“One of the worst MGIF pieces of cycling I’ve ever seen”: Driving instructor Ashley Neal slated for “dangerous” manoeuvre while testing e-bike; Scrapping safe streets “an attack on children’s futures”; Thomas signs new Ineos deal + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Weekend round-up
From empty national 12-hour time trial podiums (reminds me a bit of the Tour de France from 1999 to 2005), and Track Champions League chaos, to Scrooge-esque cycle lanes and Dave B’s plans to rejuvenate a sleeping sporting giant (and no, I’m not talking about the Ineos Grenadiers), here’s a round-up of all the cycling news you may have missed over the weekend…
> National 12-hour TT results still aren’t finalised… two months after it finished
> Cycling group insists much-criticised “glaring mistake” bike lane is actually a “non-issue”
> “Just chaos”: Track cycling event restarted after huge crash brings down half the field
> Check out the Spoon Customs 01 Sam Dunn hand-painted road bike
Some wholesome Monday morning cycling social media content… Or not
Perusing road.cc’s X/Twitter notifications on a Monday morning is quite often the perfect way to kick off a particularly unhinged week, but this reply – responding to our story on West Midlands Police thanking people for reporting “hundreds of careless and dangerous drivers” – made even me stop in my tracks:
Cyclists should have to be licenced and insured. And legally required to use cycleways, and on narrow roads should be legally obliged to pull over to let proper road-users past. Or, better still, allow hunting the bastards with dags. pic.twitter.com/gRc5vf7Ov0
— Emily Cee (@DocEmCee) October 23, 2023
I’m still not sure if the post is serious or just an elaborate anti-cycling bingo satire, but in any case – Full house!
“You switch on BBC Breakfast, you think, ‘oh, let's see how they did’, and there’ll be nothing”: Chris Hoy says lack of track cycling coverage in mainstream media is “a shame”
Sir Chris Hoy says he is frustrated with the current lack of coverage of track cycling in the mainstream media, which he says could be central to raising the profile of women’s sport in the UK.
“Ten years ago there would have been twenty journalists around a table having a chat about track cycling, so it’s a shame that there isn’t more support from the general media,” the six-time Olympic champion and BBC pundit, speaking at the first round of the UCI Track Champions League in Mallorca, said, according to GCN.
“Cycling media has always followed [track cycling], although it could follow it more, but the general media doesn’t seem to have the same love for it that it used to. Which is frustrating is when you see some amazing result, like Emma [Finucane, who won the sprint title] at the worlds.
“You switch on BBC Breakfast, you think, ‘oh, let’s see how they did’, and there’ll be nothing.”
> “Just chaos”: Track cycling event restarted after huge crash brings down half the field
Hoy added the lack of coverage is doubly frustrating considering the strength of Team GB’s female riders.
“We have the best women’s squad and now, the women’s sprint squad is so strong,” he said. “If the general media wants to show that they are behind trying to raise the profile of women’s sport then how about showing some of the cyclists? Because they’re bloody awesome. That’s the frustration I think.”
The 11-time world champion said the key for bolstering the profile of track cycling is “the Olympic viewers, who only turn it on every four years and go, ‘oh great, we’re good at this.’
“The reason in the UK track cycling was booming was because, well, the results were there, but also people knew the names. They knew Victoria Pendleton, they knew Mark Cavendish, me, whoever else, Jason Kenny – everybody. They were household names. And that’s missing now.”
With Laura Kenny – the only remaining member of the Class of 2012 still in the British squad – struggling to secure her spot for the Paris Olympics, Hoy noted that “it could be a completely new squad from 12 years ago”.
“So in that respect, it’s a challenge to get these names into the public consciousness,” he explained.
The end of another era at Groupama-FDJ, as French team ends partnership with bike supplier Lapierre after 22 years
First Thibaut Pinot retires, then his Groupama-FDJ team end their 22-year-long partnership with bike supplier Lapierre… What’s happening to the sport I love?
Setting aside my nostalgic yearning for the early 2010s, it was revealed over the weekend that the long collaboration between the Dijon-based bike brand and France’s most emblematic team – a partnership which yielded over 300 victories courtesy of the likes of Philippe Gilbert, Jacky Durand, Bradley Wiggins, Arnaud Démare, and, of course, Pinot himself – will come to a close at the end of the year.
However, Lapierre will continue to supply bikes to the women’s team, FDJ-Suez, in 2024, Velo101 reports.
> Tour de France pro bike: Thibaut Pinot’s Lapierre Xelius SL Exclusive
And while Lotto Dstny’s split from long-term bike supplier Ridley earlier this year was a messy affair, Groupama-FDJ boss Marc Madiot had nothing but kind words for the departing Lapierre.
“This is the end of a historic partnership of more than twenty years and we will always remember our great performances on Lapierre bikes,” the car door panel beating team manager said.
“During these two decades we co-developed some of the most efficient bikes in the world and it was a wonderful adventure, full of success. We respect Lapierre’s choice to end the partnership. Like every company, Lapierre must make strategic choices. The end of this collaboration is an illustration of this and we are respectful of this decision. Lapierre is and will remain a great bicycle brand!”
A New Deal According to G: Geraint Thomas extends contract with Ineos Grenadiers until end of 2025 season
As cycling epochs comes to an end elsewhere, one of the sport’s longest-standing partnerships continues to endure, with the Ineos Grenadiers announcing this morning that 2018 Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas has signed a new two-year deal with the British squad.
Thomas – the only rider to have raced for Sky/Ineos throughout its history, after joining the team as a 23-year-old from Barloworld in 2010 – has proved over the past two seasons that he still has what it takes to compete at the highest level, finishing third at the 2022 Tour de France (a month after winning the Tour de Suisse), and coming an excruciatingly close second to last-gasp pink jersey usurper Primož Roglič at this year’s Giro d’Italia.
(Zac Williams/SWpix.com)
And, despite an underwhelming performance at the Vuelta and rumours of a possible move away, the 37-year-old has committed what may prove to be the final years of his career to the Ineos Grenadiers, where he remains a central figure in a once-dominant team struggling to shape its new identity, during what has been an often painful period of transition.
“I am really delighted to extend my time as an Ineos Grenadier. I still just love riding my bike – racing and training with the boys – every single aspect of it,” Thomas said in a statement today.
“Although you ‘never say never’, in my head this is my last contract – but I know that I still have two more big years in me. And I wouldn’t have continued in a different team.
“This team understands me and, importantly, knows what it takes to achieve success. I have childhood mates here – Luke and Swifty as riders and Stannard now in management, and I’ve known Rod since 2003. This really does feel like home.
“We’re an ambitious group and have some big goals ahead. I’m really looking forward to getting stuck in again and want to help the team continue to progress.”
(Charlie Forgham-Bailey/SWpix.com)
The Welshman, who initially looked set to be a classics star before turning his attention (rather successfully, I might add) to stage races and the grand tours, even hinted that a return to the cobbles and hills of the Belgian spring may be on the cards as he heads towards retirement.
“I want to continue to be highly competitive in anything really; maybe look at going to the Classics again or ride GC in Grand Tours or help whoever is going to be the next guy coming through, but I just want to have a positive impact on the team,” he says.
“I’m at that stage where I’m still hungry to perform but at the same time, I am happy to help the team. I want to try and help us push forward to get back to the very top of the sport.
“It’s just been an amazing career so far and hopefully it can continue in that way.”
Ah, it’s that time of the week again: Residents angry that council plans to scrap car parking spaces to make way for cycle lane
A proposal which the council says would see the “front of York Station transformed to create a new and improved gateway to the city”, with safe cycling infrastructure, improved pedestrian facilities, and better access for bus users, has attracted objections from some residents who do not want to lose the parking spaces in front of their homes – despite the local authority announcing mitigation for blue badge holders, tradespeople, and emergency service workers.
“There’s just not room for everything and that’s part of the challenge that faces us,” James Gilchrist, York Council’s director of environment transport and planning, said. “Walking and cycling are prioritised over buses and then that over cars.”
‘I’ll see your fridge and raise you, err, 26 tonnes of medicinal china clay’
You can’t carry [insert random large/heavy object that the vast majority of people will never need to carry] on a bicycle, therefore it’s completely pointless owning one. A thread 🧵
— Jani (@janipewter) October 21, 2023
Over the weekend, Twitter/X user Jani provided a wonderful, selfless service to the online cycling community, by collating all the weird and wonderfully niche examples people give to argue that bicycles are, in fact, completely useless when it comes to transporting anything other than their rider…
And don’t worry, Jani didn’t just limit his search to the old, tired ‘But you can’t carry a fridge on a bike’ examples, he really has them all – from 60 square metres of carpet to “30 sheets of drywall, especially when it’s -40°C and there’s four feet of snow”, a cement mixer, a few hundred beef carcasses, and, errr, 26 tonnes of medicinal china clay:
26 tonnes of medicinal china clayhttps://t.co/XJX6hkGyRT
— Jani (@janipewter) October 21, 2023
To be fair, you can’t say they’re not creative.
I just brought 50kg of bramleys back from the plot, but I’m selling the bike because it can’t deliver 26 tons of medicinal clay in central London 😉 pic.twitter.com/oT4R2nQsLs
— Dave McCraw (@david_mccraw) October 22, 2023
Come on Dave, it’s time to give up and buy a van, you know you want to…
“Children will see that their safety and their health is less important to the powers that be than the interests of people passing their schools in motor vehicles”: Decision to scrap LTNs “an attack on children’s futures,” say protesting school teachers
Tower Hamlets Council’s decision last month to remove most of the borough’s low traffic neighbourhood schemes, despite a series of consultations showing that residents were in favour of retaining the traffic-calming measures, has been criticised by a group of local headteachers, who have penned an open letter to mayor Lutfur Rahman urging the notoriously anti-active travel politician to reverse the decision, which they branded “an attack on thousands of children’s futures”.
Last month, we reported that Tower Hamlets Council voted to scrap the walking and cycling initiatives introduced by the previous Labour administration in 2021 in Columbia Road, Arnold Circus, and Old Bethnal Green.
A similar Liveable Streets scheme on Canrobert Street, however, was retained, while a bus gate restriction in Wapping was kept due to “exceptional” support in a consultation last year.
“As headteachers of Tower Hamlets schools, we have a duty of care to all the young people in the borough and we are shocked and dismayed by the way that Mayor Rahman’s decision on 20 September deprioritised the health and safety of students in Bethnal Green,” the letter, addressed to councillor Mushtak Ahmed and signed by 86 primary and secondary school headteachers, said.
This isn’t the first time, meanwhile, that Rahman’s pro-car platform – since his re-election last year, the Aspire Party leader has rolled back a series of initiatives aimed at reducing motor vehicle traffic and promoting active travel, which he claims have increased congestion and contributed to more CO2 emissions in the area – has been opposed by local schools.
Last October, children, teachers, and parents installed their own Les Misérables-style barricade outside a school in Bow in protest at the council’s decision to put an end to School Streets initiatives in the borough, designed to restrict the use of motor vehicles outside schools at drop-off and pick-up times – a campaign that eventually saw Rahman reverse his decision.
> Children take to the barricades to save School Street
And in their open letter to the mayor, they accused the council of ignoring the views of local schools when it came to ripping out the borough’s “popular and successful” Liveable Streets measures, a decision they say would bring the borough “back to square one”.
The letter said: “Five of the most affected schools (Oaklands, Lawdale, Elizabeth Selby, Virginia, Columbia) wrote jointly to the mayor on 30 January 2023. In the letter they outlined why they supported the current street layouts in Bethnal Green, their concerns about the proposals to reintroduce thousands of extra cars per day in front of their school gates, and their belief that there are ways to improve the current layouts, for example by introducing more controlled crossings.
“The letter did not receive a response, neither the mayor nor any member of his cabinet went to speak to the schools, and it was not included in the consultation reports appended to the officer report for the 20 September decision. This is an unacceptable omission in the decision-making process.
“Mayor Rahman promotes the interests of Tower Hamlets’ young people through his free school meals policy for secondary schools and in his decision to retain the 33 ‘school streets’ across the borough.
“However, his decision to remove the current street layouts in Bethnal Green, and his failure to take any steps to reduce vehicle journeys in the borough, are an attack on thousands of children’s futures.”
The headteachers noted that, according to the council’s public health team, only 23 percent of children and young people in Tower Hamlets are physically active and that all schools in the area have council-approved School Travel Plans, which aim to encourage cycling and walking to school, and reducing car use.
“So, infrastructure which encourages walking and cycling to school is a powerful tool for the council to use, yet the mayor has decided to spend millions of pounds removing the most successful active travel infrastructure in the borough,” the letter said.
The council’s own equalities impact assessment, the teachers pointed out, also flagged during the decision-making process that scrapping LTNs would have a particularly negative effect on young people, due to the “increase in road danger, pollution, and discouragement for walking and cycling”.
> Police urge against scrapping low traffic neighbourhood, saying it reduces crime
The letter concluded: “While the immediate effects of this decision will be felt most significantly by schools within the low traffic neighbourhood in Bethnal Green, the impact will be felt across the borough.
“Children and young people will see that their daily safety and their long-term health is less important to the powers that be than the interests of people passing their schools in motor vehicles.
“More children will spend more days doing short journeys in cars, undermining their fitness, and increasing their risk of obesity. And they will all have friends in neighbouring boroughs who are much happier walking and cycling to school, where the councils have ongoing programmes to install and improve active travel infrastructure.
“How is it rational to feed and teach our children well, mandate that schools should encourage walking and cycling to school, and then remove the infrastructure which makes it safe and easy for young people to travel in a healthy way every day?”
Latest blow for Wiggle Chain Reaction as parent company closes US offices and prepares insolvency filings
More bad news on the Wiggle CRC front, as parent company Signa Sports United closes its offices in the United States, while preparing to make insolvency filings.
The closure of the offices in Park City, Utah, home to operations for Vitus and Nukeproof, has been described by the company’s North American head of operations as “a shock” and “a bitter pill to swallow”.
Surrey Council vows to improve safety for cyclists after the county topped the Department for Transport’s list for deaths and serious injuries
Surrey County Council has promised to make life on the roads safer for cyclists, after data released by the Department for Transport revealed that 139 people on bikes were killed or seriously injured in the county in 2022, making it the country’s most dangerous local authority for cyclists.
But thanks to a new Vision Zero project, which will see the council work alongside Surrey Police, Surrey Fire and Rescue, and National Highways, the council aims to halve all road deaths by 2030 and eliminate them completely by 2050.
“Over two thirds of our cycling casualties take place on 30mph speed limit roads, so we’re looking at putting more segregated cycling infrastructure in, either a kerb or a section of wands,” Duncan Knox, a road safety expert working for the council, said.
“There’s lots of roads that could easily become 20mph, especially where there isn’t room for segregated infrastructure.”
Welcoming the plan, Cycling UK’s Keir Gallagher said: “We need to stop seeing people dying on our roads as acceptable, it isn’t.
“Surrey does have a very high density of motor traffic and a lot of cycling, so I think the important thing is to be looking at how we can get those deaths and serious injuries down while being proactive.”
Hurrah! The results are finally in for the National 12 Hour Championships!
Yep, it only took around two months, but the results are finally in for the British 12-hour time trial championships, with provisional winner Richard Sharp confirmed as topping the hitherto vacant podium with a mammoth distance of 295.1 miles – that’s an average of 24.6mph for half a day, folks – beating second-place Tom Thornely by just 0.7 miles.
While Cycling Time Trials certainly took their time (apologies) getting round to announcing the winner, their speed certainly picked up over the past week, for some reason…
According to this morning’s statement, CTT held a rather timely ad-hoc committee meeting on Saturday to finalise the results – just five days after road.cc first contacted the time trialling body for clarification on the unusual situation.
Coincidence?
> National 12-hour TT results still aren’t finalised… two months after it finished
Oblivious driver of the week
A classic of the ‘Sorry, didn’t see you there’ genre of driving around cyclists, courtesy of this astoundingly oblivious driver in Comber, Co Down…
Contender for idiot of the week. pic.twitter.com/MR7toBD8Bj
— Belfast Cyclist (@BelfastCyclist1) October 22, 2023
Post-season Holidays, Soudal Quick-Step style
You may not be able to transport 26 tonnes of medicinal china clay by bike (scroll on for more on that), but you can transport climbing ace Ashleigh Moolman Pasio:
Not even a well-deserved holiday can keep our riders off the bike 😛 pic.twitter.com/r7UR2KjHNt
— Soudal Quick-Step Pro Cycling Team (@soudalquickstep) October 23, 2023
And at least Yves Lampaert now has some novel ideas for his winter training this year…
Simon Yates set to take on monster 87km, 3,275 metre-high hill climb
🇹🇼 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗱!🤝
We’re ready to 𝗙𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆!⛰
💬 “There are not many climbs like that & doing a race that is basically one big climb will be a really interesting challenge.” – @SimonYatess #TaiwanKOM read more ⤵️
— Team Jayco AlUla (@GreenEDGEteam) October 23, 2023
Speaking of curious post-season relaxation techniques, Simon Yates will head to Taiwan this week to take on the country’s infamous KOM Challenge – a gruelling climbing test attempted every year since 2012 by both amateurs and professionals (and even tackled by road.cc in 2014).
Located in Taiwan’s Hualien County, the climb of Mount Hehuan takes the riders from sea level to 3,275 metres in 87 long, leg-deadening, oxygen-sapping kilometres, averaging 3.5 percent with sections hitting almost 16 percent.
So, like I said, very relaxing.
Yates – who capped off a successful 2023, which saw him finish fourth at the Tour de France, just behind twin brother Adam, with fifth at Il Lombardia earlier this month – will travel to Taiwan alongside Jayco-AlUla teammate, 23-year-old Colombian climber Jesus David Peña, as the pair seek to break Vincenzo Nibali’s course record of 3:19:54, set by the Italian legend in 2017.
> From zero to 3250 metres in 105km… The Taiwan KOM Challenge
“The Taiwan KOM Challenge is a different style of racing to what we are used to with the race starting at sea level and then climbing to over 3000 metres,” Yates said before jetting off for Friday’s rather unique mountain time trial.
“There are not many climbs like that and doing a race that is basically one big climb will be a really interesting challenge and totally different to anything I’ve done before. Also, lining up alongside riders of all different levels from all over the world will be a unique experience.”
Needless to say, I imagine this particular zero to high altitude test will require a different sort of effort than that usually displayed on the short but steep affairs of the British hill climb scene, eh Simon?
Not quite my cup of tea, anyway…
Cyclist and granddaughter, 8, stopped for helmet "safety" advice by police who "sounded their sirens" and pulled pair over "because it's dangerous"
When asked for comment the officers’ police force doubled down on their actions, insisting “road safety is a priority for us and we will always look to educate road users on how they can keep safe”.
Hmmm… I’m sure frightening an eight-year-old child and putting her off riding her bike can be considered a job well done in that case…
“One of the worst MGIF pieces of cycling I’ve ever seen”: Driving instructor Ashley Neal slated for “dangerous” filtering manoeuvre while testing e-bike
It feels like it’s been a while since everyone’s favourite driving instructor/YouTuber/son of a four-time European Cup-winning full back popped up on the live blog, but don’t worry – Ashley Neal is back after a quiet summer and is once again causing controversy within the cycling community… and this time he’s on a bike.
(Yes, I do realise that paragraph sounds like the opening seconds of a trailer for an incredibly niche film. Maybe Marvel are interested? Okay, maybe not…)
Anyway… What has Ashley – who has amassed 146,000 subscribers on YouTube over the years thanks to his videos on all things road safety – done to irk cyclists on social media this time?
Well, in the Liverpool-based driving instructor’s latest video, titled ‘The Crazybird Jumper Tested; And Why Cyclists Do What They Do; A Motorists Guide’, he’s swapped the driving and passenger’s seat for one of the aforementioned brand’s fat tyre e-bikes, which he spends 46 minutes testing out (with his saddle height a bit too low for my liking) around Liverpool, while providing a running commentary on how to cycle safely.
Except when he maybe isn’t cycling safely, however.
Holy crap, please do not filter like this guy, incredibly dangerous, far far too close to the vehicle, in danger of hitting the wing mirror, clipping the refuge/kerb. One of the worst MGIF pieces of cycling I’ve ever seen.@PudseyPedaller @2wheelsgoodBrum @StuInNorway pic.twitter.com/Q3E6K1rQUW
— CykelTony (@tony_eh) October 23, 2023
About 11 minutes into the video, as he approaches a set of traffic lights, Neal filters past a motorist who had just overtaken him, narrowly squeezing between the car and a traffic island, almost clipping the vehicle’s wing mirror in the process.
After fiddling with his camera while stopped, Neal says during the video: “This car behind, have I just caused an issue? Possibly. They did overtake first, when it wasn’t necessary, and if they hadn’t have done, we’d be status quo.
“I haven’t done this to get my own back, I did it to show the motorist that a lot of the time there is no point in overtaking, when you’re coming up to lights like that – cyclists are just going to slip past.”
Despite his explanation, Neal’s spot of filtering – especially for a driving instructor usually critical of poor cycling habits – hasn’t gone down well online.
“Holy crap, please do not filter like this guy, incredibly dangerous, far, far too close to the vehicle, in danger of hitting the wing mirror, clipping the refuge/kerb,” CykelTony wrote.
“One of the worst MGIF pieces of cycling I’ve ever seen. And he’s a driving instructor who constantly complains about cyclists riding into risk.”
“You don’t have to filter. Sometimes it is safer to wait behind the traffic,” added while CycleGaz, prompting Tony to reply: “This all day long. He was clearly too distracted fiddling with his new ‘toy’ to pay proper attention to the road. As he himself likes to say, ‘failed to anticipate!’”
Ashley’s preoccupation with his e-bike was also picked up by other cyclists, with one e-bike rider asking: “Why the **** is he talking about ‘putting it up a couple of levels’ immediately before a tight manoeuvre and slowing down to a stop? That’s the last place you want an e-bike in turbo.”
“Cycling like a drivist! No one expected that, did they?! Oh, wait, it’s exactly what we expected, isn’t it?” Bicycal Life said.
“Yes, but as AN teaches us, it matters little about the safety of the cyclist as long as drivers aren’t inconvenienced,” added Tim. “He isn’t even consistent. In other videos he says you shouldn’t filter past because drivers will have to overtake again.
“And moments later he lets a car very close pass because he’s fiddling with the gears in secondary, but excuses the driver. He has no self-awareness as a rider, he does not look ahead.”
However, others weren’t as scathing of Ashley’s on-bike take on cycling safety.
“I’m in two minds about this,” says Melissa. ”It’s clearly MGIF syndrome by AN. But the car is into the painted bike area. I think I’d pass it just to watch the driver panic due to nearly clipping the car, but only if the lights had just gone red.”
What do you think? Was Ashley’s filtering a case of MGIF driving directly transferred onto a bike? Or do you think the manoeuvre was a perfectly responsible, and relatively safe, response to a pointless overtake?
Whatever you think about Mr Neal, he never fails to ignite online discourse, anyway…
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@Rian_constant : I have the exact same issue with a totally different light: the Lupine SL Grano. Has a cutoff to avoid blinding oncoming traffic and also throws out a carpet of light. It’s ok 80% of the time but my commute takes me through a couple of pitch dark stretches where it’s simply not enough, certainly not riding at road speeds around 30-33 kmph average. It’s great in every other respect but that’s simply something that needs fixing. I’m willing to pay but want to be certain that it works and I’ve seen too many long exposure beam shots that appear to show unrealistic levels of illumination.
Mark's a great bloke. He and I have done similar football related cycling challenges (mine around Crystal Palace) and we met when he cycled to Palace a few years ago. I'm gutted for him.
I'd call it more of a pick-up truck than an SUV, but I expect they want to market it more to people who are trying to replace their SUV rather than a pickup. I own a longtail e-cargo bike that I'm very happy with and would never want a front loader. It's going to be tricky to make the rear suspension work well and not compromise other aspects. Not something that I would trust to a kickstarter project.
@Peterjbdk Even the Government’s Road Safety Strategy says that – Vision Zero... The January 2026 Road Safety Strategy says lots of things- almost none of the important ones are even taken seriously by the government itself, which is why they're 'consulting' on them for long enough that the document is sunk without trace in a sea of digital dust. The police will sabotage anything they don't like, which includes anything to the benefit of cycling and cyclists- how much more evident that they won't lift a finger can it be when Essex and Kent police collude to refuse to even look at close-passing videos when there has been no collision NO MATTER HOW CLOSE. This is 'get yourself KSI'd and we'll see what we can do': Vision Zero?! Sod That for a Lark is the police vision. Pretty much the whole 'strategy' is complete fiction, with no expectation that anything will change if drivers wouldn't like it. As for the 'consultations' on whether driving without MOT or insurance, or with illegal/ fake plates are genuinely a bad thing deserving more than joke punishment...?! Lancashire Police were informed regularly, with photos, for over a year that HN21 VXB was without MOT or VED. I've put many of the photos on here. The police refused to respond after PC Mike Duff of Garstang Neighbourhood Policing Team told me back in January 26 not to tell him about such 'alleged offences' because he didn't have time to look into them. It was only when I sent the Bent Coppers this without comment, taken at the driver's house, that they got worried and suddenly something changed:
I'd rather adopt the habit of staying the hell away altogether in the very busy Christmas shopping season.
[Leaving aside the quibble over possession vs use] Why not 'illegal e-motorbike'? That's accurate and specific.
I think cyclists and e-bike riders should dismount in the pedestrian area. And everyone, perhaps, adopt the habit of walking on their left hand side of the paths or footways. Especially in the (very busy) Christmas shopping season.
Maybe people do not have the capacity to look out for everyone on the roads because there are so many users squeezed onto small roads in the uk. Brains are not 100% functional, as we know they lapse. Maybe we should have a country wide chat regarding vehicle usage. Maybe radios, satnavs, fones should be removed from cars, or restricted to passenger use. Maybe we have to accommodate homo sapiens are a murderous bunch, so when someone's mown down it can be forgotten easily, after the 'ohmygod' ten minutes. Segregated cycle lanes, or a complete ban on the motor vehicle, lol. Essentially the human race is speeding up and the average cyclist cannot keep up. In the midst of these problems as we are, I personally have to not care about my well being if I wish to continue using bikes. This is a strange and interesting dilemma, yet it sits in harmony with the current zeitgeists twisting as they are.
"Illegal e-bikes" seems like a reasonable phrase to me. It's not strictly accurate if you're very pedantic (it's currently perfectly legal to own and even use such a bike in certain circumstances; it's the use of the bike on public roads that is illegal), but it's good enough. "Illegal (motor)bike" doesn't disambiguate between illegal electric and petrol powered bikes - illegally used dirt bikes etc have been around for decades, long before the current electrification. Whether or not that distinction is relevant depends on the context. In fact, without context, I think I would wonder if "illegal bike" was talking about normal pedal bikes that are somehow illegal (maybe circumventing anti-dumping laws or not complying with relevant safety standards etc.) "Electric motorbike" is technically accurate, but I would only apply it to Sur-Rons or similar - I can see that legally it applies to any non-EAPC ebike, but doesn't fit well with less motorbike-esque versions or homebrew conversions. It also doesn't distinguish between legal and illegal - it's perfectly possible to legally ride an electric motorbike or electric moped, and some people do. So to use "electric motorbike" to mean "illegal electric motorbike" falls into the same trap as using "ebike" to mean "illegal ebike". “Illegally modified e-bikes” is also inaccurate - firstly, many of them are not modified in anyway; you can just buy them like that straight from the internet. And again, there's no law against modification, or owning a ebike that has been modified to no longer be an EAPC. It's the use of an ebike that has been modified to no longer be an EAPC (if it ever was one) on public roads that is illegal. So of all options, "illegal ebike" seems like the least problematic.
@Jem PT Scottish Gaelic - under the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005, public bodies (including the police) have certain duties regarding "promoting, facilitating and supporting the use of the Gaelic language."
35 thoughts on ““One of the worst MGIF pieces of cycling I’ve ever seen”: Driving instructor Ashley Neal slated for “dangerous” manoeuvre while testing e-bike; Scrapping safe streets “an attack on children’s futures”; Thomas signs new Ineos deal + more on the live blog”
For those who are unaware of
For those who are unaware of Lutfur Rahman, see his wikipedia page. The Controversies section is quite extensive. Private Eye’s Rotten Boroughs column has also been quite educational on the subject over the years. I’m sure he does a lot of good as well.
TheBillder wrote:
no doubt… knighthood for services to democracy in the post
Trebles all round.
Trebles all round.
Bit of a chicken-and-egg
Bit of a chicken-and-egg situation, I think: there is a lack of track cycling coverage in the mainstream media, because I suspect the mainstream viewing population isn’t aware of it / isn’t familiar with it; so the mainstream media could cover it so as to inform people that it even exists, but they won’t because they don’t think the mainstream population is interested; but if they did cover it, the mainstresam population might be interested; etc etc etc etc etc….
It’s not a lot different to
It’s not a lot different to MTB racing; receives scant coverage – even from the cycle racing media – and we have the World/Olympic XCO champion, plus the Downhill World Champion – and U23 XCO World champion……
Too many of the cycle racing journalists are just road racing focussed; they wouldn’t know a MTB if it ran over them.
It isn’t only track cycling
It isn’t only track cycling that the media ignore, it’s all kinds of cycling, but especially utility cycling, which in media terms, has been cancelled for decades.
Quest is showing the track
Quest is showing the track thing at some strange hour.
I’ve just spent the last
I’ve just spent the last 5mins looking at EmilyCee’s TL and still dont have a clue whether she is a parody account or not – about 60% confident that shes parody/sarcasm.
Pro-trans and anti WEF – I dont think I’ve ever come across that particular intersection of the Venn before.
She also seems quite keen on
She also seems quite keen on mass murder. In another tweet, she wants Putin to use nukes to improve things.
imajez wrote:
Seems like a nice
ladypsychopathShe’s not listed with the
She’s not listed with the RCVS as Emily Cee, although there are several Emily C…….
Looks to be a common or garden nutter
Secret_squirrel wrote:
Don’t understand. Is *anyone* pro-WEF?
Any news on when the post
Any news on when the post count will be back?
Half term and all that.
They’re getting Lutfur Rahman
They’re getting Lutfur Rahman in to tally them up.
Regarding the scrapping of
Regarding the scrapping of LTNs around schools – the kids have only got themselves to blame if they don’t vote in the people that will protect them. It’s called democracy and if you didn’t want Rishi Seven Bins Sunak to champion the all-conquering motor car, then you shouldn’t have voted for him.
to be fair, they may or may
to be fair, they may or may not have voted for Mayor Rahman. It’s hard to know how he counts the votes.
Allegedly.
Not allegedly. I think you
Not allegedly. I think you mean the Corrupt Mayor Rahman Who Has Previously Been Convicted Of Electoral Fraud
That County down video I
That County down video I wouldn’t class as a ‘Sorry, didn’t see you there’ (oblivious mistake), but more of a SMIDGAF !
TBH, it’s the sort of driving
TBH, it’s the sort of driving I had assumed was now taught as standard… That sort of thing happens all the time, regardless of whether I have a headlight on.
In this case, I think the assumption is that the cyclist will quickly hop off onto the footway, possibly while also bowing to their Betters.
If I’m on my own I’ll try and
If I’m on my own I’ll try and stand my ground in situations like this. Worst is when it happens when I’m in shepherding my small kids, teaching them to ride out the gutter then some dickhead drives at you like this.
https://newsthump.com/2023/10
https://newsthump.com/2023/10/21/weather-now-so-bad-even-audi-drivers-obeying-the-speed-limit
Weather across Britain has been so bad over the last 24 hours that even Audi drivers are only doing 70 on the motorway, according to reports.
Police forces across the country, report revenues have fallen by ‘hundreds of thousands in a day’, as storms forced Audi owners to discover gears lower than fifth.
They still can’t seem to get
They still can’t seem to get the overtaking diagramme right. FTFY.
This is excellent but I can’t
This is excellent but I can’t help thinking there’s a bigger issue with your improved version…
It really is the worst kind
It really is the worst kind of MGIF
Found out about my wife’s
Found out about my wife’s zero harm training this evening. Workplace based looking risk mitigation.
The trainer asked “you are in a car approaching a speed camera, what do you do ?”
Of the 10 there they nearly all said slow down, no one said (as I did) carry on at the same speed ( as you aren’t speeding already). No one pointed out the risk of a pile up from someone slamming on and the trainer did not pick up on that or the speeding in the first place.
No wonder that 20 and 30 limits are only adhered to by a minority.
road.cc 2022]
https://road.cc/content/news/ashley-neal-divides-opinion-use-horn-290765
Observing the letter but not the spirit…
The Ashley Neal filter was an
The Ashley Neal filter was an intentional MGIF to show the driver behind they made a pointless overtake (which was actually a close pass IMO). The driver’s position trying to block the ASL filter lane is poor too. He freely admitted it was a bit tit-for-tat in the video. To be fair, I may have done the same myself!
I have been watching his content and his cycling is improving.
HoarseMann wrote:
Steady on! We’ll be critiquing his
saddle heightsock height, demanding he start confronting the Ronnie Pickerings of this world and cheering for him to blow through reds even after they’re established next…Oh, he’s still got a way to
Oh, he’s still got a way to go! It’s all still leisure riding, pootling around town/trails on an e-bike. No shopping trips by bike, rush hour commuting or road bike rides out into the countryside.
Apparently he’s got an ‘analysis’ video of a cyclist getting knocked off on a roundabout coming up soon. Should be an interesting one?!
Well I will certainly give it
Well I will certainly give it eye (if I get reminded by e.g. it appearing here, I don’t follow him).
He gets at least half a point for revisiting his Edinburgh cyclist being hit video (linked from this road.cc post) as it’s not easy – and indeed really unusual in this day and age – to say “I might not be completely right”.
However he then undid some of this by returning to the theme of individual responsibility after having noted the multiple issues with the design. And individual responsibility does sometimes seem to be downplayed for motorists – for example in a couple of his examples of “innocently killed” in the original vid…
When I last checked he also had some odd views on overtaking / passing cyclist. I’ve seen videos where he appears both lacking a bit of pragmatism in favour of a rigid “letter of the guidance” approach AND also giving the nod to what seemed to be “crack on past, it’s fine” where it sensibly wasn’t.
Then there’s the “give them a friendly toot”.
Overall though he seems to have useful things to say to drivers about better driving around cyclists (albeit that’s not hard). And indeed better driving in general – sadly not a given with ALL driving instructors!
HoarseMann wrote:
I watched part of his link up with Ogmios, but I think Ogmios is better by himself as he can pursue his little stories without having to talk with a passenger.
Ashley generally gives out good advice, but he’s not perfect and often it’s instructive to examine where you disagree with him and why. There’s very few cyclists/drivers out there that are perfect, so it’s good practice to identify your own and other common mistakes as that can help avoid collisions (which is the entire point of roadcraft).
As regards tit-for-tat MGIF overtaking – it’s a bit of a guilty pleasure with me. I know it’s not the best idea, but at least I’m not endangering others with my behaviour (probably just as well I don’t drive).
Exactly the kind of thing
Exactly the kind of thing Vine does and gets praise heaped on him from all quarters. Hmmm.
Can’t say I agree with
Can’t say I agree with conflating MGIF cyclists and cars, one scratches paint and the other kills and maims.
Also he’s safer if he gets in the cycle box (assuming he isn’t trapped in the filter when the light changes).
Still would have been better to do it slower.
Yes but he is a driving
Yes but he is a driving instructor and son of a footballer don’t you know!!! Hes wrong dammit, wrong wrong wrong!!
Aside from the fact if Vine,
Aside from the fact if Vine, or I don’t know…Mikey had pulled that pass there would be all kinds of excuses made, is it actually impossible for road.cc to publish an article about Neal without resorting to ad hominem?
“It feels like it’s been a while since everyone’s favourite driving instructor/YouTuber/son of a four-time European Cup-winning full back popped up on the live blog, but don’t worry – Ashley Neal is back after a quiet summer and is once again causing controversy within the cycling community… and this time he’s on a bike.”
This adds nothing to the article except show the petty mindedness directed towards anyone how does’t follow the accepted black and white narrative of cycling good/driving bad.
Maybe for balance road.cc can start referiring to Vine in every article as;
“everyones favourite gameshow host/daytime TV pundit/brother of Edinburgh fringe winning comedian”
Just a thought.