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Jacob Rees-Mogg brands 20mph speed limits "an anti-motorist, cash raising ploy"; Have you ever crashed on the turbo? Home trainer sprint snaps sweat-corroded bar; Six Day pro suffers serious injuries in major crash; Pothole party + more on the live blog

Go easy on Dan Alexander, he's feeling a bit under the weather but will try to battle on through as much of Wednesday's live blog as possible...
16 November 2022, 15:48
Jacob Rees-Mogg brands 20mph speed limits "an anti-motorist, cash raising ploy"

Happy Wednesday folks... you'll be delighted to hear Jacob Rees Mogg has self-exhumed from the depths of the Tory Party back onto our screens to enlighten the world with his wisdom...

Appears ol' Moggy missed this bit where The Telegraph's article says the scheme has little impact on collisions... "largely because they are often ignored"... and in other cities 20mph limits have caused "significant reductions in road traffic speed, collisions and casualties".

Science editor Sarah Knapton's piece notes the former observation by Queen's University Belfast experts who compared traffic and accident data in the city from 2013 and 2014 with 2017 and 2019 after 20mph limits were implemented. The data was also compared to city centre streets where restrictions didn't apply, as well as streets in the city and similar routes elsewhere in Northern Ireland that had retained their speed limits between 30 and 40mph.

And while the analysis pointed to "little change in short or long-term outcomes for road traffic collisions, casualties, or driver speed", Ruth Hunter, a professor of public health and planetary health, pointed to a lack of enforcement and drivers "unaware" of the new limit for an explanation in the largely unchanged collision numbers.

Knapton also points out that in other cities where 20mph speed limits have been implemented, notably Edinburgh, there have been "significant reductions in road traffic speed, collisions and casualties".

"Road deaths fell by nearly a quarter and serious injuries by a third when Edinburgh cut its speed limit to 20mph," she writes.

"mErElY aN aNtI-mOtOrIsT, cAsH rAiSiNg PlOy"

16 November 2022, 17:15
Gifts for cyclists 2022 under £50 — the best affordable Christmas presents for the cyclist in your life

Let's face it, we don't all have Mogg's millions, so here are our top affordable cycling-related gift ideas this Christmas...

> Gifts for cyclists 2022 under £50 — the best affordable Christmas presents for the cyclist in your life 

16 November 2022, 17:07
"I had to put on this face that wasn't me and pretend everything was okay when it just wasn't"
Jason Kenny and Laura Trott at Rio 2016 (picture Bryn Lennon, Getty, via Britishcycling.org_.uk).jpg

Dame Laura Kenny has spoken to Eurosport about the pain of suffering a miscarriage last year, and admitted "pretending everything was okay" in the aftermath.

"Being an athlete sort of dragged me through it, I guess," the five-time Olympic champion said. "I'm just glad I had something else to fall upon, because I don’t know how else I would have stopped my brain from overthinking the stuff it was thinking at the time.

"I didn't know what to do. I do not like letting people down, and [my career] has always been about turning up, and you give your best on that day. That's what you do as an athlete.

"I didn't really think twice about it, I just carried on being Laura. And that has its disadvantages, as much as being me has its advantages a lot of the time. Just saying you're okay the whole time has its disadvantages because I had to put on this face that wasn't me and pretend everything was okay when it just wasn't."

16 November 2022, 15:54
Comment of the day
16 November 2022, 13:25
Cyclist suffers serious injury after being thrown 30ft from railings at promenade

Merseyside Police reported a cyclist was seriously injured in Wallasey last night when their bike's brakes "failed" and they were sent crashing down a steep slope and into Egremont Promenade's railings, an impact which threw them 30ft (9m) down to the beach below.

16 November 2022, 13:24
UPDATE: The driver was issued with a community resolution order by the Met, and has agreed to pay compensation to the cyclist
16 November 2022, 13:12
US publishing giant Outside makes several redundancies including Editors-In-Chief of CyclingTips and VeloNews

Some tough news from within the cycling industry today as staff at CyclingTips and VeloNews, including the Editor-in-Chief of both sites Caley Fretz and Daniel Benson, have lost their jobs as part of a round of redundancies at publisher Outside.

In a letter to staff from Outside's CEO Robin Thurston shared on social media, it was confirmed that the publisher is cutting 12% of its workforce in an effort to "achieve profitability and control our destiny". 

Outside of Outside, Jeremy Whittle also confirmed that Stelvio magazine would not be publishing any further issues.

Stelvio was launched earlier this year as the 'thinking fan's bike mag' (with the aim of filling the hole left by the demise of ProCycling), featuring rider interviews, tactical analysis, and history pieces, along with some interesting and nuanced investigations into sportswashing, but only managed two editions before its own collapse.

"This is really sad news and all of us at road.cc are sorry to see some amazing journalists lose their jobs. Those titles will be worse for it and I hope all of those who have been let go land on their feet elsewhere," road.cc editor Jack Sexty commented.

16 November 2022, 12:26
MAXIMISE fitness gains with indoor and outdoor riding

Oh, and while we're on the topic, as if by magic the video team have just dropped this...

16 November 2022, 12:12
Turbo talk

We're talking turbo training on today's live blog, and to answer my own question, yes I have crashed while training indoors. I'm blaming teenage me for getting a cheap as chips turbo that attached at the rear quick release. I say 'attached'... it did when you set it up properly...

One of those turbos you feel the rocking when the (bang average) watts start going down...

Anyway, enough of my rambling...

SlowOldSteve: "Not a crash but a strange occurrence on the turbo yesterday, a puncture as I got on, put in a new inner tube and got a second puncture! Clearly something inside the tyre but a cursory run around with a finger revealed  nothing on the first puncture. To say there was a lot of bad language would be an understatement! I gave up and had tea and cake."

That's the answer to everything, in my book.

ShutTheFrontDawes is also an "advocate for removing bar tape. I just don't like it and once I tried cycling without it, I realised I liked it. I think everyone should at least try it." Bonus points for the get well soon message, possibly the nicest thing anyone's ever commented on one of my live blogs...

OldRidgeback: "I saw the post on Twitter. I didn't realise sweat could be so corrosive to an alloy. I know there's salt in sweat, but even so...."

Awavey: "It's the acidity along with the salt combination that causes the problem, I think it's common to hear about rusty fingerprints on metal handtools, especially when kept in high humidity environments. Apparently blood is worse so don't bleed on your bike either." Noted.

Elsewhere in the world of indoor training today...

2022 Tacx NEO Bike Plus  - 1.jpeg

> Garmin unveils Tacx NEO Bike Plus indoor smart bike – but it doesn't come cheap

16 November 2022, 11:24
The sign of a good session
16 November 2022, 11:03
Paralysed surgeon returns to work two years after freak cycling accident

Here's some inspiration for your middle of the week...

A surgeon who was paralysed from the waist down last year when he was struck by a falling tree while cycling at around 25mph (40km/h) has returned to work. Mohammed Belal is a consultant urologist at Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital and says he is a better doctor as a result of his experience.

Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham (Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic/ Tony Hisgett)

"I spent a lot of time looking after people with spinal cord injuries so I know both sides now," he told the BBC.

"I feel positive as I've been overwhelmed by the support I've had and while it's about accepting, I am privileged and it's about not giving up."

The surgeon took up cycling during lockdown but was injured in the freak accident while cycling through Meriden in Warwickshire in February 2021.

"There was no time to react. The next thing I knew I woke up and tried to get up and realised I was paralysed," he recalled. "What I've learnt as a patient is hope is very important. I recognise from the other side that I accept what has happened to me, but having hope I will work to get better. It allows me to push and push in rehab, to do the next thing that's needed."

The father of three spent eight months in hospital, has done countless hours of rehabilitation and, with the help of his wife, turned their garage into accommodation for his needs.

16 November 2022, 10:33
Belgian pro suffers serious injuries in Six Day crash

The opening madison of the famous Ghent Six Day saw Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl's Stijn Steels stretchered out of 't Kuipke velodrome with three broken ribs, two broken vertebrae and a lung contusion.

The Belgian was conscious as he left the arena, his head in his hands, and the team confirmed the injuries this morning: "Following his crash in Zesdaagse Geent, Stijn Steels was examined last night. He has a lung contusion, broken three ribs and two vertebrae. 

"The fractures are stable & as of this moment no operation or further intervention is required. Join us in wishing Stijn a complete recovery."

Steels wrote on social media: "The scans did not bring good news. With pain in my heart (and in the rest of the body) I have to give up in the six days. Thanks again to everyone for all the support, everything will be fine."

British duo Ethan Hayter and Fred Wright sit fourth in the standings after the first night of action.

16 November 2022, 09:50
Meanwhile in Britain...
No Context Brits tweet

We love a pothole party...

16 November 2022, 08:54
Handlebar from hell: Home trainer sprint snaps sweat-corroded bar

What a start to Wednesday's live blog we have for you...

The pro tips filled the replies sharpish. From the fairly obvious 'use a towel when you train indoors' to the more rogue (but quite appealing having seen this) 'do away with bar tape completely and just wash regularly'...

Luckily for Alan the fan was well-positioned for him to 'punch' as he fell, avoiding smacking the deck too hard... although now we think about it I'm not sure what's worse? Crashing off the turbo in your garage or having a fan blowing all that lovely sweaty alloy mess into your face while you train...

Don't worry, Alan, we've been here before...

> "This needs an exorcist, not a mechanic": You'll never train indoors without a towel again 

Handlebar nightmare (Credit: Stevil Kinevil/Twitter)

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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89 comments

Avatar
mattw | 2 years ago
0 likes

That Somerset pothole story is from 2018.

And the Somersetlive people have 'pologised.

https://www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/apology-yellow-lines-around-pothole-...

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mattw | 2 years ago
0 likes

As someone basically on the centre-right, the impression I get is that some parts of the Tory party are going after the motor side of the "motor-vs-cyclist" segment of voters - seems to be happening in the local government arena around LTNs in London, too.

A stupid call by Mogg, as most people are far more openminded. I'm left trying to decide which character from Cats he represents, but I don't think there is one. He must be the behind the scenes svengali.

Up here in the former Red Wall, I have not seen this amongst Tories planning to salvage their new red wall MPs from what may turn out to be a political pile of rubble by the end of what needs to be done wrt the various crises.

Can't really comment on local gov up here as we are locally entirely dominated by independents, with Tories in power at County level.

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Cycloid | 2 years ago
3 likes

A Letter to Jacob Rees Mogg from a Friend

My Dear Jacob,

I note with interest your opposition to the 20mph speed restrictions that are appearing in our country, clearly an extreme degradation of personal liberty. Like you my sentiment harks back to an earlier time when society was more structured and everyone knew their place.

Apparently these restrictions are designed to facilitate the well being of some velocipedists and footpads, who use the roads, at the expense of horseless carriage drivers who also happen to be the main wealth creators for everyone. Many people fail to understand that modern vehicles are designed to travel at 60+mph and that slower speeds can damage the engine. My copy of the recently published Highway Code tells me it is an offence to exceed all speed restrictions. I think Mr Churchill has to answer for the current situation, when he abolished road tax, (a nominal payment that could be avoided by anyone with a good accountant) thus destroying the natural hierarchy of the roads.

I know some people think that you are a fossilised kn*bh**d, but I implore you the get your chums in Parliament to sort out this unholy mess.

 

Yours …..

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Rome73 | 2 years ago
5 likes

has Rees Mogg given up trying to find those 'brexitty benefits'? So he's now starting on the Road Safety / War on Motorists ticket to get his ignorance into the public domain. 
amazing that once the brexitty  'benefits' couldn't be found they became 'opportunities'. And now those can't be identified either. 

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Sniffer replied to Rome73 | 2 years ago
5 likes

.... and then he was sacked.

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brooksby | 2 years ago
3 likes

I had to walk the final mile and a half coming home tonight: I've been adjusting my brake cables tighter and tighter to eke more life out of the pads, but all this rain has finally killed them. Suddenly realised that I had metal scraping on the rims, so i basically had no brakes... 

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IanMSpencer replied to brooksby | 2 years ago
6 likes

Another bonus for disc brakes - I found wet rides ate rim brakes, half a block would get me through summer, a couple of blocks through winter, but occasionally a bad ride could eat most of a block - and a fair chunk of rim too. Disc brakes don't seem to be so weather sensitive.

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Awavey replied to IanMSpencer | 2 years ago
0 likes

Completely agree on rim blocks, already on my 2nd set of the autumn and the weather is only just getting wet.

But with mech discs at least if the pad is worn close to its limit, they can hop from seemingly fine in dry, even fine on a wet ride but go through a puddle to got no brakes in the wet at all, which is a bit unnerving, a simple tweak on the adjustment screw and alls well again, but it's that no warning feel that's not nice, hydraulic self adjust.

I'd still pick disc regardless this time of year

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Simon E replied to Awavey | 2 years ago
0 likes

Awavey wrote:

Completely agree on rim blocks, already on my 2nd set of the autumn and the weather is only just getting wet.

Yikes!

The Kool Stop salmons on my commuting/wet/winter bike were fitted in March and still have some depth left. The lanes I use are muddy again now and I hate the sound of grinding rims but a frequent (sometimes daily) 5-minute wash gets them clean again.

But having done that job 3 times already this week I started to wonder whether my next bike - whenever that might be - should have disc brakes.

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wtjs replied to Simon E | 2 years ago
0 likes

I started to wonder whether my next bike - whenever that might be - should have disc brakes

Of course it should! Muddy rim-grinding roads- you're the perfect candidate for a Damascene conversion

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chrisonabike replied to Simon E | 2 years ago
0 likes

I added a bike with mechanical discs to my stable a couple of years back (Avid BB7 - not even top-flight).  No issues with them - but that was on my niche (and fair-weather) bike.  Been through a pad change or two (hills!) - a little tricky to get the old ones out but not a drama and not IMHO "fiddly" in the same way as adjusting V brakes.  They're either in there or not, then just dial in the clearance and done (assuming your rotor's OK).

Recently I got Shimano hydraulic discs on my new all-weather hack / commuter / maid-of-all-work bike.  Unfortunately they are now with the thief, but while in my possession they were great.  Indeed there was so little of the usual "feedback" (e.g. squeezing hard, getting slight vibration or sound) I still locked the rear on two occasions.  Even though brake modulation was excellent and I was watching for it!

I was interested in how long they'd last in Edinburgh road-sludge / winter by the sea rust-inducing conditions but until I save up more pennies that's moot.  Certainly my (cheap) rim brakes don't last a winter if out much (I wipe rims / pads after each ride, full bike wash I'm not as conscientious as I should be).  Wheel rebuilds come round quickly.

Of which - back to rim caliper brakes again on the Dawes Galaxy rust-bucket and for the first ride they suddenly seemed a bit weak - so much that I adjusted them!  I've re-adapted quickly and they're fine - like they always were.  However (assuming you've the right ones, correctly set up etc) discs are excellent especially for grimy conditions, less physical effort and more modulation.  Braking is always limited by the grip of the tyre at the end of the day but I doubt you'd regret getting discs.

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wtjs replied to chrisonabike | 2 years ago
1 like

Well, I never wash my steel, cable-disc, 9-speed Sora, trailer-towing, Pennine Bridleway, used-almost-all-the-time bike and I rely on the rain to do it for me. I did have to use a stick to remove the huge mud-packs around the frame on a very bad section near Settle. Pads last about a year, and mud and grime virtually never accumulates on the discs

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brooksby replied to IanMSpencer | 2 years ago
0 likes

The pads on there were put on at the beginning of August, so thats over three months.

Annoying thing is I don't have a light (or room) in the shed, and I'm not allowed to bring the bike in the house, so I'm riding Bike B until the weekend when I can do the work outside.

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xcleigh1247 | 2 years ago
14 likes

I'm a member of a cycling club and there's this guy, a total bellend, who thinks he's a role model for everyone else in the cycling club - the fastest and most skilled he constantly opines, everyone's knows he's actually shit and sweats profusely despite his snails pace. His handlebars must be corroded to bits! 
 Whenever we stop at a cafe everyone hopes upon hope he carries on, especially as he complains incessantly about stopping. As I say a total bellend, I don't even really know his name, Nigel or something like that. 

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IanMSpencer replied to xcleigh1247 | 2 years ago
4 likes

This'll be him.

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Alessandro | 2 years ago
16 likes

Jacob Rees-Mogg is a total bellend. 

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hawkinspeter replied to Alessandro | 2 years ago
7 likes

Alessandro wrote:

Jacob Rees-Mogg is a total bellend. 

He was quite keen on new licences for fracking, so I suspect he may have some financial interest from oil companies. It does seem that the Tories will only back something if there's a nice back-hander in it for them - they've got to get all the money they can before the collapse of society.

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Mungecrundle replied to Alessandro | 2 years ago
7 likes

He may look like a possessed pencil, but he sure ain't the sharpest one in the pencil case.

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chrisonabike replied to Mungecrundle | 2 years ago
6 likes

I was wondering what was nagging me about him ... he's Clippy, isn't he?

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brooksby replied to chrisonabike | 2 years ago
2 likes

Didn't he go around all the civil services offices in London, leaving little passive-aggressive notes on the desks of WFH staff, saying he hoped to see them in the office soon?

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JustTryingToGet... replied to brooksby | 2 years ago
3 likes
brooksby wrote:

Didn't he go around all the civil services offices in London, leaving little passive-aggressive notes on the desks of WFH staff, saying he hoped to see them in the office soon?

Probably not quite the motivational tool that he'd hoped... I'd definitely be avoiding the office if I stood a chance of running into that bellend.

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hutchdaddy replied to Alessandro | 2 years ago
9 likes

"Jacob Rees-Mogg is a total bellend." You really are being too kind to him

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IanMSpencer replied to Alessandro | 2 years ago
7 likes

The thing is that he seems to be demonstrably wrong about just about everything, and generally you don't often even hear his comrades agreeing with what he says, but somehow he seems to have influence.

Baffling.

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Kapelmuur | 2 years ago
5 likes

Not a turbo but a bloke I was chatting to during a ride told me of a time he was riding rollers in his lounge (this was the posh part of Cheshire) when he somehow rode off the front of them.

He grabbed at the mantelpiece, brushing his wife's precious porcelain on to the floor, landed on a coffee table which collapsed and ending with smashing into the TV.

This chap was exceptionally accident prone and had tales of several other unusual methods of crashing off a bicycle.

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SlowOldSteve replied to Kapelmuur | 2 years ago
3 likes

Reminds me of a roller session with my mate on a track bike in his Mum's kitchen some 50 years ago. He really went for it, lost control, came off the rollers and shot into the kitchen door and was left wedged in a bike shaped  hole like a Tom and Jerry cartoon! Fortunately only a few minor cuts but the door was a write  off. His Mum was  remarkabley relaxed about the damage, but she did have 3 boys!

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essexian replied to Kapelmuur | 2 years ago
7 likes

I exited my rollers when braking for the cat who had walked in front of me.

Turbos are much safer. 

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KDee replied to essexian | 2 years ago
2 likes

The cat came out of nowhere! It should have been wearing hi-viz, had insurance and paid cat-tax. Reflective material not required...cats eyes 

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essexian replied to KDee | 2 years ago
2 likes

Indeed... it was (actually still is) a ginger and white moggy so I should have seen it but.... the sun was in my eyes despite the fact it was after sunset and I was looking north.

Actually I noticed last night that on one of the new Zwift worlds there is a dog and cat sitting by the side of the road watching.... I'll cover my brakes whenever I pass from them from now on....it could be a trick....

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mattw replied to Kapelmuur | 2 years ago
0 likes

Don't point percy at the porcelain...

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eburtthebike | 2 years ago
10 likes

Jacob Rees-Mogg is repeating the same anti-Active Travel approach of Kit Malthouse, but from a different angle.  There is no doubt that the extreme right of the tory party is fundamentally opposed to cycling and walking, and will do all they can to sabotage it.

The Kit Malthouse interview on World at One was very much like his previous interviews, suggesting that Active Travel is very much a "nice to have" luxury that could be cut with no consequences.  The BBC reporter of course, did not challenge him on this and didn't point out that cycling and walking are the most affordable transport options, and tackle so many other of modern society's ills; climate change, pollution, congestion, health, obesity, road danger etc, etc.  In fact, the interview completely lacked balance, something that the BBC is, in theory, very keen on, especially when there is a current political situation.

I've sent World at One an email expressing these points, but going by previous experience, am entirely without hope that they will address them.  I'd send in a complaint, but going by previous bitter experience, I'll get a reply in a month exonerating the programme and assuring me that my views have been listed in a book for the producers to ignore.

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