Had your cycle lane ripped up? Blame Lance Armstrong; Peloton instructor tells class to think of their dead relatives for motivation; Help woman with cerebral palsy find stolen bike; Jeremy Clarkson calls Sadiq Khan a ‘f*******’ + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Jeremy Vine leads Twitter response to help woman with cerebral palsy replace her stolen bike
What can I do? Is the bike replaceable?
— Jeremy Vine (@theJeremyVine) December 18, 2020
Here’s a heart-warming story from social media this morning. The response to Dani Jacobson’s tweet has seen hundreds of people offer to help replace Dani’s sister’s bike, after it was stolen from her flat in Golders Green. Tali has cerebral palsy and her “greatest joy is cycling around on her big red trike, singing at the top of her voice.”
Lots of Twitter users, including Jeremy Vine, have offered to donate a new bike or help contribute to the cost of one. Dani explained that the bike is quite unique to Tali’s needs so they’re are hoping to find it. One of the retailers of the bike, RMS Limited, has offered to sort a new bike for free if it isn’t recovered…
Hi Dani! We are a retailer of these trikes – I’ve had a look and we have this deep purple one in stock – these are made to measure so would need to make sure it fits, but looks close from pictures once we attach a backrest – if the old trike is lost – it’s yours for free. Dm me! pic.twitter.com/VMI5VsteSU
— RMS Limited (@RMSRehab) December 18, 2020
She has a big repertoire but this is one of her favourites! https://t.co/AJXRrWvNJR pic.twitter.com/z6I8gk3lY9
— dani jacobson (@daniellarivka) December 18, 2020
Jeremy Clarkson calls Sadiq Khan a 'f*******' after getting stuck in traffic again
Khan you fucktard. This arrangement doesn’t work pic.twitter.com/FCBIN33AOb
— Jeremy Clarkson (@JeremyClarkson) December 16, 2020
Clarkson’s Twitter bio describes himself as a ‘still small voice of calm and reason’, very funny Jeremy. Predictably his followers saw the picture above as an opportunity to make claims about how cyclists should pay road tax and have insurance. Last month, Clarkson called Sadiq Khan an “imbecile” for turning the “whole damn city into a cycle lane.”
At the time a spokesperson for the Mayor of London said: “These policies are about saving lives and Sadiq makes no apologies for the temporary emergency measures he has put in place to encourage the huge increase in cycling we’ve seen since the pandemic.”
Static bike world record attempts
On January 7, Kate Strong will attempt to break three world records for the furthest distance covered on a static bike in one, 12 and 24 hours. To break the records, Kate will have to cover 35.3km in an hour and 348km in 12 hours. There is no current record for the 24-hour effort but considering the distances she’s trying to beat for the previous two, I think we can expect an impressive marker to be put down for future challengers.
Kate was the world champion in her age group for long-distance triathlon in 2014 and the triple record attempt is all part of her training to take on the Limitless Challenge. Starting in 2022, she is hoping to become the first person to attempt the cycle Race Across America, swim the English Channel and summit Everest, all within 12 months.
The Race Across America is a 3,000-mile endurance cycling event that travels from the Pacific to the Atlantic passing through 12 states and climbing nearly 60,000m of elevation.
How it started... How it's going...
how it started how it’s going pic.twitter.com/j0x6rzKTU1
— Thomas O Cornwallis 🎄❄️ (@UrbanistTOC) December 18, 2020
RIPeloton: Bizarre moment spin instructor asks class to climb in honour of their dead relatives
Anyway yeah I wasn’t joking here’s the video of the Peloton instructor who wanted me to think about my dead relatives during a festive spin class pic.twitter.com/LFH6mtvZlp
— John Cullen (@cullenthecomic) December 17, 2020
John Cullen knew something was up when his Christmas ride on Peloton was interrupted by the song ‘Hallelujah’. What he didn’t expect was to be asked to think of his dead relatives for motivation…
The instructor, who John is quick to point out usually has a great music taste, pulls on the heartstrings saying: “One of the hardest parts of the holidays, is that sometimes there might be an empty chair. I know that’s been a part of my journey this year, it’s been a part of a lot of our journeys this year and so we’re going to climb in honour of the empty chairs.”
So get out the saddle, stamp on the pedals and think about everyone you’ve lost this year…Here’s some more Peloton gold for your amusement:
Can I interest you in a palate cleanser? pic.twitter.com/tLxsJalymb
— Jake Regier (@jakeregier) December 18, 2020
Man I wish I bought a 2k bike and paid a monthly fee to be reminded to set my bike to hill climb mode to pedal for my dead grandma
— Vox Populi (@voxpopulx) December 18, 2020
Peloton: If you ain’t peddling for the dead, you ain’t riding with us.
— Thanos (@FightOnTwist) December 17, 2020
Two Eastbourne bike shops targeted by thieves
The Argus reports that two bike shops in Eastbourne have been targeted by thieves in the past week. Police officers were called to Evolution at 1am last Sunday and found that the store’s front window had been smashed and an Evil Wreckoning mountain bike taken. Thieves then returned at 11.30pm, and repeated the crime this time taking a Santa Cruz Heckler electric cycle.
Two days later, Cycle Tech was targeted. A Raleigh Motor Grand Tour and a Mondraker Dusk RR29er electric mountain bike were taken from the shop in Pevensey. Police believe the two raids could be linked.
End of an era for Jumbo-Visma and Bianchi
Dear Bianchi, it feels like we rode for ages. We made memories far beyond imagination. Now the time has come for us to part ways. Fortunately, these Bianchi’s will continue the ride. Grazie mille. Check out https://t.co/bUtFhuLzOX#continuetheride pic.twitter.com/bksZQkskfX
— Team Jumbo-Visma cycling (@JumboVismaRoad) December 18, 2020
Jumbo-Visma’s final season on Bianchi bikes was certainly a successful one. The team won two Monuments, Vuelta a España, Strade Bianche and eight stages of Grand Tours. This short highlights video relives the highs and lows from the Dutch squad’s time on Bianchi bikes before the manufacturer moves to GreenEdge Cycling in 2021.
Zwift Academy 2020 final on YouTube this Saturday with contracts at Canyon//SRAM and Alpecin-Fenix up for grabs
The final of the 2020 Zwift Academy will be streamed on YouTube at 7pm tomorrow evening. From 125,000 participants in the Zwift Academy Road, ten finalists have been selected with the winner being decided on Saturday. Brit Nicole Coates is one of the five women competing for a contract with women’s WorldTour team Canyon//SRAM, while Damien Clayton and Oliver Moors are two of the men’s finalists. The men’s winner will earn a contract with Alpecin-Fenix.
Best of the Peloton reaction
“There might be some empty chairs this Christmas…
…which means there’s some extra servings to be had. So before you eat up all that food your dead relatives won’t touch let’s get those feet in motion!”
— Horhay Blanco (@HorhayBlanco) December 18, 2020
absolutely lost it at “and so we’re gonna climb” https://t.co/StLbGGWfUN
— Ashley Feinberg (@ashleyfeinberg) December 18, 2020
Final call for Cycling UK's games night
We are SO EXCITED to announce that @AdamBlythe89 will be joining our Christmas games show tonight! ✨ If you want to see him get quizzed on all things cycling – along with our other wonderful cycling stars – be sure to tune in LIVE at 7pm this evening: https://t.co/HdSyNHlS2d pic.twitter.com/4X9AukQ9xI
— Cycling UK (@WeAreCyclingUK) December 18, 2020
James Shaw signs for Ribble Weldtite
Wishing a very warm welcome to @JamesthingyShaw to the team for 2021, hit the link to read more on our website; https://t.co/kx9oOZNpjf
— Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling (@RibbleWeldtite) December 18, 2020
James Shaw has secured his future in the sport by signing with British Continental team Ribble Weldtite for 2021. Shaw was without a contract after Riwal Securitas failed to attract a sponsor to keep the team running beyond this season. The 24-year-old has ridden in the WorldTour with Lotto-Soudal and was part of Team GB’s squad at the World Championships this year.
On the move he said: “I’m incredibly grateful for the last minute opportunity from the team. I fully intend on making the most of it in 2020. I know a lot of the team at Ribble Weldtite and with their support I’m looking forward to getting out there and winning bike races again to help me return to the top of the sport.”
Apparently, Lance Armstrong is why we can't have cycle lanes
The absolute state of the arguments against cycle lanes. This is the latest https://t.co/fLG8xRHobU
— Jeremy Vine (@theJeremyVine) December 18, 2020
This is a new one on why cycle lanes are a bad idea… Anir Banbasu recalls asking RealOne Chiswick about cyclists and getting the answer that they shouldn’t be trusted because of Lance Armstrong. Banbasu posted: “I asked someone about cyclists and they said ‘Lance Armstrong – banned for life, stripped of all prizes from Aug 1, 1998, including 7 Tour de France and 1 Olympic medal… not to be trusted.’”
Jon Wright replied: “Wait what? i just want to take my kids to school without being hit by a distracted SUV driver, not cycle around France…”
I see their point, I always get in the EPO before my daily commute! And I steal stationary when in the office!
— Nathan Darby (@nathandarby) December 18, 2020
So, is the reason some people dislike others cycling to work and school in London because of a Texan who was stripped of seven Tour de France titles? Let us know your thoughts in the comments as always, and don’t go getting banned for life from anything on your weekend ride.
18 December 2020, 09:06
18 December 2020, 09:06
18 December 2020, 09:06
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Latest Comments
Ignorant and arrogant police who don't know the law or basic physics, and can't admit they are wrong? Well, what a surprise (/sarcasm) many police officers are hard working and honest, but by no means all of them. I'm proud to support CyclingUK and the Cyclists' Defense Fund.
@mctrials23 Yes although it can be done with some accuracy if an on-bike wind sensor is used e.g. PowerPod (see DCR review) but then as you suggest the set-up is/was so complex you might as well buy a direct measurement power meter. Getting power meter pedals transformed my training for the better so it was worth the investment.
@Xenophon What, because he says he thinks there may be a racist element in the police assuming that an ethnic minority person on an ebike must be a courier on an illegal machine? This is lived experience for many in the UK even today, I have a black friend who has given up his expensive car in favour of something more modest because he's fed up with being stopped and asked to prove it's his. Nationally, BAME people are four times more likely to be stopped by the police; in some wealthy areas of London that ratio rises to an astonishing, and shameful, forty-eight times more likely. So it's quite likely that the ethnicity of the rider had something to do with the stop and his subsequent ignorant and illegal treatment and it's neither activism nor "having a chip on his shoulder" to point it out. Ask yourself this: if that legal Tern was being ridden by a white middle class woman taking Jemima and Henry to school, do you think she would have been stopped, subjected to the same "testing" and had her bike illegally seized and destroyed? Not a chance in hell and it's not having a chip on one's shoulder to say so.
Cops making up the law to make cyclists feel less "special" - check! wtjs here with examples of some other powered "illegal vehicles" for which drivers *do* need to have insurance (and tax and MOT) but where that hasn't happened in some years? Not yet... Still - these ones appear active... Can they get retrained then redeployed where some posters complain about an "ebike plague"?
The Rider would be well within their rights to sue for lost earnings. The bike company for the cost of replacement and lost rental earnings. I know there are some thick plod about but this one must be a record. Hit the plod in their budget - that might wake up the PCC.
@Xenophon2 Just sounds like someone who's quite reasonably angry that his organisation is £6.5k in the hole for no good reason to me. They didn't. They're quoted in the article as saying “I do suspect that he might have been using it for courier riding, such as Deliveroo, but I can’t firmly prove that" Which pretty clearly implies that they weren't supposed to be. But that's a violation of the terms of agreement between the rider, Bike Foundry, and the council, and a matter for them - it's entirely irrelevant to the police action and the harm that's caused to both the rider and the company.
This needs to be taking to court and an example made of these officers before this type of illegal seizure and destruction becomes a regular occurence. This also appears to be racism. If a car is taken by police it is impounded and the driver is required to obtain special insurance to collect it. There is a period of grace before the car if perfectly roadworthy is sold, or otherwise scrapped. I bet this bike wasnt even scrapped, and was sold on. Come on, a £6k bike would have taken 5 minutes for someone to work out its saleable. Very, very dodgy police.
That is a sorry tale; ignorance, gig economy, petty minded officials, tinges of bigotry, targeting of the wrong ‘issue’, subsidy, deaf and dumb law enforcement, no accepting of culpability, lies and deceit. Almost a microcosm or metaphor for the UK at the moment.
Congrats Emily!
Is the “serious suspicion” just that these two are much better than everyone else rather than any actual evidence… oh and there is a good French rider at last so let’s help them out…
36 thoughts on “Had your cycle lane ripped up? Blame Lance Armstrong; Peloton instructor tells class to think of their dead relatives for motivation; Help woman with cerebral palsy find stolen bike; Jeremy Clarkson calls Sadiq Khan a ‘f*******’ + more on the live blog”
Lovely juxtaposition of the
Lovely juxtaposition of the cheering outpouring of public spiritedness to reunite the poor lady with her bike, and then Jeremy Clarkson.
From the sublime to the
From the sublime to the ridiculous
I’m all for cycle lanes, but
I’m all for cycle lanes, but even I struggle to see the sense in the north-bound Park Lane cycle lane. There is a perfectly adequate cycle lane almost parallel in Hyde Park which is far nicer to use!
Jem PT wrote:
Being an avid, nay, ardent cyclist myself! …..
Captain Badger wrote:
Some of their friends are cyclists, too!
Yep good point a lot of the
Yep good point a lot of the fun of cycling would be lost if you didn’t have to go looking in parks for paths you may be able to ride on…in a car you would simply use the nearest road not have to work out a safe route…and if you can’t use the road you want to it’s the fault of cyclists and you have a right good shout about it
Jem PT wrote:
If by nicer to use you mean full of pedestrians and people on Boris bikes with nowhere particular to be, with insufficient room to overtake them safely without cycling like an arse (not something I’ll do), then sure, it’s way more pleasant and efficient.
Personally I’ll take the main road unless I genuinely have an excess of time.
That’s slower and shared with
That’s slower and shared with vunerable pedestrians. Have you forgotton about social distancing?
It’s London, aren’t there any
It’s London, aren’t there any other roads that the motor cars can get stuck on?
He’s right though – this
He’s right though – this arrangement where everyone climbs into a giant individual metal box any time they want to go anywhere doesn’t work.
Not sure why he thinks that’s Sadiq Khan’s fault though.
Now come on, mrdavidford you
Now come on, mrdavidford you know fine that traffic jams are always someone else’s fault.
It’s not so much who drives
It’s not so much who drives him around as who drives around him?
Given that London is now in
Given that London is now in Tier 3 (at time of writing), couldn’t Clarkson just get on a bike?
He’s too unhealthy for that.
He’s too unhealthy for that.
That was my reaction. Was he
That was my reaction. Was he in London for work? Could he have not done that work from home? Is he travelling out of a tier 3 region back home to Oxfordshire? Lot’s of questions about his social responsibility I’m afraid.
What poor bugger has to drive
What poor bugger has to drive him around?
I wonder if Clarkson’s rather
I wonder if Clarkson’s rather extreme vitriol is partly motivated by racism.
A catch-up for younger
A catch-up for younger viewers here:
https://time.com/3740238/top-gear-jeremy-clarkson/
Does everything need to be
Does everything need to be motivated by racism these days?
HarrogateSpa wrote:
Nah, the racism is just included as a free gift….
Like clockwork, Clarkson says
Like clockwork, Clarkson says something rude/outrageous to create a (social) media frenzy on the day that just happens to coincide with the launch of a new episode of his show.
And people still fall for this routine ?
I won’t watch anything he’s
I won’t watch anything he’s involved in. I cancelled him a long time ago. The only mystery to me is why he still gets work.
Just a quick reminder that
Just a quick reminder that his new show is titled ‘A Massive Hunt’. Nice to see he has a modicum of self-awareness.
Surprisingly appropriate,
Surprisingly appropriate, have you seen the state of him? Doesn’t look well at all
kil0ran wrote:
I was amazed to find out recently he’s only 60! He’s closer to my age than he is to my dad’s, but looks older than my dad.
thats smoking for you.
thats smoking for you.
road.cc fall for his ilk
road.cc fall for him and his ilk everytime because somehow free advertising on here is ‘fighting back’.
Everybody needs their 2
Everybody needs their 2 minutes of hate.
Rich_cb wrote:
Well, we spent the first lockdown having two minutes of love (clapping the NHS, anybody?) so I suppose maybe it balances out…
Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr Burt
Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr Burt Bacharach.
“What the world needs now….”
He has made a career on
He has made a career on taking inappropriate vehicles on some actually quite herculean road trips. If he and presumbly most of the other muppets sitting alone in their cars in the traffic jam they have just created had chosen more suitable methods of transport then they might have got to where they were going a bit easier.
“Kate Strong will attempt to
“Kate Strong will attempt to break three world records for the furthest distance covered on a static bike”
I think I can guess how far she’ll travel on her static bike…
henryb wrote:
Are you taking into account the earth’s rotation and the movement of the solar system?
hawkinspeter wrote:
Didn’t Monty Python do a song about that…?
brooksby wrote:
Wasn’t that Stephen Hawking?
I’ll take your Lance
I’ll take your Lance Armstrong and raise you one Jordon Barson.