the impatient driver a lesson if you calmy dismounted, got the child/stoker off the bike, changed gear, got the child/stoker back on, got yourself back on, looked around to make sure it was safe to move off, and then rode away from in front of his/her car.
Don’t forget to give him/her a smile and cheery wave though! Courtesy to other road users should always be your no 1 priority, after safety.
john_smith wrote:
I don’t use clipless pedals – I’d have to get off, lift the back wheel etc etc. But I see your point.
I imagine you could reach
I imagine you could reach down and do it by hand or hook the pedal up with your foot, but that might be more effort than it’s worth. Anyway, the point is that you should do what’s safe and convenient for you (while not unduly inconveniencing other road users).
I started doing this after
I started doing this after riding fixed for a while where whilst stationary I unweight the saddle, push the bars forward with the front brake on, and lift my foot to get the crank in the right position for moving off from stationary.
With gears it takes some practice (and dexterity esp with campag) to do all of the above whilst operating the shifter.
With moderately heavy panniers though it gets more tricky but still possible with STIs, but not with bar-end shifters unless you can somehow reach over with your other hand, or you have a smaller chainring available.
Better perhaps to try and stay in a lower gear and spin up on roundabouts before shifting into a higher gear? Easy for me to say.
For max points (and potential
For max points (and potential to embarrass yourself) pull an endo* as you stop and spin into a lower gear while the rear wheel’s in the air?
* Presumably “or wheelie if rocking front-wheel drive“.
To add to the junction
To add to the junction creepers stuff – don’t you just love the ones who start creeping, you move out so you know, you can have some space and not go within 6 inches of the moving car and rather than taking the hint they seem to think that what you are trying to do is give them move space to creep into you:
PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: the soft fleshy human is not moving away from your 1 tonne murder machine to give you more space to make start your illegal act, we’re doing it because you’re scaring the s**t out of us and we don’t want to die.
Rant over……
I’ve had the opposite –
I’ve had the opposite – cycling on the approach to a roundabout, a car enters from the right so I ease up to time my entry onto the roundabout so I end up just behind the car and follow round. Works great until the car driver spots you in their periphery vision and does an emergency stop leaving you stationary after your own emergency stop. You always get abuse from the car driver for this.
I take blind people out on a
I take blind people out on a tandem. There are usally three or four tandems in a group, and everyone wears a bright orange tabard, with ‘blind cyclist’ written on the stokers’ tabards. Visual impairment/blindness is frequently associated with other issues, and so fast we are not, and we try to stick to quieter roads. Tandems are also cumbersome; this is not the same as paralympics tandems – this is cycling for life enrichment, exercise and socialisation. The stokers’ enthusiasm is enormous – in the event of rain, we just all get wet.
The number of times we have to stop suddenly for motorists still staggers me. The stokers don’t take their feet out of the pedals because getting them back in again is not easy. The pilot has to stop, prevent the bike from toppling with a visually-impaired/blind cyclist on the back (who is inevitably alarmed), and then try to get the bike going again, and reassure the stoker. You are in whatever gear you were in at the time you slammed the brakes on – no popping the back wheel up here. If you’re lucky with the gears, you can ask the stoker to lift their right foot up (they have toe clips to help keep their feet in place), and ‘3-2-1-go’ you might get going again. If not, you have to sort of shuffle into motion one-legged while half-sitting on the crossbar to hold it steady until you can get enough speed to be able to pedal. And you can’t really stand up on the pedals, because that makes tandems sway and the stokers don’t like that. If it’s a hill start, then it’s especially difficult.
Motorists overtaking a line of tandems while indicating left, and then left hooking them is a regular occurence, particularly at mini-roundabouts. Close passes are frequent too, which bring the usual curses from the pilots, but often cries of distress from the stokers. It’s unbelieveable.
However, as a pilot, it’s profoundly rewarding, but the stupidity, or lack of consideration or awareness of motorists is bewildering. I commuted into London on a bike for about ten years and became very used to high traffic environments, and felt mostly able to take care of myself – albeit with a few notable exceptions. As the epitome of vulnerable road users, this is different and, frankly, difficult to explain without invective.
nniff wrote:
Chapeau.
They likely view the disabled
They likely view the disabled going out and doing things as some frivolous luxury that shouldn’t be allowed to get in the way of important things like shopping.
My short commute had three
My short commute had three roundabouts on it, two of them mini roundabouts. In six years of commuting, almost all my reports to police resulted from shit driving at those three roundabouts, usually some clown driving onto the roundabout whilst I was on it with priority. On one occasion, an Asda delivery van driver saw me on the roundabout, grinned broadly and pulled out in front of me, forcing an emergency stop. I hope the cvnt was still grinning when he was called into his employer’s office to explain the NIP that had just arrived.
On another occasion, my camera caught the moment of impact when a tw@t drove into a cyclist, who was on the roundabout with, you’ve guessed it, priority. She was on the ground unconscious. Fucking driver kept screaming “I didn’t see her”. Yeah, I mean the cyclist only had FOUR lights up, a hi-viz rucksack cover and hi-viz leg bands on. Bastard cops didn’t even bother to attend and made constant efforts to obstruct me from filing a witness statement. Driver refused to accept liability and her insurer stalled the cyclist’s claim for months until she forwarded my video file to them and then they paid up.
Crikey. How could it enter
Crikey. How could it enter someone’s head to refuse to accept liability after doing something like that?
Because the cops didn’t show
Because the cops didn’t show up, she probably thought it was worth a punt. Tw@t didn’t realise I’d captured it on video, although poor quality, given that it was dark and pissing down.
Re. the Stirling roundabout –
Re. the Stirling roundabout – if I’d come across that while riding, I don’t think I would even have realised that it was intended to be cycle provision. It just looks like some kind of ‘decoration’ to create a buffer zone from the kerb and visually narrow the lane. I certainly wouldn’t have been tempted to try riding in it.
They’ve rolled out the red
They’ve rolled out the red tar-pit…
There’s a similar roundabout
There’s a similar roundabout near me close to Eastleigh train station.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/FDDiRwWNw4VtU3TF7
The cycle lane is a red strip around the outside of the roundabout which following would be probably more dangerous than doing anything else. I ignore it and ride in the centre of the road, which is is what the drivers do as well.
Regarding the red ‘murder
Regarding the red ‘murder strip’ on the roundabout. Any time, as a cyclist, you don’t like the look of the ‘murder strip’ don’t use it and cycle on the road. Simple.
Broken News: when do I get my
Broken News: when do I get my hydraulic thighs?
And my wife wants to know when the genital enlargement will happen… although she’s said a firm “NO” if it reverses the vasectomy.
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That video, just hilarious. It’s all true, I do worship Jeremy Vine. Maybe not so much the rest… I wish…