Village transforms phone box into bicycle maintenance hub; Residents fear cycle path will ruin green space; Cyclist hitches a lift; Could NASA’s Mars rover tech be your next tyre?; Former NBA star paralysed after crash with driver + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
"Death wish" cyclist filmed hitching a lift with passing trailer
@DyfedPowys surely this illegal??? Cyclist hitching a lift!!! #deathwish pic.twitter.com/Uap8nqhPIN
— Steve Evans (@Evsthetractor) March 16, 2021
This cyclist was filmed hitching a lift with a passing trailer on the A40 near Haverfordwest in Pembrokeshire. In the clip the cyclist can be seen holding on to the trailer, possibly being towed by a tractor, to get a free ride, much to the disgust of the person in the car behind who calls them “a silly bastard”.
Dyfed-Powys Police responded to Steve Evans’ video asking for more details on the incident. Evans added: “There’s so many road works on this stretch at the moment it’s all start stop traffic. This trailer may well have had to jam on and it would have been pretty serious for the cyclist. I’ve seen some things in my time but this is up there with the best of the stupid ones!”
Councillor hits back at "shameful" BBC LTN report
As a councillor, I can state with certainty that fines are absolutely nothing to do with raising revenue, and everything to do with disincentivising behaviour. For the BBC’s Chief Environment Correspondent @BBCJustinR to perpetuate this myth is shameful.
Image: @MatthewMarks42 pic.twitter.com/7tYhDYaTwX— Jon Owen (@anotherJon) March 18, 2021
More from yesterday’s main story on the blog. A Liberal Democrat councillor in Kendal has joined in the criticism of the BBC for their LTN report. Jon Owen said it was “shameful” that the broadcaster’s chief environment correspondent had perpetuated the myth that fines are to raise revenue…
More on the cyclist hitching a ride
Dairy farmer Steve Evans got in touch with Farmers Weekly to give some more details about the incident. He said him and a friend were driving back from market when they saw the cyclist and his passenger started filming. “It was unreal,” he told Farmers Weekly. “On downhill parts of the road he was freewheeling literally inches from the back of the trailer. The lad in the tractor was completely oblivious to him, he had absolutely no clue.”
Minutes after Evans shared the video on Twitter, Dyfed-Powys Police had contacted him to meet in a lay-by near Haverfordwest Golf Club. “The copper got out the van, saw the video and was like: ‘That’s unreal’. The police then went to look for the cyclist. They wanted to see the video,” he explained.
Officers say they were unable to track the cyclist.
Former NBA star Shawn Bradley paralysed after being hit by driver while cycling
Our thoughts are with Shawn and his family at this time. #MFFL pic.twitter.com/u42LcDRmQ1
— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) March 17, 2021
Dallas Mavericks have confirmed that one of their former players, Shawn Bradley, has been paralysed after being hit by a driver while cycling in Utah. The 48-year-old played 12 seasons in the NBA and took up cycling post-retirement, often completing 100-mile training rides. Bradley played for the Philadelphia 76ers, the New Jersey Nets and spend eight years with the Mavericks who released the news in a statement.
“Doctors have advised him that his road to recovery will be both long and arduous,” it read. Bradley suffered a traumatic spinal cord injury in the crash in January and has been hospitalised undergoing rehabilitation for the past eight weeks. His wife Carrie says that he remains “in good spirits” and plans to use his platform to promote cycling safety awareness.
Primož Roglič gives Paris-Nice injury update and hopes to see more safe routes for people to ride their bikes in the future
Primož Roglič says it may take longer to heal from his Paris-Nice injuries than expected. The Jumbo-Visma rider won three stages but lost a seemingly unassailable lead on the final stage after crashing twice. Speaking to journalists at a press conference hosted by the Slovenian Tourist Board, Roglič said: “I’m still recovering. It will maybe take more days than I thought. I crashed twice, now I really need to heal up so I can do a good block of training before the next races. I do the Tour of the Basque Country in three weeks and some of the one-day Ardennes races before the Tour.
“In life you learn all the time. I still have the dream of what I want to be and the fight. You can’t stop once you have some obstacles in your way. At Paris-Nice the finish was not what we were hoping or working for but it is how it is. A really bad day, a shit day but nothing changes. We’ll try to be even better at the next races.”
Roglič was occasionally interrupted by his young son and expressed his hope for cycling culture to continue to grow in everyday life, not just for elite athletes.
“To cycle is enough,” he said. “Everybody who rides a bike and enjoys it — they’ve already achieved its purpose. It’s beautiful to see that nowadays more and more people are getting out on the bike and being healthier. This is the nicest thing.
“I want to have safe places and routes for riding your bike and to see as many people and kids on the bike. Instead of being in front of computers they should go out for a ride in the fresh air.”
Could NASA's Mars rover tech be your next tyres?
SMART’s tyre technology was first designed to be used on lunar and Mars rover missions, now it’s been applied to NASA’s eco-friendly, airless shape memory alloy bicycle tyres. The SMA is made from lightweight NiTinol+, creating a tyre, they say, is elastic like rubber but holds the strength of titanium meaning it holds perfect shape memory without ever going flat…That’s a promise that you’ll only need one tyre (well, two if we’re being pedantic) for the life of your bike.
It’s all down to their ability to undergo phase transitions at the molecular level under strain, meaning they have thirty times the recoverable strain of steel. Impressed? Felt Bicycles were. They’ve taken SMART Tire Company’s METL tyres as partners and say they’re an “exciting new frontier”. I can already hear the weight and cost murmurs. Unfortunately that info hasn’t yet been released so we’ll keep an eye out and let you know when we hear more…
Residents fear cycle path will spoil unspoilt green space
🐝 🚲 🚶🏼 We’re consulting on revised plans for part of our ‘Heatons Cycle Link’ #BeeNetwork scheme in the Heatons between Cherry Holt Ave and New Beech Rd
Proposals include improved links to areas around Heaton Mersey Common
Have your say: https://t.co/tvS0kD7HGc
cc @OfficialTfGM pic.twitter.com/fKzviX9mxz— Stockport Council (@StockportMBC) March 11, 2021
Residents near Heaton Mersey Common have rejected plans for a paved cycle route, saying it would spoil the area’s “last unspoilt green space” and raised concerns about lighting, safety and anti-social behaviour. The new cycling and walking path would connect several roads with a hard surface, heritage lighting and seating. However, some residents complained they haven’t been properly consulted on the plans ahead of them being drawn up. Stockport Council has now launched a public consultation on the wider proposals to upgrade the Heatons Cycle Link.
Diane Connel told the Manchester Evening News she doesn’t think the plans are “appropriate”, despite being a cyclist herself. She said that locals were “appalled” by the plans and that the path would be a “disaster for all concerned”.
“We believe it would totally destroy the whole feel of the nature reserve and the Priestnall Hey site. They are both destination sites, not corridors for people passing through,” she said. “This last year has proven the value of open spaces to people’s wellbeing. The common has been a destination for people to visit and enjoy a small oasis of nature. It should not be allowed to disappear and be urbanised.”
havebike offering £500 joining bonus for bike mechanics
havebike are after high-level bicycle technicians and mechanics and will pay a £500 joining bonus…The company is looking for mechanics able to work on high-end road bikes, mountain bikes, e-bikes as well as being involved in servicing London’s emergency services’ fleet.
“We are in a very fortunate position that habike has grown steadily since its inception,” CEO Nick Brown told bikebiz. “We want to continue to offer a convenient and swift service that allows people to get back on their bikes for active transport, leisure, or training as quickly as possible.
“Any bicycle technicians or mechanics that have been left feeling unnerved by recent news in our industry should get in touch with havebike, and we feel the ‘Golden Hello’ offers another reason for the industry’s best to consider working with us. We pride ourselves in looking after our staff as well we do our customers’ bikes.”
Police appeal for cyclist in a top hat who knocked down pensioner in Portsmouth
Police in Portsmouth are appealing for witnesses after a man in his 70s was knocked to the ground and verbally abused by a cyclist wearing a top hat. The elderly man was hit on Sunday on a stretch of pavement between Tesco Express and the traffic lights on Elm Grove in Southsea. Portsmouth News reports the cyclist was described as being of large build and was wearing a top hat. Witnesses say the man in the hat didn’t stop and verbally abused the pensioner as he rode off.
The elderly man sustained a fractured hand, wrist and arm in the incident. A spokeswoman from Hampshire Constabulary said: “Officers believe there may have been a number of witnesses in the area at the time and we would like to hear from anyone who heard or saw what happened. We would also like to hear from anyone with dash cam or Go Pro footage from the area at the time.”
Chris Boardman reacts to Kensington and Chelsea Council's refusal to reinstate the Kensington High Street cycle lane
“We must decide what we want for our, and our children’s future” 💬
British Cycling policy advisor @Chris_Boardman on why the news from @RBKC is a national story.
#ChooseCycling pic.twitter.com/KO7wQsCcl4— British Cycling (@BritishCycling) March 18, 2021
Rebel Wilson on a Brompton
Ballroom Bicycling! #QuarantineLife pic.twitter.com/DIO34kpujs
— Rebel Wilson (@RebelWilson) March 17, 2021
LTNs in soaps thread
Today we’re talking about the vital role that LTNs play in Britain’s favourite soap operas.
Soap script writers entirely depend on the construct of quiet, low traffic, sense of place, community settings to develop their stories & characters.
Let’s take a look. pic.twitter.com/QvSZm313MR
— Jo Rigby (@Jo_Earlsfield) March 18, 2021
Eastenders plot and character development would be stunted without the natural LTN the Square offers.
Little know fact that planters block the exits to the Square, trapping everyone in & serving to keep characters in state of high emotion. pic.twitter.com/MT45oWl3Td
— Jo Rigby (@Jo_Earlsfield) March 18, 2021
Village transforms phone box into bicycle maintenance hub
ITV shared the story of this phone box in an East Yorkshire village that has been transformed into a bicycle maintenance hub by Mike Cargill and his family. When the family bought their house in 2015 the disused phone box was on their land and since then they’ve used community donations to turn it into a cycle service station.
“If you’re out in the countryside and get a flat tyre there’s nothing more annoying than cycling 20 miles home on a partly pumped up tyre,” Mike told ITV. “They’re iconic aren’t they. It’s important to add things that cheer people up – there’s sculptures on the pastures, on walks, you can see it as a sculpture, a little art installation of its own.”
The report comes after BT launched an Adopt a Kiosk scheme allowing local community groups, landowners, charities and councils to buy old phone boxes for £1.
18 March 2021, 08:56
18 March 2021, 08:56
18 March 2021, 08:56
18 March 2021, 08:56
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@flowboy "It's flat" / "It's the culture" - actually "it's a lot more complex". Flat: that is a thing, however there's more cycling in not terribly flat places like Switzerland / Norway than many UK places. (And eg. Maastricht is hilly, and while there's less cycling there than many places in NL there is *way* more than most of the UK). Alas the excellent "cycling fallacies" site - addressing a lot of misconceptions about cycling / cycle infra - seems to have died. I can only recommend eg. BicycleDutch's "How the Dutch got their cycle paths" - although it really could do with a book/movie-length treatment. As above. Bristol - lots of steep gradients, but cycling is growing there. Edinburgh - hills (and a mountain inside the city) but most gradients are relatively gradual and there's cycling. Both have quote a lot of motor-traffic (Bristol feels like an order of magnitude more...) though and are in no way approaching even Scandinavian cycling levels.
You had me until 'AI-powered automatic shifting'
Only an idiot would've assumed continued growth after a boom as large as the one during the pandemic. But we seem to have Bianchis and Accells galore.
Still no vertical cutoff for safe use on public roads? Thanks, I'll just laugh once, then one more time when I see the price, and pass.
@mdavidford Didn't want to break the flow, boy.
This is a shocking case and should raise the question could this driver have been stopped earlier? So many convictions, why was he still behind the wheel? The sentence does fit the crime in this case, but had the driver stopped after the initial collision, would they have even been jailed? I can't help thinking about the BBC program "The Crash Detectives", where about 14 mins into "Season 5 Episode 3: Fair to all parties" the police embark on what seems an exercise to exonerate the driver, with some ridiculous reasoning such as "the victim's reflective jacket is so bright it makes their front light difficult to see", conflicted by "ah, but the victim's reflective jacket might not have been as bright, so probably harder to see for the driver". In that case the driver faced "no further action". The gulf in outcomes is extreme where deaths on our roads are concerned.
@yodhrin A brilliant story told by one Ed Solomon: he was sitting in a café in LA and he heard two young ladies arguing over a point in the original Men in Black movie. "I can help clear that up for you," he said to them. "Thanks," came the reply, "we don't actually need an explanation from a middle-aged white guy to tell us what to think." "Okay, no problem," said Solomon and went back to his coffee. Ed Solomon wrote the screenplay for the original Men in Black movie.
Yes all the post war clearances & developments with the car centre stage is / was pretty universal. I think it helps that the NL is pretty flat & easy going so historically has very many cyclists from all ages & walks (or should it be rides) of life, who wanted to keep pedalling & presumably built up a lobbying force to save what they still had & build it back up. I notice the flatter UK towns have far more cyclists than much of West Yorkshire, although York's not too bad. If I lived in a flatter place I would cycle more; I dont mind hill climbs but you always arrive at your destination with a sweat on! The hilly nature is probably still a physical barrier for many resulting in fewer cyclists & lower use of cycle lanes - to be fair most of the lanes are on easier gradient routes, more likely to be used. There's none on the steep climb to our area which as its a dual carriageway is not much fun & feels a lot safer on the footpath. Overall it seems to be more of a sport activity here, rather than mum or dad or gran popping out for a quick shop or kids cycling to school. There are some pretty fierce climbs in most directions. Also the "broken" routes where C lanes stop & start awkwardly, usually at junctions, means you cannot just flow along, you have negotiate some tricky bit of kerbed channel with tight bends or something. All there with safety in mind I'm sure but not good cycling. Its easy to see why some cyclists who just want to crack on with their ride, don't use them. (Not just the freestyle lads who cycle thru every set of lights or diagonally across busy junctions regardless). The C lanes are always subservient to cars, I think largely for economic reasons; so many have to travel miles to get to work & for all its faults the car does the job but of course there are many counter arguments. I heard the NL have experimented in a few smaller towns with removing all kerbs & signage (?) etc so cars no longer have priority. I dont know how successful it has been. I've been in Indian towns where few rules were followed & seemed like an insane free for all, virtually constant gridlock, which I'm not convinced was an improvement! Even with a million pound cycle lane in the park, with all the best intentions, how much difference will it make, given human propensity to do what suits us best regardless of others. Who is going to police it, presuming that the current / previous free for all presumably was not policed? (This obvs is a wider issue) Have there been a spate of cyclist - pedestrian accidents that raised the notion of formal laning? Was it pedestrians who wanted to reduce cycling risks for themselves or the reverse? Is it a minority pressure group/s getting their way when the general park using public actually have other concerns such as better lighting & personal safety & actually arent bothered about the cycling issue either way? I should read up on it I guess!
@eburtthebike The normalisation of lifetime bans would be a good start to changing perception back to the pre-war understanding that driving is a privilege, not a right. And then a reinforcement of Sentencing guidelines can get underway, with a focus on "does the offender pose a continued risk to society?" In the case of the 15y/o's, their parents may not be culpable for the life changing injuries, but they are responsible for neglecting their kids to give them access to such egregious weapons on two wheels. CPS just needs to look further than ends of their noses and i doubt they'll fail to find substantive evidence of negligence.
32 thoughts on “Village transforms phone box into bicycle maintenance hub; Residents fear cycle path will ruin green space; Cyclist hitches a lift; Could NASA’s Mars rover tech be your next tyre?; Former NBA star paralysed after crash with driver + more on the live blog”
“surely this illegal???”
“surely this illegal???”
Yes, of course it is.
The twitterist remarks on debris and uneven surface through roadworks, which would make this less safe, and the truck jamming on the brakes; he also talked of speeds up to 20mph.
But in the image as it stands, the thing that would bother me most is if the tailgate had not been properly secured. I’ve seen those things drop
accidentallycarelessly on the move, and it would definitely start a helmet debate!I couldn’t see anyone on
I couldn’t see anyone on twitter answering the question and referring to HC Rule 68, not even the police. Perhaps they do not want to acknowledge the existence of the HC and reveal the inconvenient truth that they do a really poor job in enforcing it.
“There’s so many road works
“There’s so many road works on this stretch at the moment it’s all start stop traffic. This trailer may well have had to jam on”
Nobody has to ‘jam on’ with roadworks – roadworks should be, and in my experience always are, adequately signposted. They should therefore cause nobody to brake suddenly. Something or someone running out into the road on the other hand…
Yes, a bit daft to hang on like that not being able to see what’s going on up front – but how fast was the tractor going? 8-10mph if that.
I’m not condoning it by the way.
If you want to hold onto a
If you want to hold onto a vehicle, you’d be better off using one of the corners so that you can see ahead and have room to go up the side if the vehicle needs to brake. I’ve only done that once or twice as a teenager and if the vehicle’s going a similar speed to you then the risks can be manageable but I don’t recommend it.
Kendalred wrote:
Ooh I could tell you a tale or two about roadworks jumping out at me. Come out of nowhere, no warning. They’re a law unto themselves, taking up the road 3 and 4 abreast. Never wearing hi-viz, you can’t even see them. No insurance or road tax. blah, squit, quack….
have done this in my youth
have done this in my youth and ever since to a lesser degree (i’m 53) but always holding at the corner…of course its dangerous but like everything you have to make a considered risk assessment….simple drafting up to a few meters back and to one side to allow to swerve past is as effective so its not clear why he needed to hold on…they are going really slow though and by holding on he is actually more likely to stop quicker than if he wasn’t
I’ll confess to slipstreaming
I’ll confess to slipstreaming a few times when I was a foolish youth.
But more importantly, what’s the point on a training ride? If you don’t want to burn calories, save time & money by staying at home.
bobrayner wrote:
Saving energy for the next Strava segment.
Re : Shawn Bradley. All the
Re : Shawn Bradley. All the best on his recovery. He is 7ft6 so god knows what his frame size was.
The Slate has an article
The Slate has an article about Bradley and the incident – It’s Never a “Bicycle Accident”
https://slate.com/business/2021/03/shawn-bradley-bicycle-hit-by-car.html
A friend of mine uploaded a dangerous overtake by an HGV to Dyfed-Powys in June (double white lines on a bend, it endangered an oncoming driver, not my mate cycling). £320 and 3 points for due care & attention. I was surprised that the police let him know the outcome.
I remember leaving work and
I remember leaving work and dreading a strong headwind on my 12 mile ride until I spotted a JCB doing 20mph – I rode just behind the bucket for 6 miles – lovely stuff!
I guess the driver didn’t
I guess the driver didn’t spot you in his wing mirror?
Death wish? A little
Death wish? A little melodramatic…
Tell me that isn’t the driver holding the camera*, because that would make him an equally silly bastard!
*comment made early doors before the follow-up interviews!
Unless he was “bright enough”
Unless he was “bright enough” to hold it far out on his left, the camera does seem to be from the passengers side of the vehicle.
Yes, Death wish does seem over the top unless the tractor suddenly decided to reverse.
Paradoxically, the risk of
Paradoxically, the risk of death seems to come principally from driver of the following vehicle, more interested in approaching for a good video shot than in staying further back for the safety of the cyclist for whom he feigns concern. I can’t see much else in this scenario that would actually kill the cyclist than the driver behind running him over, or squishing him against the trailer in the event of it “jamming on the brakes”.
If he’d have fallen off it
If he’d have fallen off it would have been very difficult for us traveling behind to avoid him.
I kid you not
You do know how zooms on
You do know how zooms on cameras work do you? The car never went any closer and was on a 2-3 second response. Yes, might have dropped back further but they would have had manouvre room which the cyclist definitely didn’t.
They’ve just said on Twitter
They’ve just said on Twitter that they were close enough that if the cyclist had fallen off they’d have found it “very difficult” to avoid him. They were also thoughtful enough to copy the police into that tweet…
I was not equating the zoom
I was not equating the zoom of the camera with the approach of the vehicle, so please contain your supercilious airs. 2-3 seconds is enough for reaction time only, it gives the driver time to react to the vehicle in front suddenly braking. However if the cyclist fell over and basically came to an abrupt halt sprawled on the tarmac, then 2-3 seconds is insufficient distance for the following vehicle to come to a halt. So if concern for the cyclist’s safety was uppermost in their mind they would have held themselves much further back.
“He said him and a friend
“He said him and a friend were driving back from market when they saw the cyclist and his passenger started filming.”
Bit confusing as the story and its update are split into two separate sections above.
Did I miss the memo where we
Did I miss the memo where we were notified about the change in definition of ‘unreal’?
Re: the Heaton Mersey Common
Re: the Heaton Mersey Common story, it’s clear that a cycle path running on the edge of a large, open green space would completely spoil the area for everyone, isn’t it? Equally, the removal of one tree, to be replaced by three trees, should be regarded as a disaster. And lighting of shared-use paths is guaranteed to . . . drive the doggers out? NIMBYs.
MattieKempy wrote:
I’m assuming there is no pedestrian path else they would be massive hypocrites…
Amazing how the Nimby’s
Amazing how the Nimby’s always state that they are a cyclist themselves!
looks from the photos in the
looks from the photos in the paper just your average muddy wood path, apparently theyd accept a proper footpath to make it less muddy to walk in, but not to allow cycling which might disrupt the rich local wildlife of parakeets…hmm and herons and woodpeckers apparently. its ok though the people objecting are cyclists themselves so (sarcasm) Im sure they arent just being nimbys about it 🙂
I live in the area and the
I live in the area and the NIMBYs have definitely come out in force. It’s pathetic. There are two existing paths that go round the edge of the common. They are currently unsurfaced so a mudbath. The council is proposing to give them a 3m wide hard surface and light them in the evenings (time to be decided based on an ecological survey). The paths would provide an off road link to three local schools and link with the heatons cycleway and the trans Pennine trail . Sounds great IMHO. Local kids can walk to school, not get muddy feet and do so in the winter. The NIMBYs have been out in force with scare tactics of speeding cyclists risking harm to the elderly, people needing blackout blinds in houses adjacent, the lights ruining the character of the common and spoiling it for wildlife. It’s pathetic.
I do love it when concerned
I do love it when concerned members of the public go on the record with videos showing cyclists endangering themselves. Id be impressed if Evs the Tractor had filmed the cyclist being close-passed and made a report to the Police, strangely that rarely seems to happen.
I find it hard to believe a
I find it hard to believe a cyclist would be wearing a top hat.
Surely the bowler (or Coke) was invented for just such a purpose…?
Surely if you wear a top hat
Surely if you wear a top hat then you’d be riding a dandy horse?
brooksby wrote:
Must have been Mogg…
Why does road.cc keep
Why does road.cc keep provoking a top hat debate that never gets resolved?!
Wearing a top hat is optional, and may or may not prevent injury if you fall off a safety bicycle, but not if you’re hit by a 6 1/2 ton Garrett 4CD!
GMBasix wrote:
The real danger in wearing a top hat is all the mercury used in their production (assuming you don’t wear some modern version).
At least they’re safer than the ridiculous beehive hairstyles you see around