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The sequel nobody asked for — bike lane Amazon van is back; Wrong day for white shorts... cyclist rides alligator alley; Shell, domestic racing in crisis etc. etc. — British Cycling members welcome new CEO with extensive to-do list + more on the live blog

Happy Friday! Just one day to go until the weekend (only two days this week! Outrageous...) and Dan Alexander is in the hot seat for the final live blog of the week
14 April 2023, 10:26
The sequel nobody asked for — bike lane Amazon van is back

Guess who's back? Back again...

This is the sequel nobody, and I mean absolutely nobody, asked for. A few weeks back our Friday live blog covered the story of an Edinburgh cyclist, Edward, who waited 15 minutes for the driver of an Amazon-branded van to return from multiple deliveries to remove his vehicle from the segregated cycle infrastructure.

"I've never seen it without someone parked in it," Edward told us...

Amazon van driver Leith Walk cycle lane (Edward Tissiman/Twitter)

We got in touch with Amazon and the company was quick to point out that Amazon Logistics engages independent delivery providers to provide delivery services, meaning it's "important to note" that Amazon does not own the vehicles nor employ the drivers, so it would be "wrong to say Amazon driver". Good to get straight to the important stuff...

"We have very high standards for the delivery service providers we work with and how they serve customers. We are investigating the incident."

Clearly...

Anyway, at least the Amazon help account got involved this time, that'll sort it, I'm sure...

14 April 2023, 15:34
And if you'd rather watch our video

14 April 2023, 15:08
Mountain bike icon Danny MacAskill gets £8,500 stolen bike returned… after two years
14 April 2023, 14:58
Comment of the day
Live blog comment 14/4/23

 

14 April 2023, 14:08
Who'd have thought it? GB News deputy political editor makes the case for "connected, protected cycleways" and less hi-vis talk

Things I didn't expect to write today... 

Well, especially not considering the GB News back catalogue in our archives...

> Daily Mail and GB News journalist objects to 20mph speed limits because... cyclists don't pay tax (apparently)

> "I get irrationally angry about cyclists": Jeremy Kyle and GB News' primetime anti-cycling bingo ranting

> GB News presenter claims 15-minute cities and LTNs are "un-British" and "illiberal"

Yep, this is the comment of GB News presenter and deputy political editor Tom Harwood who shared this tweet...

Put your anti-cycling bingo cards away, folks... Harwood agreed...

"This is a really good point. High vis nonsense wouldn’t be necessary, roads would frankly look nicer, if we worked towards connected, protected cycleways."

I'm going to need a lie down, back with you in a bit... 

14 April 2023, 13:39
Run aeroboy run: Alex Dowsett set to pin a race number on again... at the London Marathon
2023 Alex Dowsett Nopinz - 1

What does a retired pro cyclist do to enjoy life after a career at the highest level? Run the London Marathon... (obviously)...

Dowsett brought the curtain down on his 12-year professional career at the end of 2022, a period during which he won two stages of the Giro d'Italia and six national TT championships. Now, free from the 'shackles' of life in the WorldTour, the 34-year-old is turning his hand to other sporting aspirations and will run next weekend's London Marathon to raise money for his haemophilia charity Little Bleeders.

"The London Marathon, you watch it every year and you only hear wonderful things from it. It looks incredible," Dowsett told the BBC. "25 miles on the bike was a distance I specialised in. In the back of my mind I knew that was near enough a marathon. On a good day it would take me 45 minutes to an hour. I always thought the prospect of doing that on foot was daunting.

"I'm definitely nervous about it. The transition [from cycling to running] has been quite difficult, my body is quite fine-tuned to riding a bike and whilst I have a good engine my chassis isn't ready for the impact of running so I've had to work on that."

14 April 2023, 11:57
London's dockless Lime bikes being hacked thanks to TikTok
Lime-E bike in Ealing (copyright Simon MacMichael)

One of London's most popular hire bike schemes is being hacked by users getting rides for free, London News Online reports, with TikTok videos reportedly showing how it's done.

> Westminster starts removing hire e-bikes from central London streets on safety grounds

Westminster councillor Paul Dimoldenberg said they are "very concerned about the apparent ease with which these bikes can be hacked and essentially used for free".

"There are videos across social media which demonstrate how to hack Lime bikes, and we hope that all dockless bike companies will do more to tackle this," he said. "If these bikes are hacked, the rider is untraceable and the bikes can simply be dumped with impunity."

14 April 2023, 11:48
Over half of UK drivers still confused by Highway Code change, shows survey
14 April 2023, 10:00
Wrong day for white shorts... cyclist rides alligator alley

Yesterday it was Kriss Kyle's 2,000ft hot air balloon BMX skills, today's it's this brave cyclist riding the snappiest gravel going that's causing us a non-training-related elevated heart rate...

Alligator alley, as we've named it, looks like a pretty good route for some sprint training. Just drop in a full attack every time you meet a frightening reptile... you'll be flying in no time...

Back in 2016, a Florida-based rider went viral for a YouTube video of him riding along a waterside path while bemoaning being "sick and tired with people putting these logs across the... oh that's a crocodile... or an alligator"...

Cyclist mistakes alligator for a log YouTube still.JPG

While visiting the southeasternmost U.S. state, Chris Froome was unphased by his gator encounter...

There is of course a more serious dangerous side to things... in 2021 a Florida man (yes, it's always Florida) sustained injuries after falling off his bike and landing on an alligator, while way back in 2015 one of the state's many reptiles was blamed for causing a six-rider pile-up after a group ride crashed after slipping on some scaly road kill.

14 April 2023, 07:53
"Big job, best of luck, please do your best by our sport": British Cycling members suggest some early priorities for new CEO Jon Dutton

There's a new boss at British Cycling...

Jon Dutton, British Cycling CEO ( Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com)

> British Cycling appoints Jon Dutton as new permanent CEO

No sooner had the email dropped and the social media posts sent, the requests for Mr Dutton's 'to-do' list were already flooding in from British Cycling members and the wider cycling community. We had mentions of Shell, the state of the British domestic racing scene, inclusivity concerns, too much focus on road and track, plus just about every other conceivable ask...

On Facebook, British Cycling's post received a comment from one onlooker asking Dutton to not forget "cycling is so much more than just road bikes", pointing out there's 'cross, MTB and BMX, all "massively underfunded".

Another, Lee Haigh, said: "I'm a 'working class' cyclist, but cycling especially road cycling, in my opinion, is far too much of a 'white middle class' sport dominated by mamil's (many drs, solicitors and dentists etc) who can afford tens of thousands of pounds of the best equipment available to the pros!

"We've never been a cycling nation like Belgium or France and never will be whilst it's only rich middle aged men that can afford it! That needs changing! I hope the new CEO will do something about that, but doubt it! Rich kids on expensive bikes!"

Rae Hughes commented: "So he wants to ensure 'British Cycling continues to ... positively impact communities ...' perhaps he might like to do something about the partnership deal with Shell that still has seven years to run. Surely a link up with a fossil fuel company, whose products do not 'positively impact communities', is not in the best interests of a sport with green credentials."

"Better step up to the plate for women's sport," Neil Lawson added.

Just a few things for consideration... as one comment pointed out: "Big job, best of luck, please do your best by our sport". No pressure...

14 April 2023, 08:18
The view from rugby league — "cycling's gain is league's loss"

Among the requests were good luck messages and thanks from those in the rugby league community who, from yesterday's reaction, were quite impressed by the job Jon Dutton did as CEO of the successful Rugby League World Cup events in England in 2021.

Former England league and union international Jason Robinson said British Cycling had made a "great appointment", while Mail Sport reporter David Coverdale agreed, saying Dutton "did a great job overseeing the Rugby League World Cup".

Leeds Rhinos legend Barrie McDermott said he is "sure you'll be a huge asset to the sport in the same you have been for us, good luck".

Positive reviews, I'd say...

Dan is the road.cc news editor and joined in 2020 having previously written about nearly every other sport under the sun for the Express, and the weird and wonderful world of non-league football for The Non-League Paper. Dan has been at road.cc for four years and mainly writes news and tech articles as well as the occasional feature. He has hopefully kept you entertained on the live blog too.

Never fast enough to take things on the bike too seriously, when he's not working you'll find him exploring the south of England by two wheels at a leisurely weekend pace, or enjoying his favourite Scottish roads when visiting family. Sometimes he'll even load up the bags and ride up the whole way, he's a bit strange like that.

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37 comments

Avatar
Hirsute | 1 year ago
4 likes

Not sure many can fit a two seater sofa in their car...

https://twitter.com/mouldie099/status/1646834563170148353

//pbs.twimg.com/media/Ftq7TUPXoAAUkRJ?format=jpg&name=small)

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Awavey | 1 year ago
3 likes
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chrisonabike replied to Awavey | 1 year ago
2 likes

This is what Right Said Fred tried to warn us about!  3

Looks good (obvs. I don't know the local details).

Wonder if it will go like a local no-through-road intervention close to my place?  You need monitoring and quick response to people "granting access".  The one near here - folks first drove over the verge / through vegetation to get round.  After a bit they moved some of the barriers.  When these were reinstated, very quickly a large planter was trashed and a couple of substantial concrete barriers were shifted.  Not sure if it's part of council plan to remove this now (it was Covid-era) but the road is back to being a through-road.

Sometimes where there's a "won't" there's a "will!" and a way.

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Hirsute replied to Awavey | 1 year ago
3 likes

"Only cyclists may now pass through the gate."

Pedestrians: "You shall not pass "

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Matthew Acton-Varian | 1 year ago
4 likes

"Who'd have thought it? GB News deputy political editor makes the case for "connected, protected cycleways" and less hi-vis talk"

I'm sorry, did the tunnel I cycle through this morning contain a portal to an alternative universe?

I think I need a lie down too, Dan.

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IanMSpencer | 1 year ago
12 likes

It's quite clear there has been a steady drift into delivery vehicles parking unlawfully, and both on social media and in interactions it is also clear that these drivers believe they are entitled to do it.

The trouble is that as it is habitual, they also do it when urgently picking up their lunchtime pastie, and other drivers are starting to copy.

I gave a white van a hearty slap on my way home on Tuesday (checking the mirror that there was no driver to door me, but I could see there was a passenger to wake up) who was parked on zig-zags to pop into One Stop - clearly a builder, not deliverer. The car behind was parked on double yellows (and highly unlikely to be loading as allowed by the exemption for goods). Caused quite a nuisance and a genuine safety issue for the crossing.

Locally, drivers are now incapable of parking without blocking a pavement or cycle lane, and I am sure if challenged would claim that otherwise they would block the road. Well, perhaps if they don't think it is right to block the road, (typically causing no more nuisance than blocking the pavement and half a lane so traffic still needs to pause), then they need to reassess their parking strategy. Often locally this would involve the tedious effort of using a driveway.

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brooksby replied to IanMSpencer | 1 year ago
5 likes

IanMSpencer wrote:

It's quite clear there has been a steady drift into delivery vehicles parking unlawfully, and both on social media and in interactions it is also clear that these drivers believe they are entitled to do it.

I wonder if, like many things, this could be blamed on the pandemic.  During the lockdowns, delivery drivers became much more important because we needed stuff delivering.  So many came to believe they were providing a Very Important Service so f- off with yer rules'n'regulations.

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chrisonabike replied to brooksby | 1 year ago
4 likes

Could be.  What has happened over the last decade or so is a massive expansion in this market.  Ultimately simple "selection pressures" will cause any and all rules to be tested.  Value of delivery is in large part judged on speed.  If one company can do it quicker / the same volume more cheaply it will get the business.

Without strong negative feedback no change will occur.  That is: swift consequences in a sufficient number of cases.  Consequences which need to also reach the higher ups not just the grunts - and ultimately the shareholders.  Especially when society in general doesn't really see this as an issue.  With some local exceptions there is approximately zero feedback for illegal parking in general, never mind the merely dangerous / antisocial type.

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brooksby replied to chrisonabike | 1 year ago
4 likes

chrisonatrike wrote:

What has happened over the last decade or so is a massive expansion in this market.

Hey: remember when Amazon was an online bookshop? 

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chrisonabike replied to brooksby | 1 year ago
0 likes

Remember Borders...?  Lots of reasons for "change" but - shock! - it turns out that people really like "cheap" and "don't have to go anywhere to get one"...

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brooksby replied to chrisonabike | 1 year ago
3 likes

chrisonatrike wrote:

Remember Borders...?  Lots of reasons for "change" but - shock! - it turns out that people really like "cheap" and "don't have to go anywhere to get one"...

I liked Borders.  I liked a big f-ing huge bookshop that had actual physical copies so you could browse and go, "Wow - never heard of that, it looks interesting, think I'll get that".

Even Waterstones (the last big bricks-and-mortar bookshop) doesn't do that any more 

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mike the bike replied to brooksby | 1 year ago
3 likes

 

[/quote]

Hey: remember when Amazon was an online bookshop? 

[/quote]

Jesus, I can remember when Amazon was a river.

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belugabob replied to mike the bike | 1 year ago
2 likes
mike the bike wrote:

 

Hey: remember when Amazon was an online bookshop? 

[/quote]

Jesus, I can remember when Amazon was a river.

[/quote]

I don't believe Jesus had even heard of the Amazon...

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lonpfrb replied to brooksby | 1 year ago
2 likes
brooksby wrote:

Hey: remember when Amazon was an online bookshop?

Nope, Amazon is a hyper-scaler, public cloud platform to rival Azure, Google etc..

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belugabob replied to IanMSpencer | 1 year ago
1 like
IanMSpencer wrote:

It's quite clear there has been a steady drift into delivery vehicles parking unlawfully, and both on social media and in interactions it is also clear that these drivers believe they are entitled to do it.

The trouble is that as it is habitual, they also do it when urgently picking up their lunchtime pastie, and other drivers are starting to copy.

I gave a white van a hearty slap on my way home on Tuesday (checking the mirror that there was no driver to door me, but I could see there was a passenger to wake up) who was parked on zig-zags to pop into One Stop - clearly a builder, not deliverer. The car behind was parked on double yellows (and highly unlikely to be loading as allowed by the exemption for goods). Caused quite a nuisance and a genuine safety issue for the crossing.

Locally, drivers are now incapable of parking without blocking a pavement or cycle lane, and I am sure if challenged would claim that otherwise they would block the road. Well, perhaps if they don't think it is right to block the road, (typically causing no more nuisance than blocking the pavement and half a lane so traffic still needs to pause), then they need to reassess their parking strategy. Often locally this would involve the tedious effort of using a driveway.

But - they pay pavement tax...

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Matthew Acton-Varian | 1 year ago
1 like

Considering Jon Dutton's track record in previous sports; particularly in his last job for Rugby League, and he has previously worked with BC and the UCI, I believe he is someone who understands the sporting and community aspect as well as the business side of governing bodies. Considering sporting governing bodies are effectively run by sporting administrative journeymen, and not ex-athletes with a personal interest, the clinical approach used by previous CEOs and those in other sports should be mellowed somewhat in Dutton's approach. 

Here's hoping my belief is right, and his time as custodian leads to the changes and improvements that the domestic scene is desperately looking for, both from a competitive and from a social and commuting standpoint.

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Awavey replied to Matthew Acton-Varian | 1 year ago
3 likes

I'd be happier if I knew what his aims or goals were for his tenure, the classic interview questions where do you see yourself in 5 years? What's your view on this hot topic ? How would you improve cycling as a sport ? How are you different than the last ceos Etc etc.

At the moment he's just another in the identikit bland guy in a suit administrators, sporting bodies in the UK excel at giving jobs to.

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Matthew Acton-Varian replied to Awavey | 1 year ago
0 likes

I'm sure that those answers will come in due course. The appointment was fairly sudden in the public eye, so adjustments to his role are likely to come first, along with working out what type of changes need to be made.

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muhasib replied to Awavey | 1 year ago
2 likes

For an 'identikit bland guy in a suit' he was a success with the Rugby League World Cup which was delayed a year after nearly being cancelled completely, rugby league has has had its share of problems administratively so it stands out more when judging this outcome as a success. Having worked in a poorly resourced sport with a huge community participation can only have added to his experience going forward for cycling to benefit from.

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Safety | 1 year ago
6 likes

Re the Amazon parking on Leith Walk. I think it's about time we had a "just a minute" protest such as they have in Canada.
https://www.eta.co.uk/2022/05/04/just-a-minute-protest-targets-drivers-b...

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brooksby replied to Safety | 1 year ago
10 likes

Safety wrote:

Re the Amazon parking on Leith Walk. I think it's about time we had a "just a minute" protest such as they have in Canada. https://www.eta.co.uk/2022/05/04/just-a-minute-protest-targets-drivers-b...

The Ethical Choice wrote:

Inspired by the excuse ‘I’ll just be a minute‘ that’s often trotted out by drivers to traffic wardens, a group of cycle campaigners have turned the tables on motorists. When a driver parks in a cycle lane, they block the road for other cars so that bicycles can safely negotiate the obstruction.

I like that, a lot yes

But I also liked the other part of that article:

The Ethical Choice wrote:

Catclaw is the size of half a small orange and was designed to be installed in its thousands along kerbs and pavements. When a car or lorry drives over a CatClaw, its weight exposes a sharp steel tube that quickly punctures the tyre. However, it poses no threat to pedestrians – a person standing on top of the device would not be heavy enough to activate it.

 

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chrisonabike replied to brooksby | 1 year ago
0 likes

Sounds like that would fit right in.  Per graffiti I saw there "What is Leith?  Begbie, don't hurt me..."

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Hirsute replied to brooksby | 1 year ago
1 like

Umm, what happens after the catclaw is triggered ?

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chrisonabike replied to Hirsute | 1 year ago
0 likes
Hirsute wrote:

Umm, what happens after the catclaw is triggered ?

Welcome to Edinburgh, pal (pic taken on the Hawthorne Path).

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chrisonabike | 1 year ago
0 likes

RE: Amazon van - in an unfortunate coincidence that's just outside Leith Cycle Co here...

(I've been in a couple of times though never used for maintenance - they seem to be nice folks).

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EddyBerckx | 1 year ago
26 likes

"Another, Lee Haigh, said: "I'm a 'working class' cyclist, but cycling especially road cycling, in my opinion, is far too much of a 'white middle class' sport dominated by mamil's (many drs, solicitors and dentists etc) who can afford tens of thousands of pounds of the best equipment available to the pros!"

Go fornicate yourself Lee, from a fellow working class cyclist.

Because there's not enough bigoted nonsense thrown at us from all sides without us turning on ourselves with this utter crap.

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Patrick9-32 replied to EddyBerckx | 1 year ago
17 likes

Driving is a middle class sport. Only the super rich can afford a mazerati or a ferrari because drivers are all rich white men. 

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Patrick9-32 replied to EddyBerckx | 1 year ago
4 likes

Also, why does this person think that anyone but a top level pro (who doesn't pay for their bike) NEEDs a top level bike to go racing, the difference between a super cheap bike and a 10 grand superbike is less than 10% of the performance. The difference between a good medium bike and a superbike is going to be way less.

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Car Delenda Est | 1 year ago
16 likes

Classic response from Amazon: that's got nothing to do with us, we just pay them to do it and put our brand on it.

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Patrick9-32 replied to Car Delenda Est | 1 year ago
14 likes

We want you to 100% belive the service is a seamless product of amazon, until we do something criminal then it is 100% not our fault. 

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