Ford becomes title sponsor of RideLondon – and cyclists aren’t happy; Santos Tour Down Under protest: Extinction Rebellion pensioners arrested for gluing themselves to pile of bikes; UK’s most flooded cycleways; Pinot set to retire + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Tom Pidcock: Cyclocross world champion, Olympic gold medallist, Tour de France stage winner, and… Dino Boy
From accusations of greenwashing and important questions about the future of the planet to… well, Tom Pidcock wearing a dinosaur-themed helmet while training in Mallorca:
Partner in crime: “Suit up, it’s a classy event we’re going to.”
Me: “…” pic.twitter.com/pkNm6WXhO8
— Domestique (@Domestique___) January 11, 2023
Never say you don’t get variety on the live blog…
Or maybe Pidcock was actually trying out an alternative punk version of the as-yet-unreleased Kask Elemento that tech editor Mat has been banging on about all week?
Come on, show us your numbers Valtteri…
Cycling world wants data 👀 https://t.co/oAwTVgoxdb
— Thomas Maheux 🐼 (@ThomasMaheux) January 11, 2023
See, Netflix was right – cycling really is the new Formula 1.
Hopefully all that training with his partner, Canyon-Sram’s Tiffany Cromwell, as well as a certain Texan, paid off for Bottas during his annual trip to the lab…
Dating advice from Wout van Aert’s Strava
Ah Wout, isn’t it just 😁 pic.twitter.com/hfnYnbml3q
— Katy M (@writebikerepeat) January 12, 2023
Or maybe he’s just a big Motorhead fan…
“Ford is serious about preserving the planet”: Car giant responds to criticism of RideLondon deal
It looks like it’s going to be a busy day for Ford UK’s social media team, who are already on the case, dealing with angry cyclists and active travel campaigners critical of the car company’s deal with RideLondon:
Message 1 of 2: This partnership is a landmark day for RideLondon and its ambition to build active travel into everyday life. Ford is serious about reducing carbon emissions and preserving the planet for future generations and is taking dramatic steps in order to do so. ^Mary
— Ford UK (@forduk) January 12, 2023
Ford announced in 2022 its commitment to encouraging car users to choose active travel for shorter journeys through its Park the Car initiative and we were proud to work to amplify this initiative when Ford became a presenting partner of RideLondon in May 2022.^Mary
— Ford UK (@forduk) January 12, 2023
Of course, I think it might take more than a pre-drafted tweet to appease everyone:
What are those dramatic steps?
— Aldrin Pelicano (@aldrinpelicano) January 12, 2023
Are you encouraging Londoner’s to make all journeys in the city by active travel and public transport and to get rid of their cars?
— noblecyclist (@noblecyclist) January 12, 2023
How many bikes you sell a year?
— Zach MacGilchrist (@zmacgilchrist) January 12, 2023
“This doesn’t work as an active travel route whilst underwater”: Is this Britain’s most flooded cycleway?
With the most prestigious and hotly-anticipated awards of the cycling calendar set to be announced next week (more on those later), road.cc reader Bob got in touch to recommend – see what I did there? – that we launch an altogether different kind of cycling-themed contest.
“Can we have a competition for most flooded cycleway?” Bob asked, before submitting his own entry from Dunham Massey in Trafford, Greater Manchester, where three sections of the Trans Pennine Trail currently more resemble something you’d find Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse filming beside than they do a National Cycle Network route.
“The third section is more like a river where the water flows from the embankment beside the gas works.” Bob told us. “The first two sections are blamed on blocked drains.
“I do report to the council every year, more in hope than expectation. Obviously, this doesn’t work as an active travel route whilst underwater, and unfortunately the only alternative by bike involves an A road and a B Road.”
Is this Britain’s most flooded cycleway? Or do you reckon you could trump it with your own underwater commute?
Bob thinks he has another contender on his hands near Stretford, so watch this space…
“Great news for Ford, terrible for everyone else”: More reaction to THAT “absurd” RideLondon-Ford deal, as cyclists threaten to boycott event
The backlash against RideLondon’s sponsorship deal with Ford continues (and will probably continue for a while), with several of the event’s former participants taking to Twitter this lunchtime to declare that they’re “never taking part again” while the car giant remains as title sponsor.
Here’s a selection of some of those, shall we say, less than supportive thoughts and comments popping up on social media today:
Incredibly disappointing to read a car manufacturer sponsoring this cycle event again. I don’t think this will be something I, as an active travel campaigner, will support any longer. We need fewer cars and fewer car journeys, not green washing.
— Kylie 🚲 (@netwench) January 12, 2023
Last year I marshalled a ride with lots of families from Hackney to the #FreeCycle ride. I removed the prolific car manufacturing advertising from my post.
Every 16 minutes someone is killed or seriously injured on UK roads.https://t.co/4WEGmATmZ9— Kylie 🚲 (@netwench) January 12, 2023
I’m never taking part again while there is a motor vehicle sponsor. Very disappointed @willnorman. https://t.co/fJj226KxsQ pic.twitter.com/rnTEHIZjbX
— The Ranty Highwayman (@RantyHighwayman) January 12, 2023
Oh look. Some more #greenwash. Another reason not to bother with that ride again (which I’d already decided anyhow based on it being a really boring route). The inevitable throes and spasms at the end of the fossil fuel era. https://t.co/BM2UM1vioA
— Prestwich Pootler 🌱 🚲 🌍 ❄️ 🇪🇺 (@pootlers) January 12, 2023
£100 to ride around London at an event sponsored by a fossil fuel-burning car company… er, no. pic.twitter.com/0qFFBt5LF7
— brixton hatter (@BrixtonHatter) January 12, 2023
An absurd decision to have a car company sponsoring a cycle event; it shows a lack of holistic thinking by the ride organisers. It’s great news for Ford managing their brand amongst climate conscious audiences. Terrible for everyone else. https://t.co/f7HxhH5hSf
— Robbie Gillett (@RobbieGillett) January 12, 2023
I am taking a VERY dim view of this decision. 🧐 London Walking and Cycling Commissioner @willnorman must have a better idea than most people of WHY fossil fuel and car companies target CYCLING events so hard with sponsorship, and really should not enable this greenwash.🤬 https://t.co/mbXWCDERYY
— Sian Berry (@sianberry) January 12, 2023
The Ford Wildtrak Ranger is 5.5 metres in length, 1.85 metres in height, and 1.6 metres wide.
Unloaded, it weighs 2.2 tonnes.
The company that markets trucks that are 50% more likely to kill your kids as the average car now sponsor @RideLondon.
Laughable. https://t.co/iDJrX4PHlS pic.twitter.com/GQHq6fXUb4
— Jon Burke FRSA 🌍 (@jonburkeUK) January 12, 2023
The same Ford that makes these tanks?https://t.co/cdDzyJwwfP pic.twitter.com/uQ0OAmdCEz
— James Penson (@JamesPenson5) January 12, 2023
And finally, an obligatory reference to Shell…
It can be worse, the cycling national governing body could be sponsored by an oil company! Oh wait…
— Cycling Matt (@Cycling__Matt) January 12, 2023
“There is a myth circulating amongst cyclists…”
“there is a myth circulating amongst cyclists now that they should ride in the middle of the road – when in fact the Highway Code says you should only do that if it is safer to do so. It’s not safe to do that when a car needs to pass you on a narrow road…”
— Stupid shit people say on Facebook about cycling (@AntiCyclingFB) January 12, 2023
“I didn’t dope, my biological passport is clean”: Miguel Ángel López breaks silence over Astana sacking
Grand tour stage winner Miguel Ángel López is adamant that he’s clean – and that he’s got the biological passport to prove it – despite his sacking by Astana-Qazaqstan for his alleged links to a doping investigation in Spain.
Speaking to Colombian cycling outlet ADN, the 28-year-old, who was unveiled by third-tier squad Medellín earlier this week, continued to deny any association with the alleged doping doctor Marcos Maynar, and said that he hopes to return to the WorldTour once his stint back home – away from the intense glare of the European racing scene – is finished.
“It’s a new experience, I’m motivated, I’m looking forward to a new season with beautiful experiences,” he said. “It’s a bit different to what I expected [for 2023], but I’m sure I’ll feel the support of the supporters here. This is the best team here in Colombia.”
> Miguel Ángel López drops down to third tier after Astana sacking
López, who was initially suspended by Astana last summer when his name popped up as part of the Spanish police’s Operation Ilex anti-doping investigation, before his contract was abruptly terminated last month, says his move to Medellín was “something nice after what happened, and sometimes you have to take a small step back to take a major leap forward”.
Reflecting on his turbulent 2022, the mercurial climber continued: “There hadn’t been a problem, things moved forward and we were looking forward to 2023 without any concerns.
“It [the initial suspension] had just been a bad moment that happened, a misunderstanding. I have nothing to repent about because I’m not doped, my biological passport is clean.
“Then from one moment to another it was as the ground had gone from underneath me. It was very hard, suddenly I found had no team, it was December 15th, almost Christmas.
“With the support of my friends and family I could get through. The key thing is there are no issues, so I decided I’d have to race in a non-WorldTour team and hope things go back to normal.”
Estamos encantados de hacer oficial la vinculación de @SupermanlopezN al equipo para la presente temporada. Qué orgullo que vistas nuestros colores y representes a Medellín por Colombia y el mundo.
Bienvenido campeón, MEDELLÍN será siempre tu casa 🔝 pic.twitter.com/4LwQdoIJuP
— Team Medellín EPM (@team_medellin) January 8, 2023
The Tour de France stage winner also praised his new teammate, 46-year-old Óscar Sevilla – whose own career in cycling’s top flight ended after he was sacked by T-Mobile in 2006 thanks to his involvement with Operation Puerto doctor Eufemiano Fuentes – for “telling me I had to keep my head high and not to let the little things get to you. He’s one of the best riders in Colombian cycling, I’m proud to be racing with him.”
He concluded: “For me these have been various complicated years. Movistar [in 2021] wasn’t great for me either, so neither 2021 and 2022 have been easy and staying focused has been hard.
“But I’m 28, going on 29, so I can still see myself doing battle in the World Tour. Nobody’s perfect, everybody makes mistakes, so you have to get over them, keep going and move on.”
I wish they’d come up with a snappier title…
UNTITLED TOUR DE FRANCE DOCUSERIES (2023)
From the producers of Drive to Survive, this series will chart the ups and downs (literally, ⛰) of eight of the teams, following their cyclists over the gruelling three-week tour. Très bon. pic.twitter.com/YyciA4ebfX
— Netflix UK & Ireland (@NetflixUK) January 12, 2023
> Netflix Tour de France documentary could take sport “to next level”, says Patrick Lefevere
The countdown to the road.cc Recommends awards begins
It’s the most wonderful time of the year…
Yep, that’s right, Monday marks the start of our prestigious end-of-year (yes it’s January, but you know what I mean) road.cc Recommends awards.
> Starting next week: road.cc Recommends awards 2022/23
Throughout next two and a half weeks, we’ll be revealing the best bikes, components, accessories, and clothing that made into the tech team’s grubby little hands during 2022 – and, according to tech editor Mat, there are going to be a few surprises.
I can’t wait…
And, just to whet your appetite, here are the winners in the road bike category from last year’s awards ceremony/YouTube video:
Thibaut Pinot announces he will retire from cycling at the end of 2023
À l’issue de la saison 2023, Thibaut Pinot mettra un terme à sa carrière après 14 années professionnelles. pic.twitter.com/LgsRPvNXd0
— Équipe Cycliste Groupama-FDJ (@GroupamaFDJ) January 12, 2023
It’s a sad day for lovers of goats, panache, and tearful exits from grand tours, as Thibaut Pinot has announced that he will retire from professional cycling at the end of this season.
The 32-year-old, who has won six grand tour stages, Il Lombardia, and finished on the podium of the Tour de France (a race he came agonisingly close to winning in 2019) during his 13-year professional career, told L’Équipe today that he is “ready for real life”.
2023, profiter, tout donner pour ne rien regretter.@groupamafdj @groupama @fdj pic.twitter.com/0RqZqjtPvi
— PINOT Thibaut (@ThibautPinot) January 12, 2023
I’m not crying, you’re crying…
By announcing his retirement early, the popular Groupama-FDJ rider says he can ride every race “knowing that it is the last time, before I go to bury myself in my hole”.
Speaking of which, Il Lombardia, the Italian monument he won with an impressive solo attack in 2018, will mark Pinot’s last race in the pro peloton, while he is also scheduled to head to Italy for the Giro, the scene of another of the Frenchman’s devastating late abandons while in a strong GC position.
And surely – surely – there will be one last crack at the Tour in July. Come on Thibaut, do it for all the romantics out there…
“In defence of Ford” and other comments about greenwashing
While Ford’s deal with RideLondon has sparked something of a backlash against both the company and the event online, today’s live blog comments section is – perhaps surprisingly – rather more balanced in its appraisal of the arrangement.
road.cc reader Legin, for example, wrote “in defence of Ford Motor Company”, pointing out that “most cyclists also drive cars; motor manufacturers are long term sponsors of cycling; historically they have been the largest private employer in Essex; they have their own cycling club for employees; and prior to Covid restrictions they allowed use of the facilities at the Dunton Test Centre for go-ride racing and coaching.”
Similarly, Off the back asked “if these people who are protesting also refuse to watch any pro cycling? AG2R Citroën, Team TotalEnergies, Team Ineos. Car and petrochemical companies sponsor cycling all the time.”
“It’s all so tedious,” says PRSboy. “Cycling is not a ‘movement’. I do it because I enjoy it, others do it to get around. On longer journeys I take my car because it’s cheaper and more reliable than public transport.
“We are not going to make the energy transition without the incumbent companies’ involvement, and it’s naive to think they can change on a sixpence. Until then, it’s surely better to engage and hold them to account to their promises rather than shunning for eternity.”
Meanwhile, a few of our readers disagreed over Extinction Rebellion’s methods down under.
“I’m all for protest, but honestly I think my wokeness stops at environmental protestors targeting cycling events,” says espressodan.
“Yes, sportswashing is a thing, yes, stage races are hardly low emission events, but for goodness sake, choose your enemy. Literally everything else you could possibly target isn’t something that at its roots is an emissions free transport machine.”
MattieKempy relied: “At first glance, yes, maybe, but then when you consider the environmental impact of cycling events on that scale, it’s a bit more obvious.
“Consider the flights to get the 20-ish teams (140+ riders) and staff (probably more than 250), their bikes and kit to Australia, then factor in the carbon emissions of the race convoys, the spectator journeys to and from the stages, the plastic sh1t thrown at people by the caravan (if it’s anything like the Tour de France), then multiply that by every WorldTour event, which I believe is approximately 40 events, the cause for a protest becomes much more evident.
“Cycling as a pursuit is quite environmentally friendly; cycling as an elite sport and business is definitely not!”
Two Extinction Rebellion pensioners arrested after gluing themselves to oil-covered pile of bikes in Santos Tour Down Under protest
Two women in their 60s have been arrested after gluing themselves to a pile of bikes on an Adelaide street, in what appears to be the first wave of Extinction Rebellion’s plan to disrupt the upcoming return of the Tour Down Under – and, more specifically, to highlight the apparent ‘greenwashing’ activities of its main sponsor, Santos.
The two women, aged 67 and 68 and dressed in cycling clothing, were charged by police with unreasonably obstructing the path of a driver or pedestrian after blocking a lane outside oil and gas producer Santos’ HQ for half an hour, ABC reports.
The protesters also covered themselves and the bikes in fake oil, which symbolically led to the front door of Santos’ building.
💥 BREAKING 💥
Rebels have glued themselves to a pile of bicycles chained together outside Santos HQ. A trail of fake oil has been poured from the building over the bicycle stack and onto rebels.
Fossil fuels are the new big tobacco. We want them dumped from the #TourDownUnder. pic.twitter.com/7W1qwwe5NF
— Extinction Rebellion Australia (@XRebellionAus) January 12, 2023
Today’s protest is the first of what the South Australia branch of Extinction Rebellion hopes will be a series of disruptions to the Tour Down Under, which returns to the international cycling calendar this weekend after a three-year Covid-related absence.
Last year, the group targeted the race’s little brother, the Santos Festival of Cycling, to protest a company which they believe is “driving global emissions to tipping points from which there is no return.”
> Extinction Rebellion to target Santos Festival of Cycling
Gas and oil producer Santos, which has sponsored the Tour Down Under since 2010, is one of Australia’s worst greenhouse gas emitting companies. Its status as the race’s naming rights sponsor has long been viewed as one of cycling’s most egregious forms of ‘greenwashing’ (which is saying something at the moment).
The bunch rides through an area ravaged by bushfires during the most recent Tour Down Under in 2020 (Zac Williams/SWpix.com)
However, when asked by Procycling magazine in late 2021 about the race’s relationship with Santos and its environmental impact, Events South Australia executive director Hitaf Rasheed said: “While none of our sponsors have any direct involvement in the organisation or running of [the Tour Down Under], we value these partnerships as they allow the race to continue to grow and elevate the event to a world-class offering.”
Extinction Rebellion protestors have glued themselves to bikes outside the Santos building ahead of the Tour Down Under, while holding signs with the message “your gas is killing us”.
The eastbound lane along Flinders Street was blocked off during the demonstration. #9News pic.twitter.com/FsjhZ07Pya
— 9News Adelaide (@9NewsAdel) January 12, 2023
While insisting that they are not against cycling or bike races – just the companies seeking to profit or launder their image from them – Extinction Rebellion’s South Australian spokesman, Chris Johnson, said that the Australian government should be taxing companies like Santos more, rather than striking sponsorship deals with them.
“I think people are smart enough to understand that we are targeting Santos at this race, and if we’re there with a presence and we have banners that say ‘dump Santos’ or ‘disrupt Santos’, then it’s pretty clear that we’re targeting Santos,” he said.
On the other hand, South Australia’s tourism minister Zoe Bettison described plans to disrupt the Tour Down Under (a race that ventured through areas decimated by bushfires during its most recent edition in 2020) as “galling”, and claimed that Santos was committed to achieving net zero emissions.
The 2020 Tour Down Under peloton passes a house destroyed by bush fires (Zac Williams/SWpix.com)
“I think people are free to share their concerns; the disruption is what is outraging me,” she said.
“We’ve seen them hold up traffic before, we’ve seen them protest this way, but why are you going to do this at an event that is such an important event for South Australia?”
Maybe the tourism minister is just a massive Chris Froome fan…
“The whole point is to get people out of cars, not promote them”: Ford becomes title sponsor of RideLondon – and cyclists aren’t happy
So, it looks like the spectre of greenwashing will continue to hover over the cycling world today, whether it’s on the streets of Adelaide or the roads of Essex, as London Marathon Events, the organisers of RideLondon, announced this morning that one of the world’s biggest car manufacturers, Ford, has become the event’s title sponsor.
Last May, you may remember, Ford joined up with RideLondon as its ‘presenting partner’, which the American motor company said would help push its ‘Park the Car’ initiative, encouraging people to ditch the car and cycle or walk if the journey is under three miles.
> RideLondon announces… one of the world’s biggest car manufacturers as presenting partner
And with RideLondon making a huge loss last year – the first time that the event was held since the dawn of the Covid pandemic, and the first in partnership with Essex County Council after moving from its former home in Surrey – thanks to the absence of a major sponsor, the car giant has now stepped up to front the three-day event, as well as becoming its official electric vehicle supplier.
The undisclosed three-year deal gives Ford the naming rights to all three of the RideLondon Essex sportive events (the routes of which were announced last month), the RideLondon FreeCycle through eight miles of closed roads in the capital, and the RideLondon Classique, a three-stage UCI Women’s WorldTour race, won last year by Lorena Wiebes.
> Route for RideLondon-Essex 2023 sportive confirmed
Unsurprisingly, the words ‘active travel’ featured heavily in RideLondon’s announcement with Ford this morning.
“This is a landmark day in the history of RideLondon as Ford becomes the title partner of the world’s greatest festival of cycling,” said Hugh Brasher, the Event Director of organisers London Marathon Events.
“We worked closely with Ford last year to amplify their work in promoting active travel and Ford’s innovative Park the Car initiative, which encourages car users to cycle or walk rather than drive short journeys. We look forward to building on our very successful partnership to build active travel into everyday life.”
🚨 Big News! @forduk has become the title partner and official electric vehicle supplier of RideLondon!
Read more about the partnership here: https://t.co/ttMfkqFdFO#RideLondon #WeRide
— Ford RideLondon (@RideLondon) January 12, 2023
Lisa Brankin, Ford’s Managing Director in Britain and Ireland, added: “Partnering with RideLondon, the world’s greatest festival of cycling, is a clear way for us to connect with a wider audience and share the countless benefits of cycling and walking.
“It’s also a fantastic opportunity for us further support both our Park The Car initiative, promoting smart choices around which mode of transport to use, especially for short distances, and also raise awareness of Ford zero-emission vehicles.”
RideLondon FreeCycle (Transport for London)
Meanwhile, London’s cycling and walking commissioner Will Norman was as equally effusive, saying: “We need to reduce the number of car journeys taking place by supporting people to switch to active travel options like walking and cycling, and the car journeys that do happen need to be cleaner.
“This way we can not only tackle the challenges of air pollution, the climate emergency and congestion, but also help to build a safer, greener and healthier London for everyone.
“RideLondon is a brilliant event which will inspire people to take advantage of an environmentally friendly, cost-effective and fun way of getting around. With Ford’s support we can now continue to deliver this world-class event and encourage even more people to cycle around our city.”
However, over on social media, not everyone was as impressed with Ford jumping on the cycling bandwagon.
Well this is hugely disappointing. @luton_paul I know I said I’d be a marshal for our feeder ride for Freecycle, but I’m really not sure I can support this event, now it is sponsored by a car manufacturer.
— Charlotte Baker (@charlie_baker23) January 12, 2023
“This is a terrible, terrible decision by RideLondon that goes against everything the cycling movement stands for,” wrote active travel advocate Charlotte Baker.
“The whole point is to get people *out* of cars. Not promote them.”
“A multinational motor vehicle manufacturer sponsoring a pedal cycle event. Irony, as they say, is dead,” writes Paul.
While others linked the sponsorship to Shell’s controversial deal with British Cycling:
Ford. The car manufacturer sponsoring a bike ride? A bit like @Shell_UKLtd sponsoring @BritishCycling Toxic Greenwash! pic.twitter.com/cQeJUVAnTN
— Olivia M Ⓥ (@OliviaMLondon) January 12, 2023
People may want to forget the testosterone-fuelled greenwash of a car manufacturer sponsoring a competitive cycle event and join the simple free grassroots and uncompromised fun of @KidicalMassLond instead. March 12th this time with help from @cities_clean
— Rich (@hoxtonrich) January 12, 2023
Others, however, appear more willing to give Ford the benefit of the doubt:
They’re obviously still making lots of SUVs – and they’re highly dependent on sales of the F150 pick-up in the US. But they’re better on this stuff than GM or Stellantis.
— Robert Wright (@RKWinvisibleman) January 12, 2023
I’m a cyclist but not part of a “movement”. It’s a choice I make, as it is to drive too. Surely having a progressive car company putting money into cycling is a good thing. What about the companies that sponsor TdF etc
— Michael Snasdell (@MichaelSnasdell) January 12, 2023
No the point is to have a bike ride. It’s nothing to do with being “a movement”. If Ford want to part with their money then good luck to them. Most people who want better cycle infrastructure drive as well.
— MattinWoolwich (@MattWWoolwich) January 12, 2023
What do you think? Is Ford’s sponsorship of RideLondon the antithesis of what cycling should represent? Or is it just money at the end of the day? Let us know in the comments…
12 January 2023, 09:49
12 January 2023, 09:49
12 January 2023, 09:49
A live blog hero and a BMX legend pop up on the podcast this week…
“Criminal mischief”: The cyclist on a mission to un-deface bad drivers’ number plates, plus BMX legend Ken Floyde on the road.cc Podcast
The road.cc podcast is back for 2023, and we've got two special and fascinating guests
12 January 2023, 09:49
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Latest Comments
I'm glad I had my trousers on. If I hadn't I might have been arrested.
Who was responsible for organising the prizes on Bullseye? Tonight's star prize was a luxury fitted kitchen. How are you supposed to split that between two contestants? Absolutely ridiculous.
Oh sir! sir! Johnnys riding his bike without a helmet, he’s going to die when he falls off!, Yes what a silly boy he is ! Anyway jump in the car we’re going to be late for school and I hope no one gets in my way especially bleeding cyclists!! I wonder if AI will see what fools we are..
It's more about the nomex suit, car helmet and five point harnesses (with HANS), but "reply" ain't what it used to be...
'Gotten' ? The word is 'become', as in, I have become sick of seeing 'gotten'.
OK, all the stuff I said elsewhere on this thread in defence of helmets, I take it all back. I'd sooner be seen as an anti-lidder than be associated with that heap of steaming ordure.
Exactly my thoughts. A real shame, they're amazing bikes, same as Islabikes. Really sad to hear the news. Having said that, we probably didn't do enough to help them. My son had one Islabike and two Frogs, all second hand that we resold for about the same amount.
I couldn't agree more, and when we have all that everywhere I might think about leaving off the helmet, but until then if I have to share the road with huge fast-moving chunks of metal, many of them piloted by persons of limited intelligence and even less self control, I'm going to keep the lid, which even Burt agrees can "probably" offer some protection from injury.
And the irony is that helmet promotion and mandation kills lots of people and they don't reduce the death rate of cyclists. The benefits of cycling vastly outweigh the risks, and helmet promotion and mandation deter cycling (the only proven effect) so those deterred lose those benefits and die earlier.
I see Mont Pythons upper class twits have been replaced by male anti helmet twits who probably ride under 10000 km/year while wearing bike gloves, ladies bib capris, power meters to register the watts they dont produce ,gps because they are easily lost on a tiny island, a mobile phone to call the wifey in case the ride gets too hilly or wet or fast or windy, all while complaining their tushy hurts. They always ask for proof..you could crash a few times on purpose without and with a helmet and send us the pictures. Do pros complain about helmets?..if you rode in a country with sun you would know that styrofoam actually keeps your head cool.. Ps ice hockey players say they dont need mouthguards..ask them to smile
58 thoughts on “Ford becomes title sponsor of RideLondon – and cyclists aren’t happy; Santos Tour Down Under protest: Extinction Rebellion pensioners arrested for gluing themselves to pile of bikes; UK’s most flooded cycleways; Pinot set to retire + more on the live blog”
Two 60 odd year old ladies
Two 60 odd year old ladies dressed in lycra glue themselves to a pile of bikes outside of a corporate company… and all I can think of is that I’m pleased that bike racing is about to start again.
I do feel like this ExR lot could go about things in a much better manner. It appears to me that their ‘protest ideas’ could be significantly better thought out.
I mean if you want to ‘target’ Santos with a big PR stunt then why not target their investors, their AGM, or their offices the day they announce their fiscal results, any press events they hold, their social media presence… there are a hundred different ways to get the media’s attention.
Their protest idea has got it
Their protest idea has got it reported on road.cc and talked about in the comments.
It seems kind of effective
It works.. but I still think
It works.. but I still think there’s a better way.
“I do feel like this ExR lot
Or in other words:
“They should protest in a way that I think they’ve not thought of before, but they actually have been doing for decades and no-one paid any attention”
Is there an actual law which
Is there an actual law which covers “not driving your car through floods in such a way as to soak any passing cyclists or pedestrians”?
Far too many people on my way in this morning seemed to see the car in front go through a huge flood and create the Great Wave, but rather than slow down or move out, they just follow them through. And again. And again.
Since I didn’t particularly want to be (more) soaked to the skin, I waited to see how long it would take for oncoming traffic to notice the flood and take some sort of avoidance/action.
The answer was ‘ten cars’: ten cars were driven through at speed while I waited with arms folded, before someone showed some f-ing consideration for other road users and slowed right down before going through the flood.
brooksby wrote:
Yes, it comes under “driving without reasonable consideration for other persons” under Section 3 of the RTA 1988 and can be punished with 3 points and a £100 fine, or if the driving “amounts to a clear act of incompetence, selfishness, impatience, and aggressiveness” up to £5000 fine. The offending motorist can also be ordered by the court to pay the costs of cleaning, repairing and/or replacing clothing and property damaged by their actions.
can be punished with 3 points
can be punished with 3 points and a £100 fine
But it won’t be, in Lancashire at least. It was pre-camera days, but the police ‘had a word with the driver’ after I was treated to a super-soaker. I anticipate drivers doing this these days.
My mum failed her first test
My mum failed her first test for that.
She failed her second test for driving through a red light.
She gave up after that.
Presumably also assualt and
Presumably also assualt and various around anti-social behaviour.
At some point the ‘cycling
At some point the ‘cycling community’ is going to have to decide whether it wants the sport and events to continue at their current size with controversial sponsors or to downscale and become a niche sport/activity on a much smaller scale.
There simply aren’t the sponsors that are ethically/environmentally ‘fully clean’ ready and waiting to pour money into the sport so there’s the choice, accept the money or accept that the sport can’t exist in its current form without it!
Is there a reason the main
Is there a reason the main story about the Death by “close pass lorry driver” has it’s comments closed. As far as I can tell, the court has accepted the guilty plea and it is only pre-sentencing hearing. Does that still come under the “no-comment” rules?
Ride London and Ford: If you
Ride London and Ford: If you are not happy about it … don’t do the event.
Especially if you have to pay for it.
So I googled “Park the Car”.
So I googled “Park the Car”. The only thing I got was Fords original press release from May last year:
https://www.ford.co.uk/experience-ford/news/new-initiative-park-the-car
So the “Park the Car” initiative seems to be a means of persuading people that are are likely to be supporters of active travel for short journeys that Ford are doing their bit to persuade others to do the same by presumably sponsoring events attended by people using active travel. This really is greenwashing at it’s worst.
IanMK wrote:
I’d never heard of it til today…in the context of them maybe not being the best possible sponsor…
I’m all for protest, but
I’m all for protest, but honestly I think my wokeness stops at environmental protestors targetting cycling events.
Yes, sports washing is a thing, yes stage races are hardly low emission events, but for goodness sake, choose your enemy.
Literally everything else you could possibly target isn’t something that at its roots is an emissions free transport machine.
At first glance, yes, maybe,
At first glance, yes, maybe, but then when you consider the environmental impact of cycling events on that scale, it’s a bit more obvious.
Consider the flights to get the 20-ish teams (140+ riders) and staff (probably more than 250), their bikes and kit to Australia, then factor in the carbon emissions of the race convoys, the spectator journeys to and from the stages, the plastic sh1t thrown at people by the caravan (if it’s anything like the Tour de France), then multiply that by every WorldTour event, which I believe is approximately 40 events, the cause for a protest becomes much more evident.
Cycling as a pursuit is quite environmentally friendly; cycling as an elite sport and business is definitely not!
What elite sports are?
What elite sports are?
Asking for a friend
On the XR vs Tour Down Under
On the XR vs Tour Down Under story:
The article states that:
“The two women, aged 67 and 68 and dressed in cycling clothing, were charged by police with unreasonably obstructing the path of a driver or pedestrian after blocking a lane outside oil and gas producer Santos’ HQ for half an hour.”
Which actually means the police charged them with Unreasonably Trying To Point Out That We Need To Do Something Drastic In Order To Save Ourselves.
More power to the collective elbows of Extinction Rebellion, Just Stop Oil and the like.
The ads on the telly never
The ads on the telly never show this for car usage
https://twitter.com/ryan_stait/status/1613470616492851200
Clevedon has come up a few
Clevedon has come up a few times recently.
It’s a feature not a bug !
hirsute wrote:
That’s hilarious. And awful.
The “design feature to reduce speed” is just to the right of it, though the speed limit would be more effective if they narrowed the carriageway and put in some traffic calming measures.
I can the first time you
I can the first time you drove there you’d slow down but after that …
I thought it was going to be fully segregated. Looks like you can park in it anyway.
hirsute wrote:
You think people would park in the cycle lane? But it’s projected by that totally impenetrable line of white paint! Surely not?!
Haha. More thinking about
Haha. More thinking about this strange anomaly around when the cycle lane was built. Apparently the traffic signs regs are subject to a cock up and it would not be illegal to park in it (I don’t claim to understand the ins and outs of this).
Chrisonatrike did post the link to a good explanation recently. Hopefully they will see this and repost it
It was Cycling UK wot broke
It was Cycling UK wot broke the story :
https://www.cyclinguk.org/blog/underhand-law-change-undermines-mandatory-cycle-lanes
And Scotland didn’t bother to fix:
https://www.cyclinguk.org/press-release/scotland-passes-opportunity-close-cycle-lane-parking-loophole
(You can he/him me too or indeed whatever you like, it’s the internet. I think we could use a snappy analogue of French tutoyer / vouvoyer maybe? I’m still catching up with this and doubtless there are some here who are already vomiting or sneering. Bad luck them if this sticks around say I, language and culture changes …)
Thanks. That one made sense
Thanks. That one made sense or though maybe when you have read 3 or 4 similar things, it begins to sink in !
Don’t mock! Like a pentacle
Don’t mock! Like a pentacle the line keeps the
demonsdrivers confined safely on one side OH NO! YOU LEFT A GAP FOR THEM TO ESCAPE! (at every bus stop, side road, junction, because we have to have a bit of parking here, because we’ve reached the end of the scheme, because cyclists only need “encouragement” with protection in 200 metre chunks …)ShutTheFrontDawes wrote:
And in the summer, the people who aren’t parking in the cycle lane will be walking in it.
hirsute wrote:
I think the original CGI did show it as ‘properly’ segregated, with a kerb. No great surprise that that feature didn’t make it through into reality…
Is that the article where a motorcyclist complained that the wiggly line would make it very difficult for him to get past? Not sure how wide his motorbike is…
This Ford sponsorship wouldn
This Ford sponsorship wouldn’t happen to ensure there is plenty of dosh to stick into Hugh Brasher’s pocket by any chance?
I wonder if these people who
I wonder if these people who are protesting also refuse to watch any pro cycling? AG2R CITROEN, Team Totalenergies, Team Ineos. Car and petrochemical companies sponsor cycling all the time.
Car and petrochemical
Car and petrochemical companies sponsor cycling all the time.
That doesn’t mean it’s a good thing.
And are people now banned from watching pro-cycling if they have an opinion about Ineos and whether it is an ethical company, or one that is actively contributing to the destruction of our habitable climate?
IanMSpencer wrote:
Speaking as a Finisher of several RideLondon Surrey 100’s and last year’s Essex 100, I see a consistent reduction in the quality of the route, facilities and experience. Hard to say if money was the only consideration but I didn’t think it worth getting a place this year..
Has Sir Brad commented on the
Has Sir Brad commented on the XR protest yet? It’s always good to hear his considered input.
Its all so tedious. Cycling
Its all so tedious. Cycling is not a ‘movement’. I do it because I enjoy it, others do it to get around. On longer journeys I take my car because its cheaper and more reliable than public transport.
We are not going to make the energy transition without the incumbent companies’ involvement, and its naive to think they can change on a sixpence. Until then, its surely better to engage and hold them to account to their promises rather than shunning for eternity.
Motor vehicles are the main
Motor vehicles are the main deterrent to cycling, so it’s not a good fit.
I don’t buy the argument that it’s better to engage/hold companies to account. It tends to be an excuse for accepting the status quo. It wasn’t engaging with South Africa that brought apartheid to an end.
Flooded cycleways?
Flooded cycleways?
https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/gallery/flooded-bristol-subway-sees-cyclist-7994295
Lawrence Hill Lido
Lawrence Hill Lido https://www.reddit.com/r/bristol/comments/109xvyj/the_lawrence_hill_lido/
BristolPost have an update on the Lido and it’s due to be fixed at the end of the month: https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/lawrence-hill-underpasses-flood-yet-8024265
It’s interesting that Lawrence Hill and Barton Hill have low levels of car ownership/availability – approx 50%.
Quote:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jan/12/baby-killed-car-parents-road-deaths-louis-thorold-foundation
(this was the case with the ‘undiagnosed dementia’ which meant that the woman who drove over the mother and baby was found not guilty by insanity).
brooksby wrote:
I think that referring to incidents as “road deaths” is missing the point – they’re “deaths by driver”
I’ll repeat my idea to deal with undiagnosed dementia (along with other conditions) – install black box devices that measure acceleration/deceleration statistics and assign a “smoothness” score that should correlate with competent driving. If someone’s score starts to decline, then get them in for a health check as they’re probably unaware that their reactions/vision/awareness is declining.
In defence of Ford Motor
In defence of Ford Motor Company:
I just realised that, between
I just realised that, between the spectacularising news coverage and the corporate woke-washing, cycling has become the new LGBTQI+.
Hopefully we redirect some flak and they see some benefit from all this.
Yeah … at least some
Yeah … at least some cycling sport organisations never managed to trigger everyone on that issue … doh!
Maybe we should just keep on riding? Quietly make your other car a bike, help fix someone’s ride (if they ask), that kind of thing. Give the bastards a smile. Aside from shouting the odds here a bit, I like that one.
Car Delenda Est wrote:
Except that people using bicycles are Not a protected minority, rathe the responsible government department does nothing at all to regulate the mainstream media or internet from their anti-cycle bias that puts legitimate road users in danger..
If Active Travel was a sincere objective of government they would need to start there.
#VisionZero
#WeRide
This is what Ford and riding
This is what Ford and riding in London means to me…Ranger passing so close the trailer touched my knee, a driver unable to cope with the ridiculously-oversized vehicle Ford produces and markets as suitable for urban living. Not keen on a ride associated with them really.
(Driver received an NIP but I was never informed of the outcome)
“Ford becomes title sponsor
“Ford becomes title sponsor of RideLondon – and
cyclistssome people on twitter who have nothing better to do today, aren’t happy”TFIFY.
RideLondon?
RideLondon?
The biggest festival of cycling in the world?
According to whom, Hugh Brasher and Ford?
RideLondon is, to me at least, the antithesis of what cycing is all about, especially if we really want to encourage the mainstream to leave the car at home for those local journeys where a bike is quicker, cheaper and greener. All this dressing up in lycra and donning helmets just reinforces the idea that cyclists are outliers and won’t encourage the masses to get on board, regardless of who the title sponsor is.
If we are really serious about creating a modal shift away from the motorcar, then cycling needs to be portrayed as a simple option, just transport in another form, ,rather than being about expensive equipment, training plans, lycra and sport.
There is the freeride on the
There is the freeride on the Saturday?
Owd Big ‘Ead wrote:
Absolutely agree, however blaming RideLondon, similar sportives or indeed any sports cycling as responsible for limiting the uptake of transport/utility cycling (as certain people, or at least a certain person, have been doing ad nauseam elsewhere today) is about as logical as blaming the London Marathon for discouraging people from walking because it makes them feel they can’t travel on foot without running shorts and trainers. People aren’t as stupid as some patronisingly assume, they know not only the benefits of cycling but also that it doesn’t have to be done on special bikes or in special clothes or anything else; survey after survey after study after study has shown that the biggest barrier to people using bicycles as transport, by a huge margin, is their fear of being injured or killed on the roads by motor vehicles. If every sport-centred cyclist in Britain were to give up tomorrow and no racing bike or lycra was ever seen on the roads again it wouldn’t increase cycling uptake one iota, only better, more protected cycling infrastructure will do that.
Rendel Harris wrote:
No, “the answer is infrastructure” is a slow, hugely expensive ‘answer’ that might apply to inner cities. The only National solution is to break the perverse, automotive influenced, myth that cars matter more than people, and people using bicycles don’t have the right to do so, without danger, on the public highway.
Correcting 100 Years of Automotive industry propaganda is the required public good and something that the industry should be obliged by statute to do. That’s how to deliver Active Travel, not giving barely interested councils Highways departments a few £Mn to have a go at it, despite their Car first attitude.
Respectfully, the only “fast,
Respectfully, the only “fast, cheap” ‘answer’ is the one we’ve been applying thus far * e.g. “encouraging” cycling. Which has seen cycling continue to decline – although stabilising at a few % of journeys in some places. In reality of course we are “encouraging” cycling with statements, posters and paint and the odd disconnected section of cycle path. We actually encouraging driving by building a network of specialised high-quality expensive infrastructure – which feels safe and convenient to use. We even subsidise this activity via tax (again – driving is expensive and drivers do pay tax – but not as much as it costs us all once all costs are accounted for).
Fundamentally – most people (apart from “cyclists”) don’t define themselves by their utility transport choice. They just use what is most convenient and feels safe **. Most people just don’t feel safe walking / cycling around motor vehicles. You can train a few but it’s still not pleasant. And since we’ve made driving easier than any other mode (and especially cycling) – in most cases – people drive. They also find they have a car with them at points during the day, so they don’t think “I’ll just walk … ” so much because they already have the car, and the car is a general solution suitable for most transport tasks. Other modes are much better in particular ways but less general.
In many places in the UK the majority of people have access to a car (OK – that should read “adults with certain physical abilities”…). If you have one already and given it’s often the most convenient transport and the cost for extra driving is low once you’ve paid the costs of ownership, you drive.
Conversely we even recommend that people cycle in the opposite manner to how they normally get about when walking, driving, on the bus, the train etc. e.g. single-file, one behind the other. We recommend cycling be “anti-social”!
Finally – no realistic amount of training or more stringent laws / policing – at the population level – will get round the fact that humans are fallible. (That doesn’t mean we can’t improve a lot on our current permissive system though!). When we’re using a motor vehicle any mistakes we make will have a huge impact (!) on other road users. So unless interactions are very carefully managed – or avoided – the toll of death and injury won’t change much. Frankly few people are so reckless they want to risk death by driving into massive bridges, or houses – but we keep doing so!
“Correcting auto-industry propaganda” sounds good but these industries still have the politicians in their pockets. Plus they’ve always got there first by e.g. inventing legal methods of victim-blaming a century ago!
* Or waiting until the oil runs out / we have a massive power outage and now “car not go” – that would be quick and cheap…
** Except under special circumstances e.g. “the only food is on the other side of the tiger enclosure”.
By infrastructure I don’t
By infrastructure I don’t just mean protected cycle paths, which as you say take a long time to be installed and would be far too expensive to install everywhere, I also mean smaller projects to address the imbalance between cars and other road users such as rephasing of traffic lights, early release lights, traffic calming/speed limiting measures, more one-way streets that are two-way for cycles and so on.
If Ford was serious about
If Ford was serious about encouraging active travel, why couldn’t they just anonymously donate the money to RideLondon without all the publicity? Unless it’s all about greenwashing of course.
Lets go maximum toxicity:
Lets go maximum toxicity: bring back the Tour de Trump.
Could Ford, as part of their
Could Ford, as part of their sponsorship, also put stickers on the dashboard of all new Transit vans sold saying ‘please do not drive like a reckless idiot’
You are assuming literacy.
You are assuming literacy. Having interacted a few times with drivers who are challenged by the concept of safe driving, I wouldn’t be so confident in the usefulness of that sticker to convey the message – if they could see it past the phone in their face.
BIRMINGHAMisaDUMP wrote:
Just chop off the last four words and you’re definitely onto something.
Ford Static vans?
Ford Static vans? Sounds hair-raising!