“Tell drivers to get off their phones and stop driving in cycle lanes”: Police slammed for targeting cyclists on LTN one-way street; “Children more important than empty bike lanes”; No Tour for Pidcock; Cyclocross coverage “farce” + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Drone Brompton Drone
In case you missed it at the weekend:
> War in Ukraine delays folding bike brand’s new e-bike launch – because supplier was busy building drones for British Army
Bonus points for anyone who spotted the admittedly extremely obscure reference to a 1979 single by synth-punk band Suicide in the headline. And yes, I have too much time on my hands…
Bedlam in Belgium
Elsewhere during ‘cross champs weekend, one particularly greasy corner at the slip-and-slide mud fest that was Belgium’s Zolder circuit – which had been a veritable ice rink only 24 hours before, delaying the start of the youth races – was causing all sorts of problems for the U23 men:
Bunny-hopping a stray bike only to careen into the barriers yourself? Now that’s what I call cyclocross.
“It’s like you’re right in the race… but warm and without 6.2 mmol of lactate”
Drones in cycling, part two – the rather more peaceful alternative:
yes but warm and without 6.2mmol of lactate
— Johan Jacobs (@jacobsjohan.bsky.social) January 12, 2025 at 8:00 PM
“An utterly scummy way to approach marketing”
> Bike maintenance brand criticised for “really poor taste” video linking Sir Chris Hoy’s cancer diagnosis to use of rival company’s chain lube
Cycle tour operators Saddle Skedaddle announced as new holiday partner of Cycling UK
Cycling UK has announced its new holiday partnership with Newcastle-based cycle tour operator Saddle Skedaddle, which the charity says forms part of a “shared goal” to reduce the environmental impact of tourism and promote healthier travel through cycling.
To launch the partnership with Saddle Skedaddle, which offers over 180 bike-based holidays in 36 destinations, Cycling UK members can now benefit from a range of offers until the end of January.
While Saddle Skedaddle’s regular January offer allows cyclists to get £100 off selected week-long holidays (using the code SKEDADDLE100), Cycling UK members, however, can save up to £400, while also taking advantage of half price bike hire on any UK, Spain, or Italy cycling holiday worth up to £300.
The offer also includes an extra £75 off selected UK tours, including Cycling UK routes such as Rebellion Way, King Alfred’s Way, Pennine Bridleway, and Wolf Way.
Saddle Skedaddle will also regularly update offers for the charity’s members and has committed to donating 5p for every mile ridden on a Cycling UK route – while the two organisations appear keen to stress the need for “responsible and sustainable” cycle tourism.
“Cycling UK acknowledges the environmental challenges posed by tourism and chose this specific partnership to underscore a shared goal to reduce the environmental impact of tourism and promote healthier travel through cycling,” the charity said in a statement.
“By working together, both groups hope to inspire more people to choose cycling as a means of travel, ensuring that local communities and the environment benefit from these journeys.”
“Partnering with Cycling UK is a fantastic milestone for Saddle Skedaddle. Not only does this emphasise our shared commitment to sustainable travel and strengthens our range of UK holidays but also gives us a chance to offer exclusive discounts to cyclists,” added Saddle Skedaddle’s founder and director Paul Snedker.
“We’re excited to contribute to a greener, healthier world by supporting Cycling UK’s mission, and we’re looking forward to inspiring more people to take up cycling as a way to explore the world responsibly.”
Quick, someone call Cadel Evans, he’ll sort these idiots out…
> Wire strung across popular bike path causes two “serious” crashes ahead of Tour Down Under, days after police chief urged “extra level of vigilance” on roads due to “abundance of cyclists” around pro races
Ukrainian climber and Dauphiné destroyer Mark Padun retires from professional cycling, aged 28
Remember Mark Padun? The Ukrainian climber who came from nowhere to blow everyone away in the Alps at the 2021 Critérium du Dauphiné before disappearing just as quickly back into the ether, barely seen at the front of a race again?
Well, he’s retired at the age of 28, following a season to forget riding – and failing to finish a single race – for Corratec-Vini Fantini.
In one of the more bizarre pro cycling career arcs, Padun turned pro for Bahrain Victorious in 2018 and was long touted as one of the sport’s most promising climbers.
However, after winning a stage of the Tour of the Alps and starting the Vuelta a España as a neo-pro, Padun’s star slowly began to fade – until one spectacular, mesmerising weekend of racing at the Critérium du Dauphiné in June 2021.
(CorVos/SWpix.com)
With 8km to go on La Plagne, the Ukrainian attacked some of the best climbers on the planet, including Richie Porte and Geraint Thomas, to secure his first victory for almost two years, before repeating the feat a day later on the road to Le Gets, dispatching Jonas Vingegaard – on the cusp of his breakthrough Tour de France podium – and beating the Dane by over a minute and a half.
Seemingly destined for greatness and in the form of his life, Padun was then mysteriously left out of Bahrain’s Tour squad, before riding a fairly anonymous Vuelta and moving to EF Education-EasyPost in the winter.
An early time trial win at Gran Camiño aside, Padun never really got going at EF, and ended up at the start of 2024 at second-tier Italian outfit Corratec.
Of the four races he started last year, he failed to finish a single one, managing a season-high stage placing of 161st at Tirreno-Adriatico, and even finished out of the time limit in the team time trial at the Tour of Slovakia.
And at the weekend, after seven strange, strange years as a pro, and at 28 still in what should be his physical peak, Padun confirmed his retirement from the sport.
But still, we’ll always have La Plagne…
End of the road for Fantasy Cycling
It’s the end of an era, after it was confirmed this afternoon that road.cc’s Fantasy Cycling game has called it quits ahead of the 2025 season.
In disappointing news for all of us who loved spending an evening stressing over whether to sub out Dylan Groenewegen for Derek Gee as the mountains loomed on the horizon, road.cc co-founder Dave Atkinson confirmed the decision to not continue Fantasy Cycling in a forum post.
“We’d like to extend our thanks to everyone that’s been a part of the game over the 12 years it’s been running, especially those of you who have helped with scoring, team transfers, and answering questions on the forum. It’s had a good run,” Dave said in the post.
“We’re sad to be closing the game, but the reality is that it runs at a loss, even with volunteers doing most of the scoring, and is built on a dated codebase that is no longer reliable. It would require significant development to update the game, and in the current commercial climate that’s not something that we can commit to.
“If you’re interested in taking on the hosting and running of the game then we’re happy to start a conversation about that: you can email us at game@road.cc.”
And to mark Fantasy Cycling’s closure after 12 glorious years, let’s take a moment to remember the time I finished 10th overall at the 2023 Tour de France:
Glory days, they’ll pass you by…
I Can’t Believe It’s Not a Normal Road Bike!
Not quite as catchy a slogan as the butter one, I’ll admit, but still…
> Does this new 10.8kg titanium e-road bike really “redefine what’s possible in lightweight e-bikes”?
Tom Pidcock confirms he will miss this year’s Tour de France and says he’s “happy I’ve got a year out from it”, as British star insists Ineos exit was “business, it wasn’t personal”
He may have been one of the stars of the first two series of Netflix’s fly-on-the-wall Tour de France documentary – after all, who doesn’t love a tense and moody post-stage, mid-massage debrief scene? – but Tom Pidcock won’t be heading to cycling’s biggest race in 2025, the British star confirmed in an interview with BBC Sport at the weekend.
Following his long, drawn-out transfer from the Ineos Grenadiers to second-tier Q36.5 Pro Cycling over the winter, Pidcock and his team are now reliant on wildcard invitations to WorldTour races, including the grand tours and most important classics.
And with the Tour’s final two invites set to be handed out to either breakaway-hungry Uno-X, Julian Alaphilippe’s Tudor squad, or French outfit TotalEnergies, Q36.5’s chances of making it to the start line in Lille on 5 July are somewhat slim, double Olympic champion on the books are otherwise.
Not that Pidcock, who’s had a love-hate relationship with the Tour and the pressures of riding for GC over the past few years, seems to mind that much.
(Georg Lindacher)
“We’ll have a year out from the Tour and try to get to the Tour in 2026,” the 25-year-old, who won a stage of the 2022 race atop Alpe d’Huez, told the BBC.
“I’m happy I’ve got a year out from it, a break. When I come back, it’ll be with a refreshed energy.”
While the former Amstel Gold and Strade Bianche winner is happy to sit out the Tour – where he appeared to be visibly bristling against the GC-focused demands placed upon him by Ineos at the race last year – for one year at least, he remains confident Q36.5 will secure invites to the events he’s most focused on: the one-day classics.
In fact, Pidcock is almost certain to race this year’s traditional Belgian Opening Weekend of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne, with the aim of taking in a full spring campaign with the Swiss squad.
(Zac Williams/SWpix.com)
“We don’t have full control over the calendar, we have to get invited,” he added. “But in theory we should have all the races that I want to do.”
Meanwhile, at Q36.5’s media day in Calpe yesterday, Pidcock told reporters, including Daniel Benson, that his decision to break his contract with Ineos early, amid an apparent breakdown in his relationship with the British team, was “business, not personal”.
“Things were just not going how it was originally envisioned at Ineos and how I had imagined it. The solution, the mutual solution, was to end the contract, which was the best,” Pidcock said during a press conference.
The 25-year-old was sensationally dropped at the last minute from the Ineos squad for Il Lombardia in October following months of tension within the struggling squad, kicking off a protracted transfer saga that ultimately led to Pidcock leaving the team he turned pro with in 2021, and signing a three-year deal with Q36.5 in December.
But, the Yorkshire all-rounder says, there was no specific moment that hastened his departure from Ineos.
(Zac Williams/SWpix.com)
“Things were just not going how it was originally envisioned at Ineos and how I had imagined it. The solution, the mutual solution, was to end the contract, which was the best,” he said when asked why he moved teams.
“It wasn’t a specific moment. It had been going on for a while. There’s no secret that last year was difficult for me, and Ineos I guess. It was more of a gradual thing.”
Pidcock then pointed to the changes that have taken place within Ineos since he signed four years ago, including the departure of team principal Dave Brailsford.
Meanwhile, it’s also clear that he will be afforded more freedom at Q36.5, where his off-road and classics ambitions won’t be stifled by an apparent desire for further success at grand tours, which seemed to be the main, and somewhat overbearing desire, at Ineos, a team formerly dominant at cycling’s three-week races.
(Zac Williams/SWpix.com)
“To be perfectly honest with you, I’m struggling to give an answer to that question because I’ve actually moved on,” Pidcock insisted when asked again why his spell at Ineos had ended in such acrimonious fashion.
“That team was my second family and I had great memories there but it was time to change. I accepted that a long time ago and I’m fully focused here and that’s not a scripted answer, I’m just very good at putting things behind me and moving on.
“Ineos was a fantastic team. They have their motivations and goals, and how they want to achieve them but at the end of the day what happened with me was business, it wasn’t personal.
“I signed my contract with different people who run the team now and that did create some difficulties, just from what I imagined it would be like to what happened but they still gave me every support in things they wanted to achieve.
“I had a lot of people were questioning why I had come to this team and saying these are my prime years, and that I should be winning as much as possible. But it’s not all about winning. It’s about the story you write, who you write it with, and what you achieve.
“It’s not only about winning, it’s about what you build, and here I can gain more satisfaction than anywhere else.”
Our kind of racing
Just when you thought cyclocross couldn’t get any better:
And nice to see Kevin De Bruyne making use of his FA Cup weekend off by taking the win, fair play.
“How is the sport meant to grow if we can’t watch it?” British Cycling slammed for “farcical” lack of TV coverage for national cyclocross championships – as fans forced to rely on teenager’s livestream from side of course
It was national cyclocross championships weekend in the muddy fields of Europe over the past few days, as riders across the continent fought for the right to be the one who dirties their country’s shiny champ’s jersey beyond all recognition for the next 12 months.
In Belgium, European champion Thibau Nys added to his ever-growing jersey collection, along with fellow first-time national champ Marion Norbert Riberolle, while young phenoms Puck Pieterse and Tibor del Grosso bagged that much-coveted red, white, and blue jersey at the Dutch championships.
Meanwhile, on a wintery course at the Cyclopark in Gravesend, 24-year-old Xan Crees soloed to an emotional maiden British elite title, breaking clear alongside Cat Ferguson early on before dispatching the teenage Movistar sensation on the third lap.
(Olly Hassell/SWpix.com)
After building up a solid lead, Spectra Racing rider Crees was then forced to hold off a late Ferguson surge to secure the win by five seconds, as Visma-Lease a Bike’s Imogen Wolff finished a strong third.
In the men’s race, Cameron Mason put in a dominant display to beat closest challenger Ben Chilton by over three minutes and secure his third consecutive national title, after Thomas Mein – who was putting Mason on the backfoot during the opening few laps – was forced to abandon after a fall on the steps.
(Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com)
Not that we could see any of the racing – unless you were actually in Gravesend, of course.
Because, while previous British ‘cross champs have been available to watch on the BBC iPlayer, this year’s event was only accessible to those at home through (officially at least) live text updates and the occasional short clip on British Cycling’s social media page.
A STACKED elite women’s field gets our afternoon racing off to a flying start! 🚀 pic.twitter.com/tyJiRdL2AO
— British Cycling (@BritishCycling) January 12, 2025
This lack of coverage was questioned in the lead-up to the events, with one fan asking under a cyclocross-themed British Cycling Instagram post: “Is the British National Championships being televised/streamed live anywhere?”
“You have to livestream it manually by going to Gravesend,” another sarcastically replied.
And that, bizarrely, was how it turned out.
After fans desperate to see the Kent-based action were warned about dodgy links purporting to be officially recognised by the governing body, up stepped a young teenage ‘cross fan named Kirstie, who filmed the race from the side of the course as part of a YouTube livestream and helpfully – and brilliantly – performed a running commentary on the racing in the process.
“Great job Kirstie, there’s nearly 350 of us watching you now. Brilliant. You are the official live stream of the British Cyclo-cross Championships!” one viewer commented on the teenager’s feed, which was uploaded to her YouTube page, ‘The World of Cycling According to Kirstie’.
In fact, Kirstie racked up a whopping 18,500 views across the two elite races for her livestream, with viewers joining all the way from the US too. So you can’t say there wasn’t a market for the coverage.
“I was super happy to do today’s livestream at the National Championships and commentate on the race. It was really nice to see loads of people tuning in from all over the world,” Kirstie wrote on her YouTube channel after the race.
Nice use of the classic cycling trope ‘super happy’ too, Kirstie.
(Olly Hassell/SWpix.com)
And while the cost of broadcasting a bike race in Britain can be shockingly prohibitive – just ask the Tour of Britain – some fans felt very short-changed when it came to this year’s national ‘cross coverage.
“Just a shame there’s nowhere to watch this on a screen,” Andrew wrote under one of British Cycling’s short clips of the racing.
“BC have really dropped the ball on this,” added cycling writer Katy Madgwick.
(Olly Hassell/SWpix.com)
“Basically we are going to be relying on a teenager to stream live from the Cyclopark,” said Alex on BlueSky.
“Well done Kirstie, all kudos to you. Farcical by BC though. Not sure how the sport is meant to ignite fires and grow if there’s no live coverage anywhere.”
Who knows, maybe Eurosport will sign Kirstie up for next year?
Could this be the best pro cycling paint job of 2025?
Yes, yes, absolutely yes:
> Meet the new street art-inspired Van Rysel–Roubaix RCR
Come on Decathlon-AG2R, don’t be cowards – I know that’s not exactly your colour scheme, but still, you know you want to…
A classic local paper headline: ‘Five-time Olympic champion coming to street food market’
Hold the front page! Bradley Wiggins is coming to a street food market in Norwich!
That Eastern Daily Press headline, tantalising as it may sound – do you reckon Wiggo will plump for the spicy chicken wings, the mac and cheese, or the smashed burger? – doesn’t tell the whole story, of course. Or much of the story at all, for that matter.
Instead, the Daily Press reported that Sir Brad of Wiggins will be chatting about his 2012 Tour de France success in an “intimate conversation”, before holding a public Q&A session at Norwich’s Junkyard Market in June, ahead of this year’s race.
Organised by the 499 club, tickets start at £35, while for an extra £15 you can get a photo with Brad, and for the low, low prices of £100 you can even be one of 20 people to attend a private 30 minute pre-event meeting with the, yes, five-time Olympic champion, featuring some delightful canapés. Yippee.
And yes, there will be street food.
Finally… it’s Giro route unveiling time!
Holiday planning notebook at the ready…
🔜 Before the 2024 Giro d’Italia and Giro d’Italia Women routes drop, let’s rewind and relive the glory of last year’s winners!
.
🔜 Prima che vengano svelati i percorsi del Giro d’Italia e del Giro d’Italia Women 2024, facciamo un salto indietro e riviviamo insieme le emozioni… pic.twitter.com/yrDhYRVGfi— Giro d’Italia (@giroditalia) January 13, 2025
“Children should be a greater priority than empty bike lanes”: Driver calls for “unwanted” cycling infrastructure funding to be diverted to “pot dedicated for our children’s futures” in bizarre anti-cycling plea
Spare a thought for the poor staffer in charge of the Bournemouth Daily Echo’s inbox, having to sift through piles of anti-cycling letters every day.
Or that’s the way it seems at the moment, anyway, judging by the recent editions of the local paper’s ‘letters to the editor’ page.
Just last week, we highlighted one letter, from a certain Mr David Chapman of Ferndown, who argued that cyclists are aiming to take control of the roads… by lowering speed limits.
“We’ve seen many stories from the cycling community regarding their wishes to control the roads to have lower speed limits despite having their own purpose-built safety lanes away from traffic,” David wrote in his letter to the editor.
“But isn’t it time cyclists took a look at themselves before telling others how things should be? Why do we need lower speed limits on roads with cyclepaths [sic] that keep cyclists away from traffic? Should we impose speed limits on cyclepaths?
“Until cyclists have insurance, licence plates, annual vehicle [sic] inspections carried out by government officials, cycling proficiency (for children, carried out at schools) and mandatory fixed lighting, what right does a cyclist have to tell anyone what to do on the roads?”
And now, David’s claim that cyclists are mounting a takeover of the roads has been followed by another letter, this time from Bournemouth-based Ian Lawrence, who argued in a rather misguided missive to the Echo’s editor that cycle lanes are acting as a barrier to the necessary funding required to support children, especially those with special educational needs and disabilities.
Which strikes me as a very odd conflation of two very distinct issues, with two very distinct funding sources.
Not that Mr Lawrence cares, however – I suppose it’s easier to blame the cycle lanes than years, or decades, of misjudgement and bad decisions on the part of the government, after all.
“While BCP Council is on the verge insolvency, on the other hand they wasting millions on underused, unwanted cycle infrastructure and money which they assert cannot be used for urgent priorities like SEND children,” Ian said in his letter.
“Maybe there are solutions available outside the box providing opportunities for council leadership to show its initiative and problem-solving abilities.”
Ian then called on the council to work with other local authorities, and alongside parents, to lobby the government to support funding initiatives for children with educational needs.
Which sounds great – but what’s it got to do with cycling again?
“Then you could all push for switching unneeded and unwanted transport funding into a pot dedicated for our children’s futures,” Ian continued.
“After all, nobody would disagree that children who should be a greater priority than empty bike lanes.”
Ah, right.
As we’ve seen over the years, BCP (Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole) Council has been at the forefront of a series of disputes over active travel projects in the United Kingdom, with residents like Mr Lawrence outraged at what they see as expensive and under-used cycling infrastructure making their lives worse.
Last month, we reported that a petition calling for the Liberal Democrat and independent-run council to “reconsider their current local transport and infrastructure policies” was launched online, following a MailOnline article on the issue which featured the headline: ‘Our council is causing traffic chaos and spending £120m to install 50 MILES of cycle lanes – despite the ones already there barely being used’.
Steve Moody, who set up BCP and Dorset Motorists, started the petition and claimed that the “construction of extremely expensive and obviously under-utilised cycle paths, along with a huge numbers of local roadworks, all being carried out at the same time with minimal co-ordination by BCP Council are real and major issues”.
However, BCP’s cabinet member for roads, Andy Hadley, insisted the infrastructure projects benefit all road users, not just cyclists, and countered the petition’s claims by pointing out that “not everyone in our community has the option to drive”.
“Do you want to tell motorists to get off their phones and stop driving in cycling lanes while you’re at it?” North Yorkshire Police criticised for targeting cyclists on one-way street in Low Traffic Neighbourhood, in bid to “keep everyone moving safely”
On Friday, police officers in York hit the streets “bright and early” as part of an attempt to “engage” with cyclists in the Groves low traffic neighbourhood area of the city.
Road closures in the Groves, a collection of close-knit terraces just north of York city centre, were first introduced in 2020, following complaints from residents about rat-running motorists.
In January 2022 the LTN was made permanent, following a reduction in traffic, an improvement in air quality, and a rise in both cycling numbers and community activities in the area.
And now, almost five years since rat-running was eliminated in the Groves, North Yorkshire Police’s officers have now turned their attention to something even more alarming (to anti-cycling zealots on social media, anyway)… cyclists riding the wrong way down one-way streets.
“This morning, our dedicated officers hit the streets bright and early to engage with cyclists in The Groves, ensuring everyone stays safe and follows the rules,” North Yorkshire Police posted on Facebook on Friday morning.
“Cyclists, it’s important to adhere to one-way systems to keep everyone moving safely! Our team is here to help with advice and education on safer cycling practices.”
Of course, not everyone was impressed with the police’s efforts to crack down on wrong-way cycling.
“Makes me laugh, they close all the roads down, but make cycling harder,” said David Rogers.
“Do you want to tell motorists to get off their phones and stop driving in cycling lanes while you’re at it!” added Louise.
“Also stop driving so close and forcing us through potholes and drains! Also stop cutting us up and stopping in cycle boxes at traffic lights! Ta.”
Fair points.
> Police threaten “regular patrols” and £50 fines in crackdown on cyclists in pedestrian area
But while cyclists weren’t happy with the apparent focus on people on bikes, you’d assume those naturally opposed to all things cycling would be delighted at the patrols in the Groves? Think again.
“Rather than hitting the streets bright and early you should get on your bikes after dark and address those many irresponsible and dangerous cyclists who ride in dark clothing and without lights,” said Pebbles (quick, someone tell Fred and Wilma!).
“Maybe time to start fining them too, they might well decide the price for some lights would be cheaper than a £20 fine.”
“More needs to be done across the city to educate some cyclists to use the roads and bike lanes, not pedestrian paths, and to have lights,” added Mattie.
Meanwhile, Chris added: “It’s the ones in the dark outfit with no lights on running red lights on you need to watch. Also, all the delivery riders running red lights.”
“Suggest they get out more often,” echoed anti-cycling bingo enthusiast Dave. “Cycles and bikes without lights, on pavements, ignoring lights all across the city.”
Full house!
Goes to show, you can’t win, can you?
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Link to the data: https://media.aspolice.net/uploads/production/20260204103554/JourneyCam-Report-October-2020-December-2025.xlsx
it’s a ‘game changer’. Use of this phrase means automatic disqualification from any further consideration Agreed! I automatically abandon any written, audio or video material, even scientific or medical, which includes any 'game changing' rubbish
But it's a 'game changer'. Use of this phrase means automatic disqualification from any further consideration, even if I can check that my helmet is at a suitably jaunty angle.
I don't know why the writer inaccurately describes the light output selection on this light. Three different things are conflated without properly first differentiating between them: The light mode (constant vs flash or "pulse"), power output (lumen rating), and the method of choosing these. Exposure combines the first two into three programs where each program has an individual output for the modes. So the copy-pasted text refers only to selecting the programs. Selecting between modes is as simple as in the Knog: "To cycle between the Constant and pulse options in each program press the function button once." Granted this might seem confusing at first but after that it is dead simple. The benefit of Exposure's choice is keeping things simple - once you've turned on the light you click either between constant and flash. In most cases FOR A COMMUTER LIGHT, this is just fine - when you ride a relatively short distance in most likely illuminated surroundings what the actual lumen output is is secondary. Connected to the above, marking as negative that the light puts out "only" 400 lumens in constant mode, is illogical. As the reviewer states, that amount is "a truly useful amount of light". There is ablosutely no challenge for Exposure in getting the light to put out 600 or more lumens in constant. But a) that would be more than "purposeful" and b) drain out the battery in an instant. The light has been designed as an ultra compact commuter light - where does it fail in that? Conversely, if you ride in "unlit rural voids" blame yourself and not the light if you chose this as your illuminating device. Furthermore claiming that the new alum. anti dazzle shield "makes zero difference" and is no upgrade is baffling - which do you think protects the lens better in an impact? Finally, moaning about the cost of the light without even mentioning what obviously plays a major role - the fact that it is manufactured in the UK, is appalling. So yeah if you "value" buying a light by Knog, Cateye and the likes that manufacture their lights in an undemocratic country where the list of ongoing human, labour, international law and environmental violations is nearly endless, and wish to support manufacturing processes where products are shipped across the world to endulge your "needs", then feel free to ignore all the above, and just focus on "user-friendliness".
Once again the CPS and Police are at fault There may be occasions in which the police and the CPS are independent entities, but in most of the cases on here, the CPS is just an excuse deployed by the police to excuse inaction over really blatant offences. What police officers are violently opposed to is people reporting offences, particularly when they send indisputable video, because the reports could take matters out of the hands of the police. They like to prosecute people they don't like, such as cyclists, and to have the option of forgiving people they do like, such as drivers in big cars or people they know. Whataboutery is getting a Bad Press on here, but it's a perfectly reasonable objection when, for instance, video is provided of drivers committing MUST NOT offences such as RLJs and they're forgiven by the police 'because everybody does it', yet a big thing is made of the offence when cyclists are involved. The assertion may not be palatable, but there are a lot of lying, crooked b******s in the Police.
I have both a Scott Spark RC and the Scale Gravel RC and find the Dangerholm builds really interesting by exploring what different directions can be achieved with a mix of imagination, DIY and professional resources. Probably not for the staid British mindset as shown by previous comments.
Once again the CPS and Police are at fault. They don't really worry about the law as they can usually find one to fit around their needs. And once again it's only when they are stood up to that they are forced to run away.
Lol. I’ve been saying the same to my watch. It keeps prompting me I need to do more calories on certain days and I tell it - but I did some gardening in the afternoon which included digging but u don’t let me record that. And then I have another biscuit with my tea.
"~15% of the riding time that I’m forced to use the road(because the infrastructure for cycling is insufficient or nonexistent) " Amsterdam?
Same here. I have a helmet with built in front and rear lights and have a red light clipped onto my bag plus lights attached to my bike front and rear but still have drivers putting me in danger. My commute is about two miles and I normally have around four incidents a week where I have to brake hard or take other evasive action to avoid being hit by distracted drivers. A big percentage of these are drivers coming on to roundabouts when I am already on them.
31 thoughts on ““Tell drivers to get off their phones and stop driving in cycle lanes”: Police slammed for targeting cyclists on LTN one-way street; “Children more important than empty bike lanes”; No Tour for Pidcock; Cyclocross coverage “farce” + more on the live blog”
One wonders what British
One wonders what British Cycling are spending their money on. Track racing most likely……
If the National champs can’t be filmed/streamed live, then what hope has the sport? It shouldn’t be down to the local organiser to put this together. The national governing body should ensure all national champs are availible to watch. From memory, it wasn’t long ago even the Road Nationals ( in the Isle of Man) weren’t covered live.
As a MTB racing fan, I’ve got used to no live coverage of Nationals……
Saying that, the country (Netherlands) who’ve dominated recent World champs, didn’t have live coverage either – as their national broadcaster prefers to cover Speed skating….
I think that tells you how big (or not) the sport of CX actually is……
Velophaart_95 wrote:
This , unfortunately, is exactly the issue. BC cares about one thing above all, securing medals in Olympic events. And most of our success has always been track cycling. The good ol’ lets play it safe and not venture into other areas. It’s a shame when you see the talent we have. You can rest assured they will want to take credit for MTB success on the back of Tom Pidcock but won’t do a damn thing to broaden their horizons into backing his other discipline. Why? There are no medals in the Olympics for cyclocross. It’s that simple.
Smoggysteve wrote:
Got to agree with that and it’s difficult to criticise them about that when the measure of the sports success (in terms of securing future funding) is how many medals did they bring home, particularly when track cycling has both a lot of medals up for grabs AND the same athletes can compete in several disciplines. Whilst we would all love to see the money spread wider, when the measure is ‘Pounds per Medal’ and track cycling provides a good return.
Remember how money was poured into swimming, tons of it and then when the success didn’t come how the funding was taken away. Possibly I missed it because I’m not interesting in swimming, but when was the last time you saw swimming on the BBC? We are at least getting some TV coverage.
When was the last time we saw
When was the last time we saw cycling on the BBC ? Olympics, Worlds & Ride London last year, that was pretty much it wasn’t it ?
No ones demanding national broadcaster coverage, as nice as that would be, but online coverage via YouTube should be the minimum expected for nationals.
And it’s a really simple equation, the more interest & more people watching it you get, the more sponsors get interested and the more potential Olympic medal winning talent you will unearth.
If they’re anything like
If they’re anything like other federations, then they’re spending it on trying to win Olympic medals, because that’s where the lottery funding comes from. No medals, no money. I’m fairly sure I remember an interview with some badminton (?) players who had just won a bronze which was more or less the difference between solvency and insolvency for their federation.
Which makes you wonder why they don’t do more around MTB because that’s been a happy hunting ground (as long as MVDP crashes in warm-up or DNS).
Maybe things will change in
Maybe things will change in the lead-up to the winter 2030 Olympics. How do Zoe Bäckstedt, Cat Ferguson and Imogen Wolff perform on snow?
We went to the Cyclox champs
We went to the Cyclox champs on Sunday and what was probably the most surprising was that neither the venue or British Cycling charged a entry fee.
The cyclopark is now runs as a charity and whilst they charge £1.90 for parking and make a bit of money on drinks and snacks it seems insane that there wasnt any kind of fee. Obvisously let kids in for free, but even charging adults a fiver minimum would make sense for BC and the venue.
There was quite a few people there and ok they may have had a few less if there was a small entry fee but that money still could have been invested back into the sport.
Perhaps those who run
Perhaps those who run Cyclopark felt that it was counterproductive to charge a fee. I’d expect that a large proportion of those attending to be riders and their families and supporters/pit crew.
BC just doesn’t care enough about what should be a hugely popular discipline (particularly as it happens during a quiet part of the year for road & MTB). As for the coverage, the BC twitter was useless. Other than Kirstie’s livestream, Velo UK’s facebook posts seemed to be the best source of updates and results. Larry Hickmott singlehandedly outdoing BC, as usual. Last year’s BC video wasn’t a patch on the preview and race summaries uploaded to Youtube by amateur rider Giorgio Coppola. They should be ashamed of themselves.
I think whilst there was a
I think whilst there was a large amount of friends and family, there was definitely quite a few general fans and some newbies. My favourite comment I overheard was “wouldn’t this be easier if they used a mountain bike with suspension”
We know Belgium pumps a lot of money into the sport as shown by the fact that they had coverage of both days on VRT. Something maybe BC and the BBC should try to rectify.
First comment apart from mine
First comment apart from mine I’ve seen about ticket money. If we understood bike racing as circuit-based vs point-to-point-based and looked for income from seats, standing, and concessions in a defined stadium/park/city centre, we might grow income and popularity: like T20 cricket which you can watch after work (or, as I did on Tuesday evenings, play it as far back as mid 1970s)
It’s almost as if BC do not
It’s almost as if BC do not treat what they do as a business. Whilst I understand the logic of get people in, get them hooked, if there is no infrastructure or clubs or funding then the kids will go and find some thing else.
We often go to races on the continent and they are always busy, always with a fee and you can see where the money goes, a) by the number of riders, B) by the tv coverage, and c) by the fact that the riders are the best in the world.
Look what happened during the golden age of British cycling, we were a dominant force and there was funding that brought that success.
Minimal funding means minimal Champions.
And surely cyclo-cross and
And surely cyclo-cross and MTB make for relatively easy TV coverage. Not as easy as track but they do laps of a short circuit. No need for motorbikes etc as in road racing. I’d have thought relatively short lap based bike races could be the bike race spectacle and even make money from ticket sales and concession stands. More like ODI and T20 cricket – the moneyspinners vs first class game and test matches where almost nobody watches live except biggest tests in UK. I don’t do cross or MTB and only followed road racing so this represents a new thought for me. Perhaps UCI deliberately wants to keep circuit racing small to protect road interests?
What was the point in that
What was the point in that Shell sponsorship again? At the time they said “We’re looking forward to working alongside Shell UK over the rest of this decade to widen access to the sport”.
It was an opportunity missed,
It was an opportunity missed, even the coverage from France that was pencilled in by Eurosport/Discovery+ was mysteriously removed.
Do you think the moto addicts
Do you think the moto addicts of BCP worried about what “right” cyclists “have to tell anyone what to do on the roads” ever ponder what “right” moto addicts have to tell drug addicts what to do with their bodies? Especially given that as a public health issue at the population level the lack of daily physical activity among Westerners is now as big a problem as drug use, maybe bigger.
That York thing is weird.
That York thing is weird.
It’s all 20mph limits so can perfectly well incorporate contraflow cycling.
The answer is probably to rely on the NPCC guidelines and cycle on the pavement because the road is clearly too dangerous.
mattw wrote:
I think cycling the wrong way down one-way streets should be officially allowed, but with the cyclists having to cede priority to any other traffic. There’s usually enough space for a cyclist and a car, but for the narrow roads it’s easy for a cyclist to pull into a gap to allow a car to pass. Obviously, the cyclists would have to be careful of pedestrians, but that’s par for the course anyway.
Not lived in York for a very
Not lived in York for a very long time, and I wasn’t familiar with this area, BUT per a quick Streetview reminder these streets can be very narrow (well – when you allow the cars parked on either side…) The “filtered permeability” looks good though (bollards)!
I’m also not sure what the “routes” (desire lines) cyclists are following here would be – presumably mostly north-south avoiding the busier main roads? Is there a specific “link” here?
York is an oddity. IMO it should be another “cycle city” on a par with Cambridge. Everything in its favour – it’s compact, the place is flat (apart from the hill – just a step up, to the north-east), there’s a large student population, the centre is “historic narrow streets” and a major tourist destination etc. There are some an “inheritence” of traffic-free paths (old railway lines / paths beside the waterways – been there for decades now, can be seen on the cycle route map / google). Oh, and because it’s east coast (ish) drier weather.
But of course, like almost everywhere in the UK it lacks a connected network of cycling routes (unless it’s changed radically?).
I speculate that the political will is not there partly due to being in North Yorkshire – God’s own (driving) country?
It’s an extra confusion for:
It’s an extra confusion for: car drivers and… pedestrians and other cyclists who are riding in car direction. In our current car (2L Ford Galaxy automatic) I can cruise sedately at 10, 15, 20 mph and observe everywhere around and ahead of me. As pedestrian or cyclist I still find it counterintuitive to look for bikes coming from unexpected direction despite consciously telling myself it might happen at any moment. I do not want to be at a high level of nervous alertness while walking
E6toSE3 wrote:
Fake news! Everyone knows it’s impossible to keep to a 20mph speed limit without constant focus on the speedo to the exclusion of everything else. You can read it everywhere!
You have to love a car v bike
You have to love a car v bike article comment section in the local papers to see the huge success that our education system is.
“Fine those cyclists in dark clothing and no lights that I see everywhere at night!”
“Food delivery riders running red lights (so they can get my dinner to my lazy arse before I complain!).
“Cyclists should get off the pavement and use the cycle paths (that I drive in).
“I park in the cycle lane because I’ve never seen a cyclist use them!!!”
Road tax, helmets, follow the rules (especially the made up ones).
Etc…
“Why can’t they just drive
“Why can’t they just drive like everyone else?” (and contribute to the dreadful congestion I keep banging on about. Of course in the UK this would be a minor thing most places with our percent or lower cycling modal share – though even at say 5%-10% you’d notice because motor vehicles are so space-inefficient).
“Why are we spending all this money on cyclists?” (same reason as we spend money on street lights, traffic lights, roundabouts, pedestrian crossings, footways … because people driving motor vehicles present a much greater risk to everyone around them – including other drivers,. And indeed to themselves. And while we have mass motoring with human drivers * infra is required to reduce that risk. But what they mean is “the money spent on someone else could be spend on me”).
* Not necessarily faultless with non-human drivers either – although from the signs we know that “red squirrels drive slowly”.
don simon fbpe wrote:
One I saw this morning:
https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/urgent-investigation-headlights-after-216-9857387
And, BTL in the comments:
“This is a problem and so are cyclist’s headlights. Why do they not have them dipped??”
brizzel post commenter wrote:
In what?
About 20 years ago, my
About 20 years ago, my Exposure Strada II came with two settings: full beam and urban (effectively a dim-dip setting). 600 lumens was huge for its time (and £240 at Earls Court Cycle Show but worth every penny and only just died). I did check. Dip setting in town was necessary.
Well… if we are to complain
Well… if we are to complain about cars, we have to be 100% flawless in our own behaviour, else our whole case is undermined. Cf Starmer’s stupid acceptance of small gifts vs Tory £millions of corruption.
But, as I say around here, it’s a lighting arms race. The days when Wonderlights were enough for A21 dual carriageway at night in February rain from East Ham to Tunbridge Wells are long gone! Cars blind cars, especially when cresting speed bumps. My Exposure Strada II, at 600 lumens, came with a dip setting nearly 20 years ago – I checked and realised full beam pointed straight forward was blinding and I didn’t want a blind 1.5 ton metal box anywhere near me.
I’ve seen some excellent lighting combinations on bikes recently. But most bikes have no lights, utterly inadequate lights, or, occasionally, blinding lights that affect me, my granddaughter, and car drivers.
On lighting: anyone else prefer the old yellow dim sodium street lights? Modern bright white light street lights create greater contrasts between very bright patches and very dark areas. Maybe diffusers would help make for less intense contrasts on roads and pavements. Now my eyes are old, they don’t adapt so quick, which exacerbates the contrast
if we are to complain about
if we are to complain about cars, we have to be 100% flawless in our own behaviour, else our whole case is undermined
Not this tripe again! If one car (actually, it’s very many) goes through a red light, we don’t see the morons writing ‘all cars go through red lights.
E6toSE3 wrote:
I’d say rather – when arguing from a minority/out-group position – it’s lose-don’t win. The “whataboutery” is already there. If you exhibit a flaw, this will certainly be seized upon. But perfect behaviour won’t help your case, nor will it disprove “ah, but I once saw / a friend told me …” See the cycling fallacy here.
As for politicians pointing fingers at each other I’m not sure that’s really the a comparable point.
Unfortunately – as you touch on – an “inadequate” light is judged in relation to the environment e.g. “I could barely see them next to the lights of the oncoming cars”.
But “competition” armed with arc-light power aside – I am perfectly happy with my rather low-power but cleverly engineered dynamo-powered lights for most of my urban travel. They adhere to European standards so as long as I aim them appropriately they shouldn’t blind folks – but pedestrians on our shared-use infra seem to see them and I can see well enough. (Plus they’re always there, don’t need charging etc.)
On the other hand I’m under no illusions that they will make me seen by drivers – especially if they are not looking (or just were looking for other motor vehicles, not cyclists – we train our brains to filter out “noise”). So bike and I wear reflectives – hopefully those on moving parts (e.g. the spokes / my arms and legs) will be salient.
E6toSE3 wrote:
That’s completely ridiculous and is not ever the case with complaints about people’s behaviour.
Wondered if there’d be a slot
Wondered if there’d be a slot to file my notes on pushing 13-months granddaughter downhill from Shooters Hill to Woolwich yesterday evening. Good cycle lanes on both sides of road (which I use on my 7-speed heavy town bike with luggage and my cf Roubaix Ultegra). Just three bikes used them: 2 pedal cycles well lit, one fast, one struggling uphill; one an unlit fat tyred emotorbike doing way more than the 20mph limit. Meanwhile, three bikes squeezed past us on pavement: two stealth, unlit; one well lit and moving carefully but, of course, still illegally; one hopped onto pavement, brushing against us from behind my left shoulder as I’d just crossed Nightingale Place junction with A205.
At least half of all people on pedal or electric powered 2 wheeled vehicles in SE London appear to be completely unaware Highway Code exists, and… never members of Tufty Club, nor heard of Green Cross Code or done Cycling Proficiency.
Being rush hour, hundreds of cars which never posed a threat or came close to us. And cars paused to let us cross, as in Highway Code Priorities.
I’ve started wearing a dayglow yellow waistcoat when walking or running to give bikes no excuse. Also carry walking pole to bring my pace up to 4mph and to hold in front of me as bikes charge along pavements and footpaths that are not bridleways or designated cycle paths.
In days before ebikes, I’d stop at lights, see hesitation in pedestrians and then feel their fear as a pedal cycle or two raced past me and through them. Then I’d catch and overtake till next set of lights. With ebikes, I can’t catch up and, of course, a little voice inside says, “Why bother? Everyone does it, just ride through lights yourself. You look stupid stopping for pedestrians when nobody else does.” I understand that’s a deep behavioral psychology instinct that we have to fight consciously if we are to live well in a big city based world that’s so very different from how we evolved – like urban foxes are modifying how they relate with other foxes due to unnatural population densities.
In morning, corrected an elderly but still vigorous Daily Mail reading neighbour about ‘Road tax’ and a couple of car:bike issues. Surprisingly, he took it very well and changed his assumptions. That was after I’d prepared the ground by noting why I was now wearing the dayglo waistcoat & using a walking pole. I’d prepared the ground by conceding that there are plenty of rogue bike riders. Both of us have wives who are much less nimble than we are, so bicycles on pavements are far greater threats to them than are cars on roads. Both of us now have to drive our wives to appointments, shops, etc
I think with electric
I think with electric vehicles – hire bikes, hire scooters, illegal privately owned scooters – the problem is that many of the people using them are not giving up their cars to move to electric transport.
Many of them will be going from pedestrianising to scootering, have little or no experience of riding a human powered vehicle or even an ICE vehicle, and in their heads they are just a faster pedestrian rather than a genuine vehicle. Hence the riding on footways, riding through lights, etc.
In my experience*, it’s the riders of those hire bikes, hire scooters, and illegal privately owned scooters who are FAR more likely to just carry on through red lights.
*Confirmation bias may apply.