“Why don’t cyclists use the cycle lane?” Driver blasted for claiming cyclists “enjoy playing with traffic”; Cyclist (and pet cat) scolded for riding around car after driver pulls out; Cyclist’s “bizarre” close pass prevention pole + more on the live blog

A classic ‘Why don’t cyclists use the cycle lane?’ debate has erupted this afternoon on good ol’ X, after one Irish Reddit user posted a photo of a cyclist – which may or may not have been taken from behind the wheel (but it’s alright, he zoomed in) – riding on the road, next to a shared path… with a bollard positioned smack bang in the middle of it.

“An ongoing issue that’s probably been discussed many times here before, but why do cyclists have such a mental block when it comes to using cycling lanes made specifically for them?” the Reddit user asked on the appropriately titled ‘Ireland’s s***e drivers’ page.

“I understand some cycling lanes are in poor condition and the road is the better option, but this one is perfectly safe, clean, well maintained, and always empty, no excuse to not use it. Yet they never use it, ever. It’s like they enjoy playing with traffic.”

> Why don't cyclists use cycle lanes?

To be fair, it didn’t take long for cyclists on the social media app to inform the motorist of the myriad reasons why someone on a bike would choose to avoid a stretch of pavement that happens to feature a painted bike symbol.

“You’ve just shown a perfect example of a poorly designed cycle lane,” wrote Bill. “Firstly, it's not a cycle lane, it's a share path.

“And secondly you can see that the path drops just where the cyclist is. Thirdly, this guy would be going too fast for most cycle lanes.”

“Looks like a shared cycle lane/pedestrian path to me,” concurred cbren. “Probably not suitable for road bikes travelling 30km/h.”

“Fair play to OP for contributing to this subreddit by being the s***e driver instead of picturing one,” added Cooke, while another user asked the poster: “Are you actually aware of the rules of the road? Genuinely concerned by your lack of knowledge regarding cyclists.”

Why isn't the cyclist using the perfectly good footpath that has a bike symbol on it and a bollard in the middle of it? pic.twitter.com/baKOkVRUgg

— Cycling For Mind (@CyclingForMind) February 13, 2024

That lack of knowledge, perhaps unsurprisingly, has transferred over to Twitter this afternoon, where several commenters chipped in with helpful advice along the lines of “If you can’t negotiate that bollard then you shouldn’t be on the road” (or something about stabilisers), prompting Cycling For Mind, who shared the debate on X, to paraphrase the title of Lance Armstrong’s award-winning work of fiction by advising ill-informed drivers that “it’s not just about the bollard”.

“Show me an underused cycle route and I’ll show you poor design, safety concerns, or lack of maintenance,” said Joe, while Richard added: “In fairness to the cycle lane, it probably continues for at least another 10 metres or so before it stops abruptly and either demands the rider dismount or just shoved them out into the carriageway.”

And that’s if we’re lucky.

Meanwhile, others joined in by sharing their favourite, brilliantly designed shared use infrastructure. Or not:

A perfectly good shared use path on my commute. Complete with sunken drain on the only way around the bollards. pic.twitter.com/Pt7YzVpRAC

— Andy Roberts (@ic3creamman) February 13, 2024

I sense a competition brewing…

And finally, over to the motorway for a prime slice of underused infra:

Millions of pounds spent on motoring lanes that motorists don't even use? 😡 pic.twitter.com/zoLWCP17Bx

— Gazza Biker (@gazzabiker) February 13, 2024

A Scottish cyclist riding with a close pass prevention stick attached to his bike – offering tetchy drivers a physical reminder of the requirement to leave at least 1.5m while overtaking – has baffled passing motorists, with one contacting the local press to debate the merits of the “bizarre” pole.

The cyclist, and his anti-dangerous driving equipment, were pictured riding on the A85 from Crieff to Comrie, in Perth and Kinross, last week during his morning commute.

“I thought I saw him in the distance, and suddenly the car in front of me slowed down,” the motorist who spotted him told the Courier.

“When they overtook him I saw him properly and I thought: ‘What the hell is that?’ I had never seen anything like it in my life.”

He continued: “It could be dangerous, but I think he just wants to get the space that he’s legally entitled to.

“But it certainly is a funny thing to see – he’s certainly going to get his space with that sticking out. He’s maybe had a scare before so does something like that. You never know with people.

“I got passed him pretty quickly. He wasn’t quite in the side though and gave himself a bit more space than he needed.”

Someone needs to dust off their Highway Code, by the sounds of things.

And imagine the scenes if he stumbled across my favourite denim-clad cyclist and his much more rudimentary close pass prevention device:

> Campaigners use Highway Code changes to protest waste plant

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Move over Tom Dumoulin, there’s a new Dutch pro cyclist-turned-surprisingly fast runner in town.

As the road season finally begins to grind into gear, and with the classics rapidly approaching, Lidl-Trek’s veteran big race winner Bauke Mollema took advantage of the last of his free time before Paris-Nice by finishing fourth in a 10km running race in Monaco at the weekend.

The 37-year-old, casually sporting a sponsor-correct and dazzlingly bright yellow Lidl t-shirt, completed the Monaco Run Gramaglia 10k in a rapid 31:40, securing him fourth out of 814 starters and first in the masters age group category.

> “I’ll not be able to walk for two weeks”: Tom Dumoulin finishes Amsterdam half-marathon in rapid 1:10.04

And – most importantly – Mollema’s time eclipsed that of his compatriot and newly minted half-marathoner Tom Dumoulin, who completed, while still a pro back in 2021, a 10k in his hometown of Maastricht in a very respectable 32:38.

Bauke 1-0 Tom.

Nobody tell Pidcock…

> Cyclists who run: From Pidcock and MVDP to Yates, Ovett, and, naturally, Chris Froome

Wout van Aert’s 2024 road season didn’t get off to the best of starts at yesterday’s Clásica Jaén, as the pre-race favourite was forced to amble to the finish in dead last (from just 45 finishers, mind you) after an untimely puncture – and accompanying slow wheel swap with Visma-Lease a Bike teammate Per Strand Hagenes – at the entrance to the first gravel section of the day with 52km to go.

And the Belgian took to Instagram last night to identify the culprit responsible for his premature exit from the favourite’s group:

Yep, that’ll do the trick.

Unlike other screw-based punctures in the past, there’s been no suggestion that any foul play was involved in Van Aert’s misfortune in the south of Spain. But, especially in the wake of his race-ending crash at Paris-Roubaix last year, the 29-year-old will be hoping he’s got all of his bad luck for 2024 out of the way before taking on Van der Poel, Pedersen et al when it really counts in April.

The day has finally arrived – and it’s pretty cool:

What a joy to be able to cycle across Hammersmith Bridge again! Thank you to everyone who enabled it to happen! ⁦@London_Cycling⁩ ⁦@theJeremyVine⁩ ⁦@BCA4Barnes⁩ pic.twitter.com/SA8Zjl8CqK

— Charles Campion (@charliecampion) February 13, 2024

> Hammersmith Bridge to reopen to bike riders with two-way cycle lane – but only for 10 weeks 

😮 @DeGendtThomas vs. @RubiksFrance #TourOfOman @lotto_dstny pic.twitter.com/jUIQ0GjocL

— Tour of Oman (@tourofoman) February 13, 2024

I can see it now, a TV series featuring De Gendt taking on Cavendish head-to-head at speed chess (the Manx Missile’s favourite pastime back in the day), Rubik’s Cube, escape rooms, shuffleboard…

Netflix, you have my number.