Are “box-ticking” painted bike lanes “more trouble than they’re worth”? Cyclists slam “useless white lines sprayed onto road”; Pogi-Roubaix? Tadej Pogačar teases Hell of the North debut with Arenberg training clip; Bernal’s back + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
“It is disgraceful that instead of engaging with constituents advocating for safer roads, local politicians are ridiculing those who highlight the risks that cyclists face every day”
Dodgy WhatsApp message alert…
> Sacked health minister hoped cyclist asking for more cycle lanes would be “mown down by an HGV” in “disgraceful” WhatsApp messages
My kind of Zwifting
It’s the 2075 UCI Senior Esports world championships, and Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert are battling it out once again for the rainbow jersey, the Dutchman aiming for his 86th career world title, his eternal Belgian rival hoping to spoil the fun… once he gets his afternoon nap and dinner out of the way, of course:
Where do I sign up?
The nonstop racing action continues as David Gaudu outkicks Simon Yates after thrilling summit finish battle to take victory and race lead at Tour of Oman
It was a busy weekend of racing around the world (or as proved the case for many teams at the crisis-stricken Étoile de Bessèges, not racing), as Arkea-B&B’s Kevin Vauquelin took advantage of the mass exodus from the beleaguered French stage race to win the final two stages, the shortened summit finish at Mont Bouquet and the race-ending time trial, to take the overall victory.
Meanwhile, Bahrain Victorious’ Colombian climber Santiago Buitrago secured the first GC victory of his career after dominating at the Volta Valenciana with two stage wins.
And at the UAE Tour, Elisa Longo Borghini once again dominated on Jebel Hafeet to nab her second overall success at her team’s home race, as SD Worx’s Lorena Wiebes crept ever closer to that landmark 100th career victory with three sprint demolitions on the flat.
Over at the cyclocross, meanwhile, Lucinda Brand was determined to end her stunning winter on a high, beating in-form Inge van der Heijden at the Krawatencross, while Laurens Sweeck outduelled Toon Aerts and Eli Iserbyt.
After all that, there’s no rest for the wicked, however, as the Tour of Oman continued this morning, with its first summit finish on Eastern Mountain.
BOOM! David Gaudu wins the third stage of Tour of Oman! #TourofOmanhttps://t.co/AohgvtL5DU pic.twitter.com/A5PlDpMBDy
— Eemeli (@LosBrolin) February 10, 2025
And it was Groupama-FDJ’s David Gaudu who put down the first emphatic GC marker, before the race’s decisive final day on Green Mountain, with victory at the end of a pulsating battle with UAE Team Emirates’ Adam Yates.
After attacking constantly on the 4.8km climb, Gaudu was forced to fend off a late, seemingly perfectly timed charge by the British climber, kicking ahead of Yates in the sprint to the line to win by one second, taking the race lead in the process.
Damien Howson continued Q36.5’s encouraging start to the season with third, five seconds behind, while Valentin Paret-Peintre finished fourth, 13 seconds down, as his Soudal Quick-Step teammate Luis Vervaeke ceded the leader’s jersey after being dropped in the final 3km.
But with the Gaudu-Yates show getting off to an enthralling start, the second act on Wednesday will be very interesting…
Why we love cyclocross, reason 764: Mathieu van der Poel, Marianne Vos, and Puck Pieterse star in musical tribute to ‘cross legend Sanne Cant, as three-time world champion retires
Yesterday at the Krawatenscross in the Belgian town of Lille, 16 seconds down on race winner Lucinda Brand, Belgian cyclocross legend Sanne Cant crossed the line in fourth place, bringing an end to one of the sport’s most illustrious careers.
With 127 elite cyclocross victories under her belt during her 17-year career, the 34-year-old won three consecutive world titles between 2017 and 2019, as well as three overall World Cup classifications and three European championships.
Cant also, amazingly, won 15 straight Belgian elite titles between 2010 and 2024, a run that only ended this year when she decided to skip the championships, enabling her Creen teammate Marion Norbert Riberolle to take the black, yellow, and red jersey.
(Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com)
The Belgian star was also instrumental in pushing for gender equality within the world of cyclocross, and during her period at the top of the sport saw the women’s races moved to primetime slots just before the men’s or, in the case of the world championships weekend, as main events in their own right, while races also became longer and prize money increased.
Cant also spent the past few years racing on the road for the Fenix-Deceuninck team, racing the first edition of the revamped Tour de France Femmes in 2022, before suffering a horrendous facial injury after crashing heavily at the 2023 Paris-Roubaix.
Her 2024/25 campaign was, rightly so, one long farewell tour, with Cant often giving the crowds one last emotional wave as she crossed the line. But she was still phenomenal consistent throughout the season, almost always finishing in the top ten from late December on (including taking ninth at the worlds in Liévin) and nabbing her 127th and last career win at Otegem last month.
To celebrate the end of one of cycling’s finest careers, her Crelan team assembled a who’s who of cyclocross – including Marianne Vos, Mathieu van der Poel, Puck Pieterse, her Belgian successor Marion Norbert Riberolle, Laurens Sweeck, and Emiel Verstrynge, as well as a host of family and friends – to record this absolutely brilliant musical tribute:
‘Sanne! Zoals jij kan niemand trappen, fietsen, sturen, Sanne!’ (For anyone whose Dutch isn’t up to scratch, that means: ‘Sanne, no one can pedal, cycle, or steer like you’, essentially.)
Now, good luck getting that out of your head…
Wattbike seeks investment following years of losses and falling sales, but static bike brand insists “significant improvements in financial performance” recently
Static bike maker Wattbike is seeking investment from new backers, the business having been utilising short-term loans amid slumping turnover and significant losses since the pandemic.
However, the brand has told us it is optimistic about its future, with “sales up more than 35 per cent year-on-year since September”.
Read more: > Wattbike seeks investment following years of losses and falling sales, but static bike brand insists “significant improvements in financial performance” recently
Meanwhile, on a mountaintop in Livigno…
While Tadej Pogačar is busy winding us all up with viral Arenberg videos, his big classics rival Mathieu van der Poel has been hitting the slopes, as he winds down from another rainbow jersey-snatching cyclocross season:
He just has to be good at everything, doesn’t he?
Also, someone check – is Van der Poel contractually obliged to be near a Lamborghini at all times, even up a snowy mountain?
Current scenes at the Trouée d'Arenberg after Tadej Pogačar teases Paris-Roubaix debut
We are waiting!!!
— jbarry881.bsky.social (@jbarry881.bsky.social) February 10, 2025 at 1:22 PM
As predicted, social media is nonstop Pogi-Roubaix chat this afternoon – he’s such a tease, that lad.
Police appeal after penny-farthing stolen during garage break-in
Nottinghamshire Police have launched an appeal after a penny-farthing was stolen from a garage in Nottingham just before Christmas.
Police say the ordinary was last seen inside a garage on Lenton Road, The Park, on 15 December, with the victim realising it was missing on 21 December, before reporting it stolen just after Christmas. According to officers, there is a “strong chance” that green and gold coloured bike was stolen on 18 December.
After over a month investigating the burglary, the force has appealed for anyone who saw anything unusual on Lenton Road on 18 December to come forward. They also shared an image of the bike, which they say has “high sentimental value” to the victim as it belonged to her late husband.
“For obvious reasons, the owner is desperate for this distinctive bike to be returned to her,” PC Charlotte Flynn said.
“We really want to make this happen, so would appeal to anyone who has seen the penny-farthing pictured and knows where it might be, to call us so that we can track it down.
“Our understanding is it was taken during a break-in at a garage belonging to the victim, so we’re of course also very keen to identify whoever was responsible for this offence.
“The public can help us on both fronts by sharing any information they have with the police by calling 101, quoting incident 398 of 6 January 2025, or by reporting it anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”
Big news on the off-road patent filing front: Has Shimano unveiled XTR Di2?
> Patent suggests new electronic MTB drivetrain from Shimano is imminent
The latest road.cc quiz craze sweeping the nation… Guess the cycling clothing item!
Alright everyone, here’s a fun afternoon game for you all to play. And yes, it’s Monday afternoon – this is what passes for fun around here.
Our editor Jack spotted this, ahem, interesting item of clothing, made by Madison, at today’s IceBike North show at the Manchester velodrome:
Five road.cc points for any reader in the comments who can correctly identify the item of clothing and what it’s supposed to be used for.
Oh, and 10 points for any amusing wrong answers, too.
It’s got be UAE Team Emirates’ new special Terminator-style Roubaix kit for Pogačar, surely?
Bernal’s Back: 2019 Tour de France winner doubles up, claiming Colombian road and time trial titles – almost four years since last victory and three years since life-threatening horror crash
It’s been a long three years for Egan Bernal.
On 24 January 2022, the former Tour de France winner – who, in July 2019 on the Col d’Iseran, appeared for all the world to represent cycling’s future – narrowly escaped death following a horrific, high-speed crash into the back of a parked bus during a training ride.
Since then, the Colombian climber has desperately attempted to regain the spark that enabled him to dazzle on the sport’s biggest climbs and win the 2019 Tour and 2021 Giro d’Italia. Much of that period has been a slow, painful slog, Bernal’s former effervescence flattened – especially in his old stomping ground of the grand tours – as a new generation of sparkling talent emerged.
However, with stepping away from the sport a distinct possibility throughout 2022 and even beyond, Bernal – ever the fighter on the bike – has battled his way back to something at least approaching his old self.
A 2023 focused on re-finding his legs gave way to a much more encouraging 2024, which included top tens overall at Paris-Nice and the Tour de Romandie, a podium spot at the Volta a Catalunya, and a sharp, spirited display at the front of Liège-Bastogne-Liège. At the Tour de France, lingering back problems, however, only served to reinforce the belief that the 28-year-old’s best days were behind him.
But after a long period of rest, and amid whisperings that 2025 would see him back to his best, it’s fair to say Bernal’s started the year in roaring form.
A maiden Colombian national time trial win on Thursday – his first victory since standing on the top step in Milan at the end of the 2021 Giro d’Italia – was followed on Sunday by a stunning solo attack to win the road title, cueing emotional scenes in Bucaramanga.
El sueño de un hermano, la victoria del otro. Egan Bernal es el nuevo campeón nacional de ruta, y su hermano Ronald lo recibe entre lágrimas. Más que un título, es el reflejo de años de lucha juntos. ¡Esto es ciclismo, esto es familia! pic.twitter.com/3tdJ9MN6wd
— Camilo Uribe (@Uribecycling) February 9, 2025
Can those home wins open the floodgates? According to Ineos, Bernal is set to target the Giro d’Italia this year and, his team reckon, could well challenge for the podium.
If Bernal were to battle for pink in May, and even win, it would surely complete a comeback to rival Greg LeMond’s post-hunting accident return to the top at the 1989 Tour de France. And, with the Colombian champion’s jersey on his back, and after the three years he’s battled through to get to this point, you wouldn’t bet against him.
Pogi-Roubaix: Reaction of the Day
Not sure Tadej’s old mate Jasper Philipsen – teammate, of course, of reigning Roubaix emperor Mathieu van der Poel – is too enthused about the possibility of taking on the world champion at the Hell of the North in April:
Even UAE Team Emirates are getting in on the act:
Ah well, Roubaix or no Roubaix, at least Pogačar’s livened up a grey February Monday, anyway…
Forget the actual rugby (although it was pretty good as well), this was the best Six Nations moment of the weekend by far
So, what is Madison’s jacket and dress combo all about then?
In case you hadn’t guessed already, the new bit of Madison kit spotted by road.cc editor Jack at IceBike North is in fact, apparently, part of the brand’s new mechanics clothing line.
According to Jack, the jacket-dress combo is actually “sort of like a dry robe for people who get cold messing with their bike in the garage” and appears to be mostly aimed at bike shop staff in workshops.
Jack also told us that you pull it over your head, “so it is essentially a thermal dress with a jacket on top”.
I for one can’t wait to rock mine in the shed… Madison, you know my address.
“Hey, not too fast!” Tadej Pogačar tests himself on the jagged cobbles of the infamous Arenberg Forest during Paris-Roubaix-themed training ride… Is the world champion finally ready to tackle the Hell of the North?
Quick everyone, it’s happening, it’s happening! Maybe…
It turns out Tadej Pogačar isn’t just one of the best bike racers who’s ever lived. He’s also a social media phenom, adept at whipping up speculation and anticipation with the simple click of the ‘post’ button.
Because this morning, the world champion fiendishly shared a video on Instagram – filmed by his UAE Team Emirates colleague and training mate Tim Wellens – of himself tearing over the brutal, jagged cobbles of the Arenberg Forest, the focal point of Paris-Roubaix, the one monument he’s yet to race.
Now if that isn’t the single most exciting cycling video of 2025 so far, I’ll eat one of the Arenberg’s cobbles.
(Also, fair to Wellens who, despite his cries of “not too fast!” at the beginning of the clip, demonstrated an impeccably steady filming hand while riding alongside Pogi on the Arenberg’s tarmac path.)
“Guess the place,” the 26-year-old captioned the video, with what was almost certainly a mischievous grin.
But what does all this frolicking through cycling’s most intimidating forest mean? Is the three-time Tour de France winner finally set to make his debut at Paris-Roubaix, the race fans have been clamouring for him to ride for years?
Will we see a Van der Poel versus Pogačar duel at both Flanders and Roubaix this year? And could we see the first Tour winner emerge triumphant in the Roubaix velodrome since Bernard Hinault in 1981?
Or maybe, just maybe, Wellens and Pogačar simply crossed the border into France after a recce of the Tour of Flanders course – where the Slovenian will definitely be aiming for his second Ronde title in April – and thought posting a clip of the world champion on the Arenberg would be a right laugh.
Well, it’s got the cycling world talking anyway – and we’ll probably not shut up about it for the next two months, either…
“White lines sprayed onto a busy road are useless”: Cyclists say “box-ticking” painted bike lanes blocked by cars are “more trouble than they are worth” – as two-thirds of locals reckon it’s unsafe to cycle in their area
‘Paint is not protection, paint is not protection…’
Here on the live blog, we’re well used to muttering that popular cycle lane mantra under our breaths, as we dodge parked cars and close passing motorists along (what’s supposed to be in theory) a dedicated cycling route – but which, in reality, constitutes nothing more than a lick of green paint on the road, ready to be ignored by drivers everywhere.
As we’ve seen over the years, nowhere is that mantra more prescient than in Belfast, where just two miles of properly protected and separated cycling infrastructure, last updated six years ago, exist – and where, according to recent government research, only a third of the locals believe that cycling in their area is safe, and 60 per cent reckon there is a lack of safe cycle paths.
Last month, the two-wheeled backlash against the apparent government apathy towards improving the city’s cycling network reached fever pitch, after Northern Ireland’s infrastructure minister John O’Dowd announced that £580,000 was set to be spent on upgrading one of Belfast’s only existing protected cycle paths… instead of, you know, building new ones.
“There are just two miles of protected cycle lanes in all of Belfast,” the Northern Ireland branch of Sustrans said at the time.
“Why spend more than half a million pounds in ‘improving’ this well-used foot and cycle path, when there is nothing of this standard in North and West Belfast? Please build the network!”
“It’s an easy and non-car disruptive thing to do. Gives the impression of investment in sustainable infrastructure without being in any way effective,” agreed cyclist Phil.
That mind-boggling decision came just a month after O’Dowd’s Department for Infrastructure produced a series of videos encouraging commuters to cycle to work instead of driving, in a bid to ease the city’s infamous congestion problems.
These videos extolled the “stress-free” virtues of the city’s painted bike lanes… one of which was captured on tape completely blocked by parked cars (though the DfI refrained from pointing that particular drawback out in their promo, surprisingly).
And now, disgruntled cyclists have once again taken to the local press to criticise Belfast’s stop-start, leisure-focused approach to cycle lane design, branded a mere “box-ticking exercise” that makes cycling in the city “intimidating” and “frustrating”.
“A cycle lane here is basically a white line sprayed onto a busy road which is completely useless,” Colin O’Carroll, a National Standards cycling instructor, told the Irish News at the weekend.
“Take the Crumlin Road where the cycle lane is lined with parked cars and that’s dangerous because it’s pushing cyclists into the traffic. The DfI need to implement a protected cycle lane along these routes so there is a physical barrier that vehicles cannot cross. The ones we do have start and stop mid-route so that’s pointless as your having to exit and enter heavy traffic along the road.
He continued: “Motorists are supposed to give cyclists a two-metre gap when overtaking, but on every journey I’ll have at least one close pass where a motorist is not respecting that space, be it to try and avoid some traffic congestion or simply road rage from the mentality cyclists shouldn’t be on the road.
“It’s especially intimidating for those with little experience who try to implement cycling into their daily commute.
“I was in Melbourne recently and they had lined the inside lane with a raised kerb to separate it from the traffic. It was normal to see parents with two young children all on their bikes cycling in this busy city, whereas it’s rare to see it off a greenway here due to safety concerns.
“Here there seems to be more of a focus on providing greenways for those wishing to cycle for leisure instead of improving the cycling infrastructure along our arterial routes.
“The DFI does not fundamentally understand what is needed. Cycling lanes are treated as little more than a box-ticking exercise. It’s frustrating for the cycling community.”
Meanwhile, Belfast cyclist Kerry Lynn, who rides a cargo bike with her three children, says the wait for safe cycling infrastructure has made the school run a “nightmare”, and called for the changes to the Highway Code implemented in the rest of the UK three years ago to protect vulnerable road users to also be introduced in Northern Ireland.
“As a mum of three young kids, we’re out and about in the neighbourhood every day, either as pedestrians or on the cargo bike and safety is my biggest concern,” Kerry said.
“We live just a few hundred metres from the school, but navigating that residential area can be a nightmare. Just last week we were cycling to the library which includes a couple of hundred metres on the main road and as I was entering one motorist came flying past and cut us off and all we had were helmets to protect us.
“I find the cycle lanes on my route more trouble than they are worth. They feel like little more than a box-ticking exercise.
“Updates to our road rules, like the ‘Hierarchy of Road Users’, make so much sense to me because it highlights our individual responsibilities relative to what we’re using to get around.
“A heavier vehicle with higher speeds should carry the most responsibility and care to help protect the most vulnerable road users like pedestrians and cyclists. It’s all about mutual respect and kindness.”
Meanwhile, Andrew McClean, Cycling UK’s Northern Ireland lead, noted that people have expressed a “desire to cycle” in Belfast – but that desire is not translating to more cycling trips, simply because safe infrastructure is not there.
According to the DfI Roads Eastern Transport Plan Engagement Survey, cycling was the preferred mode of transport for future trips to work or education, with 64 per cent of respondents saying they wanted to cycle to work, education, or other activities, more than any other mode.
However, the report also showed that 60 per cent of respondents believe that there is a lack of safe cycle paths in the country, hindering their ability to ride a bike safely and confidently.
“We know that nearly half the people in Belfast want to cycle more. We also know from the government’s own survey data, that cycling is the number one preferred way to get around for commuters in the city and the surrounding areas,” he said.
“However, the majority of people agree there aren’t enough safe cycle paths, and only a third of people in Belfast think it’s safe to cycle in their area. That’s because there are only a couple of miles of dedicated cycle paths in the whole of Belfast.
“There’s still a complete lack of urgency around building safe, dedicated cycle paths, despite warm words from the government. Rolling out 20mph as a default speed limit, and updating the Highway Code to include some of the changes implemented three years ago in Great Britain, would help.”
Help us to bring you the best cycling content
If you’ve enjoyed this article, then please consider subscribing to road.cc from as little as £1.99. Our mission is to bring you all the news that’s relevant to you as a cyclist, independent reviews, impartial buying advice and more. Your subscription will help us to do more.
5 Comments
Read more...
Read more...
Read more...
Latest Comments
But it's a 'game changer'. Use of this phrase means automatic disqualification from any further consideration, even if I can check that my helmet is at a suitably jaunty angle.
I don't know why the writer inaccurately describes the light output selection on this light. Three different things are conflated without properly first differentiating between them: The light mode (constant vs flash or "pulse"), power output (lumen rating), and the method of choosing these. Exposure combines the first two into three programs where each program has an individual output for the modes. So the copy-pasted text refers only to selecting the programs. Selecting between modes is as simple as in the Knog: "To cycle between the Constant and pulse options in each program press the function button once." Granted this might seem confusing at first but after that it is dead simple. The benefit of Exposure's choice is keeping things simple - once you've turned on the light you click either between constant and flash. In most cases FOR A COMMUTER LIGHT, this is just fine - when you ride a relatively short distance in most likely illuminated surroundings what the actual lumen output is is secondary. Connected to the above, marking as negative that the light puts out "only" 400 lumens in constant mode, is illogical. As the reviewer states, that amount is "a truly useful amount of light". There is ablosutely no challenge for Exposure in getting the light to put out 600 or more lumens in constant. But a) that would be more than "purposeful" and b) drain out the battery in an instant. The light has been designed as an ultra compact commuter light - where does it fail in that? Conversely, if you ride in "unlit rural voids" blame yourself and not the light if you chose this as your illuminating device. Furthermore claiming that the new alum. anti dazzle shield "makes zero difference" and is no upgrade is baffling - which do you think protects the lens better in an impact? Finally, moaning about the cost of the light without even mentioning what obviously plays a major role - the fact that it is manufactured in the UK, is appalling. So yeah if you "value" buying a light by Knog, Cateye and the likes that manufacture their lights in an undemocratic country where the list of ongoing human, labour, international law and environmental violations is nearly endless, and wish to support manufacturing processes where products are shipped across the world to endulge your "needs", then feel free to ignore all the above, and just focus on "user-friendliness".
Once again the CPS and Police are at fault There may be occasions in which the police and the CPS are independent entities, but in most of the cases on here, the CPS is just an excuse deployed by the police to excuse inaction over really blatant offences. What police officers are violently opposed to is people reporting offences, particularly when they send indisputable video, because the reports could take matters out of the hands of the police. They like to prosecute people they don't like, such as cyclists, and to have the option of forgiving people they do like, such as drivers in big cars or people they know. Whataboutery is getting a Bad Press on here, but it's a perfectly reasonable objection when, for instance, video is provided of drivers committing MUST NOT offences such as RLJs and they're forgiven by the police 'because everybody does it', yet a big thing is made of the offence when cyclists are involved. The assertion may not be palatable, but there are a lot of lying, crooked b******s in the Police.
I have both a Scott Spark RC and the Scale Gravel RC and find the Dangerholm builds really interesting by exploring what different directions can be achieved with a mix of imagination, DIY and professional resources. Probably not for the staid British mindset as shown by previous comments.
Once again the CPS and Police are at fault. They don't really worry about the law as they can usually find one to fit around their needs. And once again it's only when they are stood up to that they are forced to run away.
Lol. I’ve been saying the same to my watch. It keeps prompting me I need to do more calories on certain days and I tell it - but I did some gardening in the afternoon which included digging but u don’t let me record that. And then I have another biscuit with my tea.
"~15% of the riding time that I’m forced to use the road(because the infrastructure for cycling is insufficient or nonexistent) " Amsterdam?
Same here. I have a helmet with built in front and rear lights and have a red light clipped onto my bag plus lights attached to my bike front and rear but still have drivers putting me in danger. My commute is about two miles and I normally have around four incidents a week where I have to brake hard or take other evasive action to avoid being hit by distracted drivers. A big percentage of these are drivers coming on to roundabouts when I am already on them.
Glasgow's South City Way sounds great, does it not? As a user from before and after I wholeheartedly welcome the construction of the segregated route, but so much of the detailed construction is poor, if not unsafe. I provide a link to a presentation I made when construction was half complete (a personal view) and the construction errors remain outstanding to this day: crossed by high speed flared road junctions, poor colour differentiation, car door zone risks and so on. And yet cyclists come because they feel safe. It's a complex subject but IMHO the feeling of safety (or lack of) is a critical component. https://drive.proton.me/urls/B67AK44G90#CFueBGjscoWr
I can only conclude that you haven't been into a city in the last few years. Food delivery riders in particular are riding overpowered "eBikes" that are basically mopeds ... powered only via the throttle without pedalling at significantly more than 15mph. Problem is they look like normal bikes/ebikes and not like mopeds so that is what people describe them as. My reading of the article is that it is those vehicles that are being talked about here.
5 thoughts on “Are “box-ticking” painted bike lanes “more trouble than they’re worth”? Cyclists slam “useless white lines sprayed onto road”; Pogi-Roubaix? Tadej Pogačar teases Hell of the North debut with Arenberg training clip; Bernal’s back + more on the live blog”
I think you’ve got your
I think you’ve got your Yateses mixed up.
In my experience, painted
In my experience, painted cycle lanes that are discretionary are indeed more trouble than they’re worth. Use them and drivers will close pass you, assuming that as you’re in the cycle lane and they aren’t everything is hunky dory. They also tend to be in the door zone alongside parked cars, so using them puts you at extra risk, or there are cars parked in them that you have to go around. At the same time, being close to the gutter means you have to manoeuvre around debris that can puncture a tyre, or dropped grates. And when you don’t use them, car drivers moan that there is cycling provision that isn’t being used.
They are a complete and utter
They are a complete and utter waste of paint, as opposed to mandatory cycle lanes which are just a waste of paint…
The exceptional testing the rule again, you will find them (several kinds) in NL – but they are AFAIK increasingly moving away from using these *.
* FWIW – often to designs which now can work there because cycling is not just normalised but the majority mode in some places (e.g. cycle streets). Note that those simply wouldn’t work in the UK currently as they rely on cycling a) being the dominant mode and b) also being so accepted and understood that the few drivers are happy to stick to very low speed limits and actually drive with due care.
Sorry the old bicycle was
Sorry the old bicycle was stolen. It should be pretty distinctive if it comes to light e.g. on the net.
Old joke: a a penny-farthing and a recumbent have been stolen – police are looking high and low for the thieves.
For a typical garage thief, I
For a typical garage thief, I’d imagine that the ordinary has been sold off for scrap by now…