“Shifting with hopes and dreams”: Mechanic shares chainring horror (+ tri-bike brought in for “just a tune-up” with crumbling headtube); Philipsen “doesn’t blame” Coquard for Tour-ending crash; CyclingMikey hits out after fake news + more on the live blog
First Published: Jul 15, 2025
SUMMARY
Near Miss of the Day 932: Experienced cyclist says this near-collision "was by far the scariest I've had while cycling"
Suffolk to host opening two stages of 2025 Tour of Britain Men — with Woodbridge, Southwold, and Stowmarket confirmed as start and finish venues
The Tour of Britain Men is kicking off in Suffolk this September, with race organisers confirming that the county will host not just the opening stage — but the first two days of Britain’s biggest professional cycle race.
Stage one gets underway on Tuesday 2 September, starting in Woodbridge and finishing in Southwold. It’ll be a first-time appearance for both towns on the men’s race map — though Southwold has twice welcomed the women’s peloton, most recently in 2018.
The following day, it’s Stowmarket’s turn, with stage two both starting and finishing in the Mid Suffolk town. That makes it a debut Tour stage for Stowmarket — and the first time Suffolk has hosted back-to-back days of the race.
Cllr Sarah Whitelock, East Suffolk Council’s cabinet member for Communities, Culture, Leisure and Tourism, said: “We are excited to welcome the Lloyds Tour of Britain Men back to East Suffolk for the third consecutive year, and to be hosting the opening stage. This is the UK’s largest free-to-spectate live sporting event and directly benefits local businesses and communities.
“The Tour, and the community activities which accompany it, also helps to promote the physical and mental health benefits of cycling to all ages and abilities and showcases East Suffolk as a cycle friendly destination to a national audience.”
While we’ll have to wait until later in July for the exact routes, organisers have confirmed some of the key towns the race will pass through. Stage one will head through Wickham Market, Aldeburgh, Saxmundham, Framlingham, Halesworth, Bungay, and Beccles before finishing on the Suffolk coast.
Cllr Andy Mellen, leader of Mid Suffolk District Council, said: “We’re delighted to be able to bring the Tour of Britain Men into the heart of Suffolk and look forward to welcoming some of the world’s best riders. We already know from the Women’s Tour that our towns and villages will be out in force to cheer them on. The race brings real excitement to the district, inspiring others to enjoy the benefits of cycling, as well as giving a real boost to our visitor economy.”
As for stage two, the peloton will be passing through Debenham, Eye, Sudbury, and Hadleigh — though the full details will also land later this month.
“This is a fantastic opportunity for us to showcase Babergh’s beautiful landscapes, towns and villages to an international audience,” said Cllr John Ward, leader of Babergh District Council. “We’re also committed to providing opportunities to get involved in sports and physical activity and by hosting this international event showcasing prominent cyclists we hope to inspire the next generation of budding athletes right here in Suffolk.”
Jonathan Day, Managing Director of British Cycling Events, added: “We are delighted to begin our announcements with the news that East Suffolk will host the opening stage, and two new venues – Woodbridge and Southwold – will appear on the Lloyds Tour of Britain Men map. Then moving onto stage two and a huge thanks to our partners at Babergh and Mid Suffolk, which will see Stowmarket become the third new venue for the men’s race, ensuring a fantastic opening two days in the beautiful Suffolk countryside.”
“It’s a fairytale, beyond belief really”: Ben Healy celebrates yellow jersey with champagne pops, beer chugs, and a bit of pyrotechnics
Ben Healy started this Tour de France hoping for a stage win. Ten days in, he’s got that — and now the yellow jersey to go with it.
“It’s a fairytale, beyond belief really,” the 24-year-old said after storming into the race lead on yesterday’s first proper mountain stage in the Massif Central. “If you told me this before the Tour, I wouldn’t have believed you. A stage win, and now the yellow jersey, is just incredible.”
Ireland’s last yellow jersey belonged to Stephen Roche in 1987. Before him? Seán Kelly, back in 1983. And Shay Elliott, all the way back in 1963. Now, Ben Healy has joined some elite company.
It wasn’t exactly a gentle ride into the race lead either. Healy attacked from an early 29-rider breakaway on the 163km stage from Ennezat to Puy de Sancy — and somehow held off a furious chase from Tadej Pogačar and the GC contenders, crossing the line third on the stage and doing just enough to wrestle yellow away from the world champion by 29 seconds.
“It’s some pretty crazy footsteps to follow, isn’t it?” Healy said. “I’m just super proud to represent Ireland, wear the yellow jersey for them, and hopefully I can do it some justice.”
EF Education-EasyPost didn’t exactly hold back in the celebrations. Post-stage videos showed the team cracking open beers, popping champagne, and — because why not — setting off fireworks in Healy’s honour before this morning’s rest day.
And they’d earned it. One team video even showed Sports Director Tom Southam and CEO Jonathan Vaughters cheering Healy on over the radio, willing him through those brutal final kilometres as Pogačar closed in.
For the record, Healy’s numbers on the road to yellow weren’t bad either:
- 172.18 km in 4:37:54
- 4,458 m of climbing
- Average speed: 37.2 km/h, max speed: 87.9 km/h
- Weighted average power: 323w (average: 271w)
- 1,016w peak power
- 4,544 calories burned
- Historic Relative Effort: 374
- Four KOMs, including Montée Gravenoire-Charade
Not bad for a lad who, at the start of the day, was still sitting eleventh on GC, almost four minutes down.
“The balance has shifted”… or has it? Pogacar shrugs off Almeida loss and Visma’s attacks — as American ex-pro warns of “worst possible scenario”, McEwen talks up a “Pog-ified” Vingegaard, and the Tour de France GC fight stays on a knife-edge
João Almeida’s exit was supposed to be a game-changer. A shift in power. A nightmare scenario for Tadej Pogačar, if you believe Tyler Hamilton.
And yet… here we are.
Stage 10, the first big day in the high mountains, with Jonas Vingegaard’s Visma-Lease a Bike piling on the pressure — dropping Almeida’s replacement Adam Yates, deploying Sepp Kuss, Matteo Jorgenson, and even Victor Campenaerts to crank up the tempo — and Pogačar? He barely blinked.
“I had really good legs, and the team executed the plan perfectly,” the defending Tour champion said afterwards. “In the end, there were no time gaps with Visma-Lease a Bike. They certainly tried to make something happen, but I don’t think the climbs were hard enough to create real differences.”
That’s about as close to a shrug as you’ll get in a post-stage quote.
Despite that, the American former pro Tyler Hamilton reckons Almeida’s loss is “a huge, huge blow” for UAE, a shift that leaves the team exposed and heaps “enormous pressure on Adam Yates.”
He even noted how downbeat Pogačar sounded after stage nine, speaking on Danish TV2: “I could hear in his voice that he was really affected — it’s a serious setback for his team.”
But it’s also hard to argue with what’s happening on the road. Even when Visma press, Pogačar just sits there, matches moves, then occasionally throws in an attack for fun.
Not that Jonas Vingegaard’s Tour has been without positives. Robbie McEwen, speaking on TNT Sports, said that we’re seeing “a new Jonas Vingegaard that we haven’t met before” — a more attacking, expressive rider who’s been “Pog-ified” by his great rival’s swashbuckling style.
“He’s showing more attacking initiative… maybe Jonas is discovering it’s something that suits him too,” McEwen said. “If you’re going to suffer that much, it’s got to at least be entertaining for yourself.”
And credit where it’s due — bar that time trial anomaly, Vingegaard has indeed been right there whenever Pogačar has tried to light it up. McEwen added: “Every time Tadej has tried to go and make things hard or get a gap, Jonas has blown up only a few seconds before and then got back on the wheel.”
The GC situation heading into the rest day? Ben Healy leads — which nobody’s complaining about — with Pogačar 29 seconds back in second, Remco Evenepoel at a minute, and Vingegaard sitting fourth at 1:17.
Hamilton says the “balance has shifted.” McEwen says Vingegaard’s found a new attacking self. And Pogačar? He says Visma “certainly tried.”
Evans Cycles opens new Southampton store — with 150-bike showroom, full service centre, and “commitment to physical retail”
Evans Cycles has opened a new store in Southampton, adding yet another location to its growing UK network — and giving local riders a fresh spot for bike browsing, expert advice, and mechanical help.
The 4,700 square foot shop, located at Frobisher House near Southampton Central station, comes with a full-service workshop and a 150-bike showroom covering everything from road and gravel bikes to mountain bikes, e-bikes, and kids’ models.
Among the big-name brands on offer are Specialized, Vitus, Cube, Brompton, Rapha, and dhb.
Robert Bentley, Managing Director at Evans Cycles, said: “We’re thrilled to be opening our doors to a city with such a vibrant cycling community and a passion for life on two wheels. Investing in physical retail remains central to our strategy. Riders value the chance to speak to a knowledgeable expert and get hands-on before making a decision. Opening in new locations allows us to support more cyclists while offering an unbeatable selection from the world’s best bike brands. We’re proud to welcome Southampton into the Evans Cycles family.”
The new Southampton store follows recent openings in Bristol and Sheffield, with a York branch set to follow later this month. Evans says the latest expansion reflects its push to make in-person bike advice and support more accessible around the country.
As usual, the store offers finance options, access to the government-backed Ride to Work scheme, and click-and-collect for online orders. And for those keeping count, Evans now has over 70 stores nationwide, with a network of 900 staff and more than 100 qualified mechanics.
Separate bike lanes for faster cyclists and enforcement of illegal e-bikes would be more effective than plan for speed limits on Dutch cycle lanes, cycling union and road safety groups argue
“It has been an absolute joy”: Beloved bike shop to close after 20 years at the heart of the city’s cycling community
Another piece of Cardiff’s cycling scene is about to disappear, The Bike Shed — a fixture in Pontcanna for the past two decades — is closing down, with co-founder John Higgins (no, not The Wizard of Wishaw) saying that it just doesn’t make sense to keep fighting against a shifting high street and a changing bike industry.
“We aren’t closing for financial reasons,” John said. “We are a bright bunch and have been able to weather the storm… but it is a natural conclusion. The retail industry is challenging, and it is difficult to justify ongoing investment.”
For a lot of Cardiff cyclists — myself included — The Bike Shed has been a place you could swing by for a chat, get some honest advice, or just gawp at the yellow-painted exterior on Cathedral Road, whether you were heading out to Llandaff Fields or stopping by on the way home — a place that felt like it belonged to the local cycling community.
“We don’t see a strong financial future as an independent retailer with one store,” John admitted, saying the owners thought long and hard before making the call.
He’s seen first-hand how the industry’s changed — an e-bike boom, the Covid spike, and then the post-pandemic chaos as manufacturers flooded the market and squeezed independent retailers. “The joy and pleasure of the trade vanished,” John said.
But even if the trade wore thin, the love of running The Bike Shed didn’t. “We’ve made a really positive impact on cycling in Cardiff. It’s a lovely shop in Pontcanna that we’ve loved running. It has been an absolute joy.”
It’s hard not to take this one personally if you’ve ever set foot in the place. Twenty years of helping people into cycling, of fixing bikes, of being there on the good days and the frustrating ones.
There’s no fixed date for when the shop will shut its doors for good — but the closing down sale has already started. And when it does go, it’ll leave a little hole in Cardiff’s cycling heart.
“10/10 wouldn’t recommend”: Oscar Onley’s review of a Pogačar attack, from front row seats
“So much for being banned”: CyclingMikey hits back as Met Police process latest driver report
Remember that completely made-up story about CyclingMikey being “banned” from reporting drivers to the police? The one that started floating around social media last week, fuelled by dodgy TikToks, AI-looking clickbait, and even a bizarre share from Dom Joly?
Well, CyclingMikey has now confirmed that the Met Police have processed his latest report for potential prosecution.
And I’ve just had back a PentiP reference for this allegation, and the police are processing this report and taking it forwards for potential prosecution.
So much for being banned from reporting… https://t.co/xCXoqoLN66— CyclingMikey the Unspeakable (@MikeyCycling) July 15, 2025
Quoting his own tweet from a few days ago — in which he pointed out that the Met “haven’t said anything to me about any ‘banning’” — Mikey added: “And I’ve just had back a PentiP reference for this allegation, and the police are processing this report and taking it forwards for potential prosecution. So much for being banned from reporting…”
Still no word from Dom Joly on whether he’ll be posting a follow-up…
“I’m terrified of them exploding”: Jesus of Nazareth actor Robert Powell claims he’s “in danger of being killed” by Lime parking bay outside London home and has “sent 570 photos” to the council
It’s not every day you get Jesus of Nazareth issuing a cry for help about e-bikes… From walking on water to tripping over e-bikes — Robert Powell, the 81-year-old Bafta-nominated actor who once portrayed the Son of God, says he now fears something altogether less biblical — “being killed” by Lime hire bikes dumped outside his Highgate home.
And it’s not just a passing complaint. This has apparently been his personal four-year Calvary, during which he claims he’s shifted “10 or 12 heavy bikes a day,” sent “a couple of hundred emails” to Camden Council, and submitted “570 photographs” documenting the scene outside his front door. All to no avail.
“You’ve got two octogenarians here who are in danger of being killed,” Powell told the Camden New Journal, having apparently spent the last four years living in a real-life Monty Python sketch — only with more emails and fewer laughs.
> Cyclist claims Jesus of Nazareth actor’s cockapoo bit him in London park
Powell, who also starred in Holby City and The Thirty Nine Steps, says the bay — installed four years ago — turned his doorstep into a dumping ground. “We had 100 bikes outside the front door once. The entire pavement has been blocked by bikes,” he said. “I’ve had moments myself feeling wobbly moving the bikes out of the path. They are awfully heavy.”
Even the police, he says, didn’t take it seriously. “Last year, we called the police about the bikes. They just laughed.”
Powell claims he even suggested a better parking spot when the bay first appeared — only for Camden to ignore him. “Why on earth did Camden go ahead with this bay? It’s always been busy… But councils refuse to admit they make mistakes.”
“I feel insulted – for four years I’ve let them know about how it’s affecting mine and my wife’s life and I’ve been ignored,” Powell added. His wife, Barbara Lord, also chipped in, saying she was “terrified of them exploding.”
Camden Council insists it is now “working to relocate” the bay, with a spokesperson saying “we’re using our powers” to move it elsewhere and enforcing the removal of obstructive bikes “without notice.”
But Powell’s far from the only Londoner with a hire bike headache. Last week, councillors in Gedling, Nottinghamshire, complained that Lime’s e-bikes were being “unlocked” by criminals and dumped in posh suburbs “blighting” streets where, and we quote, “people pay a lot of money to live.” Lime’s response? Promise stronger locks.
In April, Boat Race spectators left “swarms” of bikes dumped across Putney and Fulham — prompting a furious social media row over blocked pavements, entitled locals, and the eternal question of whether abandoned bikes are really worse than parked cars.
And in May, a north-west London restaurant owner threatened legal action after a hire bike bay popped up outside his business, claiming the venue had been “besieged” by bikes. All this, despite Lime unveiling a £20 million “Action Plan” earlier this year promising better parking, a crackdown on bad behaviour, and support for active travel.
Oh — and in another bizarre turn of events — a few years ago, Powell hit the headlines when a cyclist accused his cockapoo of biting him on Hampstead Heath. The cyclist said the dog left him needing a hospital visit and a tetanus jab. Powell insisted his dog had merely barked, joked that the cyclist wasn’t even allowed to ride there, and told the Mail: “My dog has never bitten anybody in her life.”
“It was a racing incident”: Jasper Philipsen says he “doesn’t blame” Bryan Coquard after Tour de France stage three crash, as sprinter’s Vuelta participation appears to be in doubt
Jasper Philipsen has spoken for the first time since the crash that ended his Tour de France on stage three — and he isn’t looking for someone to blame.
The Belgian sprinter, who won stage one and briefly wore the yellow jersey before disaster struck at the intermediate sprint on 7 July, revealed that he had even spoken to Bryan Coquard in the bunch just moments before the crash.
“Two kilometres before the crash, I said to Bryan Coquard: ‘We’re not going to take any risks, okay?’” Philipsen told Sporza. “He replied that he was just going to follow. Normally, I would never say something like that. It might have been a self-fulfilling prophecy. But I don’t blame Coquard. It was a racing incident.”
Coquard stayed upright — just — but Philipsen had no chance. Clipped by the Cofidis rider after Coquard unclipped from his pedal and veered left, Philipsen was sent skidding across the tarmac at full sprinting speed.
The fallout online was immediate, with Coquard facing a torrent of criticism. Philipsen, though, was quick to dismiss the idea of personal fault. “I know what it’s like to be criticised after a sprint. In the Tour, everything is magnified. People absolutely want to find someone to blame,” he said.
Coquard reached out privately after the stage — a gesture Philipsen appreciated. “Coquard sent me a message afterwards, which I appreciated. I let him know he couldn’t do anything about it. He slipped out of his clipless pedal and made a move I couldn’t avoid.”
For Philipsen, the crash brought a brutal end to what had been shaping up as a dream Tour. He was forced to abandon with a fractured collarbone and broken ribs and underwent surgery in Herentals the following morning.
“I didn’t immediately realise it was over,” Philipsen recalled. “I remember asking Gianni Vermeersch if it wasn’t too bad. Gianni was panicking, so then I realised it was bad. Then the pain hit — physical pain combined with emotional pain, the realisation that it was over for me.”
It was only the second time in his career that Philipsen had broken a bone — and it came as a shock. “I’d only broken something once before and always thought I had super strong bones. But that turns out not to be the case.”
Now, after a near-perfect start to his Tour, Philipsen is looking at an uncertain rest of the season. He’s hopeful of getting back on the turbo trainer this week but admitted that his race programme is still up in the air.
“My big goals for this year are behind me. I might make the Vuelta, but we haven’t talked about that yet. I don’t know if that’s feasible,” he said. “The upcoming races aren’t at the same level as previous ones. It’s difficult to prepare myself physically and mentally for that. It’s hard to start from scratch every time.”
Here comes the mandatory rest day coffee social media posts…
It’s been a while. I’ve been waiting to come across one all day now, and there it is, finally. Alpecin-Deceuninck blowing the floodgates open for the mandatory Tour de France rest day coffee stop with a rather low-key social media post.
Everything you need to know about bike cameras — how to choose, tips for recording quality footage and what to do if you capture a near miss, close pass or collision
Warden tries to justify controversial bike ban by falsely claiming pedestrian was killed in cyclist collision — as council admits cycle ban sign is in wrong part of town centre
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Likely due to the right wing oligarchs that almost all our media. Even the BBC is right wing and will even frame questions using a far right wing world view when interviewing Greens or Lib Dems (are they even still around?).
Alas, the immediate UK response to increased petrol prices after decades of "we have to drive" is more likely to be cycle lanes blocked by drivers! Those would be a) protesting about paying fuel taxes when fuel prices go up and b) parking in the cycle infra to avoid driving around looking for a legal parking spot. We collectively missed an opportunity in the 1970s with the oil crisis. That was one of the factors that propelled the course correction by the Dutch. (The outlines of that story told here. https://bicycledutch.wordpress.com/2021/11/17/how-did-the-dutch-get-their-cycle-paths/ They were primed by them being a bit behind the UK in the adoption of the car ahead of all other modes. And indeed the bulldozing of cities to make room for it, and the spike in road deaths resulting from it. Plus they still had mass cycling and reasonable public transport. Indeed they already had some "cycle infra" albeit the primary purpose may have been for the safety of moped riders.)
Give them the sugar sandwich treatment: 1) they have to cycle around London - as likely many / most have simply no idea of the cycling perspective, and the few that do are perhaps "cyclist myself" occasional roadies. 2) then send them for a few days in somewhere cycling is normal so they understand how or could be. So NL - or perhaps better Copenhagen, Seville etc. so they don't simply say "that could never work in the UK". 3) ... and finally they have to do some rides back in London to see just what all the blockers to safer, more pleasant urban areas are.
Straits of Hormuz closed. Petrol predicted to rise to £2.00 a litre. Let's see how underused cycle lanes are now!
exactly - cyclists generally don't need saving from themselves hopefully, this will mean more resources put into general roads policing
If a spell cycling around london were to be a prerequisite for traffic officer and video reviewer posts I suspect we would see a huge improvement in the police response to poor driving around vulnerable road users.
“ In 2026, I can get from almost anywhere in the capital to the various centres of London using separated bike paths” Sorry, but that’s not true. If you cycle in central London there are lots of separated paths. But they are far from contiguous. For example, Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea don’t offer much, if any. In some outer boroughs there are also CS lanes (but only in a minority of boroughs) and they are not ‘separated’. They are often ‘quiet ways’ or paint. But it is loads better, I agree. I started cycling to primary school in London about half a century ago, so I have experienced a lot of change, indifference, neglect and improvement.
Something nobody seems to have remarked upon is that the Cycle Safety Unit was primarily concerned with cyclist behaviour rather than taking action to keep cyclists safe. They didn't go around ticketing cars parked in the cycle lanes or reporting on how junctions could be improved to make cyclists safer; they generally gathered in groups stopping cyclists and telling them off for not having lights, riding through reds et cetera. I well remember seeing them in action a few years ago as I was riding through Elephant and Castle on the top deck of a bus: it was the day after a cyclist had been tragically killed through no fault of her own by a left-turning lorry driver. The cyclist safety unit was out in force, but rather than stopping lorries and checking their paperwork and advising them on how to drive safely around cyclists, as one might expect/hope, I saw three of them surrounding and haranguing a cyclist who had stopped at a red light with his front wheel over the stop line. The closure of the unit will make little or no difference to cyclist safety in London.
Key word is "combination". To be clear: their wheel with one specific tyre is tested as safe. When your first set of tyres wear out you'll very likely stick on a set of tyres that they haven't tested as safe.
I have just sent off for a helmet mounted mirror, partly because an average week’s riding includes town centre roads (food shopping) and the A603, a single carriageway road with 50mph traffic including eighteen ton lorries. If anyone is seriously interested I will post a description of how useful it is. I wrote the above in answer to to two people's comments, but re-post it here in case it is not accessible for everyone else.
39 thoughts on ““Shifting with hopes and dreams”: Mechanic shares chainring horror (+ tri-bike brought in for “just a tune-up” with crumbling headtube); Philipsen “doesn’t blame” Coquard for Tour-ending crash; CyclingMikey hits out after fake news + more on the live blog”
He’s not the messiah, he’s a
He’s not the messiah, he’s a very grumpy boy.
Christ (not) on a bike!
Christ (not) on a bike!
sorry to say but the entiled
sorry to say but the entiled behaviour is coming from the Lime bike users as well….not caring about others, getting where they want and stopping in a careless fashion. I’m a long way off from agreeing with the nonsense that Powell speaks, but a little more care and consideration from the users of hire bikes in general would help. And also from the Lime bike delivery vehicles who redistribute bikes. Happy these bikes get more people using bikes for transport, but the wider issues of societies increasing selfishness is a big and growing problem.
No doubt – but what is there
No doubt – but what is there to motivate them to do better? (Same as cars – if there isn’t feedback for breaking the rules, or you’re very likely not to be caught, why stick to them?)
Not sure about “selfishness is growing” – perhaps … but people have been complaining about that since the classical era and probably before. Meanwhile, what we can do on a smaller scale is look at the systems we set up and what behaviour they’re likely to generate (what are the feedback loops). Cultures change but some things are predictable e.g. people value their personal property more than communal stuff, especially where nobody else seems to value it!
‘That Socrates is a pillock’
‘That Socrates is a pillock’ etc?
“The only true wisdom
“The only true wisdom consists in knowing that you know nothing” – So-crates
brooksby wrote:
Woke nonsense! These philosophers want to drag everyone else down into their pithos!
brooksby wrote:
News to me.
There’s a lot in this article
There’s a lot in this article, but going on the main complaint from Powell, that the pavement outside his home is regularly blocked by Lime Bikes – that’s a fair complaint. His wife worrying about them exploding might be misguided, but if they really do have that many, and their exit is blocked, it’s not suprising that she has gone down that rabbit hole.
I’m not sure why moving the parking bay down the road will help solve the fundamental issue of there being too many. Unless the bay down the road is much larger, but I’d argue that adding a bay down the road is going to be more effective. The only meaningful way to reduce the number of bikes abandoned in inappropriate places it to provide appropriate places for them to be parked. Lime can and should do more by paying for more dedicated parking locations, better communicating where and how to park out of the way, rewarding those who park in appropriate locations and penalising anti-social parking.
Here in Oxford we have Lime
Here in Oxford we have Lime (though clearly not as concentrated as London..) and also VOI hire e-bikes. The latter work with dedicated parking bays. But I can tell you that having bays does not solve the problem of bad anti-social parking. The GPS they use may locate it at a bay but is not accurate enough to stop it being just outside and completely blocking a pavement. I have thought the solution is for people to be able to upload photos to the provider and then they can notify the last recorded user (info they would easily confirm with timestamps) – a couple of warnings to a user account for bad parking and then maybe a suspension.
DNAse wrote:
But how do you prove that somebody hasn’t moved the bike – maybe another user making space for themselves to park in the bay to avoid action – since it was parked?
DNAse wrote:
Part of the problem is that the parking is located on pavements at all rather than being in the road like other vehicle parking.
For the VOI ones at least the user has to upload a photo of where they’ve parked the thing at the end of the ride. So in case of complaints that photo could be reviewed to show that it was left in a sensible spot even if it then moved afterwards.
The_Ewan wrote:
Never used them, but I think Lime does too (at least in London) – https://www.li.me/en-gb/london-parking
In London at keast, Lime
In London at least, Lime require you to upload a photo to show the bike is parked in a sensible manner. For some reason though they have agreed with Hammersmith and Fulham council to include Charing Cross hospital in an exclusion zone, meaning I cannot even park at the bike racks there when I attend my cancer treatment sessions.
What do they check? Do you
What do they check? Do you have to do this through their app? If not, just upload any Lime bike picture from road.cc, or possibly a picture of any bike, or even of your foot.
If so do they use the app to geolocate this (or perhaps image metadata). But do they check the picture matches the location, or that it is in fact the bike you rented? Otherwise – hop on a Lime bike, drop it in a ditch or sell it on ebay, then take a snap of the next Lime bike you see reasonably parked etc.
Well the first mistake you’ve
Well the first mistake you’ve made there is assuming they check anything. More likely, it gets filed
in the binfor future reference, and they just hope that the mere fact of making you take a photo keeps enough of the punters honest. You could probably upload a photo of a badly parked squirrel and no-one would ever notice.Sounds more like a Bristol
Sounds more like a Bristol issue – the place was jumping with them.
chrisonabike wrote:
Hmmmm – that looks like it’s just by the side of St George Community Centre, if I’m not mistaken
Lime say “we review all
Lime say “we review all photos to see how you parked your Lime”, but who knows.
I agree that dumped LIme
I agree that dumped LIme bikes are a pain. The problem is – like Deliveroo and Just Eat with their freelance deliverers – their entire business model depends on out-sourcing the moral responsibilities onto their clients. If they were regulated into ensuring responsible use, that would help, because they clearly can’t be ‘shamed’ into ensuring it.
the little onion wrote:
Amen! As so often I suspect it’s simply a case of follow the money. Where does most of the cash come from? What is the piper really being paid for?
Probably not helped by (sometimes desperate) Local Authorities who may be over-keen on what appears to be “something for nothing” deals. Or who feel they lack resources to police “minor nuisances beyond our control”.
FionaJJ wrote:
Ah, but then they are left outside someone else’s home and so Mr Powell will be happy. Somebody Else’s Problem.
Pedantically speaking,
Pedantically speaking, Suffolk hosted two stages of the Milk Race in 1987, so not the first time in Tour of Britain history to host a double stage for the county.
Quote:
Well, we all have our crossbar to bear.
[Yes – I know they’re step-through…]
One can have both, sort of…
One can have both, sort of… (pastoorfiets pictured)
I meant to post about this:
I meant to post about this:
“AI technology used in crackdown on littering” (by drivers)
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g8083q7w8o.amp
Given the hoo-ha we had when ULEZ cameras first went up, I wonder if these will be vandalised on the same scale.
Robert Powell, Joan Collins
These luvvies Robert Powell, Joan Collins and Nigel Havers should start their own cyclescare website. They could call it bikerada.
Well done and said Jasper
Well done and said Jasper Philipsen, a gracious and dignified statement. Perhaps those who launched a shameful bullying campaign against Coquard (including, sadly, JP’s own teammates in the immediate aftermath) might now reflect on their own words and actions and change their behaviours in future.
I deeply enjoy the fact that
I deeply enjoy the fact that Mikey clearly strikes fear into the hearts of the dangerous drivers of London like a Batman of the highways.
About that anihilated
About that anihilated chainring and other examples of some cyclists careless bike overuse: I am an LBS mechanic and of course we get those, too. These customers are great and here is why:
1. They obviously ride their bikes a Lot.
2. They do so without getting worked up about every little detail or “occaisional” noise.
3. They can handle a lot of discomfort/malfunction without complaining and continue riding.
4. They leave a lot of money in our shop.
5. Despite having to swallow 4. they’re usually grateful customers who may even come back and tip me once they’ve discovered just how nice it is to have a correctly serviced bike.
On the other hand there are some customers who haunt me in my dreams because they are the exact opposite:
They turn up in the shop rather angry and complain about that “horrible” noise their bike allegedly makes. You then test ride and check it only to find out that their bike is in perfect working order and that this “noise” comes from a bag or a lock thats ungainly dangling around the frame. You then spend half an unpaid hour trying to explain that their bikes are ok and that bikes with chains and gear hubs may occaisionally make a noise when you shift under load or whatever but they stubbornly insist that unless I am a complete failure as a mechanic their bike must not ever make a single noise. Those customers don’t produce spectacular pictures you can post on Instagram but THEY are the true horror of the job as a LBS mech.
I have to admit that I’m a
I have to admit that I’m a bit of a bike hypochondriac at times, but I’m teaching myself to ignore noises unless they are new or they suddenly change and they are accompanied by an obvious mechanical issue…
I did once learn something
I did once learn something unexpected about an unexplained noise from Paul Hewitt himself, where I thought I’d tried everything to diagnose it on my Merlin titanium. It was during high power (for me) efforts, and nothing to do with bending cranks, chain rubbing against cage (Hollowtech II, before the pasta-type Ultegra) etc. It was a very short click and very annoying. Paul mentioned copper grease under the front mech band clamp, which seemed an impossible source of the noise, but it worked.
brooksby wrote:
Isn’t all that just part of getting old?
brooksby wrote:
In the past, I’ve rarely treated new bike noises with any seriousness, but they’ve invariably been warnings of something much more serious (e.g. suddenly failing Shimano crap crank). Nowadays, I try to investigate noises, but it’s not easy figuring out where a noise is coming from, especially if it only manifests when applying power.
Another potential member of
Two potential new members of bikeRADA:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cly10x7pjplo
(Perhaps this should be on “Drivers and their problems”?)
chrisonabike wrote:
According to eye witnesses, she was flying along
Quote:
Yes – I’m sure she’ll manage to scrape it together somehow – just means a few extra weeks of living off cold spaghetti hoops…
Perhaps those nine points
Perhaps those nine points should be awarded along with a gaudy statuette for the mantlepiece…just as a gentle reminder not to make it twelve.
If they can remember their lines they must be able to remember how many points they have accrued.
Since I like to imagine
Since I like to imagine everyone from myself younger is a “gaming generation” why not just have your points displayed on the binnacle of your motor vehicle, like in Grand Theft Auto (do the youth of today remember that)?
(Of course the game is highly unrealistic in that apparently any aggression towards pedestrians * will increase your “wanted level”. * Except perhaps Hare Krisna followers).