Is Fix Your Bike fixed now? 50,000 more vouchers made available on govt scheme; Styles’ new bike-theme style; Dygert apologises for social media conduct; Campaigners call for park traffic ban; MP suggests LTN referendum + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
MP calls for referendum on LTNs to resolve 'entrenched' debate
Here’s the Low Traffic Neighbourhoods issue in Ealing on @itvnews last night
With people entrenched on both sides of the argument and some more popular than others, I suggested that best way forward is to hold a referendum on each one pic.twitter.com/54HE9vA1Fz
— Rupa Huq MP (@RupaHuq) November 13, 2020
Rupa Huq, the Labour MP for Ealing and Central Acton, has suggested the only way to resolve the debate over LTNs is to hold a referendum. The issue has attracted interest from pro-Active Travel campaigners, residents and motorists alike over the past few months. The Department for Transport has repeatedly expressed their support for the schemes and the issue was debated in Parliament at the beginning of November.
However, LTNs have not been universally popular. Motorists especially, who now cannot rat run, have complained about their journeys taking longer. Some residents, like the group mentioned in the ITV report above, also oppose LTNs despite the infrastructure reducing traffic and pollution in their residential areas.
Even accounting for the vocal opposition, a YouGov survey found that three times as many people in the UK are in favour of LTNs than are opposed to them. Huq’s call for a referendum did not go down well on Twitter with one reply pointing out that planning should not be carried out by referendum.
David Arditti said: “I don’t recall the referendum on flooding our minor roads with rat-running cars follwing routes suggested by Tomtom or Waze. Besides, planning is not best done by referenda, but by elected councillors deciding on the basis of evidence and compliance with policies.”
Another added: “This is a rubbish idea. It’s like asking turkeys to vote for Christmas. If there’d been a referendum we’d not wear seat belts and have no upper speed limit. Decisions for the common good are often unpopular but time shows us that they were right.”
Harry Tanfield signs for Ribble Weldtite
We are thrilled to welcome @Harrytanfield94
to the team, a long time friend, we are committed as an organisation to getting him back to where he belongs.Head to our website to read more 👇https://t.co/wU79JYEz9A… pic.twitter.com/PSDOhRTs1h
— Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling (@RibbleWeldtite) November 15, 2020
Harry Tanfield has dropped down to UCI Continental level to secure a spot with Ribble Weldtite next season. The 25 year-old spent the past two seasons at WorldTour level with Katusha-Alpecin and AG2R but has been the victim of a tricky transfer market, with the coronavirus pandemic making it harder to find a contract. Tanfield recently rode his first Grand Tour at La Vuelta a Espana but was forced to abandon on Stage 15. It will be his first time riding at Continental level since 2018 when the strong time trialist won the opening stage of the Tour de Yorkshire from the breakaway.
Team GB top the medal table at UEC European Track Championships
#EuroTrack20 final medal table
Great Britain: 🥇 6, 🥈3, 🥉 2
Russia: 🥇 5, 🥈 5, 🥉 3
Italy: 🥇 3, 🥈 7, 🥉 4🧮 Final standing > https://t.co/eWJkwA79Ci pic.twitter.com/ygDos3hlKF
— UEC_cycling (@UEC_cycling) November 15, 2020
Great Britain won two more medals on the final day of competition to take their tally for the week to six gold, three silver and two bronze. Ethan Vernon’s silver and Laura Kenny and Elinor Barker’s bronze in the Madison was enough to see GB clinch top spot in the medal table in Bulgaria. Vernon set a personal best time in the Kilo, narrowly missing out on gold to Czech rider Tomas Babek.
Vernon said: “You always come into a race to win but to do a PB by five tenths of a second and go under 1:01 – I can’t really ask for much more. Especially after late last night where I was racing a 160 lap points race which was a mega tough race, so to only have a bit of recovery and then go and do that, I’m happy to get a PB and the silver medal.”
GB could have won a twelfth medal had it not been for an unfortunate crash in the men’s Madison which saw Matt Walls and Ollie Wood crash out while in the lead.
Should through traffic be banned from Richmond Park?
Support our campaign to make sure our parks are for people not through traffic https://t.co/hGyjIfIAqu
— London Cycling Campaign (@London_Cycling) November 15, 2020
The London Cycling Campaign has called for better traffic management in London’s parks to create a safer environment for cyclists. While some areas of Richmond Park have been shut off from motor traffic the Queen’s Road was heavily congested with through traffic this weekend.
This tricyclist was repeatedly close passed by drivers as heavy traffic flowed in both directions. Campaigners have said the park is no longer safe for vulnerable road users and have encouraged people to make their voices heard by responding to The Royal Parks’ Movement Strategy questionnaire on Richmond Park which launched today.
Very upsetting to see this tricyclist having to be passed by so many motorists using the Queen’s Road as a rat run, breathing dangerous fumes in what’s meant to be a park 😥 We will be launching our action to pressure @theroyalparks tomorrow. Stay tuned. pic.twitter.com/1kHsAAxTHt
— London Cycling Campaign (@London_Cycling) November 15, 2020
Richmond Park reopened to through traffic in August allowing rat running drivers to use the road as a shortcut. Campaigners described the move as “reckless and drastic” at the time and now hope that the consultation can end through traffic in the park for good.
You can make suggestions and add your thoughts to the consultation by following this link…
Astana renamed Astana-Premier Tech for 2021
It’s one of the peculiarities about professional cycling that teams come and go and team names change from year-to-year. For 2021 Astana will join Ag2r Citroën, Bahrain Victorious and Greenedge Cycling as the revised names in the WorldTour peloton. Canadian company Premier Tech have sponsored the team since 2017 but will take on title sponsorship for 2021. One of the consistent titles in the peloton, it is the first time Astana will have a co-sponsor for the first time in their 15-year history.
Coolest workshop photo ever?
Let us fix your bike!
The workshop is open 9am – 5pm Monday to Friday. Find us round the back of 49 Old St. EC1V 9HX in the “bicycle basement”.
Call a mechanic on 0207 253 1025 or email: workshop@lookmumnohands.com pic.twitter.com/Fqv5j4G2wi
— Look mum no hands! (@1ookmumnohands) November 16, 2020
Bikes for Refugees hit 1,000-bike milestone
#1084🚴♀️💞 bikes to New Scots- its been a challenging time for our community, staff & volunteers 😷 but we are 100% committed to supporting as many people as we can safely & with humanity providing freedom of movement & a free means of travel! & we need your help more than ever 💞 pic.twitter.com/MTyQmCrfGi
— Bikes for Refugees (@Bikes4Refugees) October 18, 2020
Bikes for Refugees is a simple concept: people donate their old or underused bikes to help those more in need so they have a cheap and accessible transport solution. Since 2016 the charity has provided more than 1,000 bikes to refugees in Scotland. The 1,000-bike milestone was hit in January and is testament to the work of Steven McCluskey and a team of volunteers who collect the bikes and refurbish them before passing them on to those in need.
“When I’m asked [about Bikes for Refugees] I less and less describe the project as a bike project, and instead describe it as a project which is about supporting people’s resettlement, supporting their social inclusion and integration,” McCluskey told The Scotsman.
Second-round of Fix Your Bike Vouchers available now
It’s the one you’ve all been waiting for…
We’ve got another 50,000 FREE £50 bike vouchers to help people fix their bikes and #TravelSafely this winterGet your voucher here 👉https://t.co/EQfrjEzkBy#GetPedalling pic.twitter.com/eujJKZSIwc
— Dept for Transport (@transportgovuk) November 16, 2020
The second-round of 50,000 government funded Fix Your Bike Vouchers worth up to £50 are available from today. The scheme allows anyone with an unused cycle in need of repair to get their bike fixed for free with the aim of encouraging more people to use bikes, placing less strain on the public transport network during lockdown. When the initiative was announced earlier this year it was widely praised and all 50,000 vouchers were claimed within a few hours.
However, the initiative was not without problems. Some bike shops faced difficulty getting refunds for the work they were carrying out which led one shop owner to describe the scheme as a “nightmare”. There were also issues with the website crashing due to the massive demand.
Back in August one bike repair shop in Cheshire said: “The voucher scheme is a great thing, but the logistics of it is letting customers and repairers down.
“The first voucher redeemed was on August 3rd, 2020 and I’ve been redeeming them daily since then. I have received no payment as yet from The Energy Saving Trust despite promises of payments between 5-12 days after redemption.”
Biking with Biden
Joe and Jill Biden head out on a bike ride this morning in Cape Henlopen State Park pic.twitter.com/fwQLYQ55O2
— Tyler Pager (@tylerpager) November 14, 2020
Chloe Dygert apologises for controversial social media conduct
Former time trial world champion and current individual pursuit world record holder Chloe Dygert has apologised for her social media conduct. According to Cycling News the 23-year-old reportedly liked a tweet saying ‘white privilege doesn’t exist’, as well as another from Donald Trump which many accused of being transphobic.
A third liked tweet referenced Colin Kaepernick, the NFL player who knelt during the national anthem, and reportedly read: ‘realized that if he [Kaepernick] grew an afro and played the part of victim, he could scam the black community out of millions.’
Dygert no longer likes the tweets and has apologised on Instagram: “Cycling should be for everyone regardless of color, gender, sexuality or background. Like CANYON//SRAM Racing, I am committed to promoting diversity, inclusion and equality in cycling and our wider communities.
“I apologize to those who felt offended or hurt by my conduct on social media. I am committed to keep learning and growing as an athlete and a person.”
The American signed for Canyon-SRAM last week is currently recovering from a serious laceration to her leg which she sustained during a crash at the time trial world championships in Imola. Her team also released a statement.
— CANYON//SRAM Racing (@WMNcycling) November 14, 2020
La Course en Tête season review
If cycling books are your sort of thing then this might be the perfect memento to the strangest of seasons. ‘Cycling in the Time of Covid, a review of the tumultuous 2020 season’ is a 230-page reflection on the season just finished. The book includes writing from La Course en Tête and may be just the thing to tide you over until 2021.
Pop-up cycle lane described as 'so useless and unable to be cycled in, it's only purpose is to narrow the road, and fire cyclists in to a width restriction'
These photos of a pop-up cycle lane in Bridgend were sent to us over the weekend by a reader called Cycling Pete and have no shortage of issues for cyclists. Pete told us: “It’s so useless and unable to be cycled in, it’s only purpose is to narrow the road, and fire cyclists in to a width restriction.
“It’s difficult to see how anybody can use it, so presumably demand will be recorded at zero! It actually makes cycling along that section of road more dangerous!”
How you’re meant to get in or out the lane with a barrier at one end and cars parked at the other remains a mystery to us…
Snake or bar tape?
Tomaré esta señal de la naturaleza como una advertencia para no volver a salir en bicicleta durante mi off-season 😱🚳🤣 #SantaElenaNamed #DoitDifferent pic.twitter.com/Wms06kJ76u
— Pellaud Simon (@PellaudSimon) November 15, 2020
Ben Foster's cycling YouTube channel
He may have eight England caps, played for Manchester United and been a mainstay in the Premier League for most of the past decade but Ben Foster sure knows how to have a day off from football. His YouTube channel, The Cycling GK, has plenty to keep us cyclists interested including his Specialized Tarmac SL7. Not a bad life these professional footballers have…
Style-ish? Harry Styles poses in kilt with vintage bike for new Vogue shoot
See @Harry_Styles for Vogue wearing @LondonFashionWk designers @JW_ANDERSON & @walesbonner: https://t.co/lQu01W23BE pic.twitter.com/3bG6M4fhun
— BFC (@BFC) November 16, 2020
Becoming the first male to pose for the cover of US Vogue in its 127-year existence, in this shot the former One Direction member has a rather fetching vintage bicycle with his unusual outfit. Probably not the best get-up for a windy day…
Fix Your Bike: bike servicing company welcome scheme, but ask for further extension plus "rapid progression" of cycle lanes and LTNs
As many of you who tried to get one when the first wave were released back in July will know, £50 Fix Your Bike vouchers were like gold dust, and when you did get them many bike workshops were experiencing unprecented demand, and admin issues which prevented them from claiming the cash back.
As the news came trickled through from Government this morning that another 50,000 vouchers have been released, ‘collect & return’ bike repair company havebike have welcomed it… but also say there should be another extension, and further speedy improvements to improve the infrastructure that people will be riding their fixed up bikes upon should be rolled out.
havebike’s CEO Nick Brown said: “We value any Government support that seeks to encourage and enable cycling to get more people back on bikes that are in a roadworthy condition. As we’ve seen bicycles can help NHS and other key workers make essential journeys during this lockdown and also provide the wider public with a great way to exercise and improve mental health.
“While we welcome the Fix Your Bike Voucher scheme, we would like to see continued investment and rapid progression in the installation of cycle lanes and Low Traffic Neighbourhoods. The vouchers are extremely popular and very hard to get hold of, so we would welcome another extension to the scheme.
“We also feel there’s a very important job to do in terms of educating people on the costs associated with getting your bike serviced. While £50 goes some of the way to fixing a bicycle, it doesn’t cater to some of the more common worn or defective parts that often need replacing.”
Will Fix Your Bike work more efficiently this time around? Hopefully it will contribute to plenty more winter bikes being given a second lease of life. And as always, if you managed to nab a voucher do let us know how you got on in the comments.
16 November 2020, 09:18
16 November 2020, 09:18
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Latest Comments
I'll counter that by saying the Bryton 750se I have drives me nuts at times. Inconsistantly picks up on routes created on Komoot and the app re-syncs every few seconds when trying to set up the device and sends me back to the home screen. The most infuriating one is that I turned live track on. Once. It now won't turn off and repeatedly flags up the live track is starting, and then disconnecting every few seconds whilst riding. I haven't timed it but it wouldn't suprise me if 10-20% of the time the the screen is covered with an error message. That's been about 6 weeks now. Other than that it's great :/
RE: Police launch road safety operation... by clamping down on cyclists using footbridge Meanwhile in Glasgow, Police Scotland are riding their motorbikes over the pedestrian and cyclists only bridge. https://x.com/FietserGlasgow/status/2065106152917012523?s=20
@Paul J Van Schip certainly seems a bit of a dick, but he's a European and multiple World Champion on the track, pretty sure you don't get there without having some talent in your legs.
Poor Vincent cannot get over the simple fact that given the choice people prefer dedicated cycling spaces, rather than pretending to be cars like vehicular cyclists.
What is the point of the fancy air sensor if it can't account for changing weather conditions?? If all you care about is a delayed approximation of aerodynamic watts in steady conditions, you don't need any special sensors for that. Just your speed on a decently flat course is enough to approximate rolling resistance and drivetrain losses. And the rest must be aero. If you assume a less aero body position at the same watts, your speed will drop while rolling resistance also drops, which means approximated aero watts goes up. And that's enough to demonstrate what you've shown in your testing protocol ("I sat upright and the number went up a little while later").
Your correction is accurate - it's almost always been "the (lack of) thought that (doesn't) count". "Massive" - less than a billion a year spent on active travel (trying to catch up / building a network across the entire country) Not massive - 6 billion every year (2026-2030) spent on road *maintenance* of existing "already built, goes everywhere, very convenient" road network for inactive travel Ultimately the reason "cycle infra" is *needed* is those unbelievably colossal amounts spent every year (and for more than a century now) on making mass motoring not just viable but apparently the "best choice" for most journeys. As the Dutch and others have shown, the majority of people *are* prepared to cycle and even mix with very light, slow local motor traffic *if* cycling is also made safe and convenient for the whole of their journey (including secure parking at both ends). (The history of the financial drivers of the current situation are a complex topic but note that while people complain about "crumbling roads" and underfunded motor infra - with some reason - by us continuing the fuel duty escalator freeze (for example) we're actually helping motorists pay *even less* for that activity / subsidising more of the cost of driving than ever.)
yes, but people will still object - which was my point.
So ' Priority of Road Users' and 1.5 metre clearance at 30mph has been been reduced to 'sharing'? NCN route 2 here in South Hams is an absolute scream with white vans, tractors and total idiots who refuse,or are totally incapable,to reverse on high Devon banked lanes ...means you have to get off and pedal back to a passing place....could be at that all day...so I don't bother...
@MaxiMinimalist Agreed. The big problem I see now is today's parents grew up being driven to their schools, and therefore, see private motor vehicles as the only viable form of transport. The vast majority of UK infant and primary schools have a catchment area that is within easy walking distance from home to school. Yet, the traffic caused by pupils being driven to/from school is astonishing. Banishing the "School Run" should be a priority for all schools.
When I was a kid (that was during the previous millenium when phones were connected to a plug in the wall), I rode my bicycle to school, music academy, sport grounds, parties even during the winter. The government didn't have to spend, correct that, didn't have to think of spending massive amounts of money to build cycling specific infrastructures. Over the past 3 or 4 decades, cars have grown bigger, taller, safer (for their drivers) and faster. Meanwhile, motorists have become abusive, aggressive, hypersensitive to people moving on two wheels, aka cyclists. Spending billions upon billions on new infrastructure won't address the crux of the matter. Sadly.
38 thoughts on “Is Fix Your Bike fixed now? 50,000 more vouchers made available on govt scheme; Styles’ new bike-theme style; Dygert apologises for social media conduct; Campaigners call for park traffic ban; MP suggests LTN referendum + more on the live blog”
Because if there’s one thing
Because if there’s one thing we’ve learnt in the last few years, it is that referendums are the way to solve tricky issues and resolve divisions in society.
Yes to more referendums. In
Yes to more referendums. In fact why don’y we just have an App on our phone. Any idiot can ask a referendum question and without any need to actually research the matter wer can all have a say. Direct Democracy without the need for any elected representatives.
Is that ‘direct democracy’ or
Is that ‘direct democracy’ or is it one of the possible implementations of anarchism?
Damn! you’ve seen through me
Damn! you’ve seen through me
Dont joke about it, my local
Dont joke about it, my local MP posts Facebook polls and takes the result as the guidance to what view to take on important matters,which is how he concluded people were set against cycling infrastructure.
IanMK wrote:
Absolutely, we can decide all kinds of things. health policy, fiscal policy, defence policy, you name it…. The common sense of the masses shall be our guide, the public must be allowed to speak. We’re fed up of experts
Steve K wrote:
Definitely. It’s important that far-reaching decisions regarding public policy are settled once and for all with a simple yes/no question, especially when the actual outcome and fallout of the question is not fully understood by the majority of correspondents.
Captain Badger wrote:
Definitely. It’s important that far-reaching decisions regarding public policy are settled once and for all with a simple yes/no question, especially when the actual outcome and fallout of the question is not fully understood by the majority of correspondents.— Steve K
What’s there to understand? If someone offers you £350 million a week, then it’s an obvious win for everyone.
hawkinspeter wrote:
Oooooh quick, where do I put my cross? and when do I get my cash????
Captain Badger wrote:
It’s okay, the majority voted to take the cash and I think the payout is due early next year. Quids in for everyone!
hawkinspeter wrote:
Aaaah, this must be the sunlit uplands I keep hearing about….
Remoaners, pack it in!
Remoaners, pack it in!
David9694 wrote:
Remoaner? not me! I’m faithfully waiting for the many and varied benefits that I’ve been promised!
David9694 wrote:
You won, get over it!
And my personal favourite on
And my personal favourite on that theme, because he is my MP:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-40667879
I was only thinking on my
I was only thinking on my Sunday ride, what happened to the “Three Brexiteers?”, David Davis and one other whose name I forget.
hawkinspeter wrote:
Great. Another bike.
Northumbria Police actually
Northumbria Police actually asking for close pass camera footage to be submitted! off the back of a rise of incidents. No mention of a close pass operation in the works though.
https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/cyclist-near-misses-northumbria-police-19285484
I’ll also point out that the picture of the white car on the right (3rd incident in the video) is where the sunrise cycleway was put in and recently removed.
Moist von Lipwig wrote:
The comments, the comments……
Captain Badger wrote:
JHC, I thought you might be exaggerating, but they’re straight from the mouths of Farage and Clarkson, totally selfish, obsessed with driving and absolutely no empathy. The police could start by tracing the authors of those comments and tracking their vehicles.
“Ban all cycling, they are
“Ban all cycling, they are nothing but rats on wheels, they are the problem, get rid of them, ban the rats”
How does the paper think this is ok? Substitute ‘blacks’, ‘jews’, ‘gays’ for cyclists and see how quickly the paper acts.
New recent one on there.
New recent one on there.
So apparently having to slow down because it is not safe to overtake means the vehicle in front is to blame for any actions the vehicle behind then does. So in that one clip it is the cyclists fault for making the car barely move out and to pass at 50mph, but also his fault the car doing that manouvre almost took out the approaching car as well.
I have cycled = my best friend is black/asian/muslim….
yeah, I didn’t point that out
yeah, I didn’t point that out to save the mental toll it takes to read them.
BINGO!
BINGO!
Wow, it sure is grim up north
Wow, it sure is grim up north:
hoggy8234 MIN AGO
BIKES SHOULD NOT BE ON ROAD THEY ARE PESTS I DO NOT RESPECT THEM SIMPLE
REPLY2 REPLIES 5
A Refreshingly honest view from Hoggy here – arguably an improvement on “I support provision for cyclists, but…”
“Work harder and buy a car “
“Work harder and buy a car ” bob321
“Most of the accidents are caused because of cyclists undertaking slow moving cars. .” Phani
“Time for ALL cyclists to have insurance there is no excuse for bad drivers but at the same time there are many poor cyclists and no reason why they shouldn’t be insured “
“but the insurance tax would pay for the buses” berreta ???!!!
At least we’ve found a way of
At least we’ve found a way of weeding out those that are too stupid to be given a vote in a referendum.
If everything is decided by
If everything is decided by referendum, that’s great news! We can sack all the MPs and councillors, saving millions, and we don’t have to spend millions more producing policies and strategies; just ask the average Jo/e in the street what they think!
Mind you, given that they want earphones for cyclists banned, maybe it isn’t all good.
Anyone fancy going to the next hanging?
Exactly this
Exactly this
On “Coolest workshop photo
On “Coolest workshop photo ever?”: I have always wondered why I only have to think about touching my brake pads and my hands get dirty….?
Brilliant! I hope he’s
Brilliant! I hope he’s allowed out some times.
#irony why, look it’s our
#irony why, look it’s our old friend, the sweeping ocean road – and some kind of supacar heading up today’s blog.
“subscribe, yer tight bastard”, it seems to say.
Readers are probably a
Readers are probably a wealthier than average demographic, but hopefully not potential McLaren customers, unless for track use only.
Chloe could learn a thing or
Chloe could learn a thing or two re tweeting from Tao Geoghan-Hart.
Maybe, but it’s desperately
Maybe, but it’s desperately sad that two young riders, G-H and Pidcock, have now signed up to promote climate breakdown with Scotland’s biggest CO2 polluter.
Did I miss something here? It
Did I miss something here? It looks like Chloe Dygert has apologised for outing her bigoted views but not in any way mentioned that she doesn’t share those views, is a well adjusted member of society, etc. The views she supports have no place in this century, never mind a professional sport.
Remember, the money in professional sports is essentially marketing for the sponsors. How can anybody want to be associated with her after she has made her 100 year old beliefs clear?
We don’t know the facts.. but
We don’t know the facts.. but it certainly seems like a bit of social media ‘washing’ from the PR machine at Canyon SRAM part has uncovered a few unsavoury ‘likes’ here and there of Chloe’s. Not a good start to a new contract, I bet there’s a few eyebrows being raised at management level.
Do you think those were
Do you think those were secret service agents in the Biden group, with an associated no fly zone above?