Cyclists pollute more than cars, claims Swiss economist; Scary HGV close pass video sparks cycling infra debate; Why can’t all cyclist v driver clips be like this? Cyclist hits van and apologises; Arty bike stand divides opinion + more on the live blog

Cyclists can be up to four times more damaging to the environment than cars… because of beef and milk, apparently.

Well, at least that’s the view of Professor Reiner Eichenberger, a specialist in fiscal and economic policy at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland.

“Today everything is climate. Many want to replace the car with public transport and bicycles. They believe that the latter burden society less and are climate-friendly. That’s wrong,” Professor Eichenberger, widely credited as one of Switzerland’s most influential economists, claimed in a column for the weekly German-language Swiss newspaper Handelszeitung.

In the, shall we say, intriguing column, Eichenberger goes on to claim that, according to figures from the Swiss Office for Spatial Development and the Federal Statistical Office, when it comes to noise, accidents, infrastructure and operating costs, public transport and cycling “cost many times more than the car”.

Even when the official stats suggest that people using public transport and bikes are more beneficial to the environment than motorist, Eichenberger argues this is “largely due” to the organisations’ “creative accounting” and “official tricks”.

So, how do cyclists harm the environment and impact climate change more than cars? Well, you see, it’s all down to beef (and not the kind typically found on the live blog comments section).

The economist writes:

Although the whole debate is about energy and climate, the bicycle is treated as a perpetual motion machine. But cyclists need additional energy. For this, they have to eat more, which puts a strain on the climate.

Economical cars need 5 litres of gasoline per 100 kilometres, causing 12kg of CO2 emissions, i.e. 120 grams per vehicle kilometre – and 30 grams per passenger kilometre for a four-person occupation.

Cyclists consume around 2500 kilocalories (kcal) per 100 kilometres during normal riding. They have to compensate for energy and muscle consumption through additional food intake. So, they would need about 1 kilo of beef for the 2500 kcal. This causes them to produce 13.3kg of CO2.

Meat-eating cyclists therefore cause 133 grams of CO2 per passenger-kilometre – four times the number of well-occupied cars. If they obtain driving energy from milk, they emit 35 grams of CO2 per passenger-kilometre, which is still almost 20 percent more than the car. Unfortunately, this miserable record also applies to vegans.

So, there you have it. Unless you’re propelled solely by noodles – which, the helpful professor points out, will lead to protein deficiency at some point – you’re harming the environment on your bike more than the queue of traffic on the way home from work.

The comments section for this one was particularly amusing, with some readers describing the article as a “laughing stock” and an “embarrassment”.

“Joggers and hikers are even worse than cyclists, because they need more food (due to the inefficient locomotion) per 100km. Pedestrians are the climate killers par excellence,” wrote one astute reader.

“A ‘professor for financial and economic policy’ who writes such rubbish shakes my belief in the Swiss education system. Or is this supposed to be (moderately funny) satire?”

I think he may be on to something there (or at least I hope so).

Veloverbrauch: 1 kg Rindfleisch / 100 km. Wieviele Rinder wohl so ein Miguel Indurain auf dem Gewissen hat?

— Severin Klaus (@betabong) November 13, 2022

Over on Twitter, meanwhile, one user got to the heart of the matter: “Bike consumption: 1 kg of beef/100 km. How many cattle does a Miguel Induráin have on his conscience?”

The question that keeps me awake at night…

This clip is almost two months old, but has come on to our radar this week after the Sun shared it with the always fun and not-at-all-infuriating headline, “Watch as a cyclist smashes into the back of a van – nobody can believe how the men handle it”.

@norfolkdashcam The Van Driver was fine about the situation. No dramas. #Accident #Cyclist #Cycle #Van #Norfolk #NorfolkDashCam #UKRoads #DashCamFootage #DashCam #UKDashCam #CaughtOnCamera #Fail #CyclistsOfTiktok ♬ original sound - Norfolk Dash Cam

The video – posted on TikTok (which explains why we haven’t seen it) by the Norfolk Dash Cam account – depicts a cyclist exhibiting a lack of attention while riding through King’s Lynn and hitting the back of a van in the process. ‘Smashes’ may be overplaying the incident slightly, but hey, it’s the Sun.

After the bump, the cyclist then rides up to the van driver’s window to explain what had happened and apologise.

The motorist then – drumroll, please – replies: “Don’t worry, that’s alright.”

The extremely apologetic cyclist, perhaps surprised by the driver’s nonchalant response, continues to explain that he “slipped forward on my handlebars”, much to the chagrin of the motorists stopped behind the van, who sounded their displeasure through that age-old medium, the car horn.

Most of the TikTok users commenting on the video praised the decent, patient, and I would almost say human, interaction between the two road users, with one writing that it was “so nice he owned up to it” and that there was “no damage done” in any case.

However, as is always the case with these things, other users decided to have a go as anti-cycling bingo callers, with one writing (with more than a hint of sarcasm, I suspect), “No doubt the cyclist has insurance to pay for any damages anyway.”

“They need insurance if they’re gunna use the roads”, “Cyclist insurance details pls lol”, and “This is why cyclists should have to have insurance!” came some of the other original responses to the video.

Filling out the rest of the bingo card, one TikTok user – failing to distinguish between a bit of metal and an actual human being – said, “Now, if it been the van touching the cyclist…”

“One in a million. A cyclist that apologises,” another wrote.

Ah, you can’t win them all, can you?

Dutch Cyclists’ Union Fietsersbond, which campaigns for the expansion and improvement of cycling infrastructure in the Netherlands, has expressed its concerns about the growth in popularity of electric ‘fat bikes’ in the country.

According to Fietsersbond’s Ester van Garderen, electric bikes with fat tyres have surged in popularity since the Netherlands made helmets mandatory for scooter users. Van Garderen told the Telegraaf that the bikes can also be easily fitted with an illegal throttle lever that can increase their maximum speed from 25kph to 50kph.

They drive very fast,” Van Garderen said. “And you don’t hear them coming because of the electric drive.”

The Telegraaf has linked the popularity of these enhanced e-bikes among teenagers to the surge in serious cycling incidents involving young people aged between 12 and 17 in recent years.

The Fietsersbond says it has received several complaints from concerned road users about the fat bikes. “And rightly so, because don’t forget that about 600 people die in traffic every year,” Van Garderen added. “People aged 60 and older hardly dare to use the bicycle path anymore.”

Lachlan Morton, the Australian currently redefining what it means to be a professional cyclist, is not beginning to turn his attention towards possibly his biggest two-wheeled adventure yet: breaking Mark Beaumont’s round-the-world record.

Scottish endurance cyclist Beaumont set the current Guinness world record in 2017, when he circumnavigated the globe by bike (covering 29,000km) in just 79 days, despite a strong headwind and a crash in the Pyrenees slowing his progress as he neared his final destination, Paris.

> Mark Beaumont completes round-the-world ride in 79 days to smash Guinness World Record

EF Education-EasyPost pro Morton is, of course, no stranger to epic, long-distance rides. In March, he cycled over 1,000km non-stop from Munich to Poland’s border with Ukraine to raise funds for refugees fleeing the war-torn country.

The year before, the Australian rode the entire route of the Tour de France, including transfers, solo and unsupported – and even sometimes in crocs.

> Data reveals huge strain of Lachlan Morton’s solo Alt Tour vs. EF-Education Nippo’s Tour de France efforts

Now, his EF team boss Jonathan Vaughters – who has also encouraged Morton to take part in the fledgling gravel scene – has told Cycling Weekly that the next big aim will be to break Beaumont’s record, though it may have to wait until 2024.

“What we wanted to do was to try the around the world record [in the second half of 2023], but the sticking point on that right now is Russia,” Vaughters said.

“We don’t think that’s going to be possible next year, so we’re trying to come up with a plan B right now. What that is, we’re not sure yet.”

While JV maintains that Morton remains “very keen” to break the round-the-world record, the current geopolitical situation means that a proper crack at gravel racing will will constitute his main goal for 2023.

“He won’t be doing any road races, really,” Vaughters said. “In the early part of the year he wants to get away from doing real ultra events and kind of focus on trying to win in gravel.

“He has lost a lot of his explosive power from doing these massive 4,000km events. So, he’s training a little bit more in an explosive manner.”

Morton confirmed to Cycling Weekly that he had spoken with the team about a proposed round-the-world attempt, though there was “nothing concrete” yet.

With Wout van Aert reportedly set to confirm that he will be making the trip to Ireland next month, you definitely won’t want to miss this one…

Tickets are 𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐰 for the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup stage taking place on the @SportIreCampus in Dublin, on December 11th.

Tickets can be purchased here - https://t.co/p5uSjVx12j

The event is in association with @FlandersClassic & @CyclingIreland. pic.twitter.com/EAVQOl5gbd

— Sport Ireland (@sportireland) November 14, 2022

Can we all just take a moment to appreciate these bike racks made by blacksmith Paul Ager for @karstgallery in Plymouth? They are just beauts pic.twitter.com/x071ODK9ob

— Suzanne Heath (@Suzanne_Heath) November 13, 2022

This, ahem, interesting new bike stand at the KARST contemporary art gallery in Plymouth (flagged by road.cc reader hirsute in the comments section of yesterday’s live blog) has certainly divided opinion online:

None of them, I'm afraid. They might look lovely, but are fairly useless as a security measure, especially for any even slightly non-standard bike. You'd have to basically lock a bike to them laterally for it to work properly.

— Peter Walker (@peterwalker99) November 14, 2022

They are also bloody useless. Just give us Sheffield stands with enough clearance where you can lock both wheels to the stand.

— 💛💙 James @SyrinxTemple [at] mastodon.social (@SyrinxTemple) November 13, 2022

I’m sorry you don’t find them functional. Personally I have never locked both wheels to a bike stand. Usually I lock the frame. And I’ve used lots which aren’t Sheffield stands. And - er - lots of railings. I’d pick these over a boring Sheffield any day.

— Suzanne Heath (@Suzanne_Heath) November 13, 2022

Oh dear, lots of people having a go a these nice bike racks for not being practical. Probably true, but hey, at least they aren't designed by David Byrne (his genius / bonkers racks now I believe gone from NYC). https://t.co/0ljVBFGpBJ pic.twitter.com/gYG7BzjDZn

— Jon Hughes (@rider_jon) November 14, 2022

What do you think? A contemporary art masterpiece or a prime example of form over function?