Cyclist uses new bike lane…almost taken out by two drivers; Dame Sarah Storey wins record-breaking 17th Paralympic gold; La Vuelta ready for ‘Angliru’s evil sister’; Back to school by bike; Paralympic spirit; Funky Festka + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Cyclist uses new bike lane for the first time...almost taken out by two drivers
Just think. If the cyclist got killed or injured here they’d be blaming the motorists. 🤣🤣🤣
First time using the ne South Mall bike lane. Doesnt bode well pic.twitter.com/kspfh87FLS— Righttobikeit (@righttobikeit) September 1, 2021
Way to mark your first spin down a new bike lane. Not one but two drivers butting across the lane almost took out this rider on his maiden voyage down Cork’s new South Mall cycle path.
Some have made excuses for the van driver, saying they would not expect to see a cyclist travelling in the same direction on this side of the road…others said it is that attitude that is the problem. We certainly haven’t seen any excuses being made for the Ford driver creeping out into the lane.
In the discussion sparked by the vid, one cyclist said: “I really dislike bidirectional cycle lanes because so many motorists when turning left don’t bother looking left.”
Another added…
Sadly, it is very (very) common😒 pic.twitter.com/vFpqOAOkKS
— 🚴♂️🚙Carlton💙🐩🚶♂️ (@carlton1512) September 1, 2021
Thoughts?
Greg Van Avermaet feels the wrong type of burn
Has the vaccine been available in Belgium since 2018? https://t.co/SOOIlUS8sE
— Cillian Kelly (@irishpeloton) September 1, 2021
Ouch. Here’s the full story linked if you missed it yesterday. The 2016 Olympic champ told a paper in Belgium he has been struggling against an “unknown enemy”…which, for the record, is the line I’ll be using every time I get dropped from now on…don’t worry I’m not blaming the vaccine too. I just think it sounds better than, “sorry guys, thanks for waiting for me again“.
Reaction to Primož Roglič's epic 60km attack with Egan Bernal to reclaim red jersey atop Lagos de Covadonga
Look at how much yesterday’s win meant to Primož Roglič. His teammate Sepp Kuss enjoyed it too…
😃 all smiles @JumboVismaRoad #samenwinnen pic.twitter.com/0r9q6NTDBp
— Richard Plugge (@RichardPlugge) September 1, 2021
The climbing times for Lagos de Covadonga weren’t sparkling (by elite pro standards anyway). Roglič completed the famous climb in 26:37, almost two minutes slower than Roberto Heras’ 2000 time. Coincidently, Heras is the man Rog is trying to match for his record of winning three consecutive Vuelta a España titles.
The Slovenian’s time was one minute slower than Thibaut Pinot’s stage winning time from 2018 and Nairo Quintana’s in 2016. Then again, none of the riders mentioned above attacked 60km from the finish and drove it through the valley at 45km/h for 40 minutes before the climb…
LAGOS DE COVADONGA, 1996 – 2021 | #LaVuelta21
first 8.25 km, 9.54 %, 787 m pic.twitter.com/R351K1Qofh
— ammattipyöräily (@ammattipyoraily) September 1, 2021
Back to school by bike
Off to school again, up the 9% hill with a backpack 2/3 his size 😂 pic.twitter.com/FgFgndMYJK
— Victory Chimp (@VictoryChimp) September 1, 2021
Dame Sarah Storey claims outright British Paralympic record - wins gold medal number 17 in this morning's C4-5 road race
Seventeen© 🥇#ImpossibleToIgnore #Paralympics pic.twitter.com/GVwA2lX0hJ
— ParalympicsGB (@ParalympicsGB) September 2, 2021
The Dame Sarah story rolls on…the legendary Paralympian won her 17th gold medal to take the outright British Paralympic record from swimmer Mike Kenny. Storey won her first two at the Barcelona Games of 1992 aged 14, skills that will have served her well on a soggy road race course in Tokyo this morning.
The 43-year-old beat fellow Brit Crystal Lane-Wright to the line and told the BBC, “It still feels like an out-of-body experience. It’s very hard to put into words. I’ve worked for this for such a long time.
“It was fantastic weather wasn’t it! I wasn’t too fussed on the forecast. We probably trained for 32 degrees and 85% humidity. I was looking at my computer and it said 17 degrees and I had to wear a base layer! There were no cooling strategies needed – we were asking for heat packs.
“I don’t know if it’s sunk in! It’s something everyone has been talking about since Rio when it became a mathematical possibility with me doing three more events in Tokyo. I just feel immensely proud and also immensely grateful to have so much support and to have such a great team around me and also a great team back at home.”
And, she might not be done yet. Storey’s coach Gary Brickley, also speaking to the BBC, said his athlete isn’t far off Michael Phelps’ 23 golds…”so we have to keep pushing on.”
This was the moment🥇@DameSarahStorey now stands alone as our greatest ever Paralympian.#ImpossibleToIgnore
📺@C4Paralympics pic.twitter.com/g7YqiAAefF
— ParalympicsGB (@ParalympicsGB) September 2, 2021
Festka releases pictures of its latest artistic collaboration
Festka is no stranger to eye-catching designs. The Scalatore Mummy on display in New York City was the most recent example on the site; its 10th anniversary limited edition design too…
Now, the Czech manufacturer of high-end carbon frames has teamed up with tattoo and shoe designer Ondřej Konupčík and artist Radim Kašpárek on a bling new design in time for the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. Painted onto the brand’s top-of-the-range Scalatore road bike and Scout gravel model, the latest project involved decorating the bicycle by transferring acrylic paints from the water surface onto the canvas.
It is a unique technique the pair have developed over the last six years and perfected during the first lockdown when Ondřej could devote himself full-time to tattooing. The end result is pretty impressive…
MAAP releases new Nova Pro Jersey
MAAP has launched an all-new jersey, building on the success of its top-selling Evade Pro Base Jersey. The Nova Pro features all the good stuff – the soft knitted Italian and pre-dyed fabrics, honeycomb mesh sleeves and SPF50+ sun protection – that customers enjoyed about the Evade Pro, and also has six strategically placed reflective graphics and “360 degree visibility in low light conditions.”
“From day one, incorporating reflective detailing has always been a non-negotiable for us. It’s as much a stylistic decision as it is a safety consideration, with visibility on the bike paramount to every rider. The Nova Pro Jersey takes the traditional MAAP design placement of the reflective graphic on the back left hand side, and enhances it five-fold with additional reflectivity on the front, back, and sleeves”, said Misha Glisovic, MAAP Creative Director.
"I am resigned to cycling defensively": Readers' comments and reaction to the video of a Cork cyclist taking a spin down one of the city's new cycle lanes...only to narrowly avoid being hit by two drivers
But they’ll blame the cyclists of course
— Gan Ainm 🇮🇪🇪🇺🇵🇱 (@VonBrowne) September 2, 2021
Plenty of reaction to the morning blog story, including some discussion on what could be done to avoid situations like it…
Seagull2 commented: “I am resigned to just cycling defensively, because while i could be in the right, i could also be injured or worse.”
AidanR wrote in: “This is a fundamental problem with cycle lanes and road junctions. Drivers don’t give way to pedestrians crossing side roads, and don’t expect to give way to cyclists in the same way.
“Obviously there’s an element of driver education required, but getting angry at drivers and/or expecting them to act in a way which is counter-intuitive to them isn’t going to make cyclists any safer. Is this a problem which could be solved with better design? I can’t think what it might be, but I’m sure some bright spark has come up with something better.”
Chrisonatrike made the case for a public information campaign: “Getting everyone ‘educated’ when we don’t even require a ‘refresher’ of your driving test – unless you’ve been very naughty – will always be a hurdle. Maybe we should look to examples of public information campaigns on seat belt wearing and not having a few ‘light ales’ before driving?”
Over on Facebook, Blythe Storm questioned if we could even call it a cycle lane: “That’s not a cycle lane, its some paint and a bit of coloured tarmac, as illustrated by the fact it doesn’t work.”
Ed Gibb added: “No way I’d ride that. Drivers not even looking the opposite direction to the road traffic flow. Most probably don’t realise what the lane is.”
Transport for London and Hackney Council outline next steps for new cycleway between Lea Bridge and Clapton
Transport for London and Hackney Council have outlined plans to instal a new section of cycle routes in the borough, including protected cycle lanes on Lea Bridge Roundabout and Lea Bridge Road. Work on the route is planned to begin in the autumn, with further construction to follow next year.
A 2019 consultation was sent out for local people to give their thought on the plans, which now include protected cycle lanes on Lea Bridge Roundabout, protected cycle lane on Lea Bridge Road and upgraded signalised junctions with facilities for people walking and cycling.
Paralympic spirit: Australian rider Stuart Jones slows to support fellow competitor struggling at the back of the race
They’re from different teams and competing in different races, but there’s always support and respect between our Paralympians ❤️@UCI_paracycling #ParaCycling #Tokyo2020 #Paralympics pic.twitter.com/poWSq9Uv9V
— Paralympic Games (@Paralympics) September 2, 2021
Aussie Paralympic rider Stuart Jones put the disappointment of misssing out on a medal behind him to display some of the spirit the Games is all about. As he rode up the finishing straight he spotted South African rider Toni Mould, still a lap behind the field, and offered some encouragement.
“Keep going. You’re going great guns. You have only got a lap to go,” is what 7 Sport reports was said.
“Look, I wasn’t going to podium,” Jones told the Seven Network after the race. “That lady, Toni from South Africa, that is a true champion. That’s what the Paralympics are about.”
Mould’s cerebral palsy was brought about due to complications at birth, and she was forced to launch a fundraiser to support her campiagn to compete at the Games. Earlier in the year she said the sport had helped her “overcome depressive episodes and isolation, create new friendships, and given me a sense of community”.
Here we go again...
This may be one of the least impressive cycleway before and afters I’ve done in a while 🙁 https://t.co/7eXBAEJneT pic.twitter.com/HwLqHCZKkb
— Sam 🚴🌱🍻Ⓥ (@MCRCycleSam) September 1, 2021
2 September 2021, 08:02
2 September 2021, 08:02
2 September 2021, 08:02
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Latest Comments
@mctrials23 Yes, all of that and especially (I'm sure you meant this under the training understanding/advancements) huge blocks of altitude training which effectively legally simulates doping with EPO.
Another perhaps more extreme example of this is in athletics. Despite improvements in training and nutrition, shoes and kit, faster tracks, more nations taking part, increased funding and increased financial rewards the following world records still exist : Women's 100m & 200m (Florence Griffith-Joiner, 1988), Women's 400m (Marita Koch, 1985), Women's 800m (Martina Kratochvilova, 1983).
It is shocking how desperately stupid drivers can be. I've seen someone try to go around police blocking the road to drive up the highway towards where it was clearly blocked by multiple fire trucks filling bambi buckets on hovering helicopters. I've seen drivers (plural) who can't understand how to get around a collision blocking the road ahead where all they have to do is go around the block. Pit cones out to block a lane? Better make sure no one can squeeze their car between them because they will.
@Rendel Harris I'm frankly astounded that its taken this long to break many of the records and its just a testament to how ridiculous doping was. - training properly from a young age - diet changes - no long off season and "racing yourself back to fitness" - bike tech, aero bikes, better tyres, aero socks, skin suits etc - fuelling up to 3x the amount on the bike vs what they used to do - Recovery after rides - Training understanding/advancements Its amazing that we have had to change all this before we are beating guys who were doped up to the gills.
I tend to judge people by their actions rather than their words. At least he cycles and is not, to my knowledge, a die-hard vehicular cyclist nutter. Whatever happens he would struggle to be a worse candidate than Shaun Bailey. That was the chap who was caught campaigning in Brentwood, yes, the one in Essex where no one had the vote. Oh, and do we know if this will be a FPTP election or has it been rolled back to transferable vote?
@chrisonabike There seem to be three frameworks when it comes to speed limits. Framework 1 is the approach introduced in 1934. It doesn't see speed limits as traffic-calming measures, but as a legal tool for identifying and dealing with reckless drivers. You measure traffic speeds to establish what constitutes normal driving behaviour, assume most drivers are reasonable and have an aversion to crashing or running someone over, and set the limit accordingly. Exceptions should genuinely be exceptional, so that drivers take them seriously when the do differ from the norm. Framework 2 is closer to the approach that existed before 1930: you simply set a speed and expect everyone to drive at it. This seems to be the framework the Welsh Government claims to favour, set a lower limit and expect compliance, often without changing the road or substantially increasing enforcement. The WG guidelines actually said don't take any account of traffic speeds as a variable when it comes to making exceptions, if you like to link me to a study that says that's a good idea, I'd like to read it. This is also how I used to assume speed limits work, as something you just *set*. Framework 3 recognises that Framework 1 falls apart when you use Framework 2, but argues that this is acceptable as long as the average speed falls somewhat. This seems to be the reality of what is being used today: high, sometimes extremely high, non-compliance is considered an acceptable price for a marginal reduction in average speeds. The problem is what happens in the long term when non-compliance is effectively designed into the system: speed limits become useless for identifying genuinely dangerous drivers, speeding becomes normalised and more socially acceptable, and pedestrians are given signs telling them to expect speeds that drivers are routinely travelling above.
@Bill H ".....but he is a genuine utility cyclist." That's good to hear, but telling two different groups things that are diametrically opposed doesn't do much for his credibility or honesty.
I think Andy Burnham has offered some hope in the last few weeks by threatening renationalisation of some industries, highlighting Brexit's disastrous effects on trade and public funding and calling out the downside of Thatcherism (if that viewpoint becomes more widely acknowledged most senior Tory politicians will have no clothes). And to Kier Starmer's credit he did take steps to improve the relationship and trade with the EU. But let's not get too excited too soon. The big problem is that lots of things need fixing but many aren't prepared to pay more towards it or can't afford to pay more towards it. Incidentally, I was discussing modern politicians with my wife this morning. They often seem to be self seeking, uninterested in detail, not very capable and mainly focussed on soundbites and their careers. Has it always been like this? Or is it just that we are older? It always seemed that politicians of the 70's, 80's and 90's had a deeper sense of responsibility and obligations of duty towards the electorate. But maybe they didn't. Discuss.
I met James Cleverly on a ‘Movers and Shakers’ ride organised by the Redbridge LCC. The ride ended at the then new Hogs Hill race track, which was replacing the lost East Way track in Hackney Wick. My main recollection was JC being angry with Lord Victor Adebowale for being allowed to ride the circuit sans helmet. The rest of us had to borrow lids but the good Lord got an exemption for his hair. JC otherwise came across as perfectly pleasant and he has lived an interesting life. Whether that qualifies him to be mayor I don’t know, but he is a genuine utility cyclist.
@Itsumishi Thanks for the reminder, have added that in - promise I meant it's the first custom bike that Canyon has made for him, although I certainly misremembered that DirtySixer made quite a few huge bikes for basketball players when writing this article :)
33 thoughts on “Cyclist uses new bike lane…almost taken out by two drivers; Dame Sarah Storey wins record-breaking 17th Paralympic gold; La Vuelta ready for ‘Angliru’s evil sister’; Back to school by bike; Paralympic spirit; Funky Festka + more on the live blog”
Motorists expected to give
Motorists expected to give way to cyclists!! Well I never!! I won’t be doing that until they start paying road tax and get insurance and registrations plates!! Also, it was the noughties when I passed my theory test so I don#t know what double dashed lines mean at the end of a road!!
AlsoSomniloquism wrote:
Theory test? No such thing when I passed my test, they asked 3 questions based on the highway code.
Same here, but as per
Same here, but as per previous recent news item on here, apparently if you have passed your tests in the noughties, it apparently gives you free reign to ignore valid road signs as how are people expected to know them.
Not if they were doing it properly.
Re “cyclist using new bike
Re “cyclist using new bike lane ” – i am resigned to just cycling defensively, because while i could be in the right, i could also be injured or worse – – – – – of course i would love presumed liability for the motorist in Irl and UK, but i don’t see that happening anytime soon, and am not sure it would make a huge difference in that there would still be potential danger lurking at junctions . I see at least 3-4 mobile phone users while driving / cycling every day in Dublin, and this risky behaviour is not high on the police list of priorities.
This is a fundamental problem
This is a fundamental problem with cycle lanes and road junctions. Drivers don’t give way to pedestrians crossing side roads, and don’t expect to give way to cyclists in the same way.
Obviously there’s an element of driver education required, but getting angry at drivers and/or expecting them to act in a way which is counter-intuitive to them isn’t going to make cyclists any safer.
Is this a problem which could be solved with better design? I can’t think what it might be, but I’m sure some bright spark has come up with something better.
It is a completely different
It is a completely different colour to the rest of the road. Although that would require observation.
Is it a new cycle track, and
Is it a new cycle track, and just a case of local drivers getting used to it?
Getting everyone “educated”
Getting everyone “educated” when we don’t even require a “refresher” of your driving test – unless you’ve been very naughty – will always be a hurdle. Maybe we should look to examples of public information campaigns on seat belt wearing and not having a few “light ales” before driving?
As to “better design” do you mean something like the cycle-triggered warning signs in Glasgow? “Continuous footway” / cycle lane is the better design albeit I’ve mostly seen crap cargo cult versions in the UK. Oddly enough if you design it right it doesn’t take long for people to understand it. Parked cars aside, this one doesn’t look too bad. As an example a blog covering the detail on this is here: https://robertweetman.wordpress.com/2018/11/13/design-details-1/
Second one is link of the
Second one is link of the year for me.
chrisonatrike wrote:
There’s only one point that everyone needs to be corrected on. From a young age children are taught that road are dangerous – hardly surprising that when they eventually get a driving license, a large number (myself included) start driving dangerously. Roads are not dangerous – drivers are dangerous, unless or until they consciously choose not to be.
> Roads are not dangerous –
> Roads are not dangerous – drivers are dangerous, unless or until they consciously choose not to be.
Sounds like “Guns don’t kill people, people do”? Railways aren’t dangerous but we’re happy to pay for engineering to separate trains from trains and people from the track. I’d love it if everyone recited “My main job is to do no harm” when climbing into / onto their transport. However while we’re waiting for a better world I’m up for a bit of ‘elf and safety to help us – along the lines of the hierarchy of controls.
Meantime I’m off to have a word with myself about nearly riding into a fox while looking at another fox…
chrisonatrike wrote:
Not really, roads really aren’t dangerous (unless you fall off your bike), until that is some twunt in a car turns up…
People aren’t inherently dangerous. Unless you give them a gun. Or a car….
By the by, was the first fox the jealous sort?
My interest was purely
My interest was purely zoological…
Easy solution, make them stop
Easy solution, make them stop lines rather than give way lines.
As a driver I sympathise because this is just shit road design. As a cyclist, a lane like that would have me taking my chances on the carriageway, it’s far safer
Easy solution, make them stop
See first post from AS.
Consistently polls show that
Consistently polls show that 60-70% of ppl find the roads too dangerous to cycle on – so riding on the road may well be a solution for some, but not for many.
I don’t have a problem with the design. A 2 way cycle track can be a perfectly good solution where circs mean 1 way tracks either side are impractical.
I love these early autumn
I love these early autumn Vuelta stages on the north coast. It’s like Yorkshire or Cornwall on steroids. Mist, murk, sheep, all in a landscape that would do decent duty as a GoT set.
Maybe the camera processing
Maybe the camera processing makes the riding look speedier than it is, certainly GoPros do have that ability to make it look more action cam footage.
But I dont think I’d have been riding with such purpose along a cycle lane like that.
Maybe the camera processing
Maybe the camera processing makes the riding look speedier than it is, certainly GoPros do have that ability to make it look more action cam footage
No, it the low bike-mounted camera position that makes the cyclist look like he’s doing 50. Helmet mounting gives a truer representation
I wont apologise for the Ford
I wont apologise for the Ford driver but I do wonder how clear their line of sight was with all those parking bays a way before the junction.
Not the greatest bike lane tbh but an improvement on nothing.
The problem is motorists will
The problem is motorists will treat the give way lines like the give way lines on the entrance to a mini roundabout….. give way to the cyclists on the crossing in front of them not give way to cyclists approaching the crossing.
You just need to watch any dashcam videos involving mini roundabouts…. it is virtually always someone approaching their give way line at speed that tries to race through the roundabout and blasts their horn at the car that was already on the roundabout in front of them
The cycle lane in the video
The cycle lane in the video is a great example of what not to do in designing infrastructure and the opposite of the “safety differently” approach in the article on here yesterday. Blaming people doesn’t help, we all make mistakes, the idea is that the system should be designed so that mistakes don’t have dire consequences. For what it is worth I wouldn’t use that bike lane and would accept riding at lower speed of the other traffic to keep safe.
We spend a lot of time
We spend a lot of time criticising crap infra, and rightly so – but the video doesn’t show a narrow painted cycle lane, it’s a cycle track of a decent standard.
√ Wide enough
√ Clearly marked (different colour)
√ Some physical protection (wands and buffer)
√ Priority over turning traffic
√ Appropriate design behind parked cars, not outside them
I appreciate that you genuinely feel you’d be safer riding in traffic, but the only way to persuade more people to get about by bike is to provide segregated infrastructure.
I wouldn’t use that bike lane
I wouldn’t use that bike lane
Well, I certainly would! You just have to accept that at each intersection drivers pay as much attention to the rules about priority (the game is stone-paper-scissors, in which cyclists are only allowed to choose paper and drivers are always scissors) as UK drivers will pay to the new joke rules about priority in the impending Highway Code edition, which police officers are presently laughing themselves sick over and which they have no intention of even acknowledging.
I agree that I’m more
I agree that I’m more cautious on 2-way cycle paths in general but there are some advantages for both planners and cyclists. Until there are no motorvehicles or they’re forced underground / onto special crap “car paths” that is. David Hembrow shows how it’s done (video from his blog).
In the UK wherever things change (“change?!”) there will probably always be an unhappy period of moaning / cursing / unpleasantness inflicted on the innocent. And little apart from removal from the motor pool will help those people who can’t see cyclists in front of them in daylight.
Quote:
The clue is in “pedestrians crossing the road”. It needs to be reconfigured as “vehicles crossing the pavement”. So pavements should not give way to roadway across the mouth of side streets. Instead the pavement should be continuous, right across the mouth of the side street. Visually this tells it as it should be, peds have priority over cars. And the change in levels will create a speed hump to slow vehicles down in any case.
I’ve seen such an arrangement, created “accidentally” where a cul-de-sac backs onto the main road across a pavement. For some reason motorists are allowed to drive out of the end of the cul-de-sac over the pavement, but they do so very tentatively as they are clearly crossing over a pavement.
Sriracha wrote:
You’ve hit the nail on the head right there.
This country needs a radically different approach and attitude towards road safety. At the moment, everything is approached from the “car is king” school of thought and so far it’s not working out very well as most drivers sit in queues and get stressed out just going from A to B.
Sriracha wrote:
Absolutely. The new Highway code states:
“Rule H2: Rule for drivers, motorcyclists, horse riders and cyclists:
At a junction you should give way to pedestrians crossing or waiting to cross a road into which or from which you are turning”
It would be good to embed this in the architecture of the highway, as you suggest.
I’ve noticed if I’m
I’ve noticed if I’m approaching a nearby zebra crossing cars tend to stop even before I would classify myself as waiting. This does not apply if I’m crossing a side road despite the rules being the same. Too many drivers appear to have a received wisdom of the rules rather than actually following the written rules.
This. Very much this.
This. Very much this.
I remember the first time I drove in Poland, and on entering a small town was completely flummoxed by the decision to place a zebra crossing on the entrance and exits of the roundabouts. Vehicles were literally forced to stop on the roundabout. This seemed like a ridiculous design decision.
However, within about half an hour it clicked. It is an act of social engineering, the people have priority, and vehicles shall wait.
As a result, when I cycle there it is marvelous compared with here at home.
Given the complete lack of will to deal with poor driving in the UK, using “direct” methods, then it can’t hurt to perhaps try more subtle ways to influence behaviour
Hospital calls for action to
Hospital calls for action to stop cyclist deaths at notorious London junction
Colleagues of Dr Marta Krawiec, who was killed while riding to work, say urgent safety work is needed
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/sep/02/hospital-calls-for-action-to-stop-cyclist-deaths-at-notorious-london-junction
A section from the letter
A section from the letter that highlights our blindness to road deaths: