Delicious irony of bike lane blocked by…traffic warden; No Oscars here: Mathieu van der Poel stars in cringeworthy window shopping video; Josh Quigley to complete round the world cycle; Lefevere learns diplomacy; New e-cargo hire + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
No Oscars here... Mathieu van der Poel stars in cringeworthy window shopping sponsor video
When football teams sign new players or, as in this case, a cycling team gets a new sponsor, there’s normally some bright spark sat in a comms department somewhere with a fun idea for an announcement video.
Admittedly, ‘Mathieu van der Poel helps a friend buy new windows’ is a hard sell to Netflix or Amazon, and I doubt Quentin Tarantino was jumping at the opportunity…but it was deemed ‘entertaining’ enough for the team to break the news on Instagram that Deceuninck is coming on board as a sponsor, having ended its association with Patrick Lefevere’s Quick-Step.
In fairness, if the aim was to get more people watching and talking about it then it worked. It’s actually a pretty sound strategy: create something abysmally awkward and unintentionally funny, get people (us) saying how terrible it is, more people watch it, more people see the news the team wanted to share in the first place. Genius.
In this case, Mathieu van der Poel, Tim Merlier and some Alpecin-Fenix friends were the bait used to draw us in. Some hilariously abrupt scenes later, including Van der Poel’s evil supervillain “we have big plans” cameo, and the video has been watched 68,000 times on Instagram. I’m going to say that’s probably better than a comms department graphic would have done…
First ride review of Manchester's new e-cargo bike service
The new e-CargoBike hire scheme in Manchester is amazing! It launched this morning.
Just taken one for it’s first spin around town and had a blast. It’s really starting to feel more like a cycling city now.
🚲🚴 pic.twitter.com/3rPr2LmkKR— Sam 🚴🌱🍻Ⓥ (@MCRCycleSam) December 1, 2021
In the thread Sam gave his first ride review: “The bikes are very comfy with an upright riding position. The handling takes a few minutes of getting used to. The cargo box has plenty of capacity and also has a seat with seatbelts! Might need to bring your own bungees for very large items though!”
They can be located and reserved in the app. The fee is very reasonable: £3.50 an hour is actually less than the hourly fee for the electric Manchester regular hire bicycles!
More stands have been spotted throughout Chorlton and Whalley Range, presumably more bikes coming pic.twitter.com/ilY4IdBPkF
— Sam 🚴🌱🍻Ⓥ (@MCRCycleSam) December 1, 2021
Katie Archibald to return to road racing in 2022 — signs three-year deal with old team ahead of Paris 2024
Double Olympic gold medallist Katie Archibald has re-signed with her former team Ceratizit–WNT Pro Cycling ahead of a return to road racing next season. The Scot, who is one of the headline riders at this weekend’s UCI Track Champions League rounds in London, will ride for the team until 2024, the year of the Paris Olympics.
Hip hip hooraaaay! Welcome home Katie 🎉🙌
After a stellar performance in the first two rounds of the @UCITCL in Mallorca and Lithuania, we thought we’d continue the celebrations by welcoming @_katiearchibald back to the team, her home until 2024🤩
📸 @swpixtweets #BuiltToLast pic.twitter.com/c1gzWsvgly
— CERATIZIT – WNT Pro Cycling (@ceratizit_wnt) November 30, 2021
Archibald won gold in the Madison in Tokyo, but has not raced on the road since 2019. She was part of the Wiggle High5 team time trial unit that finished fourth at the World Championships in Innsbruck in 2018. To date, the dominant track rider’s only win on the road was an 11-second win over some of the best riders in the world at the prologue of the BeNe Ladies Tour.
Giro d'Italia Virtual jersey revealed
The first jersey of the Giro d’Italia Virtual, which is an indoor cycling project developed by RCS Sport in collaboration with BKOOL, has been revealed.
The Giro d’Italia Virtual consists of three distinct separate rounds, running from October to May 2022 and offers riders the opportunity to experience multiple stages of the Corsa Rosa from home thanks to the high-definition video simulation developed by BKOOl.
Created specifically for indoor workouts, the 3D mesh fabric used in the jersey developed by a collaboration between Castelli and Technogym is designed to allow maximum breathability to keep you cool, while its 100 per cent polyester content is said to guarantee maximum absorption and dispersion of sweat. The jersey is also said not to be too transparent for those who wish to wear it for a group workout or riding outside during the summer.
The rounds of the Giro d’Italia Virtual are: Grande Partenza – Part 1 (from 15th October to 2nd January), Grande Partenza – Part 2 (from 14th January to 3rd April), and Grande Arrivo (from 6th to 29th May), which takes place at the same time as the 2022 Giro d’Italia.
Cyclist deaths soar on rural roads in England
There’s a post over on our forum, as well as a few comments under here, regarding the BBC story this morning about the Department for Transport numbers from June. The official numbers were released at the end of September but we did something (linked above) based on the provisional numbers from June.
We’ll have a full story for you later today…
Delicious irony of bike lane blocked by...traffic warden - but... "where am I supposed to give directions?"
Priceless! Traffic warden ties himself in knots trying to justify not doing or knowing his job. Any wonder this stretch is constantly blocked. Council clearly don’t GAF. @conndonovan9 @IrishCycle @CorkCyclingCrew @IBIKECork @IBIKEDublin pic.twitter.com/afUBcTFAlT
— Righttobikeit (@righttobikeit) November 29, 2021
Cork cyclist Righttobikeit has popped up on our live blog before. Last time it was for their clip of trying out one of the city’s new bike lanes…only to narrowly avoid being taken out by not one, but two drivers.
Now they’re back with another gem — a blocked bike lane because of a traffic warden giving a driver directions…
“Will you tell him to move while you’re there?” seems a fairly reasonable request for someone whose job is to enforce parking in the proper areas…
“You shouldn’t be giving directions in the bike lane”…again, seems reasonable, no? Apparently not. “Where am I supposed to give directions?”…”Wherever you want, but he’s not supposed to park. It’s illegal to do so…pull up over there, pull up somewhere he’s not blocking the bike lane. That’s your job!” I’m giving that a 9/10, even better if you imagine it’s fellow cyclist from Cork, Roy Keane, behind the camera…
Them: Where am I supposed to park / offload things?
Me: If I tell you, will you follow that advice?
Them: No.
Me: Yea, I thought so. Why are you asking me ?— Citizen Wolf (@CitizenW0lf) November 29, 2021
He genuinely believes that giving directions was his primary responsibility?
I’d half expect him to tell you next “I can’t see the woods you mention, there’s too many trees in the way!” 🙄
— Barry P. M. (@Ltm67) November 29, 2021
Huuuge 700c x 60mm tyre clearance on new ACME gravel bike
New adventure bike brand ACME has released a new titanium bike called CAM that looks like a road bike but it has a whooping tyre clearance for up to 700c x 60mm tyres.
The Cape Town based brand AMCE says: “Sure, it looks like a dropbar mountain bike, but it’s just not. With 440mm chainstays, the rear end is the same as you would get on a gravel bike. Just more traction, and more comfort.”
“The 70-degree head angle is steep by modern mountain bike standards, and slack by modern gravel standards. CAM gives no toe overlap, all day comfort and is nimble, capable, and ready to rumble.”
There’s storage for three bottles on the main frame, as well as a top tube mount and mounts on the fork for extra storage. Pannier and mudguard mounts are also included for year-round riding, whatever the load.
The frameset is priced at €2,500, that’s around £2,124.81.
Who are you and what have you done with Patrick Lefevere? Quick-Step boss learns some diplomatic skills...
You’ve probably all seen Alpecin-Fenix and Deceuninck’s cringefest starring Mathieu van der Poel and Tim Merlier. It’s at the bottom of the blog if you haven’t…just don’t expect to be impressed by the acting on display.
Well, in the most shocking news we’ve reported all year, Patrick Lefevere, boss of Deceuninck-Quick-Step soon-to-be Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl, said he has “absolutely no problem with it.” Just to clarify, that’s Deceuninck jumping ship to Alpecin-Fenix he doesn’t mind. Lefevere thankfully didn’t comment on Van der Poel’s dramatics…
But really? Lefevere having nothing controversial to say? What’s going on?
He told Sporza: “I don’t know why I have to blame someone”. There’s a first time for everything…”Is this news? These are news-poor times, aren’t they? We did not want — from our side — to extend the cooperation. We were working on a project for five years. Deceuninck came at a favourable time, just when we were struggling. They were a helping hand, but they got a lot in return. But they didn’t want to sign for five years now.”
Instead the window manufacturer signed with Alpecin-Fenix for four years…”That’s not a big difference, is it? Does this give you a sour aftertaste? No, a contract has a certain duration, if I’m not mistaken. When that term is over and if two parties decide not to continue together, then everyone is free to do what they want. I have absolutely no problem with it and I wouldn’t know why I should blame anyone.”
"Unfinished business": Josh Quigley to complete round the world cycle in time for Christmas
Two years after his first attempt was abruptly ended by a collision with a driver in Texas, Josh Quigley is aiming to finally end his challenge. Starting today back in Austin, Josh hopes to ride 1,965 miles across the US to New York in nine days before finishing the final 1,969 miles from Lisbon to Edinburgh in 10 days…just in time for Christmas.
The attempt is being supported by ArmaUrto, and will begin with Josh meeting the medical team that treated him after he was struck by a car being driven at 70mph.
Showing incredible forgiveness Josh said he bares no ill-feeling to the driver involved in the collision and said he was happy the driver who hit him from behind was not charged. At the time, Josh told the BBC: “I’ve nothing against her. Everyone makes mistakes and there was no malicious intent so I will write a letter to her when I am better to let her know this.”
It could be second time lucky for another of his mega distance cycling challenges. Earlier this year, Josh set a new seven-day cycling distance record at the second attempt.
Another live blog favourite...Dom Whiting is taking 'DnB on the Bike' north of the border
Oh my. @domwhiting is coming to Edinburgh this weekend. pic.twitter.com/bdvP5jgbCX
— Alex Robertson (@AlexDRobertson) November 30, 2021
Josh Quigley, Patrick Lefevere and now Dom Whiting…it’s a day for the live blog regulars…
Express readers meltdown over 10ft Dorset bike lane
That Dorset bike lane from Friday has been ruffling more feathers this week…this time amongst the Daily Express’ readership. Inspired by the Wallisdown Road, the Express asked for readers’ thoughts…strap yourselves in, bingo cards ready…
“It’s cyclists who cause accidents. By riding two abreast, wobbling all over the road and jumping traffic lights. The list goes on and on.”
“All cyclists should be made to take a cycling proficiency test. Before they can ride on public roads. They should also be made to have insurance and pay road tax and have their bikes inspected.”
“You drive on country roads set with open speed limits of 60. You get to a bend that is hedge lined and come across six or more cyclists riding spread across the entire road. Rather than riding in single file. Bunch of idiots with an accident waiting to happen. Meanwhile the driver is expected by them to travel at less than 20 mph.”
Breaking: changes to Highway Code including hierarchy of road users expected to go ahead
The significant changes are:
– A hierarchy of road users
– Drivers overtaking people cycling to give at least 1.5m
– Preventing ‘car-dooring’ cyclists by using the Dutch Reach
– Simplification on rules related to non-signalised junctions to prevent “left-hook” collisions— APPGCW (@allpartycycling) December 1, 2021
The proposed changes were presented to MPs and Lords in parliament today, are expected to go through unopposed and could be introduced as early as February. We’ll have a full story on this soon.
Safety improvements in the capital
Maybe TfL are trying to make up for ‘See their side’? They’ve sent out news of some safety improvements in the capital. First up, works on the north side of Battersea Bridge have been completed, including a new signalised crossing, reduced speed limit and improved enforcement of no right turns.
> Reaction as Transport for London pauses See their Side ad campaign following backlash
Elsewhere, in Hammersmith, works to improve active travel access on Hammersmith gyratory have begun. This will include a protected two-way cycle lane on the north side, as well as new signals at junctions. The changes have been developed with Hammersmith & Fulham Council as part of a new 4.7km cycleway connecting Kew Bridge, Gunnersbury, Chiswick and Hammersmith.
Will Norman, London’s Walking and Cycling Commissioner said: “The Hammersmith gyratory is of London’s most intimidating junctions, and these changes will have huge benefits for both pedestrians and cyclists travelling around the area. Protecting vulnerable road users and making London’s junctions safer for all is a key part of our Vision Zero commitment to eliminate death and serious injuries on London’s roads, and these improvements will offer more space and make it easier to navigate local roads, as well as providing a vital link in the growing network of cycle routes in west London.”
One thing Will Norman doesn’t want to see under the tree…
It was great to join colleagues from @metpoliceuk this morning to engage Londoners on the use of e-scooters. Private e-scooters cannot legally be used on roads, pavements or other public spaces. https://t.co/c5JhMrvaXB
— Will Norman (@willnorman) November 30, 2021
Storck adds Classified’s Powershift shifting system to its new top-end gravel bike
Storck has released the latest version of its high-end Grix.2 gravel bike with Classified’s Powershift shifting system which is integrated into the rear hub, replacing the function of the front derailleur. The idea is that it allows for shifting under full load within split seconds.
“The system enables instant gear changes – equivalent to the front chainring – at full power within 150 milliseconds with uncompromising gear ratio and gear jump,” says Classified. In addition to the instant shifting, according to Classified, the other advantages are: no chain jumping off and no blocking by mud or foreign objects with the gear protected in the hub.
More connection points for accessories have also been included on the Grix.2 to improve the suitability for everyday use and for bikepacking.
The Classified Powershift system is combined on the GRIX.2 with the gravel-specific SRAM Force XPLR and will cost €6,399, that’s around £5,435.
Reaction to Cork's confused traffic warden
Delicious irony of bike lane blocked by…traffic warden giving driver directions https://t.co/tzZntZHCX4 #cycling pic.twitter.com/ADFmhKlaQv
— road.cc (@roadcc) December 1, 2021
Let’s do a bit of reaction to wind down the blog for another day…
Wycombe wheeler commented: “I’m here to enforce parking regulations, except when I’m having a chat with a driver, stopped where he shouldn’t. Would he have thought it as reasonable if the driver had been blocking the road while getting directions?”
Sriracha, perhaps inspired by that fed up Minneapolitan on the live blog last week, suggested the cyclist should have “parked himself in the other lane, next to the car, whilst passing the time of day in discussion with the warden.”
Moist von Lipwig wasn’t convinced by some of the logic on display…”‘Where am I supposed to give him directions?’ There is an empty parking space literally 5m further forwards from where the driver has parked up.”
1 December 2021, 09:04
1 December 2021, 09:04
1 December 2021, 09:04
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106 Comments
Latest Comments
@mattsccm Bull bars aren't banned, they just have to conform to regulations so they are deformable or have plates that allow crumple give on contact, rather than rigid steel bars that can smash into pedestrians and cyclists with no give at all, catch them and drag them under the wheels. If you think that's a problem, do one. Why should who is responsible for a collision remove the responsibility of people driving a tonne of machinery on the road from having safety features to at least mitigate some of the effects of a collision?
I'd be willing to bet that's lazy use of stock photography rather than deliberate misinformation, but the result is still the same.
@smallbeer You obviously don't realise how many bulls there are wandering around Chelsea, in and out of the china shops, that he needs to protect his Range Rover from.
I agree, it's bloody 'elf and safety overreach, can't help some people, I put some meat, sorry, neat decoration on the front of mine and the polis were round poking their noses in like that (mind you, that was a mistake...) (etc)
@mattsccm "Think also 4wd bull bars being banned for no legitimate reason." OK, now I regret engaging with you, you sad little troll.
@Backladder Did they fail to press SHIFT? Did they mean 95%? If so, again, citation needed.
@mattsccm The MIB exists to compensate victims of accidents caused by the drivers/riders of uninsured and untraced *motor vehicles*, not pedestrians or cyclists. So the MIB would have rightly refused any claim by the victim here. If the at-fault pedestrian had no third party liability insurance that would've covered this incident, the victim could have pursued a claim against her estate. The 'optics' (terrible word but it's become common parlance, sadly) of a cyclist pursuing a claim against a dead lady's estate, however, might have made it inadvisable.
Think also 4wd bull bars being banned for no legitimate reason Oh dear ! the unsubtle pro-driver, pro-panzer trolls are not very good at disguising themselves, are they? One can only hope that Clarkson and this disciple never have cause to regret their advocacy for these killing armaments to be added to their already pedestrian-and-cyclist hostile guzzlers. No, that's too subtle for them - what I really hope is that they, or their families, do have cause for such regret.
@ziadvanbeek I would say again that the times are closer than many people think. I was looking at my Strava time on the Huy and that's how I noted what I wrote ... Tadej's time on the Huy for his win in 2023: 3:47 (121st / 36936 Demi's time on the Huy for her win in 2026: 3:48 (141st / 36936) Yes, Paul Seixas has the KOM at 3:04 from his win in 2026.
Check out the Evening Standard Facebook post on this - clear implication that the lady was killed on a no cyclist path, not on an open busy road.
106 thoughts on “Delicious irony of bike lane blocked by…traffic warden; No Oscars here: Mathieu van der Poel stars in cringeworthy window shopping video; Josh Quigley to complete round the world cycle; Lefevere learns diplomacy; New e-cargo hire + more on the live blog”
Ref AlpecinFenix…. well..I
Ref AlpecinFenix…. well..I’m pleased all the money goes into sponsorship and not the marketing department, how else would we get amusing stuff like this.
I quite enjoyed the video,
I quite enjoyed the video, something quite endearingly naff about it. I think if they’d have hammed it up a bit more it could have gone viral and got quite a lot of publicity, so a bit of a missed opportunity if anything
Well this is pretty
Well this is pretty depressing for the first day of Christmas month:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-59477788
Kendalred wrote:
That link’s broken – try this https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-59477788
Thanks for the link.
Thanks for the link.
Lets hope for an adspot from the trio that will blow LTN out the water!
with emphasis like the THINK BIKE! of yesteryear. Less of the “oi vunerables where’s your fluro?”
Not one mention that the
Not one mention that the increase may have been due to the quite roads and drivers just “putting their foot down” for a bit of fun.
agreed! simple fix really!
agreed! simple fix really!
In 2020, 89 people lost their lives on countryside roads To incompetent careless drivers – up by almost 50% from 60 fatalities in 2019.
Every death is avoidable and
Every death is avoidable and it should be avoided. This sort of article is however unhelpful.
Cycling was up by 100% on weekdays and 200% on weekends in 2020 compared to 2019:
Cycling has increased by 200% since lockdown, government reports | Cyclist
As such the relative number of casualties actually dropped significantly: somewhere between 25% and 50% reduction.
The news article should mention that, including the obvious cause of the relative drop: Less cars on the road due to the lockdowns.
Now we’re getting somewhere.
MrWinterkorn wrote:
Looks like the BBC conveniently forgot to mention the relevant stats and yet again paints cycling as a dangerous activity.
That does rather feel like
That does rather feel like the intent of the article linked with this NFU Mutual backed by DfT/British Cyclings, Rural Road safety campaign.
As the latest cycling stats published by the DfT were on September 30th and dont match those numbers quoted in the article.
hawkinspeter wrote:
There’s nothing accidental about it; the BBC is institutionally anti-cycling.
MrWinterkorn wrote:
Spot on. The BBC reporting is a travesty. It pretty much says that despite fewer drivers on the road, nevertheless more cyclists are managing to kill themselves.
Through sleight of statistics, the report gives the impression that the more we cycle the more we die; [b]cycling is dangerous[/b]. Whereas the truth, as you show, is that the less people drive the fewer cyclists die,[b] drivers are dangerous[/b].
I wouldn’t claim it was a
I wouldn’t claim it was a travesty as such, it’s simply repeating the claims that NFU Mutual have made for this Rural Roads campaign that launched today,hence their article.
Awavey wrote:
I think the BBC has a duty to do better than simply act as a news aggregator.
I dont believe BBC News
I dont believe BBC News Online has been anything other than predominantly a news aggregator, and or promoter of beeb content, for sometime.
Sriracha wrote:
Reality Check is their brand for fact based journalism.
As if anything else was appropriate for Public Service Broadcasting..
Sriracha wrote:
Every death is avoidable and it should be avoided. This sort of article is however unhelpful.
Cycling was up by 100% on weekdays and 200% on weekends in 2020 compared to 2019:
Cycling has increased by 200% since lockdown, government reports | Cyclist
As such the relative number of casualties actually dropped significantly: somewhere between 25% and 50% reduction.
The news article should mention that, including the obvious cause of the relative drop: Less cars on the road due to the lockdowns.
Now we’re getting somewhere.
— Sriracha Spot on. The BBC reporting is a travesty. It pretty much says that despite fewer drivers on the road, nevertheless more cyclists are managing to kill themselves. Through sleight of statistics, the report gives the impression that the more we cycle the more we die; [b]cycling is dangerous[/b]. Whereas the truth, as you show, is that the less people drive the fewer cyclists die,[b] drivers are dangerous[/b].— MrWinterkorn
Wutt?? get outa here, with your fffacts, and , and , and, ….logic
The very idea….
I might suggest More or Less
I might suggest More or Less look at the report.
quiff wrote:
I complained to the BBC because of the helmet prog’s blatant bias, to receive the usual brush off, and I took it as far as I could, but the response was always the same, just a bigger brush. Definitely time the BBC’s complaints process was retired and it was taken over by Ofcom.
The BBC is institutionally anti-cyclist.
I must have missed that
I must have missed that episode. Usually I enjoy MoL. Generally, I think BBC reporters should run any statistical copy by people who understand statistics. It seems cavalier to expect your average (is that the mean, median or mode?) hack with a soft degree in nonsense to understand statistics. When you think about the Professor Roy Meadows affair, it is shocking to what extent the establishment’s confidence in their own ignorance is allowed to prevail.
eburtthebike wrote:
Aside from the logic of fair and balanced reporting, this is so bizarre as BBC HQ has been the consistent winner of the annual cycle to work competition due to more employees doing more cycling miles to work than other major corporations in London, e.g. GSK, Sky TV….
lonpfrb wrote:
The BBC is institutionally anti-cyclist.
— lonpfrb Aside from the logic of fair and balanced reporting, this is so bizarre as BBC HQ has been the consistent winner of the annual cycle to work competition due to more employees doing more cycling miles to work than other major corporations in London, e.g. GSK, Sky TV….— eburtthebike
That’ll have been all the Top Gear production staff cycling in. I’m sure that’s why they’re relocating production to Bristol, the cycling capital of the south of England.
Kendalred wrote:
is that an offical name change in the calendar?
wycombewheeler wrote:
Didn’t you get the memo? Also, Christmas month has been extended to include the previous two months (used to be known as October and November under the old scheme despite them not being the 8th and 9th months).
hawkinspeter wrote:
No, you’re confusing christmas month with adventember
wycombewheeler wrote:
Damn spell check, ay, I’m sure you meant to type advertember.
hawkinspeter wrote:
I think you missed the second memo too – holiday season month or if you prefer the sponsored version Rapha 500 month
Global Nomad wrote:
Isn’t the use of “Happy Holidays” and not using Christmas more of a U.S. thing? I think over here we recognise that Christmas is all about excessive consumption and piped music in shops. As a confirmed atheist, I prefer the term Xmas to make it neutral (and easier to type).
hawkinspeter wrote:
The X in Xmas derives from the Greek letter Chi and represents “Christ”, so not very neutral!
Rendel Harris wrote:
That’s a different symbol entirely – Χ (unicode #935) vs X (unicode #88).
When I write Xmas, the X stands for cross because I’ve been subjected to endless Mariah Carey songs in almost every shop I go into.
Rendel Harris wrote:
True. I remember using “Xn” as shorthand (-ish) for Christian.
hawkinspeter wrote:
Come on admit it you you are a lapsed atheist!
SimoninSpalding wrote:
Nope, I’ve been religously avoiding churches on every Sunday.
(However, I do join in with the local chapter of Cthulhu cultists, but HE’s not a god per se. To be honest, it’s more of an opportunity to wear billowing, hooded robes and participate in a bit of ritual sacrifice. Also, the cakes are really good)
hawkinspeter wrote:
Funny, I’ve always thought of Christians as being cultists. They started as a Jewish cult anyway – now they’re just sectarian.
I’m suprised there are many Cthulu cultists. I thought they were a bit like fissile material. Too many in one place and HE will appear and make it all moot.
chrisonatrike wrote:
The difference between a cult and a religion is just size.
You may be right about us cultists – it would explain why the monthly newsletter suddenly stopped.
chrisonatrike wrote:
Splitters!
mdavidford wrote:
Don’t even get me started on those crazy Nyarlathotep worshippers or even worse are those that worship Azathoth (the Blind Idiot God).
Careful, squirrels are on
Careful, squirrels are on their list of species to be sacrificed, they are just lulling you into a false sense of security!
SimoninSpalding wrote:
You’ve got the lists mixed up – squirrels are avatars of HIS chaos
Fairy nuff.
Fairy nuff.
We don’t get many of your sort ’round ‘ere on account of the lack of trees.
Re: being avatars of HIS chaos – is that one of the reasons Shimano give for not replacing disintegrating cranks under warranty?
SimoninSpalding wrote:
Mine was out of warranty, so I didn’t bother contacting them.
I did post it off to road.cc, who then contacted Shimano about it, but Shimano just shrugged and said something like “I don’t know why you people are always complaining about these cranks – we give each one a thorough testing with a piece of cooked spaghetti and they always pass”
I am sure HE would approve if
I am sure HE would approve if you came over to the dark (Italian) side.
hawkinspeter wrote:
I believe its partly due to teh fact that there are 3 major festivals that are important in teh US in teh space of just over a month – Thanks giving, Xmas and NY, and also others like Hanukkah. It’s basically a way of saying season’s greetings to anyone you meet regardless of culture.
Seems fairly sensible to me, not to mention inclusive and welcoming. Mind you, “inclusive”‘s probably why teh Heil and its
axisallies get all het up about it…https://www.theguardian.com
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/nov/30/eu-advice-on-inclusive-language-withdrawn-after-rightwing-outcry
brooksby wrote:
Bloody lefties….
Sod it – let’s just split the
Sod it – let’s just split the difference and call it Mariah Carey Season.
I sympathise, but there’s
I sympathise, but there’s nothing neutral about ‘X’. It’s just the first letter of ‘Christ’, using the 22nd letter in the modern Greek alphabet. The wiggly version ‘χ’ that you may be familiar with is lower case.
Even though I’m an atheist I think that celebrating someone’s birthday is a lot more noble than an orgy of conspicuous consumption.
ObCycling: Better, think of it as a few days with quiet roads to enjoy.
janusz0 wrote:
Celebrating a birthday with an orgy? Granted it wouldn’t necessarily be immaculate.
wycombewheeler wrote:
As far as I’m aware Christmas has always been in this month!
Kendalred wrote:
Really? How do you explain the contents of supermarket shelves in October/November then? (If this conversation carries on, I’ll find myself ranting about Mariah Carey)
hawkinspeter wrote:
I can accept selling of christmas stuff in November, because a lot of people like to be organised early, but they’ve been showing christmas films for many weeks which is unacceptable, as is christmas music playing in shops in november.
grr
Kendalred wrote:
In the month of December, not christmas month, because of course christmas is a day, not a month, and certainly not a season. (which seems to run from the end of september to the end of december)
You are so behind the times,
You are so behind the times, Christmas starts much later than it used to thanks to the “new innovations” in marketing from ‘Murica namely “collecting obesity and diabetes inducing levels of sweets with menaces” and “idiotic venal acquisition of unnecessary electronics simply because the retailer tells you they are cheap”
Still, look on the bright side, only another 6 weeks until the “buy overpriced chocolates and flowers or your significant other will leave you festival” starts
Will be interesting to see
Will be interesting to see the detailed breakdown of those deaths.
How many involved a vehicle?
Fewer vehicles on the road led to higher speeds on urban roads but congestion is not usually a factor on rural roads so would there have been as big a difference?
How big a part was played by the inexperience of new cyclists?
They’ve studied that in the
They’ve studied that in the Netherlands:
The Crashes
Data on the UK is sparse on the site, but looking at Dutch numbers over the last few years: 280 cyclists killed. 150 of those were killed by cars, 26 by vans, 39 by lorries, 8 by busses, 5 by taxies, 5 by motorcycles, 4 by farm vehicles and 3 by mopeds and one by an emegency vehicle. That’s 241 (86%) by motorised vehicles.
That leaves: one sided crashes (22 killed), bike to bike crashes (7).
So that’s in a country where cyclists are relatively well protected with traffic laws and segregated lanes. I can only assume that the balance in the UK even heavier towards the motorised vehicle killing the cyclist.
The worst thing is that everyone in the UK is really quick to blame the cyclist: they were going fast, they were not wearing hi-vis, they were riding side-by-side, they were riding late, they were inexperienced, they were riding on a busy road, they were riding on a road where you hardly ever see cyclists etc etc.
The true responsibility lies with the operator of the death machine: the car.
MrWinterkorn wrote:
I think the source is CBS here (statistical office in the Netherlands). There are articles with graphs / downloadable data for 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016 – method statement here. The detail is as always important – witness the controversies about “are these numbers because older people are crashing e-bikes that they can’t control” / “what about all these motor scooters?”.
I think they’ve got better data than in the UK (another casualty of our attitude towards road transport…) Unfortunately for those details they may need more categories / to record more detail. Bicycle Dutch normally has some informed commentary on these figures e.g article here.
What we can say about the Netherlands (“dangerous / lethal cycle paths”…) is in parts the rate of cycling is comparable to the rate of driving. It’s available to children who can’t drive and those old enough to decide not to. To disabled people who might not get a licence. It’s done by the same population of casual humans who’d – in the normal run of things – casually drive into bollards and bridges in a car, or hit other road users. And it’s not carnage there.
I’d call that a success. UK roads are safe but at the cost of effectively excluding children or indeed anyone not in a car. I’d call that a poor deal.
There is such data available
There is such data available for the UK too but I was more interested in an analysis of the 2020 UK data specifically.
Quite an unusual year so would be useful to compare it to others.
Rich_cb wrote:
All of them.
Not sure how many involved motor vehicles, though.
Whilst it is not usually a
Whilst it is not usually a factor, how many people were driving out for exercise in the country, how many to rented cottages because their usual holidays abroad were being canned?
Inexperienced drivers knowing country roads are 60 but forgetting that 60 is not a target could have as much to play with it as inexperienced cyclists. Although at least two of the deaths in rural roads were with experienced cyclists being hit by HGV drivers as “cyclists need to be careful as our members aren’t expecting people to be on the road during lockdown” which is close to what the HGV union person stated after a couple of those happened last April and May.
That should be at least
That should be at least partially inferable from the data.
Increase in single cyclist crashes could potentially be a result of inexperience.
Increase in crashes involving a vehicle could be inexperienced driver/cyclist or excessive speed.
Ratio of Deaths/Serious Injury/Minor Injury in crashes involving a vehicle should give some indication as to the contribution of excessive speed.
AlsoSomniloquism wrote:
I recall on one lockdown ride I saw the same mini 3 times. 2 of them were close passes, the other one was opposite direction. I suspect he was just driving around (for his mental health of course). I would also say that there were a far larger percentage of poor drivers. I was also told a story about a friend of a friend who said that they didn’t like the empty roads because they kept on speeding.
Always a bit suspicious of
Always a bit suspicious of stats that combine (a) smallish numbers, (b) proportionally large changes, and especially (c) short time periods. What do the figures look like for previous years? How do we know that this kind of variance isn’t just within normal bounds?
Death rates on rural roads
Death rates on rural roads might be higher not just because of drivers or road conditions, but because they are quieter than urban roads, and further from hospitals. Therefore less chance of being spotted (for single cyclist accidents or hit and runs) and it generally takes more time for medical help to arrive
Interesting study from France
Interesting study from France showed that helmets offer relatively more protection for cyclists who sustained their injury on a rural road.
Presumably because a small difference in injury severity is exacerbated by the prolonged time to receive medical attention.
As others have noted, the
As others have noted, the data is partial and the reporting is poor. It also fails to compare any change in deaths of all road users rather than just cyclists — was there an overall increase or decrease, were the deaths per mile or deaths per user up or down….and should there be more advice/training for new cyclists….”everyone” can ride a bike but I’m not convinced most know how to ride a bike (safely) …not that it is only the cyclists that need training but it would be interesting also to know how many were ‘new’ cyclists.
Who is paying for that
Who is paying for that harebrained e-cargobike hire scheme in Manchester? Hope it’s not taxpayers.
You’ll be delighted to know
You’ll be delighted to know that DfT is funding e-cargo bike schemes, administered by the Energy Saving Trust, for the purpose of increasing the number of cargo bikes on the road and encouraging modal shift from motor delivery vehicles.
Just like the roads that motorists drive on for free, that is funded by the taxpayer.
The DfT scheme means the roads will be less congested and the air quality improved, so when you’re out on your bicycle, you can hear yourself more easily going “vroom-vroom” and wishing you were all grown up and in a car.
Don’t know if this reported scheme is part of that funding, or whether it is a separate initiative.
From one taxpayer to another, you’re welcome.
I think I had better pay that
I think I had better pay that grant back for the solar panels.
Can’t have public bodies sudsidising individuals ! Or businesses.
Garage at Large wrote:
Assuming you’re a tax payer I would imagine the answer is yes – and thank you for your contribution! I’d love to know I could rent a cargo bike when needed – even more so at this price. Indirectly this is likely funded by us tax-paying cyclists and pedestrians, just the same as you and me pay for roads, traffic lights, motorways, traffic wardens, traffic police, fund the NHS to deal with the fallout from crashes, chronic health conditions exacerbated by lack of exercise, people suffering from breathing in particulates…
Also it looks like this is designed for “journeys” with “a practical purpose” rather than just the selfish pleasure of a ride-about. What’s not to like?
Since Manchester are doing quite a lot to make it more attractive for people to choose bikes as a general transport option I’d expect the pool of cyclists to increase – and these people might want to carry more than on their usual bike. I doubt the market is quite ready to provide these en mass so having a bit of “pump-priming” by the authorities is a good idea.
Don’t forget the subsidies that went into the first cars, vans, buses, lorries (and they still do). Bikes are comparitively cheap!
chrisonatrike wrote:
Ah, but the Twitter reviewer says bikes must be returned to the same place they were collected which, if I remember correctly, means it’s #notajourney.
quiff wrote:
I stand corrected. Although I think it’s OK if you have a different – practical – aim for each “leg” (unsure of terminology now…). Drive to work. Sit in front of screen. Drive home. Sit in front of screen…
I think that’s right. I
I think that’s right. I believe the textbook example originally given was driving to visit a national trust house #isajourney
It looks like the future I’ve
It looks like the future I’ve been wishing for for decades is starting to arrive! Next step is to revive that scheme to send illegally parked cars in London to a pound in Yorkshire (Doncaster perhaps?). Yes, a rosy future is still a long way away. I bet that scheme in Manchester costs me less than throwing F35s into the Mediterranean Sea.
janusz0 wrote:
Ooh, cheeky Clarkson reference!
Bristol City Council has
Bristol City Council has removed the footway widening and pop-up cycle lane on the Triangle (just what we need as we go into Xmas and Omicron…).
The pop-up lane on Park Row so far remains in place (well, a single lonely wand does, which doesn’t really stop the cars and vans parked along there).
brooksby wrote:
That’s a shame.
I wasn’t a huge fan of the Triangle section as there were a couple of potholes/cracks along it IIRC. I often avoided using it if there were e-scooters ahead of me too (MGIF FTW!).
hawkinspeter wrote:
I enjoyed having to slalom around the sunken manhole covers too 😀
The other riders were Gianni
The other riders were Gianni Vermeersch, Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado & Puck Pieterse….
re Parking in the bike lane
re Parking in the bike lane video.
“Where am I supposed to give him directions?”
There is an empty parking space literally 5m further forwards from where the driver has parked up.
Moist von Lipwig wrote:
The time-honoured response from the warden would have been along the lines of:
“Yes sir, I do know the way to Dublin, but not from here. Now move along please.”
I’m here to enforce parking
I’m here to enforce parking regulations, except when I’m havign a chat with a driver, stopped where he shouldn’t.
Would he have thought it as reasonable if the driver had been blocking the road while getting directions?
wycombewheeler wrote:
“I can’t give them to him in the middle of the road…”
mdavidford wrote:
S’alright, cycle lane isn’t part of the road…..
The cyclist should have
The cyclist should have parked himself in the other lane, next to the car, whilst passing the time of day in discussion with the warden.
Exactly! Motorists are
Exactly! Motorists are allowed to just stop and block cycle lanes, or footways, or even the main carriageway. We should be allowed to, too!
brooksby wrote:
I dream of doing a campaign where we ride through the city center on cheap disposable bikes, then stop in the traffic lane, lie the bike on its side and say to the driver who has to stop, “sorry, just popping in the shop for a minute or two!”
Edit: even better, use bikes with kickstands.
Need to put your BOLAS on
Need to put your BOLAS on first though.
hirsute wrote:
WOOHOOO!!
andystow wrote:
I dream of doing a campaign where we ride through the city center on cheap disposable bikes, then stop in the traffic lane, lie the bike on its side and say to the driver who has to stop, “sorry, just popping in the shop for a minute or two!”— brooksby
You’d have to make sure you had …
(Damn! hirsute beat me to it!)
brooksby wrote:
You know it doesn’t work like that – cyclists are a minority so have to suck it up.
However a big ol’ march should be fine – pedestrians are the majority! And you wouldn’t even have to stop to make a point…
Virtual jersey? Emperor’s new
Virtual jersey? Emperor’s new clothes!
“Sure, it looks like a
“Sure, it looks like a dropbar mountain bike, but it’s just not. With 440mm chainstays, the rear end is the same as you would get on a gravel bike. Just more traction, and more comfort.”
My Salsa El Mar has 435mm chainstays and runs 622×56 tyres. Just saying.
Quote:
Is their logo a cartoon coyote?
Check out their catalogue
Check out their catalogue. I like the slogans as well.
Just another PO Box front end
Just another PO Box front end for Chinese production?
I don’t think I saw this one
I don’t think I saw this one covered here.
https://www.kentonline.co.uk/tunbridge-wells/news/tanker-drivers-guilt-and-shame-after-cyclist-death-crash-258355/
Another light caress on the wrist for a killer HGV driver.
Quote:
Careless driving, eh?
Well I hope the last lines of
Well I hope the last lines of the report are also sent to the DVLA so the license can be pulled for the company being as “staff reported that telling them about a brake problem was like talking to a brick wall”.
But a professional driver of vehicles with known spots harder to see driving for at least a mile and half (by his words, could have been a lot longer) with no vision down one side of the truck sounds more then careless to me. But CPS deciding it is hard to push it further again.
brooksby wrote:
David is gone but not forgotten. RIP #SDW
Another case of “you went
Another case of “you went past my door so I have immediately forgotten you exists”. And then you don’t.
Sounds like the issue was that the driver was temporarily useless. Quite possibly habitually useless – but we won’t know until this either gets taken up again or someone else is injured / killed.
I think drivers navigate
I think drivers navigate cyclists on the working assumption that they are stationary, like going around a fixed obstacle on the roadside.
chrisonatrike wrote:
Since Fordcome is close by the Penshurst road where David was killed, sadly we local riders will find out.
Personally I would put Tankers in the same high risk level as Construction vehicles, way above the standard HGV freighter. Unfortunately, here out in the sticks, there are many not on Gas supply, so burning Oil that must be delivered.
Unsustainable on multiple counts..
“Judge Jeremy Donne QC, a
“Judge Jeremy Donne QC, a keen cyclist, told Mr Adlam’s family that he has quit riding on the road after suffering a number of accidents.
He said: “I hope it’s clear that I am sorry for your loss. I can assure you that I am terrified when I am out on my bike.
“And after my last accident I have stopped riding my road bike.””
What hope have we got, even the only cycling judge is terrified and seems to accept the crappy excuses.
Rule H3 Rule for drivers and
Rule H3 Rule for drivers and motorcyclists You should not cut across cyclists, horse riders or horse drawn vehicles going ahead when you are turning into or out of a junction or changing direction or lane, just as you would not turn across the path of another motor vehicle. This applies whether they are using a cycle lane, a cycle track, or riding ahead on the road and you should give way to them.
Wow, surely this should be a must not, not should
Making it a “must not”
Making it a “must not” requires a change to the law, rather than just the Highway Code, which requires a more comprehensive legislative process. I’m sure it’ll feature when the government finally concludes (starts) it’s wide ranging review of road traffic offences.
“Express readers meltdown
“Express readers meltdown over 10ft Dorset bike lane”
A good estimate of how useful cycling infrastructure is would be to measure the response of Express readers. If they go apoplectic, it’s good; if it doesn’t bother them, it’s bad.