“People on bikes are really just pedestrians”: Cyclists say James May “gets it” as ex-Top Gear host slams “extremist” cycling traffic lights; Peter Sagan goes topless as Ken in Barbie cha-cha; Sarra Hoy: “Illness won’t define us” + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Monday morning podcast alert!
In case you missed it over the weekend, here’s some lovely Belfast-themed podcast listening to brighten up your St Patrick’s Day:
> Is this the UK’s worst city for cycling? Riding around Belfast’s abysmal bike network (and why drivers should be cycling campaigners’ best friends) + Do cycling culture war stories harm the bike industry?
Reassuring bike stands of the week
Hmm… Can’t say those would fill me with too much confidence:
Reassuring.
— Alison Stenning (@alisonstenning.bsky.social) March 17, 2025 at 8:46 AM
Home Office bike rack saga, part two
A couple from Essex who were fined £1,500 by the Home Office — after reporting a migrant who they found hidden in a bike rack on the rear of their motorhome when they got home from a holiday in France — have had their fine cancelled.
Read more: > Home Office cancels cyclists’ £1,500 fine over migrant found inside bike rack
Bristol cyclists most likely to experience bike theft in UK, new study finds – as councillors call for more secure bike hangars to be installed amid “unprecedented demand”
A higher proportion of cyclists in Bristol experience bike theft than anywhere else in the UK, a new study has found.
According to research carried out recently by Novuna Personal Finance, the total cost of bike theft across the UK equates to £2.4bn, with 70 per cent of cyclists having their bike stolen at least once.
In Bristol, that figure rises to 82 per cent, meaning the southwest city ‘top’ the charts for the highest percentage of cyclists affected by bike theft, followed by Newcastle (76 per cent) and Edinburgh (74 per cent). Meanwhile, 73 per cent of cyclists in Liverpool and London have fallen victim to bike theft at least once in each city.
The study also found that 51 per cent of bikes stolen were stored in public places and 30 per cent were stolen in owners’ homes – while 46 per cent of stolen bikes were locked at the time of theft.
And in the same week Bristol topped this unwelcome chart, councillors in the city have called for more secure cycle hangars to be installed in the city, after spaces in 40 new storage facilities were almost completely booked up within an hour and a half of them becoming available.
> 40 cycle hangars to be installed across Bristol in February… cue the Facebook comments
Last month, the West of England Combined Authority has installed 40 new hangars in areas such as Ashley, Bedminster, Cotham, and Eastville, providing secure spaces for 240 bicycles.
However, the roll-out of the hangars was hampered by both website problems and the “incredible” demand for spaces, which saw 227 of the 240 spots secured in the first 90 minutes – while councillors claimed in a meeting last week that there is “untapped demand” for hangars in other parts of a city deeply affected by bike theft.
“Bishopston is receiving two new bike hangars, however from conversations from residents there is a lot of untapped demand for more,” Green councillor James Crawford told the meeting.
“It’s great to see such incredible demand for these hangars. But there were a lot of suggested sites that were unsuccessful in this round.”
> Scrapped funding puts the future of 1,000 bike hangars in doubt
Ed Plowden, the chair of the transport policy committee, noted that the unprecedented demand for the storage facilities mean that the booking website, run by the West of England authority after it took over from Bristol City Council, struggled to cope with the numbers looking to reserve a space.
“We’ve had a bit of a problem with this. We had a long-standing way of suggesting bike hangars, and WECA insisted on putting in their own way of doing that,” Plowden said.
“Residents across Bristol responded really well to that. We’ll be working with WECA to ensure that when we roll out future phases, they’re based on information that we hold, as well as any new information that we can feed in.”
The Green councillor added that there is currently no timeline for installing new hangars in Bristol, but noted that some could be installed as part of liveable neighbourhood projects in the east and south of the city. However, he said that no decisions will be made until after May’s election for a new West of England mayor.
Bike paths, Arkansas style
Check this out for a way to liven up your daily commute, courtesy of Bentonville, Arkansas:
“You can either ride on the road, a paved trail, a mountain trail, or a pump track with rocky ramps for launching in the air,” Larry Fleury, an Arkansas-based photographer, posted alongside footage of the city’s adrenaline-fuelled bike path.
“If I had trails like this when I was a teenager biking to school, I might have been more excited for that commute. I think this is just the coolest thing.”
To be honest, knowing my mountain biking skills (or lack of), I reckon I’d just stick to that lovely flat section…
Giant profits plummet by 60% as inventory woes and heavy discounting bite – but bike brand confident of “recovery” in 2025
In the latest reminder of the challenging times facing the bike industry in the years since the pandemic, Giant has posted its financial results for 2024 and announced that profits were slashed by almost two-thirds last year, as heavy discounting and inventory challenges hit the business.
Read more: > Giant profits plummet by 60 per cent as inventory woes and heavy discounting bite, but bike brand confident of “recovery” in 2025
‘Sum up the UK’s approach to cycling infrastructure in one image’
Stockport Council here, with a contender for the most useless ‘Cyclists Diversion’ sign placement of all time:
Cycling infrastructure as ever it was in @stockportcouncil.bsky.social
— James Dyson (@dysonsk3.bsky.social) March 17, 2025 at 1:05 PM
Unbelievable council tekkers.
Is the aero bike back?
A few years ago, it looked like the ‘one bike to rule them all’ approach was going to take over the road market, but the trend for aero-specific bikes has had a new lease of life in the pro peloton recently. So, what does that mean for you? Well, we’ve got the low-down on the future of all things aero – and bike marketing…
> Why the aero road bike is making a comeback
Ribble launches new ‘Outliers’ gravel team, featuring Harry Tanfield, Hayley Simonds, and Sophie Wright
While Britain’s domestic road racing scene continues to struggle, on Friday Ribble announced the launch of the country’s first ever professional gravel squad, featuring a diverse cast of off-road specialists and roadie newbies.
The Ribble Outliers team, and their bright pink kits, will compete at the biggest gravel events, including the UCI Gravel Series and marquee events such as the Gralloch, Sea Otter Classic, Traka, and Unbound, starting at this week’s Turnhout Gravel race in Belgium.
The six-rider squad, who from May will ride Ribble’s currently unreleased prototype carbon gravel bike, includes four-time national marathon mountain bike champion Ben Thomas, double British time trial champion and former WorldTour pro Hayley Simonds, promising roadie and cyclocrosser Jenson Young, gravel specialist Matheven Bond, former UAE Team ADQ and Fenix-Deceuninck pro Sophie Wright, and ex-Katusha and AG2R rider Harry Tanfield.
“I’m really excited to be starting this new chapter of my career with the Ribble Outliers, and I am looking forward to competing in some of the world’s biggest and most diverse gravel races,” Tanfield, who joined Ribble’s gravel project after a last ditch attempt to form a new British professional road team in the wake of Saint Piran’s demise fell through, said in a statement.
“Having not competed in this discipline before, I’m stoked for the adventure that’s in store. Coming from the north of England, Ribble is a revered and hugely respected brand and it will be awesome to race on their bikes, especially knowing the amount of work and dedication that’s gone into developing them.”
(Zac Williams/SWpix.com)
“Having spent six years in the UCI WorldTour peloton, I’m excited by the new challenge of gravel racing,” added Wright, who returns to her off-road roots after a prolonged spell racing as a pro in Europe.
“I’m delighted to join the Ribble Outliers squad and can’t wait to see what we can achieve together.”
Last man track standing: Red Bull Bora’s Rookies try out new sport – errr… Cycling sumo?
The UCI will be all over this – 2027 combined world championships here we come:
And fair play to young Davide Donati for winning the whole thing on a time trial bike. Not sure I could even manage five seconds of track standing on a TT bike on my own, never mind having my mates trying their best to make me fall on my face…
“This can’t define us. We will not become victims to this”: Sarra Hoy speaks about impact of her MS diagnosis and husband Chris Hoy’s terminal cancer during first solo TV interview since news
Lady Sarra Hoy has said that she and her husband, six-time Olympic champion Sir Chris Hoy, will not let their illnesses define them during her first solo television interview on ITV’s Lorraine programme this morning.
Last October, Sir Chris – Britain’s second-most decorated Olympian of all time – revealed that his prostate cancer diagnosis, which he had announced earlier in 2024, was terminal and that he has two to four years to live.
At the same time, it was revealed that his wife Sarra had been diagnosed with a “very active and aggressive” form of multiple sclerosis (MS), informing her husband of her diagnosis in December 2023, shortly after his own cancer diagnosis.
Speaking on Lorraine this morning, Sarra, who shares two children, aged 10 and seven, with Chris, said that they struggled to process the news at the time.
“You just don’t sleep, everything is awful,” she said. “It was about trying to control what I could, and I just thought, I can’t do anything about cancer, I can’t do anything about MS, I can’t control any of that. What can I do? What can I help? What can I change?
“When everything is spiralling just to stop and say, ‘Right now, we’re safe, the children are safe, this can’t define us. We will not become the victims to this’.
“I think people are really surprised to know that you can be OK. I think it’s definitely what’s helped us get through.”
She told host Lorraine Kelly that her diagnosis, coming so soon after her husband’s cancer news, felt “a bit like the final straw”.
“Then, equally, it felt so surreal that in some ways it was easier to deal with because I could say ‘I just have to put that aside right now’,” she continued.
“The only person I wanted to tell and get support from was him,” Sarra said about her decision to not inform Chris right away about her MS diagnosis.
“We’ve never ever held a secret like that at all, but it was four or maybe six weeks when the diagnosis came after his and I just knew it wasn’t the right time.”
Asked about raising young children during their difficult last few years, Sarra said: “With kids you don’t get a chance, there’s no time to stop and have a day in bed, you just don’t get that opportunity.
“So yes, the children are everything for us and so are our family that surrounds us are everything.”
Adding that she was feeling “really well” at the moment, she said: “We’ve been unlucky in a very small area of our lives, the rest we’re surrounded by just wonderful people and great things.”
Controversial ‘driveway-blocking’ cycle lane wands revealed to have cost £20,000, but under-fire council defends scheme from critics upset “you can’t just reverse out fast anymore”
More fun from Poole’s favourite wand-filled cycle lane…
> Controversial ‘driveway-blocking’ cycle lane wands revealed to have cost £20,000, but under-fire council defends scheme from critics upset “you can’t just reverse out fast anymore”
Ryan Gosling, eat your heart out – this is the Oscar-worthy performance of Ken we’ve all been waiting for
Nine years on from that Grease tribute, the ‘Sagan has singing film star’ sequel has finally arrived (in doll form). And it just keeps getting better and better:
Alright that’s it, I think we’ve found my favourite random cycling video of all time. The costumes, the ‘acting’, the unsure lip-syncing… it’s all perfect. And yes, I’ve already watched it about 20 times. Don’t judge me.
He’s just Peter… Sagan goes topless (and blonde) as Ken for Barbie-themed cha-cha-cha – and survives another week on Let’s Dance, as fans say: “I don’t care how he dances, but I’m really entertained”
What was your stand-out pro cycling moment from the weekend? Was it Matteo Jorgenson’s dominant, inch-perfect ride at Paris-Nice, which secured the American his second consecutive overall triumph at the Race to the Sun?
Or was it Elisa Balsamo’s canny, powerful sprint – and career hat-trick – at the Trofeo Alfredo Binda? Or 18-year-old Cat Ferguson’s hugely impressive third place on her WorldTour debut at the Italian classic? Or the flying Juan Ayuso’s dismantling of his Tirreno–Adriatico rivals?
Well, you’re all wrong. Because the real highlight of that bumper weekend of cycling actually came late last night, courtesy of Slovakian light entertainment TV.
Yes, that’s right. On week three of Slovakia’s version of Strictly, Let’s Dance, former Flanders and Roubaix winner Peter Sagan channelled his inner Ryan Gosling by discarding his top, plonking on a blonde wig, and spraying on an impressive set of abs (at least I’m pretty sure they’re sprayed on) to dance a potentially career-defining Barbie-themed cha-cha-cha… as the Ken doll himself:
Now that’s what I call a proper world champion.
The legs could have been straighter in places, allowing for more hip action, mind you – but still, who had ‘Peter Sagan dancing as Ken from Barbie’ on their 2025 cycling bingo card?
And it’s fair to say, after a shaky opening jive, the seven-times Tour de France green jersey winner has really grown into the celebrity dancing competition.
Last week, Sagan and his pro partner Eliška Lenčešová scored a highly respectable 26 out of 40 for their waltz to Nat King Cole’s Unforgettable.
And for Movie Week (which explains the Barbie theme, in case you’ve never seen Strictly before), his topless cha-cha earned him a 24, even garnering him Len Goodman-approved sevens from two of the judges.
And what’s more, the three-time rainbow jersey winner’s performances have been ‘Kenough’ to see him sail safely through to week four’s tissue-laden ‘dedication’ segment of the competition, which will see Sagan dedicate his dance to someone very important to him. I’m assuming it’ll be Oleg Tinkov, but who knows?
Plus, I think it’s safe to say the Slovakian public are loving every minute of Sagan’s ‘journey’ on Let’s Dance… which may have something to do with his lack of clothing (they did the same with poor Nico Roche on the Irish version of Dancing with the Stars, too. Can someone please throw these retired pro cyclists a t-shirt?).
“I’m gonna eat it. He’s on fire. I always look forward to his performance. I don’t care how he dances, but I’m really entertained,” wrote Janka on Instagram. Alright, calm down…
“Well, Peter was extreme! I will watch this dance every night now, wish I had such a Ken at home,” added Kristina.
I sense a theme emerging.
However, Mayo noted: “Peter must be missing his bike, I can’t imagine him enjoying playing Ken.”
“But he did! And a lot!” replied a very enthusiastic Monika.
Alright everyone, altogether now – ‘He’s just Peter, anywhere else he’d be a leader…’
“You don’t need vehicle levels of traffic control for bicycles. People on bicycles are really just pedestrians”: Cyclists say James May “gets it” after former Top Gear presenter criticises “slightly extremist” cycling traffic lights
Cyclists have concluded that James May “gets it”, after the former Top Gear presenter criticised “vehicle levels of traffic control for bicycles” in a recent interview with the London Cycling Campaign.
Unlike one of his shouty former colleagues, May – a lifelong cyclist who appeared on road.cc’s Drink at Your Desk series in May 2022 – has emerged as an unexpected voice of reason in the cycling culture wars of recent years.
In 2020, he urged the then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson to “bomb us with bicycles”, pointing out that the £80 billion budget for the HS2 railway line would be enough to buy “every adult in Britain a carbon-frame bike”.
And in January 2023, the man known as Captain Slow during his Top Gear days voiced his support for introducing 20mph speed limits in urban and residential areas, which he believes is “plenty fast enough”.
May also argued that a “change in attitude”, rather than new signage or infrastructure, is key to ending road sectarianism, and last year spoke out against what he described as “nonsense” measures to strictly regulate cyclists.
> James May: “I can’t stand road sectarianism – it’s all b*llocks”
And speaking to the London Cycling Campaign for the latest edition of their London Cyclist magazine, the ‘James May and the Dull Men’ host continued this theme by arguing that cycling traffic lights are “slightly extremist”.
Asked what he dislikes about bicycle infrastructure, May told the campaign: “You don’t need vehicle levels of traffic control for bicycles. People on bicycles are really just pedestrians. A bicycle is just an elaborate bit of footwear.
“As long as people cycle in a sympathetic way, and pedestrians are still at the top of the hierarchy – the world belongs to people, not machines – then it ought to work.”
He continued: “For example, there’s a bicycle traffic light near me at Turnham Green in Chiswick. But really it should just be a ‘give way’ sign and we should allow for the wit of humanity.
“Not every action needs to be controlled. I find it slightly extremist.”
“James May gets it,” Travis Nelson, the cyclist known on social media for riding around London with his pet cat Sigrid, posted in response to the former Top Gear presenter’s comments.
“Drivers need lights because they’re selfish and consistently drive dangerously, use their phones, kill people etc. Cyclists look out for others and cycle sympathetically, so lights are not needed.”
“Must say that while he always struck me as rational and very smart, I still didn’t expect to see such absolute sense coming from him due to his years on Top Gear (and long-term exposure to Jeremy Clarkson). This raises my hopes for humanity slightly,” added another Twitter user.
However, not everyone was rushing to agree with Captain Slow.
“Bicycles can travel in excess of 80 km/h. They are NOT equivalent to pedestrians,” said Peter Mills, presumably referring to cyclists riding down sweeping mountain descents, and not on city streets.
Either that, or he’s been reading the Daily Telegraph too much…
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Seeing as his car is probably a gold wrapped Hummer or G Wagon, it would appear that his taste mechanisms have been out of action for some time.
At the very top of the hierarchy would be separation of cyclists and motor vehicles, or reduction of car journeys. Safety features fitted to cars, while better than PPE, could fail or be override.
Yeah, the updated site isn't exactly an improvement.
No chance. Television viewing figures dictate tea time/evening finishes. Look at the scheduling of the USA football world cup, with some games kicking off mid afternoon in 90 degC plus and high RH, just to meet European evening viewing slots.
But hey, everybody prefers summer to winter, right?! And by the way, it was cold yesterday where I live, so global warming is obviously fake.
> The Shoreham-By-Cycle group posted on Facebook today. “So it’s brilliant to see our application finally taking shape, in the form of these new ‘bike corals’. Corral (two r's) is the word they're looking for, as in Gunfight At. Granted, it's pleasant to imagine a tropical reef slowly forming over a submerged bike.
We have proxy records dating back millions of years from ice cores and tree records. They show that the planet is now at its warmest point for the last 130,000 years (when sea levels were 6m higher than today). If we keep on the current trend which predicts temperatures will be three degrees above pre-industrial levels by the end of the century the planet will be hotter than at any time since the Pliocene epoch, which ended about 2.5M years ago. We've managed this in around two hundred years. Nothing to worry about there then.
Re Yoro There was little prospect of a collision but I note he is wearing a seat belt in the picture. OK to take risks with other peoples lives but not your own?
Who has interest in promoting and pushing for the hi-viz fashion apart from the state that collects extra sales tax and importers/distributors of hi-viz gear? Always follow the money trail. The RSA midleading narrative might create a false sense of safety creates a among children who wear fluorescent jackets, pants, gloves, ... In broad daylight, with or without a high visibility jacket, an inattentive and/or reckless driver causes the same bodily damage.
50 years of data on a planetary timescale of 4.5 billion years. Ideally, cycling should become an indoor sport to limit costs and risks and maximize viewership and TV rights. Triathlon is leading the race.
61 thoughts on ““People on bikes are really just pedestrians”: Cyclists say James May “gets it” as ex-Top Gear host slams “extremist” cycling traffic lights; Peter Sagan goes topless as Ken in Barbie cha-cha; Sarra Hoy: “Illness won’t define us” + more on the live blog”
Quote:
He’s right though – I hit
He’s right though – I hit 93kph once. Descending Mt Ventoux however, on the Malaucene side 😂
Quoted me and then stole my
Quoted me and then stole my joke lol.
By the same token cars that
By the same token cars that are capable of exceeding the national speed limit by any significant margin shouldn’t be allowed to drive amongst ‘normal’ road traffic. Keep them for race tracks only or geofence their speed limiters.
I probably shouldn’t mention that Guy Martin did 112.94 mph on a bike though.
Small plea. Can we not
Small plea. Can we not platform Travis who as well as showing himself to be a bit of knob on multiple occasions, is a fine one to talk about selfishness given he imposes his desire for 15 minutes of fame on his pet?
Not a fan then ?
Not a fan then ?
Travis wrote:
Anyone who cycles around London regularly, whether showing off and putting their cat in danger for TikTok likes or not, knows perfectly well that this is utter nonsense. Whilst many/most of the capital’s cyclists look out for others and cycle sympathetically, a significant minority from every level of cycling from spliffed-up teenager on a stolen bike to city broker on a Pinarello ride appallingly badly, ignore all lights, slalom through pedestrians walking across crossings, jump on and off pavements at speed as they please et cetera. I am vehemently, or rabidly, according to some, pro-cycling/cyclist and very much against the selfish and unnecessary car use that blights my hometown but pretending that all cyclists are lovely people who treat others with sympathy and respect is just silly and severely undermines the credibility of anyone who makes such claims.
I agree with that but, to
I agree with that but, to take a tangetn for a moment, I take exception to people criticising cyclists for not having lights/hi-viz/helmets when cyclists are almost always perfectly visible, day or night, to anybody exercising reasonable care and attention.
One thing that limits that statement is the increasing dazzle from car headlights. Either way, we should be in a position to see that the road is clear, rather than assuming the road is clear unless we notice something, before we proceed on the road.
In other words, we can criticise the errant, unlit cycle with riders in dark clothes; but we must also criticise the drivers’ failure* to observe them.
(* except, of course, they don’t: they notice them only too well, otherwise they wouldn’t be able to criticise them)
I entirely agree with what
I entirely agree with what you say but I believe that Travis and the estimable Mr May were referring to cyclists not needing traffic lights, rather than not needing lights on their bikes.
Ah right. Even so, I think I
Ah right. Even so, I think I’d put some air between the two of them on some points. If May is arguing that no cycle traffic lights are needed, I’d disagree. If I thought he was referring to occasions where cyclists should be given the freedom to advance through a junction on their own judgement rather than having to wait for a separate green cycle, I think there are often cases where that is appropriate.
Time for some nuance.
If he’s saying “cyclists are
If he’s saying “cyclists are basically pedestrians…” he will hopefully be somewhat correct … in the future in the UK.
It all comes back to thinking about concepts like those in the “Sustainable Safety” programme.
So considering mass, speed and direction of road users: while cyclists are neither “tiny cars” nor “pedestrians on wheels” they and pedestrians are indeed pretty close in speed – and in mass *. Where there are only cyclists and pedestrians it is true that traffic lights aren’t really necessary – neither for cyclists themselves nor for pedestrians. Apparently not even on the busiest bike route in the world.
However … in the UK people are used to relying on traffic lights (because motorists) and cyclists are a tiny minority, so we’re probably stuck with unnecessarily inconveniencing cyclists because everyone is used to the current system.
Motor vehicles are far faster and heavier than either cyclists or pedestrians. They absolutely need more control measures. And mixing them and the others is only sensible with very stringent controls (speed and volume of traffic), otherwise they just dominate the space.
* In speed – where there is mass cycling in urban areas (e.g. almost nowhere in the UK) – average speeds are close enough and slow enough for interactions to be very safe. Mass – chunkier e-bikes – especially those not type-legal non-EAPC ones – and delivery vehicles can change this equation (plus may be fast to acellerate and have higher speeds) – a good reason for caution about allowing them into the mix.
Yes, I’m not sure I’d trust
Yes, I’m not sure I’d trust some drivers to respect any give way signs and just blithely drive through regardless.
Where I live there is a shared pedestrian / cyclist crossing of a dead-end road with no beg button lights, and actual give way markings on the road so that drivers absolutely do not have priority. It’s the main walking route into town from a large residential area that includes a great many student HMOs. However, I always check there’s no-one driving down the road before stepping out and, on the odd occasion when there is someone coming, make sure they’ve stopped. Which I’ve never yet seen happen, they always assume that, as it’s a road and no traffic lights, they have priority 🤦♂️
With more common crossings like this and a decent education programme (as didn’t really happen with the relatively recent HC changes) we might see a change in behaviour over time. Until, and even, then, I’m going to keep checking carefully!
This leads on beyond just
This leads on beyond just “safety” to “convenience” *.
It’s still better – even for modes as similar in speed, mass and vulnerability as cyclists and pedestrians – to have their own spaces. This gives us “predictability (of road course and road user behavior by a recognizable road design)” Everyone knows where they should be and where to expect other modes. That is not just safer but keeps everyone flowing in their own fashion.
Mixing – for e.g. cyclists and pedestrians – “works” only to the degree that there are hardly any of either mode, or one mode dominates (and essentially keeps the other in check). Beyond that, it becomes inconvenient for the faster mode (cyclists) and feels unpleasant for the pedestrians.
Finally – cycling derives much of its efficiency from maintaining momentum. So even where we expect speeds to be pretty low we should design cycle infra for good speeds (more like the 15.5mph than the 3-4mph of pedestrians) AND avoid making cyclists stop as much as we can.
* For without convenience, people generally aren’t going to do take up active travel. That means more driving, which generally brings down safety and certainly goes against “nice places” and better health at population level (including via road noise…).
Perhaps they’re just a bit
Perhaps they’re just a bit ahead of their time?
I agree – it’s not necessarily a great description of people’s behaviour now. And while I am certainly not for alarming people or making them not want to cross the cycle path (just like drivers “I didn’t hit you, what’s the problem”) … we should also keep the casualty figures in mind. Should be obvious if there been a massive upswing in people mown down in the cycle paths by cyclists (e.g. from “around zero” to something more than “two this year – an infinite percentage increase!”?)
Another white knight trying
Another white knight trying to save my cat from her favorite activity. I’ll never understand why so many cyclists absolutely hate it when people cycle.
I’ve seen a couple of your
I’ve seen a couple of your videos from links here and, as a recently retired vet with nearly 35 years experience in practice and an interest in cat behaviour, I can categorically state that your cat (Sigi?) absolutely does not look stressed out.
Of course, cats are all different personalities, our last 2 hated travelling with a vengeance and would pee in the carrier every time they did so much as a 5 minute car trip to the vets, whereas our current boy looks out the window sometimes but mostly just sleeps for the 6+ hour drive to Cornwall to visit family. We don’t keep him in the carrier as there’s just no need. In fact we’re there now as my 89 year old Dad had a hip replacement 5 days ago so needs a bit of help for a while. Within 2 minutes of arriving he’d had a look around and was looking happy and confident (tail held vertically with tip curled over).
As for Dad, thanks to being a keen cyclist he has decent hip musculature for his age and is making extremely rapid progress. Though he’s unlikely to be back on the bike until late Spring.
Just wondering, as a retired
Just wondering, as a retired vet who is obviously very fond of cats, what would you say to an owner who brought a cat in with a serious injury caused by cycling around central London with the cat in a basket with no protection in order to make TikTok videos? Well that’s okay because on the previous videos the cat didn’t look stressed out?
By the same token, if you
By the same token, if you were a doctor working in the A&E department of a London hospital, what would you say to the parent of a child seriously injured by a driver when said parent had encouraged, nay insisted, their vulnerable child to cycle to school amongst rat-running drivers and yummy mummies in their 2.5 tonne SUVs?
If they’d been cycling around
If they’d been cycling around in the heaviest traffic in London with a very small baby in a front basket held only by a single tether that meant they would be thrown out onto the road and potentially under the wheels of whatever hit the bike, which is the equivalent of what Travis does, I’d ask why on earth they were taking such unnecessary risks with something they cared about.
Plenty of parents cycling
Plenty of parents cycling around on cargo bikes with young children being carried to school, I see more and more in our city where it’s often quicker to walk than drive, and a lot quicker to cycle. Are you saying all these parents should be putting their little darlings into wank panzers and adding significantly to the congestion and lung / brain development damaging pollution for, you know, their own ‘safety’?
I was under the impression that, as more and more people cycled and seeing and looking out for cyclists became more the norm, casualty statistics per number of cyclists tended to trend downwards. As Sigi suggested, are you sure you’re on the right website?
If you can’t see the
If you can’t see the difference between cycling with a child on a purpose-built cargo bike in a proper seat and having an animal effectively loose in the front basket where in any crash it will be spilled onto the road then there’s not much point in continuing the discussion.
If you can’t see that, in the
If you can’t see that, in the event of a crash caused by a driver hitting and knocking over a cargo bike with a family on it there is a high likelihood of any or all of them ending up under the wheels of the vehicle, as we sadly see all too commonly with cyclists riding a solo bike, then there really is no hope for you and, as you point out, there is no point in continuing to try to educate you. I wish you a pleasant day.
I take my child to school on
I take my child to school on a purpose built cargo bike from a reputable manufacturer, with OEM bench seating – but it still doesn’t include a belt. You might say it therefore doesn’t fit your definition of “proper seat” but many longtails are similar. I am under no illusion that it would offer much protection in a collision, and indeed when I have had to brake more quickly than I would like, they have slid forward into me. Arguably I’m taking riskier transport for my convenience rather than prioritising safety by driving. Thankfully much of the school run is car-free.
No, I would say that’s
No, I would say that’s absolutely fair enough and an acceptable level of risk with a child of school-age who would to some degree have their wits about them in an incident. Contrary to Travis’s charming and totally proportionate response to me, I do not want to stop people cycling, indeed I want to see as many people cycling and as few cars on the road as possible, as anyone who is regularly on this site would know. My point is, would you take that same risk with a 5 kg baby, which is about the size and resilience of the average cat, in a basket on the front of your bike held in place with a single tether which is long enough for them to roll out of the basket and potentially into harm’s way in the event of an incident? I think most people would say of course not, so if you wouldn’t take that risk with a beloved child, why would you take it with a beloved pet?
Rendel Harris wrote:
One of the delights of visiting Copenhagen is seeing all the cargo-bikes with either children, pets or both in the luggage area. The dogs with goggles on are the best.
Well they make cycling feel
Well they make cycling feel relatively easy and safe there (must be all the police or something…😉). In the UK, pets drive…
chrisonabike wrote:
That’s nuts!
Hmm… I think I’d take my
Hmm… I think I’d take my chances with a 5kg cat over a 5kg baby – cats are probably better at landing and then getting out of the way.
OTOH they might do that at an inappropriate moment.
But you’re right, cats don’t normally cycle. Although come to that, neither do babies…🤔
Well, now I’m totally confused. But then – I don’t currently have babies or cats to take about, so perhaps I shouldn’t worry?
Split the difference and go
Split the difference and go for a kitten?
mdavidford wrote:
Ooh, cheeky!
So I’ve learned today this site is only for pro- cycling watchers – and propositioning people.
chrisonabike wrote:
I thought it was the big massive trucks that are for cats?
That’s clearly an
That’s clearly far too large a vehicle to transport pets in urban areas. What about a Ram (perhaps more suited to country types though)?
sigirides wrote:
You’re just being silly there, you know that people aren’t hating it because you cycle, they are hating it because they believe that you are putting your lovely cat in completely unnecessary danger. There are lots of things that cats might enjoy that aren’t necessarily a good idea; my three would love to be allowed out to roam the streets all night but they are not because too many cats get killed by motorists at night round here, so the catflap is locked at sunset. I wouldn’t dream of putting mine at the risk you put yours, that video where the moped guy knocked you over and she goes sprawling on the tarmac – and was very lucky not to be seriously hurt or killed – still gives me nightmares. You do you, but don’t pretend that when people say they don’t think it’s a good idea to be riding around London with a cat in a basket on the front of your bike they are “absolutely [hating] it when people cycle”, they are hating seeing a beautiful cat put in unnecessary danger.
This is completely irrelevant
This is completely irrelevant but I for some reason I now have a mental image of a bald motorist staring at a cat saying “You scratch my motor?”
Cycling isn’t dangerous. Are
Cycling isn’t dangerous. Are you on the right website?
As you have said in your
As you have said in your frequent media appearances, “Cycling isn’t dangerous, cars are dangerous.” But you don’t just cycle around the park with her, you cycle with her through some of the busiest traffic in London and post videos that have shown you being hit by motor traffic and having near misses, so you are putting her in danger.
I also escort children on
I also escort children on their weekly bike bus cycle to school in some of the busiest traffic in London. I suppose you think that is dangerous and irresponsibile too? If loving cycling and thinking it’s an activity everyone can do makes me a knob, then so be it. You can stay living in fear and trying to stop people cycling, but leave me out of it. And why the hell are you on road.cc?
Interesting, other people who
Interesting, other people who have met you at cycling events have commented on your capacity for instant aggression, this would seem to confirm it. What has “loving cycling and thinking it’s an activity everyone can do” got to do with whether or not it’s dangerous and irresponsible to ride around London showing off for monetised TikTok likes with a poorly restrained cat in the front basket when your own videos show that you are putting it in danger of serious injury or worse? That’s some ego you’ve got going there, chap, where if somebody disagrees with something you do then they are living in fear, trying to put other people off cycling and shouldn’t be on road.cc.
Literally no one has said
Literally no one has said that. You are a troll. Begone.
Trolling is certainly
Trolling is certainly available on road.cc but served by others *. Cat-fights on the other hand…
(Have no particular cat in the fight – having transported mine to vets by bike when younger … but FWIW only a short distance on traffic free infra / very quiet streets.)
* Try helmets, or disc brakes, or frame materials and properties…
chrisonabike wrote:
“Cat-fight”? I see what you did there…
We don’t hate other cyclists.
We don’t hate other cyclists. We hate people stirring it up for their own self-image and for social media likes.
Oh, you don’t watch pro
Oh, you don’t watch pro cycling? Why are you on road.cc?
sigirides wrote:
I didn’t realise that was part of the terms & conditions. Dammit – I’ll have to cancel my subscription
brooksby wrote:
Well now I’m confused – I don’t care about cycling sport and I don’t subscribe.
brooksby wrote:
Wouldn’t say it’s a part of the terms and conditions but if you hate cyclists who have a public image or make media appearances, you’re gonna have a bad time on a site where every other article is about exactly that.
sigirides wrote:
Well it’s a lot cheaper these days, for a start.
Bristol pedestrians to have
Bristol pedestrians to have immediate priority over vehicles at traffic light crossings (Bristol Post)
https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/bristol-pedestrians-immediate-priority-over-10030026
I see it’s just a proposal up
I see it’s just a proposal up for acceptance at the council. So we’ll see if the councillors give way to the inevitable onslaught of prophecies of Armageddon from drivists distraught at the possibility they may have to wait. Active travel cannot progress until it’s accepted that things will get worse for drivers – that’s the point!
Well, yeah: you can imagine
Well, yeah: you can imagine the comments BTL…
It’s always struck me as odd
It’s always struck me as odd that there should be a delay for pedestrians after pressing the button at crossings. What’s the purpose of the delay? To punish pedestrians for having the temerity to halt vehicles?
Once the button is pressed, the lights will turn red for drivers sooner or later. The same number of drivers will get held up for the same time, whether the light change instantly or after a minute.
I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve pressed the button at a crossing and it’s taken so long for the lights to turn that there’s a break in the stream of vehicles long enough for me to cross, and then of course for lights turn afterward I’ve crossed and drivers have to stop with nobody left to cross the road.
the car brains haven’t
the car brains haven’t disappointed so far
Just wait ’till they realise
Just wait ’till they realise that in some places there are “default green for active travel” signals which only turn green for motorists when a driver turns up and stops!
Re. diversions – in case you
Re. diversions – in case you thought this kind of nonsense was reserved exclusively for cyclists…
Highways staff need training
Highways staff need training – everyone knows that sign on the right should be placed in the cycle path…
Someone seems pretty taken
Someone seems pretty taken with Pete Sagan and his dance routine; I quite thought I’d landed on the wrong website there.
RE: Bike paths, Arkansas
RE: Bike paths, Arkansas style
Leith Walk would like a word. There are chicanes, until recently holes and gravel (“not quite done yet”), unexpected parking motor vehicles to swerve around, pedestrians …
Here’s someone from a US group getting a tour from a breezy Sustrans person (accentuate the positive! Talk about stuff like inclusion!) and trying to be diplomatic. (TBF it’s definitely in the right direction, just too narrow, needlessly wiggly and because we haven’t been dedicated to building a *network* for cycling it’s not full of cyclists – apart from delivery ones.
(Noting how they ignore some of the sillier cycling signals… Also the Sustrans lady says “The National Cycle Network is almost like […] an active travel trunk road”
Actually, I think it’s more “phantom tollbooth” or sometimes “castle in the air” – it’s mostly for “entertainment” but you have to use your imagination.)
chrisonabike wrote:
I wasn’t sure if this was considered or accidental. Of course anyone turning left from the car lane into that side street should yield anyway, but not sure I’d be riding blithely through that red.
quiff wrote:
Think she did some kind of check, not sure… the problem is that this junction is effectively a fall-back to the standard UK “cycle infra gives up at junction” (But now cyclists are deliberately delayed – “for safety”?).
I’m guessing, but maybe it’s part the usual “but no space…” (cafe clearly wants external seating…) plus “have to keep pedestrians safe from cyclists on pedestrian crossings”. (Even though there are less formal cycle path crossings elsewhere).
Presumably cyclists are held when motor vehicles can go forward because a) drivers are unobservant and could left-hook b) perhaps there are some kind of rules preventing a “straight on only” signal phase plus other here – or is it just “UK drivers won’t cope?”
Logically cyclists could be accommodated by taking space right at the junction and a parallel crossing and-or cyclist-only early release lights there. Again maybe “too much change?” / objections to loss of pavement / “won’t you think of the disabled trying to cross the cycle path”?
Someone should have the answers; perhaps in Spokes (local campaign group) docs?
I think the language needs to
I think the language needs to be toned down on both sides of the cycling ‘debate’. Stating that all motorists are psychopaths isn’t helpful; most cyclists also drive, FFS. The issue with a car is that it weighs 2 tonnes. Even a chunky lad like me on a bike doesn’t come close to 10% of that. But, having experienced it, being hit by a bike is not bl–dy funny.
Re: Reassuring bike stands
Re: Reassuring bike stands
Comments “Cordless angle grinders what can you do?”
Three down, two to go, by the look of it