“That new dangerous cycling law can’t come soon enough”: BMW driver crashes spectacularly into bike stand on pavement, as cyclists ask, “when will Mark Harper do anything about this?”; Brand: “No regrets” over horror crash stop + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Hurrah! Some positive bike industry news, as Brompton reports profits up by 35 per cent
In some encouraging bike industry news (for a change), Brompton’s profits are up a third, as the iconic folding bike brand reveals it enjoyed a “positive year” thanks to a “shift towards more premium products”, allowing the brand to maintain revenue growth despite flattening sales, ongoing challenges hitting the wider bicycle industry, inflation, and concerns about copycat rivals.
Read more: > Brompton profits up 35% despite bike industry’s “challenging conditions” and “war of attrition” against rip-off rivals
“Today I followed my human instinct and not my racing instinct”: Lucinda Brand says she has no regrets losing three minutes after stopping to check on teammate Elisa Balsamo after horror crash at Vuelta a Burgos
In the wake of yesterday’s high-speed horror crash at the Vuelta a Burgos, Lidl-Trek’s Lucinda Brand has called on the UCI to show some compassion to riders who stop to check on stricken teammates, after the Dutch veteran lost over three minutes on GC while tending to teammate Elisa Balsamo, who collided hard with the metal barriers during the sprint for the win.
However, Brand also said she has no regrets about stopping while in sight of the line, noting that she followed her “human instinct” and not her “racing instinct” at the time.
Lotta Henttala wins!
Katrine Aalerud had a strong ride but just just couldn’t hang on and Schrempf did her usual last-minute shout!
Hopefully the UAE rider is ok with the late crash#VueltaBurgos pic.twitter.com/U4upjCLEfz
— Mathew Mitchell (@MatMitchell30) May 16, 2024
The sprint at the end of stage one of the Vuelta a Burgos Feminas, won by EF-Education’s Lotta Henttala, saw Sofia Bertizzolo of UAE Team ADQ lose control of her bike, veering into former world champion Balsamo and sending them both smashing into the metal barriers at the side of the road.
Lidl-Trek revealed last night that Balsamo had suffered a fractured nasal bone, concussion, and a fractured second metacarpal in the shocking crash, while Bertizzolo fractured the radius in her left arm.
And last night, Balsamo’s teammate Brand took to Twitter to question the decision not to apply the 3km rule – which means any rider involved in or caught behind a crash receives the same time as the group they were in when the crash occurred – to riders who come to the aid of fallen colleagues.
Today I followed my human instinct and not my racing instinct. I stopped to check on my teammate after a nasty crash just meters from the finish. I didn’t think twice about doing it and I don’t regret it but, doing the right thing, lost me three minutes even with the line in view pic.twitter.com/IGXSYo5usG
— Lucinda Brand (@lucinda_brand) May 16, 2024
“Today I followed my human instinct and not my racing instinct,” the 34-year-old wrote. “I stopped to check on my teammate after a nasty crash just metres from the finish.
“I didn’t think twice about doing it and I don’t regret it, but doing the right thing lost me three minutes even with the line in view.
“If Barzi [Balsamo] had been able to finish, she would have got the same time as the group, so why should caring for others in that moment be treated any different in the eyes of the UCI?”
To be fair Lucinda, you may have to wait a while for an answer on that, the UCI are too busy measuring sock lengths at the moment…
Why we love pro cycling (and the Giro, and Alaphilippe…)
What a job this pair did today, so lovely to see Maestri’s happiness too, and the respect between them – THIS is why I love this sport. Bottle it and I’ll drink it neat 😍 #GirodItalia https://t.co/3oLfZTEVaY
— Katy M, Giro edition (@writebikerepeat) May 16, 2024
‘Well done Julian, great stage win. Now, are you taking this pay cut or what?’ Soudal Quick-Step boss Patrick Lefevere responds to Julian Alaphilippe’s epic Giro d’Italia victory… by saying French star will have to accept a reduced wage to stay with team
While Julian Alaphilippe was busy rolling back the clock and finishing off one of the great rides of the season so far at the Giro d’Italia, where the French star resembled his old, swashbuckling self on the way to a debut Giro victory after over 120km off the front (aided by his equally impressive Mirco Maestri), his Soudal Quick-Step boss Patrick Lefevere was busy doing what Patrick Lefevere does best.
Undermining his own riders, even when they’re pulling off epic, historic feats.
Speaking from his home in Belgium, the always outspoken Lefevere – who earlier this year publicly criticised Alaphilippe’s approach to the sport, along with the supposed influence of his partner and Tour de France Femmes organiser Marion Rousse – said he tried to follow the French star’s exploits in Italy “in between appointments”.
“At 96 kilometres from the finish I saw that Alaphilippe was leading alone with someone from a Pro Continental team. ‘What’s he doing now?’ That was my first thought. In the end he performs a great song as only he can. That’s Julian,” Lefevere said.
“It was a good decision to send him to the Giro. He is having fun on the bike again. He should have won that gravel stage already. Only he sprinted too big.”
After that passive-aggressive dig, the team manager continued: “Before the start of the season we made a proposal to break open his contract. We wanted to add an extra year, but at a slightly lower salary. Still a more than decent amount, certainly not an insult. His agent refused.
“Julian has apparently already told other people that he would like to stay and actually wanted to say yes to that proposal. The door is still open. It just has to be budget-feasible. If a French team comes along that is willing to continue paying him his current salary, then it will be difficult for us.”
Despite the constant negativity surrounding his place in the Belgian squad, and the pressures placed on him following a lean few years characterised by injury and bad luck, Alaphilippe told reporters after yesterday’s win that “I was never dead”.
“In every career you sometimes find yourself in a downward spiral,” he said. “This is the best answer I could give. I have always remained calm. I continued to believe in myself. This victory makes me want to extend my career again.”
Whether it will be extended with Soudal Quick-Step is, of course, another matter entirely.
“Can someone tell the idiot running Strava that dark mode is all we actually want?”
So, Strava unleashed a slew of updates coming this summer to the ride-sharing platform – which we’re going to analyse in full on Tech of the Week, so keep your eyes peeled for that – including new AI tech to flag irregular activity (such as riding at 52mph through central London, I presume), ‘Night Heatmaps’ to show users, especially women, which routes are most frequented after dark, a ‘Family Plan’, and a quick edit function.
But judging by this surprisingly funny ad from Strava, it seems the long-awaited introduction of a Dark Mode feature – to avoid your eyes bleeding at night while checking if you lost your KOM – is one that will get most pulses racing on the app:
See, there’s one instance in which complaining on the internet actually paid off. Who knew?
“I could name 10 guys who did something dangerous, but I’m not going to go cry about it on live TV”: Laurence Pithie hits back at accusations of dangerous racing by Israel Premier-Tech’s Hugo Hofstetter
(Zac Williams/SWpix.com)
Groupama-FDJ’s promising Kiwi sprinter Laurence Pithie has defended himself against accusations of dangerous riding at the Giro d’Italia, explaining that “everyone’s on the limit and you have to take risks” to be in the finale of stages.
Speaking to Eurosport, Israel Premier-Tech’s Hugo Hoffstetter claimed that Pithie was riding dangerously in the final kilometres of stages and called on the UCI to sanction similarly risky manoeuvres in sprints.
But the 21-year-old – who after a stunning start to the season endured a difficult injury-hampered first week at this debut grand tour, before finding some form recently with a fourth-place finish in stage 11’s sprint and a stint up the road in yesterday’s large break – has staunchly defended his riding style, while criticising Hoffstetter for calling him out publicly.
(Zac Williams/SWpix.com)
“At the end of the day it’s racing, it’s super dangerous, everyone’s on the limit and you have to take risks to be there, and everyone’s in the same boat,” Pithie told Cyclingnews.
“For sure sometimes I’m on the limit, everyone can say their thing. I could name 10 guys who did something dangerous, but I’m not going to go cry about it on live TV.”
Pithie also says he remains optimistic that he can build on his successful 2024, which includes a seventh at Paris-Roubaix, a spell in the lead at Paris-Nice, and a win at the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Race, with a maiden Giro win.
(Zac Williams/SWpix.com)
“I had a bit of a rough start to this Giro but thankfully things have progressively gotten better and better and now I’m feeling really good,” the 21-year-old continued.
“I had a few little injuries that popped up, nothing too serious. But in a race like this, you have to be at your best if you want to perform. I was quite worried because I wasn’t sure how long I’d be able to be in the race. But I’m still here and trying to chase that win.
“We were taking it day by day but now for sure the goal is to get to the end and try and still win a stage. There are still a few opportunities for me.”
And now for the Telegraph’s latest fact-optional anti-cycling take…
> Telegraph journalists told “check your research” after front page claims cyclists hit 52mph chasing London Strava segments… despite that being faster than Olympic track cyclists
Ah now, come on lads. Could someone who works in the Telegraph’s seemingly flourishing anti-cycling office at least have a word with a colleague who’s ever ridden a bike, or is vaguely aware of the concept of GPS glitches, before publishing this guff (and sticking it on your front page!)?
Or who knows, maybe British Cycling’s newest star is busy churning out mega watts in a suit, while riding a Brompton on his way to the 9 to 5 at Deloitte?
The Circle of Life (and Netflix)
I’m literally what the TDF: Unchained hoped for. Watched, fell in love with cycling, bought a bike, have come full circle and am now educated enough to be angry about the season 2 teaser trailer
— i cant believe we’ve done thus (@addykimzz) May 16, 2024
The ‘who’s the greatest’ poll we’ve all been waiting for…
I know who the Telegraph staffers will be voting for…
Boom! Echelon alert as Ineos Grenadiers split Giro d’Italia peloton to pieces in crosswinds
Just when you thought we were all set for a pan-flat, boring amble before the inevitable sprint finish in Cento on stage 13 of the Giro d’Italia, think again.
An open section of road, a strong enough crosswind, and a concerted effort by the Ineos Grenadiers has split the bunch to pieces with around 62km to go in today’s stage.
𝐈𝐧𝐞𝐨𝐬 𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐬 𝐝𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐚
💥 El equipo británico rompe el pelotón con el viento y deja cortados a varios de los favoritos de hoy, entre ellos Jonathan Milan.
📺 Lo estás viendo en @Eurosport_ES 1 y APP.#GirodItalia | #LaCasadelCiclismo pic.twitter.com/zhFKG7oITI
— Eurosport.es (@Eurosport_ES) May 17, 2024
Lidl-Trek’s purple jersey wearer, and pre-stage favourite, Jonathan Milan is the biggest name caught out, and is currently being forced into doing a lot of his own work to close the gap to the front, efforts that will certainly dull his sprint even if he reaches Cento in contention.
After Ineos’ initial surge, which has effectively killed off the early breakaway, a number of other teams, including Dani Martinez’ Bora-Hansgrohe squad and Tadej Pogačar himself (who else?), have moved to the front to keep the pressure on.
Who said today was going to be boring at the Giro?
Carnage
🚴🇮🇹 | De schoonheid van waaierrijden wordt prachtig in beeld gebracht. Jonathan Milan is zo dichtbij, maar toch ook zo ver weg. 💨💨 #GirodItalia
📺 Koers kijk je op discovery+ pic.twitter.com/1YhTxDsp1L
— Eurosport Nederland (@Eurosport_NL) May 17, 2024
Drink it in, it’s not often we get this kind of Gent-Wevelgem-esque crosswind action at the Giro (even if it looks like Jonathan Milan’s group are set to make it back to the front. That poor third group, including Domenico Pozzovivo, though – I feel your pain).
And there was me about to go get my afternoon coffee…
Mark Harper, take note: Florence offers €30 a month in financial incentives to encourage residents to cycle to work and school
And now for something completely different…
As the Giro calms down finally after all that echelon madness, about 100 miles or so to the south, in Florence – the scene of the Grand Départ of this July’s Tour de France, of course – locals are being encouraged to ditch the car for the bike with the kind of incentive we can all get behind: Money.
Yes, you read that right.
The year-long €1.2 million-funded Pedala, Firenze ti Premia (Pedal, Florence Rewards You) programme does what it says on the tin – offering residents up to €30 a month for cycling to work or university.
New cyclists can earn up to 20 cents for each kilometre they cover too on their commute (plus another 5 cents for just riding their bikes generally), while existing cyclists are being offered a slightly reduced rate of 15 cents per km, up to a maximum of €2 a day and €30 a month.
Participants can register up to two home-to-school or home-to-work routes, and will receive a Pin Bike kit, including a Bluetooth device to certify bike usage, a handlebar smartphone holder, and signal lights.
And that’s not all. The top 200 users of the scheme, meanwhile, can earn up to €200 a month by participating in events and competitions.
“It is a turning point for cycling mobility in the city and a project of which I am really proud because it introduces the idea that those who use the bike not only do themselves a favour – because they save money, time and are good for their health – but they do the whole city a favour and that’s why they will be rewarded,” Andrea Giorgio, a city councillor in Florence for the environment and ecological transition, said in a statement announcing the scheme.
“It will now be essential to involve schools, universities, and companies in the project, to broaden the number of participants and increasingly push cycling mobility.”
So, when can I move?
Relentless Jonathan Milan overcomes crosswind troubles to secure third sprint victory of the Giro d’Italia + wins for Vollering and Vangheluwe (just about)
After being caught out for around 20km when the bunch split to pieces in the crosswinds – due to an ill-timed comfort break, it later transpired – Lidl-Trek and Jonathan Milan didn’t let all that echelon shenanigans dull their edge in the sprint, as the big ciclamino jersey wearer powered away in Cento to secure a hat-trick of wins at this year’s Giro and cement his status as one of the fastest, most powerful riders in the world.
At the end of a tight, twisting, and nervy finale in Cento, the 23-year-old took advantage of an inch perfect Lidl-Trek lead-out – and then the by now de-facto lead-out provided by the early surging Fernando Gaviria, who held on for a decent sixth – to stop his way to the win ahead of Cofidis’ Stanisław Aniołkowski and Bahrain-Victorious’ Phil Bauhaus.
🎙️”Even the crosswinds can’t stop him!”
🚀Jonathan Milan takes Stage 13 of the Giro d’Italia! pic.twitter.com/DAElMkwPWL
— Eurosport (@eurosport) May 17, 2024
With the points jersey leader leaving a lot of energy on the road as he powered his group back to the front in the crosswinds, before comfortably dispatching his fellow sprinters 40-odd kilometres later, Milan’s rivals must be wondering what they have to do to beat the imperious Italian. Because, it seems, even attacking him when he’s peeing isn’t working…
Meanwhile, up at the six day-long Four Days of Dunkirk, renaissance man Sam Bennett was denied his own trio of sprint wins, as breakaway rider Warre Vangheluwe held on to just about pip Decathlon AG2R’s resurgent Irish flyer on the line after a tough day on the cobbles.
Warre Vangheluwe takes his first pro win by winning the fourth stage of 4 Jours de Dunkerque! An early celebration almost proved to be very costly 😄https://t.co/EUeYqTDqgo pic.twitter.com/w4BJwcDDZp
— Eemeli (@LosBrolin) May 17, 2024
Though, looking at his ill-judged early celebration, the precocious 22-year-old Belgian can count himself very lucky – when will they ever learn?
And finally, at the Vuelta a Burgos Demi Vollering continued her absolutely unbeatable uphill form, cruising away in typical controlled fashion from a small group in the final kilometre of the punchy Alto de Rosales for her fifth win in under three weeks.
Demi wins!
Despite being isolated, Demi Vollering had enough in the tank to ride away from Evita Muzic and Karlijn Swinkels
She takes the GC lead with a gap of maybe around 15″ with bonus seconds#VueltaBurgos pic.twitter.com/mKxPtbBgyB
— Mathew Mitchell (@MatMitchell30) May 17, 2024
However, the GC isn’t completely done and dusted yet, with the determined Évita Muzic and Karlijn Swinkels riding hard to finish just four and nine seconds respectively behind the flying Dutchwoman. But considering Vollering’s current form, it would take a brave punter to bet against the SD Worx rider securing her third straight GC title in Spain in under a month on Sunday.
Roads police chief urges stricter sentences for driving offences, warns “basic standard of driving has reduced” and puts cyclists and pedestrians at risk
> Roads police chief urges stricter sentences for driving offences, warns “basic standard of driving has reduced” and puts cyclists and pedestrians at risk
Government’s dangerous cycling law “a kneejerk plan to do part of a job badly”, says Cycling UK
Cycling UK certainly isn’t pulling any punches when it comes to the government’s plans to back Iain Duncan Smith’s amendments to the Criminal Justice Bill and introduce tougher legislation against ‘dangerous cyclists’.
“On Wednesday night, the government announced a kneejerk plan to do part of a job badly,” the charity’s head of campaigns Duncan Dollimore said in a statement.
“Ten years ago, government ministers recognised that road traffic laws weren’t effective in reducing irresponsible behaviour on our streets and promised a full review of traffic offences and penalties, which still hasn’t materialised.
“Having done nothing to address these much wider problems with road traffic laws, the government wants to legislate on one piece of the puzzle without having thought through how this will work more broadly – including how it plans to deal with e-scooters and other forms of micro-mobility, or what other road traffic offences need to be changed.
“If the government is serious about making our roads safer for everyone, it should revisit the wider review it promised ten years ago.”
Boom.
And the results are in… 52mph Random London Strava Guy pips Mark Cavendish to the crown of cycling’s greatest ever sprinter
Go on Ineos, sign him up!
Well, that’s it for another week on the live blog. Hope you all have a good weekend casually churning out 2,500 watts and easily reaching speeds of 50mph on flat roads. I’m off to not read the Telegraph ever again…
“That new dangerous cycling law can’t come soon enough”: BMW driver crashes spectacularly into bike stand on pavement – prompting cyclists to ask, “when will Mark Harper do anything about this?”
As I’m sure you all know by now, the issue of ‘dangerous cyclists’ – you know, the ones who sprint with Cavendish-esque precision around the streets of central London at 52mph (don’t worry, we’ll have more on that head scratching Telegraph article later) – has been a prominent one in the national press this week, culminating in the government’s plans to back tougher legislation to prosecute people on bikes who kill or injure through dangerous or careless cycling.
So, as if to underline the point that cyclists pose the gravest threat on our roads (making them all “death traps”, according to the Telegraph), this happened on London’s Stoke Newington Road yesterday:
Outside the Co-Op in Stoke Newington Road. Photos by Amy Nicholson. pic.twitter.com/CCwgT3IbcK
— Stokey Updates (@StokeyUpdates) May 16, 2024
Apparently, the BMW driver, after his rather spectacular landing on a cycle stand and a poor unsuspecting bike, fled the scene without taking his missing wheel with him, while no-one was reported to have been injured (which is a miracle, really).
And needless to say, the rather striking images conjured up by yet another display of reckless driving on the UK’s roads sparked quite a few sarcastic (and some extremely serious) responses from “bloody” cyclists on social media, keen to highlight the irony of the government’s current road safety rhetoric.
A10 Stoke Newington Road tidy job on that pic.twitter.com/fWs9eDGqAm
— John dunley(aka smallcoal)🏴 🚛🚛😄👌 (@john_dunley) May 16, 2024
“Very irresponsible, dangerous cycling clearly at fault here,” wrote Richard, while Simon said: “Meanwhile, we’re all being told to argue about floating bus-stops and dangerous cycling laws.”
“That new dangerous cycling law can’t come soon enough,” proclaimed Stuart.
“We need more enforcement of dangerous cyclists,” agreed the Berkshire Cyclist group, before Steve asked: “What speed was this bike doing to cause this?”
Another angle. It was removed earlier today. (Photo by Beverley Stylianou). pic.twitter.com/KvMED6P5Ae
— Stokey Updates (@StokeyUpdates) May 16, 2024
Meanwhile, AZB helpfully reported: “We’re getting word from Iain Duncan Smith that the cycle rack jumped out in front of the BMW and it’s also the cycle rack’s fault for being exactly where a speeding BMW would want to mount the pavement.”
Depressingly, that doesn’t sound too far-fetched at all from this current crop in power…
More road violence today in London
The driver fled the scene
Without the cycling stands this could have been multiple fatalities
When will Mark Harper do anything about this? pic.twitter.com/NaFzb7oUQG
— Harry Gray (@H_H_Gray) May 16, 2024
On the more serious side of things, AZB also wrote: “I don’t see how having a licence, insurance, and a reg plate helped prevent this collision? It’s almost as if those things don’t prevent dangerous drivers.”
“Without the cycling stands this could have been multiple fatalities,” added cycling campaigner Harry Gray. “When will Mark Harper do anything about this?”
In many ways, yesterday’s scene on the Stoke Newington Road underlines the point made by Chris Boardman on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, and covered on yesterday’s live blog.
“There are over 1,700 deaths caused by, or involved in, vehicles every year, 30,000 killed or seriously injured. It’s important that we say that because there are three involving, not necessarily caused by, but three or less involving a bike rider,” Boardman said.
“And as the Secretary of State [Mark Harper] said, this is such a tiny minority. More people are killed by lightning, or cows. And that same thing [cycling] is joyous. It’s good for society.
“And we put the focus on this minuscule, negative thing. Absolutely, everybody should obey the laws of the road. But is this really the best use of our time to be talking about this now?”
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+1 I much prefer them and would choose them over hydraulics if manufacturers made it possible. I find the difference in modulation is minimal and far outweighed by the ability to adjust the pad gap on the fly (not having to do 80 miles of a century, as I once did, with brake rub because of a warped rotor) and the ease of a simple cable replacement when necessary rather than the massive hassle of draining and refilling a hydraulic system. I am happy with the bikes I've got at the moment but when the new (secondhand) bike itch resurfaces I might well go back a few years in order to get one with mechanical, rather than hydraulic, discs.
it would stop all these oems using the rim brake brifters with mechanical disc brakes to save a few pennies on their builds I feel obliged to put in a word for mechanical disc brakes and the associated drop bar shifters - they're pretty good!
Theoretically, but the angle of the derailleur sweep would be wrong for 11-36. The current derailleurs are designed around a sweep the expects a 45T (or for the 1x RD, 50T) in the large cog position, not 36T. So it will presumably be further away than optimal. The spec sheet for the CUES 11-45T RDs say that's the only thing they will work with, but nothing else existed at the time either. I'm sure it would work, maybe just not optimally.
Tiagra 4700 is compatible with all the 11sp road stuff. Just not the 10sp. You could use 11sp road shifters with a 4700 RD, and have 11sp, or could use a 105 R7000 RD with 4700 shifters, and have 10sp.
So if I understand you correctly, I can swap a 11-45 Cues 11 speed cassette with a new R4000 11-36 cassette because the have the same spacing in-between spacing?
Escape Collective reported it is compatible with CUES 11sp and NOT compatible with the old road 11sp. I guess it makes sense, given road 11sp has been discontinued while CUES 11sp is a current product.
To update, Escape Collective reports it is compatible with CUES U6030 11sp but NOT older road 11sp. I guess that does sort of make sense as well though, if all the other 11sp (105, Ultegra, DA) has been already supplanted with 12sp, and CUES is the other *current* 11sp, makes sense to make it compatible with the 11sp that is otherwise around now and will be going forward.
I'm on a 10speed 50/34 12-28, I don't miss the 11t cog at all, if I get to the 12t its becuase I'm going a down a hill or really pushing it. I don't know why they feel a need to fit it on cassettes. You're average rider is hardly going to ever need it.
@kingleo "stop building useless cycle lanes – build proper ones." Actually - can we have "largely separate networks of routes *in practice* for cycling, by filtering to make areas no- through-routes for motor traffic, building separated cycle infra where necessary - oh and providing separate space for pedestrians so they're not scrapping with cyclists either..." ?
Well, I once saw someone trip on a kerb and fall over, I think alcohol was involved so best we ban alcohol and rip up all the footpaths, as shoplifters occasionally use them apparently? This will definitely provide a lot more room for extra cars to park outside of all of the boarded up shops on every high st, so a win+win with no downside at all Oh, and wider roads are better because 4x4s are just getting wider, and we all need 4x4s because the roads are just so bad these days? ?? 😀
50 thoughts on ““That new dangerous cycling law can’t come soon enough”: BMW driver crashes spectacularly into bike stand on pavement, as cyclists ask, “when will Mark Harper do anything about this?”; Brand: “No regrets” over horror crash stop + more on the live blog”
Clevedon seafront
Clevedon seafront
Everyone remembers how motorists in North Somerset threw their toys out of their prams when North Somerset Council decided to make significant changes to Clevedon seafront. Creating a separated cycle lane, making the road one-way, changing the parking from nose-in (so you can park up and see the sea) to parallel.
It occurred to me that there aren’t really any good photos out there of what this radical change looks like once it went live. Lots of photos of ‘under construction’, but nothing of how it is actually used…
So here y’go.
Complete radical change – not a car to be seen
(Oh yeah, and the seafront cafes were all absolutely heaving, so so much for “We’ll all go bust if you remove parking spaces!”)
.
.
What’s with the bollards in
What’s with the bollards in the middle of the bike lane? The Fietsersbond (cyclists union more or less) here in NL is actively campaigning to get them all removed here as they do cause a good number of crashes.
KDee wrote:
It doesn’t make sense. I can see the intention is the buff high friction surface areas are designed for pedestrian access to vehicles. There’s a dropped kerb where the bollards are, but it’s neither marked as a shared use area or a zebra crossing, there’s just a ‘warning pedestrians’ sign.
Bizarre design IMO. They ought to have put zebra crossings in, or more realistically, just left the cycle lane continuous black tarmac as I can imagine most pedestrians are going to exit their vehicle and just walk across the black surface area of the cycle lane anyway.
As it stands, priority is given to cyclists on the cycle lane, but that might not be clear to pedestrians and those bollards are a collision hazard to cyclists.
HoarseMann wrote:
This reminded me, I have been trying to work out the status of this arrangement in Hyde Park: https://maps.app.goo.gl/akPnsoYN5gCuyisQA
Roadway. Bi-directional segregated cycle lane. Separate footpaths. Raised speed table. Warning signs on either side of roadway say “raised pedestrian crossing” but no zebra markings. Warning signs are also only on the road-side of the cycleway (and not easily visible in one direction). Do pedestrians have priority to cross road and/or cycleway?
I don’t really know either. I
I don’t really know either. I assume the deliberate ambiguity is part of the plan?
I walk, run and cycle a bit through Hyde Park and these aren’t great for anyone. Pedestrians don’t know if they can confidently cross, cyclists don’t know to give way or not, drivers see ambiguity and assume might is right.
When cycling I give way at those raised, unmarked crossings, especially since I finally saw the “Raised Pedestrian Crossing” sign – but it took me ages (which might also reflect on me!) to notice that as it’s on the other side of the road and when cycling it just looks like something for drivers!
Maybe someone more enlightened can help…
Or also, not having roads through the middle of a park would also help.
momove wrote:
Although it’s quite rare for me to see a pedestrian cross here, when I do often the drivers do stop – which then makes me (cycling) look evil as I had not interpreted this as a crossing and carried on
Same!
Well, no idea really… but
Well, no idea really… (possibly the designers don’t have either). Could just be “working with what’s there already and what the budget will stretch to”? Or maybe working around rules which make it more effort to do things in some ways – I am not a civil engineer but perhaps if you don’t paint the zebra you don’t have to apply for certain changes / put in belishas etc.?
On the “meta” it is definitely a UK thing where we’re all concerned about exactly the rights and wrongs of “priority” (letter of law) while missing out the intent. That should always be to a) ensure people don’t crash or b) impede each other and c) ultimately facilitate everyone getting efficiently from A to B – not just a prestige mode. (And following things like the Downs Thompson paradox space-inefficient motor vehicles end up impeding each other in urban areas at some point – law of diminishing returns again).
And in the UK the result of course becomes “might is right” anyway, with many vulnerable road users still being (rightly) cautious even after waiting (for time…) at signalised crossings.
So – yes, there should be clarity, and yes, people should have their own spaces (more so than currently) – see “sustainable safety” and “homogeneity of mass speed and direction”. However when it’s just cyclists and pedestrians, or cyclists/pedestrians and a very few cars going very slowly* it can “just work” without the fussy signage.
Sadly that’s a loooong way from the UK understanding. So perhaps we’ll need a generation or two more of tons more paint and unnecessary peevish / fearful / aggressive interactions…
* Which aren’t trying to get through a place e.g. just residents getting to and from their home on an estate / LTN.
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I don’t know, I can see how
I don’t know, I can see how some people might have found it challenging to understand how it works when everything’s been turned through 90 degrees
Wall of death.
Wall of death.
Ah – so that’s the reason for
Ah – so that’s the reason for all those “speeding” cyclists! They’re just trying not to fall off.
We need to buy a lot more EVs
We need to buy a lot more EVs to hit climate targets
I don’t have the energy to complain, but this BBC article rankled. OK, it’s primarily an economic article focused on the market in EVs, rather than a critique of how we can achieve net zero, but it includes the following headlines without any suggestion that there may be alternatives like you know, reducing travel, public transport and active travel:
“we need to buy a lot more EVs to hit climate targets”; “buoyant electric car sales are a must if we’re to hit our climate targets”.
https://www.theguardian.com
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/green-living-blog/2010/sep/23/carbon-footprint-new-car
This BBC article is pure auto industry propaganda which seems to assume people HAVE to buy a brand new car and then from there assumes that electric cars are a better choice.
But we have to drive…
But we have to drive…
I think unfortunately there may be a very low limit to top-down change – not to “what’s possible” but “what is politically possible”. It’s not even really “what’s economically possible” – before we *actually* start dropping dead from hunger in the streets or all the lights go off “people will have a word” and those trying to implement the more rapid change will back down or be out*.
And “build / buy a new thing to fix the problem” wins out every time over e.g. “fewer people driving and less far, less often”.
There is a possible improvement to be had – see e.g. NL – but that will almost certainly still involve lots of people owning cars (and quite a lot of driving) – just a change in the pattern of their use.
* They even managed to get rid of Liz Truss. That wasn’t the “deep state” though – it was her own party being horrified at what it was doing for their electoral prospects / popularity / future jobs in parliament.
Meanwhile, in the Netherlands
Meanwhile, in the Netherlands…
(Interesting formulation they’ve used, a bit like “reduce, reuse, recycle” – “verminderen, verschonen, veranderen” which apparently is “reducing, cleaning up, and changing” – reducing car journeys, cleaning up emissions, changing traffic patterns and mode use).
Anyone mentioned this yet?
Anyone mentioned this yet? Apparently cyclists are the reason that roads are dangerous, not the drivers that cause 2k deaths and 25k serious injuries per year, whom are 2-3 times more likely to be at fault in car vs bike KSIs, and most of whom (according to DfT stats) are speeding most of the time.
Edit: £20 says the 52mph in a 20 zone was actually done in a car anyway.
I “enjoyed” the use of the
I “enjoyed” the use of the word ‘attempted’.
What that actually means is number of people who have rode that particular segment … most of whom are leisure or commuters and haven’t “attempted” anything.
Oldfatgit wrote:
ride or ride not, there is no attempt.
This is how &^%*ing thick
This is how &^%*ing thick they are
“There is no start and finish line marked out on these routes, no one there to invigilate – just a phone zipped into a cyclist’s back pocket, or perched on their handlebars, that measures the stats as they charge along,”
“I once walked past a cyclist who had stopped and was bragging and laughing to his friend that he had just run over a squirrel.”
Or he realised he nearly crashed.
On several threads now,
On several threads now, chewed over in comments here:
https://road.cc/content/news/cycling-live-blog-16-may-2024-308403
“Dangerous scorchers” – just the wheel of culture coming round to a similar point again [1] [how to police this – get them on bikes also!].
Ah. Apologies, I didn’t
Ah. Apologies, I didn’t notice them. I only saw this because it’s blown up on the UK Reddit subs, where I get notifications.
The worst thing about this is
The worst thing about this is that it’s splashed on the front page of the print copy in a giant font. The recklessness of reporting clearly spurious Strava segments (52mph along the Chelsea embankment, really?!) as fact in order to stir up hatred against cyclists is breathtaking. It’s journalism at its very worst.
On some of the faster
On some of the faster segments in London, someone found that the 2nd and 3rd in the list were achieved during Ride London.
A bit like claiming that
A bit like claiming that someone was speeding at 200mph in Monaco, and it turning out that it was the F1 GP.
They’ve done a couple of pre
They’ve done a couple of pre British GP events on London streets with F1 cars clearly breaking the speed limits,driving in bus lanes and none of them even bothered to stop at traffic lights.
Me thinks you’d only abandon
Me thinks you’d only abandon a practically new BMW if you were drunk, had a stash of drugs on you or had stolen the car. Cant think of any other reason.
Paging brooksby and HP
Paging brooksby and HP
“In Bristol, with its brutal hills, a new record was set alongside the Avon in Clifton in March this year, with a 40mph entry. Just around the bend, on Clifton Down, where the speed limit is 30mph, over 11,000 people have attempted the segment, with the record holder having done it at 39mph.”
Of course no mention of the type of road or speed limit.
The small print that nearly all will miss has the caveat
“Highest speeds may, in some cases, be done by professional cyclists in regulated time trials. “
When it says “People
When it says “People Attempted” this segment, does it really mean people who have also ridden down this road where this segment has been created?
I ride many segments but never “attempt” them.
It means whatever will make
It means whatever will make an enraged telegraph reader even more angry.
Can’t wait to see the in laws on the bank holiday and read their telegraph.
A serious Strava question.
A serious Strava question.
On a Strava segment what proportion will be doing it for a speed/time and what proportion just as a route tracker etc on routnie utility cycling? I don’t use it so I don’t have any idea.
I’m interested in the pivot from “one person did this speed” (which is 20-40% faster than the flying start Olympic time trial record in a velodrome) and then making a claim that that is how 90k people have behaved.
On the Telegraph piece clearly in general the writer and the editor are deliberately lying, they know they are lying, and they will continue to lie. That’s SOP at the Telegraph for you.
For example, their ‘flying cylists down the pavement in my new housing estate’ outragee documents herself as living in the USA.
Depends on the segment and
Depends on the segment and the person, but:
(1) within London in particular, very many recorded rides will be commuting (whether or not specifically tagged as such)
(2) the fact that they’re commuting doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not quick – plenty of people commute at quite a lick (and may even have favoured segments – I am guilty for example of putting my meagre power down up Constitution Hill, albeit this is mitigated by doing it on a Brompton)
(3) conversely, even those who are not commuting / utility riding won’t necessarily be trying to hit particular segments. I regularly record my leisure rides and may look back at segments afterwards, but am never particularly focused on trying for a time while I’m out.
So that would be how many
So that would be how many actually time trialing against themselves, then, by your guestimate?
0.01%? 0.1%? 1%? 10%?
I’d probably think something around 1 in 500 to 1 in 2000 for a busy London segment – so 0.05% to 0.2%, or ~50 to ~200 from the Telegraph’s 90,000 individuals, recognising that that is counting people not rides.
95% of the time, when I get a
95% of the time, when I get a KOM (which is rare) or beat my PR, I was just riding along and got lucky with a tailwind or just feeling really good that day.
Maybe a dozen times in ten years have I consciously gone for a KOM or PR, and those have been uphill segments so I’ve been going a blistering 10-15 MPH.
This one’s on my afternoon commute, so I have over 1400 attempts. If I ever have a strong north wind and my legs feel fresh, I may go for it, but those guys above me are strong! I was definitely giving it the beans the day I got 45 seconds, and it was on a 30 lb (13 kg) steel singlespeed.
Time is against you as well.
Time is against you as well. Get older get slower 🙁 I was never particularly fast, I’m even slower now 🙂
Even on a good day on a good bike, would you take 9S off a 30 year old you ?
I’m blaming Russian
I’m blaming Russian interference with GPS signals for any apparent getting slower with ageness.
It still feels the same speed and that’s what counts
Mr Hoopdriver wrote:
I would easily beat a 30-year-old me. It wouldn’t even be close. I’m 52 but didn’t start cycling regularly until ten years ago.
I’m currently in about the best cardiovascular shape of my life, but definitely plateauing.
I’ve kept ride records for
I’ve kept ride records for most of my life. I know I’m slower now than 30, 40 and 50. My Max HR is still in the 160s’ and not following the 220-age curve but I can’t average 140-150 for long now without getting out of breath quickly.
I just looked, and I do
I just looked, and I do currently have a grand total of two KOMs. They’re one mile flattish segments on the same road in opposite directions. My records are about 19 and 24 MPH, and I was probably pushing it to see how fast I could go because I had a pretty good tailwind. Neither has more than 25 cyclists who’ve attempted them, which is surprising as it bypasses a 4 lane 45 MPH stroad. I can’t find a speed limit sign anywhere along it in Street View, but I’d guess 30 MPH.
https://www.strava.com/segments/10888624
https://www.strava.com/segments/10888635
The Telegraph’s protests:
The Telegraph’s protests: make cyclists ride slower, also remove 20 MPH zones so motorists can drive faster.
kingleo wrote:
Its all about safety….until it isnt.
Police stop illegal just eat
Police stop illegal just eat driver but twitter moans they have taken his livelihood away. Better than him taking a life with those excuse for brakes
“turning it into a motorcycle purely powered by electricity, with defective brakes! “
That isn’t even the worst
That isn’t even the worst looking Frankenbike I’ve seen today…
I like it that the optional
I like it that the optional chain has gone but they’ve kept the deraillieur. (Probably hard to get off with all the rust…)
Wait till the Telegraph hears
Wait till the Telegraph hears about this, those dangerous speedy cyclists are now disrupting weddings.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd131e73z0yo
That’s cool. All we want now
That’s cool. All we want now is all those cyclists to have bells on and make loads of congratulatory pings as they go past. That could really make the day different and special.
downside with that is pro
downside with that is pro riders dont think bells are very aero thesedays, plus theres bound to be a UCI rule against them.
as its during the Ride London Classique race, the Maldon to Maldon stage, not the actual Ride London
How hundreds of thousands
How hundreds of thousands fought the road crime ( not sure this scans !)
[I fought the road crime and the road crime won ?]
A grocery delivery van driver pushed me off the bus lane in Battersea and made me start reporting”. This is how I became a so-called headcam cyclist. More and more people equip themselves with recording devices for their commute bike rides. After a few years of being active in the “community” of cyclists reporting dangerous driving to the police, I decided to take a different approach – learn and tell the story about how it all began.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sielay/record-retreat-report
From twitter – not me at all.
The way that thing is
The way that thing is balanced on the one wheel, I’d be tempted to give it a good shove and send it crashing on to the road.
#unicyclemenace – another
#unicyclemenace – another loophole the Criminal Justice Bill needs to close.