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"Vine you p****!": Jeremy Vine recognised by angry delivery driver; Anyone got the route? Bizarre Romandie standstill; 1 in 10 UK drivers experience road rage EVERY TIME they drive; UAE confident Tadej back for the Tour + more on the live blog

Two live blogs to go until the weekend, Dan Alexander is on duty for Thursday's...
27 April 2023, 14:40
"Vine you p****!": Jeremy Vine recognised by angry delivery driver

Jeremy's got a fan...

Vine said he had "no idea" why the outburst, adding that he had never seen the courier, hands full with Amazon parcels, before. The video has been viewed more than 1.5 million times though, Vine telling the Mail...

"I can't be sure the guy was Amazon but he walked to a front door behind me and waited with the parcels for someone to answer. It's lovely to be acknowledged in the street but this is not quite the personal service Amazon promise. I'm hoping they'll get in touch and explain if he's one of theirs. The weird thing was, the insult came without any explanation and I've never seen the guy before, so I have no idea why he got his boxers in a twist. Just another day commuting in London."

 Amazon has not yet commented on the footage.

They have however become live blog regulars, although not necessarily for the best reasons, after an Amazon-branded van was seen blocking an Edinburgh bike lane for 15 minutes.

Amazon van driver Leith Walk cycle lane (Edward Tissiman/Twitter)

The cyclist who spotted the blockage waited for the driver to return, was told to "deal with it" before we contacted Amazon and were told they would investigate... but Amazon Logistics engages independent delivery providers to provide delivery services, meaning it's "important to note" that Amazon does not own the vehicles nor employ the drivers, so it would be "wrong to say Amazon driver". Make sense?

Oh, and then it happened again...

Amazon bike lane 2 (Edward Tissiman/Twitter)

> The sequel nobody asked for — bike lane Amazon van is back

27 April 2023, 15:54
Ethan Hayter wins stage two of Tour de Romandie, takes race lead

Two road stages, two wins for the British riders. Yesterday it was Ethan Vernon, today Ethan Hayter... (yes, I did just check to see if there was a third Ethan in the race due tomorrow's stage)...

And just as dominant as Vernon's win yesterday. Continuing the surprising names in the places theme (after Romain Bardet was fourth yesterday), Juan Ayuso and Bardet again (!), second and third. Maybe the Frenchman's found his calling after a winter of bulking up? 

Hayter takes the GC lead too thanks to his consistency so far, Tobias Foss the first of the GC challengers, is in second place, six seconds back.

27 April 2023, 13:33
Further safety measures at Oxford roundabout where cyclist was killed
The Plain Roundabout Oxford, July 2022 (via Google Street View)

Yesterday we reported that Oxford City Council had signed up for further safety measures, requiring developers of construction sites to plan their HGV journeys to avoid busy or high risk areas, such as around schools at home time. 

Well, Oxfordshire County Council has today announced further safety restrictions to be implemented at The Plain, a notorious roundabout where a cyclist, Dr Ling Felce, was killed by an unlicensed HGV driver under the influence of cocaine last year.

The roundabout is used by around 12,000 cyclists each day and underwent initial safety works at the end of last year, with amendments to road markings and traffic signs and the installation of light bike lane segregation, road studs and bollards.

The Plain roundabout, Oxford

> Improvements to notorious roundabout will benefit both cyclists and motorists, campaigners say

Today, the county council has announced loading restrictions at the roundabout, meaning there will be a peak hour loading ban, between 7-10am and 4.30-7pm, to "improve safety, particularly for the most vulnerable road users".

Councillor Andrew Gant said: "We know that any measures to improve safety and visibility at this busy roundabout will be welcomed by the thousands of people who use it every day."

27 April 2023, 14:27
What is an all-road bike? Is this new bike breed really an N+1 killer?
27 April 2023, 14:11
Shimano's first quarter sales not up to forecast, despite already lower projections
27 April 2023, 07:46
Anyone got the route? Bizarre scenes as Tour de Romandie standstill after group takes wrong turn

About as relatable as pro cycling gets, a scene repeated up and down the country every weekend as another group ride curses leaving the navigation to *insert unreliable rider* again...

This was apparently the gruppetto of yesterday's stage who took a wrong turn and would have emerged at the wrong point of the finishing circuit so were quite understandably stopped by the race marshals. Still, good to see even at WorldTour level the usual faces you'd see in the 'group ride gets lost' scenario...

Astana rider: Arms outstretched, nattering away, almost certainly making an entirely predictable joke about 'who left them in charge again?'

Tour de Romandie confusion (GCN+/Eurosport)

Israel rider 195 Giacomo Nizzolo: On the ball, very keen, has the route on his device even thought its not his ride, notices the mistake, communicates effectively. Underrated member of the group ride.

Team Arkéa Samsic rider 161 Kévin Vauquelin: Tired, fed up, started cramping an hour ago and just wants to be home. Annoyed at the extra mileage.

Elia Viviani: Too old for this nonsense. Makes mental note to stay in bed next week and head out solo.

Tour de Romandie confusion (GCN+/Eurosport)

DSM rider: Couldn't care less, he really needed a piss so the stop's very welcome...

Tour de Romandie confusion (GCN+/Eurosport)
27 April 2023, 13:29
Ned Boulting enjoys London's latest low-traffic neighbourhood
27 April 2023, 11:53
Jacob Rees-Mogg calls "optical illusion" cycle lane a "failed experiment" after 59 injuries in a year
Jacob Rees-Mogg and Keynsham High Street cycle lane

> Jacob Rees-Mogg calls "optical illusion" cycle lane a "failed experiment" after 59 injuries in a year

"Talking of failed experiments"...

"If so, similar consideration is also deserving in other decisions, wouldn't you agree?"...

"Oh.. so you do recognise the concept of failure. Now, conquer self reflection and you might just have a realisation"...

Just a few of Jacob's replies on Twitter... no idea what they're referencing...

27 April 2023, 11:27
C̶h̶a̶t̶G̶P̶T̶ ChatDSM: AI Giro d'Italia team announcements

The second team to confirm its Giro line-up after Jumbo-Visma's stacked support crew for Primož Roglič, including Sepp Kuss and TT world champ Tobias Foss. Shame DSM didn't let ChatGPT actually pick the riders, that would have been fun... 'Sorry, Romain, plans change... computer says Giro'

27 April 2023, 11:24
Drum & Bass on The Bike goes international (again)... if you happen to be in Berlin this weekend

From Bristol to Berlin...

Drum and Bass on the Bike (Image credit: Hamish Belding/Twitter)

> Cyclists take over Bristol for "mind-blowing" Drum & Bass on the Bike ride 

27 April 2023, 09:36
One in ten UK drivers experience road rage EVERY TIME they drive
Swindon road rage assault (screenshot via Ady Short vid)

Research from business comparison site iCompario suggests that one in ten UK drivers experience road rage every time they drive... not occasionally, not when they are stressed... every time.

Of course these sorts of surveys aren't always the most, how shall we say it? Reliable? Accurate? Comprehensive? Maybe that's too harsh, in short they are carried out by surveying 2,000 people, in this case 2,000 UK drivers to get an idea of what the numbers could be.

And yep, of the 2,000 UK drivers, 65 per cent said they experience road rage at least once a month, while one in ten (10 per cent) said they experience it every time they get behind the wheel. Taking the first figure and applying the percentage to the number of full driving licence holders it suggests 27 million people in the UK experience road rage once a month or more frequently.

On the 'factors most likely to give drivers road rage' fortunately/unfortunately (depending on your outlook) cyclists weren't included. 35 per cent said witnessing other drivers using a mobile phone caused them road rage, while fast drivers (31 per cent), middle lane hogging (28 per cent), slow drivers (30 per cent) and tailgaters (49 per cent) were the other factors.

In a final section we certainly didn't expect to be reading iCompario spoke to a doctoral researcher in clinical psychology at the University of Edinburgh who suggested drivers should listen to music as close to 60bpm as possible to "have a calming effect on the body, reducing heart rate and muscle tension".

Yes, there's a playlist... Beyonce, Lewis Capaldi, Ed Sheeran, Adele, Bruno Mars, Paolo Nutini, Bon Iver, Radiohead, Lana Del Ray, Celeste, Oasis, Tame Impala, Whitney Houston, Sam Smith... 'Siri, define hit-and-miss'...

Anyway, make of this blog post what you will, don't all angrily dive into the comments at once...

27 April 2023, 08:48
"There is enough time": UAE Team Emirates confident Pogačar back for Tour de France
Tadej Pogacar, La Fleche Wallone 2023

UAE Team Emirates' sporting manager Joxean Fernández Matxin is confident Tadej Pogačar will have recovered sufficiently to join his teammates at their pre-Tour de France altitude camp.

Speaking to Het Laatste Nieuws, Matxin explained the team's star rider will take three weeks of rest, skipping the planned wind tunnel testing and recon of key stages, instead hoping to be fit in time to join the team in the Sierra Nevada from mid-May to early June.

> Tadej Pogačar forced to abandon Liège-Bastogne-Liège after early crash, suffers fractures

The surgeon who operated on Pogačar's wrist said: "Pogačar is a top athlete, with an incredible medical environment. He has the best cards in terms of recovery. In the best case scenario, he will be ready in time for the Tour. The scaphoid is a special bone, so we have to wait for the scan. But all expectations are that it should work out."

Dan is the road.cc news editor and has spent the past four years writing stories and features, as well as (hopefully) keeping you entertained on the live blog. Having previously written about nearly every other sport under the sun for the Express, and the weird and wonderful world of non-league football for the Non-League Paper, Dan joined road.cc in 2020. Come the weekend you'll find him labouring up a hill, probably with a mouth full of jelly babies, or making a bonk-induced trip to a south of England petrol station... in search of more jelly babies.

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50 comments

Avatar
ktache | 1 year ago
1 like

A bit of information for fellow cheapskates/Freeview and licence fee payers only, seen on an advert, the Giro highlights show (Eurosportish?) will be on DMax, and not Quest, maybe. Still a Discovery repeating channel.

Avatar
Rendel Harris replied to ktache | 1 year ago
2 likes

ktache wrote:

A bit of information for fellow cheapskates/Freeview and licence fee payers only, seen on an advert, the Giro highlights show (Eurosportish?) will be on DMax, and not Quest, maybe. Still a Discovery repeating channel.

Another thing of possible use to cheapskates is that Discovery Plus has a seven day free trial offer, so you could pick the seven days you wanted to watch most of the Giro and get free flag to flag coverage for that week. I do pay for Discovery Plus personally, at less than £6 a month for pretty much every major race including all the GTs flag to flag I can't begrudge it, plus there's quite a lot of other watchable stuff on there, sports and non sports.

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ktache replied to Rendel Harris | 1 year ago
0 likes

Just seen a bit on this evening's Ch4 news, on the drought in southern Europe.

The Giro may end up looking like a typical Vuelta.

The Po is very dry.

Avatar
Off the back | 1 year ago
8 likes

Ref the Amazon van. 
 

it says that Amazon don't own the vans so therefore are not liable. Not necessarily so. 
 

about 6 years ago, I was knocked off my bike by a Yodel delivery driver who had walked into my path without looking. I came off breaking 2 bones in my back. I successfully sued Yodel because the judge agreeed that even though the van was the property of the driver and he was not a direct employee of Yodel, he was in the process of delivering their produce to a customer so they were still culpable. 
 

I If I can dig out the court transcript I will post but Amazon are not cleared of any responsibility if their drivers cause injury to a cyclist or other road user. Maybe not in criminal law but civil law they are. 

Avatar
Car Delenda Est replied to Off the back | 1 year ago
4 likes

Yeah seems pretty straightforward that Amazon/Yodel are paying them to do what they're doing.

"Ah you see, Judge, the hitman is an independent contractor and they're using their own gun."

Avatar
eburtthebike | 1 year ago
6 likes

So JRM thinks that the relatively short time the cycle lane has been in place and the fact that some people have tripped up on the kerb is a "failed experiment".   I wonder what he thinks of the past 13 years of tory failure?

Avatar
ShutTheFrontDawes replied to eburtthebike | 1 year ago
7 likes
eburtthebike wrote:

So JRM thinks that the relatively short time the cycle lane has been in place and the fact that some people have tripped up on the kerb is a "failed experiment".   I wonder what he thinks of the past 13 years of tory failure?

Ah but no-one has died from the Tory failure. Oh wait...
https://www.gla.ac.uk/news/headline_885099_en.html

Avatar
ubercurmudgeon | 1 year ago
2 likes

Vine should know that anyone who appears on TV in this country with any kind of regularity will inevitably be called a prick or a ponce (or anything with a similarly prominent plosive) by random people on the street. Probably even beloved "national treasures" like, say, David Attenborough or Maggie Smith encounter weirdos who are inexplicably furious at them for some reason or another (e.g. "Oi Attenborough, you twat, why did you let that cheetah kill that gazelle last night!?")

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brooksby | 1 year ago
5 likes

And second question - how did this delivery van manage to get onto the footpath so as to (illegally) park there?  Leaving about two feet between the side of the van and the building.

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chrisonabike replied to brooksby | 1 year ago
3 likes

Appears to have BOLAS on though so you can't touch me, mate.

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Backladder replied to brooksby | 1 year ago
6 likes

One of the bollards appears to be asleep on the job!

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brooksby | 1 year ago
1 like

So, why exactly would cyclists be expected to dismount...?

(the footpath has been dug up, so the segregated cycle lane has been used as a pedestrian bypass - obviously - but there is still a normal traffic lane there)

Avatar
hawkinspeter replied to brooksby | 1 year ago
5 likes

brooksby wrote:

So, why exactly would cyclists be expected to dismount...?

(the footpath has been dug up, so the segregated cycle lane has been used as a pedestrian bypass - obviously - but there is still a normal traffic lane there)

That's just an advisory sign, not a round "order" sign, so I make a point of ignoring it. (I have been known to ignore the official signs too)

Avatar
stonojnr | 1 year ago
8 likes

Only 1 in 10 ? These the same lot of drivers who claim they're above average skillz at driving?

Genuinely feared on my commute in today someone was just going to drive thru me, insane the number of dangerous close passes on such a short journey. And that's with a 12x12 Passpixi on my panniers.

Avatar
eburtthebike replied to stonojnr | 1 year ago
2 likes

stonojnr wrote:

Only 1 in 10 ? These the same lot of drivers who claim they're above average skillz at driving?

I thought it was 90% of drivers who thought that they were above average?

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stonojnr replied to eburtthebike | 1 year ago
0 likes

Yep so the 9 out of 10 drivers who claim not to get road rage everytime they drive, synchs with it perfectly.

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hawkinspeter | 1 year ago
2 likes
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brooksby replied to hawkinspeter | 1 year ago
1 like

I put this on the 'Drivers and their problems' thread earlier, Peter.

Quote:

A new cycle lane was opened in March 2022 after nine months of work, beginning an odd phenomenon of people falling in the high street. One person who fell described the cycle lane as an “optical illusion” as there were kerbs and painted white lines which looked similar to each other.

...

Some work has been done on the cycle lane with the hope of reducing the number of falls. The lane, which had been plain tarmac, was painted red in August in response to — at that time — 46 incidents of people falling.

 

Avatar
hawkinspeter replied to brooksby | 1 year ago
1 like

Sorry, I didn't spot that.

Avatar
brooksby replied to hawkinspeter | 1 year ago
2 likes

hawkinspeter wrote:

Sorry, I didn't spot that.

De nada.  We don't have a separate thread for 'Pedestrians and their problems'...  4

Avatar
chrisonabike replied to hawkinspeter | 1 year ago
5 likes

hawkinspeter wrote:

Sorry, I didn't spot that.

Chapeau!  Hopefully you weren't injured?

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chrisonabike replied to hawkinspeter | 1 year ago
10 likes

Is the illusion that it looks like a council cares about active travel?

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Hirsute replied to hawkinspeter | 1 year ago
4 likes

I'm confused - are they tripping over the kerb or tripping over the painted white line they think is a kerb ?

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brooksby replied to Hirsute | 1 year ago
1 like

White line, I reckon...  3

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hawkinspeter replied to brooksby | 1 year ago
6 likes

brooksby wrote:

White line, I reckon...  3

Don't do it!
Ticket to ride, white line highway
Tell all your friends, they can go my way

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Oldfatgit replied to hawkinspeter | 1 year ago
3 likes

Guess they haven't got *the message*

Avatar
hawkinspeter replied to Oldfatgit | 1 year ago
2 likes

Oldfatgit wrote:

Guess they haven't got *the message*

You asked for this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PK_MLA01YrU

Avatar
Oldfatgit replied to hawkinspeter | 1 year ago
1 like

That's pretty well done ... someone had really put a lot of thought in to it.

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hawkinspeter replied to Hirsute | 1 year ago
1 like

Hirsute wrote:

I'm confused - are they tripping over the kerb or tripping over the painted white line they think is a kerb ?

It's not very clear, but the cycle lane has now been painted red to try to fix the issue though that hasn't been successful. Apparently, the kerb and white lines look similar to each other, so maybe people trip over the kerb thinking that it's just paint.

There's more info here: https://www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/local-news/anger-optical-illusion-somerset-cycle-8386356

//i2-prod.somersetlive.co.uk/incoming/article8388857.ece/ALTERNATES/s810/0_Alan.jpg)

Also, there's this article about when they painted it red: https://www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/local-news/high-street-cycle-lane-still-7878317

Seems to confirm that the kerb is the problem.

Quote:

As I stepped over the curb, I was expecting a flat surface which wasn’t there. I rolled my left ankle, fell, and landed on my right knee, wrist, and shoulder in the road stopping traffic.

Avatar
chrisonabike replied to hawkinspeter | 1 year ago
5 likes

On the "red" - I'm all for this.  I mean - I don't really care which colour but the UK uses, but a) make the cycle track, footway and carriageway different colours already and b) pick one colour for the whole country!  (Hint - we use standard signs with standard colours for the roads).

I do think that differences in height are a useful feature of cycle tracks - and they're certainly a feature of these in most places where there is mass cycling.  The height difference and kerb here don't look excessive.  However it is "change" and anything new will cause problems to some people unfortunately.  Mostly severely affecting those who already have difficulties e.g. the old / those with disabilities etc.

Perhaps there could be an extra levy on motor vehicles to cover advertising to advise people of such changes?  After all - they've been made necessary by the eventual ubiquity of the phenomenon of mass motoring (very profitable for some, heavily subsidised, politically pushed)?

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