Former GB Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies belly-flops into 15-minute cities debate; Should dogs wear helmets?; Uber Eats cyclist goes viral for very British bike theft fear; SD Worx admit Amy Pieters in “a difficult period” + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Should dogs wear helmets?
With the helmet debate done to death, perhaps this is the next frontier…
I just met a very sweet Pomeranian near St Paul’s and the owners did not believe I’d seen one last year in Naples with a bike helmet, so here’s the proof 😂 pic.twitter.com/NfodraLpPl
— Simon MacMichael 🏴🇮🇹🇪🇺❤️💙🚲 (@simonmacmichael) February 16, 2023
Uber Eats cyclist goes viral for very British bike theft fear
Approaching our 15th birthday it remains the proudest moment of this website’s existence the day No Context Brits shared our story about the round-the-world cyclist whose bike got stolen outside a Wetherspoons in Reading. The peak of any journalist’s career…
Well, the popular Twitter account with 1.6 million followers is back on our patch…
— No Context Brits (@NoContextBrits) February 16, 2023
Less cycling-related, but fun for a Friday morning…
— Chris™ (@Chrisw_1) February 16, 2023
SD Worx admit Amy Pieters in "a difficult period"
[📷: SD Worx]
Providing an update on Amy Pieters’ recovery from the December 2021 crash which left the three-time rainbow jersey wearer in a coma for months, SD Worx admitted their rider is experiencing a “difficult period”. In a post on the team’s website…
It‘s been quiet around Amy Pieters for a while and there are reasons for that. Her rehabilitation can sometimes go less good. This is mainly due to a number of setbacks that she had to deal with. Pieters has had several epileptic seizures in a short period of time that slowed down her recovery.
As a result, she has suffered a relapse in her mobility and her motivation to recover is also somewhat difficult due to the adjusted medication. This is a difficult period for her, but also for everyone who works and interacts with her.
Pieters can now answer with a clear yes and no, but unfortunately it is not yet possible to really have a conversation in sentences. She mainly communicates with facial expressions. Now there will be waited until the medication to be adjusted in such a way that she regains the energy and motivation so that she can work on the next steps of her rehabilitation.
Pieters still prefers to get on her bicycle and go for a ride outside, rather than sitting on an indoor bike in the gym. The Amy Pieters foundation has purchased an adapted bicycle for her, as well as a system to warn in the event of an epileptic attack. This so that she can also do cycling as an exercise at home during the weekends.
Tour de Dance
Your comments
Some of your thoughts on Davies’ dip into active travel…
ubercurmudgeon: “As a general rule, anyone who includes in their Twitter name or handle a three-letter-acronym for some gong they received for letting the royal family associate themselves with their modest achievements, isn’t worth listening to.”
Patrick9-32: “Car drivers: Take up 95 per cent of infrastructure space and budget. Also car drivers: ‘Can’t we just make public transport, walking and cycling better without doing anything that makes driving even one per cent less convenient???? why is there a war on cars?”
billymansell: “As the saying goes, ‘when you’re accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression’.”
Doping figures show 29 cases of alleged wrongdoing in cycling in 2022 — the second highest number since 2015 — but just two from WorldTour and ProTour
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Figures published by the Mouvement Pour un Cyclisme Crédible (MPCC) show that there were 29 cases of alleged doping in cycling in 2022, ten more than in 2021.
Using data from anti-doping agencies, courts, federations and news reports the MPCC puts together its annual report into doping at a professional level in cycling and found last year’s figure was the second highest since 2015.
While the numbers seem high the MPCC was quick to point out there were just two cases in the sport’s top two tiers (WorldTour and ProTour), the lowest number recorded since before the Festina affair of 1998.
“In 2022, the large majority of doping proceedings in top-level cycling concerned semi-professional men riders from continental road teams (12 cases),” the MPCC explained.
Trek launches two new e-cargo bikes
How do you rate EF Education–EasyPost's Colombian champs kit?
Esteban Chaves is the new Colombian national champion, sparking a great deal of excitment about how EF Education–EasyPost, the team behind several eye-catchingly radical kits over the years, would celebrate their rider’s success. The answer?
No!!! Wtf is that?! pic.twitter.com/cqwbCzoSbd
— Tim Bonville-Ginn (@TimBonvilleGinn) February 17, 2023
What do we reckon? A tad undersold? Maybe it’s the curse of too much expectation, but to our eye that does look a little bit too UAE Team Emirates-y…
I’m so disappointed pic.twitter.com/3Ts9w3iLNj
— Tim Bonville-Ginn (@TimBonvilleGinn) February 17, 2023
That is the Venezuelan champion but yes the design is better…
I was expecting this! 👇 pic.twitter.com/oxgr8hB5Yu
— Tim Bonville-Ginn (@TimBonvilleGinn) February 17, 2023
Our only hope?
I doubt it, but we shall see 🙃
— Tim Bonville-Ginn (@TimBonvilleGinn) February 17, 2023
Come on Vaughters, the people want an explosion in a yellow paint factory… step it up…
BREAKING: Danny MacAskill is human after all
I had fun yesterday testing out my trials skills on an old pier. This line didn’t quite go to plan, but I hope you enjoy coming along for the ride 😉@GoPro 11 hero mini #failfriday #trials #streettrials #balance pic.twitter.com/GLl0yPYJfb
— Danny MacAskill (@danny_macaskill) February 17, 2023
road.cc Podcast guest Carla Francombe talks 15-minute cities on Radio 4
Back in November we had Carla Francombe on the road.cc Podcast to discuss staying calm in the face of online abuse. You can catch that episode here, by the way… anyway, back to today’s story — 15-minute cities…
Clearly her appearance on the road.cc little leagues was impressive enough to earn a call-up to the big time and Radio 4’s AntiSocial programme. Joining Adam Flemming live alongside Alan Miller of Together Declaration, the anti-lockdown group that objected to vaccine passports and other issues during the Covid pandemic, Francombe represented the pro-15-minute city voice, championing active travel policy.
“For me, it’s just a lot about having safe streets and people-friendly streets,” she told the show. “The reason it came to me was we went to Guernsey, I took my little kids and we went to St Peter Port and the whole of the town centre had no cars.
“And it was just like this complete epiphany of I just haven’t realised how much I was scared, all the time, walking the streets with my kids.”
You can listen to the full hour-long episode here…
Riding A Road Bike At 100 KM/H - How HARD Can It Be!?
Racing round-up: Come on guys, give someone else a go...
Four races for the round-up today, two won by the same person who won yesterday and one by the same rider who’s won that stage twice before. Let’s start in Spain where Elisa Balsamo made it two from two…
💨💨💨💨
Etapa 2 ⚡️ @Elisa_balsamo🧡 #SetmanaCiclista23 pic.twitter.com/UdDsF6Cit0
— Setmana Ciclista – Volta Femenina de la CV (@SetmanaCiclista) February 17, 2023
Meanwhile, Tadej Pogačar had a day off dominating the entire peloton into submission, but just so teammate Tim Wellens could take his third career win in Alcalá de los Gazules.
The UAE Team Emirates domination continues 👊💥
Tim Wellens attacks on a 𝐁𝐑𝐔𝐓𝐀𝐋 final climb to solo to a Stage 3 victory in Andalucia 🥵⛰@Tim_Wellens | @TeamEmiratesUAE pic.twitter.com/nVnQ1Pp4sI
— Eurosport (@eurosport) February 17, 2023
All the watts…
A perfect day at the 69RdS 🇪🇸.@Tim_Wellens with the stage win. @TamauPogi retains his overall lead. 👌👏👍#UAETeamEmirates #WeAreUAE pic.twitter.com/AxYqrHj7FW
— @UAE-TeamEmirates (@TeamEmiratesUAE) February 17, 2023
Talking of all the watts, how about this sprint from Magnus Cort, distancing the rest of the Volta ao Algarve startlist…
Senhora vitória de @MagnusCort na etapa 3 da #VAlgarve23 pic.twitter.com/5pW9nkaJvI
— País do Ciclismo (@opaisdociclismo) February 17, 2023
What’s that? It wasn’t a bunch sprint? Nope, King Cort was in an attack group that took off at the intermediate sprint at 24km to go… some big engines in there — Filippo Ganna, Tom Pidcock, Rui Costa, TT world champ Tobias Foss, Valentin Madouas — and yet the answer was perhaps the most obvious… yesterday’s winner taking another victory today…
That. 👏🏻 Was. 👏🏻Thrilling
Thank you @MagnusCort! #VAlgarve23 pic.twitter.com/NAck0ZgrLj
— Anna Mac 🌈 (@AnnamacB) February 17, 2023
Oh, and before I forget, Tour des Alpes Maritimes et du Var stage one was won by Kévin Vauquelin. And breathe…
Former GB Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies belly-flops into 15-minute cities debate
Remember the good ol’ days when it was just LTNs getting shouty people on the internet worked up? It has been some week for the 15-minute city ‘debate’, starting with Conservative MP Nick Fletcher raising a known conspiracy theory in Parliament, sparking the inevitable GB News reaction, but now we’ve even got an Olympic swimmer wading in at the deep end…
Yeap & Meantime we’re going to get fined for travelling 15 mins from our house! pic.twitter.com/Br5kvp1c4f
— Sharron Davies MBE (@sharrond62) February 16, 2023
Did I say ‘wading in’? Maybe cannonballing would be more accurate. And admittedly it’s a bit of a two for the price of one situation, with Davies’ initial Bath-based complaint being about the Clean Air Zone, but also mentioning Oxford where 15-minute city plans seem to be the issue.
Anyway, the 1980 Moscow Olympics silver medallist, who has also been outspoken about trans issues in sport, did not see the comments go unnoticed…
I know what it’s going to cost me ( & others) to see friends & pick my son up from school in Bath. I know all shop keepers are hugely anti. I know 90% of those consulted in Oxford are also anti! This should not be put in place stealth. It’s nothing more than another tax
— Sharron Davies MBE (@sharrond62) February 16, 2023
[click on the photo to see the full info below]
How is it going to cost anything extra than it does right now? pic.twitter.com/gYYo6UHo21
— Rich (@531Forever) February 16, 2023
Oxford resident here, 90% are not against it, we would like to be able to freely move about our city without it being clogged up with cars. We also know that it is faster to use the ring road rather than trying to drive across it on medieval streets
— Peter Kimsey (@KimseyPeter) February 16, 2023
You don’t get the irony. Driving into Bath is what’s causing the jams, that and driving from one side of the city to the other, driving round & round looking for a parking spot.
— Sir Gordon & the Vaccines (@thegordonkerr) February 16, 2023
Incidentally, here’s Oliver Wainwright’s piece in The Guardian yesterday, ‘In praise of the ‘15-minute city’ – the mundane planning theory terrifying conspiracists’… sorry, not sure how that ended up there…
Have a great weekend!
That. Was. Class. #kingmagnus
— Jonathan Vaughters (@Vaughters) February 17, 2023
Too kind, Jonathan, I thought it was just another standard live blog, but if you insist…
We’ll see you all on Monday, have a great weekend everyone!
17 February 2023, 09:01
17 February 2023, 09:01
17 February 2023, 09:01
17 February 2023, 09:01
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Latest Comments
@mitsky Just checking the figures and apparently the 2026 average cost is £58,000 per year per prisoner; worth noting that is only the direct cost, you then have to factor in ten years of lost tax income from the prisoner, ten years that the prisoner is making no contribution to society as a worker or as a consumer, plus the fact that if they were the primary breadwinner very likely the costs will include benefits for their family as well. None of which should be a reason for keeping violent recidivists out of prison of course, nor drug/drink drivers who kill, but it is a factor worth considering for lower-level offences.
@Surreyrider I ride in Surrey a fair bit and absolutely many do look like that but the point is they all *think* they're driving perfectly reasonably (as one discovers when remonstrating with someone who's skimmed one by 30cm, "I gave you masses of room") so deterrent penalties have little effect. That's why we need to strike at the root cause and actually train drivers properly and test them stringently (and more than once over the course of a potential 70+ years of driving, it's absolutely absurd that competence and knowledge in what for most people is the activity in their life that will run the biggest risk of killing people you never have to have your qualifications renewed).
@mitsky Imprisonment currently costs over £50k p.a. per prisoner and obviously that will rise over the course of a ten-year stretch with inflation. Regarding culpability and mitigating sentences etc, of course I'm not against condign punishment for drivers who kill (and cyclists on the tiny, tiny handful of occasions when this happens), including prison as appropriate; I was objecting to the ridiculous and oft-repeated demand of MM that drivers who kill cyclists must get ten years, "no excuses, no exceptions".
Hey, but their wool blend cycling adjacent t-shirts are/were fantastic.
@Surreyrider Still the boss. Ride one, you'll see why
@Smoggysteve "Most would happily ride on the roads and be treated with respect by drivers". But people aren't - and as far as I can see they won't be. Not until there is a lot less driving and it's slower around cyclists, and far more people driving have "skin in the game" eg. they sometimes cycle and their friends and family do also. That's what leads to the model - which is perhaps most advanced in NL - where cycling, walking and driving are all seen as separate normal transport modes. Their needs, vulnerabilities and any dangers to others are considered. And *that* leads to "mix / share when possible, separate when necessary". But "possible" is "where your 10-year old would be safe to cycle unsupervised" - so very few motor vehicles, going slow! And AFAICS everybody - even "existing cyclists" - is happy with the result. (I dunno about a few pro cyclists - but don't they tend to have training camps in different counties anyway?)
@quiff as an Edinburgh resident I can confidently say he's speaking without moving his lips in one sense: - while as I noted in a separate comment there *is* now some real separated cycle infra, all the examples i can think of have *at least as much space* for pedestrians. The rest of the "cycle infra" is essentially similar to the situation in the rest of the UK: eg. bus lanes*, cycle lanes and shared use paths (eg. "build" infra by sticking up a sign). Edinburgh is one of the places with a moderately extensive network of former railways which have been converted to "shared use" paths (completely motor traffic few). However though shared they are not narrow by UK standards. And this is all effectively a "free extra" for all non- motorised users, not like the "sign a cycle path" where pedestrians do lose space. I think this all comes from the "popular understanding" of cycling in which ultimately cyclists are the "other". They don't fit "motor vehicle" or "pedestrian" (including wheelchairs on the very rare occasions people think about that). Thus "cyclists are cheating" in multiple ways! They shouldn't get their own space as "there aren't enough" of them. And "they can just use the road / path". But being able to *choose* "on the road" or "on the footway" (shared use path) is clearly unfair - nobody else gets to do that! BUT of course even if they did pick just one of road OR pedestrian space it's still not fair anyway because they're "too slow" for the road (don't pay "road tax" etc...) and "far too fast" for pedestrians... * Though some existing cyclists may appreciate them when there are few buses, buses and bikes are a very poor mix for several reasons.
Whilst a shame for any employees, their bib shorts had the worst chamois pad I’d ever encountered, utter waste of my money. Even though they were Strava challenge discount purchases, still a waste of money.
Thanks, just going to have to suck it up. Got next week off and will take the easy, if expensive option...
@ktache Just go for the TNT Sports only package, £30.99 for a month. Alternatively have you considered experimenting with a VPN for a few pounds, allowing you to sign up for a free stream abroad, e.g. SBS Australia which streams the Tour live? If I didn't have a kind mate's login that's what I'd do!
59 thoughts on “Former GB Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies belly-flops into 15-minute cities debate; Should dogs wear helmets?; Uber Eats cyclist goes viral for very British bike theft fear; SD Worx admit Amy Pieters in “a difficult period” + more on the live blog”
Anyone else avoid people who
Anyone else avoid people who casually put “Conspiracy theories” on their dating profiles like the plague, or is it just me?
Why would someone put that? I
Why would someone put that? I mean – if you think they are out to get everyone the last thing you’d do is announce to the world that you knew about their sinister plans. Hmmm… *Those profiles are fakes! It’s a trap by the deep state / wokerati / cycling nazis / lizards! *
Crazies gotta crazy!
Crazies gotta crazy!
chrisonatrike wrote:
My lizard says you’re lying.
eburtthebike wrote:
That’s *exactly* what I’d expect a lizard secretly ruling the world from the shadows to say!
.
.
Hmm. It’f not Friday by any chance, is it?!
.
eburtthebike wrote:
My mongoose eats your lizard.
Checkmate!
I just avoid people who might
I just avoid people who might know my Mrs.
Ah! That’s where I went wrong
Ah! That’s where I went wrong. (Though, TBF Mrs S. Mk2 has been a wise investment).
What’s a dating profile?
What’s a dating profile?
I don’t look at dating
I don’t look at dating profiles (because I’m married) but if I were in the market I’d find it a useful way to weed out the loonies.
.
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Yup. You’re right.
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It’s just you(!!)
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Boopop wrote:
Is there ever a casual conspiracy theory? That sounds like something Bill Bailey would invent…”Yeah, er… the Illuminati an’ that are secretly controlling the world! Well, I say that, I mean … I’ve heard they might have a bit of undue influence in Grimsby. Actually, I’m not that fussed about it.”
Its pretty clear that about 5
Its pretty clear that about 5% of “celebrities” take the blue pill and go on down the social media conspiracy rabbit hole.
Sharron Davies is a case in point. She’s totally tinfoil hat wearing cuckoo and should be muted at the first opportunity.
Car drivers: Take up 95% of
Car drivers: Take up 95% of infrastructure space and budget.
Also Car drivers: “Can’t we just make public transport, walking and cycling better without doing anything that makes driving even 1% less convenient???? why is there a war on cars?”
As the saying goes, ‘When You
As the saying goes, ‘When You’re Accustomed to Privilege, Equality Feels Like Oppression’
any more leftist drivel to
any more leftist drivel to unload?
Any more rightist drivel to
Any more rightist drivel to unload?
Since we already have blue
Since we already have blue pills in this thread, I hereby declare that helmets are for phalluses (or phallums, as they may become in Scotland).
Chris Boardman’s view on
Chris Boardman’s view on opponents of active travel initiatives with illogical arguments is ‘don’t engage, just ignore them’. I agree.
Road.cc has some interesting content, but I find the constant search for outrage-generation stories wearing.
Yes road.cc definitely likes
Yes road.cc definitely likes the click-bait articles.
I wish they wouldn’t publish so many of these types of stories and balance them with more positive and worthwhile news.
It’s far more important to
It’s far more important to know what Jeremy Vine is getting up to than any real cycling news.
Yeah it means I visit less –
Yeah it means I visit less – I don’t wanna get angry due to a minority of no nothing idiots and their vile / ignorant opinions shoved in my face every time I visit the website.
Cycling has been such a positive thing in my life – I’d rather keep it that way
I struggle with this. Yes, I
I struggle with this. Yes, I find cycling to be important and have positive associations with it; though equally, some of the outrage-generating issues are important and need discussing in order to put them to bed. Or are they only important because we write about them? Jury’s out.
It’s not usually the article
It’s not usually the article but the bollocks underneath. From much the same posters.
.
.
LOL! Like it.
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A LOT.
.
Yours, Even Nasty FB.
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HarrogateSpa wrote:
— HarrogateSpaI don’t. The problem with ignoring them, and not countering their arguments is that is all the public hears are the lies, so it becomes accepted wisdom. Once the lies have been around for some time unchallenged, they get the status of facts, and the majority believe them, and once people believe something it is very difficult to change their minds, e.g. Brexit, helmets.
My opinion is that the people lying about LTNs and 15 minute neighbourhoods should be called out and their lies exposed at every opportunity.
eburtthebike wrote:
Yep, gotta challenge all those lies by telling people that… *checks notes* … Helmets kill people. Bravo.
ShutTheFrontDawes wrote:
Helmets don’t kill people. People wearing helmets kill people.
Oh and now you’ve planted
Oh and now you’ve planted Goldie looking chain in my head again….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICG0MuzEYzw
Ditto.
Ditto.
SimoninSpalding wrote:
WOOP WOOP! Dats da sound of da police! Oh wait, no it isn’t due to budget cuts in road policing.
“Helmets don’t kill people,
“Helmets don’t kill people, people wearing helmets do *:
I’m a helmet-wearer and I might kill you”?
* shouldn’t this be ‘people driving motor vehicles’?
AidanR wrote:
No, no, no, no, no, get it right!
Helmets don’t kill people, I kill people, with helmets.
“Innocently kill” people in a
“Innocently kill” people in a series of unrelated one-off unpreventable freak accidents caused by momentary loss of concentration?
chrisonatrike wrote:
Well of course, I am offended that you suggest it might be deliberate!
Backladder wrote:
No, no, no, no, no, get it right!
Helmets don’t kill people, I kill people, with helmets.— ShutTheFrontDawes
I think Goldie Lookin’ Chain wrote a song about that
Cars don’t kill people helmets do
Sound of the police
Woo Woo Woo
I think it’s the frequency of
I think it’s the frequency of certain stories being posted about on here – which then sets off the same arguments over and over again until the actual subject of the debate is lost and it becomes a battle of the condescending – that some of us get tiresome with. I get that news is news and needs reporting but as others have mentioned, a few more positive uplifting stories wouldn’t go a miss. Pretty sure it’s not all doom and gloom out there.
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Hey, NN – a good helmet quote / flame / update on an article is ALWAYS great for giving people the opportunity to say the same things that they have said about a hundred times before.
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Where would Road.cc be without them?
.
There is a point beyond which
There is a point beyond which calling people out equates to giving them free publicity for an issue that, otherwise, would’ve died out from lack of exposure. Maybe that’s what happens a lot here, too?
That friend speaks my mind!
That friend speaks my mind!
If people might be listening, tell them why you disagree. Sometimes the best mode is not to play.
chrisonatrike wrote:
You mean “The only winning move is not to play”?
I wish it was true, but if you leave them to spout unopposed then it becomes “common knowledge” and then politicians have to do something about it to get elected etc. etc.
If you think that’s bad,
If you think that’s bad, click into the Twitter threads. I had to leave after 30 seconds as it was taking me to a dark place…
I heard the discussion today
I heard the discussion today & it was definitely not a meeting of minds. CB’s right (as always ime), the best thing to do is ignore them. They really don’t matter, dinosaurs that haven’t heard the latest news from Chicxulub…
Used to know Sharron quite
Used to know Sharron quite well many years ago, played squash regularly with her second husband. She wasn’t the sharpest card back then. Nothing seems to have changed.
As a general rule, anyone who
As a general rule, anyone who includes in their Twitter name or handle a three-letter-acronym for some gong they received for letting the royal family associate themselves with their modest achievements, isn’t worth listening to. Here’s another prime example.
I’m even pretty sceptical
I’m even pretty sceptical about anyone having BA/ BSc on their business card/ email footer…
Especially nowadays, when
Especially nowadays, when having a B<something> degree is like having an O-level maths back in the day…
SimoninSpalding wrote:
The signs outside schools annoy me, it’s always “Headteacher Mr Fred Whoosis, BA (Hons), PGCE…” when you (nearly always) can’t be a (state) teacher of any level without those two things.
We can’t even get my dog to
We can’t even get my dog to wear a Xmas jumper – I can’t imagine getting him to wear a helmet!
I’m more than happy to wear a
I’m more than happy to wear a helmet at the appropriate time, but NEVER a Christmas jumper, so that doesn’t necessarily follow.
For the sake of clarity I am not claiming to be your dog.
The Stooges!
The Stooges!
Today’s clueless driver
Today’s clueless driver
2 cars in front both turning right and indicating.
I put my arm out in a vain attempt to get them to abort, but they barrel on.
Luckily for them, the red car driver did not turn right in the end.
I think the HC says something about overtaking and junctions but obviously I haven’t read it since I passed my test.
Still wishing Amy Pieters the
Still wishing Amy Pieters the best recovery possible.
road.cc Podcast guest Carla
road.cc Podcast guest Carla Francombe talks 15-minute cities on Radio 4
This is a must listen. If you doubted that these conspiracy theorists need to be challenged, just listen to that prog. Carla did a great job, but only briefly mentioned that most LTNs are incredibly popular with the residents, a rather vital point, while the mouthy bloke went on and on about how unpopular they were. He also kept saying that the elected local councillors were ignoring the public, but he was there to represent them. He also claimed that certain cycling groups were threatening people.
You couldn’t ask for a better example of how deluded and rabid are the petrolheads.
BREAKING: Danny MacAskill is
BREAKING: Danny MacAskill is human after all
I was going to comment, but I don’t think that in this case it’s appropriate to pier review.
When we relocated our child’s
When we relocated our children’s education from London to Paris the first thing we noticed (without knowing the current jargon) was that we were, at least in the part of Paris we had moved to, in a 15 minute city. In London the children went to music school, swimming, dance, horse riding and school. School and music school we could cycle to. Swimming, dance and horse riding required a car and sometimes lots of traffic and sitting in queues. In Paris we amazingly discovered that everything was in walking distance. This has much to do with the French philosophy that all children should have access to all amenities. (Not to mention that prices are a fraction of what they are in London) So in Paris we don’t have a car. When we go out of Paris we hire a car. The other thing I noticed is that at the school gates there are lots of cargo bikes and eBikes with child seats. I am not saying all of France is a ‘paradise’ – I doubt it is. But the 15 minute city is a very attainable and achievable ideal. To know that the dance class is a 10 minute walk rather than 20 or maybe 30 or sometimes even 40 minutes in a car is very liberating. The other thing I noticed when first moving to Paris is seeing children walking about on their own – going places. And I don’t mean teenagers but primaire school children. This wasn’t the case in London – where everyone was in a car going somewhere.
That’s something I notice on
That’s something I notice on our frequent trips to Paris: we always rent an Air BnB, in the UK we’ll take a box full of provisions because one can never be sure of the availability or quality of local retail; in Paris one just takes a bank card safe in the knowledge that in whatever neighbourhood one’s staying (even the relatively impoverished ones) there will be good quality food shopping, chemists, off licences etc etc within a short walk at most. The culture of driving to the supermarket simply doesn’t exist and it’s all the better for it.
I think I’ve jsut gone down
I think I’ve just gone down the rabbit hole with this one
“under magna carta you have the right to travel the length and breadth of this country in your own personal conveyance unhindered, they are breaking real law by limiting travel…”
Although some great responses
“Quite right it was actually the Declaration of Arbroath that first expressed views on modal filters, although it said a lot more about pelican crossings”
“My only criticism of The Commonwealth was that Cromwell didn’t follow the guidance in LTN 1/20. But that’s puritanism for you, fun was practically outlawed.”
“Hurry up John, the parking charges are horrendous here…”
“Have you read Magna Carta? It’s a very easy read. There is no “right to travel” nor mention of “personal conveyance” Also, statutes are a thing. Only 3 clauses from MC still hold today. Yes, that’s how laws work.”
https://www.bl.uk/magna-carta/articles/magna-carta-english-translation