Did you ride your bike yesterday?; TV presenter slams “pure ugly, Soviet-era Russia” cycle lanes; Double rainbow for GB at junior worlds TTs; Speed record attempt crash; Adam Yates joins UAE; Enrique announces Spain squad – on bike + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Did you ride your bike yesterday?
Alright, hands up – who took advantage of the bank holiday and went out on their bike yesterday?
(Don’t worry, I’m not a British Cycling mole…)
Yesterday, you may have noticed road.cc’s rather cheeky tweet that linked to what we claimed was a “comprehensive guide” to the rules and regulations surrounding cycling during the Queen’s state funeral – inspired, of course, by BC’s own faux pas-laden attempt to do the same last week…
Should you go for a bike ride during the Queen’s state funeral? Read our comprehensive guide… https://t.co/Xu12ldbHW5 #cycling pic.twitter.com/RZTBPv0wfu
— road.cc (@roadcc) September 19, 2022
#savedyouaclick pic.twitter.com/SQ5n1GLIbQ
— road.cc (@roadcc) September 19, 2022
While our sneaky tweet highlighted the inability of many social media users to actually read the article they’re criticising – even when it’s only 11 words long – lots of you used it to share your experiences out on the bank holiday roads.
Here’s a selection of your thoughts and photos from your bonus Monday bike rides:
Went out… Bliss…. So peaceful… pic.twitter.com/rAEnVxVeDP
— Rab chappell (@rchappellsnr) September 19, 2022
— Daniel Easton (@Kluens) September 19, 2022
So peaceful cycling today, still lots of motorists out though 🙄😏
Got a sandwich, can make some hot coffee with my stove and got some biscuits 🙂 pic.twitter.com/RtkbaoREAS
— BikepackingAdventure (@BikepackingBike) September 19, 2022
During mid ride, I think I found the only coffee shop open in the country 😐 pic.twitter.com/k9wFwvalpt
— BikepackingAdventure (@BikepackingBike) September 19, 2022
Took the bike out for a wee spin. Got some ham at the garage. Plenty of people out driving (badly), but much fewer than usual. #Waterworks was lovely. Busy, yet quiet. pic.twitter.com/vAZDJYQlkd
— 🔶 Brexit will be devastating (@ChrisMurphy201) September 19, 2022
Can recommend. pic.twitter.com/5XzohhbzWQ
— Niall Russell (@NiallRussell) September 19, 2022
The Bells were Ringing for our Queen Elizabeth this Morning all around the United Kingdom 💕
So quiet and peaceful cycling this morning 💕🚴♀️🎉#QueenElizabethII#queensfuneral#Queen pic.twitter.com/VRX67pM1Ul
— Wayne Robbins Meditation (@MeditationWayne) September 19, 2022
Unfortunately, I drew the short straw and had to man the road.cc news desk yesterday, but did anyone else go for a spin on their bank holiday?
Was it “blissful and peaceful”, or just like any other Monday morning, dodging dangerous drivers on the roads of Britain?
Finally, and be honest, who fell for road.cc’s spot of online tomfoolery? There’s bound to be at least one of you out there somewhere…
Double rainbow for GB: Welsh wonders Tarling and Bäckstedt win junior worlds time trials
British cycling fans woke up to a double rainbow this morning, as Welsh wunderkinds Josh Tarling and Zoe Bäckstedt stormed to victory in the junior time trials at the UCI road world championships in Wollongong.
🎶 God Saved The King 🎶
Goosebumps today. I can’t begin to describe it 😍😩🌈
WORLD CHAMPION https://t.co/szYoSwPEc4
— Zoe Backstedt (@Backstedt_Zoe) September 20, 2022
After missing out on the junior TT title last year in Bruges, 17-year-old Bäckstedt completely decimated her rivals this time around, covering the 14.1km course in 18 minutes and 26 seconds, a massive 1.35 ahead of runner-up Justyna Czapla.
Bäckstedt’s blistering ride was so impressive that she actually reached the first time check quicker than elite world champion Ellen van Dijk managed during her gold medal winning ride on Sunday (and on junior gears too).
If Bäckstedt’s ride wasn’t impressive enough, she actually went quicker than Ellen van Dijk doing into the first time check today.
Obviously, Van Dijk had much further to go and Bäckstedt had a slower average speed by the end of hers, but that’s still pretty impressive.
— Sadhbh O’Shea (@SadhbhOS) September 20, 2022
The Welsh star’s win means she now holds the unique distinction of being the reigning junior world champion in four different disciplines: cyclocross, track (in the Madison), the time trial and the road race, which she will defend in Wollongong on Saturday.
Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com
Bäckstedt, the daughter of Paris-Roubaix winner Magnus and former British road race champion Megan Hughes, is set to turn pro with EF Education-TIBCO-SVB next season. Today’s dominant time trial performance has only served to underline her undoubted promise as she steps into the professional ranks.
Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com
Not to be outdone, another young British – and Welsh – talent about to join the WorldTour also struck gold in the junior men’s time trial, as Ineos-bound Joshua Tarling beat Australian Hamish McKenzie by 19 seconds to earn another rainbow jersey on a sensational day for Team GB.
JOSHUA TARLING 🇬🇧 🌈
Second gold for @BritishCycling of the day as he claims the Men Junior ITT rainbow jersey!#Wollongong2022 pic.twitter.com/EHFbRzbF5Z
— UCI (@UCI_cycling) September 20, 2022
Tarling covered the 28.8km course in 34:59, ensuring heartbreak for home favourite McKenzie, an early starter who had occupied the hot seat (phone in hand) for most of the day until Tarling’s storming ride.
The 18-year-old, like Bäckstedt, avenged his silver medal from last year with an assured performance against the clock, the kind of barnstorming display that will set him up nicely for his pro debut with the Ineos Grenadiers next year.
Alex Broadway/SWpix.com
“It definitely hasn’t sunk in yet, but it just feels like a relief,” Tarling said at the finish.
“It’s been so much hard work and I was a bit annoyed after last year. I really wanted it. It’s just relief mainly… It’s been so hard. I had a bad start to the season with injuries and feeling empty. Then from half-way through the year it’s all been about this. I had some food poisoning during the Euro track championships. After that it was all about trying to bring GB another jersey after missing out.”
Lead image: Casey Gibson/SWpix.com
Adam Yates leaves Ineos to sign for UAE Team Emirates
✍️ We’re delighted to announce the signing of @AdamYates7 on a three-year deal.
Welcome Adam 🇬🇧 !
Full story > https://t.co/eHH8oil4N7#UAETeamEmirates #WeAreUAE pic.twitter.com/yBYxDMBaKH
— @UAE-TeamEmirates (@TeamEmiratesUAE) September 20, 2022
Tadej Pogačar’s UAE Team Emirates squad have bolstered their line up for the grand tours by snapping up the Ineos Grenadiers’ Adam Yates on a three-year deal.
The 30-year-old former Mitchelton-Scott rider has enjoyed a prosperous two-year spell with the British team, winning the Volta a Catalunya and the Tour of Germany, as well as securing top fives at the Vuelta a España, Il Lombardia, Paris-Nice, the Tour of the Basque Country, and the GP Montréal, and two consecutive second places at the UAE Tour (both times, incidentally, behind his soon-to-be team leader Pogačar).
Yates also went into this year’s Tour de France with genuine GC ambitions, but was forced to settle for ninth overall after Covid struck just before the race and he fell ill in the final week.
According to VeloNews, the British rider was considering offers from UAE, his old team BikeExchange-Jayco, and a new Paris-based team run by former pro Jerome Pineau after Ineos offered the 30-year-old half of his existing €2 million salary to stay.
“I’m really excited to join UAE Team Emirates,” Yates said in a statement announcing the move. “I have seen the growth of the team over the years and the opportunity to join was one that I could not turn down.
“I feel that I’m entering my peak years as a rider and the team will get the best out of me. I look forward to riding with many of the top riders in the world and to contribute to the team becoming number one in the world.”
UAE Team Emirates’ principal Mauro Gianetti added: “We are very pleased to welcome Adam into our team for the coming years. His ability to win and achieve top results across a wide variety of races is very impressive and he has proven to be a consistent talent. We all know he is a rider of great panache and we believe that he will be the right fit for our structure as we continue to reinforce the team for the coming years.”
Policing a state funeral or preparing for tomorrow’s world championship team time trial?
I think it’s great they get a little time out of the official duties to have a crack at the team pursuit world record, even if those bikes don’t look too UCI-compliant. pic.twitter.com/zrYdwRZ5lr
— Simon MacMichael 🏴🇮🇹🇪🇺❤️💙🚲 (@simonmacmichael) September 19, 2022
Irish TV presenter slams “pure ugly, Soviet-era Russia” cycle lanes
Ah, morning television presenters, what are they like?
No, not Holly and Phil, I’m talking about Ireland AM presenter Muireann O’Connell, who took to Instagram this weekend – for a reason I’m yet to fully identify – to blast Ireland’s “pure ugly” cycle lanes, which she claims are turning parts of the country into “Soviet-era Russia”.
It’s not quite queue jumpgate, but we’ll take it…
O’Connell, who presents the daily morning show alongside former Ireland and British Lions rugby player Tommy Bowe (the perpetrator of the greatest Accidental Partridge moment of all time), posted a series of Instagram stories criticising Limerick’s segregated bike lanes which she described as a “blight” and “a danger to absolutely everyone”.
But don’t worry, as she has “nothing against cyclists”.
She wrote: “Limerick is like something out of Soviet-era Russia with these things. I don’t know how cars are meant to move in for ambulances. All for the cycling btw. These are just pure ugly.”
An hour after her initial post, O’Connell clarified to her 102,000 followers (hey, it’s over double road.cc’s number on Insta) that her issue with bike lanes is that Irish roads apparently aren’t wide enough for them.
“Hi guys, know they’re all over the country. Where I live in Dublin, they’re all knocked down as the road isn’t wide enough for them so no one could fit safely,” she explained.
“And they’re a blight. Europe manages to have cyclists and cars on the road but don’t make the place look like a kip. I was pointing out the massive raised concrete block on the road as well.
“For whatever reason, some counties’ councils have gone with these so the road can be a danger to absolutely everyone. Love that we are making the country look more manky by the day.
“I do know that plastic bollards can bend… not so much the concrete blocks that I saw a poor cyclist take a hopper off a few months back.
“Nothing against cyclists, just think Ireland [is] executing cycle lanes terribly.”
I can’t wait to hear Schofield’s take…
“Watching London commute past me”
There are definitely worse views in London…
Coffee stop on my way to work. Watching London commute past me. pic.twitter.com/HHlWjnoc1N
— Ned Boulting (@nedboulting) September 20, 2022
My view of 20 years commuting by bike around the capital is that we are on the cusp of really significant change, if it’s not already happening. Investment has been one thing – but I think I underestimated the need for patience. Despite the urgency, patience.
— Ned Boulting (@nedboulting) September 20, 2022
Luis Enrique announces Spain’s Nations League squad – on his bike
Now, this is how you announce an international squad (take notes, Mr Southgate)…
🤩 ¡Qué ganas teníamos de decir esto!: @LUISENRIQUE21 da a conocer la lista con los 2️⃣5️⃣ jugadores que disputarán los duelos de #NationsLeague contra Suiza y Portugal.
🚴🏻😉 ¡Míster, con este equipo seguro que nos va sobre ruedas!#VamosEspaña pic.twitter.com/Z6S0t1z2sW
— Selección Española de Fútbol (@SEFutbol) September 16, 2022
Spain manager Luis Enrique – a keen cyclist and runner – paid homage to the Vuelta a España by going for a spin in the mountains outside Madrid, which played host to the grand tour’s finale two weekends ago.
In a cool touch, as former Barcelona boss Enrique announced the players who will be representing their country this week in the final round of Nations League fixtures against Switzerland and Portugal – the squad’s last semi-competitive games before this winter’s World Cup in Qatar – the names of those selected were superimposed on the mountain roads, as if they were painted there by some overzealous Basque fans.
Come on Gareth, let’s see you on Buttertubs…
Big up to the Club TTs
British Juniors locking out the World Champs TT 🌈, it’s safe to say the future is bright. Big up to the Club TT scene, people joke that nobody cares about local TTs, and while it might be half true, the opportunity they give to consistently race always seems to pay dividends.
— Joe Laverick (@JoeLavo) September 20, 2022
++ Izzy Sharp finishing 10th. Josh and Zoe will take the headlines, but hats off to Izzy too. Just 15-seconds outside the medals, not bad at all.
— Joe Laverick (@JoeLavo) September 20, 2022
More Angry Birds
Holding #Wollongong2022 World Champs during magpie swooping season was only ever going to end one way. Sorry Bauke. pic.twitter.com/XkuWbi4NX5
— Belinda (@reallyspoketome) September 20, 2022
> “It was terrifying”: Remco Evenepoel and World Championships pros suffer magpie attacks
Hour Record and Il Lombardia are Ganna clash, says RCS Sport
And that’s my last pun of the day, I promise…
Anyway, last week we reported that Filippo ‘Top’ Ganna (you can’t count that one, it’s too well-established) is gearing up to take on the Hour Record, currently held by the Italian’s Ineos team’s aero guru Dan Bigham, who covered an impressive 55.548km back in August.
Just like Coppi, Merckx, Moser, and Boardman before him, Ganna’s attempt on the Hour may well prove to be an era-defining ride, and one that could put the record out of sight for the foreseeable future.
> Filippo Ganna confirms Hour Record attempt
However, not everyone is buzzing about former world champion’s attempt. RCS Sport, the organisers of the Giro d’Italia, are unhappy that the date set by Ganna and Ineos – 8 October – clashes with Il Lombardia, part of RCS’s stable and one of the sport’s monument classics.
“Upon hearing the news of Filippo Ganna’s Hour record attempt on 8 October, the same day as Il Lombardia, the last monument race of the season, RCS Sport considers this coincidence inappropriate,” an RCS spokesperson told Gazzetta dello Sport at the weekend.
“Two events of international level and of great importance for professional cycling should not take place on the same date. RCS Sport hopes that an optimal solution can soon be found to allow enthusiasts and professionals to follow both these wonderful challenges.”
While RCS Sport’s concerns appear to be slightly over the top – the Hour Record is scheduled to start in Switzerland at 8pm, hours after Lombardia finishes, and could actually help to raise interest in another important Italian cycling event that day – the usually dominant Ganna may in fact welcome a last-minute change of plans after his surprisingly subdued seventh place at the Worlds time trial on Sunday.
Or he’ll just go out on 8 October and smash the Hour to pieces. I know which outcome I’d bet on…
Fausto Capybara
That’s not a dog.. 😅
🎥 IG: odzi.and.elza pic.twitter.com/Bf2v6HjAON
— Buitengebieden (@buitengebieden) September 19, 2022
Alright, no more puns – Unless of course someone has anything better than that dreadful attempt, then please send it my way….
Now That’s What I Call Cycling Infra!
This new cycling tunnel in Norway opened last week. It’s 430 meters long and runs through a small mountain. https://t.co/yWX9DwECJG pic.twitter.com/Qt0khOhG3v
— Anders Hartmann (@andershartmann) September 19, 2022
Maybe this is what Elon Musk has been banging on about all year…
Dude, where’s my bike? World championships edition
Spare a thought for Pavel Novák, the 17-year-old Czech rider who turned up, ready to go, at the start ramp of the junior world time trial championships – without his bike:
Even after that late start – which couldn’t have helped the youngster’s morale ahead of the 28.8km test – Novák still managed a very credible 15th, just over two minutes behind British winner Josh Tarling.
Things were even worse for Belgium’s Jens Verbrugghe, who came into the championships in Wollongong with realistic hopes for a medal after a strong season that included a silver medal in the European time trial championships.
However, Verbrugghe fell foul of the dreaded junior gearing rules, with a last-minute check from the UCI finding that the 17-year-old’s Lapierre was fitted with a 53-tooth chainring, one tooth more than the maximum gearing allowed for U18 riders.
Without a spare bike in Australia, a devastated Verbrugghe was then forced to frantically borrow a Ridley TT bike from the Belgian Cycling Federation – one that he had never ridden before – eventually finishing 2:58 behind Tarling, who passed him on the course.
Simon Wilkinson/SWpix.com
“There was indeed a 53 instead of 52 sprocket on his bike”, Belgian Cycling’s technical director Frederik Broché told Het Nieuwsblad after the race. “They hadn’t seen that at the UCI during the first checks and neither had we in recent days. We unpack bicycles and assemble them, but a new gear has not been set up there. The UCI finally saw that it was 15 centimetres too big, so we had to get another bike.
“They made that bike for his team, but if you’re interested in the technical aspects of cycling, you know that 52 is not made much anymore. It is the UCI that imposes: 52 and 14, or 7m93. Then 52/14 is the most logical combination, but nowadays – with the current gears – that has all become 53.
“There is a good chance that they have imposed a standard gear there. That is the end of the matter and you should already buy a 52. This will all change next year, I would like to add that as a side note.
“But it’s a mistake, he didn’t know it himself. You don’t do this to anyone, especially for a young guy. The Ridley bike was one of ours, he didn’t have a spare bike with him. This is often the case with juniors. And we also assume that the gears are in order, so that is not always checked.
“It’s a human error on the part of several people: rider, mechanic, the man who put his bike together, our people who didn’t see it… But I’m not going to point the finger at anyone.”
‘So, what’s the proudest moment of your 13-year professional cycling career, Sam?’
You’d think an Olympic medal would be your proudest memory but each to their own I guess 👍 https://t.co/WnsaIJSJNv
— Hannah Barnes (@bannahharnes) September 19, 2022
“A few millimetres more and I would have been paralysed”: French track rider crashes during speed record attempt
Seven-time world track champion François Pervis has said that he was millimetres away from being paralysed after crashing during an attempt to break the recumbent bike speed record on Friday.
The 37-year-old Frenchman, who has world titles to his name in the Keirin, sprint and kilo events on the track, as well as the kilo world record, broke a 30-year-old speed record over four kilometres by travelling at 112.47kph in San Francisco on Friday.
Later that day, Pervis was attempting to break Ted Reichart’s human-powered recumbent speed record of 144.17km/h when he crashed, due to what he says was a small pebble on the road.
Posting photos of the damaged machine and helmet on social media after the terrifying incident, Pervis wrote: “On my evening run my rear tyre blew out at 130kph. The bike and tyres were faultless, so we are thinking it was caused by a small pebble on the road.
“I had a long slide down the road before ending up with a couple of barrel rolls. Luckily for me, the path was clear and no poles or trees were in the vicinity. I was not thrown off my bike which protected me extremely well.”
Pervis was immediately transferred to hospital, where he received treatment for a pulmonary haemorrhage and a fracture in his spine.
“According to the doctor, a few millimetres more and I would have been paralysed,” he said. “But don’t panic, luckily it didn’t happen and everything will get better very soon.”
Pervis, who described the incident as “more fear than harm”, returned to France today where he will continue his recovery.
Cycling meets football, part two: Laurent Fignon, Partick Thistle ultra
It’s all gone a bit capybara crazy in the comments (the size of them!), so I’ll leave you on this fine Tuesday evening with a fantastic photo of the late two-time Tour de France winner – and diehard Partick Thistle fan – Laurent Fignon:
Larry Fignon out training in a Partick Thistle strip, of whom he was an ardent supporter. ‘Allez les Jags’ was his unique cry of support up at Fir Park, though he didn’t get to many games. https://t.co/f5oxSzX95M
— Kenny Pryde (@Kenny_Pryde) September 19, 2022
They certainly don’t make leader’s jerseys like they used to…
And on a related note, could you please sign my annual petition to the ASO to bring back the white Paris-Nice jersey?
20 September 2022, 08:45
More magpie news from Down Under...
"It was terrifying": Remco Evenepoel and World Championships pros suffer magpie attacks
Home rider Grace Brown reported being "swooped" twice, while time trial silver medallist Stefan Küng was recommended a helmet antenna to keep the problem birds away — "but that's not so good for aerodynamics"...
20 September 2022, 08:45
20 September 2022, 08:45
20 September 2022, 08:45
Ah, so that’s what has happened to all my KOMs…
Strava KOMS are being hijacked by motorbikers going as fast as 112mph
Uh oh! *Insert speeding person on extremely fast motorcycle* just stole your KOM!
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Latest Comments
Never mind the police - many cyclists (at least in the UK) would be totally unfamiliar with a velomobile, so perhaps police can be forgiven for ignorance there. (I've "normal" recumbents and even those cause lots of head-turning). And for "e-things" the tail of the market is very much wagging the dog of regulation. Or rather there's almost zero political interest in that. In an ideal world someone would find the money and time to get the police trained - but I wonder if most of them even keep abreast of things like the highway code wording tweaks? (Do those not specialised in road policing / pursuit driving get any more training than the average driver eg "enough to pass the test, once per lifetime"?)
I thought that the lengthy technical downhill section on narrow roads was a poor piece of organisation. It was inevitable that faster riders with their team car would catch up with team cars of slower riders. Riders passing each other was a bit of a lottery at times. The camera motorbikes struggled to get out of the way at times.
It's not a 'statement' though - it's road.cc's words, based on l'Equipe's interpretation. The actual statement issued on it said that the judge authorised it "guaranteeing strict proportionality between the infringements on the rights of the athlete and the stakes of the fight against doping in terms of fair competition and protection of his health."
Trust me Callum, if you'd grown up watching the Tour in the 1980s, as I did, you would not be hankering after those long flat stages that weren't even as exciting as watching paint dry, it was more like listening to paint dry. As for the supposed benefits of those long TTs, what did they give us? Indurain winning five Tours in a row without winning a single road stage in any of them. As McT says below, you simply can't Pogacar-proof a course and we just have to accept, and enjoy, the fact that we are watching the greatest GT cyclist of all time. Anyway I think it has been a great Tour so far, yes no enormous drama about the inevitable winner (though of course Vinegaard and now Lipowitz have shown us that anything can happen) but just about every day has had a fascinating plot and multiple subplots. Some time in the future there will be another Indurain-style winner, playing it cautious, following moves, making incremental gains and winning without ever lighting up the race and we'll be saying I wish the old days of Pogacar making those spectacular solo breaks were back.
The main issue is the layout of the stages with the bigger climb first then a shallow finish climb. It means pogacar can get a gap at the top of the big climb and then stretch 10-15 seconds to a minute plus at the finish over smaller riders like Vingegaard. A summit finish on the hardest climb might not lead to the most exciting racing but equally would keep the gaps closer. I totally agree with the TT kms though, they should have 60+km tts in the grand tours.
@MaxiMinimalist I mean, that statement makes it sound like they had reason to think those two are doping. Either they didn't follow procedure and are making shit up to cover themselves up or something is going on.
Quite possibly. But the changeover time loss would be a bit more significant if it was done on the flat just after the downhill when the riders are travelling faster, the deceleration, changeover and acceleration loss could easily be around 30 seconds, which is quite a lot of a 34 minute effort.
So Skoda have taken a leaf out of Dung-Old Karen Taco Trump's book and are re-naming something when they have no authority to do so?
@Mr Blackbird Fair points, though I was wondering if doing the climb and descent on a standard bike and swapping to TT for the flat section would have been worth it? Certainly quite a few riders seemed to be having handling difficulties maintaining the best line on the descent with their TT machines.
No. The climb wasn't severely steep and allowed a reasonable speed to be maintained on a TT bike, his bike handling skills on road or TT bike are outstanding for the descent and on a road bike he would have lost a lot of time on the flat last 9k section. Terrific performance by him though!
29 thoughts on “Did you ride your bike yesterday?; TV presenter slams “pure ugly, Soviet-era Russia” cycle lanes; Double rainbow for GB at junior worlds TTs; Speed record attempt crash; Adam Yates joins UAE; Enrique announces Spain squad – on bike + more on the live blog”
Zoe Backstedt doing her
Zoe Backstedt doing her chances of an honour no harm there
I was out on my MTB yesterday
I was out on my MTB yesterday. A few km were covered and a few hills climbed, plus one rather rapid descent on road when I overtook a roadie and despite the knobbly tyres on my Cannondale….
I didn’t know Ned was a south
I didn’t know Ned was a south London lad, that’s one of our favourite cafes, on an excellent quietway that takes you through to the Blackfriars segregated path.
I read his column in “Cycling
I read his column in “Cycling Plus” mag, he often mentions home being Lewisham.
Ah, that’s very local for him
Ah, that’s very local for him then.
Looking at Street View in
Looking at Street View in Google maps, it’s really improved recently. You can see a pavement parked van, and a possibly closed bookies.
With both Zoe and Josh going
With both Zoe and Josh going up to the senior ranks will they get to wear their rainbows in races? I’m guessing there aren’t many ITTs left this season.
Muireann O’Connell must be
Muireann O’Connell must be confused. Those segregated lanes she remembers in Soviet Russia? They were not for the proletariat on bicycles!
I’ve only been to Ireland
I’ve only been to Ireland once, in about 1990.
They barely had a road system then, the main road from Dublin to Shannon was single track most of the way with shale either side for pulling onto to allow cars to pass (oncoming or overtaking). There was mile or so of motorway from the airport to Dublin.
So I should think the whole of Ireland looks a lot worse due to road building, let alone cycle lanes.
It won’t be long before that
It won’t be long before that bloke needs a cargo bike (with a motor) to move his “pet” capybara around. Those things end up the size of a sheep
brooksby wrote:
.
.
But with teeth like this…
But with teeth like this…
brooksby wrote:
I believe they have teeth like guinea pigs – they grow continuously and get worn down by lots of nibbling on vegetation
I was about to warn you about
I was about to warn you about releasing invasive rodent species into this forum but I see it’s too late.
EDIT – I have done some animal transportation by bike (kittens / young cat in a carrier). Short distance (about 10 minutes). Seemed OK – no-one got bike-sick at least. Can’t say if it’s better than using a car. A hot water bottle under a blanket and some windproofing of the carrier may be wise in winter. Kickstands are helpful and make sure you don’t have an unclipping issue!
I was out for a couple of
I was out for a couple of hours after lunch yesterday, generally more bikes than cars on the roads.
Except near Styal Country Park and the NT car park at Alderley Edge where there was more motor traffic than usual, presumably people driving there to get some exercise.
“pure ugly, Soviet-era Russia
“pure ugly, Soviet-era Russia” cycle lanes – yeah, because most tarmacced roads are ever so picturesque…
Anyone thinking about going
Anyone thinking about going for a ride in the middle of the UK? Check your maps – you don’t want to be accused of getting in the way of future generations saving 30 minutes on a trip to Brum!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-61721267
My local roads were unusually
My local roads were unusually quiet, during my morning dog walk (a lot of folks not going to work, I suppose).
I wasn’t able to get out for a ride, unfortunately – which is more than could be said for one of my local unreasonably loud motorcycle riders, who (with no surprise,whatsoever) managed to make an appearance during the minute’s silence.
can I just highlight Zoe
can I just highlight Zoe Backstedt currently holds 4 world titles in cycling at the moment, junior cyclocross, junior road race, junior madison and now junior time trial.
I went out for a quick local
I went out for a quick local loop between the services, far more cyclists than Id normally see out and about, say for a comparable Sunday, but then I wondered if the lack of “organised” rides meant everyone had the same idea and picked the same times. Certainly low traffic, not empty roads by any stretch of the imagination, but much more like Covid lockdown style, albeit with the same flaw that fewer vehicles and lack of police presence inevitably meant far more vehicles speeding.
But certainly when I went out later after everything had finished for a post funeral drink, the roads were very quickly back to normal I thought
What is that next to the
What is that next to the coffee cup?
Looks like some form of
Looks like some form of Exposure light.
Diablo in gun metal is my
Diablo in gun metal is my guess.
Light sabre
Light sabre
RE: Now that’s what I call
RE: Now that’s what I call cycling infra:
Where are the trolls today?
chrisonatrike wrote:
Just after the tunnel, there’s a bridge; they’re under that.
went out for my longest ride
went out for my longest ride yesterday. On,y 74km but not bad for a fat boy on a hard tail, and the hills down here (st Ives area) are a little more severe than used to.
Still recovering today.
was quiet but great.
You have to love the Irish.
You have to love the Irish. Spotted this in Ballinasloe a few years back.