“I could do with a canoe”: Cyclist braves York floods; Ineos riders show off (lack of) golf skills; Cyclist moves into the White House; Sam Bennett stars in DublinBikes ad; TfL plans ‘transformational’ bike lane; Everesting attempt + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
TfL outlines plans for 'transformational' new segregated bike lane
Hugely positive news for Lambeth residents in Streatham & beyond. It will have a transformation impact for those who feel that current conditions are too unsafe.
Great to see lower speeds designed in from the start too with ⬇️ speed limits creating a safer high street 👍🚲🚶♀️🌳 https://t.co/BT9jPmDp1P pic.twitter.com/dYM1JmCNil
— Claire Holland (@clairekholland) January 19, 2021
Transport for London (TfL) has released these plans for a new cycle lane in Streatham, south London. The project includes building a 2 kilometre segregated route with new pedestrian crossings and changes to side road entry and exit rules. The route will also have new trees planted to make the infrastructure more attractive. In a consultation carried out by TfL, 83 per cent of respondents agreed that the proposals would make them feel safer cycling in the area. 70 per cent agreed with the same statement about walking.
Councillor for Lambeth, Claire Holland described the scheme as “transformational”. “We know that many groups in society are underrepresented when it comes to using a cycle to get around,” she said.
“And we know that the main barriers are accessibility and danger, real or perceived. Only by delivering transformational main road schemes like this one, together with area-wide low traffic neighbourhoods on our local streets, can we make Lambeth into a borough whereby everyone has access to affordable and safe mobility options.”
Will Norman, London’s Walking and Cycling Commissioner added: “We are doing all we can to support the increased numbers of Londoners who are walking and cycling and help prevent a damaging car-led recovery from the pandemic.”
Sam Bennett stars in Now TV DublinBikes ad
Unlock #NOWTVdublinbikes with the new NOW TV dublinbikes app and take them for a spin! 🚴♂️
Lycra and pedal straps not essential 😂@Sammmy_Be @JosephMcgucken pic.twitter.com/rYHBurjC9T
— NOW TV Ireland (@NOWTVIreland) January 19, 2021
Poor Sam Bennett only wanted to go for a casual spin in the park… The advert was filmed as part of the launch of Now TV’s DublinBikes, a newly rebranded hire bike service in the Irish capital. Ripped to shreds by a local for his outfit, bike, shoes, body fat percentage, glasses and riding speed…I guess winning the Tour de France points jersey doesn’t count for much these days…
Compared to these five bizarre cycling adverts, Now TV’s is pretty normal…
Manchester Velodrome urgent repairs approved, work will begin after the Tokyo Olympics to allow Team GB to continue to train at the facility
The BBC reports that urgent repairs to Manchester velodrome have been approved after a report found that investment was needed to prevent “catastrophic” damage. Architects reported that parts of the velodrome were “approaching the end of life” and that if the venue was forced to close then investment to Manchester would dry up with cycling events relocating to other UK cities. The council has said they will repair the National Cycling Centre to protect its long-term future and work is expected to start after the Tokyo Olympics so that Team GB can continue to train at the velodrome.
Lighting, seating, CCTV, suspended ceilings, lifts and trackside facilities are all due to be upgraded as part of the investment although a budget for the project has not been finalised.
Tuesday's poll results: We asked if you wear a mask while cycling?
'Stick to the day job': Ineos Grenadiers show off their (lack of) golf skills
Definitely more WorldTour than @PGATOUR! 😉🙈
Go golfing with the guys in the latest instalment of Grenadier Cam 🎥 pic.twitter.com/PizHVCIOtD
— INEOS Grenadiers (@INEOSGrenadiers) January 19, 2021
Europe’s Ryder Cup team shouldn’t be too concerned about a late charge for selection from any of Ineos Grenadiers’ riders based on this footage. Rumour has it Filippo Ganna, Pavel Sivakov and Michał Kwiatkowski are still be trying to hit the ball now. The team were letting off some steam at their training camp in Gran Canaria, so maybe we can forgive their efforts and put it down to fatigue…
It’s not the first time the team’s sporting abilities off the bike have been questioned. Remember this crossbar challenge from a couple of years back…Credit where it’s due, Chris Lawless is actually quite good.
The Tour 21 will see 25 amateur cyclists ride the full 2021 Tour de France route to raise £1 million for Cure Leukaemia
The Tour 21 will be led by former England, Crystal Palace, Wolves and Nottingham Forest footballer Geoff Thomas. It will involve 25 amateur cyclists riding the full Tour de France route a week ahead of the pros with the aim of raising over one million pounds for national blood cancer charity Cure Leukaemia. It is hoped the money can help fill the shortfall the chairty experienced due to the Covid-19 pandemic and all funds raised will be invested into the national Trials Acceleration Programme (TAP). The national network of 12 blood cancer centres run potentially life-saving blood cancer clinical trials.
“This will be my fifth and final Tour de France cycling challenge since I was declared in remission from chronic myeloid leukaemia in 2005 and I am determined to ensure that this is the most successful and memorable of them all,” Thomas said on the challenge.
Phil Gaimon's latest Everesting record attempt
Phil Gaimon’s attempt to reclaim the Everesting record ended when he pulled up after 5,500m of climbing. Still, a ridiculous ride from the former pro who covered the elevation in 4:34, and according to his Strava data hit top speeds of 92km/h on the descents…Gaimon did the attempt on a climb outside of Malibu near Los Angeles with an average gradient of 16 per cent for a little under a kilometre, which he climbed 43 times.
During last spring’s shutdown pro riders looked for challenges closer to home which sparked a spate of Everesting attempts. Lachlan Morton and Alberto Contador both breaking the record in 2020. Sean Gardner holds the current record, climbing the equivalent 8,848m height of Mount Everest on a bike in 6 hours, 59 minutes and 38 seconds.
Wilco Kelderman and Andreas Schillinger injury update following training camp incident where a car hit seven Bora-Hansgrohe riders
Wilco Kelderman and Andreas Schillinger were two of the seven Bora-Hansgrohe riders hit by a car while out training near Lake Garda in Italy on Saturday. Kelderman fractured a vertebrae and sustained a concussion in the crash. The Dutch GC rider, who finished third at the Giro d’Italia in October, said on Instagram that his injuries will force him to take a few weeks off the bike.
“Considering the circumstances, I’m doing fine, will be some weeks off to let the neck fracture heal up,” Kelderman wrote. “One thing I know, I will fight back and come back strong. Also a speedy recovery to my Bora-Hansgrohe mates who were also involved in the accident.”
Schillinger fractured several vertebrae and told radsport that he believes his helmet saved his life. “In my helmet you can see the cut from a chainring,” the German explained. “The helmet saved my life. At the moment I can’t imagine I’ll be able to race again by then. I’m letting everything happen and waiting for the result from Hamburg. The most important thing is that I get pain-free again and for everything to heal completely.”
Max Schachmann, Rüdiger Selig, Marcus Burghardt, Anton Palzer and Michael Schwarzmann were the other riders involved in the crash. Selig also suffered a concussion in the crash which Schillinger described as “unbelievable”. “We were on a long, slightly downhill, straight at about 40-45kph. The car drove across the road without braking, and we didn’t have a chance. I saw it, but the car was probably going 30-40kph.
“That was unbelievable, driving onto a big road without stopping. And at that moment, there was no other car driving on the other side of the road, so she hit us full on. After that, the woman was in full shock.”
"I could do with a canoe": Cyclist braves flood waters in York
They make them tough up north…Robert Brown wasn’t letting flood waters get in the way of his bike ride. He told MailOnline: “It could get deeper than that. With all the snow coming down of the Pennines and the Dales. I could do with a canoe at the moment.” Storm Christoph has brough flooding to many parts of the UK this week with Police chiefs in Greater Manchester declaring a major incident.
High Court rules TfL's Streetspace plan was unlawful and “took advantage of the pandemic” to push through “radical changes” to London’s streets
We’ve got a full news story coming up but just a quick update here… The High Court has ruled that TfL’s Streetspace initiative was unlawful. Streetspace began last May and aimed to create more road space for active travel. However, in her judgement, Justice Lang said TfL “took advantage of the pandemic” to “push through radical changes” to London’s streets and that the “ill-considered” response saw taxis banned from using bus lanes. She also said that “the needs of people with protected characteristics, including the elderly or disabled” weren’t sufficiently considered. The case was brought by the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association and United Trade Action Group. Full story to follow…
Try VeloSkin Chamois Cream for free (excluding postage)
VeloSkin are offering cyclists the opportunity to try their Chamois Cream and Soothing Muscle Recovery Gel for free (excluding £1.50 postage) with 10ml samples. VeloSkin says their Chamois Cream “lasts for miles and provides the ultimate saddle comfort”. It is used by pro teams Ribble Weldtite and Canyon DHB P/B SunGod and they’re so confident you’ll like it that they’ll send you discount codes for your first full-size order.
The 46th president of the United States of America
Ride a bike like @JoeBiden 😎 pic.twitter.com/CzZcLXnmOR
— MEIDAS-PROTEGE.RCG (@MEIDAS_PROTEGE) January 16, 2021
20 January 2021, 08:58
20 January 2021, 08:58
20 January 2021, 08:58
20 January 2021, 08:58
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@jackcycles I'll try my best not to fight anyone unless my safety or that of another person is at risk, but in any case, not quite sure how you've managed to get from "I wouldn't fight this very large clearly psychopathic probably drugged bloke who might very well have a weapon and has a mate who could join in" to "admitting" I'd only fight women and children. Actually, I am sure, it's because you're a troll. Suspected as much from your first appearances here but gradually been more confirmed and that utterly imbecilic comment seals it.
@Hirsute I have no experience of Essex Police, but I know a lot about the attitudes of officers in Lancashire Constabulary. They don't consider motoring offences to be real offences, especially if they're offences against cyclists. This is odd, because there are very few cyclists up here in North Lancashire and not much active travel for the specific purpose of getting to a specific place, beyond walking short distances. If this assault case had been in Lancashire, I would be pretty sure tha the police are deliberately not trying very hard to catch the offender, because they think the cyclist was 'asking for it' by just being there, and is now 'asking for it' by having initially reported it and for repeatedly pestering the police about what they consider to be a trivial offence.
@jackcycles That, in turn, is a very odd thing to say.
Bit of an odd thing to say. You're basically admitting you'd only fight women and children.
@Aluminium can Self defence is proportionate to the perceived threat and there is a lot of latitude. People have in a handful of cases killed another and it has been ruled self defence.
@jackcycles The counter protestors were being taken away from a dangerous situation if you bothered to look it up. We don't have DEI in this country - that is the US we have EDI which aims to ensure that everyone has the same opportunities, and no-one is treated differently or discriminated against because of their personal characteristics. These are known as ‘protected characteristics’ under the Equality Act 2010. The nine protected characteristics are: age disability gender reassignment marital or civil partnership status pregnancy and maternity race (including colour, nationality and ethnic or national origins) religion or belief (including lack of belief) sex sexual orientation The police particularly have issues racism and misogyny.
@Aluminium can You have no idea what size CykelTony is, how old he is, what disabilities he might have or anything else. Unless he is very large and used to fighting he did exactly the right thing in not engaging with this psychopath, who is not only very large but also obviously accustomed to employing violence and, if I'm any judge, either on cocaine/meth or coming down from same. He's also got a mate in the car with him as well, and looks the type of person who if he was challenged might well produce a knife or other weapon. Personally, although I'm 6 feet tall, pushing 90 kg and a former rugby player who can, I suppose, "handle himself" reasonably well, I would, I hope, have had the sense to behave like CT, minimise the risk, get away as quickly as you can and report to the police. If you try and take someone like this (and his mate) on, it is not going to end well for you.
I agree but alas I think that definition has shifted over time in the direction of "reproduces press releases and stuff people have put out online" from eg. James Greenwood's "I spent a night in a workhouse so you don't have to". And of course in the old days it was also the journalists simply making it up, not just the PR folks...
Self defence is certainly lawful in the UK albeit it's not a "get out of jail for any violence" card. * Otherwise you're right it's wise to a) get off the bike if you're stopped unless you have fast reactions and an Olympic-level sprint start and b) get it between you and any threat. You might be able to make a case for having a sturdy lock / long bike pump ** at hand also. But... do you practice combatives daily? And even if you do you would want to be circumspect about being armed before it kicks off, to avoid the appearance of escalation. And have a believable story eg. "at this point I noticed the lock had fallen on the ground and without thinking I picked it up". * One example being that if you own potentially lethal projectile weapons getting some legal advice in advance on what constitutes "self defence" would be a very good idea. The UK view on that *is* different compared to some other countries. ** Guessing not may people have decent length metal bike pumps on their bike now...
Toe Go pedals: I'm glad you told me that the sticky-up bit goes between the big toe and second toe. I didn't think my sphincter was developing the watts.
29 thoughts on ““I could do with a canoe”: Cyclist braves York floods; Ineos riders show off (lack of) golf skills; Cyclist moves into the White House; Sam Bennett stars in DublinBikes ad; TfL plans ‘transformational’ bike lane; Everesting attempt + more on the live blog”
“Transformational new cycle
“Transformational new cycle lane”
Wow!!
“…2km…”
Oh
It’s a horrible stretch of
It’s a horrible stretch of road to ride up though, and a main shopping etc destination for the area. I can see that it would transform things for those who currently get a bus (or drive) those 2km because the idea of cycling in that traffic (and with those drivers) is terrifying.
I have to admit that I’ve
I have to admit that I’ve never been that bothered by that stretch of road as I merrily take the primary position in the inside lane. But it must be offputting for cyclists not comfortable doing that.
Yeah, I feel the same, with
Yeah, I feel the same, with the possible exception of coming south away from the lights at the top of Brixton Hill and past the bus garage – a combination of buses pulling in or out and cars giving you no room to manouevre can make that pretty hairy.
Fair. It (just) covers that
Fair. It (just) covers that section of road. It’d be nice if it went further, particularly through Brixton which is often a shitshow.
Yep – a year ago this week I
Yep – a year ago this week I was rear ended outside Brixton police station.
TfL say one third of car
TfL say one third of car journeys are less then 2km, so yes it is transformational.
That advert with Sam Bennett
That advert with Sam Bennett is brilliant! He’s a better sprinter than actor thankfully though ?
I often wonder why we don’t
I often wonder why we don’t copy the excellent cycle lanes they have in other countries, where instead of putting both lanes on just one side of the road, they have one lane on both sides of the road so that you don’t have to cross over traffic to use it if you’re coming from the other direction.
I get conflicted if I’m cycling along a road and see a purpose built cycle lane on the other side of the road – should I cross over two lanes of traffic to join the cycle lane for a little bit and then cross back over two lanes of traffic so that I can continue on the road? Or should I just continue on the road and ignore the cycle lanes?
This is only really a problem
This is only really a problem when cycle lanes are so sparse that you have to use a lot of road. With a properly designed and linked network of cycle paths, this issue mostly disappears.
I live in hope. 2km is not a lot, but the design looks good to me, and you’ve got to start somewhere.
Yeah, I’m basing my
Yeah, I’m basing my experience on the extremely fractured nature of Bristol cycle paths – especially the ones around Temple Meads where you get punished with beg-light controlled crossings if you try to use cycle lanes rather than the roads. To be honest, I tend to prefer just sticking to the roads and going a similar speed to the other traffic (assuming a strong tail-wind and down-hill roads) but the lanes are much better for less jaded cyclists and/or e-scooters.
Yebbut, look at the numbers
Yebbut, look at the numbers counting down in pretty colours! No other traffic lights in Bristol have that!
Bmblbzzz wrote:
That reminds me of traffic lights in Bangkok. Due to the insane amount of motorised traffic (especially tuk-tuks and mopeds) and the size of their main roads (12 lanes?) they have a long time between lights turning green again, so they have a handy count-down showing how long you have to wait.
With our mayor’s known
With our mayor’s known fondness for Malaysia, (well, it’s almost Thailand) this could be the first step in a long-term plan to transform Bristol’s streets with Thai curry and coconut palms. Could it? !!!
Bmblbzzz wrote:
I hope so as I love Thai food. I’m not sure the coconut palms will survive our climate though.
From the London Cycling
From the London Cycling Design Standards ( http://content.tfl.gov.uk/lcds-chapter4-cyclelanesandtracks.pdf )
4.2.4 Two-way cycle tracks
Segregated lanes/tracks and stepped tracks should generally be designed to be one-way, on either side of the road, with cycle traffic running in the same direction as adjacent general traffic lanes.
4.4.1 Recommended lane and track widths
On-carriageway segregated cycle lanes/tracks (5)
high / very high flow
one-way = 2.5 metres +
two-way = 4.0 metres +
That sounds like a wonderful
That sounds like a wonderful standard – in pristine condition as it’s never used.
I agree about the difficulty
I agree about the difficulty of accessing two-way cycle lanes (and with HoarseMann’s comment that it wouldn’t be an issue if we had a comprehensive network). However, my experience of one-way segregated lanes is that they’re too narrow to pass a slower cyclist, and with no way to escape back onto the road to do so, they can be frustrating. Unless there is a huge amount of trafficin the opposite direction, overtaking is easy on a two-way lane.
Yep, there is that. When I
Yep, there is that. When I was using the crowded bike lanes in Copenhagen (back before the Rona) the lanes seemed to organise into a slower stream of vehicles all moving at the same speed and a faster stream of overtaking cyclists. It did mean that you had to be careful to not wobble into the path of a quicker cyclist.
I may be showing my age, but
I may be showing my age, but the Manchester velodrome seems too recent to be in a ‘catastrophic’ condition.
You should have seen the
You should have seen the resurfacing on our road a week after it was done…
The Olympic velodrome has
The Olympic velodrome has also been leaking for a few years (onto the track). Hopefully they will have fixed it during the various lockdowns.
It will be a swimming pool
It will be a swimming pool now!
Opened in 1994 amazingly. I
Opened in 1994 amazingly. I guess its just that we are old too…
Fixing the lifts – there’s an
Fixing the lifts – there’s an improvement the velodrome really needs, they are the slowest most lumbering method of transport since the Huffy road bike I had as a teenager. Probably weigh about the same.
As a cycling Crystal Palace
As a cycling Crystal Palace fan of a certain age, from a family which has had its brushes with leukemia, I have to say Geoff Thomas is my absolute hero.
I was lucky enough to gate crash his presentation on the pitch in September 2017 to celebrate him and a small team riding the routes of all three grand tours that year.
Cyclist braves flood waters
Cyclist braves flood waters in York
Why would even try that? You have no idea what potholes, debris are under the surface and not going to do your drivetrain any good either.
Could easily end up a cropper and injured in cold water and get very cold, very quickly.
Because it’s ridiculous, fun
Because it’s ridiculous, fun and a bit different? I remember doing the same once when there was flooding in the Lake District. It was a ridiculously hard workout and so much fun. Maybe the rider in question knows the roads well, and the surface was in good enough condition before the rain came that they thought they’d have a go. Cyclocross doesn’t do your drivechain much good either, but is also great fun.
The riders were hit by a
The riders were hit by a motorist/driver, not a car. It’s the little things.