“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

> Dad who tracked down daughter’s stolen bike threatened with metre-long samurai sword

😮 @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.

> “Unfortunately you can’t control every idiot on the road”: Road race organiser frustrated as cyclists almost hit by “inconsiderate” Uber driver

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 

A “violent driver” who deliberately rammed a cyclist into a parked HGV — leaving his victim with spinal fractures that reduced him to “a hollow shell of a person, barely able to get out of bed” — has avoided jail.

Adam Ruszkowski was handed a two-year suspended sentence suspended for two years by a judge at London Crown Court, and will have to pay Thomas Purchase £3,000 in compensation, having pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving in relation to what the judge described as a “moment of madness”.

Read more: > “Violent driver” avoids jail after deliberately ramming cyclist into parked HGV, causing spinal fractures 

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.

Since the first Low Traffic Neighbourhoods were installed in Oxford almost three years ago, the county council has spent over £75,000 repairing and replacing vandalised and stolen bollards designed to stop through traffic on residential streets, new figures have revealed.

LTNs have been in place in various parts of Oxford since March 2021, though the active travel scheme has been blighted by what some have described as a “civil war”, with activists opposed to the measures frequently staging protests and submitting petitions to the local council, while some have resorted to driving over, removing, and even setting alight the scheme’s traffic-calming planters and bollards which signal the entrance to the LTNs.

> Active travel campaigners release footage of anti-LTN vandals setting bollards alight

And according to figures obtained by the BBC through a Freedom of Information request, Oxfordshire County Council has spent £75,500 on fixing plastic bollards between January 2020 and January 2024.

In March 2023, these plastic bollards were replaced with wooden structures to the tune of £86,000, with costs for repairs and replacements since then amounting to £22,862.

Most of the costs stemmed from intentional damage or theft, the council confirmed, while a small portion was spent on accidental damage, such as motorists unintentionally hitting the bollards while turning their cars.

Andrew Gant, the country council’s member for transport management, said he took the damage “very seriously”.

“We will continue to make safe, and ultimately replace, all damaged infrastructure,” he said.

> “Going back is not realistic”: Councillor stresses “need to change” as Oxford LTNs made permanent – but angry residents say “we can’t get on bikes”

During a vote in October to make permanent three LTNs in the Divinity Road, St Clement’s, and St Mary’s areas of Oxford, councillors also voted to replace the planters and bollards with Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras.

A 2023 report into Oxford’s LTNs found that the schemes have led to an increase in cycling numbers by 20 percent, with one boundary road even seeing the percentage of cyclists increasing by 51 percent, while car use is down by 10 percent.

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

> Dutch police unveil roadside device for identifying illegally fast and powerful e-bikes

> Buyer’s Guide: Best rear bike lights 2024 

Now, I’m not exactly best placed to predict the trajectory of Taylor Swift’s dating life (I know, what a shock).

But, after the Swiftie Fest that was Sunday’s Super Bowl, it’s not entirely beyond the realms of possibility that the ubiquitous popstar could be seen sporting a variation on this, rather stylish, Tay Tay-inspired cycling top at – I don’t know – the 2028 Tour de France?

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by stycle.design (@stycle.design)

You heard it here first…

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

Famous internet cycling duo Travis and Sigrid are well used by now to people blaming them for the dodgy driving of motorists on the streets of London.

In November, cyclist Travis Nelson and his feline passenger Sigrid, a deaf Norwegian Forest cat – who became something of an internet sensation for their videos of the pair exploring the capital by bike, racking up over 250,000 followers on Instagram and even the odd road.cc Podcast appearance (lucky them) – were knocked off their bike by an “impatient, close passing moped driver”.

However, when police appeared on the scene, one officer, after first checking to see if everyone was okay, told Travis: “You’ve not got a helmet on. I recommend wearing a helmet.”

> ‘Police’ scold cyclist riding with pet cat in basket for not wearing a helmet after moped rider knocks them off bike

So, it’ll come as no surprise to anyone that Travis’ latest video – depicting a rather innocuous encounter between the two-wheeled duo and a motorist who pulled out of a junction in front of them, before stopping in time and waving them on their way – opened the victim blaming, anti-cycling floodgates on social media:

Eager to hear how this one was my fault as well. pic.twitter.com/MbjYVSnL1z

— Travis and Sigrid (@sigirides) February 12, 2024

Although, with the caption “Eager to hear how this one was my fault as well”, it’s fair to say Travis was expecting some, ahem, interesting opinions.

“Riding so close around the front of the car was extremely poor hazard awareness. Just stop and let the driver complete their manoeuvre as any car driver would do,” wrote the presumably super attentive Marcus.

After Travis simply replied “No” to that particular piece of advice, Marcus continued: “Then don’t be surprised when a driver who appears to be flustered sets off again and flattens you. Learn to spot the hazards.”

“If they stop, wave me forward, and then flatten me, they’re probably gonna go to prison,” noted Travis.

“Perhaps it was clearer in person, but I don’t see a wave in the video,” came Marcus’ latest attempt to pin the blame on the cyclist (and his cat).

“Also, riding so close around the front of a car because you believe they waved is still very naïve. You’ll have the satisfaction of knowing they’re in prison while you spend life being fed through a straw.”

> Meet Travis the human and Sigrid the cat, the viral sensations who have just switched to an e-bike

“So you want to be treated like cars?” asked Bernie, after Marcus nipped off for a cup of tea. “Well you should have pulled up and let the car that had pulled out, which was in the wrong, drive off instead of riding around it. You can’t have everything both ways.”

“You overtook that car dangerously and nearly went into the other cyclist,” added another Twitter user.

Meanwhile, Lee wrote: “Could you see me him at 8 seconds? No and he can’t see you. He’s pulled out and is now in the mind ‘as I’m out this far will he let me go?’ No you rode round him to prove a point.”

“I saw them way before the video even started, because I was, you know, paying attention to where I was going. Unlike the person operating a heavy, dangerous, powered vehicle,” Travis responded.

Others, rather understandably, were a bit baffled.

“What do you mean by fault? Nothing happened,” said BGee.

“Oh don’t worry, the drivers are trying to find a way to blame me anyway,” said the cat-accompanying cyclist. “Twitter drivers are ridiculous aren’t they? Can’t just accept bad driving when they see it, has to be some huge drama about blaming literally anyone else.”

But the big question remains – What did Sigrid make of the whole thing?

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