Essex Police blasted (again) for victim-blaming filtering tweet; New law on dangerous driving, so Daily Record bangs on about cyclists in the “centre of the road”; No-saddle guy falls off his bike, indoors; Brailsford’s new signing + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
New law focuses on dangerous driving… so Daily Record bangs on about cyclists riding in the “centre of the road”, obviously
Ah, the Highway Code, the content gift that keeps on giving…
I know what you’re thinking – it’s a bit cheeky of road.cc to criticise anyone for droning on about the Highway Code, though I’ll have you know that since the changes were introduced in January, it’s only appeared in 17.6 percent of our live blogs (source: madeupstats.org).
But this FaceyB post by the Daily Record takes the biscuit.
Last week, the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act came into effect. Among a number of other provisions, the Act features changes designed to tackle dangerous driving, including sterner sentences for causing death by dangerous driving or causing death by careless driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
“This Government is delivering on its commitment to make our streets safer,” said outgoing PM Boris Johnson of the changes. “We have changed the law so that dangerous criminals are given the sentences they deserve and kept behind bars, and we are backing the police with the powers they need to keep us safe.”
So, in a clear, completely unmuddied bid to tell their readers about the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act, the Daily Record posted the following, not at all confusing or misleading, image:
Ah, ‘centre of the road’, my old friend. How have you been?
Unsurprisingly, the usual suspects appeared in the comments, telling us that cyclists should have ID, pay road tax, have insurance, not be on the same roads as motorists, wear helmets, stop riding too close to their precious bits of metal, and that “they” should “just ban most of us from driving because that is where this is heading”…
And what did nobody in the comments mention? Ah, that’s right – the new law about dangerous driving…
Join Jonas: Vingegaard’s victory lap on Zwift
Did you get jealous last Sunday watching Wout van Aert, instead of contesting the sprint, hang back with Jonas Vingegaard for a gentle cruise across the line on the Champs Élysées?
Well, it’s your lucky day then, as you too can now ride at a steady pace on cycling’s most famous avenue with the Tour de France champion (on Zwift at least).
Today at 5pm BST, Vingegaard and other Jumbo-Visma riders will be hosting a ‘victory ride’ on the online training platform, to celebrate the Dane’s epic win and to ease the post-Tour blues for everyone after the finish of the women’s race on Sunday.
“I use Zwift more often during the winter but I was also on it just before the Tour this year,” Vingegaard says.
“I use it in many different ways but at the end of June, it was a good way to keep safe and healthy while turning the legs. Now I’ll be jumping back on to celebrate my victory, and I hope to see many people join me.”
You can join Jonas on Zwift this afternoon at this link.
Brailsford signs British star hoping for one final shot at glory… and no, it’s not Cav
The Tour de France may just have finished, but cycling’s silly season has already begun, with teams able to announce their singings for 2023 from yesterday.
We reported yesterday that Hayter the younger (more commonly known as Leo) will join Ineos as a stagiaire until the end of the season before going pro with the British team in 2023, while Eddie Dunbar has also confirmed his move to Team BikeExchange-Jayco and Norwegian star Alexander Kristoff has penned a deal with upcoming home team Uno-X.
Hayter Jnr’s signature wasn’t the only piece of business wrapped up by Ineos this week.
Yesterday, Sir Dave Brailsford was pictured at the grand unveiling of an aging British star with something to prove.
Not convinced this cat can ride 150km in the wind on flat days. pic.twitter.com/FjGt3JCxJY
— Daniel Friebe (@friebos) August 2, 2022
Yep, that’s right, Mark Caven- oh, wait… Aaron Ramsey has signed for French football club OGC Nice, which of course are owned by chemical giants Ineos and overseen by Brailsford in his role as the company’s Director of Sport.
The former Arsenal and Juventus midfielder might be fine for pootling around Nice and the Côte d’Azur, but can he do it on a cold April Sunday in Flanders?
Essex Police blasted (again) for ‘victim-blaming’ filtering tweet
Dear reader, I regret to inform you that Essex Police are at it again…
On Friday, we saw that the county’s Roads Policing Unit don’t take kindly to cyclists, after being recklessly overtaken by Range Rover drivers, effin’ and jeffin’ all over their social media.
Well, it turns out that they’re not that fond of cyclists filtering through traffic either.
In a since-deleted tweet, which was flagged by the Colchester Cycling Campaign, Essex Police advised cyclists and motorcyclists against filtering.
We are pleased to see that Essex Police have deleted their tweet advising cyclists and motorcyclists not to filter.
— Colchester Cycling Campaign (@CampaignCycling) July 29, 2022
On their website, on a page titled “Keeping our vulnerable road users safe”, they also warned against filtering as part of their “top tips” for motorcyclists, alongside other useful guidance such as “don’t drink or drug drive”.
Now @EssexPoliceUK should update this advice on their website https://t.co/5Q8rOdKfZt pic.twitter.com/cWj4AJtRLr
— Colchester Cycling Campaign (@CampaignCycling) July 29, 2022
Under the heading, “Filtering is dangerous, don’t do it”, Essex Police reminded people using bikes, motorbikes, or e-scooters that “your decision to filter through the traffic could result in you being injured or worse”.
They continued: “As a smaller “vehicle”, drivers in cars and lorries may not see you approaching them from behind. If they haven’t checked their mirror before changing lanes, they may not see you until it’s too late.”
Needless to say, not everyone was impressed with Essex Police’s latest dabble in victim-blaming:
Filtering is legal and covered in the National Standards for Cycle Training and the Highway Code pic.twitter.com/saXmcUSAsV
— Colchester Cycling Campaign (@CampaignCycling) July 29, 2022
hang on, they were advising AGAINST the highway code?
— Michael Polom (@pmmikes) July 29, 2022
In other words “if they are guilty of driving without due care and attention”. As you say lovely victim blaming from @EssexPoliceUK
— ChrisC (@ChrisC_CFC) July 29, 2022
Imagine being in an incident whilst filtering, i.e. someone opening their door whilst queuing in traffic. How would @EssexPoliceUK respond? Considering their own bias on filtering. How can the public enforce the police to follow the law?
— ᗩᑎᗪY ᗪEᖇᗷYᔕᕼIᖇE (@Andrewbanshee) July 30, 2022
Another ‘anti cyclist’ post from the police, as bad as being told to wear helmets! (I do). I would have less issues if they (the Police) also tweeted to remind drivers to check mirrors etc, but never do. It is always proportioning blame onto the victims in a similar manner to
— Cyclist_With_Attitude (It/trouble/nutter/mad) (@CyclistAttitude) July 30, 2022
Oddly enough, since that latest backlash against their road safety ‘advice’, that particular tip has been removed from Essex Police’s website…
Result pic.twitter.com/T1mKzV6Ee5
— Colchester Cycling Campaign (@CampaignCycling) July 30, 2022
Perhaps the message is getting through?
“The perfect photo doesn’t ex…”: The coolest two-up time trial of all time?
Alexa, show me the perfect bike race…
The perfect photo doesn’t ex… pic.twitter.com/SYOr5JBpOJ
— Cycling out of context (@OutOfCycling) August 1, 2022
Last night, at a post-Tour crit in the Dutch city of Roosendaal, the coolest ever two-up time trial in the history of pro cycling took place (sorry, Baracchi Trophy).
After the traditional men’s and women’s ‘races’, fans were treated to a once-in-a-lifetime sight, as Marianne Vos and Wout van Aert took on Tour Femmes champion Annemiek van Vleuten – just over 24 hours after her yellow jersey-sealing victory on La Planche des Belles Filles – and Mathieu van der Poel, and Ellen van Dijk and Bauke Mollema, with Jumbo-Visma’s jolly green giants coming out on top.
Along with being a nice, lucrative evening for the pros, van Dijk pointed out this morning that the crit also allowed them the opportunity to give Van der Poel and co. a share of the limelight for a change:
After the Tour de France Femmes, it was really cool the give the men some publicity too at post Tour crit Draai van de Kaai yesterday. I think their sport is growing and it’s exciting to watch also!
📸@jtheunis10 pic.twitter.com/slTMKAYe5o
— Ellen van Dijk (@ellenvdijk) August 2, 2022
What a podium.
“Who says Zwift isn’t a contact sport?”: No-saddle Chad falls off his bike… indoors
You may remember Chad Tavernia, otherwise known as the Cycle Jockey, or more pertinently, No Saddle Guy.
The 41-year-old retired law enforcement officer from Malone in New York State first popped into the road.cc consciousness just over a year ago after completing a century… while out of the saddle the whole time.
After being questioned over the validity of his initial outdoor effort (I’m looking at all you cynical people in the comments), he then repeated the feat indoors on rollers back in November, in order to silence the doubters. He even starred on the road.cc podcast a month later, proving that us cyclists really are suckers for anything to do with mindless suffering.
> What does it take to ride 100 miles out of the saddle?
Well, yesterday Chad suffered in a slightly different way than usual while training on the rollers.
Posting on the popular Zwift Riders Facebook group, where he’s become a bit of a cult figure, Chad informed us that “a momentary lapse in concentration sent me off the rollers, arm first into two of my cooling fans”.
Ouch.
While the spectacular indoor fall (though who here hasn’t catapulted off their rollers at least once?) resulted in 15 stitches, Chad seemed more concerned about his lost PBs.
Thank goodness he had his saddle on this time…
‘Protected bike lanes are – checks notes – dangerous for drivers…’
This photo is being used on social media to argue protected bike lanes are dangerous for drivers.
In reality, it shows how infrastructure protects vulnerable road users and also, just ahead – what happens when there is no barrier (a car in the bike lane).
We need more of this! pic.twitter.com/TRPDJz4sHA
— Tim Welch (@TimFWelch) August 1, 2022
‘Construction Traffic Beware Cyclists Going Straight Ahead’
Construction Traffic Beware Cyclists Going Straight Ahead. pic.twitter.com/Ufx3LCdotP
— Ned Boulting 🇫🇷 🚲 (@nedboulting) August 2, 2022
That whole hierarchy of vulnerable road users thing, could you go over it one more time, please?
Transcontinental update: Dash for the Danube underway
TCRNo8 RACE REPORT 09 / “Durmul Drama”https://t.co/1Qw4I82Jss As the dash for the Danube began last night, it didn’t come without drama on the Durmul Strategic parcours. Even into this morning, riders were racing on the Transalpina Pass. The finish is in sight. Almost..#TCRNo8 pic.twitter.com/rMzrDU1aLp
— The Transcontinental (@transconrace) August 2, 2022
The finish line is in sight (kind of) for the leaders of the Transcontinental Race. Seven riders have made it through the fourth and final checkpoint before the finish in the Bulgarian coastal city of Burgas.
Christoph Strasser has maintained his lead, which he took yesterday morning, on the tough gravel section surrounding the Transalpina Pass, ahead of Ulrich Bartholmoes (who has been struggling with both his tracker and his legs in the poor conditions) and Adam Bialek.
The Danube Dash. With riders reaching the end of CP4 parcours, these are the 3 Danube crossings as per the TCR Race Manual. The bridge south of Bucharest (Ruce) is banned, given its E-Road status. How will this play out? Christoph (100) is around 40-km from the river bank #TCRNo8 pic.twitter.com/nk8NLfLxqb
— The Transcontinental (@transconrace) August 2, 2022
Strategy – particularly concerning which ferry to board to cross the Danube on the way to Burgas – could decide the eventual winner, though it’s just been confirmed that Strasser has just made it across the river.
Can anyone catch him?
Meanwhile, seventh-placed Marin de Saint-Exupéry had time to chat with some locals on the Transalpina Pass:
Meanwhile, on the Transalpina. Marin (042), before tackling the CP4 parcours. Christoph has just made it across the Danube.#TCRNo8#Transcontinental pic.twitter.com/y6UgfHRDCJ
— The Transcontinental (@transconrace) August 2, 2022
And, of course, you can keep up-to-speed with all the dot-watching goodness on the race’s website.
This Olympic champion is small, the one out there is far away…
Back home after 5 days working for the BBC at the Commonwealth Games. My little girl says “I’d forgotten how big you are Daddy, you’re smaller on TV”.
Think I need to show her the Father Ted cow scene..— Sir Chris Hoy (@chrishoy) August 2, 2022
Northern Ireland athlete finishes sixth in Commonwealth Games para-marathon – four years after being struck by SUV driver during time trial
Only 4 years since a life changing moment during an Ulster cycling race @Markmillar55 finishing 6th in the Commonwealth Games Para Marathon
@@GoTeamNI @birminghamcg22 @AthleticsNI pic.twitter.com/9X0VpXVX75— Laura Kerr (@LauraKerr_NI) July 30, 2022
In June 2018 Mark Millar was racing in the Ulster 100-mile time trial championships in Co. Antrim when he was struck from behind by a motorist driving an SUV.
According to Sticky Bottle, Millar broke his spine in four places in the collision and his spinal cord was severed, leaving him paralysed from the waist down.
Elaine Adu, the Christian pastor who hit Millar, was handed a year-long driving ban and ordered to complete 80 hours community service, a sentence the cyclist described at the time as a “joke”.
Within fifteen months of the life-changing crash, the now-42-year-old – who had competed at home and abroad in cycling and triathlon races (including three editions of the iconic Rás) before the collision – was back in competition at para-events.
At the weekend, Millar finished sixth in the Commonwealth Games para-marathon in Birmingham, capping a remarkable journey since 2018.
“I think I have to be delighted with that. It’s my first Commonwealth Games, I’m only in a wheelchair four years after a big accident so I’m delighted to get to this level and be competitive,” he said after the race.
“It has been a tough journey back but also a very rewarding one coming into wheelchair sport and progressing as quickly as I have. I was probably top ranked at the amateur level in cycling but long distance triathlon was my main sport whenever the accident happened.
“I had a good aerobic base so it was just a matter of getting the arms built up and I took to the wheelchair racing quite quickly, I also did a bit of para-triathlon.”
Van Dijk and De Gendt: an unbeatable Twitter combo?
They still need to learn a lot. They still crash their bikes. pic.twitter.com/GMm4Bue4Rb
— Thomas De Gendt (@DeGendtThomas) August 2, 2022
I rather talk about the positive things in men’s cycling. But a 35 year old rider who wins a stage in the Giro after being the break away the whole day? Come on, what kind of level are we looking at?!
— Ellen van Dijk (@ellenvdijk) August 2, 2022
Watch out Thomas, I think Ellen is coming for your social media crown…
Final stage of Tyne Pedestrian and Cyclist Tunnels refurb still incomplete
The final stage of the refurbishment of the Tyne Pedestrian and Cyclist Tunnels, reopened in 2019, has been delayed due to supply chain issues, the BBC reports.
The side-by-side pedestrian and cyclist tunnels together comprise a Grade II listed structure.
They were closed in 2013 and refurbished at an estimated cost of £17 million, forming an important link to the National Cycle Network, with access to National Route 14 (South Shields to Darlington) and National Route 72, Hadrian’s Cycleway (South Shields to Ravenglass), as well as to National Route 1.
> Over 10,000 cyclists used Tyne Tunnels in first two months after they reopened
Two wooden escalators were retained at either end of the tunnel, but they are no longer operational. Glass-sided inclined lifts were planned to replace them, with each lift to be able to take up to six people with bikes.
However, while the tunnels opened in 2019, supply chain issues mean that contractors are still waiting for the delivery of parts three years on.
British firm Lift Design Limited was brought in last year after Italian company Maspero Elevatori pulled out of the project citing Covid travel restrictions as the reason behind their inability to complete the lifts. There are suggestions that a legal claim could be made against the firm to recoup some of almost £600,000 spent on the lifts in the last two years.
Previous delays were blamed on the tunnel’s listed building status, the discovery of asbestos, and original contractor GB Building Solutions going bust.
Fiona Bootle, Tyne Tunnels Manager for Transport North East, has told a council meeting that the project was “waiting on the delivery of doors and a mechanism”.
“There is a problem with the supply chain, as there is in a lot of areas today, with the steel and glass for those doors,” she said.
Members of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee for the North East Joint Transport Committee have been told that the lifts will be completed “later in 2022”.
How many ‘no cycling’ signs does one beach need?
“I thought you may enjoy this video of a man at one with his work in Tyneham Village, Dorset,” says road.cc reader Jason.
“Touching up the no cycling sign, which is beside another no cycling sign, which is beside a list of rules that includes no cycling…”
Filtering, Essex Police’s top tips and the Daily Record comments section: Reader reaction
Some of you weren’t too impressed with Essex Police’s latest attempt to keep our roads safe:
Maybe the Essex police could rename their posts to: “Drivers tips on avoiding responsibility for knocking down vulnerable road users.”
And why did they put “vehicles” in inverted commas? Don’t the Road Policing Unit know that motorcycles and bicycles are legally vehicles?
Could we start a league table of the most incompetent Road Policing Units? Essex would definitely be in the top three.
Essex “police.”
Martin73, however, was a touch more sympathetic to the police’s aims, and suggested a slight tweaking of their advice:
“Filtering is legal …. “
So is tap dancing blindfold on the edge of a cliff. Legal doesn’t mean it is always safe or sensible.
I suggest a slight rewording:
“Filtering can be dangerous so be careful. As a smaller vehicle, drivers in cars and lorries may not see you approaching them from behind. If they haven’t checked their mirror before changing lanes, they may not see you until it’s too late. Your decision to filter through the traffic could result in you being injured or worse.”
That pretty much sums up the advice I give as a L2 Cycle Training Instructor.
Some of you even ventured deep into the Daily Record comments section, and lived to tell the tale:
That Daily Record FB post has over 4,000 comments! FFS!!
Over 13,000 now. Guess what the general theme is…
Is it “Yes, these are reasonable rules that help protect vulnerable cyclists who currently get treated like shit on the roads. Besides 99 percent of the delays and congestion that drivers experience is due to the excessive amount of cars on our roads”? Or am I off the mark?
Close, just the content, tone and intelligence of your comment is a little optimistic…
The top comments are all cyclist hate bingo but at least the top replies to those comments are almost universally disagreeing with them. Maybe at least those original commenters won’t feel like they are in the screaming, yelling, tantrum throwing, policy forming, pedestrian murdering “silent majority” when they read the replies.
We can only hope…
2 August 2022, 08:43
2 August 2022, 08:43
2 August 2022, 08:43
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Latest Comments
@chrisonabike True, things went back to normal once the pandemic was over. In this case, however the problems are still ongoing, and aren't likely to be resolved in the near future. If anything, they're going to get worse. Food shortages are predicted because of the effect that the heatwave has had on crops. This is bound to push prices up. The Straits of Hormuz aren't likely to reopen anytime soon and the strategic oil reserves are running low. Russia is having to import petrol because its own refineries have been badly hit, so that's even more competition for an even more scarce resource. I think that more and more people are going to see cycling as a way of cutting household bills.
I think if "grown up" cyclists * are quibbling about ASLs we've very much missed the road safety point anyway. (Not to mention the wider "better transport choices" picture). ASLs are poor-to-useless "cycling infra", even for their design intent. If the idea is "for less confident cyclists" then a design that requires that you re-position in front of the motor traffic - waiting to accelerate - seems unhelpful. Of course they're only designed to help when traffic is stopped, and you can reach the front in time and if vehicles aren't already occupying them. As we're noting here drivers frequently ignore them - whether that be deliberate, a lack of road craft, because they were concentrating on following the vehicle in front, or because the paint has rubbed off. * Aside: shouldn't cycling also be safe and accessible for kids? Or should they only be allowed to do this when accompanied by sufficient qualified adults? Or be limited to parks and otherwise being driven around by their carers? Perhaps there is another way...?
Hi Bungle, I saw you follow-up comment. I can't imaging there's a tolerance of 4 seconds on camera enforced lights, seems an odd decision - an offence is committed if a vehicle starts crossing on a red, any tolerance is discretionary. There does seem to be some odd thinking about 'advanced stop lines' where the rules relating to them are identical to a regular stop line, as explained correctly elsewhere in the Highway Code. It does seem a regular offence. Where I live it doesn't help that some of them are very faint and disappear in rain.
@ktache Not sure he's totally ruled out of the worlds yet (though I think it would be best if he doesn't), normal recovery time is about eight weeks but surgery can halve that...depending on the nature of the break he could be just about fit to ride by the time of the elite men's race, but he'll have missed a lot of training. Hopefully his managers and team will persuade him to wait until Lombardia, if not just to knock it off for the rest of the year.
@Bungle_52 The Met told me a couple of years ago when rejecting a submission that they needed a clear three seconds of red visible before they would consider it for an RLJ prosecution. I pointed out to them that this meant that at 30 mph a driver could see a light change to red from 40 metres away and still get through without sanction, or 55 m if they accelerated to 40 as most do. They just replied "them's our rules..."
@Ben Graham I have just checked the footage from my report. The driver crosses the 1st stop line 4 seconds after the light turns red. All on camera from behind the vehicle. No further action. So I assume the margin is at least 4 seconds.
Oh, and active travel funding per head (in England at least) is laughable compared to other places. Plus it is delivered intermittently. It's more like a Blue Peter contest...
Yup, I see those opportunities being missed all the time in Edinburgh. When it gets really bad, dig it all up and put it back down again how it was. Contrast with what seems to happen in NL - when things are dug up the whole thing seems to get a "let's redo this according to the current standards" treatment. They even coordinate with the utilities, so that after a refurb the street isn't immediately dug up again because of leaking pipes / we suddenly realised the new estate being planned for round the corner will want broadband etc. Pros and cons of course - you may wait longer there for changes as smaller changes may be deferred until a major redo is due. (Though in the UK case you likely wouldn't get them at all...) It seems we "can't have nice things" in the UK in part because a) we have greater motor traffic speeds/volumes spead across "streets" / within urban areas b) the funding and organisational responsibility differs. Are we in the "Sam Vimes boots" territory (being too poor to afford better products which not only save money over time but actually work)? There is long term money pressure on LAs and it seems that due to poor construction and maintenance we have to regularly pour money into (pot-)holes in the road. And it seems there's no budget to check up on or enforce adequate standards from utilities work or even private building.
Shame about the world champs defence. Speedy recovery. https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/aug/30/tadej-pogacar-vuelta-a-espana-cycling-crash-hospital-stage-nine
I believe the accepted form for this kind of argument is "I know you are, you said you were, but what am I?".
35 thoughts on “Essex Police blasted (again) for victim-blaming filtering tweet; New law on dangerous driving, so Daily Record bangs on about cyclists in the “centre of the road”; No-saddle guy falls off his bike, indoors; Brailsford’s new signing + more on the live blog”
That daily record FB post has
That daily record FB post has over 4000 comments!
FFS !!
Over 13,000 now. Guess what
Over 13,000 now. Guess what the general theme is…
Hywel wrote:
Is it “Yes, these are reasonable rules that help protect vulnerable cyclists who currently get treated like shit on the roads. Besides 99% of the delays and congestion that drivers experience is due to the excessive amount of cars on our roads”? Or am I off the mark?
Clsoe, just the content, tone
Close, just the content, tone and intelligence of your comment is a little optimistic…
There’s quite a few with room
There’s quite a few with room temperature IQs on there
Ibe shouted HOUSE so much my throats sore.
celcius or fahrenheit ??
celcius or fahrenheit ??
Seagull2 wrote:
Someone with a room temperature Celcius IQ is profoundly disabled, likely institutionalized, and unable to type comments on websites.
Someone with a room temperature Fahrenheit IQ can usually use computers well enough to post on Facebook or Twitter, and even find paid work doing minimally skilled labour, such as being a President or a Prime Minister.
Room temperature in the
Room temperature in the before times, or in the new normal?
Hywel wrote:
Bigotted anti-cyclist hatred?
Apparently, according to one
Apparently, according to one absolute waste of oxygen, this is the bottom of a slippery slope where we not only allowed gay and lesbian people rights, but we also allowed black lives to matter? This is just the next awful thing where cyclists think they have the right to live safely?
Hywel wrote:
Shameless click bait, and the fools fall for it. Cyclists just give an outlet to those bigots who can no longer vent their spleens on women, coloureds or other out groups.
The top comments are all
The top comments are all cyclist hate bingo but at least the top replies to those comments are almost universally disagreeing with them. Maybe at least those original commenters won’t feel like they are in the screaming, yelling, tantrum throwing, policy forming, pedestrian murdering “silent majority” when they read the replies.
Maybe the Essex police could
Maybe the Essex police could rename their posts to:
“Drivers tips on avoiding responsibility for knocking down vulnerable road users.”
And why did they put “vehicles” in inverted commas? Don’t the Road Policing Unit know that motorcycles and bicycles are legally vehicles?
Could we start a league table of the most incompetent Road Policing Units? Essex would definitely be in the top three.
Essex “police.”
Essex “police.”
‘Protected bike lanes are –
‘Protected bike lanes are – checks notes – dangerous for drivers…’
the number-plate on that Audi that came a cropper looks like “dick halted” 😉
Buildings are dangerous for
Buildings are dangerous for drivers (and not all of them were driving Audis): https://road.cc/content/forum/car-crashes-building-please-post-your-local-news-stories-276441
On the North Somerset side of
On the North Somerset side of the Clifton Suspension Bridge – https://goo.gl/maps/RcbLsoDLGwwEUW566 – I always used to ride toward the side, just out of the optics of politeness (its a single lane each way, with a raised kerb divider).
No car can reasonably pass you (and SUVs and vans physically cannot).
More and more, I find people are willing to try to overtake, using the time worn method of juuuussst sloooowly eeeaasing passsst.
And the other day, someone tried at speed (I put their passing distance at maybe 30cm).
So, now I ride right down the middle of the lane, and sod the optics.
I’m getting like this myself.
I’m getting like this myself. There’s a “cycle route” (using the loosest possible definition of the term) from pretty much my house to the centre of town. I’ve always planned my commute using a “conflict reducing route” where I’ll add a bit of distance by choosing indirect, quieter roads in order to avoid giving the anti-cycling lot even more ammo on the main road into town (plus, y’know, close passes).
Anyway, this cycle route is shit. It’s narrow, winding, rutted, the surface is broken, it’s a segregated cycle-path but it’s always rammed with pedestrians and dog walkers wearing headphones, it’s got those barrier chicanes that are meant to slow cyclists down but just force them and the pedestrians into the same bottle-neck on blind corners, every time it crosses a road, it does so via a “smart” toucan crossing that takes approximately 18 months to change to green, I’ve recently started encountering a council sub-contracted bin-collection pickup truck being driven up the cycle path at speed (towards me, it takes the whole width of the path up) on my morning commutes, ect, ect, ect.
I’ve been using less and less of it as the months go by, but still using adjacent/parallel roads to maintain my “conflict reducing route”, until I was only using a small stretch through Coxes meadow. Now, after I was taken out by a dog on my commute last week, I’ve hit a “fuck it” point and I’m now just ploughing straight down the main road into town. Sod the drivers.
BalladOfStruth wrote:
I’m less and less afraid of confrontation now. I know my rights and I’m sick and tired of being bullied and threatened by arrogant, selfish fuckers who think they own the road.
That’s not proper, useable cycling infrastructure. That’s a footpath, a facility for pedestrians.
I would urge you to complain to the council and your local councillor about the state of the path and, more pressingly, about the bin contractor.
Fuck politeness. You’re going
Fuck politeness. You were going out of your way to be nice to someone who will put your life in danger to save 5 seconds on their journey. Burn them all. The ones that won’t put your life in danger won’t mind you being in primary through that narrow chicane. Stay in primary with your head held high.
Quote:
Good grief! And how long ago was the magical hierarchy of road users brought in…?
Not just the Daily Record.
Not just the Daily Record.
That’s not divisive at all…
That’s not divisive at all…
Or . . . .
Or . . . .
(No subject)
mdavidford wrote:
OUCH! That hurts ?
Impressive though, I looked for the original picture to edit but I couldn’t find it. Calling it ‘Sheep Burn’ was the icing on the cake.
That’s probably the best one.
@NototheEU
That’s probably the best one. People should get their news from more than one source and not live in an echo chamber.
Jenova20 wrote:
That presupposes that media outlets don’t all use the same news sources, but yes, I agree.
I just wish that critical thinking and evaluation of online information was taught in schools or at least encouraged.
hawkinspeter wrote:
I was taught not to take any news on face value by my Dad, which makes sense as he’s a no car owning, material possession shunning, resource conserving long haired hippie who recently lived in a commune . . . . and he reads the Daily Mail.
It used to be you could just read the same news in the Sun/Mirror, Mail/Guardian or watch Sky/BBC to get a balanced view.
It’s sad when the most balanced, nuanced and non partisan opinion I’ve seen recently has come from comedians like Bill Maher or Russell Brand.
NOtotheEU wrote:
Russell Brand speaks some common sense these days. I suspect he’s stopped taking the drugs.
To their credit the Daily Mail will often cover stories many other outlets won’t. Unfortunately a glance at the homepage suggests the modern consumer cares far too much about what “celebrities” are up to and wearing. They also love any clickbait they can get from Tumblr or anything cycling related.
Jenova20 wrote:
Russell Brand does seem a bit all or nothing – I’ve completely agreed with some things that he’s said and utterly disagreed with other things. I haven’t heard from him lately though, so can’t comment on his recent talking points.
The Daily Mail is a steaming pile of horse-shit, but without being as much use (as fertiliser). From https://slate.com/technology/2021/07/wikipedia-daily-mail-generally-unreliable.html
Unsurprisingly, the usual
Unsurprisingly, the usual suspects appeared in the comments, telling us that cyclists should have ID, pay road tax, have insurance…
And, presumably, should have an MOT on their bikes?
It would be easier, in
It would be easier, in evaders-paradise Lancashire, to list the drivers who do trouble themselves with MOT, VED, insurance
I’ve put one or two (maybe a
I’ve put one or two (maybe a lot more) comments on the Daily Record Facebook thread. Despite cycling for over 45 years I am genuinely shocked by the level of venom, complete ignorance and general stupidity exhibited by most of the non-cycling posters. When on the road the vast majority of drivers are courteous and considerate of other road users. The posters on this thread would all benefit by getting out of their cars and taking the time to get on a bike or just breath a little slower.
hutchdaddy wrote:
Or at least start breathing through their nose.