Horrifying footage of man kicking girl’s bike on path; Phil Gaimon breaks Everesting record; No LDN congestion charges for 3 more weeks; Claims ‘Stay Alert’ has led to more dangerous parking; Anger over council’s cycle lane snub + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Enfield in North London gets a cycle lane on the busy A1010... but is this the way to go about it?
It took a little longer than we would have liked, but today we’re installing cycle lane defenders along our A1010 South project. #activetravel pic.twitter.com/mW4OjTK1ZG
— Cycle Enfield (@CycleEnfield) May 11, 2020
It’s something of course, and far safer than no cycle lane at all; but some have questioned the use of ‘flex posts’ and the large gaps between the defenders still won’t be enough to completely prevent incidents:
It’s a start, won’t stop a bus going over the line though will it.
— Harlow Cycling Page (@TDF79) May 11, 2020
Flex posts are designed to protect motorists, and to protect their cars from damage, not to protect cyclists. Make them solid, like bridge railings are. That way a mistake from a driver doesn’t result in someone being killed.
— Neil “cars are virus delivery capsules” Winkelmann (@winkybiker) May 11, 2020
how does it defend against that bus?
— 😀🚲 (@enobacon) May 11, 2020
What do you think, should we strive for better?
"Where the car is king": Councillor claims Haringey Council refusing to install temporary cycle lanes... which is against Statutory Guidance
To all Haringey residents, I will not stop demanding better walking and cycling infrastructure for our borough. Before & after Covid this has not changed.
A shift to active travel could be the greatest health and environmental leap forward for a generation. We need to be a part!
— Cllr Luke Cawley-Harrison 🔶 (@luke_harrison) May 11, 2020
Councillor Luke Cawley-Harrison says he got an email response from Haringey Council saying that there’s no need for additional segregated cycle lanes during the pandemic because the roads “have never been quieter”; with some pointing out that speeding and the number of fatal incidents involving cyclists have both gone up:
Might be worth getting @SuptAndyCox on the case. The problem with quieter roads is it allows the significant minority to drive dangerously. I know a lot of extreme speeding has resulted lately on the A10 and surrounding area
— duncan platt (@dhpwilmington) May 11, 2020
The unavoidable major junctions in the borough are dangerous for cyclists when they’re busy and the traffic is slow moving and also dangerous when it’s quiet and the traffic is moving fast. They’re just dangerous.
— Tom (@Pacowac) May 11, 2020
It’s said that the government’s new statutory guidance means councils are obliged to make additional space for cycling and walking, with Coventry’s Bicycle Mayor Adam Tranter saying that the government have power to take over control of roads from councils who fail to comply:
Please do share with them the Statutory Guidance. In the case of non-compliance, central Government have the power to take over the highways management to put this right. https://t.co/g5AVFXdszf pic.twitter.com/gUhWCOqFMI
— Adam Tranter (@adamtranter) May 11, 2020
It comes after an email was shared with road.cc from Councillor Geoff Driver, the leader of the Tory-controlled Lancashire County Council, who described the emails he received based on Cycling UK’s pre-written form to lobby for additional cycling infrastructure as “childish antics”. The draft from Cycling UK to ask your council for temporary cycle space during the lockdown can be found here.
Richmond Cycle Campaign repeat calls for a reversal of Richmond Park cycling ban
The group received a response to their earlier letter regarding the ban in April, with Director of the Parks Tom Jarvis writing that the measures were in place to ensure the park was not “overwhelmed with visitors”.
Richmond Cycle Campaign have now sent another letter to Mr Jarvis – titled ‘Still Not Good Enough’ – questioning the basis for closing the park. They question that any sufficient data was used to show that people were travelling from far afield to cycle in the park, and say that their suggestions to deal with overcrowding at gates weren’t considered. They also question the claim that cyclists travelling at speed were “endangering wildlife”, and say that similar incidents have been reported of dogs chasing deer and endangering visitors with no action taken.
There is no indication that Royal Parks intend to lift the Richmond Park cycling ban currently.
Virtual racing can be even harder than riding on the road, according to World Tour performance analyst
In a study backed by gambling website Bonus Finder, cycling coach and data scientist Philipp Diegner assessed more than 200 pro performances from recent virtual races, finding that riders are forced to put out superhuman efforts to place highly and some are struggling to adjust to the intensity. With most virtual races lasting around an hour, they’re up to six times shorter than road races but can be just as difficult, sometimes harder.
Diegner explains: “The racing is short and particularly intense.
“It is 45-90 minutes of racing instead of 3-6 hours. The consequence for the riders is that there is no opportunity to save energy like they have in road races, so they have to make prolonged, all-out efforts that push them to their physical limit.
“Professionals are not necessarily used to this and it can be a shock to the system. Virtual racing is as hard as road racing; it is just that endurance is a more decisive factor in road racing, whereas virtual racing is one hour of pure, intense suffering.”
The 10 performances in the graphic above were picked out by Diegner as the most impressive he’s seen since the lockdown virtual races began, and as you can see they’re not all household names. Chris Hamilton’s monster effort putting out 6.05w/kg for an hour only netted him a fourth place finish at the Digital Swiss 5, and Diegner claims the 6.58w/kg he averaged for the last 12 minutes would have been enough to win him “most World Tour mountain stages”. Hamilton described the Digital Swiss 5 as “the hardest thing I’ve ever done.”
Diegner added that he expects top pros on the road who appear to be underperforming – such as Egan Bernal – to improve and start replicating their outdoor performances in the virtual world over time.
Alexandr Vinokourov says Astana will 'disappear' if racing doesn't resume this year
Astana are one of many teams facing huge difficulties because of the pandemic, and their manager Vinokourov claims that if racing doesn’t resume this year then it may inevitably mean that the team will fold.
Vinokourov described the UCI’s efforts to devise a new calendar as a miracle and “better than nothing”; but with Astana’s funds coming mostly from state-owned companies in Kazakhstan, finances are dwindling for the team with no revenue coming in. Vinokourov told Cyclism Actu: “There is a crisis in Kazakhstan, the oil and gas market is complicated. I think if there are no races this season, our team will disappear.”
Patrick Lefevere of Deceuninck – Quick-Step also said his team could fold if competition doesn’t resume this year, while Het Nieuwsblad report that Mitchelton-Scott riders have had their pay cut by up to 70% since April. The same publication also claimed that CCC will end their sponsorship of the team that bears their name, with riders taking 50% pay cuts to get through 2020.
BMX'ing around locked down New York
The city that never sleeps is asleep, which gave Matthias Dandois the opportunity to pull some epic stunts aroung NYC landmarks.
Sir Bradley Wiggins hosting 'Le Col by Wiggins Social Spin' on Zwift tomorrow
The virtual ride starts at 6pm tomorrow and will be led by Wiggins, with special guests promised for a catch-up at various points. You can sign up here, and also join in the chat on Wiggins’ Instagram page.
Pilot claims he is furious at British Pilot's Association's bizarre press release slamming government's cycling and walking investment
I am going to stick my head above the parapet. I am an airline pilot, a BALPA member, a BC coach and married to the Cycling & Walking Champion on our county council. I am ‘aghast and frankly furious’ by this ill thought out rant by my association. I have told them as much too.
— Peter Smith (@Pinarello_Pete) May 12, 2020
The press release from BALPA claims that “British pilots will be absolutely aghast and frankly furious” at the £2 billion earmarked for cycling and walking when the aviation industry is “dying before our eyes”; but many people in the airline industry themselves have strongly distanced themselves from the stance, including pilots. We’ll have a full story on this later today.
Dunwich Dynamo return transport cancelled
The famous through-the-night ride from Hackney to Dunwich on the Suffolk coast won’t be providing return transport on 4th July for the event. Organiser Gareth Evans said on Facebook that despite the easing of current restrictions, it’s “very unlikely” that groups of up to 50 could be transported by coach back to London by the planned 4th July start date. He added: “We’re due to pay deposits to our contractors about now, and as a volunteer organisation we can’t afford to take on that financial risk.”
A full refund will be offered, but Dunwich Dynamo have asked those who bought tickets to consider donating the fee to the London Cycling Campaign instead. The event is not exclusively owned by anyone, therefore it’s expected many could ride the 200km route anyway; and perhaps find their own way back, as detailed in this very entertaining blog Sam Walker written for road.cc back in 2015.
'Stay alert' slogan and new guidance blamed for huge influx of motor traffic and illegal parking spotted in Ribble Valley
Toilets are locked up as are car parks, in Ribble Valley lots of cars are parked on double yellow lines outside the car parks making lanes narrower and putting people closer together 🙄 pic.twitter.com/i5Yx02NjIA
— Ian Davies (@IanTheInventor) May 11, 2020
The government have been accused of sending mixed messages with their latest lockdown guidance update urging people to ‘Stay Alert’ instead of ‘Stay Home’, and the halfway house of car parks and public amenities still being closed while the public have essentially been given a free pass to drive to beauty spots is said to be leading to an inevitable rise in motor traffic. In the photo above, it’s claimed that drivers heading to the Ribble Valley are parking on double yellow lines, thus making the road narrower and more dangerous for passing cyclists and walkers.
Seen this?
This is what the so called #StayAlert government advise has caused
🙄
Selfish drivers parking on narrow roads and no with toilets to go to after a long unnecessary drive. @theJeremyVine @Chris_Boardman @roadcc @allpartycycling https://t.co/ceqArDsk0B
— CyclistMotoristPedestrian (@RideDriveWalk) May 12, 2020
While the public in England have been told they can drive where they please, we should perhaps prepare for this being a common sight in the current phase of the lockdown.
We’ve devised a Q+A for cyclists in England, Scotland and Wales on what has changed in light of the latest announcements, which you can find here; not a lot has changed, but some messages such as ‘unlimited exercise’ now means that it’s less likely people can misinterpret this as ‘once per day’ exercise or think there is a time limit.
Moving Salsa Cycles short film tells story of bikepacking adventurer who took on challenge devised by her late husband
‘Choosing to Live’ details Sarah Hornby’s journey through the Canadian Rockies, put together from a bikepacking guidebook with ten epic routes written by husband Ryan. Hornby says she originally had no real intention of riding them herself, but did so in tribute to Ryan after he pased away. A huge cut above most bike brand promo videos, this is well worth 7 minutes of your time.
Spurcycle launch Compact Bell which has been “optimised for flat bars”
Spurcycle has announced a new bell that has been designed for urban and MTB flat bar bikes. The new bell features a 9mm mount width that has a diameter of 22.2mm. In a press release, Spurcycle said:
“The new Compact Bell has been amended with a 50% slimmer mount and trim lever which allows better integration with many brake, shifter and dropper levers seen on modern bikes. It is intended for use with mountain bike, commuter, eBikes or any other bike that uses a 22.2 mm diameter bar.”
The bell has a brass alloy dome and produces a “premium sound”. The compact bell is available now at £44.99
BALPA uproar rages on, as Pilot's Association insists they are still "furious" the government can 'find money' for cycling and walking
Hi Andy. To be clear we’re not against investment in cycling or walking. But we are furious that the Government can find money to make this investment while the airline industry is in a jobs death spiral and there is no sign of the bespoke support we were promised.
— BALPA (@BALPApilots) May 12, 2020
Some false equivalency here perhaps? We’ve a feeling BALPA aren’t doing themselves any favours…
Very happy to see Govt supporting cycling and walking schemes. But the Govt is not giving similar support to the aviation industry which is facing a jobs death spiral.
— BALPA (@BALPApilots) May 12, 2020
Specialized launch new sub-15kg commuter e-bike, the Vado SL
Described as an ‘electric revolution’ by Specialized, the new e-bike has their own mid-motor system, flat bars and 38mm tyres and weighs under 15kg – full story on eBikeTips.
No reintroduction of congestion charge or ULEZ levies for at least three weeks, indicates Sadiq Khan
The Evening Standard report that the London Mayor doesn’t plan to reintroduce the London congestion charges for at least three weeks; despite TfL expecting to lose an estimated £4 billion in income this financial year. Campaigners have also said that the suspension of charges doesn’t tally with Westminster’s urge for people to walk and cycle when they return to work, and that the suspension of the £11.50 daily congestion charge and £12.50 ULEZ charge could lead to more commuters heading back to work in private vehicles. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps made it clear that the government expect commuters to walk and cycle where possible in parliament today:
.@grantshapps “the 2 metre rule will only leave capacity for 1 in 10..it is crucial to serve those who need it… if possible people should walk or cycle” pic.twitter.com/qxUMD8zag5
— Transport for the North (@Transport4North) May 12, 2020
Both the congestion charge and ULEZ were suspended on 23rd March, with the intention of making it easier for key workers to commute by car. Khan told ITV:
“For the time being, we are not lifting the changes. But we will be reviewing that. The key thing is from the Prime Minister — this road map in the medium to long-term. It gives us a route out of the lockdown.”
NHS manager Jonathan Kelly, who is also a member of Better Streets Kensington and Chelsea, told the Standard: “We risk the car becoming the default mode of socially-distanced transport. I am very aware that NHS workers are increasingly switching to walking and cycling to work in response to the pandemic.”
Phil Gaimon sets Everesting record, completing the challenge in just over 8 hours
The former pro turned YouTube personality climbed more than the 8,848 metres needed to ‘everest’ in 8hrs 4mins according to his Strava upload, eclipsing the previous world record of 8hrs 29mins set by Tobias Lestrall in 2017. To do so he picked Mountaingate Ridge Road in Los Angeles to stage his attempt, riding up and down it 61 times.
3 way tie for the most I’ve ever ruined myself. Thanks to everyone for donating https://t.co/idaQLmcufd
— Phil Gaimon (@philgaimon) May 12, 2020
Gaimon was raising funds for the No Kid Hungry charity, with the running total standing at just under $69,000 of a $100,000 target at the time of writing – the fundraising page is here.
Northern Ireland lift draconian e-bike laws
Great result! Unanimous support across all parties for new e-bike legislation. From tomorrow e-bikes will be treated just like a normal bike. No more barriers of having to register & license it beforehand. Get peddling 🚴♂️🚴♀️ https://t.co/lEMmTMsfhB
— Nichola Mallon (@NicholaMallon) May 12, 2020
Residents of Northern Ireland were subject to extra stringent e-bike laws that forced them to register and insure any pedal cycle with a motor; but from tomorrow, new legislation will bring them in line with the rest of Europe which allows Northern Irish cyclists to ride e-bikes with up to 250 watts of power and a top assisted speed of 25km/h without needing a licence or insurance.
Horrifying footage emerges of man kicking 6-year-old girl's bike after he refused to move on path
He said excuse me 3 times prior to this as well 🤷🏻♂️ takes a second to step to one side 🤯 the little girl won’t want to bike again pic.twitter.com/DbRRdueDOV
— Andrew Neill (@AndrewNeill91) May 12, 2020
The disturbing clip shows the thug walking a dog with a woman on Derbyshire’s Blackwell Trail, while the father of the 6-year-old girl cycling can be heard shouting ‘excuse me’ numerous times. Neither the man or the woman move, resulting in the girl panicking and crashing between them. The father then asks for an apology and receives abuse, before the dog walker then kicks the girl’s bike and walks off. The girl can be heard crying in the background.
The footage has caused much anger on social media after being shared by the girl’s mother Michelle Prost, and according to The Mirror she wrote on Facebook that her daughter has been left “traumatised” by the incident.
Ms Prost continued: “She is new to going on bike rides, this has really upset her. The man gets verbally abusive and says “so f**king what?”.
“What an awful man. My daughter is traumatised. They clearly have an issue with cyclists and were making a point of not moving.”
12 May 2020, 08:46
It's behiiind you!
Rear view cycling glasses launched on Kickstarter by Olympic track champ Callum Skinner
The new sunnies feature a small transparent mirrored section in the lens
12 May 2020, 08:46
12 May 2020, 08:46
With a 'friendlier' price tag than the existing £8,500 cycling treadmill from Tacx
Oreka brings £3,690 O2 bike treadmill to UK
New trainer claims "totally natural" movement
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Latest Comments
@Sredlums Here's a little collage of some of this year's Tour bikes. I think if you look really hard you can see a bit of colour here and there…
@Sredlums Here's a little collage of some of this year's Tour bikes. I think if you look really hard you can see a bit of colour here and there…
@Type17 thanks for that
@Didsbury Yes, almost identical - bikes with throttles, >250w motors, assistance past 25km/h / 15.5mph are illegal electric motorbikes, not EAPCs/Pedelecs. I think that the only difference here is that private e-scooters, limited to 20km/h (and other limitations like weight, power, etc), are legal in the RoI for 16+ year-old riders, but enforcement is almost non-existent and illegal e-bikes and scooters are as common as legal versions. I asked a guy with an e-scooter which had full suspension and looked very fast/heavy what its actual maximum speed was, and he admitted that it could do 75km/h / 46mph.
@Type17 Is the Irish legislation on electric motor bikes and scooters etc. actually the same as in the UK?
The problem with capel street is food delivery people on electric motorbikes flying down it. I work near it and walk there frequently and it's a big problem. As for Wiggins, how was his jiffy bag? Still waiting for him to have his say. Also wondering how his charity that paid for his event went tits up.
What's also evident, but somehow hardly ever mentioned, is how much more boring road bikes have become. Black, matte frames, black rims, black parts and components. Give me a nicely colored bike with silver parts any day.
We buy more and more stuff these days; bigger items are becoming cheaper, bikes have more features, are more desirable, it's easier to get around it's easier to sell stuff and the inevitable result is that there's more theft. I've been wrestling with this situation for somewhile and I've come to the conclusion that the answer to the question - should police be protecting the increasing amount of private property that people have - and I'm not sure that the answer is yes. I think we would be better off as a cycling community with our own independent cycling recovery team. it might work in conjunction with the police but you know it doesn't have to take away from police time too much. You might object to the fact that it's not a level playing field with other road vehicles which maybe do have police resources thrown at them. But equally, a stolen car is a lot more dangerous than a stolen bicycle, and it's a lot easier to sell the latter than it is the former.
@mdavidford - bring back the edit function, at last something upon which we can all agree!
@mdavidford "laxtivist" Hmm... slacktivist? "I disapprove of what you say but I will sometimes defend 'till the next coffee and cake opportunity your right to say it"?
34 thoughts on “Horrifying footage of man kicking girl’s bike on path; Phil Gaimon breaks Everesting record; No LDN congestion charges for 3 more weeks; Claims ‘Stay Alert’ has led to more dangerous parking; Anger over council’s cycle lane snub + more on the live blog”
The crap infrastructure is
The crap infrastructure is all too predictable and is clearly designed to be easily removed. This is how they view the bicycle – a lower form of transport to be used only when motor vehicles are not tenable.
We can all pretend otherwise but never challenge the right of the British people to sit in their metal boxes, shortening their lives and those of others.
You might call it crap but it
You might call it crap but it’s quick, cheap and simple to implement and it works. We have wand orcas on a couple of our major roads and the difference between before and after is amazing. Before, you had motorists creating 2 lanes from 1 and vying for position, with a lot of excessive speeds. But now, with the lanes and wand orcas, the motorists stay in single file, and the slowest motorist determines the speed for that direction of travel. So essentially, lower speeds. There’s the odd instance of someone parking in the lane to unload, but it’s rare, and while it took a few weeks for people to get used to them, most motorists now know to look out for cyclists using the lane. In fact, I’ve had motorists trying to get onto the main road, block the cycle lane, and then reverse in shame, apologising, as I approached.
I’ve also heard about some motorists preferring the lane, because now they don’t feel intimidated into getting out of the way of people who want to drive more quickly – they can just ignore them.
Don’t knock a good thing – once established, once in place, it becomes much, much easier to upgrade them to kerb separated pieces of infrastructure. I mean, just look at this superb crossing we got recently:
https://goo.gl/maps/yZRunaSPa1YGk6cg9
That came after the wand orcas were installed on the roads before and after it. It came because people started to use the lanes and complained about this junction.
So this makes all the more
So this makes all the more case to have the markers over further out into the carriageway to allow an expected larger bike flow capacity, allow social distancing and re-inforce a single car lane.
As Peowpeowpeowlasers has
As Peowpeowpeowlasers has said, this is a stepping stone towards better infrastructure and comprehensive active travel networks.
Stuff like this is quick and cheap – which is what councils like – and lets people experience what it’s like to make roads better for cycling. Once more people start using it, and people see it works, it’s much easier to persuade locals to back bigger changes. It’s not amazing now, but it’s a quite a big step forward nonetheless.
Cyclists and campaigners need to make sure that perfection doesn’t become the enemy of progress, as this might just be our only opening in the motoring lobby’s grip over our roads for a long time and we don’t want to waste it by demanding our dreams and turning down everything else in between.
Ok – you and Peow have talked
Ok – you and Peow have talked me round. Maybe my cynicism is so ingrained after years of being lied to but if this is a stepping stone to permanent proper infrastructure then I guess this is the first step on a much overdue journey.
I really hope you’re right.
jasecd wrote:
Chapeau sir, a gracious response and it’s great that some people can admit that they might be wrong.
It’s the same in the New
It’s the same in the New Forest as the Ribble Valley. People parking on verges, many of which are designated as SSSI’s because of the unique wildlife, and completely destroying them. I’d imagine that the weekend is going to be carnage as the weather is due to improve. It was a bit quieter on my ride this morning compared to yesterday but it seems everyone’s jumped the gun, given that the guidance doesn’t actually change until tomorrow.
Updated guidance from
Updated guidance from Forestry England – stay away, our car parks won’t be open for a while
https://www.forestryengland.uk/coronavirus-visitor-information
I couldn’t believe the BALPA
I couldn’t believe the BALPA story, but it’s actually just as bad as it’s portrayed. To be charitable, maybe their press officer has been in lockdown a bit too long, but it is the most drivelous thing I’ve seen since Boris the Liar’s broadcast on Sunday; OK, not long, but the BtL thing was massive.
I sent them this:
“Dear BALPA,
Can I say how offended I am at your ridiculous press release “Pilots ‘aghast and furious’ at £2bn for walking and cycling, when aviation is in death spiral”
I’m hoping it’s some kind of joke, it certainly can’t be serious that BALPA objects to investment into the greenest form of transport, can it?
You’ve made yourselves look very foolish indeed, and might I suggest a rapid retraction and apology are in order.”
BALPA are the RMT in better
BALPA are the RMT in better uniforms, surprisingly bolshie for a professional white collar union
Wasn’t suprised to see Peter
Wasn’t suprised to see Peter Smith (aka @pinarello_pete on twitter, aka Pilot Pete on road.cc) be amongst the first to shoot down the BALPA statement. He was the person who badgered Little Bollington council into removing their anti cyclist signs.
Chapeau (again) sir!
Lots of wanky parking going
Lots of wanky parking going on round by me on Sunday when I last ventured out, it seems that the ‘entitled’ think that because there’s less cars about they can just park anywhere they like.
I’d seen the incident on the
I’d seen the incident on the Blackwell Trail, with the obnoxious turd kicking the little girl’s bike, on fb, and wondered if it was a footpath, but no, it’s a multi-use path, including cycling. Such a big man; I can just imagine him at the wheel of his Beemer, foaming at the mouth at the free-loading, law-breaking cyclists.
We can only hope that everyone he knows sees it, and realises what a total and utter prick he really is.
I wouldn’t call it “
I wouldn’t call it “.horrifying”. Just another middle-aged, bitter, angry bellend whim lost a fight thirty years ago and still isn’t over it.
Whilst the turd statement is
Whilst the turd statement is correct, there are three adults there who all ignore a hurt child including her own father who should be taking some responsibility as well.
There might be other footage but I only hear one excuse me before the child hits them, it looks like the woman starts to turn around to see at that exact point, but the father was just letting his daughter plow along without asking her to stop etc. It is bad enough situation to lead her into anytime but with social distancing in place they could have resisted the urge to ride towards them when there is no place to move aside, especially as within another 5 metres there was a space.
Like I said, it certainly doesn’t excuse the bike kicking though and I hope it is hyperbole from the mother and she does realise that cycling can be fun but with some responsibilities.
Does Grant Shapps really
Does Grant Shapps really expect people to cycle in parliament?
Ah yes, adding more
Ah yes, adding more distractions and hazards on cycle lane on A1010.
I really wonder who’s idea was to make it so complicated around Edmonton.
Must have been like “let’s make cyclist navigate through bus stops, people and high kerbs because why not make their life easier”
Path man – bad words but he
Path man – bad words but he only kicked her bike lightly once.
If I was her dad I would’ve told her to stop, gone ahead to them as asked if we could go by. They might’ve let them.
I thought the mother said
I thought the mother said that her *six years old* daughter, new to cycling , panicked and lost control.
Seems reasonable to have expected the doggists to move over, if it’s a shared path?
But something makes me doubt they would have moved over under any circumstances- they were Making A Point.
brooksby wrote:
Maybe they were thinking about dogging? They don’t come across well from this. Maybe the talk from the cops has made them think. More likely, the fact the video has gone viral and that they’ve been widely criticised will have them crawling back under whatever rock they sprang from.
Teaching a kid to ride a bike has its hiccups and the little girl was clearly a newbie. Selfish idiots like this couple don’t make things easier.
Phil Gaimon – outstanding
Phil Gaimon – outstanding ride!!
Yep, that was mental. My
Yep, that was mental. My quickest Everesting on a 10% hill took twice that long. I did a 6% “base camp” ride yesterday and still didn’t quite match his ave speed. Mental.
Those 4 minutes will vex him
Those 4 minutes will vex him though.
Who cares if Vinokourov’s
Who cares if Vinokourov’s Astana team folds? It’s been a rehab centre for drug cheats,run by a drug cheat, for years? Why would cycle sport be sad if this team disapppears?
On another positive note about the power of cycling and what the bicycle means, people should make time to watch the Sarah Hornby ‘choosing to live’ film. Excellent.
I have noticed car adverts
I have noticed car adverts are back on, BMW hybid and the awful De Niro one.
Sales last month were 3% of last year’s April levels, so better start pushing product.
The roads were after all similar to how the car advert tend to represent them.
There were definitely more
There were definitely more motor vehicles on the roads yesterday (12 May) Autogeddon is back. The car park at Hampstead Heath was literally overflowing with cars. I had a driver call me a ‘f**kin nob’ as he cut past me at a junction – I haven’t been shouted at for two months and was beginning to miss it. Saw plenty of mobile phone use, bike lanes full of parked cars and vans, got hooted at once and I avoided some of the ‘busier’ routes – because they were too, er, busy. The last two months will be a happy memory for cycling.
Lukas wrote:
Like this?
That man is a full Gammon. An
That man is a full Gammon. An UTTER horrible waste of air.
I’m going to stick my neck
I’m going to stick my neck out potentially but I don’t believe the headline is warranted as horrifying. From the clip you show I can see a path that is very narrow with no means to distance between users. Yes there will be some people who will never have a decent bone in their body and act selfishly but I think the Dad is in the wrong, I’d be telling my daughter to stay close and wait until there is enough space to pass.
I’m guessing Gammon does not
I’m guessing Gammon does not like cyclists, thinks they should all have a bell as well, and anyway he’ll just have to bloody wait until it’s convenient to pass. Probably learnt that driving his 3rd hand Range Rover behind cyclists. So when he hears the crunch of bike tread on the path behind and a bloke’s voice calling “excuse me, excuse me” he knows exactly what to do – nothing.
The little girl, meanwhile, she does not have mastery of her bike yet, can’t just glide to a controlled halt. Her legs keep turning as she grips the handle bars, it’s all she knows. My own kid at that stage, if I’d said, “come to Daddy”, that’s exactly what he’d do – crunch, straight into my knees. Squeezing the brakes whilst freewheeling to a timely halt, mastering the final loss of stability with a perfectly choreographed foot to the floor, on the correct side, nah!
So when she ploughs into Gammon, in his exploding brain it’s the bloke just riding straight into him regardless. Too late he realises it’s just a little girl, he’s already triggered. Even if Gammon has the higher order agency required to over ride his basal instinct, there’s no way he’s admitting error of judgement. In the end he has just enough control to vent his anger against the bike rather than the person.
A better person would have checked themself, muttered words of consolation to the girl and confessed his own first adventures on a bike were less than faultless. The dad would have apologised profusely and praised the man’s grace and understanding. And the woman’s heart would have swelled in admiration for her fella.
I mentioned below but I agree
I mentioned below but I agree with NIrish. When I saw the headline, I honestly thought he had kicked her whilst she rode past. I could understand all the one sided arguments then and would have joined in the main condemnation.
However On the video I saw it play out totally different to the headline. (apart from the “kick”). No obvious refusal to move, no intentional knocking the girl off her bike. In the video I hear a solitary “excuse me” and not loud at all. Once. Two seconds before the accident. If he had said it several times I’m sure it would hve been more urgent and louder by the point the video starts and captures it*. And then before anyhting is even said the Dad who is not bothered his daughter is hurt at all (helmet cam doesn’t even twitch down to her at the start) is in the face of the “Gammon” accusing him and stating he said excuse me several times so it must be their fault. I don’t fully agree with the pedestrians response but he was not the initiator here and just responded with kind.
I’ll bow to your knowledge on how easy or not it is to control a child to slow down after the stablisers are off, but the dad does have a responsibility to be more anticipatory on what is going on ahead. My actual worry would not have been the people but on the dog if it is my child. Both for its and her safety.
*I barely hear the “Gammon” so there is a possibility the camera mike didn’t pick up other times but the cyclist seems to be pretty clear throughout.
I’m with you on this. Mr &
I’m with you on this. Mr & Mrs Gammon probably we’re making a point in not letting the little girl past, but that’s no excuse for the dad to allow her to try and barge her way through and end up falling off in the process. The dad comes across as an utter arse – he could easily have shouted at his daughter to brake and thus avoided the confrontation altogether and not had an upset child to deal with.
NIrish wrote:
..whilst singing all the hits from ‘Frozen’ at full belt.
Tabloid reports this morning
Tabloid reports this morning are that the police have spoken to all parties, written it off as a misunderstanding, and there’ll be no charges brought.