Jeremy Vine defends Peter Hitchens not wearing a helmet; Your thoughts on e-scooters in bike racks debate; Danny MacAskill Climate Games; G set for new Ineos deal; UK’s next CYCLOPS junction; Hire bikes installed in no cycling zone + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Geraint Thomas set to sign new Ineos Grenadiers deal after long and "tough" negotiations
Geraint Thomas looks set to put an end to the silly season transfer rumours and sign a new contract with Ineos Grenadiers. The 2018 Tour de France champion had been expected to leave the team after 12 years, but now seems almost certainly to be sticking around for another season.
“It’s pretty much done but it’s still not signed so I don’t want to curse it,” Thomas told BBC Sport Wales. “It’s hard. I’ve had to separate the emotional and the business side of things. I’ve known Dave [Brailsford] since 2003 and that relationship is obviously a good one but he has his bosses and his agenda and there’s me and what my family want.
“So it’s been tough. It’s been the worst one [contract] to redo because there’s been a lot going on but I’m happy that it’s finally almost done. Once it’s announced, we can move on and I can concentrate on getting fit and riding my bike.”
Thomas’ big season goal, a tilt at winning a second Tour de France, was derailed by a crash in the opening week. Coming into the Tour the Welshman was in good form, winning Tour de Romandie despite a bizarre finish line crash, and finishing third at Volta Ciclista Catalunya and Critérium du Dauphiné. Thomas was speaking about the launch of his new Cycling Trust, aimed at supporting more young people to get cycling.
How do we feel about e-scooters parked in bicycle racks?
How do we feel about escooters in bicycle spots? pic.twitter.com/AZIEeHeYhv
— Gazza ‘the ghoulish’ Biker (@gazzabiker) October 26, 2021
In the red corner, e-scooters. In the blue corner, bicycles…
Today’s active travel hot topic seems to be whether e-scooters should be allowed to park in bicycle racks? Some take the ‘any active travel is welcome’ stance, others the ‘nope, give them their own parking’ line. Where do you stand?
The ultra scientific approach of tallying up the 33 replies on Twitter (that’s how YouGov does it, right?) left us with 28 votes for e-scooters being allowed in bike parking, two objections and three on the fence. I hereby definitively conclude that 84.8 per cent of people are fine with it…let’s see what you think…pick a side, there’s no fence-sitting here…
Here are some of the replies to Gazza ‘the ghoulish’ Biker (someone likes Halloween)…
I’m down with it. Personal transport rocks in all its diverse formats. One less car pumping fumes out.
— Roo (2 inch trials) Rider (@commuteroo) October 26, 2021
‘2 wheels good’ as the folk in Animal Farm might say.
— Edward Woods (@ManicEddie) October 26, 2021
Better than a car.
— Courtney Cobbs (she/her) (@FullLaneFemme) October 26, 2021
Nope. Give them their own parking
— Petrichor (@Sinabhfuil) October 27, 2021
One interesting point that did come up was that rather than getting picky about what bikes/scooters can park where, wouldn’t it make more sense just to build more storage for both?
Totally fine with it.
There just needs to be more “bike spots”.— Cycleops70 (@Carrot70) October 26, 2021
A good reason to expand storage.
— Calum_R91 🚲 (@CalumR91) October 26, 2021
James Shaw rewarded for impressive 2021 with return to the WorldTour with EF Education-Nippo
“I’m someone who doesn’t always take the easiest route. I’ll take the alternative one and I like the adventure side of life. I’m a bit different.”
You’re a perfect fit for the team then, James Shaw. More here on the British racer and our new teammate: https://t.co/oPt271Txcz pic.twitter.com/IhFNOeSAOm
— EF Pro Cycling (@EFprocycling) October 26, 2021
James Shaw will be back riding in the WorldTour next season with EF Education-Nippo. The 25-year-old has spent three seasons at Pro Team and Cotinental level after his departure from Lotto-Soudal. Shaw impressed for Ribble Weldtite this season, finishing fifth at Tour of Slovenia, a race won by Tadej Pogačar. He was also third in the British national TT champs and ninth in the road race.
Speaking about his goals for next season, Shaw said he’ll be targeting the Ardennes Classics in the spring. Team boss Jonathan Vaughters spoke of his admiration for the rider not giving up on his dream…”James went into the WorldTour probably a little too young and just got lost in the mix and didn’t know how to fit in, didn’t adapt to their management style.
“And that’s really hard. Basically he had to restart his career from scratch at 22 years old. Luckily he’s a really smart and resourceful kid who just figured out how to bootstrap his way back into professional cycling and he’s shown since then, on his own two feet, that he has the ability to be competitive with the best in the WorldTour so this is his born again moment as a WorldTour rider.”
There's a shark in the water...
— Cobolainen 🇦🇹🇭🇺 (@cobolainen) October 27, 2021
duuuunnnn duun… duuunnnnnnnn dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dunnnnnnnnnnn dunnnn. Yes, I just searched ‘how to spell Jaws theme song’…
Cycling friends: Jeremy Vine + Peter Hitchens edition
HITCHENS IN THE WILD
(Hyde Park this morning)@ClarkeMicah 😘 pic.twitter.com/ivnEa2v63G
— Jeremy Vine (@theJeremyVine) October 27, 2021
Maybe one day Jeremy Vine catches a clip of Jeremy Clarkson secretly riding a bicycle around London…I fear that day might break the live blog forever. Until then, here’s a Vine x Hitchens collab…
Brompton simplifies range naming system: Meet the A Line, C Line and Electric C Line
Folding bike brand Brompton has simplified its range naming system, with its 2022 bikes now grouped into the A Line, C Line and Electric C Line, as well as given a tag denoting its use case.
Previously the brand’s product naming system centred around the product specification as opposed to focusing on the people who use the bikes. Brompton hopes the redefined range will make it easier for customers to find the best bike for them.
Here’s the new line up:
A Line (£850): This is the essential one-size-fits-all Brompton with a folding steel frame finished in Gloss White. “The bike has 3 hub-gears tuned for city riding, and a mid-rise handlebar for a comfortable upright ride,” says Brompton.
C Line (from £1,150): The classic all-steel folding bike, now also painted in Piccadilly Blue and Fire Coral for 2022, is available in Urban, Utility and Explore versions to meet different rider needs. All C Line bikes also come with the choice of three types of handlebar; low, mid, and high.
The minimalist option for zipping around the city is the C Line Urban. “With 2 gears, the bike is lighter to both ride and carry, perfect for hybrid journeys involving public transport,” says Brompton.
For less maintenance, the C Line Utility 3-speed bike has hub gearing which means the gears sealed inside are protected from city grit and water. “The gears can also be changed when stationary, essential for commutes with plenty of stopping and starting at traffic lights,” Brompton adds.
Then there’s the C Line Explore which Brompton says is ready for anything. “Equipped with 6 gears, load this bike with luggage and a rack for all-weather commutes or longer touring trips further afield,” says Brompton.
Electric C Line (from £1,995): The C Line Urban and Explore models are also available with a 250w hub motor for covering a range of 25-50 miles so you arrive feeling fresh. Charged up in a claimed four hours, Brompton promises the bike still folds down into the compact package that can be tucked under the desk at work or on the train.
Danny MacAskill promotes sustainable energy...by riding along wind turbine blade
Is anything that Danny MacAskill does on a bike even vaguely surprising anymore? The skill king’s latest video aimed to promote sustainable energy…naturally, he took the brief and rode along a wind turbine blade. Another thing that isn’t surprising…MacAskill is now the first person to ever ride a bicycle on a wind turbine blade.
‘Climate Games’ features tricks recorded while MacAskill had free reign of a wind turbine factory and was designed to visualise the percentage of the world’s energy currently generated from renewable sources.
> Danny MacAskill is back doing ridiculous things on two wheels
The Danny MacAskill archives are packed full of daredevil videos…in 2014 he went back to his roots to conquer The Ridge, while back in January he described The Slabs as “probably the wildest thing” he’d ever done…
UK's fourth CYCLOPS junction opens in Cambridge, the second of its kind in the city
A new CYCLOPS junction has opened in Cambridge, the fourth of its kind in the UK. Camcycle successfully campaigned for the design back in 2018, and it includes a protected cycle lane which encircles the junction, keeping riders separate from motor traffic and pedestrians.
Cyclists can make signal-free left turns at any point or use the cycle buttons to access the green phase of traffic signals, allowing them to make a right turn or travel straight across without mixing with other traffic.
The junction design first came to the UK as part of Greater Manchester’s Bee Network. A CYCLOPS junction was also opened on Fendon Road last year, this one on Histon Road is the second to come to the city.
Camcycle trustee and infrastructure campaigner Matthew Danish, who encouraged GCP officers to take inspiration from Manchester in their redesign of this junction, said: “We believe this new design will greatly enhance the safety and usability of the Gilbert Road junction on Histon Road. We know that traditional junctions are a major barrier to active travel and the location of many collisions.
“The CYCLOPS junction and protected roundabout are just two of the many designs available to local authorities from LTN 1/20, the government’s cycle infrastructure standards, and there are now good options for every intersection in our county. Camcycle calls for designs like these to be implemented at every new or renovated junction in Cambridgeshire to keep people safe and to enable and encourage more people to walk and cycle.”
Live blog favourite Mike Graham back making headlines... (thankfully) not about cycling
Mike’s interview with Insulate Britain spokesman Cameron lasts less than a minute.@Iromg | @InsulateLove pic.twitter.com/yJS7DheACq
— talkRADIO (@talkRADIO) October 26, 2021
You’ve probably seen it by now. If you haven’t, here it is in all its (painful) glory…
Mike Graham’s a bit of a live blog legend, which definitely isn’t a good thing. He was the TalkRadio presenter behind ‘The rant to end all anti-cycling rants?’ In August he also held a poll asking are cyclists a danger on the road?
Don’t mind me, I’m just off to water my concrete in the garden…
"If it means one less car": Your thoughts on e-scooters in bike racks debate
Our ultra-scientific approach to polling has given us this…
EddyBerckx commented: “The thing about the e-scooters is most are foldable and to be honest, don’t really need to be there, they can fit under your desk etc. In this case of course that might not be possible. Don’t feel too strongly about it either way as I don’t think it’ll be a big problem.”
Chrisonatrike added: “Scooters – given the extent that people will go to to avoid active travel (getting licence for car, buying, insuring, fuelling and finding parking for it) I suppose that we should welcome scooters on a harm-reduction principle. It would be great if more people could wean themselves off but scooters are so much less dangerous, take up less space, trash streets less etc.
“I still have some concerns about where all the batteries will come from (exploitative mining) and go to but that applies to any electric device. Better a small scooter battery than a car battery.
“In bike racks? If we’re fighting over bike parking space(link is external) rather than car parking space that’s a nice problem to have. Once anything is mainstream then it’s “people being people” rather than “I was nearly killed by one of those cyclists the other day”
Squired said: “Never used one, but I can see the benefits of e-scooter adoption. My concerns are that they will just be used by people to replace journeys they would have otherwise walked and thus limit their exercise levels, rather than replacing car journeys.”
hawkinspeter said: “I positively enjoy seeing scooters out on the roads and ‘cycle’ lanes as it means that drivers have more non-cars to be looking out for.
“I’m not a fan of the big collections of VOI scooters left out on pavements though as they’re a trip hazard in most places, so I’d rather they were parked out on the road like most other vehicles. However, if people want to lock their private (illegal) e-scooters in a bike park, then I don’t see how it’s much different to if someone is locking their bike there. Bike parks can easily get filled with bikes, so getting filled with scooters is much the same thing.”
Here’s some of the Twitter reaction…
No problem. One less car in a lot of cases.
— Paul McIntyre (@pmcintyre78) October 27, 2021
It’s far easier to fold/park a scooter in a cupboard, hang on a wall, under a desk, carry up stairs etc than it it a bike. So bikes should have priority. If scooterists need to store scooters, make provision for it.
— Mike Stead (@tweetymike) October 27, 2021
Good news: 'Burnham Bikes' installed at Salford University...Bad news: In an area where cycling is banned
Salford University says it is acting to remove signs saying cycling is banned after many confused students noticed some new Bee Network hire bikes had been installed in a no cycling area of campus. The bikes are part of Mayor Andy Burnham’s new cycle hire scheme, but were placed on a pedestrianised section with clear ‘no cycling’ signs.
The uni says it is “working hard” to ensure signs are taken down before the scheme launches. Manchester Evening News reports more ‘Burnham Bike’ docks are expected to be installed over the next few weeks and will see 1,500 bicycles available across the region.
A Salford University spokesperson said
We have been made aware that some of these stations were placed in a location on campus which advised that no cycling is allowed. The plan was always to remove the sign in time for the launch of the Scheme and we are working hard to ensure that it will be taken down by 3 November.
EBK GP announces global multi-city e-Bike race series to take place in 2022
E-Bike Grand Prix (EBK GP) has today announced that the first ever race series will take place in 2022, with Dubai confirmed as the first host city partnership. EBK GP is a grand prix series “working with global host cities to raise awareness of climate change challenges; seeking to mobilise citizens and promote cleaner, greener, healthier cities.”
The series will take place in cities around the world, with races along public roads, showcasing iconic landmarks and cultural sites. EBK GP will include ten events with ten competing franchise teams each fielding two squads, one male and one female, with both male and female competitions contributing equally to the team’s overall score.
How the Dutch do bike storage
Underground bicycle parking garage at Deventer station. (NL) pic.twitter.com/RolB4rO3wO
— Mark Wagenbuur (@BicycleDutch) October 27, 2021
No worries about an e-scooter taking your spot here…
Update: Mike Graham actually misunderstood genius
As noted by mdavidford, Mike Graham was actually completely correct to say that concrete can grow.
We retract our earlier post. Meanwhile, Mr Graham has done what anyone else would do when their intellect is being questioned by talking it all over with Jeremy Kyle.
“Concrete grows.”
Mike Graham responds to the controversy surrounding his Insulate Britain interview this morning, which has attracted over three million views.@Iromg pic.twitter.com/ctzUmZbM4o
— talkRADIO (@talkRADIO) October 26, 2021
Jeremy Vine defends Peter Hitchens not wearing a helmet as famous commuters cross paths in Hyde Park
Why are so many people telling my friend @ClarkeMicah he should be wearing a helmet? It’s entirely his choice, he looks good without one, and logically it should be car passengers compelled to wear them first. And anyone who drinks beer second. See @BeerHelmetsNOW https://t.co/uRyZKq7xpc
— Jeremy Vine (@theJeremyVine) October 27, 2021
A bit more on Jeremy Vine bumping into (not literally) Peter Hitchens in Hyde Park this morning…
HITCHENS IN THE WILD
(Hyde Park this morning)@ClarkeMicah 😘 pic.twitter.com/ivnEa2v63G
— Jeremy Vine (@theJeremyVine) October 27, 2021
We’d love to say the story ends with two well-known cyclists riding off into the sunset (grey Wednesday morning). Hitchens described Vine as “wheezing uphill towards me, dressed as an insect, with what looked like a periscope on his head”. Some were more concerned with the lack of “periscope”, or any protection for that matter, on his own head.
Vine got involved to reply to the helmet brigade…”Why are so many people telling my friend Peter Hitchens he should be wearing a helmet? It’s entirely his choice, he looks good without one, and logically it should be car passengers compelled to wear them first. And anyone who drinks beer second.”
The usual replies followed…
“Bicycle Helmets Not Designed For Impacts From Cars, Stresses Leading Maker Giro”https://t.co/fY4kg0XgA6
— BikepackingAdventure (@BikepackingBike) October 27, 2021
The largest number of head injuries occurs in cars. The protection provided by a helmet similar to a bike/skateboard helmet reduces this risk considerably, and would save far more lives/prevent far more serious brain injuries than cycle helmets.
— Asinine Logician (@randomdba) October 27, 2021
I avidly cycled everywhere when I was younger, honestly I would probably not be here had I not always worn a helmet. Several moderately serious scrapes, a few of them my doing (e.g. cycling headfirst into a wheelie bin) but others due to cars. I wouldn’t cycle a city without one.
— Chris Woods (@christopherw) October 27, 2021
No doubt seeing Hitchens in the Hyde Park bike lane brought Vine more joy than crossing paths with a lost motorist…
27 October 2021, 08:01
27 October 2021, 08:01
27 October 2021, 08:01
YouTubers don't seem to love it so much, but how about our reviewer? Find out in the full test report on this most controversial of expensive bike components...
Absolute Black Hollowcage Carbon Ceramic Oversized Derailleur Pulley Cage
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Latest Comments
@Mr Blackbird TDS hit hard, doesn't it?
Id point fingers at Akaso and say it does matter because at the end of the day. its false advertising unless Akaso has stated that the footage is upscaled on the packaging. Ive been around action cameras since the days when the SJCAM SJ4000 was the budget king of action cameras followed by the hundreds of clones that used the same camera body but cheap components that upmixed 720p into 1080p or 1080p into 4k. Akaso was a manufacturer that ALWAYS did this without fail with the Allwinner Chipset which was all the rage for these fake 1080p/4k cameras back then. When i saw the title and the brand 'Akaso' I instantly said to myself "I bet its not even 4k" 5mins before actually clicking on the video footage and seeing it for the first time. The footage doesnt even look like 1080p. There is too much noise. If it is 1080p then they are using a super cheap low quality CMOS camera sensor that all the old action cameras used to use back in the day some 10-15 years ago. And they want you to buy a product that probably cost them £20-30 to manufacture for £200 when they are blatantly lying to your face about the camera's capabilities? I wouldnt waste my money on this.
@GravelIsNothingNew Not really, no, because we work geographically in a world divided into eastern and western hemispheres separated by the Greenwich Meridian and the International Date Line (roughly, the 180 degree meridian to be precise). Once you cross the latter, going west from Greenwich, you are to the east of the meridian again, west doesn't continue indefinitely. Yes I know you're making a wider point but the logic used to support it doesn't work.
37 Tour de France - that is amazing. Great article, thank you.
@HarrogateSpa But the incident, according to Movistar, was caused by a spectator falling in front of the car, so if the autobrake system did stop the car presumably without it they would have run over the spectator which is also quite an undesirable outcome.
@DrG82 Exactly what I thought: cut through the cover using a bladed instrument, use a cropper while bending it a bit and the segments will separate, exposing the cable or it wouldn't be flexible. Once there, it'll be toast. An angle grinder is simply the wrong tool to attack this. I don't expect it'll protect more than one of those notoriously easy to defeat locks where the cable is covered by metal segments, sheeted in plastic.
@DrG82 Exactly what I thought: cut through the cover using a bladed instrument, use a cropper while bending it a bit and the segments will separate, exposing the cable or it wouldn't be flexible. Once there, it'll be toast. An angle grinder is simply the wrong tool to attack this. I don't expect it'll protect more than one of those notoriously easy to defeat locks where the cable is covered by metal segments, sheeted in plastic.
Re: the UAE car, one view I've heard is that the very sudden braking was done by an automatic system that relies on sensors. The expert said the auto-braking system should be turned off when driving in a bike race.
@mdavidford I love Hope got multiple brakes / wheels on all bikes, they keep developing stuff, for example I replaced a calliper recently and its a closed and clean bleed so much easier than on the previous calliper.
What does the Tour de Suisse have to with it?
53 thoughts on “Jeremy Vine defends Peter Hitchens not wearing a helmet; Your thoughts on e-scooters in bike racks debate; Danny MacAskill Climate Games; G set for new Ineos deal; UK’s next CYCLOPS junction; Hire bikes installed in no cycling zone + more on the live blog”
Competitive cycling, like a
Competitive cycling, like a lot of sports, is not open to huge numbers of children and young people due to the significant financial commitment required; so kudos to G and I hope his cycling trust reaches some untapped talent here in the UK
I’ve made my peace with
I’ve made my peace with scooters in bike lanes (no choice really as they’ve been ubiquitous in London since the start of the pandemic, law or no law) but I thought one of their big selling points was that unlike bicycles (saving Bromptons etc) they can be folded up to the size of a large skateboard and so stashed under desks, in cupboards or lockers etc, so not really sure why they need to take a bike space.
I think they are rather heavy
I think some are rather heavy on account of the massive battery, on account of being inactive travel.
My take on the parking issue is, they only qualify if they are light enough to be folded up and carried, in which case they don’t need to be there in the first place.
I don’t know, haven’t yet
I don’t know, haven’t yet felt the urge to have a go on one, but I’ve seen people carrying them on and off trains and buses with apparent ease and I believe some models when folded up can be pushed along on one wheel, so shouldn’t be too difficult to transport around a building.
Sriracha wrote:
Hmm… thinking about this again and looking how cars have ballooned as if on ‘roids and some vendors of eBikes clearly trying to map their way back towards more “motor”. Maybe we just have “car good, big car better” stuck in our heads? So these other things are imitations which will inevitably start morphing back towards the ideal exemplar.
At least they’re not cars,
At least they’re not cars, but I’m not convinced that e-scooters are “active travel”.
E-bikes, at least you do have to pedal; but e-scooters?
This. I suppose you could
This. I suppose you could argue that there is some ‘activity’ in balancing while you’re riding one, but then by that logic, standing in a bus is ‘active travel’ too.
mdavidford wrote:
Only if you don’t hold on, have your arms out for balance and hum the Hawaii 5-0 theme* to make your surfing simulation complete.
*You could use some Beach Boys songs instead if preferred.
brooksby wrote:
I wouldn’t count them as active travel, but they’re a much more efficient alternative than people using cars.
Edit: my phone used its executive editing privileges to change ‘active’ to ‘a time’
Would be interesting to know
Would be interesting to know whether they are in fact an alternative to using cars. I suspect not, more likely an alternative to walking or public transport.
Sriracha wrote:
Agree – more likely “if only there were some two-wheeled short-distance cheap lightweight transport option… Oh, a
bicyclescooter!”Not so good for carrying stuff (tools / groceries / kids) as a bike. Though no doubt if they get popular someone will fix that.
I certainly see people using them as part of a commute. Know of a couple of people who started doing this (train and scooter) for their commute when they lost their licences though. (Probably shouldn’t have been driving to start with…)
Now that I’ve understood how it works / what it’s for I’m impressed at an integrated train and bike rental system [video, now without keys]. Couldn’t work here though because works effectively because it’s centralised. That’s practically communist!
Sriracha wrote:
Wasn’t there a study/survey done recently which proved exactly that? People using scooters instead of walking or cycling or public transport instead of (er) instead of driving…
hawkinspeter wrote:
At least they’re not cars, but I’m not convinced that e-scooters are “active travel”.
E-bikes, at least you do have to pedal; but e-scooters?
— hawkinspeter I wouldn’t count them as a time travel, but they’re a much more efficient alternative than people using cars.— brooksby
it’s not a tardis
wycombewheeler wrote:
Small on the outside though…
chrisonatrike wrote:
and hundreds of miles inside the battery
Not the ones I’ve seen being
Not the ones I’ve seen being trialled so far, I was surprised how big they were against what I was expecting.
brooksby wrote:
Yes, important – active travel money has previously been diverted to benefit er… buses and motorists. It’s the “why spend new money when we can re-spend the old money” trick. So instead of just pedestrians and cyclists fighting over scraps we’ll now be sharing them with scooterists.
On the positive side scooters are new (which always excites jaded politicos) and ther’s probably some quick money in them – some of which then gets back to the politicians. So cyclists may inadvertently benefit from smoother tarmac in the future, fixed to accomodate small scooter wheels.
I positively enjoy seeing
I positively enjoy seeing scooters out on the roads and “cycle” lanes as it means that drivers have more non-cars to be looking out for.
I’m not a fan of the big collections of VOI scooters left out on pavements though as they’re a trip hazard in most places, so I’d rather they were parked out on the road like most other vehicles. However, if people want to lock their private (illegal) e-scooters in a bike park, then I don’t see how it’s much different to if someone is locking their bike there. Bike parks can easily get filled with bikes, so getting filled with scooters is much the same thing.
We need to take a more
We need to take a more pragmatic view of e-scooters.
They have the potential to provide a cheap, (relatively) eco-friendly form of transport, to a wide range of people.
As with most subjects, though, the abusers get all the attention, and the benefits get overlooked.
Definitely better than cars – in the right circumstances
I doubt escooters are
I doubt escooters are replacing cars.
Not sure they are that eco
Not sure they are that eco friendly.
You do have to buy the right IP rating otherwise they will fail prematurely. I doubt many people even realise this and with the ease of online purchase which fails to even mention any legal usage issues, it won’t be clear.
There is a trial where I live, but the data on it is very selective. They are keen to say how many people used it at least once, but I have yet to see figures for folk who have used it more than once or use it once a week.
Pleased to report that the company use an ecargo bike to go around swapping the batteries over !
Never used one, but I can see
Never used one, but I can see the benefits of e-scooter adoption. My concerns are that they will just be used by people to replace journeys they would have otherwise walked and thus limit their exercise levels, rather than replacing car journeys. My other issue is simply the danger aspect. In my part of London some of the road surfaces are badly cracked, particularly close to bus stops. I’m concerned when I ride over them on a bike especially with darker evenings closing in. I’d not fancy going along those roads at night even at 10mph on those tiny e-scooter wheels. Add in a wet road surface and the risks increase even more.
Scooters – given the extent
Scooters – given the extent that people will go to to avoid active travel (getting licence for car, buying, insuring, fuelling and finding parking for it) I suppose that we should welcome scooters on a harm-reduction principle. It would be great if more people could wean themselves off but scooters are so much less dangerous, take up less space, trash streets less etc. I still have some concerns about where all the batteries will come from (exploitative mining) and go to but that applies to any electric device. Better a small scooter battery than a car battery.
In bike racks? If we’re fighting over bike parking space rather than car parking space that’s a nice problem to have. Once anything is mainstream then it’s “people being people” rather than “I was nearly killed by one of those cyclists the other day”
chrisonatrike wrote:
I wonder how many hours the average person spends on the car, whether they would still consider them a benefit.
Hours worked to earn (after tax) the purchase/lease cost, maintenance, fuel, insurance, tyres. Plus time lost in traffic + time cleaning, maintaining, taking for services, MOT etc etc etc. It’s probably quite considerable for most people.
Visitors might well come to the conclusion that cars are the masters of people.
The thing about the e
The thing about the e scooters is most are foldable and tbh, don’t really need to be there, they can fit under your desk etc. In this case of course that might not be possible.
don’t feel too strongly about it either way as I don’t think it’ll be a big problem
Presumably there’s a niche
Presumably there’s a niche Brompton designed for people who always want to take the most direct route to their destination, no matter what type of terrain lies in the way…
mdavidford wrote:
If only there were some way of fitting off-road tyres to a Brompton
Re: Vine and Peter Hitchens –
Re: Vine and Peter Hitchens – people questioned Peter on his non-use of a cycling helmet, to which he replied:
“It is , as always, a matter of proportion. The main danger, during normal commuter and leisure cycling by middle-aged people with road sense and driving licences, comes from lycra-covered, helmeted morons overtaking you on the inside. One of these will probably kill me one day.”
As always, witty, ascerbic and bang on the money, Peter Hitchens is probably the finest journalist of his generation. A pity he didn’t point out the dangers of TT bikes too, but the Twitter character limit probably prevented him from expanding his answer.
I’m all for proportion, wit
I’m all for proportion, wit etc.
Just wondering if that was the same witty and ascerbic Peter Hitchens who made a factually incorrect statement in public (relating to Covid as it happens), then when this was pointed out first insisted it was true, then said it was just opinion, then tried to shift the argument, said the counter argument was disingenuous, claimed he was being persecuted for speaking the truth and finally decried the journal this was all published in (filling a large part of the letters page over several issues in letting him have his very windy right of reply) as government toadies?
That “establishment journal” being the satirical Private Eye. Often decried as being both left and right wing of course.
I seem to be seeing that pattern frequently – state something contentious, double down on it, then claim it is just opinion, then eventually act offended and claim the “persecution” is evidence that you’re speaking the truth. (That’s especially favoured by those in a powerful position – we’re being victimised!) Being laughed at may just mean you’re laughable. Or as Terry Wogan once said, they’re not laughing with you.
chrisonatrike wrote:
The public humiliation of Peter Hitchens in the Eye was worth this year’s subscription fee alone!
You did however miss out the classic trope of also claiming to be a victim of cancel culture and being cancelled – whilst making such claims on Twitter, Facebook, TV, radio, newspapers, blogs…
stomec wrote:
I take the whole “the media have it in for me” while making money selling your story as a given. The little I’ve read (he’s not to my taste) he’s got some writing skill. So while initially righteous – like watching a bully miss with a punch and hit a wall – it ended up sad as you watched him damaging himself with his own misplaced force.
Still, journalist (or columnist) so it’s all part of the job.
Nigel Garage wrote:
Maybe the “witty, ascerbic and bang on the money, Peter Hitchens” would like to look at the road stats and compare the number of cyclists killed by lycra wearers undertaking vs the number of cyclists killed by law and highway code breaking motorists?
Nigel, this is really poor trolling even for you!!
EddyBerckx wrote:
I don’t know if we have the actual death stats for cyclists who are “middle-aged people with road sense and driving licences”, so Peter’s point about inside overtakes may well be valid, even if it isn’t substantiated by aggregate data.
His central point, which was unintended to be taken entirely seriously (hence “witty”), is essentially the same as mine. If you cycle with politeness and courtesy, with roadcraft and common sense, you’re unlikely to be in danger – or be the danger – on the public highway.
Nigel Garage wrote:
Thank you for confirming that we shouldn’t take anything you write seriously.
“politeness and courtesy”
“politeness and courtesy”
Ha. I must have imagined him calling other people “morons” with very little provocation, because otherwise I can’t square that with him being such a polite little man.
So when a car pulled out
So when a car pulled out right in front of me resulting in me crashing into the side of it and then drove off that was my poor roadcraft was it? Or was it my lack of common sense? Or was I being rude?
Interestingly the police didn’t think so and he was successfully prosecuted for driving with out due care and attention. His insurance company also settled my claim. I’m still not sure why he wasn’t prosecuted for leaving the scene of an accident.
“witty, ascerbic and bang on
“witty, ascerbic and bang on the money”
Translation: nasty little man who prefers his own prejudices to facts. Let’s face it, it must have been 50-50 whether he would be abusing other people for wearing helmets or abusing them for not wearing helmets
Nigel Garage wrote:
Although for many years he lived in the shadow of his brother Christopher, who managed to combine all the above talents with a personality.
I missed a recent article in
I missed a recent article in the Telegraph which discussed LTNs. Entitled “Britain’s new road rage: How traffic rules are tearing our neighbourhoods apart“, it’s a fairly long article so I’ll briefly summise it here:
It discusses the divisive nature of LTNs, and particularly how Andrew Gilligan has created these divisions through his strong-arm tactics of removing funding for non-compliant councils. Andrew Boff describes how “the zealotry of the cycling lobby” has antagonised people who would otherwise be sympathetic to LTNs – something which regular readers will note I’ve often written in the comment section. “People who are reasonable about cycling improvements have been turned into visceral anti-cyclists”, he noted.
It also gives an idea of why some residents inside LTNs are for the schemes. “It’s probably put the price of my property up by 10 per cent”, one person said. It also briefly touches on London and Sadiq Khan’s expansion of the ULEZ, with the Mayor’s wild and astonishing claim that the expansion is “an issue of social justice”. Well Sadiq, I guess it is an issue of social justice, if you agree with the Sheriff of Nottingham’s ideas of tax collection.
Nigel Garage wrote:
What’s that? LTNs are good for residents? Or bad for residents, but despite that it makes other people ore keen to live there? The second doesn’t seem likely.
Almost as good as living in a cul de sac, I’d imagine.
I don’t think there’s much
I don’t think there’s much doubt that moving through traffic off your street to a different, busier road is anything other than beneficial to you personally. The article is very balanced – it’s pretty pro-LTN if anything, as it’s reflecting the thinking of the Tory party leadership.
I don’t actually know why people think I’m somehow anti-LTN, as I’m not in principle – it’s the undemocratic, divisive way they’ve been implemented that is the issue.
Gear Change One Year On.
Gear Change One Year On.
Nigel Garage wrote:
undemocratic?
Are the council not elected? The council decide many things within having a public consultation on them. If you ask the residents of only the roads in question they would likely be in favour, but if you throw it open to everyone who lives within 50 miles, they would be outnumbered by those that would like to drive through.
If you ask everyone should council tax be spent on leisure facilities or parks or arts. you might find a majority against a great many of them. But the fact is the council are responsible for delivering the best outcomes to all residents, not to follow the demands of the mob. In almost all cases people accept that the council have been elected and do not need to run an extensive consultation on every issue. But if anything seeks to adress the privilige held be drivers, it is deemed undemocratic? Do we see the council putting th budget forward to the people for confirmation? after all this affects everyone who uses public services or pays local taxes? We do not.
Was there a consultation before turning swathes of public space over to the storage of private property? The roads were never used for storage of any property until the car came along. No we see roads reduced in width by parked cars and a great deal of the congestion in and around LTNs and on many other streets is a direct effect of people being allowed to take up part of the publi highway forlong term storage of the private property.
If there is any kind of local
If there is any kind of local planning change, there should proper due-diligence and consultation done prior to implementation. LTNs, unlike any other local change of scope, haven’t had the same level of public scrutiny – for example, even a minor change to on-street parking is subject to two rounds of democratic consultation.
So while you’re right that councils are elected, it’s the lack of consultation and short-circuiting of recognised protocol that has caused the democratic deficit.
Nigel Garage wrote:
A direct quote from the article:
So where does the balance of opinion actually lie? A survey of residents in four LTNS, in Birmingham, Bournemouth, Ipswich and Manchester, conducted by Kantar for the Department for Transport and published in November 2020, showed that the vast majority of respondents agreed that the Government should act to increase road safety (90 per cent), improve air quality and reduce traffic congestion (89 per cent) and reduce traffic noise (80 per cent).
When it came to the local schemes themselves, opinion was more divided, with 61 per cent supporting them and 29 per cent opposing them.
We already know the DfT polls
We already know the DfT polls, but the point is it should have been an essential prerequisite of local councils and leaders to lay the democratic framework prior to implementing these LTNs, on a cross-party basis. As has already been witnessed by the deeply unpopular LTNs in Dulwich – especially with BAME people but less so with extremely wealthy white residents – consultation with both local and regional communities is essential for their long-term success.
To this extent I was pleased to see some actual localism announced in Enfield today – councillor Charith Genawardena (Green) states it clearly:
“I believe it is time to reduce unproductive political debates, enhance cross party co-operation, and make a real difference to local communities by strengthening local democracy.
Enfield’s major challenges can only be addressed by conducting local politics very differently from how it is done today. Enfield Council’s decision-makers should be open to policy proposals from any stakeholder that can deliver the best overall outcomes for local people and the environment.”
This is an encouraging break from the zealotry we’ve seen elsewhere, where Labour councils have ridden roughshod over their local communities simply to score political points and implement short-term, unsustainable ideology over long-term solutions.
Nigel Garage wrote:
Nigel Garage wrote:
Proven racist who thinks it’s OK to mock BAME figures for their racial characteristics pretends to care about BAME people…did you know 70% of BAME people in London neither own nor have access to a car? A miniscule sample of BAME people responded to the Dulwich LTN survey, most wouldn’t bother as not being car owners they wouldn’t care. The primary opposition to the Dulwich LTNs comes precisely from the wealthy white residents of the area – as could be clearly seen from the 100% white turnout at the rather pathetic >50-person demonstration held two weeks ago. Do stop spouting rubbish regarding an area you know nothing about, please.
Planned rise in fuel duty
Planned rise in fuel duty will be cancelled amid the highest pump prices in eight years.
No surprise really.
Quite how to shake car dependency for short journeys seems impossible here. Maybe it will only be autonomous vehicles and expensive electric cars that will make a change.
Once you’ve bought an
Once you’ve bought an electric car it’s very cheap to run, so people may tend to use their electric cars for even more trips.
But where the capital cost is
But where the capital cost is higher, that wil be a disincentive to buy. This should result in a lower number of cars per household and teenagers will have to share a car (The Horror).
I somehow doubt it’s what he
I somehow doubt it’s what he meant, but Mike Graham’s not entirely wrong.
(Bonus: it eats CO2)
mdavidford wrote:
Can’t read the article but the production of 1 tonne of concrete produces around 622 Kgs of CO2