“Single file you Lycra-clad t****” message vandalised on road sign; Tom Pidcock blames rival for causing terrifying crash; Non-fungible motors are now a thing; The real MVP of Liège; Weekend round-up + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
"Single file you Lycra-clad t****" message vandalised on road sign
Trying to work out how to add “please read the highway code and stop sucking exhaust fumes” pic.twitter.com/32TKbmwBP9
— noodles (@andykeetch) April 24, 2022
The eagle-eyed amongst you might notice the vandalised message appears slightly differently in our live blog headline. Don’t stress, that’s just to tidy up all the grammatical errors present…
“Lycra clad”? Yep, that’ll need a hyphen. Sure, you’re loving the capitals, but only “Lycra” needs one…but by far and away our personal favourite is that it actually reads: “Devil’s SINGLE FILE Dyke YOU LYCRA CLAD TWATS!” Cryptic. I wonder what’s a single file Dyke?
Who’s the culprit? The early money is on ‘Chazza’…
Imagine the level of ‘bantz’ this caused with ‘the ladz’ down the pub after Chazza did this. Classic Chazza…
— Rich Mitch (@rich_mitch) April 24, 2022
And, some local knowledge questioned the intelligence behind the message (if that was ever not in doubt)…
There’s two perfectly functional A roads for cars to use to cross there: the A23 dual carriageway about 500m to the east, and the A283 about 1500m to the west. Anyone driving up Devil’s Dyke and getting annoyed at cyclists has made their own bad decisions.
— Georgina Wilcox (@GeorginaWilcox) April 24, 2022
On a more cheerful note, at the bottom of that hill lies the village of Fulking, with one reply noting “they’ll enjoy the vandalism of that road sign too”.
You’ll be pleased to hear there is 😂
— noodles (@andykeetch) April 24, 2022
See, it’s not all bad…
At the top, there’s the pic.twitter.com/ea3kaVdvcZ
— Matt Southerden (@mattsoutherden) April 24, 2022
It’s not the first time somebody’s incandescent rage at people riding bicycles (presumably because “they’re slowing me down”) has caused a vandal to halt their day to make a point by writing on a road sign…
Last April, a coffee shop took the bold strategy of sharing a photo of one such “Beware of cyclists […] they’re c****!” (Correct use of they’re. Well done) on social media. Spoiler alert: it didn’t go well. I mean, when have you ever met a cyclist who drinks coffee?
"Cancel culture" cries caught out rolling coal motorist; All the best bits from the Cycle Show; Shocking crash overshadows Liège–Bastogne–Liège + more in our weekend round-up
Here’s all the best stuff from around the site that you might have missed over the weekend…
We were at the Cycle Show at the Ally Pally at the back end of last week, and Anna has rounded up all the best bikes on show. In fact, there were so many we’ve had to do a part two, including… Vitus, BMC, Ribble, Argon 18 and loads more…
Yesterday, we had the news story from Texas where one custom car shop owner cried he was the victim of ‘cancel culture’ after a backlash over a video he posted of himself ‘rolling coal’ over a cyclist he passed. It’s almost like actions have consequences…
Sunday was also Liège-Bastogne-Liège day. Unfortunately the racing was slightly overshadowed by a terrible crash which saw multiple riders fall. Amongst them, world champion Julian Alaphilippe, who suffered a collapsed lung and multiple fractures. Annemiek van Vleuten and Remco Evenepoel took the wins in similar race-shattering fashion…
And, on Saturday we brought you a follow-up story to that shocker of a close pass video that was doing the rounds last week. Why? Well, the Alliance of British Drivers rubbished the court decision to fine the driver £417 (plus five penalty points) as “pathetic sucking up to the cycling lobby”. They seem like a nice bunch. Maybe that’s why they’ve blocked us on Twitter…
Keep things moving, there's another bank holiday in sight...
Riding into the week like… pic.twitter.com/hmM98Nnxct
— Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team (@qst_alphavinyl) April 25, 2022
The real MVP of Liège
As if Romain Bardet’s stock couldn’t get any higher after last week’s first GC win since 2013, it turns out, as if we couldn’t already have guessed it, that he’s a good chap…
Bardet climbing down to help an injured Alaphilippe 👏 pic.twitter.com/bhs5cKnMJ6
— the Inner Ring (@inrng) April 24, 2022
In the aftermath of the Liège–Bastogne–Liège crash which ultimately left Julian Alaphilippe in hospital with a punctured lung and multiple fractures, it was Romain Bardet who stayed with his compatriot until medical help arrived.
No thought of grabbing his bike and getting back to the front of the race, Bardet jumped into the ditch, looking out for the world champion before signalling urgently for help.
Thank you, @romainbardet, for looking after Julian immediately after the crash – a true gentleman 👏👏👏 https://t.co/yItUOOndG0
— Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team (@qst_alphavinyl) April 24, 2022
Speaking to VeloNews at the finish line, Bardet said: “It was just a nightmare. Tom Pidcock and a rider from DirectEnergies crashed in front of me on the right, and I crashed on the right too, but I was really okay. When I looked around I saw Julian maybe five or six meters down, and it was an emotional shock because he was in a bad situation. No one was coming and he really needed help. It was an emergency situation. He couldn’t move, he couldn’t breathe.
“He felt conscious but he couldn’t really talk. I really hope that he’s OK. The mechanic came, then the doctor. The road was completely blocked. It was a really bad situation. After that, I was in shock. The race was gone. I was lucky to escape with no injuries.”
Tom Pidcock blames fellow rider "risking his and everyone else's life" for causing Liège-Bastogne-Liège crash
Terrifying crash at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Julian Alaphilippe suffering broken ribs and a collapsed lung.
Romain Bardet, from a different team, showing true sportsmanship to climb down and help, check on him pic.twitter.com/c3ylBAGZIq
— James Dart (@James_Dart) April 24, 2022
Tom Pidcock thinks he broke a finger in the Liège-Bastogne-Liège crash that ended so many riders’ chances yesterday. Pidcock eventually crossed the line in 103rd place, more than 13 minutes after Remco Evenepoel. But the Ineos Grenadiers rider was just happy to have escaped serious injury and told reporters at the finish that he had used up one of his nine lives.
Pidcock also blamed a rider from DirectEnergies for taking too many risks at 70km/h, and said the move was unacceptable and had risked the lives of others. It is unclear where we’ll see Pidcock next. He had been down to ride the Giro d’Italia next month, but the noises from Ineos suggest he might get his first Tour de France appearance instead…
Ever used a plaster to fix a split tyre?
12 of the best emergency bike fixes — get going again with these smart bodges#cyclinghttps://t.co/AL6yaL8XBz pic.twitter.com/Y4LLZd1kwv
— road.cc (@roadcc) April 25, 2022
Car NFTs are now a thing...but are they as bad as they sound?
Scrap Car Comparison has decided NFTs are the perfect medium for owners to remember their vehicle by…
When it’s scrapped or sold the car-scrappage company will offer motorists the ‘opportunity’ to “get their (virtual) hands on an NFT of their prized motor to keep for eternity, rather than having to say goodbye when it comes to scrapping or selling.”
It’s the “ultimate keepsake”…apparently…
Interesting. At least NFTs are completely uncontroversial and never cause a wild social media shitstorm every time anyone announces they’re getting involved…
> The angry backlash against NFTs in cycling, and how Bike Club NFT is trying to turn the tide
Oh wait…
Start 'em young
DJ’in on a bike with a baby?!
Hold my beer… pic.twitter.com/U6POstDmBX
— Domonic (@domwhiting) April 25, 2022
For the full set from Brum…
Olympic mountain biking trail to be repaired by Essex County Council
The Olympic mountain biking trail in Hadleigh, constructed ahead of the 2012 Games, is to be repaired by Essex County Council following “significant” erosion. The Basildon, Canvey and Southend Echo reports a cold spell last February damaged large sections of the trail, forcing it to be closed.
Most of it reopened following works in the first half of last year, but a further number of issues surfaced since, forcing sections to be closed off again. Mark Rowley, commercial operations manager for Essex County Council, said: “Some works were carried out but there are further remedial works that are still required.”
Cllr Mark Dunham added: “We are very mindful that the Haleigh bike trail is a Olympic legacy but the weather in recent winters has conspired against us and we are continually under the cosh if you like with increased usage and the erosion by mountain bike use is really quite significant.”
"I'd prefer to be called a spandex-clad twat, instead of a Lycra-clad one. It's more Rock 'n Roll": Reaction to that dodgy graffiti
Our favourite take on that sign-defacing intellectual’s day out with a sharpie…
“I’d prefer to be called a spandex-clad twat, instead of a Lycra-clad one.
It’s more Rock ‘n Roll 🤘,” 0-0 commented. 0-0? Nah, it’s 1-0 now…
OnYerBike made a good point about how the message actually reads. Forgive me, it’s like trying to decrypt some ancient code…”Pretty sure the first line of that vandalised sign reads “Devil’sINGLE FILE”. We’ll go with that…whatever it means.
mdavidford spotted another: “Strictly speaking, I think there probably ought to be some punctuation between ‘file’ and ‘you’ – a comma, at the very least. Also, it actually says ‘Devil’s ingle file’, which is presumably something to do with the fire[place]s of hell.”
Clem Fandango made a wider point about suitability of transport to certain spots…”I’ve had verbal abuse and dangerous passes (including around the hairpin bends) on Box Hill loads of times – always makes me laugh how some drivers consciously drive to Box Hill* (* insert name of local cycling hotspot here) on a weekend, when the weather is good, and are somehow ‘surprised’ to encounter cyclists. Before losing their sh*t at having to drive slowly safely for a bit. I mean how could they be expected to have foreseen or be expected to tolerate anything but clear roads and a serene, uninterrupted driving experience, the poor lambs?”
brooksby said: “Imagine being so angry, and yet also having the spare time, to go and vandalise a road sign like that…” To which, Shake added: “You slowed me down by nine seconds so I’m going to waste 120 seconds to write this.”
Anyone else feeling lost?
Me when there’s no cycling on for one (1) day pic.twitter.com/d2VKVw6lE6
— Robyn (@robynjournalist) April 25, 2022
Cards at the ready...it's Monday bingo time!
Today’s bingo comes courtesy of the ‘residents of clacton speak up about what’s happing [sic] to Clacton’ (seems we’ve found who wrote that sign graffiti)…
Somehow, despite all the pressing issues in the world today, the simple post “Should cyclists be required to have insurance for riding on the roads, like motorists?” has racked up 27,000 comments, 14,000 likes and 435 shares. Clacton must be a huge place…
At least it gives us a great chance of a bingo full house…
So where to begin?
“Yes, especially holding up traffic by riding 2 a breast whilst chatting… annoying…”
Interestingly, the following answer features some almost identical language to today’s main post of the day. Something on your mind? “Fecking ye..
And fined for not using cycle paths from tore roundabout to dingwall..lycra clad twats..”
Still needs a hyphen between Lycra (yeah, that needs to be a capital) and clad…
“Think they have more rights than the people who actually pay road tax and insurance to be on the road, and with the new law/highway code for them….. pffftttt a joke”
“And a registration number”
“And get off the pavements”
“Yes, especially now they have more rights on the road than motor vehicles”
“Yes, they should have the bike registered and insured, plus do a proficiency test. If they are so vulnerable, then they should be made to wear specified high-vis plus lights and follow the rules to the letter, just like every other road user. Don’t ask the Motorists to make allowances for every Numpty out there. Well done to the few who do it properly.”
“Hell yes. And cycle license plates.”
Genuine question…why are so many so annoyed by someone riding a bicycle?
Jérémy Cabot: I now read comments that are unpleasant at best and completely untrue at worst
TotalEnergies rider Jérémy Cabot has defended himself in the face of comments from Tom Pidcock and Romain Bardet about the cause of yesterday’s Liège-Bastogne-Liège crash, which saw world champion Julian Alaphilippe taken to hospital with a punctured lung and multiple fractures.
Cabot said his actions were not intentionally dangerous, tweeting: “In addition to the physical pain, I now read comments that are unpleasant at best and completely untrue at worst.
“A rider pushed behind me, while I was sitting on the far right of the road in the wheel of the Bora-Hansgrohe riders, there was no room for two in this place, my wheel hit that of the rider in front of me, no time to brake… And chaos… In a quarter of a second.
“I have never taken ill-considered risks. My teammates, my TotalEnergies team and the people close to me know how much time I spend at the back of the pack to avoid the dangers… I’ve never been a hothead. I’m never the last to brake. Never.”
Cabot’s comments come after Pidcock told media at the finish line that a rider from the French team had risked everyone’s life on the descent.
Bardet replied to Cabot’s tweet to clarify his position: “Jérémy found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time, far be it from me to pass judgment on who was responsible for the fall, the waves, the speed, the road surface. I’m really sorry that my post was confusing, good luck man.”
25 April 2022, 08:16
25 April 2022, 08:16
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57 Comments
Latest Comments
@shufflingb I agree. I switched off the voice control on my GoPro when it’s on the bike. It would randomly switch on and off when I was talking to my riding buddy. Who needs voice control on the bike, in wind and traffic?
@Rendel Harris If was the passenger, I'd have got out at the petrol station, taken the keys (if possible) walked away and phoned the police.
surely the shopping carrying dilemma at Oxford Street is no worse than at places like Bluewater?
@Rendel Harris absolute scum..no other words
Something I learned the hard way going down the south side of the Col du Parpaillon in the mud and rain on a loaded touring bike was to ride across the ruts not in them.
Trainers with steel toe-caps?
Not sure I trust myself to comment on this one, so I'll just give the facts: guy ran over a cyclist, a 56-year-old headteacher, with his 4x4. Dragged him a mile with the passenger still able to hear him moaning in pain. Stopped to try and pull him off the car, couldn't so got back in and drove off again, slaloming to get rid of him. At least he's on trial for murder, which is something. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c674p0l8925eo
Weak fork not necessarily weak. I did the same once, not so dramatically as here, but the fork was still toast and I cracked a wrist bone. Mechanism is, if the tyre catches the mudguard, the guard can start rotating with the tyre. The mudguard stays instantly dig into the tyre, because geometry, the front wheel locks completely solid in about a quarter of a revolution, and the rider gets brutally thrown off the front while wondering what just happened. This is why front mudguard stays need a breakaway fitment.
@Rendel Harris Or less unelegant?
57 thoughts on ““Single file you Lycra-clad t****” message vandalised on road sign; Tom Pidcock blames rival for causing terrifying crash; Non-fungible motors are now a thing; The real MVP of Liège; Weekend round-up + more on the live blog”
Imagine being so angry, and
Imagine being so angry, and yet also having the spare time, to go and vandalise a road sign like that…
You slowed me down by 9
You slowed me down by 9 seconds so I’m going to waste 120 seconds to write this
Shake wrote:
Its not about slowing them down. Its about your existence being an unpleasant reminder that they aren’t the only people in the world who matter.
“How dare this other person exist?” is clearly irrational so it becomes “How dare this person make my journey slower?”
Its the same reason people get angry with traffic jams or places they want to go being busy.
I’m not sure that I’m that
I’m not sure that I’m that interested in helping their sonder.
Would have been alot longer
Would have been alot longer then 120 seconds.
AlsoSomniloquism wrote:
They probably spent at least 10 minutes trying to think of something really clever that they could start with the ‘e’ of ‘Dyke’, before their head started to hurt and they gave up.
Should have gone to road.cc.
Should have gone to road.cc.
I’m fairly sure I’ve seen a
I’m fairly sure I’ve seen a single file Dyke in some videos on the internet that I accidentally searched for and watched.
Quote:
Strictly speaking, I think there probably ought to be some punctuation between ‘file’ and ‘you’ – a comma, at the very least.
Also, it actually says ‘Devil’s ingle file’, which is presumably something to do with the fire[place]s of hell.
Pretty sure the first line of
Pretty sure the first line of that vandalised sign reads “Devil’sINGLE FILE”
“The Devil’s Ingle File”, eh?
“The Devil’s Ingle File”, eh? Was that something used by witches?
Demon blacksmiths?
Demon blacksmiths? EDIT mdavidford got their first!
I know, I realised about two
I know, I realised about two seconds after I clicked ‘Save’ but there’s no way of deleting a post you regret… 🙁
Quote:
Is this an attempt to disprove Betteridge’s Law?
mdavidford wrote:
Is this an attempt to disprove Betteridge’s Law?
I’d prefer to be called a
I’d prefer to be called a Spandex Clad Twat, instead of a Lycra clad one.
It’s more Rock ‘n Roll ?
0-0 wrote:
Sorry no, unless you think Final Countdown and crazy long permed hair is Rock n Roll.
Went past the sign yesterday, but going the other way so didn’t see the message. It’s on one of the wider bits of the road, before you turn to get to the actual Dyke. It’s straight and open so anyone stopping there to do that would have been visible to all and sundry.
I’d rather be a Lycra T***
I’d rather be a Lycra T*** than a solo sofa surfer as the majority of people driving seem to be. An even if you’ve got a pal with you – single up, get on a motorbike and quit blocking the buses, trucks, emergency vehicles and cyclists!
?
?
Ride To The Hills (should
Ride To The Hills (should have used the original)! ? ? ?
chrisonatrike wrote:
Bruce’s cycling mitts in R.T.T.H. video look cool ?
Awesome ?
Awesome ?
0-0 wrote:
“POOODLE ROCK!!!”
I hate acronyms because there
I hate acronyms because there are always some of us who don’t know what they mean.
NFTs?
alchemilla wrote:
Non-Fungible Tokens
And so we are non-the-wiser
And so we are non-the-wiser 😉
Surely, just like the
Surely, just like the fungible ones, just the other way about?
Sriracha wrote:
Exactly!
Wouldn’t those be defungible,
Wouldn’t those be defungible, rather than non-fungible?
mdavidford wrote:
De-funging would involve hunting down all the funged tokens and destroying them. Non-fungible means that you can’t funge it in the first place.
I’m not sure why people get so confused about NFTs – they’re perfectly cromulent. You can also make substantial money from them – Jack Dorsey’s tweet NFT was recently valued at £4,720!
hawkinspeter wrote:
Exactly. So if it’s like fungible but in reverse, it must already have the quality of fungedness and be susceptible to defunging. If it was non-fungible, it couldn’t have gone through the fungification in the first place, so you couldn’t reverse the process.
mdavidford wrote:
I meant to say “can’t funge it”
Weirdly, I read it as ‘can’t’
Weirdly, I read it as ‘can’t’ anyway, until you pointed it out.
Well, I’m none the wiser….!
Well, I’m none the wiser….!
mdavidford wrote:
No, you’re thinking of mushrooms 😉
What does that even mean?
What does that even mean?
alchemilla wrote:
I hate TLAs too.
I hate TLAs too.
Not as bad as ETLAs!
Not as bad as ETLAs!
What them? Is that a FLBA?
What them? Is that a FLBA?
This is why cyclists need
This is why cyclists need insurance.
hirsute wrote:
Bloody hell that’s a shocker! Can anyone tell me why the driver responsible should ever get his licence back?
Most likely a two year ban.
Most likely a two year ban. Seriously.
Not sure there is any hope of
Not sure there is any hope of changing the car centric culture
https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/news/local-news/furious-yorkshire-couples-300-yard-23764638
On twitter someone commented on the 300 yard trip
“300 yards? Bugger it I’ll give him a piggy back.”
hirsute wrote:
Yeah also their maths is a bit dubious about the £1200 extra they are having to fork out in fuel. If their car does 30mpg over the 11 miles that comes to 436 journey’s round trip journeys. If their car does 40mpg that’s 581 round trip journeys…. over a few months.
As someone said….. park their car the town side of the road works, walk to the car then drive the rest of the way.
TriTaxMan wrote:
That’s less than six a day – doesn’t seem too unreasonable, given that there’s two of them, and they have to get there for work, family, and errands…
And moving all those america
And moving all those america fridge freezers and transporting the blind dog.
Weird story in that the
Weird story in that the Examiner approaches the council to ask why the locals were apparently never told about the road closure, only for the council to reply that it has to be done, no alternative; and yet with no comment on why the residents were not informed. Allegations of corruption BTL.
All that being said: three hundred yards? Surely for a couple of months they could just do small shops and bring them home in carrier bags?
Most likely they dont live
Most likely they dont live near enough the road closure to be considered directly impacted by it,there would have been notices posted nearby but hard to read if you just drive by them all the time. Apparently also it’s only the road closure that is 300yards long, it’s about a mile further into town from the closure, and their calculations included 3 vehicles.
The vandalised sign at DD is
The vandalised sign at DD is pretty much in the same vein as that awful Channel 5 documentary a couple of years back – you know the one, they had an angry man in a huge 4×4 driving up & down Box Hill complaining about all the cyclists holding him up.
I’ve had verbal abuse and dangerous passes (including around the hair pin bends) on Box Hill loads of times – always makes me laugh how some drivers consciously drive to Box Hill* (* insert name of local cycling hotspot here) on a weekend, when the weather is good, and are somehow ‘surprised’ to encounter cyclists. Before losing their sh*t at having to drive
slowlysafely for a bit. I mean how could they be expected to have foreseen or be expected to tolerate anything but clear roads and a serene, uninterrupted driving experience, the poor lambs?I solved this problem by
I solved this problem by parking near the bottom and walking up !
“Genuine question…why are
“Genuine question…why are so many so annoyed by someone riding a bicycle?”
I wish I fucking knew, I really do. It’s not new; forty years ago a school acquaintance told me (knowing I cycled to school) how much his father enjoyed getting really close to cyclists in his car to scare them.
There really is a damned good psychology PhD in this because it’s pathological, it really is. It’s like a shared psychosis.
Is now a good time to tell
Is now a good time to tell the residents of Clacton theres a round of the Tour Series happing (sic) there in about 3 & a bit weeks…
Hope chrisonatrike is going
Hope chrisonatrike is going to do some real life testing on this automated bus
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-61216302
Checking for close passes, giving way, giving priority.
Optional to loiter at zebra crossings to see if the bus stops and cycle slowly in the middle of the road.
Well I will happily put
Well I will happily put myself out there for road.cc (as I’m sure other folks up here will). However this might not be as spectacular as you might hope from:
because:
Quote:
Limited opportunities to play with them on my bike then. They’ll likely mostly be on roads I would never bother riding on (A90 / A8) or am banned from (M90 / Queensferry crossing).
Fortunately and unusually for the UK that’s not a problem. There are viable not-too-rubbish alternatives. As direct or more so too. There’s a path beside the Glasgow road (bearable) / B800 and if the bus route goes the other way there’s the NSN 1 (pleasurable and fairly direct – for a NSN route!) And cyclists now get the Forth Road bridge to themselves! OK we’re on the side footways with the pedestrians but they’re pretty wide and even have markings, and only buses now go across the main carriageway.
It sounded much better when I
It sounded much better when I heard it on the radio.
Newsthump says:
The UK’s first self- driving bus has passed the ‘ignore desperate passengers running to the bus stop’ test with flying colours it is revealed today after successfully driving off without them.