“Ableist, sizeist and ageist” cycling meme controversy; Dylan Groenewegen needed police protection after being sent death threats and a noose; Not Near Miss of the Day: Robot spots cyclist and doesn’t pull out; “War against cars” + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Politician who campaigned to scrap Kensington High Street cycle lane complains of "war against cars"
It’s vital to help more people to walk and cycle, but this must not be via a “war against cars”. https://t.co/mhtACbq0QE
— Tony Devenish (@Tony_Devenish) January 24, 2021
Tony Devenish had more than a few people pointing out the irony of his tweet… ‘It’s vital to help more people to walk and cycle, but this must not be via a “war against cars”’…Presumably, the Kensington High Street cycle lane was one such act of war against drivers, considering how decisively he and Felicity Buchan campaigned for its removal.
Since the removal, which was opposed by all schools in the area and Imperial College, parked cars have in many places replaced the space where the lane used to be. At least there’s no more congestion on the High Street…
Child *waves white flag* at Tony, and concedes defeat at no longer being enabled to safely cycle to school in @RBKC
— Jo Rigby (@Jo_Earlsfield) January 24, 2021
4pm on an average Thursday on Kensington High Street:
How it started vs. How it’s going… pic.twitter.com/WoWnjz7pCh
— Adam Tranter (@adamtranter) December 10, 2020
Sagan's special day
💚 Happy birthday to the Tour’s 7-time green jersey winner: 🇸🇰 @petosagan!
💚 Joyeux anniversaire au septuple maillot vert du Tour : 🇸🇰 @petosagan ! pic.twitter.com/HD6hLmtwGg
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) January 26, 2021
Štybar in, Aru out...
This is the kind of news we love!
Three-time winner of the event, @zdenekstybar will be at the start of the World Cyclo-cross Championships in Oostende: https://t.co/4bbx12Jgxk
Photo: @BeelWout pic.twitter.com/tgdJ1SJR4g— Deceuninck-QuickStep (@deceuninck_qst) January 25, 2021
Three-time Cyclo-cross World Champion, Zdeněk Štybar has announced he’ll return to his old stomping ground to race the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships this Sunday. The Czech, who rides for Deceuninck-Quick-Step, crossed over to road cycling in 2011 but will return for another shot at World Championship rainbow bands in Oostende.
On the decision he said: “It was not expected that I would ride the Worlds this year, but things have evolved. As we know this discipline is my passion, so after watching some races on television I felt in my stomach that I really wanted to race. It would not have normally fit in to my schedule, but things have changed and having done a lot of training my condition feels good.”
One man who won’t be racing is Fabio Aru. The Italian dipped his toe in the Cyclo-cross mud over the winter which led to speculation that he may take to the start line in Belgium. However, the 2015 Vuelta a España winner has agreed to leave the Italian squad’s spaces available to younger specialists in the discipline. Aru will stay at Qhubeka-Assos’ training camp instead.
Not Near Miss of the Day: Robot spots cyclist and doesn't pull out
This isn’t the start of a new series on road.cc…We just thought it was quite funny. After 529 Near Miss of the Day videos, here’s the first Not Near Miss of the Day…All it took was for a robot to be involved. This autonomous delivery robot sees the cyclist coming and doesn’t pull out on him…As the reader who sent the footage told us: “There is hope for the future…”
Talking of Near Miss of the Day, today’s offering is a close pass at speed by a Peugeot driver on a narrow country lane in Cornwall…
One of Britain's oldest paperboys still going strong aged 80
One of Britain’s oldest paperboys is still cracking on with his daily route having celebrated his 80th birthday over the weekend. George Bailey rides the same two-and-a-half-mile route around Headcorn in Kent each morning on his bike and says it helps keep him fit. Having received his coronavirus vaccination last week Bailey was in good spirits when he spoke to the BBC about his routine.
“It’s to try and keep fit,” Bailey explained. “Otherwise it would be at home, a little bit of gardening and I’m not one to go jogging at my age. So the bicycle keeps me fit. I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t enjoy it.”
Cycling UK appoints Janet Atherton as new chair of trustees, the first time two women have held the top roles in the charity's history
Cycling UK has appointed former Director of Public Health and Senior Public Health Adviser in NHS Test and Trace, Janet Atherton, as chair of trustees. Along with Sarah Mitchell as the charity’s chief executive, it is the first time in their 143-year history that women have held the two top posts. It signals the charity’s intent to make cycling “accessible to everyone regardless of background, age, ability beliefs or gender”.
As part of their goal, Cycling UK has planned a fifth Women’s Festival of Cycling to take place in July of this year where women will be invited to join organised rides and digital events. Speaking on her appointment Atherton said: “Cycling UK’s mission is to get millions more people cycling. Cycling should be accessible to everyone regardless of their background, age, ability, beliefs or gender. I want to see Cycling UK continue to build a social movement to get people out on bikes.”
Data shows that in England, men make two-and-a-half times as many cycle trips as women and cycle more than three times as many miles.
Dylan Groenewegen needed police protection after being sent death threats and a noose
Dylan Groenewegen has told Dutch magazine Helden about the ugly fallout from his Tour of Poland crash with Fabio Jakobsen, which neither sprinter has yet returned to racing from. Groenewegen revealed he received multiple death threats and was sent a noose with a note telling him he should hang his unborn child. A police guard was posted at his house in the days after the crash.
“There were such concrete and serious threats that we called the police a few days after the crash,” Groenewegen told Helden magazine. “We received handwritten letters in the mail, which even included a noose that we could hang our child on when it would be born. When you read that message and see that piece of rope, you are shocked. That was the deciding factor for me that it could not continue like this.
“I went to the police and reported it. The police immediately took action after seeing those letters. That does reflect the seriousness of those threats. Of course that affects you. What happened here? How is this possible? What sick world do we live in?”
The Jumbo-Visma sprinter was suspended for nine months for his role in the crash which left Jakobsen in an induced coma in hospital with a fractured skull and serious facial injuries. Just last week Groenewegen’s team released his initial race programme for 2021 as they try to ease him back into life in the peloton with some smaller European and WorldTour races. The 27-year-old is not expected to ride a Grand Tour in 2021 with the priority just to get him back on the start line.
Here's something you don't see everyday...
Hats off to @MailSport and @dpcoverdale for highlighting the fact that Covid-19 has given more of us a chance to get out on our bikes.
Strongly recommend the column by @Chris_Boardman. https://t.co/6pkPvVLrxg
— Scott Dougal (@scottdougal) January 26, 2021
A pullout promoting cycling in the Daily Mail…2021, you’re already full of surprises…
Arkéa–Samsic deny offering to pay for Giro d'Italia wildcard
Team manger Emmanuel Hubert has denied that Arkéa–Samsic offered to pay for a wildcard spot at the Giro, with Nairo Quintana reportedly keen to return to the Grand Tour he won in 2014. “Paying to take part in the races is not in my DNA. We applied for the Giro, but without talking about money. I am waiting to know if they will take us for all the races we have requested, not just the Giro. The fact that a former Giro winner like Nairo wants to come certainly helps,” Hubert told Mon Peloton.
Quintana, now 30, won the Italian Grand Tour seven years ago, but has not ridden the race since 2017. During that edition, the Colombian wore the maglia rosa for three days before being overhauled by Tom Dumoulin in the final stage time trial.
That's how you do National Champs kits
Kiwi power!
Such a stunning jersey @Theflyingmullet has!
Photo: @BeelWout pic.twitter.com/1zmAUdZfV7— Deceuninck-QuickStep (@deceuninck_qst) January 26, 2021
Birthday skills
Happy 31st birthday to @petosagan. Here’s that time he climbed a flight of stairs on his bike 🎂🎁 pic.twitter.com/0U4x15aPWQ
— Velon CC (@VelonCC) January 26, 2021
🎂Happy birthday Peter! | 🎂Buon Compleanno @petosagan! #Giro #HappyBirthday #Cycling #Cyclinglife #Cyclist #Ciclismo #Italy pic.twitter.com/hiNxv5XFmV
— Giro d’Italia (@giroditalia) January 26, 2021
"Ableist, sizeist and ageist": cycling meme causes controversy on social media
This meme, which was first posted by the Facebook group ‘Cycling Today: The Joy Division’ at the weekend, is continuing to do the rounds on social media today. Including, of all places, in the Glasgow Critical Mass Facebook group which describes itself as: “An open group for everyone who believes that cycling is the best and most fun means of transport!” Unsurprisingly, some members have challenged the post for portraying “ableist” and “elitist” stereotypes.
One group admin justified it by saying: “No I showed the natural progression of man as he ages with his bikes, no fat shaming, ageism, no derogatory comments about the use of e-bikes. Lighten up.”
Bo Mansell replied: “e-bikes make cycling more accessible for people who have mobility difficulties. This meme is both ableist and sizeist. Why would anyone attend CM when you represent it like this. I don’t find it funny to alienate people from cycling based on their size, ability or indeed, age. It’s only ‘funny’ if you’re not on the receiving end of it.”
Christopher Atkinson added: “Is it genuinely acceptable within this group to make ableist and ageist cycling jokes? Isn’t the point of this group to promote inclusive cycling and road safety, how is this achieved by jokes like this?”
Thoughts?
26 January 2021, 09:06
26 January 2021, 09:06
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Latest Comments
Ignorant and arrogant police who don't know the law or basic physics, and can't admit they are wrong? Well, what a surprise (/sarcasm) many police officers are hard working and honest, but by no means all of them. I'm proud to support CyclingUK and the Cyclists' Defense Fund.
@mctrials23 Yes although it can be done with some accuracy if an on-bike wind sensor is used e.g. PowerPod (see DCR review) but then as you suggest the set-up is/was so complex you might as well buy a direct measurement power meter. Getting power meter pedals transformed my training for the better so it was worth the investment.
@Xenophon What, because he says he thinks there may be a racist element in the police assuming that an ethnic minority person on an ebike must be a courier on an illegal machine? This is lived experience for many in the UK even today, I have a black friend who has given up his expensive car in favour of something more modest because he's fed up with being stopped and asked to prove it's his. Nationally, BAME people are four times more likely to be stopped by the police; in some wealthy areas of London that ratio rises to an astonishing, and shameful, forty-eight times more likely. So it's quite likely that the ethnicity of the rider had something to do with the stop and his subsequent ignorant and illegal treatment and it's neither activism nor "having a chip on his shoulder" to point it out. Ask yourself this: if that legal Tern was being ridden by a white middle class woman taking Jemima and Henry to school, do you think she would have been stopped, subjected to the same "testing" and had her bike illegally seized and destroyed? Not a chance in hell and it's not having a chip on one's shoulder to say so.
Cops making up the law to make cyclists feel less "special" - check! wtjs here with examples of some other powered "illegal vehicles" for which drivers *do* need to have insurance (and tax and MOT) but where that hasn't happened in some years? Not yet... Still - these ones appear active... Can they get retrained then redeployed where some posters complain about an "ebike plague"?
The Rider would be well within their rights to sue for lost earnings. The bike company for the cost of replacement and lost rental earnings. I know there are some thick plod about but this one must be a record. Hit the plod in their budget - that might wake up the PCC.
@Xenophon2 Just sounds like someone who's quite reasonably angry that his organisation is £6.5k in the hole for no good reason to me. They didn't. They're quoted in the article as saying “I do suspect that he might have been using it for courier riding, such as Deliveroo, but I can’t firmly prove that" Which pretty clearly implies that they weren't supposed to be. But that's a violation of the terms of agreement between the rider, Bike Foundry, and the council, and a matter for them - it's entirely irrelevant to the police action and the harm that's caused to both the rider and the company.
This needs to be taking to court and an example made of these officers before this type of illegal seizure and destruction becomes a regular occurence. This also appears to be racism. If a car is taken by police it is impounded and the driver is required to obtain special insurance to collect it. There is a period of grace before the car if perfectly roadworthy is sold, or otherwise scrapped. I bet this bike wasnt even scrapped, and was sold on. Come on, a £6k bike would have taken 5 minutes for someone to work out its saleable. Very, very dodgy police.
That is a sorry tale; ignorance, gig economy, petty minded officials, tinges of bigotry, targeting of the wrong ‘issue’, subsidy, deaf and dumb law enforcement, no accepting of culpability, lies and deceit. Almost a microcosm or metaphor for the UK at the moment.
Congrats Emily!
Is the “serious suspicion” just that these two are much better than everyone else rather than any actual evidence… oh and there is a good French rider at last so let’s help them out…
49 thoughts on ““Ableist, sizeist and ageist” cycling meme controversy; Dylan Groenewegen needed police protection after being sent death threats and a noose; Not Near Miss of the Day: Robot spots cyclist and doesn’t pull out; “War against cars” + more on the live blog”
War against cars? Oh do fuck
War against cars? Oh do fuck off.
The social, health and environmental problems caused by cars are obvious and well known yet their use is still effectively subsidised and spending on road building is at a record high. Car use should be minimised and they should be kept out of towns and cities as much as possible – it’s in everyone’s interests.
Yet another privileged Tory who’s so fragile and afraid of change they find a way to reverse the narrative and play the victim.
Exactly – Tony the Tory
Exactly – Tony the Tory claiming victimhood along with those Fair Fuel idiots – ‘Won’t someone think of the poor, put-upon salt-of-the-earth hard-working (we musn’t forget the Tory mantra ‘Hard-working’) taxpaying motorist’. Words cannot express my utter raging contempt for this entitled prick. I bet he’s one of those dicks who also think ‘what about White Lives Matter’. Arsehole.
If it’s a war on cars, why is
If it’s a war on cars, why is it only the cyclists that are getting injured and killed?
hawkinspeter wrote:
Cos we’re not very good at it…..
Captain Badger wrote:
To be honest, I don’t remember seeing the memo about having a war with cars. Is it just the cars or does it include the drivers as well?
Should I be going around slashing tyres? As a lazy techy person, I’m more inclined to get some kind of wireless key jamming device and just prevent drivers getting into their cars.
It was Friday 8th this month,
It was Friday 8th this month, you must have turned up on the 1st.
hirsute wrote:
Did that go ahead? Someone in The Car Lobby told me they’d booked the hall. Typical shabby trick…..
Don’t be silly, we had to
Don’t be silly, we had to meet in the car park – it’s lockdown !
hirsute wrote:
Well that wasn’t going to work, cyclists never venture out unless it’s summer….
Dagnammit – I’d made loads of
Dagnammit – I’d made loads of baklava, too.
hawkinspeter wrote:
Like many people who also cycle, I’ve been driving cars for over 35 years. During that time I have been able to drive more or less wherever and whenever I wanted, 24 hours a day. I’ve not seen any evidence of a war; in fact Shropshire council bends over backwards to please car drivers with free or cheap parking in the town centre, refusing to pedestrianise shopping areas already buzzing with people on foot, refusing to address parking on pavements and double yellow lines etc etc and actively promoting a hugely expensive additional bypass when we already have a dual carriageway around 3/4 of the town.
They also won’t address the air quality issues, congestion, pollution and danger presented by allowing so many vehicles around the narrow, winding streets of our towns.
They make no effort to enable active travel. New business parks and housing developments (of which there are many) have – at best – a token shared path that is liable to end suddenly with those henious ‘cyclist dismount’ signs. They let the privatised Arriva bus service ratchet up ticket prices so that it costs £4+ to go the 3 miles to town on a noisy, smelly polluting vehicle even though a move to electric buses was promised in 2017… No, car drivers are definitely very well catered for and encouraged in all parts of Shropshire.
“the prerequisite for any
“the prerequisite for any battle was that the enemy should under no circumstances carry guns”.
As a notable Army Officer once said…
If we officially give up, are
If we officially give up, are the cars bound by the Geneva convention to stop killing us?
Mungecrundle wrote:
Yes, but I’m sure that the occasional “accident” will still happen – drivers are busy people and can’t always be paying attention to what’s happening on the road around them.
hawkinspeter wrote:
Those phones don’t answer themselves you know…..
Mungecrundle wrote:
We, after all, have a recognised uniform… Lycra and no hiviz
Recognised and yet noticeably
Recognised and yet noticeably invisible to all gammons.
It sounds as though Tony
It sounds as though Tony Devenish is in favour of active travel in principle, but at the same time absolutely determined there should be no change to the car-dominated status quo in practice.
Sounds like he would have
Sounds like he would have been perfect on Worcestershire council. They put in for the Active Travel grants but had drawn red lines that any new cycling provisions put in would not take any road or parking away from motor vehicles.
HarrogateSpa wrote:
We have a councillor like that here in Glasgow; says she supports cycling, but keeps voting against new bike lanes if it means the loss of a parking space.
A few years back local campaign group Gobike supported the upgrading of what was a line of paint to a proper bike lane but had suggested some design improvements. She represented this as:
“I was aware of objections from Go Bike to the proposed traffic regulation order on Clarence Drive and did not support the plans on this basis. “
Unbelievably this person in a councillor for The Scottish Green Party!
War against cars, could he be
War against cars, could he be any more melodramatic? Poor bloody Tories, always frightened of having taken from them what they should never have had in the first place.
The Telegraph simultaneously
The Telegraph simultaneously campaigning to ‘Keep Kids Active’ during lockdown,whilst campaigning against cycling schemes that actually promote activity for kids during lockdown.
And people think it’s just the tabloids which cause the problems
I did not know autonomous
I did not know autonomous delivery robots were a thing in the UK. Are they a thing? Are they legal?
I was shocked as well.
I was shocked as well. Apparently they have been trialled in Milton Keynes for awhile.
As an aside, did the videographer have the rear camera at the base of his skull / nape of the neck?
They’ve been in use around MK
They’ve been in use around MK for a long time – you see them all the time on pavements around the area. I’ve not heard of any issues with them and miraculously they dont seem to get stolen or vandalised either.
AlsoSomniloquism wrote:
It’s under the saddle – the weird thing at the top of the image is just a cable lock wrapped round the saddle rails/bag. I’m quite tall, so have the saddle high – but not that high!
I was riding back after dropping the car off at the garage (getting some use out of the studded Schwalbe Winter tyres). I didn’t actually notice it until it moved, not seen one as far out as Newport Pagnell and not in the road like that before.
They’re usually around Kingston/Middleton – often corralled outside Smashburger, just waiting to deliver a lukewarm beef patty to your door…
Good to hear as it did look
Good to hear as it did look like the helmet bit.
As for not seeing one out that far, maybe it was lost?
I’ve seen them in Newport
I’ve seen them in Newport Pagnell. Along the Wolverton Rd. Somebody said they did co-op deliveries??
IanMK wrote:
Yep, they do Co-op. Started out here I think with the trial in MK.
https://goo.gl/maps/ewU3CN5TJmY9nzPe9
But https://www.starship.xyz are now expanding to other areas.
Most certainly are – we’ve
Most certainly are – we’ve had them in Milton Keynes for a while now. The local kids used to get a bit of a kick out of deliberately standing in their way however most of them seem to have got over that now as they are such a normal part of life here.
But are they allowed to go on
But are they allowed to go on the roads? How does that work? – they’re not hi-viz…
No – they don’t need to go on
No – they don’t need to go on the roads. We have a completely segregated walking and cycling infrastructure called the Redways.
One of the reasons I’m not completely sure a segregated infrastructure is the answer to all of our cycling woes.
brooksby wrote:
Could have just been crossing the road in the video.
brooksby wrote:
Or wearing a helmet.
Also – we almost have
Also – we almost have autonomous taxis from the station up to CMK. They’re being trialled (or at least were) and expecting them to be rolled out before long.
Tony Devenish and his should
Tony Devenish and his ilk should remember that their inability to imagine a world where our infrastructure is not primarily designed around the car is only evidence of their lack of imagination. It is not evidence that it couldn’t be done differently & better.
I can’t read the Telegraph
I can’t read the Telegraph article cos it wants me to subscribe. So I can only go from one Tweet. While it’s clear that in reality there is no “war on cars” – in fact our government, local authorities and society in general are very much friends and helpers of cars – nevertheless, some people seriously believe this mythical war is being conducted (mostly by those local authorities, which must make it some stealth civil war). If we were able to reverse this – conduct a real campaign against car dominance without it being perceived – wouldn’t that be clever? Or would it just mean the campaign was a failure (because if it’s unperceived, it has no effect)?
Wow, the treatment of Dylan
Wow, the treatment of Dylan Groenewegen is appalling, yes the guy made a mistake and the suspension etc is appropriate, but some people are despicable human beings, it’s not like he set out to kill the guy, he was just agressively an idiot in the heat of the moment.
War on cars? Maybe someone
War on cars? Maybe someone who knows where Tony Devenish parks his could make a start.
I thought that picture was
I thought that picture was kind of funny, but then I’m a fit slender roadie not a fat arsed e-biker.
I thought that picture was
I thought that picture was kind of funny, but then I’m a fit slender roadie not a fat arsed e-biker.
No ebikes seen around here for months- since the bad weather began. They don’t like it up ’em!
I thought it was kind of
I thought it was kind of funny too, but then I will soon be a fit slender 70 year old roadie e-road-biker. Not fat arsed, but scraggy arsed. Is that ok? Or should I go and shoot myself now?
Sexist? Ableist? Ageist?
Sizeist? Ableist? Ageist?
All I know is that that photo tells me (with 4 bikes in the garage) that I need a new one.
On one level, the meme makes
On one level, the meme makes no judgement about any physical attribute, that is all in the mind of the professionally offended.
On another level, ebike riders might want to think carefully before posing with their breasts out if they ever want to run a proffesional cycling team.
Good advice, I’ll amend my
Good advice, I’ll amend my Tindr profile forthwith.
I hope none of those blokes
I hope none of those blokes in the controversial “sizeist” photo are looking to get jobs in cycling.
Just to be clear, if I’m
Just to be clear, if I’m going to join the war on cars should I start with my own car?
IanMK wrote:
Yup, y’need to go and give it a good kicking.
A damn good thrashing I’d say
A damn good thrashing I’d say