Appendicitis, fewer marriages + increase in women smoking — strangest things people blamed on bikes; Wout van Aert & Red Bull clock fastest wheel change; Jeremy Vine orders cycling number plate; Quintana’s lawyer attacks; Vuelta + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Jeremy Vine orders his cycling number plate
Sod it, the politicians are right, I’m going to get myself a number plate pic.twitter.com/PdVAdBJa7e
— Jeremy Vine (@theJeremyVine) August 22, 2022
This is exactly the sort of garment a certain Mr Loophole petitioned and trawled the talk radio stations asking for cyclists to be required to wear — a hi-vis “tabard” with identification number (no word if personalisation like Vine’s is allowed) — because we all know hi-vis works and nobody with a number plate has ever committed a traffic offence… oh, wait a second…
How have you turned this into a discussion about high viz?
We have cars covered in it and big flashy lights and drivers STILL don’t see us. pic.twitter.com/e4PF8v7uqu
— Roads Policing – Surrey Police – UK (@SurreyRoadCops) June 26, 2020
> Hi-vis police officer close passed by lorry driver
Sorry, no idea how those got there…
Anyway, here are a couple of other designs rolling in…
— 🚴🏻♂️Ralpha (aka Phil)🚴🏻♂️ (@2wheelsnot4) August 22, 2022
Think I might go with this… pic.twitter.com/b9FWYVVuya
— Sven Rufus (@SvenRufus) August 22, 2022
Last week was quite the few days for the Department for Transport, with Grant Shapps first suggesting he supported number plates for cyclists as part of a toughening of the rules, before less than 24 hours later saying he is “not attracted to bureaucracy” of number plates for cyclists.
You could say the damage was done, however, with frothing talk show segments and a newspaper article referring to ‘red light rats’ following on for the rest of the week…
Nairo Quintana's lawyer slams "strange" tramadol case "concocted" by UCI
[📷 Zac Williams/SWpix.com]
Nairo Quintana’s lawyer, Andrés Charria, took to Colombia’s Blu Radio to defend his client, saying the case against the Arkéa–Samsic climber is “very strange” and has been “concocted” by the UCI.
> Nairo Quintana sanctioned by UCI for Tour de France tramadol infringement
“The truth is, it’s a very strange process. What’s happening with Nairo is something new, that the UCI has concocted,” he said.
“This is not doping, but it appears like doping. It’s important to ask what the UCI is looking for, because if it’s about health, that’s a fundamental pillar of WADA, and if WADA doesn’t consider it [tramadol] harmful on health grounds… it’s complicated. There is a badly made rule, a strange sample collection, a laboratory that isn’t accredited.”
Something tells me this one’s going to rumble on for a while…
Shimano 105 Di2 Review — is the 105 R7100 groupset good?
Welcome to the procrastination station, designed to keep you distracted at work…
Take eight to watch our vid on the all-new Di2 105, you deserve it…
Southampton man due in court accused of riding a bicycle on the M3
.jpg)
[📷: CC licensed image by Paul Appleyard / Flickr]
The Southern Daily Echo reports a man is due in court accused of riding a bicycle on the M3 near Southampton. He was charged with causing danger to road users following an incident on May 14 this year.
Section 22A of the 1991 Road Traffic Act states:
A person is guilty of an offence if he intentionally and without lawful authority or reasonable cause —
(a) causes anything to be on or over a road, or
(b) interferes with a motor vehicle, trailer or cycle, or
(c) interferes (directly or indirectly) with traffic equipment,
in such circumstances that it would be obvious to a reasonable person that to do so would be dangerous.
Appendicitis, fewer marriages + increase in women smoking — strangest things people blamed on bikes
Twitter’s quite good sometimes…
A decline in marriages pic.twitter.com/tXJWDoM0wx
— Paul Fairie (@paulisci) August 22, 2022
Paul Fairie put together this thread of the strangest things people have blamed on bicycles… I’m sure we can all add a few more to the list…
Appendicitis pic.twitter.com/NBJZkv5nw6
— Paul Fairie (@paulisci) August 22, 2022
“Yeah, mate. Ever since they all started riding those bicycles nobody comes in for chairs anymore…”
A decline in furniture sales pic.twitter.com/qSblCxBDSn
— Paul Fairie (@paulisci) August 22, 2022
The Telegraph delivering the goods as per…
An increase in the number of women smokers pic.twitter.com/YZmqdBIjju
— Paul Fairie (@paulisci) August 22, 2022
To summarise the rest, it’s those two-wheeled menaces’ fault for: decline in grain consumption, the closure of Christian society, decline in trans-Atlantic travel, and a condition called ‘bicycle face’ where the rider feels “the sentimental side of that tired feeling”. It is “yearning, anxious, hopeful, fearful, exhausted, incomplete and generally dissatisfied” — maybe there is something in that…
Widening out from bikes to other cycling-related things, there was that Bristol cycle lane the council blamed for causing… flooding, and the ‘cycling cause erectile dysfunction’ classic.
Any more?
IT 3
Washed out of the drains by flash flooding Pennywise takes to life on two wheels, riding in the road, without a helmet, road tax, licence or registration plate…angering everyone into a rage so furious they forget about the snatching children thing…coming to cinemas autumn 2022…
Bicycles – bringing joy to cities every day pic.twitter.com/3uIfuFWK7K
— Laura Laker (@laura_laker) August 23, 2022
Yes, I am aware the balloons are the wrong colour…
"Worst take on a car crash I've ever seen"
Less than 2 miles from where I live, I’ve used this station, know layout.
40mph (speed limit), driver loses control, it smacks barriers, airbags deploy, hopefully everyone okay.
120mph, it hits Tesla, gets sent 100m into station, passenger dies.
Worst take on RTC I’ve ever seen. pic.twitter.com/NRuRyDFDEh— Simon MacMichael 💛🇫🇷🚲 (@simonmacmichael) August 22, 2022
Vuelta a España stage 4: Primož Roglič v Julian Alaphilippe v Ethan Hayter
🇪🇸: @lavuelta Stage 4
🚩 Vitoria – 🏁 Laguardia , 152.5 km.
⏰:13:40- 17:30(CEST)
⚠️: The first stage on Basque soil and we’re straight into the hilly terrain with a punchy finish.
📺: @Eurosport#LaVuelta22
#WeAreUAE pic.twitter.com/iI1crEt4VH— @UAE-TeamEmirates (@TeamEmiratesUAE) August 23, 2022
Pro racing is back in the Basque Country…
We’ve got 152.5km on the menu today from Vitoria to Laguardia finishing with an uphill kicker (900m at 8.4 per cent), a big chance for Ethan Hayter to take his maiden Grand Tour stage victory. Questions remain about Primož Roglič and Julian Alaphilippe’s condition on return from injury, giving white jersey holder Hayter a golden opportunity to be Britain’s latest big-race winner…
The red jersey looks out of reach, unless the Ineos all-rounder wins and Roglič loses a few seconds, but anyway that’s probably getting ahead of ourselves… what odds a Hayter stage win and Roglič in red by 5pm?
😬
UPDATE: The preserving pan’s getting a scrub https://t.co/OdHRqhQu5H
— Cycling Folkie 🌳 (@VeganCyclist4) August 23, 2022
Volunteer at the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships
🚨 𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗬 𝗧𝗢 𝗩𝗢𝗟𝗨𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗘𝗥! 🚨
We know loads of you have been waiting for this moment – we’re now accepting applications to #volunteer at the 2023 UCI Cycling Worlds in Glasgow and across Scotland!
📝 Help us power the bike ⏩ https://t.co/TKJWbn8twp pic.twitter.com/mRgVwAk0W3
— 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships (@CyclingWorlds) August 23, 2022
Today marks the start of the call for volunteers across to Scotland to help make next year’s all-discipline UCI Cycling World Championships live up to its title as the “biggest and best cycling event in history”.
This morning’s launch in Glasgow saw Volunteer Ambassadors Judy Murray and Sean Batty joined by Scottish track cyclist Jack Carlin who won silver and bronze medals for Scotland at Birmingham’s Commonwealth Games.
Fancy getting involved?
Lights Wout and away we go: Wout van Aert & Red Bull clock the fastest wheel change ever...(probably)
Bet you never saw a pitstop like this! 😎🇧🇪 Full video ‘From Sim To Reality’ 👉https://t.co/tM9FOmU1LY@Max33Verstappen, @redbullracing & @WoutvanAert #FromSimToReality #madeinBelgium #givesyouwings pic.twitter.com/5rl4Da8Dt8
— Red Bull Belgium (@RedBullBe) August 22, 2022
“My flat tire came at an unfortunate moment,” Red Bull athlete Wout van Aert told the energy drink brand’s latest ad. By unfortunate we think he means at the exact moment a camera crew and team of Red Bull mechanics were on-site to film a promo…how unfortunate…
Personally, I’d rather see Wout have to ride until he punctures legitimately, all the while with an increasingly fatigued pit crew following in a team car. If only they had a caffeine-packed beverage to keep them sharp…
Groundhog day at La Vuelta
Here we go again…
Red Roglic is back. pic.twitter.com/3BBuh8YsvO
— Cycling out of context (@OutOfCycling) August 23, 2022
It’s that time of the year again. The summer nights are just starting to creep back, multiple football teams are in crisis and Primož Roglič has won an uphill finish to take the lead of the Vuelta…
¡¡Primoz ROGLIC y su historia de amor con la Vuelta a España!! #VueltaRTVE23A #LaVuelta22
Vuelve la carrera a territorio español y el esloveno impone su ley pese a ser duda en la prueba hasta última hora
Victoria y liderato para el de Jumbo-Visma https://t.co/ruL2xgztb6 pic.twitter.com/4zqEnKvZyA
— Teledeporte (@teledeporte) August 23, 2022
Apologies for the slightly sparse live blog updates this afternoon…duty called elsewhere…but we’ll be back first thing for more…
I’ll leave you with the events of today’s stage: Roglič and Mads Pedersen did battle for the day (summing up the intriguing showdown of climbers, puncheurs and fast men who went for stage four). Unsurprisingly my pre-stage favourite Ethan Hayter was seventh (sorry), while Julian Alaphilippe was out of contention, leaving Rog and Mads to sprint for the line, the gradient working in the Slovenian’s favour. The three-time champ has a 13-second lead over teammate Sepp Kuss and 26 seconds over Ineos pair Pavel Sivakov and Tao Geoghegan Hart.
23 August 2022, 08:10
23 August 2022, 08:10
23 August 2022, 08:10
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Latest Comments
There you go again
Marginal margins.
The covid / post-covid boom is driven primarily by failures of capitalist strategy, causing over supply and price gouging. What we are seeing now is the correction. Most so-called ‘Western brands’ bikes are made in Eastern countries anyway - who have long been the leading manufacturers of carbon bikes. Now these makers are becoming brands / sellers too and Western brands have been put on notice. Inflation is driven by greed, not need.
@Benthic A125 motorbike can be ridden by a 17 year old can do about 75MPH; a legal e-bike that a 17-year-old cannot use can do about 15MPH.
The latest moral panic. "From August, the legal age to ride an e-scooter in Ireland will rise from 16 to 18" But, in Ireland you can still drive a: - moped from the age of 16 - 125 cc motorbike from the age of 17 - 3.5 tonne car from the age of 17 So that makes complete sense.
@mitsky I am seeing those Amazon ones in Manchester pretty much every day.
Quite. There's also a demand side story to accompany your eloquently written post, in that domestic demand has dampened from the captive COVID market of a few years back, and less international demand due to tariff-led policies and anti-dumping laws. On Chinese competition, I don't think it's necessarily Western profit-seeking behaviour which has caused increased Chinese supply and competitiveness as much as higher Chinese investment leading to higher quality output, innovation, and economies of scale. I don't know about Chinese frames as I haven't bought one and haven't seen one, but for wheels I don't see any inherent quality advantage for Western brands. Indeed, innovation seems to be coming from Chinese brands along with lower prices, just like we're seeing with electric cars. So higher quality and lower prices.
They should concentrate on the road users who do most of the killing and injuring: car drivers.
I've used the "why aren't you on the motorway?" one before, except here it would be "highway" or "Interstate." The other one I like is: "Get on the sidewalk!" (pavement) "On the side what?" "On the sidewalk!" "So it's not called a side-bicycle then?" Also one I've used a couple of times: "You're not a car!" "Neither are you!"
I've used Challenge, Vittoria, Veloflex and Continental tyres. What stands out for me regarding Challenge is how robust their supple tyres are. Usually there is a tradeoff there, but Challenge somehow manages to keep both.
45 thoughts on “Appendicitis, fewer marriages + increase in women smoking — strangest things people blamed on bikes; Wout van Aert & Red Bull clock fastest wheel change; Jeremy Vine orders cycling number plate; Quintana’s lawyer attacks; Vuelta + more on the live blog”
Next a change to section 172,
Next a change to section 172, obliging one to “name the wearer”, I honestly think the idiots calling for mandatory registration haven’t really thought this through.
You think?
You think?
On the bright side, what an
On the bright side, what an opportunity to bag yourself a swish personalised number plate!
That sails uncomfortably
That sails uncomfortably close to the pretentious Tesla crowd.
What is it about tesla people
What is it about tesla people that makes them so attracted to the most twattish thing possible, the personalised number plate?
Is it a desire to be individual but owning something now very common?
Is it just a smug twunt factor?
The world may never know.
The possibilities are endless
The possibilities are endless, though I see the POLITE hi viz has been taken the wrong way: https://www.motorcyclenews.com/amp/news/2019/june/polite-vest-ruined-life/
I’m not sure the takeaway
I’m not sure the takeaway from that is so much be careful about polite hi-viz vests, and I see plenty of bikers who use it still even one whose bike was white with hi-viz flashes on it I had to double check my cam footage to check I hadn’t been close passed (yeah that polite stuff only goes one way apparently) by a police motorcyclist, or dont go looking for an argument with the police.
I find that so funny, the
I find that so funny, the only reason to put “Polite” in big letters on your horse, motorcycle, bicycle, garage or whatever else is because it looks at a glance like police. People then get upset when they are accused of trying to look at a glance like the police?
If it was just the word
If it was just the word polite I don’t think there would be an issue. The blue chequer pattern is a bit more troublesome, as whilst there is nothing banning it on clothing I believe it is illegal to apply it to a vehicle other than a police vehicle (ambulances green, fire engines red, Highways Agency black) so it could be this.
Still seems over the top though.
That is correct, battenberg
That is correct, battenberg reflectives on vehicles are covered by legislation which was amended to also include cycles by amending the previous legislation from ‘motor vehicles’ to ‘vehicles’
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2005/2559/regulation/3/made
Bicycles to blame for the
Bicycles to blame for the cheap price of cattle and hogs and a falling off in marriages because the husbands go off for a long ride instead of paying attention to their womenfolk?? For gods sake nobody tell Truss or Shapps…
I hope round Edinburgh I see
I hope round Edinburgh I see some wag with “POLISH” on their hi-vis.
Hold on, were you the same
Hold on, were you the same bloke that made the ‘diversity hire’ joke a few days ago?
Nope – what was that one?
Nope – what was that one?
chrisonatrike wrote:
Intersting take on the usual “Polite”
Re: Latest ABD nonsense. I’m
Re: Latest ABD nonsense. I’m guessing they have deleted the tweet in question. I had a quick check of barrier impact speeds and the best I could work out for those steel ones was car weighing 900kgs at 130 kph (and 20 degree impact angle). So even if they were in place 400 yards or so back where the car left the carriageway, the car weighing over twice the testing limit and going at least 50% over final testing speed……
I was stupid enough to search
I was stupid enough to search out previous posts from ABD’s twitter account – based on that, it turns out that climate change is pretty much a hoax. Who knew!
So was I. Strangely for an
So was I. Strangely for an organisation who are supposed to represent drivers, they don’t seem to want drivers of electric vehicles either. I suppose it might be similar views on how E-bikes are not cycling but still….
According to car crash
According to car crash calculator a car of 3000kg ie 3ton at 120mph would impact at 107,916kN of force…I dont think pedestrian barriers are specced to cope with forces like that
Yeah the tweet in question
Yeah the tweet in question has been deleted by the ABD. Probably ’cause so many people called it out for what it was.
The video clip from the tesla that has been posted online shows the car is already in a barrel roll before it hits the barriers between the charging station and the cycle path. And Google Maps shows that there was another set of similar barriers separating the road from the cycle path that the LR will have already destroyed before coming into shot.
No amount of extension of that type of barrier would have prevented the outcome. The only way that it would have changed if it was reinforced anti-terrorist type bollards.
Or the driver sticking to the
Or the driver sticking to the speed limit?
Easy there, it is clearly a
Easy there, it is clearly a cry for help. I had to google ABD and this is what came back:
“ABD is a rare form of severe mania, sometimes considered as part of the spectrum of manic-depressive psychosis and chronic schizophrenia”
Red Bull tyre change, I’ve
Red Bull tyre change, I’ve said before I think cycling team mechanics could learn alot from F1 teams wheel change practice,2.4 seconds I bet is alot quicker than most teams ever manage.
Meh. Send ’em a proper
Meh. Send ’em a proper Omafiets with chain case AND a rear drum / roller brake, let’s see how they deal with that. For a real challenge put Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres on there, give ’em front and rear punctures and no spare wheels or tubes. They can use a hot air gun to dry the rubber solution though; I’m not a monster.
Took me nearly 40mins last
Took me nearly 40mins last time I did one roadside 🙁
My Brompton has an internal
My Brompton has an internal hub, requiring disconnecting the cable and some other faffing in order to remove the rear wheel. So far I’ve had rear pinch flats twice, once in the dark, and both times I’ve opted to just patch the tube with the wheel on, rather than have to pull the wheel off and change the tube. Each time, it took me between ten and fifteen minutes. I should probably just practice it at home a few times.
I also need to learn to avoid pot holes on the Brompton. My main bike with 650B x 48 mm tyres set up tubeless doesn’t mind them so much.
Nice of Verstappen to do a
Nice of Verstappen to do a close pass on a blind bend and spin away at the end……sure he wasn’t driving a BMW or Mercedes?
(2.4 seconds is nowhere near what they actually did btw.)
I could have sworn I heard
I could have sworn I heard the car beep its horn too, I guess just to let Wout know he was there 😀
.
.
‘Yes, I am aware the balloons are the wrong colour… ‘
.
I’m a bit slow. Please help me out here. Wrong colour for what?
.
You need to watch the film
You need to watch the film ‘It’. Pennywise the scary clown has a red balloon.
Not 99 of them, that was Nena.
PRSboy wrote:
In the original German version of the song, the colour of the balloons was not specified. ‘Red’ was added to the English version so to make it scan.
Flintshire Boy wrote:
Pennywise
Tim Curry not wotsit
Tim Curry not wotsit Skarsgard. Nice.
brooksby wrote:
Tim Curry is a Legend!
(Must get around to watching the Skarsgård version)
hawkinspeter wrote:
Ah, but if you watch Legend then you MUST watch the cut with the Tangerine Dream & Jon Anderson soundtrack, none of yer Jerry Goldsmith orchestral arrangements
brooksby wrote:
Looks like I’m going to be searching the high seas for the UK TV version then.
Update: Looks like it’s freely available here: https://archive.org/details/legend-1985
nope, Goldsmiths score was by
nope, Goldsmiths score was by far the superior soundtrack
Awavey wrote:
Seems like a close call, but the Nerdist prefers Tangerine Dream: https://nerdist.com/article/legend-movie-movie-scores-tangerine-dream/
Awavey wrote:
How can you say that?
Goldsmiths score could have been in any fantasy film from the first half of the eighties (Conan, Krull, Red Sonja et al) but the TD score is truly magical. Makes that film something *special* IMO.
It’s a fairy story set in an
It’s a fairy story set in an enchanted forest with pixies,goblins and unicorns, a fantasy score seems wholly appropriate to its themes and stylings, not an 80s Euro synth techno pop group 🙂
They all float down here.
They all float down here.
Pit Stop Challenge …
Pit Stop Challenge …
I know its a bit of fun, but –
WvA wheel was loosed by hand, whereas a power hammer was used for the F1 car.
In the interest of parity, shouldn’t the F1 car’s central locking stud have been undone and redone by hand …
Jeremy’s dedication to the
Jeremy’s dedication to the people’s revolution is an example to us all.
Our leader Kim Jong Shapps will be pleased.
I quite enjoyed that several
I quite enjoyed that several of the things “blamed” on cycling boil down to cycling being so much fun and providing so much freedom that people stopped caring about other things. The horror.
I was interested in how it
I was interested in how it affected the price of cattle.
Were people using cows for transport before the bicycle came along?