Search for hit-and-run driver who knocked down two cyclists; Tao Geoghegan Hart slams “quasi-nutritionist Youtubers”; James Hayden raffling Transcon winner’s jersey; Victory for cyclist turned away from tip; US bike shops looted + more on the live blog

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Devon County Council have relented and are allowing cycles to deliver to recycling centres today. Hopefully I helped them reach this decision quickly 😇😇😇@ExeterCycling @roadcc pic.twitter.com/EwOYdrrF9t

— Caspar Hughes (@countcaspargh) June 2, 2020

Caspar Hughes questioned the decision to turn him away and only allow those in motor vehicles to use the ECC Recycling Centre in Exeter last week – and it appears this may have led to change, with vehicle restrictions being eased today to allow pedal cycles and bikes with trailers “with social distancing in place”.

SUPER TUESDAY: From today EVERYONE can cycle in Richmond Park again! Remember:
✔️You can only ride before 10am & after 4pm weekdays
✔️No cycling between Roehampton & Kingston gates
✔️Watch your speed when passing pedestrians or other cyclists & leave a 2m gap
✔️Stay safe!

— RichmondParkCyclists (@RichmondPkCycle) June 2, 2020

The Royal Parks partially lifted a ban on cycling in London’s Richmond Park this morning, allowing cyclists to ride in the park before 10am and after 4pm on weekdays, and on the condition that cyclists keep 2m gaps between themselves and others. Some of the first cyclists (other than commuting NHS staff and under 12’s) to ride through the park since the ban in late March have been uploading footage to social media.

Welcome back Rick and thanks for sharing. Good to see. Take care. https://t.co/VhPHQWSEp1

— The Royal Parks (@theroyalparks) June 2, 2020

Some sections are still closed to cyclists, such as the park roads on the eastern side of the park around Priory Lane and Broomfield Hill;  and with some allegedly already spotted flouting that rule this morning, some cyclists are urging people to stick to the rules to ensure the Royal Parks don’t impose another outright ban.

Richmond Park is open to cycling on certain roads at certain times, yet people still can’t seem to read the signs or realise the barriers mean no cycling on that road! As a fellow cyclist, please follow the rules before they shut the park completely to cycling! #cyclinglife pic.twitter.com/8DPjy4BOcm

— Marsha (@Marsha_RGA) June 2, 2020

We’re appealing for witnesses following a double fatal collision in High Wycombe.

It happened at approximately 6.30pm yesterday on the A40 Wycombe Road near to the junction of Old Dashwood Hill between a grey VW Golf R and two male cyclists.

📞 101 quoting URN 1111 (1/6) pic.twitter.com/ynK6IyrNgx

— TVP Roads Policing (@tvprp) June 2, 2020

The two cyclists, aged 52 and 56, were sadly both pronounce dead at the scene on the A40 Wycombe Road in High Wycombe last night – full story to follow.

Our Sprint Coaches have had to get creative when it comes to socially distant standing starts… 👇

🎥 @KevinDStewart pic.twitter.com/nYy4QEYjN7

— British Cycling (@BritishCycling) June 1, 2020

British Cycling say they have had to get creative to ensure social distancing is still maintained while their track cyclists get back into the swing of training on the velodrome.

Bookman’s rechargeable Block lights look really handy for getting you noticed by other road users, whether that’s on urban streets at night, or when you’re out and about in daylight.

Each light is tiny, measuring just 35 x 23 x 14mm and weighing 12g, so you can easily tuck them away in a pocket until required.

You can run the front light at either full power – 50 lumens – or at 25%, and you can also choose between steady and blinking modes. 

The runtime in steady mode at full power is 1:30 hours, rising to 25 hours at the lower setting in blinking mode.

The rear light is 18 lumens at full power, and it’ll run for about 1:30 hours in steady mode. Again, you can switch to 25% power and/or blinking mode, and the maximum runtime (low power, blinking) is 25 hours. 

The Bookman lights are about as simple as you can imagine: one LED per light with a stretchy band keeping each one in place on your handlebar or seatpost. A curved rubber pad on one side of the light helps hold it there.

The lights are water resistant and the lithium ion battery will recharge from flat in two hours via the micro-USB cable that’s included in the pack. 

There’s not enough power here for showing the way on unlit roads but the Block lights can help get you noticed on urban streets, especially as a supplementary light in flashing mode, and they’re a useful back-up option if your main lights run out of juice halfway home, for example.

They’re also good daytime running lights, surprisingly noticeable even on a bright day.

Should cyclists use daytime running lights? + 8 of the best front and rear daytime cycling lights 

Each Block light, available in black and white versions, is priced €19.90 (about £17.75).

Head to https://bookman.se/ for more info. 

I’m a bit baffled by the temporary street changes in central London. Little use for pedestrians. Bad for cyclists. pic.twitter.com/csawOv4cb1

— Geoff Barraclough (@w9maidavale) June 2, 2020

Maida Vale Councillor Geoff Barraclough spotted the curious roadblocks in Piccadilly and Regent Street, which don’t appear to be of much use to cyclists or pedestrians.

And this is an unexpected hazard if you’re cycling north up Regent Street. pic.twitter.com/vT31kTi5RH

— Geoff Barraclough (@w9maidavale) June 2, 2020

Are some of the temporary street measures put in place during the pandemic doing more harm than good?

Ok, so these people are looting bikes from @TrekBikes These are not people from protest! Police came in 2 min and left the bike shop open, so another people came in and stole all other bikes. #nycprotests pic.twitter.com/oMSMP0FxkD

— Tania Khodakivska (@TKhodakivska) June 1, 2020

After the death George Floyd last week – who died from asphyxia due to pressure applied to his neck and back from police officer Derek Chauvin according to a new private post-mortem – mass protests have sprung up in cities across the US. While many have largely been peaceful, civil unrest and scenes of looting have also been captured by citizens. Tania Khodakivska, who uploaded footage of a Trek store being looted in New York, said: “these are not people from (the) protest”.

Bicycle Therapy in Philadelphia took to Facebook on Sunday to denounce the vandalism and looting they had suffered while showing support for the protest movement, saying: “We understand that more violent crimes are being done in this country than our break-in and that we are past due for change. However destroying small family-owned businesses isn’t the solution. Let’s stand together in protest not tear each other apart.”

 

 

 

 

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Bicycles should represent freedom. If all people can’t travel the streets safely without fear of discrimination and violence that freedom means nothing. SRAM believes in inclusivity. What happened to George Floyd was a horrible and tragic injustice. We know we need to do more. We will be reflecting, listening and learning. We will look for ways to do better in our personal communities, with the cycling community and with the largest part of the population that is yet to become a cyclist. #blacklivesmatter art by @notchas

A post shared by SRAM Road (@sramroad) on May 31, 2020 at 4:08pm PDT

Some bike industry brands have come out to show their support for the protests and the Black Lives Matter movement, including SRAM and Le Col, with many retailers participating in ‘Blackout Tuesday’ by suspending promotional activities to reflect on George Floyd’s death. 

Obeying both the government’s instructions to vote in person today and avoid public transport, I’ve cycled to Parliament for the first time. It took me just over an hour from New Malden to Westminster. #cycletowork pic.twitter.com/oe9pKfyfR0

— Sarah Olney (@sarahjolney1) June 2, 2020

The controversial decision by Jacob Rees-Mogg to abandon online parliament and make MP’s form a huge queue to vote in person has left those who are able to attend being told to avoid public transport, while still having to go to parliament to cast votes. It means the Lib Dem MP for Richmond Park Sarah Olney cycled from her home in New Malden to get to Westminster, arguably one positive thing that has come out of this furore…

 

 

 

 

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Thank you to everyone who has supported Grape-o-Gram so far 💚 it has been super lush to see the smiles appear on the recipients faces as they realise who sent them the whiney song, I mean wine and song 😉🍇💜🍷

A post shared by Grape O Gram (@grapeogram) on May 26, 2020 at 2:33pm PDT

If you happen to live in Bristol or are very familiar with the city, you’ll know this is peak Bristol… as residents can now get wine delivered to themselves or friends/family who need their spirits raised by a young businesswoman dressed as a grape, who cycles up to their doorways before dismounting and singing them a ‘Grape-O-Gram’ while playing a ukulele.

Claudia Collins told Bristol 24/7: “With everything being so serious and isolating I felt like this silly idea was needed now more than ever.

“The first cycle down Wells Road dressed as a bunch of grapes made me feel very silly, but I have got used to it now and sometimes forget. Hopefully if I carry on doing this for a while, I will learn more than two chords and make a more three-dimensional grape costume!”

Customers can order a Grape-O-Gram via Ms Collins’ Instagram or Facebook pages, telling her what type of wine they require, a name and address of the recipient and some words for the song. In return, she promises “a thoughtful lovely message from a loved one sang badly by a lady dressed as a bunch of grapes, playing only two chords on a green ukulele.”

I’ve got a few @GoZwift rides coming up over the next week. First up I’ll be joining @UCI_cycling for their #WorldBicycleDay ride tomorrow at 6pm CEST (5pm UK time). Don’t miss it 👍😊 pic.twitter.com/MvVCGnZoyG

— Chris Froome (@chrisfroome) June 2, 2020

Froome and the UCI will host the ride at 5pm UK time.

Bought a bike (pictured right) to get me to work @Channel4News & chained it outside the office. All that remains tonight is the bike stand (pictured left). Gutted. It got me to work safely, avoiding chances of being infected with #coronavirus . As an asthmatic that was important. pic.twitter.com/BF7uwCVPjm

— Cathy Newman (@cathynewman) June 1, 2020

The presenter says as an asthmatic, her bike was particularly important for getting her to work safely during the pandemic – and unfortunately found out too late from a colleague that Channel 4 HQ has underground bike storage.

I belatedly discovered that…too late! x

— Cathy Newman (@cathynewman) June 1, 2020

An aside from all the serious stuff in the 🌍 right now… I see so much stuff about low-carb online from the ridiculous influencer & quasi nutritionist UTube world etc. Maybe I have some young followers interesting in cycling? If so…

— Tao Geoghegan Hart (@taogeoghegan) June 1, 2020

The 25-year-old revealed that he hasn’t got much time for who he calls “quasi nutritionists” dishing out diet advice on YouTube, which he thinks could be misconstrued by budding young cyclists.

In his Twitter thread, Geoghan-Hart goes onto explain that he consumed 120g of carbohydrate an hour in the first three hours of his training ride yesterday. This consisted of Science in Sport drink mix, homemade tray bakes made by his pro cyclist girlfriend Hannah Barnes, and some waffles.

He continues: “I’m no expert but I’d bet a lot of money this will help you 10000x more!

“I’m not a nutritionist. I’m far from the best rider in the world. But there is so much out there that (in my opinion) will be so detrimental to a young rider. This is just my 10pence on the matter, specifically to those still growing & developing.”

While Geoghan-Hart doesn’t totally denounce low carb diets, it’s interesting that his carb-fuelled regime is very different to that of his team boss Sir Dave Brailsford, who revealed in 2019 that he sticks to a low carb diet and plenty of low cadence riding to build strength; although Brailsford’s aim was to lose weight and increase fitness in his 50’s rather than compete at World Tour level, so it’s understandable that his pro riders’ regimes would differ considerably.

Early contender for a ‘political leadership’ award here from South Gloucestershire Council, putting in social distancing measures, only to remove them four days later after motorist complaints (HT @David_on_a_bike) https://t.co/q9ZpyBw86g

— Mark Treasure (@AsEasyAsRiding) June 2, 2020

The social distancing measures on the A4174 in Filton, just outside of Bristol, were put in place on Thursday 28th May… and have now been removed, following complaints from “residents, businesses and road users” (i.e. motorists). We’ll have a full story on this later on today.

As noted by a Twitter follower of ours above, our typo was quite appropriate in the eyes of many who though the controversial columnist article was out of order – our full story (hopefully typo-free) can be found here.

I am a believer in actions over words. In solidarity in the wake of the brutal murder of George Floyd, I will raffle my most treasured possession; the jersey I was awarded for 1st place at the @transconrace proceeds going Stepehen Lawrence Trust, see img 4 info #blacklivesmatter pic.twitter.com/OWeDFvGALD

— James Mark Hayden (@JamesMarkHayden) June 2, 2020

Hayden – who won the Transcontinental ultra race in 2017 and 2018 – is raffling off his 2018 winner’s jersey, with all proceeds going towards the Stephen Lawrence Trust . He said: “I am a believer in action over words. Therefore in solidarity and support in the wake of the brutal murder of George Floyd, I will raffle my most treasured possession.”

Those who want to enter can donate directly to the Stephen Lawrence Trust, and then send proof of donation to raffle@jamesmarkhayden.uk – the winner will be selected at random on 9th June.

A friend of two cyclists who were knocked down in a hit-and-run has posted an appeal for information on social media.

James Stead claimed the incident happened at around 2.15pm in the village of Bradwell in the Peak District on Sunday, and two bystanders also came and helped the men after they were left with injuries.

On the Bradwell Derbyshire Community Forum Facebook group, Mr Stead says the victims have informed the police and are waiting for a response. The partner of one of the victims who posted about the incident on social media said: “I have no words, just so so angry. Best of friends, not just cyclists. Daddys, sons, brothers, husbands (who are) lucky to walk away from this.”

Others noted that there had been a perceived rise in hostile comments aimed at cyclists on social media since the lockdown began, with one saying: “Was only a matter of time before this happened in or around Bradwell after the comments and aggression aimed towards cyclists on this very forum just a few weeks ago.”