“They’re not just hugging, but kissing too!”: Fans mock Lance Armstrong after Pogačar and Philipsen’s Milan-San Remo podium celebrations; Telegraph writer claims cyclists have turned Paris into “hell on earth”; Beer bike seized + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Weekend roundup: Stu's new steel bike, Sonny Colbrelli saves Bahrain Victorious' bikes, Government's "angry rhetoric" on LTNs continues... and more!
While everyone else at road.cc was away enjoying some terribly sought after time on the bike in the sunshine, your little golem (who’s also your live blog host for the day) was away chomping at the bits from his candle-lit stone cave to bring you all the cycling news on the weekend. So in case you missed out on anything… well don’t! This is me trying to make sure that!
First up, Stu’s lovely steel bike with a mechanical groupset (to scare all the carbon/electronic fanatics away)
Some truly bizarre stuff on the Milan-San Remo eve (we’ll talk about the race in a minute), with former Paris-Roubaix winner Sonny Colbrelli coming to his old team’s rescue as he chased down the bike thieves who tried to steal the team’s bikes.
Councils being naughty as always, as a cyclist asked: “There are schools and shops on this section of the road. Should people not cycle to these?”
Track cycling great Laura Kenny announces retirement
With five Olympic golds Dame Laura Kenny retires as Britain’s most successful female Olympian and also won seven World Championship titles during her distinguished career…
Peter Sagan to undergo heart surgery for a second time
Peter Sagan has said that he’s scheduled to undergo a heart surgery for a second time in a month, after suffering another instance of cardiac arrhythmia.
The three-time former world champion has decided to return to his mountain biking roots after retiring from the road discipline following the end of a 15-year-long career with a gilded palmares, while also rewarding fans with some unforgettable moments.
He shared the news on his Instagram account writing: “Hi there! While I was training on the rocky trails in Marseille, my heart hit a few bumps. Nothing to worry about, you could say that my heart needs a pit stop. I will undergo surgery next week and thanks to my friend, sports cardiologist Dr. Roberto Corsetti, I am sure I will be back in the saddle very soon.”
On 23 February, it was reported that Sagan experienced unusually high heart rate at the Chelva mountain bike race near Valencia, with his heart rate exceeded 200bpm during an abnormal tachycardic episode.
The recent news will land another blow to the Slovakian cyclist’s Paris Olympic goals. His chances of competing in summer were already looking slim, considering the amount points he need to acquire for Slovakia over the next few month, but another surgery putting him out of action for a while might unfortunately spell the end of his MTB Olympic dreams.
"It's more about culture wars than what we want for the city": Council changes controversial cycling ban that campaigners branded "psychological barrier" to people using bicycles
With the Public Space Protection Order expiring this month the council has voted not to extend it, with councillors now saying they were “never convinced dangerous cyclists were the big issue” and the ban felt like “political theatre”…
Fastest Milan-San Remo ever just an “easy spin with some friends” for Tadej Pogačar as not one, but TWO riders sport white shorts
Excitement always runs sky-high for the first monument of the season, but even before the race started, there was a different complexion to all of it already.
Maybe because the race was starting for the first-time from Pavia, instead of the traditional starting point of Duomo, before passing the classic Milan castle.
Or maybe, it was because not one, but two, I repeat, TWO riders decided to show up wearing white shorts! The world’s going mad…
Not long after we, along with other fans bestowed our stamp of acceptance (and maybe some appreciation) on Luke Plapp riding the Paris-Nice by pairing the yellow jersey with white shorts — which he somehow managed to pull off — the young Australian rider brought the not-so-fashionable kit choice to Italy on a sunny morning.
His partner in crime was none other than the world champion Matthieu van der Poel, although I wasn’t too shocked given that the rainbow jersey and white shorts has been somewhat of a rite of passage for most champions. But what I wasn’t expecting was to see the flying Dutchman, who most fans are so often used to see in crew cuts, sport a mullet out of nowhere.
Or maybe it was because Bahrain Victorious came into the race after suffering a major bike theft scare, only to be saved by its former rider Sonny Colbrelli…
But for all the jokes and camraderie, even before the race started, Pogačar has made his intention clear to attack on the Poggio. After the five-time monument winner’s attempt failed on the final iconic climb last year, he looked determined to win the race and even further cement his status as a do-it-all classics and Grand Tour superstar — a true successor to the living legend Eddy Merckx.
I mean, who would doubt his credibility anyway, with the Slovenian just off the back of one of the greatest performances in men’s cycling history, with a 80km solo ride at the Strade Bianche.
But it wasn’t to be his year again, as despite Team UAE Emirates’ well-timed attack, Pogačar was unsuccessful in shaking off van der Poel, and it looked like the Dutchman could be on for a back-to-back win at the monument his grandfather Raymond Poulidor once won, as they made their way down to the descend.
But instead, it all turned out to be a part of a bigger plan, as van der Poel dragged a select few from the peloton along with him, including sprinter extraordinaire Jasper Philipsen. The lead of the race changed hands a few times — 2022’s victor Matej Mohorič once got in the front, then it looked like Tom Pidcock had done enough to make it to the finish line on his own, and then suddenly even Italian Matteo Sobrero became the unlikely leader for a few moments.
It was all in vain, as the race ultimately ended in a sprint finish. And in a bunch with Jasper Philipsen in it, you shouldn’t worry about placing your bets on anyone but him.
Australian Michael Matthews, who’s come very close to winning the race on two occasions previously, came the closest he’s been to the top stage of the podium this time, finishing second, and left to rue what could’ve been if not for an untimely fall of his glasses from his head.
🤩 The greatest Ultimo Kilometro in cycling once again lives up to its reputation
🇧🇪 @JasperPhilipsen wins ahead of 🇦🇺 @blingmatthews and 🇸🇮 @TamauPogi #MilanoSanremo presented by @CA_Ita pic.twitter.com/VUvomWw2lU
— Milano Sanremo (@Milano_Sanremo) March 16, 2024
And Pogačar? He’s not a natural sprinter, but he still managed to find the final podium spot, drawing the curtains on the fastest-ever Milan-San Remo after almost six hours and fifteen minutes, ridden at an average pace of 45.8kmph. But it still ended up being one of the “easiest races ever” for him…
“I tried two times to attack – I had incredible legs – but this year was not hard enough for it to be a climber’s race. I think I did everything I could to be in third place. In this situation, I couldn’t have done much better, but it was close,” he said after the race.
“I think actually that today was one of the easiest races ever. We rode a really, super-easy tempo the first few hours. But anyway, it was – like I said before the race, everything needs to be perfection. And today not everything was perfect. But yeah, we did really good, and I think the podium was the most we could do.”
Let’s see if the Volta poses any challenges for him then….
The kids are alright... Meet Marc Soler's cute little soigneur
Marc Soler has a new assistant to prepare him for Volta a Catalunya… his son!
🇪🇸Marc Soler’s son helping him get ready for the race ❤️ #VoltaCatalunya103 pic.twitter.com/eTgtYCxjOC
— NBC Sports Cycling (@NBCSCycling) March 18, 2024
Soler’s son joins Romain Bardet’s son in accompanying their dads to the races. The latter’s three-year-old is already taking tips from Jasper Philipsen and stealing the show on Puy de Dôme, let’s wait to see what Soler’s kid can do in a few years.
Paris cycling numbers double in one year thanks to massive investment... but Telegraph writer claims city now “hell on earth”
Dodgy anti-cycling Telegraph opinion pieces are back, hallelujah!
After headlines like “We all hate cyclists, but is violence the answer?”, using divisive rhetoric in “death trap” floating bus stops article, and then drawing a back-to-school damning analysis and criticism of one of its anti-cycling lane articles from BBC and Channel 5 presenter Jeremy Vine, The Telegraph has moved on to labelling as Paris as “hell on earth”.
I mean if you mean the litter, the rats, the stinky sewers and the bedbugs, sure. But no, that’s not what’s on the columnist’s mind. Instead, it’s the good ol’ pesky cyclists wreaking havoc on the city of romance.
For all the follies of the Parisian government, there has been a stunning rise of cycling culture in the city, thanks to a massive investment of €150 million aimed at doubling the the number of cycling lanes and make Paris the “best cycling city in the world”, in the words of mayor Anne Hidalgo.
The city’s well on its way too. Earlier this month, Paris was named the best cycling city in the world, with French newspaper Le Monde reporting that cyclists outnumbered drivers on the main boulevards of the city during September and October.
These actions of Paris’ left-wing municipal authority hasn’t gone down well with people who fetishise sitting for hours in the traffic, as is the norm in Paris, infamous for its motor congestion. And Anne-Elisabeth Moutet, the Telegraph author, who takes shots at the mayor and the coalition government between the Socialist Party and The Ecologists, currently in power.
Moutet writes: “The Paris policy of driving cars out of the city has produced, besides some 2,000 km of performative bicycle lanes costed at €120,000 a kilometre – many potholed and bordered by concrete railings, some zigzagging terrifyingly between buses and ordinary traffic, others replacing entire boulevards and avenues – traffic congestion, pollution, a great deal of frustration, as well as what may be the nastiest cycling culture this side of Hô Chi Minh-Ville.”
After what some might paint as controversially Orientalist views, she then delves into the crux of her article, the age-old bread and butter of anti-cycling bingo, that’s comes of as a bit uninspired at this stage: “The city may not have delivered a fit-for-purpose cycling plan, but it has given rise to a sense of smug entitlement among Parisian cyclists, or “vélotaffeurs”, as they call themselves.
“Convinced that they are worthier than anyone else, they run red lights, cycle against traffic up one way streets (all too often on electric bikes), scream at motorists and kick their cars, shout at pedestrians and jostle them, screech at lorries and risk being run over, and in general make Parisian street life hellish.”
She also blames cyclists for “ringing the death knell of many Parisian businesses”. “It’s Mad Max out there: survival of the fittest, on their bikes, heady with their empty victory over everyone else,” she concludes.
Now don’t go dragging Mad Max into your anti-cycling tales, Telegraph!
The funny thing is, it’s not even been that long since the newspaper did one of these! Just a month ago, Rowan Pelling published another opinion piece in the Telegraph titled: “Cyclists are the rudest, most entitled people in the UK today”. It basically completed the cycling bingo — with censures so dated and passé that some on social media joked: “2014 just rang, asking for their comment piece back”
“A bitter end to their day?”: Beer bike seized by Police Scotland citing “safety concerns” and “road traffic offences”
Beer bikes have come to Edinburgh and Police Scotland aren’t very happy about it…
After making their way into Northern Ireland and England, there was only one place for these party-on-the-road contraptions that serve you beer (none of that craft stuff I’m assuming, unless you get on one in Bristol) as you pedal your way across the city streets, drawing more than a few glances across your way, for around £450 an hour.
On other days, it might have drawn the attention of about-to-be married blokes searching for inspiration for a supposedly oh-so not-debonair stag-do, but this time it attracted attention from officers on Leith Walk in Edinburgh. Alright, maybe there could be some overlap between the two…
Pictures taken from passers-by show a police car having pulled over the bike and several officers inspecting the tyres on Saturday afternoon. A short while later, the bike was seen on the back of a recovery vehicle.
Well, they might get the bike back, but they surely aren’t getting any of the beer…
> Bristol gets its first ‘beer bike’ – and our only question is: ‘Why?’
The police cited “safety and ongoing community concerns”, as well as “road traffic offences”, adding that an enquiry was going on the matter.
A month ago, the beer bike also made its debut in Bristol, suggesting: “We can turn any occasion into a party. Why not do something unique and unconventional, while having a great time with their friends or co-workers?”
People on the internet seemed to be divided on the matter, with many calling for an end to the beer bikes, while others labelling the police as “killjoys” and demanding “free the beer now!”.
One person said: “That’s hilarious… Can’t have fun anymore can we,” while a second commented: “No fun please, this is Edinburgh”.
I wonder if there was a chase to get the thing to stop, or maybe the people on it already so drunk (it was 11:20am, mind you) that they couldn’t get the bloody thing to move. If it was the former, I would like to see footage of that…
The Pursuit Team…? pic.twitter.com/o5RGH7bvtB
— cosybike (@cosybikeglasgow) March 17, 2024
Another person commented on Facebook: “Ah, Dutch folks bringing a bit of cultural diversity to Edinburgh -what not to like! I saw a few of these in Amsterdam.” Funnily enough, stag-do infested-cities like Amsterdam and Prague already banned beer bikes as far back in 2017, after continued complaints from locals.
Meanwhile, one person on Twitter raised an interesting point: “I’d like to see which ‘offences’ they allege have been committed. Road Traffic act only applies to motor vehicles. This has no motor, so is exempt.”
What do you make of it? Is this simply more anti-cycling clampdown from Police Scotland or do beer bikes deserve no place on the roads? Let us know in the comments.
Matthieu van der Poel at Canyon HQ... Is there a new bike on the way? 🚲🤔
UCI allows Visma-Lease a Bike to use controversial time trial helmet
Are we here? Is the TT helmet saga finally over?
Giro’s latest time trial helmet, called the Aerohead II which made its debut on the Tirreno-Adriatico TT stage, with the Jonas Vingegaard and others from Visma-Lease a Bike donning the wild and strange lid — although not to much success as only the two-time Tour de France could make it to the top ten from the team.
Since its unveiling, the helmets have proved to be one of the sport’s most controversial tech drops in recent times, with many questioning their legality and fairness. Soon after, even the UCI stepped in, announcing it’s set to review the helmets despite much protests from Giro who claimed that the cycling’s governing body had already approved it.
Read more: > UCI allows Visma-Lease a Bike to use controversial time trial helmet
"Local transport decisions need to be made locally... that doesn’t just mean listening to those with the loudest voice": CyclingUK comments on the outcome of the Government’s LTN review
Yesterday, the UK Government’s much-anticipated Low Traffic Neighbourhoods report came out, amidst accusations that the government tried to bury it. And sure enough, the report revealed that most people living within LTNs support, contrary to what some of the media will have you believe by amplifying the loudest voices.
In the aftermath, however, Department for Transport launched a guidance titled ‘Crackdown on anti-driver road schemes and blanket 20mph limits to put local consent first’, saying that councils will only be able to implement LTNs if they have the support from locals. Failure to do so could see future funding withdrawn and the government could take control of an authority’s roads.
This was subject to instant backlash from many cycling campaigners and even London’s Cycling and Walking Commissioner Will Norman, who said that despite its own findings, the Tory Government was continuing its “angry rhetoric” on LTNs.
Now, charity CyclingUK has also launched a statement reacting to the guidance. Sarah McMonagle, director of external affairs at Cycling UK, said: “Every council knows it’s better to engage people and take communities with them, but that needs to be a journey, not a referendum on every scheme, particularly when many of the benefits of those schemes are often long-term.
“Local transport decisions need to be made locally and when councils consult with local people, that doesn’t just mean listening to those with the loudest voice.
“The Government’s own research has shown that low traffic neighborhoods are popular, but unanimous support for any transport scheme is an illusion, and noisy objections shouldn’t override quiet support.”
Mathieu van der Poel signs mammoth 10-year deal with Canyon, also extends contract with Alpecin-Deceuninck until 2028
A particularly interesting bit of news that’s left more than a few people scratching their heads at the road.cc towers comes this afternoon from Canyon Bicycles, with the German cycling manufacturer signing a historic 10-year deal with one of the most formidable riders in modern sport, the men’s world road and cyclocross champion Mathieu van der Poel.
Apologise your live blog host for putting on his silly optimistic hat for speculating a new bike launch from that video of the Dutch rider at the bike brand’s headquarters in Koblenz, Germany from earlier in the day.
Van der Poel said: “Canyon has been an incredible partner. We have developed bikes that have helped me succeed in Classics, World Championships and Grand Tours. But I’m still incredibly hungry for success. There are several milestones on my radar, including the Paris Olympics this summer.”
And in another major news, van der Poel has also signed a five-year extension with his current team, Alpecin-Deceuninck, meaning he’ll race with the team until the end of 2028. By then, he would have raced for the Belgian team under the wings of the Roodhooft brothers for no less than 18 years.
Commenting on this deal, Van der Poel said: “This extension is a logical choice for me. I have felt particularly comfortable in the structures of Philip and Christoph Roodhooft from the beginning. I have grown together with the team and I still feel that we are making progress.
“And although we have already achieved many successes together, I am still hungry for more. Not unimportant in the fact is that Alpecin-Deceuninck is also multi-disciplinary. This is the perfect team to continue to combine road, mountain bike and cyclocross.”
“They’re not just hugging, but kissing too!”: Fans mock Lance Armstrong’s comments about riders about current riders “not competing like we did” after Pogačar and Philipsen’s amiable podium celebrations at Milan-San Remo
The weekend’s Milan-San Remo wasn’t just the fastest ever, it also had everything: beautiful views of the Ligurian sea through the quaint Italian towns, an enthralling descent of the Poggio, a thrilling final few kilometres with the lead of the race constantly changing hands, a nail-biting sprint finish, and finally, some incredible post-race celebrations from the riders and joyful and heart-warming camaraderie between the top three, Jasper Philipsen, Michael Matthews, and Tadej Pogačar on the podium.
All this seemed not only a far cry from the ubermensch, macho days of cycling from the 2000s, but also a rather hilarious departure from the uncomfortable and awkward tiny sofa shared by the top three last time around — featuring age-old rivals Van der Poel and Van Aert.
The race finish was followed by high-fives all around and even a group hug between Pogačar, Matthews and Philipsen, the former rushing to congratulate the top two. Van der Poel also joined in on the party to embrace Philipsen, the defending champion and current world champion sacrificing his own race to help his teammate sprint to victory.
And then on the podium, as the three riders posed for pictures, the always jubilant and jocular Pogačar leaned towards Philipsen gesturing a little kiss on the Belgian’s cheek from afar, right before taking a selfie with the two as well.
It was almost as if, you know, they were making a point to distance their generation from the one that came before it, especially an American who was just one day before the monument making comments about how cyclists today were “f****** hugging it out”, instead of “competing like how we used to”.
That’s of course Lance Armstrong, who appearing on a podcast last week, said: “This generation now, these guys go hammer, race each other, some guy will lose. The guy who wins is waiting at the finish line. They’re f*****g hugging it out… I’m like, what?
“You’re just waiting there so you can all hug this out? After you just lost? I’m not saying that our generation was the way to do it or that I was proud, I think it’s kind of cool to see, but it wasn’t like that for us. Never even crossed my mind.
“I do think our generation’s racing was better […] we didn’t hate each other but even for me, nobody ever did anything to me that would have led me to be like I hate this motherf*****.”
Good ol’ times, huh? I say, let’s move on towards better times.
And the fans on social media didn’t seem to miss the gestures of the riders, whether conscious or not, and were quick to bring up you-know-who.
“Lance in shambles”, “Suck it up Armstrong” were some of the comments from fans, with one person joking: “Has Lance Armstrong weighed in yet?”
Another one for Lance.
— Joe Donnelly (@1962_joe) March 16, 2024
And if you wanted some more evidence of the Pogačar-Philipsen bromance, well you’re in luck!
This is true love. pic.twitter.com/UA6TfB5Rq0
— Cycling out of context (@OutOfCycling) March 16, 2024
Help us to bring you the best cycling content
If you’ve enjoyed this article, then please consider subscribing to road.cc from as little as £1.99. Our mission is to bring you all the news that’s relevant to you as a cyclist, independent reviews, impartial buying advice and more. Your subscription will help us to do more.
68 Comments
Read more...
Read more...
Read more...
Latest Comments
We are told day in day out that AI is the future, mankind's only way forward. One step at a time, the environmental damage and human costs of AI start to surface. Mega data centres require plenty of electricity to power servers and gazillion of cubic meters of water for cooling, each year. This means more atmospheric pollution and respiratory diseases and less water for humans, animals and agriculture.
It seems we hardly hear of doping cases involving women conti and pro cyclists. Here is the latest data : Of the 20 total professional doping cases recorded in 2025, four involved female cyclists.
I think people are making errors deliberally now!
LLMs help pets to create games: https://www.calebleak.com/posts/dog-game/ I'm coming around to thinking that LLMs are like some kind of fancy gambling machine - creating a prompt is like pulling a lever on a slot machine and hoping you get a dopamine releasing result.
No-one expected that :) On the other hand (according to said LLM) the carbon footprint of a drive to the shops is 100–500 ChatGPT responses. Also, LLMs are nice and help kittens cross the street.
68 thoughts on ““They’re not just hugging, but kissing too!”: Fans mock Lance Armstrong after Pogačar and Philipsen’s Milan-San Remo podium celebrations; Telegraph writer claims cyclists have turned Paris into “hell on earth”; Beer bike seized + more on the live blog”
Leith Walk in Edinburgh – isn
Leith Walk in Edinburgh – isn’t that the cycle lane with the wiggles and chicanes? Perhaps the police thought whoever was steering was also partaking of the products, not just the guests?
That is correct, however it’s
That is correct, however it’s far from “the” cycle path* with wiggles and chicanes.
There is rarely a large acreage of space where Edinburgh council have been tasked to build suitable facilities for those cycling where their rulers work (or at least – follow Euclidian geometry). Picture shows the start of the not-yet-opened link along Marine Drive (of … questionable priority) looking towards Pennywell Roundabout.
No, I’ve no idea why either – unless it’s to “slow down the dangerously fast cyclists”?
* Pedantry – it’s (correctly) separated from the main carriageway so not a “lane”.
The beer bike looks like fun,
The beer bike looks like fun, and slightly different so we can’t be having that can we.
I would love to know what offences plod find. I can guess at none. it’s just police BS
I don;t think there are any regs preventing something like that other than on Motorways. If it’s pedal powered then it’s a pedal cycle.
Who is legally ‘in charge’ of
Who is legally ‘in charge’ of the vehicle? Obviously the person in control of steering, but do folks providing power also count? If everyone of too hammered to pedal, doesn’t matter if the steerer is sober, the vehicle is a danger on the road, therefore those under the influence could easily be done for drunk in charge
ROOTminus1 wrote:
If the power source can be classed as “in charge”, does that mean that we can’t have ethanol powered cars?
Quote:
Whilst I would also be interested to know specifically which offences are alleged, to claim that the Road Traffic Act only applies to motor vehicles is simply wrong. Whilst a substantial amount of the RTA only applies to motor vehicles, there are also provisions that apply specifically to cycles e.g. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/52/section/29
And, politely, maybe it would behove journalists to do that sort of basic fact checking before they quote random stuff from twitter.
I didn’t realise Police
I didn’t realise Police Scotland actually enforced traffic offences. You learn something every day…
Beer Bike, what a load of b
Beer Bike, what a load of b*ll*cks. They should be done under the trades description act.
Firstly: it’s got 4 wheels so it’s a quadricycle, or a pedal car.
Secondly: it’s not beer its “usually 3 types of lager ” i.e. cheap carbonated alcoholic piss out of can. It’s unlikely that it’s all you can drink as it’s only for an hour, and there’s a resonable chance that the sort of people who would be attracted to this would have been in ‘Spoons earlier getting a fry-up and a couple of pints of Stella earler. There’s also going to be a limit to how many cans they can store, it’s pretty unlikley that you’ll drink more than 3 (500ml) cans. If you want something that tastes of something, IPA for instance, that’s an extra £100. There’s a host of other add-ons, just like flying Easyjet or Ryanair, including crisps for £25.
The cheapest, Birmingham, is £420 for up to 12 people for an hour, that’s a mimimum of £35.50 for an hours drinking. £450/37.50 everywhere else.
If anyone suggested it for me I’d tell them to f**k off, go and see a shrink and disown them. It’s a crap concept for stupid people with no imagination and no taste. I’d rather give my £35.50 to the Cat’s Protection League and get on my cycle or walk round the host of decent pubs in most city centres, maybe pop into one of the record or cycle shops as well.
Edinburgh has plenty of
Edinburgh has plenty of really good pubs. The Cafe Royal is one of my favourites.
That is the most angry about
That is the most angry about someone else having fun I have seen someone be in a good few weeks…
Not angry, just disgusted. It
Not angry, just disgusted. It sounds like purgatory to me.
This is more like it.
…or this…
…or this…
Totally unrelated to anything
Totally unrelated to anything on the blog but had this happen to me twice in less than a week after never having it happen before – biking along a clear road and a motorist pulling up to the junction of a side road on my right and looking like they want to go the same direction as me..make full on eye contact with them, for them to pull out and drive along side me before driving off. Scared the shit out of me both times even though it was clear they were aware of me and never came that close.
Happens more often than i
Happens more often than i like, not really sure why, it’s like they expect you to stop to let them out.
Last time it happened the passenger in the car leant out the window & called me an anchor, seemed a bit harsh, I wasnt going that slow, but maybe I misheard.
Beerbike: who in their right
Beerbike: who in their right mind thought that they were a good idea?
While not as outraged as someone from Royal Tunbridge Wells would be, and still lightyears from A Daily Mail reader, whoever thought .. “alcohol … on a pedal powered moving vehicle that might fall outside of drink drive laws … sign me the feck up” is a grade A pillock.
Lol, I think it’s a good idea
Lol, I think it’s a good idea but only if you cap it at 3 😀
Oldfatgit wrote:
pretty sure the driver is not drinking, the rest may be pedalling, but have no control. Should be considered the same as a party limo. The driver is sober and in control, and everyone in the back is having a party and drinking.
Even so, the concept alone is
Even so, the concept alone is something of a novelty and in principle not the worst idea out there, but how easy is such an idea open to abuse from the average moronic joe bloggs? That’s the oversight of reality that has ultimately led to this incident. It was too easy for something to go wrong – how many bricks-and-mortar booze establishments have a daily fear of troublemakers under the influence of alcohol? Most of them. Even if they don’t have any major incidents ever, there are always the odd occasion you have to deal with someone who has had too much, or caused a minor scuffle. Sticking that environment on to an open moving vehicle? it’s a recipe for trouble.
wycombewheeler wrote:
A fair point in principle, but people in a party limo are confined and with judicious use of central locking can be prevented from falling out of the vehicle; I’ve seen enough drunks fall backwards off barstools to question the common sense of carting a load of open barstools with drinkers atop them through traffic.
Oldfatgit wrote:
There’s someone from the cycle hire company in charge of steering it though. The drunks are just sitting, drinking, and acting only as stokers.
Beer bike in Edinburgh,
Beer bike in Edinburgh, drinking outdoors in public is mostly banned in Scotland anyway, surely that would be enough to put a stop to this, as well as licensing regulations
Public drinking, yes. License
Public drinking; yes.
License issue; maybe, maybe not:
https://youtu.be/ZLF7yife8YE
“It’s Mad Max out there:
“It’s Mad Max out there: survival of the fittest, on their bikes, heady with their empty victory over everyone else,”
It’s been a while since I watched Mad Max, I don’t recall it having any bicycles in it. I guess my memory isn’t what it used to be.
Tom_77 wrote:
Which given that it’s about the oil running out, you’d think more people would have been on bikes.
But then, it was set in Australia, wasn’t it…?
They couldn’t find any
They couldn’t find any helmets or Australian manufactured bells…
While some other people are
While some other people are totally empty-heady…
Anne-Elisabeth Moutet wrote:
[quote:Anne-Elisabeth Moutet]cycle against traffic up one way streets (all too often on electric bikes)[/quote]
In Paris and indeed throughout France it is permissible for cyclists to contraflow on most one-way streets, are we sure that Mme Moutet fully comprehends what she is seeing?
Ferrari crashes into bike
Ferrari crashes into bike racks in Norwich city centre
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-norfolk-68598455
Apparently amongst Supercar
Apparently amongst Supercar owners, having a Ferrari instead of another brand is punishment enough…
brooksby wrote:
Location. 20 MPH limit, just an unfortunate thing that could happen to any safe and responsible driver.
andystow wrote:
The fact that a motor vehicle left the road and mounted the pavement can in no way be taken as an indication that the driving was either dangerous or careless. By inference the standard of a careful and competent driver is such that remaining on the roads is only probable.
On this basis to ensure the safety of all pedestrians who may otherwise by subjected to vehicles on the pavement, I suggest they all need to wear hi-vis, such the drivers know when they can and when they can’t safely mount the pavement at speed. Also helmets in case drivers mount the pacvement in spite of the presence of pedestrians in hi vis.
I think because driving is
I think because driving is “normal” this just means our folk-understanding of law is particularly distorted on this one. So both “but there was no intention…” and “no-one could have foreseen…” and “careful / careless” take on some strange forms.
Or rather – the specific differences between operating a motor vehicle and other regular activities are downplayed.
(I’m not a lawyer – but despite AFAIK the “dangerous / careless” driving offenses being designed partly to reduce the level of personal intent – versus e.g. murder / manslaughter – and thus “drain the drama” – from court reports clearly some notion of intent / special recklessness *is* still attached to these things when people think about them).
So perhaps people see this as a bit like going for a walk without properly doing up your laces or wearing new shoes for the first time? Walking – that’s a normal daily activity. So it’s hardly foreseeable there would be a problem doing that and no special attention is assumed to be needed. You had no intention to trip and fall onto someone’s property and damage it /someone and injure them! You’ve walked lots of times before / seen lots of other people walking without this happening.
Clearly it’s just a random accident. And you’ve already suffered “punishment” by falling over yourself.
chrisonabike wrote:
I’ve been driving for many years, and never once have I nearly demolished street furniture by mounting the pavement at speed (in either a deliberate or uncontrolled manner)
Yet I frequently notice that some drivers seem to have struggled with this.
Either some drivers are driving recklessly, sufficient to lose control and demolish signposts, traffic lights, bollards and even bike racks. (any one of these incidents could have been a fatality or serious injury if not for the blind luck of a pedestrian not being there ar the time.) If this is the case we should be seeing drivers prosecuted normally when these events occur.
OR (almost?) all of the collisions are the result of unpredictable medical conditions which caused loss of control at that moment, in which case we should be seriously considering as a society what mechanical/electrical safeguards cars need in order to be safe in urban environments, because it seems loss of control due to medical emergency is terrifyingly common, and anyone could be struck down randomnly at any time.
wycombewheeler wrote:
It’s about time that those unruly pedestrians took some responsibility for their own safety. We all need to share the pavements, you know
hawkinspeter wrote:
(With apologies to Eric Pickles) Not all of us can toddle up and down in rubber shoes you know; we need to find balance.
brooksby wrote:
I bet they’d be all over it if some Just Stop Oil activists had damaged some street furniture
We don’t need bike racks, we
We don’t need bike racks or even bollards then, we need thousands of statues of slave owners and winners of colonial wars with a few suitable holes for D-locks or chains. I bet that’d ensure the authorities took notice!
Maybe alternating with ones of prison reformers, pioneering women and high-achievers from disadvantaged backgrounds as insurance against a radical political shift at the next election(s)?
Great idea, and If we wait
Great idea, and If we wait for them to be pushed over we can lock more bikes along the length.
You really make me laugh
You really make me laugh
Are you really equating what would most likely be deliberate and malicious damage to some idiot that lost control of his/her car?
I don’t think he’s equating
I don’t think he’s equating it. Had there been a cyclist locking their bike up they would have been dead. How can a COMPETENT and CAREFUL driver lose control of their car in a 20mph zone?
And there are 3 pedestrians
And there are 3 pedestrians seen in the clip and he mounts 2 pavements out of control.
Whataboutery – no-one was
Whataboutery – no-one was injured so the police decided to take no further action. If someone had been injured they may well have charged him.
Since when was ‘no one was
Since when was ‘no one was injured’ a basis for doing nothing ?
There would be virtually no speeding tickets issued in the UK on that basis and every single submission in England and Wales for a close pass would be NFA.
every single submission in
every single submission in England and Wales for a close pass would be NFA
They already are, in Lancashire
https://upride.cc/incident/pe68kzd_navara_closepass/
https://upride.cc/incident/vk69xpppx07pky_twinminis_closepass/
Hirsute wrote:
I believe this policy first appeared in the book ‘How to investigate motor vehicle accidents – official guidance for police officers’ in 1923.
Oh no, you’ve poked the bear.
And what has that remotely
And what has that remotely got to do with your point? Like I said – whataboutery.
Your claim was nothing was
Your claim was nothing was done because ‘no one was injured’, so I took this concept and applied it to other offences to see the outcome. The result being an offence does not rely on someone being injured.
Gimpl wrote:
I don’t think that whether or not someone was injured, is the criteria for whether someone has committed an offence*…
(* well, obviously it depends on the offence they intend to charge under, but there are lots of charges available which don’t require injury).
Exactly – just wait ’till
Exactly – just wait ’till they learn about assault (no contact required) or realise that the police may or may not do anything even if AN ACTUAL CRIME is committed in front of them!
I dunno if it’s whataboutery by them, a lack of understanding of the law and how it’s policed or just that their version of “how things should be”? Which clearly doesn’t involve police “wasting their time” on things which a) are illegal and b) do have a purpose in improving safety but c) they don’t consider “real crime”.
Gimpl wrote:
so the charge causing injury by dangerous driving shouldn’t exist? (or maybe the charge of dangerous driving shouldn’t exist) because by that standard if no one was injured it doesn’t even qualify as dangerous driving.
The way to make the roads safe is to deal with dangerous driving before it causes injuries and deaths.
Gimpl wrote:
I tell you what. I’ll stalk you with a shotgun and fire a few shells off now and again, not far from your head.
You’ll be fine with that, right? After all, “no-one gets injured”.
Fucking moron.
Gimpl wrote:
Not equating – comparing.
One group is taking a moral stand against humanity’s continuing abuse of the environment in the search for profits and the other individual is intent on destroying a specific bit of our environment by not having even the most basic of roadcraft skills.
The police should take some action and ideally the driver shouldn’t be allowed on public roads with a powerful motor.
Are the bikes OK?
Are the bikes OK?
And people get paid to design
And people get paid to design this shit.
“How exactly is a disabled person supposed to access this bridge in Radcliffe?
Absolutely shocking breach of the Equalites Act.”
Is that part of the Notional
Is that part of the Notional Cycling Network (sign at right)?
No. 6 I read.
No. 6 I read.
That looks like the one – and
That looks like the one – and per pictures on the internet it it looks like the standard magical mystery tour! If you fancied a varied obstacle course and your navigation’s pretty good you could continue in that vein for 400+ miles apparently. Although I suspect not with great dispatch…
Have you challeged it?
Have you challeged it?
I wrote about the technique in a comment at the weekend, in my last comment on this thread, to Jpennycook:
https://road.cc/content/forum/sustrans-removes-redesigns-377-barriers-ncn-306937
Just something from Twitter
Just something from Twitter but not everyone here has a twitter login.
“I mean if you mean the
“I mean if you mean the litter, the rats, the stinky sewers and the bedbugs, sure.”
And the bedbugs were actually an fabrication by some Putin trolls…
Ah yes, Paris, hell on earth.
Ah yes, Paris, hell on earth. I was there a couple of months ago for work and as I had time after my work meetings finished, decided to walk back from from the Port Dauphine to Gare du Nord. It was cold but bright and dry. Oh yes, those cyclists, so terrible, not generating exhaust fumes and beeping horns and meaning you had to flee across pedestrian crossings for fear of being mown down by a Citroen or Renault.
Actually, It was a nice walk and Paris is much improved. Less traffic, less noise and less fuss. The Telegraph writer needs to give the head a wobble.
A motorcyclist involved in
Motorcyclist a victim in this one rather than a cyclist, but an example of a driver using their vehicle as a weapon…
https://www.thamesvalley.police.uk/news/thames-valley/news/2024/march/18-03-2024/man-sentenced-to-prison-for-causing-serious-injury-by-dangerous-and-causing-grievous-bodily-harm-with-intent–milton-keynes/
Less than 5 years for that.
Less than 5 years for that.
Amazed the video was shown to the full extent.
“Causing serious injury by
“Causing serious injury by dangerous driving and grievous bodily harm with intent” That’s an odd way of describing attempted murder
At least it was more than
At least it was more than just a driving offence, but yep.
We have been cycling our
We have been cycling our daughter to school in Paris for the past 4 years (sometimes she also takes the tram) I haven’t noticed any ‘hell’. One of our routes takes us past Ile St Germain along the Seine and through Parc de St Cloud. It’s all rather nice – though hilly. The routes are segregated and there are lots of other parents and commuters on cycles.
Paris “hell on earth”.
Paris “hell on earth”.
The sheer insanity of the Telegraph report almost beggars belief, until you realise that they are the mouthpiece of the tories and they are in rather deep defecation at the moment, with day after day of bad and worse news. So the Telegraph publishes something absolutely batshit crazy to distract their core voters, drivers, and reinforce their determination that nothing will ever make Britain like those disgusting garlic munching French with their LTNs and proper bike lanes.
Can newspapers be challenged for printing what is quite obviously politically motivated fiction? Perhaps they should at least have the epithet “newspaper” removed and henceforth be referred to as a comic.
Perhaps they meant Gaza.
Lance Armstrong in failed
Lance Armstrong in failed attempt of making himself relevant, frankly Lance, I couldn’t give a shit what you think!