“Damned if you don’t, nearly killed if you do”: Impatient driver beeps 20mph cyclist for not using bike lane; Pro cyclist arm wrestling; MacA-skills; 30s cycleway or car park?; Formolo’s wild boar training crash; Unique bike theft + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Here comes the sun! Morning commuting scenes...
What better way is there to start the day than an early walk along the Lee River Section of the Capital Ring?
Going for a walk is a great way of keeping active and healthy when having to work from home. #CapitalRing #WalkThisWay #FakeCommute pic.twitter.com/V1Xg62EIq1
— Will Norman (@willnorman) January 12, 2022
The sun may not be out for very long here in the UK at the minute, but at least it looks pretty as it comes and goes…Walking and Cycling Commissioner Will Norman went for a sunrise walk, prompting others to share their morning commute snaps. Of course, we were more interested in those on two wheels…
Another beautiful sky photo I took this morning on my way to work!
What a view..😍#sunrise #sunrisephotography #beautifulview #cloud #cycling #cyclingtowork #beautifulsunrise #tooting #beautifulsky #clouds #london pic.twitter.com/3rFZ8CAsrb— Miss Omar (@Auntiekay28) January 11, 2022
Sunsets are alright too…
Reasons why cycling is better: you can stop to take a picture of the sunset. pic.twitter.com/26pqla6P0T
— Mark Wagenbuur (@BicycleDutch) January 11, 2022
What does a 1930s cycleway look like? (Spoiler alert: it's a car park)
Today I ended up cycling down the remnants of the 1930s cycle way on Chester Road in Birmingham. It is a car park for residents, all but one of whom seem to have plenty of space on their drives. @carltonreid @badlyparkedbrum pic.twitter.com/kSQaws8v6j
— 2WG.Brum (@2wheelsgoodBrum) January 11, 2022
Why use the driveway when there’s a perfectly good 1930s cycleway to dump your motor?
That’s the questions 2 wheels good Brum was asking after weaving around this slalom course…we counted 12 (plus one on the pavement) during the 30-second clip.
And that’s just the shorter version…here’s the extended edition… (granted, not quite as fun, or long, as the Lord of the Rings extended edition, but fantastic all the same).
Giving some local knowledge, 2 wheels good Brum explained how the ‘infra’: “Was built in the 1930s and has had some new signage and white lines to create a two-way route for cyclists. It is terrible to ride even when empty, but it has become a car park for local residents, most of who seem to have sufficient parking space on their own property already.”
So what did it look like in its heyday?
Here’s the same stretch of cycleway, viewed from the other direction, (possibly) in the 1930s. People did cycle on it then. pic.twitter.com/DdZNna2NHq
— 2WG.Brum (@2wheelsgoodBrum) January 11, 2022
Tadej Pogačar's UAE Team Emirates teammate Davide Formolo injures wrist in wild boar crash
Davide Formolo is making a pig’s ear of off-season training…(I’ll see myself out)…
That seems a bit harsh on the UAE Team Emirates rider who had nowhere to go when the baby boar ran across the road while the Italian was training at 60kph. Formolo injured his wrist in the crash, but hopes nothing is fractured.
“There are many small bones in the hands, and it takes 10 days to show any fractures,” Formolo told Gazzetta dello Sport. “We are still working a lot on the right wrist, we are still afraid that there is some fracture. Nothing seems to be broken.”
Formolo joked with his Instagram followers…”A wild boar wanted to eat me […] the 53×11 makes speed to escape if you have legs like me 🤪😂”
Without a doubt our favourite of Formolo’s 2021 achievements was his ‘longest Hour Record’…rolling his way to a joint new world record of just 918m in…well, an hour…
That’s our kind of distance challenge…
How the Dutch do infra...
Today I was very pleased with the maintenance of the bicycle path by @GemeenteUtrecht: the red asphalt was swept especially for me 😁👌🏼 #cycling pic.twitter.com/ZGXWLfzgnr
— De Filmende Fietser (@FilmendeFietser) January 11, 2022
Dutch cycle lanes get…swept clear? No leaves? No broken glass? It’s a different world over there…and you can even catch a cheeky tow behind the sweeper…
Oh, and sometimes you can even listen to the news while you commute…
👋🏽Good morning to you 👋🏽
Dutch news from the cycle path – with bonus 🌳🐕🦺🐕🦺and🌅today 😊
🔐🦠👩🏽🎓🧑🏼🎓👨🎓🧠🏥💉#DNFTCP pic.twitter.com/QG4d9q0sI3
— anna holligan 🎙 (@annaholligan) January 12, 2022
Santander Cycles smash records: 10.9 million hires in 2021
Thanks for 10.9 million hires! 🎉 🚲
2021 was a record-breaking year for Santander Cycles all thanks to you.
Let’s continue cycling in 2022. Download the Santander Cycles app today to get pedalling ⤵️ https://t.co/26cDbiMa5g pic.twitter.com/I7K1S1bxOe
— Transport for London (@TfL) January 12, 2022
Pro cyclist arm wrestling: the sport we never knew we needed to see
Someone needs to read our strength training for cyclists feature, eh Phil?
Toms Skujiņš came out on top of this ‘battle’ with former pro Phil Gaimon, but which pro would be the best arm wrestler? In the retired category I reckon André Greipel and Marcel Kittel would be tough to beat. Of the current crop…Filippo Ganna or Alexander Kristoff? Although I’m saying Tim Declercq could lever his limbs to Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl’s arm wrestling title…
At the other end of the scale: got to be Chris Froome and Nairo Quintana. Sorry chaps, don’t think this is one for you.
Rohan Dennis kicks off Jumbo-Visma career with a win
🇦🇺 #RoadNats
Australian TT Champion🥇 Good start of the season! pic.twitter.com/TrnXtlmD6u
— Team Jumbo-Visma cycling (@JumboVismaRoad) January 12, 2022
What’s this? It can’t be…a bike race? Down in Oz it’s summer and there’s some high quality sporting entertainment to enjoy…and I don’t just mean at the airport border checks. Rohan Dennis marked his first appearance in Jumbo Visma kit with a win, his sixth Australian National TT Championship.
Yesterday, the outspoken powerhouse had some choice words about his former employer, saying Ineos “copy” Jumbo Visma, so he thought he might as well join the “better team”…blimey, tell us how you really feel, Rohan…
"Damned if you don't, nearly killed if you do": Impatient driver beeps 20mph cyclist for not using bike lane
I’m getting beeped at because I’m at the wrong side of the magic paint lane – which as you can see is little better than a farm track – doing 20mph downhill and have held this motorist up for a few seconds in their desperation to reach the traffic lights. #cycling in #Sheffield pic.twitter.com/7zQsEw3qBR
— CyclingInASkirt (@CyclingInASkirt) January 12, 2022
You can almost see the steam coming out of this driver’s ears as the lights turn to yellow as they speed up in a last-ditch bid to avoid the life-changing misfortune of having to wait for 30 seconds at the lights. Even better when the cyclist you’ve just beeped for apparently holding you up then rolls smugly to the front of the line.
So why did they feel the need to beep? It seems likely the key to that is in this rider’s decision to not use the ‘cycle lane’. When I say cycle lane, maybe ‘painted strip of rutted tarmac closest to the gutter’ would be another angle…
It’s a ‘get out my way’ beep, isn’t it?
CyclingInASkirt regularly shares clips of cycling issues and poor driving from Sheffield. In this clip, using gravity and one of the Steel City’s numerous bergs, they’re descending at 20mph… hardly holding the traffic up, is it?
One such previous clip involved an incident on the same stretch of road, perhaps explaining why you would be more vigilant to hold primary position and be seen…”Same stretch of road – damned if you don’t, nearly killed if you do….”
Please help me identify this reg & driver – had a VERY lucky escape yesterday (downhill, wet, good brakes saved me) next time, someone else might not be so lucky. #cycling in #Sheffield. I’d like to explain to them why my kids are terrified of me using a bike just to get to work. pic.twitter.com/dNIoVDj15l
— CyclingInASkirt (@CyclingInASkirt) April 30, 2020
Gang uses ladder to steal bike from balcony in early morning raid
We see a lot of bike thefts, some more unique than others. This one certainly falls into the more unique category, but when you think about it, it’s probably not that surprising considering the amount of bikes you see stored on apartment block balconies.
Northants Telegraph reports three people are being sought in connection with an incident which saw thieves make off with a bicycle having used a ladder to access a first floor balcony on Wellingborough’s Queen Street between 2.20am and 2.30am on Saturday 8 January.
A police statement said: “he description of the offenders is very limited. One is described as a white female and was wearing a pink or white coat. The second was a tall white male and the third was a black male wearing black coloured clothing and hat.”
Wheelie Wednesday ft. Danny MacAskill
A little endurance training with this #WheelieWednesday from a while back! pic.twitter.com/VqPyc1NxmQ
— Danny MacAskill (@danny_macaskill) January 12, 2022
Factor Bikes UK becomes Vires Velo (+ opens shiny Experience Centre for punters with deep pockets to pick up their dream bike)
Need a flash new bike? Want to buy it from an equally flashy outlet? Factor’s UK partner has been renamed, and under the new banner of Vires Velo will sell Factor bikes from an ‘Experience Centre’ in Norfolk.
What’s an Experience Centre? I hear you ask…
Well, it’ll be a showroom, including an expanded workshop, coffee lounge and dedicated bike fitting studio. In essence, your one-stop new bike shop… if you’re in the market for a Factor, that is. Vires Velo’s showroom will have all the latest bikes and components from Factor and Black Inc, and managing director John Bailey promises to offer an “urivalled experience for cyclists in the UK”.
He said: “We are excited that this new facility, along with investment in an advanced new bike fitting system and our continued exclusive partnership with Factor/Black Inc can provide an unrivalled experience for cyclists in the UK.”
Remember May 2020?
Easy to forget, but in May 2020 people were giving me a hard time about cycling *on my own* for more than an hour (which was always 100% legal).
Turns out I could just have had a party.
— Stuart Helmer (@stuarthelmer) January 11, 2022
Working for a cycling website means it’s easy to pop out for a spin and claim you thought it was a work event…
On that note I’m popping out for a spin. Look at me clocking up all that out-of-hours work…
12 January 2022, 09:25
12 January 2022, 09:25
12 January 2022, 09:25
12 January 2022, 09:25
12 January 2022, 09:25
"Optimus Prime cosplay" FTW, claims our least fashionable reviewer George Hill...
Spatz Roadman 3 Super-Thermo Hi-Viz Reflective Overshoes with Kevlar
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Latest Comments
Are you sure they weren't overshoes?
Winning GC is irrelevant, what a relief. The best thing about knowing Pogacar will most likely win GC, is that it frees us to focus on all the more interesting aspects the mountainous chess game that is the TDF. The real challenge for all (riders, teams and spectators) will be the hot weather. This might be the last TDF to be ridden in the heat of the afternoon. There will also likely be major climate protests against the rampant sports washing by fossil fuel corporate sponsors that defiantly continue as the core funding strategy of pro cycling, despite all evidence that their products are endangering the health of the greatest grandstand in all sport. Corporate surveillance and AI will not be far behind for protestors in coming years (if not this year), as a world on fire impacted by corporate greed and wilful ignorance towards the human rights of all earths citizens begins to bite; all whist cycling through some of the planets most glorious and endangered lands. The irony is palpable and the suspension of public disbelief seems about to crack. The onus is on the UCI to shift policy. Protests and epic TDF crowds could yet be the deciding factor in 2026.
I had very much enjoyed his rides around Birmingham previously.
A fine career from a great rider, backed by an exceptional team. I hope that we haven't lost him completely from the world of cycling. There were a few solo breakaways, when and where I cannot recall, but they were just great and for me unexpected.
The LBS had a few copies of this when I had to pop in a few weeks back, needed a new rim, grrr. It piqued my interest, I like exploring the Chilterns and beyond and I love cake. Almost purchased. But noticed that the ride description wasn't up to what I liked, and the maps are all navigation app based, not really suited to a luddite such as myself. So I'm going to have to stick to my 1p very tatty copy of Nick Cotton's 24 one-day routes in Berks, Bucks & Oxfordshire. Much less cake based mind, but suited to the way I ride, that and a few local OS explorers.
"Continental’s GP5000 S TR tyres are a stable in the pro peloton" Really? A stable? There's a thing...
It's trying to gazump everyone else in the claim to be 'the fastest bike ever' - what's faster than a bike that can only exist in a particle accelerator?
The writer's name is Ty (handy synchronicity for Ti ) Rutherford, hence Rf. I'd have to have a bike made of an alloy of silicon and tungsten, which does exist, but it's apparently used in computer chips rather than bike frames. Hey ho.
Very interesting, thank you for sharing! Hope you enjoy the bike! Have to ask though, I get the Ti as it’s a titanium frame. But why Rf, a notoriously unstable synthetic and highly radioactive element?
I’m surprised by some of the comments here. I’ve always found Le Col kit pretty decent, from Pro Aqua Zero jerseys to their bib shorts, especially the Pro range.
66 thoughts on ““Damned if you don’t, nearly killed if you do”: Impatient driver beeps 20mph cyclist for not using bike lane; Pro cyclist arm wrestling; MacA-skills; 30s cycleway or car park?; Formolo’s wild boar training crash; Unique bike theft + more on the live blog”
My nan lived on an estate
My nan lived on an estate accessible from the end of that route. It has been a car park since the mid 70’s. The difference is as household got more cars, more went on it. I actually always thought it was parking for the big houses.
I do love that the sections they tried to stop off-street parking on still has them as this BMW (natch) shows.
At the time I was more intimidated by the head on this island.
And later on it took me about 5 years of constant passing before I realised what this (very obvious) sculpture was.
AlsoSomniloquism wrote:
Yeah, fat lot of good those bollards are doing!
AlsoSomniloquism wrote:
Looks like three creatures from a Studio Ghibli film?
I’m guessing that’s near the
I’m guessing that’s near the Castle Bromwich Jaguar factory, ie where they made Spitfires during the war
mdavidford wrote:
Looks like three creatures from a Studio Ghibli film?— AlsoSomniloquism
Historical context is important in identifying it. There is a “brilliant” book on the subject of traffic island decoration.
Unfortunately my favourite has now gone
My suggestion may have been
My suggestion may have been *marginally* facetious – sorry – I just assume everyone expects that of me by now…
Or just the name of the
Or just the name of the Island will help. As Awavey mentioned, the Castle Bromwich factory (now Jaguar) is just there and the sulpture of three spitfires and the slipstream trails is onbvious when you know it. I’m crap at those magic eye pictures as well.
SimoninSpalding wrote:
Couldn’t resist – they are exceedingly good.
The new “installation”
The new “installation” includes a cyclist. Dressed in grey with no lights. It’s a wonder he hasn’t been knocked off!
SimoninSpalding wrote:
This guy will take care of that for you.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/driver-banned-dukes-of-hazzard-roundabout-hit-footage-dashcam-a9036591.html
AlsoSomniloquism wrote:
You mean the powers that be expected the householders to actually manouevre their vehicles carefully so as to park them on their private land instead of just dumping them easily on the public highway? Bl00dy nanny state, innit? 😉
I wonder how effing entitled
I wonder how effing entitled does someone need to be, to think that this is acceptable parking?!!!
“Hang on, if I can just sqeeeeeeze my way between these bollards, then this cylce path will be a perfect spot to park my car”
Bought an offroad vehicle? It
Bought an offroad vehicle? It can’t help itself! Just like the adverts suggest. Oh, wait, that one isn’t. Well as long as no-one ever drives it, no crime committed.
Go slightly further down on
Go slightly further down on passed the bus stop on the streetview and you will notice a disabled buggy coming up the road who will then have to negotiate all the parked cars.
AlsoSomniloquism wrote:
This is one of the biggest mistakes we have made as a society, allowing storage of personal property on the public highway.
From day one the rule should have been no overnight parking on the roads. So parking to deliver, visit or carry out work would be possible but every vehicle would have a home somewhere on private land.
There would be much less pressure on parking and probably no need for pavement parking if vehicles were not stored long term on the road. But now the genie is out of the bottle and there are too many cars with nowhere else to be.
wycombewheeler wrote:
Sad. Maybe some kind of car club? Or:
Occasional contributors here
Occasional contributors here bemoan the fact that some Asian countries have restrictions on personal travel and advocate their implementation in Europe. The one that I would like to see is the Japanese approach where a lack of access to a parking space means you can only own a kei car.
SimoninSpalding wrote:
Like one of these?
SimoninSpalding wrote:
I thought the Japanese were famous for miniaturizing things? That’s an SUV microcar compared to the Canta!
Time to get a batch of YPLAC
Time to get a batch of YPLAC stickers for those cars!
For those interested – the
For those interested – the Chester route is on Carlton Reid’s mapping of these things:
https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1yoi-eZVATatYQfhMiKh4PpaSQro&ll=52.54768709184177%2C-1.7888878442721845&z=11
More info here: http://www.bikeboom.info/cycletracks1930s/
I am very confused by the
I am very confused by the “Dunchurch, A45” entry, having tried riding and having to drive around there i don’t see much evidence of there ever being a cycleway in the area, unless it is the 1foot path that goes from dunchurch to daventry mostly
I’m not sure if the ones on
I’m not sure if the ones on the map are all extant and certainly the state of preservation will vary. His interest is in both the revival of ones where that may be possible but also documenting the history.
Its not clear what the
Its not clear what the current status of that Brum “cycleway” is but it seems like a no brainer to reinstate it. I guess the million dollar question is does it connect to anywhere useful. Leaving that aside I think it should be re-instated on general principles.
It actually is “reinstated”
It actually is “reinstated” as a cycle lane if you look at the floor markings in sections. Just not an enforced one and most of the official signs for the road have it as a shared path. Sometimes the council themselves have not helped thought with safety.
it is only a small stretch of Chester Road that was dual carriageway that had it though which was 40mph, hence why I always thought it was parking because of the 40mph parking regs. It might also have been a slightly rich area judging by the size of a lot of the same era buildings and was before the war but it doesn’t really go anywhere really.
Article doesn’t show it but there is a lane on both sides of the road, not just one.
Quote:
Well that’ll learn him to go riding wild boars.
That was my first reading of
That was my first reading of the headline, too!
mdavidford wrote:
Well that’ll learn him to go riding wild boars.
were they self-driving boars?
mdavidford wrote:
Well that’ll learn him to go riding wild boars.
it’s pretty high risk as I recall
This level of Crash was a
This level of Crash was a right bastard to get through and no joke.
Whilst not as bad as the
Whilst not as bad as the Birmingham example, you can get similar parking along the Main Rd, Kesgrave, 1930s cycleway too. https://goo.gl/maps/EmDwZmcfBaGwgeTg8
Worse it’s not unusual if the road is congested for residents to treat it as a shortcut service road to one of the many side roads. And you get absolute dogs abuse off motorists if you dare not to use it to cycle on.
The local council though think it’s a marvellous piece of cycling infrastructure and exactly the kind of thing that they want more of, so are basing all their future cycling way plans in the area on similar.
News that I haven’t seen
News that I haven’t seen covered today is that, over on Twitter, top lawyer and road safety expert Nick Freeman has argued that upcoming highway code changes “will unquestionably cause more death and injury for vulnerable road users.”
I must admit that I haven’t studied the new rules in any kind of detail, but I’ve seen very little to no publicity around them, presumably because the government doesn’t want to anger its voters.
Is there advertising campaign out there? Otherwise how will anyone know when they’ve come into effect or what the changes are?
Garage at Large wrote:
It’s all right, though, isn’t it, because he’ll be there to make sure nobody actually gets fined or goes to jail.
I wonder if that will be his
I wonder if that will be his “loophole” even though no road laws have changed at all and a condition of keeping your license is to keep on top of the HC reviewing it regulally.
Nope, he’ll make sure that
Nope, he’ll make sure that rich people who can afford his rates don’t get fined or go to jail for traffic offences.
Garage at Large wrote:
Road safety expert who makes a career out of keeping dangerous drivers on the road. You might want to look up oxymoron in the dictionary.
And again lies “little or no publicity”. Every major newspaper, even the Daily Heil, has been running stories (aka publicity) of the rule changes since early December. It’s like hi-viz for cyclists though…. only of use when drivers actually look.
He knows that. There was a
He knows that. There was a large article on here about the same thing about whether the government should publicise it. Just wants his replies again.
You can’t expect any sense
You can’t expect any sense out of someone who confuses ‘News’ and ‘Twitter’.
Or who confuses ‘Nick Freeman’ and ‘road safety expert’ for that matter.
I don’t read the Daily Mail
I don’t read the Daily Mail so cannot say if they’ve been running stories on the issue. What I’m referring to is government sponsored initiatives and advertisements – it’s unusual to see something which the majority of the adult population are going to have to incorporate into their day-to-day lives be given so little prominence. Indeed, according to the Daily Telegraph, road safety experts are in agreement that these changes haven’t been communicated effectively.
My suspicion is therefore that these rule changes are more administrative in nature rather than a step change in the law, to be used in legal cases where a more vulnerable road user has been endangered and to put the onus more on drivers. It also follows that the same will apply where cyclists endanger pedestrians.
It does therefore follow – as Nick Freeman points out – that if vulnerable road users change their behaviour, road traffic incidents could unfortunately increase.
It will likely increase business for Mr Freeman as Brooksby points out, but as someone interested in road safety he clearly prioritises lives over his own livelihood.
Garage at Large wrote:
But how did the vulnerable road users all find out about the changes? If there has been no government sponsered advertising how did they find out?
I know how they got their message and you never….. It came through telepathic message function of the chip in the Covid Vaccine.
And please explain how charging substantial fees to keep celebrities who should be banned from driving on the road is Nick Freeman clearly prioritising lives over his own livelihood?
Garage at Large wrote:
Garage at Large wrote:
So, to paraphrase, news I haven’t seen, about rules I know nothing about (yet are publicly available on the government web site) that have not yet been approved in Parliament, haven’t formally been promoted, even though they theoretically might be blocked and they don’t yet apply.
More than happy to get cross about the absence of a campaign when we know the Code will be updated. But timing is everything.
They must read you, then. That is the only explanation for the matching quality and pitch of news commentary.
It does therefore follow – as Nick Freeman points out – that if vulnerable road users change their behaviour, road traffic incidents could unfortunately increase.— Garage at Large
For the most part, the law has not changed. In a sense, the Code will state what has actually been the case in law for several years, but has not hitherto been spelt out. Principles such as not cutting across the path of another road user is understood to mean all road users, including pedestrians and cyclists each in their own lanes (or not), and including when that path passes a minor road.
Road users should be able to change their behaviour, because the onus will be on motorists to change theirs. That is where the publicity campaign needs to kick in, when the time comes.
Meanwhile, here is an account from a few years back of how road safety-hahaha … safe-pht-ha-ha-ha-ha… I’ll try again… road s-s-s-hahahahahahaha… ex-x-xpssss-AHAHAHAHAHA… I can’t do it… Loopy Nick… is dead keen to apply his ‘road safety expertise’ in the face of the bleedin’ obvious… in which, safety conscious as ever, Nick tries to persuade the court that 41 mph and 47mph on separate occasions in a 30mph limit either shouldn’t be prosecuted, or should be prosecuted but only once (which is it, Nick?), coz paperwork. Unfortunately, Top Lawyer Nick didn’t appear to be aware of the law, or what safe driving looks like, and got taken to school. And the loophole turned out to be a slipknot. Poor old Nick. Poor old Chris. Poor old anybody who could have got in Chris Tarrant’s way.
So anyway….
No the DfT considers the
No the DfT considers the changes to be updated guidance,not a change in law, so there wont be a massive ad or pr campaign about it, but there is plenty of nudge unit stuff happening with a steady stream of newspaper articles across all the variants from broadsheets (the Telegraph yesterday had “The highway code is changing and cyclists get even more priority over drivers” ), tabloids, locals, free etc and I’ve no doubt that will increase in volume as the date draws near with the addition of radio & tv coverage.
Ultimately any safe,careful and conscientious motorist should not have any trouble with these new rules even if completely unaware of them,because for it to increase the danger for vulnerable road users means drivers are prepared to drive into other human beings simply because they think it’s their right to, which says far more about drivers attitudes on the road than it does the lack of an ad campaign.
The highway code is changing
The highway code is changing and cyclists get even more priority over drivers
The Telegraph may think that, but the police think it’s business as usual. This is Mokka WV16 JDK, and there has been no response from Lancashire Constabulary’s fabulous new OpSnap Lancs, which is just as crap and evil as the parent body
Garage at Large wrote:
We have known that all along.
Meanwhile, in London, a small
Meanwhile, in London, a small business owner articulates the issues around LTNs and how they are sacrificing ordinary working people to traffic fumes and destroying businesses. You can see his exchange with the Mayor of London (well I call it an exchange, Khan clearly just wanted to fob him off) at https://twitter.com/LBC/status/1480910068505845763.
As user “alixia” repied: “LTNs in Greenwich are awful. You can walk in the road on the expensive streets as they’ve been blocked off to cars. The less expensive streets however now have standstill traffic. Traffic is also funnelled thru the town centre, making it far less appealing to pedestrians/shoppers”
I think it’s high time to stop this walling off of upper class neighbourhoods. Return the streets to the people!
Anyone else seeing this?
Anyone else seeing this? Wondering if it might be a fault/feature of my browser.
On Chrome, it’s in your
On Chrome, it’s in your settings.
Go to: Settings > Autofill > Olfactory
and play with the settings
I’d pay actual money for that
I’d pay actual money for that feature
You’ve clearly not driven
You’ve clearly not driven through Greenwich very often. It’s had very slow moving traffic for decades. I used to commute that way via Peckham (when it wasn’t gentrified) by bicycle to where I worked in Woolwich. I’d regularly pass a colleague stuck in traffic in his car at New Cross, give him a wave, then be in the office about 30 minutes before him. Driving a car to the shops in Greenwich isn’t that clever as there aren’t many places to park. There haven’t been many places to park, oh since the 1980s.
Greenwich has been using some
Greenwich has been using some LTNs for years as well. Pretty sure Christo lives on one down that way.
And this one doesn’t look new. But lets rip them all out. Maybe bulldoze the last few houses in a cul-de- sac so it can be turned into a through road as well whilst we are at it.
And I do have to admit, having travelled through Greenwich with car and bike, I did wonder about the “driving to the shops” comment as well.
WTF was the driver of that
WTF was the driver of that red car doing in CyclingInASkirt’s clip? It looked like they intentionally waited until the last possible moment, when they knew for sure there’d be a conflict, before pulling out. But that can’t possibly be the case, surely, because that would be very very stupid…
(My money would be on ‘checking their phone’).
My money would be on checking
My money would be on checking for traffic, but either completely failing to see the cyclist or completely misjudging her speed.
“We see a lot of bike thefts,
“We see a lot of bike thefts, some more unique than others. This one certainly falls into the more unique category,…..”
You might like to look up the meaning of the word “unique” because it doesn’t mean what you seem to think it means. Try “unusual”.
Correct, there are no
Correct, there are no degrees of uniqueness !
Yep, it’s an absolute.
Yep, it’s an absolute. Something is either unique or isn’t.
RE: Dutch infra – here I
RE: Dutch infra – here I think:
W. A. Vultostraat Utrecht streetview
Typical 3rd rate Dutch so-called “infra”:
There’s barely 2m width of path on either side of a reasonably quiet street
Non-forgiving kerb on RHS at start (gasp!)
Worn surface – with obvious repair patches!
Some kind of metal cover / drain in middle at 0:27 – and at 0:50 (last actually does look unpleasantly bumpy).
A bus-stop bypass which is a trap for bus users – without a special little crossing marked HOW WILL THEY EVER CROSS THE DEADLY CYCLE PATH?!
A side road which is marked as a “motorists on side road give way to cyclists” where the red asphalt doesn’t continue across the road at 0:40.
Actually this does look rather tired. However I think Dutch cities have a concept of batching smaller fixes, updates and upgrades so when they need to do a bigger job everything gets done at once. I doubt that will or even could ever be imported over here. (aside from imaginary versions). Here it seems we let private utilities dig things up whenever and just hope they fix adequately, we keep patching over the potholes (if we’re lucky) and once in a lifetime resurface – but just renew the road carriageway tarmac and paint.
I wonder how much we have to
I wonder how much we have to thank mopeds for the great infrastructure in the Netherlands. They were permitted on much of the cycling network (including this path on W. A. Vultostraat), so must have been designed to cope with vehicles that can do 30mph.
This is changing though, I note from streetview, they are now banned from this particular street.
Having spent time on those
Having spent time on those bike paths when the mopeds were allowed, no, there’s no design for their speeds at all. As we’ve seen from the change removing the mopeds from bike paths, this was a mistake from the beginning.
Most Dutch will ride along at about 12mph, which is efficient as cyclists don’t get held up by lights much, the speed difference to the mopeds was always going to be a problem and they were widely loathed.
You’re right 30mph down this
You’re right 30mph down this street’s cycle path would be a bit of a stretch safety wise. So too in the congested areas where there are lots of bikes. I don’t disagree it’s safer and more pleasant not to have them in the cycle paths.
Maybe mopeds in cycle lanes is more of a hangover from the car dominated past of the Netherlands, banished from the road so as not to hold up cars, with little regard to the effect on cyclists?
HoarseMann wrote:
Again don’t know but think I read somewhere (BicycleDutch?) that part of the reason came from transport in the countryside e.g. ensuring those who didn’t have a car could cover longer distances between isolated places without having to mix with traffic going twice their speed. (That peculiar focus on safety first before speed / capacity? Not in the UK!)
Anyway it does seem a particular concern to some UK / US cyclists that “Dutch cycle infra is slow”. Which is true… if you’re in a congested city centre / cycling somewhere where there are lots of pedestrians. Just like it would in the UK. Or would be more if we didn’t prioritise space for lots of cars rushing between red lights.
Where you win in the Netherlands is their design philosophy / principles understand cycling so designs try to keep you moving – even if that’s sometimes not a velodrome speed. Usually at junctions you can *always* move through one direction without stopping at all. Dutch designs also make effort to avoid cyclists encountering traffic lights / conflicts with cars or pedestrians entirely (they even have a name for this idea). Where this can’t be avoided they have smarter lights and phases which in many cases prioritise cyclists. I think the concept of having a cycling network also gives you plenty of choice of route. Finally real longer distance fast cycle routes – not cycling superhypeways – exist and more are being built.
chrisonatrike wrote:
I like to think of it as enabling you to ride slow. For all the reasons you state, direct routing, no-stopping, avoiding gradients etc. It becomes a relaxed and enjoyable journey, rather than some Mad Max fight to stay alive, which commuting in the UK so often is!
HoarseMann wrote:
I don’t know but I suspect that they don’t have that much to do with the design, formerly or more recently. (You can look it up in their CROW guide if you’ve got the cash!) Some of these are cycle streets – so from a design perspective this is essentially changing the colour and markings of a normal road. Where these are tarmac covered (as opposed to some of the also excellent more recreational tracks [1] [2]) I’m sure they have standards to cater for smaller motor vehicles which will be used for regular maintenance (as here) or for crossing for more occasional access access or emergency. As for design speeds I’ve no idea but some non-motorised vehicles use them at higher speeds.
Well, it looks like the moped
Well, it looks like the moped might be an unsung hero of Dutch cycling infrastructure. Interesting article here:
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00225266211011935?icid=int.sj-abstract.citing-articles.1&
In short, car prioritisation in the 1950’s saw mopeds pushed off the road and onto existing cycle paths, but those paths then widened and improved to cope with the extra traffic. Dutch moped use of paths up to the 1970’s might be the reason they were given greater funding than in other countries, which saw cycle paths becoming neglected and ultimately removed.
Very interesting! I’ve not
Very interesting! I’ve not heard of this before, will have to have a (lengthy) read.
Certainly may have had an impact at that particular moment in time. To what extent it contributed to “where they are now” would be my first question e.g. without them would cycling have declined to a level which made it impossible to recover by the 70s? I think it was then that it rallied (or stopped declining).
To compare with the UK case – I’d say the 1930s UK cycle paths likely contributed nothing for us now. Partly because their whole original purpose was negative, to clear the roads for the motor vehicle. Mostly because cycling ceased to play any significant part of our normal transport choices. (Slight exaggeration but it has remained a tiny niche until very recently and is still at minor levels despite all the words).
It does seem that both then and now many Dutch cyclists hated riding around motor scooters. This may slightly irrational on safety grounds although people could certainly object to the noise / startle factor.
Yep, I’d not considered it
Yep, I’d not considered it before. Your comment got me thinking about it!
It’s an interesting angle, that despite their nuisance to cyclists, they may have played a part in the renaisannce of Dutch cycling.