Pothole crisis worsened by heavy vehicles… but make cyclists pay road tax, concludes GB News journalist; Philippa York responds to Lance Armstrong trans comments; Alex Dowsett battles the club 10 (+ state of TT scene discussion) + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Alex Dowsett battles the club 10 (+ state of UK TT scene discussion)
A pretty glitzy 10 at the Lee Valley VeloPark, mind. No car park sign-on or grass verge starts here…
Haven’t been able to track down the results, but arguably the more interesting thing is the discussion it has prompted on event entries and participant numbers. Reporting that he was one of 80+ entries, Dowsett said he was “blown away” by the event’s popularity.
“TTs up and down the country seem to be struggling for attendance so really awesome to see this so busy,” he added.
The event was apparently sold out in under a minute, a different world to many club TTs…
“We at Andover Wheelers are really struggling with our club TTs we had six for our last event,” one person replied to Dowsett’s post.
Steven Pink: “At Poole Wheelers we get >40 every week. The keys seems to be making it open and inclusive, easy to follow and consistent (and recognising road bike results severally helps). We have several club league tables too. Including scratch league in separate divisions and a handicap league.”
Lizzy Archer: “Good to hear there are more popular ones. We get 40 for the flatter courses in Milton Keynes for the Monday night 10s. A few less when it’s the more ‘sporting’ courses but still decent numbers.”
James Pugh: “Latton TT in Wiltshire is going strong on a Thursday night. Regularly 40-50 riders.”
Philippa York responds to Lance Armstrong trans comments
You might have seen Monday’s live blog…
Armstrong couldn’t help but nibble on a tweet pointing out a certain irony in “Lance Armstrong lecturing people about sports fairness”, whatever you think, the no longer seven-time Tour winner responding: “I’m actually not lecturing anyone rather bringing all sides to the table and inviting rational and open dialogue. And I might add, having a conversation that almost nobody dares touch”.
Hey Lance everyday in the UK there’s a ‘debate’ over my rights to participate fully in society. This isn’t the topic that’s going to aid your image outside of right wing echo chambers https://t.co/NZP7C6hXSY
— Philippa York (@pippa_york) June 27, 2023
In reply to the reply, Armstrong wrote: “Philippa, allow me to make a few things clear. 1. I will never ‘debate’ you on this. I have a personal connection here which, if you took the time to listen, you would have heard. I support you.
“2. If you think I do anything these days to ‘aid my image’ you’re grossly mistaken. I live the life that i want to lead and am cool w/ that. The only ones i want to impress are my family and loved ones. Spoiler alert — I’m winning this one.
“3. I’d encourage you (and others) to listen to the entire body of work. My goal was to speak to ALL sides of the dynamic and let folks decide for themselves. I am proud of the series and grateful to the folks who gave of their time.”
Professional cycling being a totally normal sport... example #3,958
“Yeah, so in our sport we have a team changing their kit for the biggest event of the year to promote an Israeli walking trail… how’s the transfer window going?”
This Tour de France, we’re inviting you to #ExploreIsrael!
Our special jersey is inspired by the Israel National Trail, the walking and bike trail that runs through the heart of Israel and celebrates the most exotic landscapes and must see destinations ⚪️🔵🟠
Get ready to… pic.twitter.com/HZJd6bT5af
— Israel – Premier Tech (@IsraelPremTech) June 28, 2023
"Urgent need to rebalance transport funding": Cycling UK reacts to Climate Change Committee report
The Climate Change Committee, a government watchdog, has warned that the UK has lost its leadership on climate issues, citing government backing for new oil and coal, airport expansion and slow progress on heat pumps as evidence of the “worryingly slow” action.
The CCC report also warned that “continued delays in policy development and implementation” meant reaching emissions targets was “increasingly challenging”.
Commenting on the report, Cycling UK’s chief executive Sarah Mitchell said it shows there is an “urgent need to rebalance transport funding and stop relying on technological solutions to address tomorrow’s problems”.
“To meet net-zero the government needs to tackle its addiction to building roads, reverse the cuts to cycling and walking and invest in helping people drive less and cycle more,” she said.
Mountain rescue attends Peak District incident as cyclist taken to hospital from beauty spot
A mountain rescue call was called after a holidaying cyclist fell near Derwent Reservoir on Monday afternoon at an inaccessible Peak District location. The Edale Mountain Resuce team assisted the rider to an ambulance where they were taken to hospital, The Star reports.
The team later released a statement saying: “A mid afternoon call from our duty controller to assist East Midlands Ambulance Service saw the team heading up the Derwent Valley towards Howden Dam, for our third callout in 24 hours. A group of friends holidaying in the Peak District had decided to take a bike ride around the Upper Derwent Reservoirs when one of them took a fall on loose gravel sustaining a possible shoulder dislocation or even fracture.
> “Complex rope rescue” after cyclist crashes from bridge into river
“As our first team members were arriving on scene, the ambulance crew were treating the casualty for their injuries. Once treated they were placed on the ambulance stretcher and into the ambulance for onward transport to hospital and further treatment.”
Le Tour de Drum & Bass
FRANCE!!!!
Drum & Bass On The Bike Makes it’s way to FRANCE (Paris) for the FIRST TIME EVER THIS SUNDAY 2nd July Starting at 14:00Hrs from Pl. De Hôtel De Ville, 75004 pic.twitter.com/KKigQT5YF7
— Domonic (@domwhiting) June 28, 2023
2023 Tour de France bikes — your definitive guide to what the top pro cycling teams are riding this year
Tom Pidcock: "Descending is something I love" but Gino Mäder death "hit home quite hard"
[Zac Williams/SWpix.com]
Tom Pidcock has admitted the death of Gino Mäder at Tour de Suisse “hit home quite hard”. Speaking to BBC Sport ahead of the Tour de France, Pidcock said “descending is something I love” and accepted that “risks are involved in cycling”, suggesting, “we do what we can to mitigate those risks. But they’ll never be gone.”
“Obviously, it was a very emotional day for everyone in cycling and especially in Suisse and his teammates and family. Descending is part of our sport and, unless we all want to race around motor racing circuits, we have to accept we will be racing down descents and I guess this was a bit of a fluke — a tailwind into a corner that wasn’t so sharp, but then it closed in a little bit.”
> Fred Wright takes emotional victory at British national road race championships
Ineos team boss Rod Ellingworth also outlined how the day was “quite traumatic” for everyone, especially within the team as Magnus Sheffield had been involved in a separate crash and was seen walking away from the scene as help rushed to Mäder.
“It’s tragic. In that moment Magnus [Sheffield] was in a separate crash and dealing with that post-incident has been quite traumatic,” Ellingworth explained. “Gino was a good character — everyone knew him.
“The key here is that the [sport’s world governing body] UCI and race organisers move together. We, as a team, work closely with the UCI on safety aspects. We are very active, constantly feeding back on anything in which safety could be improved.
“This sport is what it is — it’s got beauty because of the mountains and everything. We all have a part to play to encourage the sport to get safer. But look at where they race — it’s always going to have that element of danger I think.”
Teenage cyclist injured by alleged hit-and-run, red light jumping motorist – hours before another 13-year-old was knocked off his bike in same town by pavement-mounting motorcyclist
Siesta guide to the Tour de France
I present to you the 2023 Pulitzer Prize-winning contribution to journalism. No, quite clearly not this live blog… Pierre Breteau’s siesta guide to the Tour de France, published in Le Monde…
Le Monde has published its regular “Siesta Guide” to the Tour de France, graphics set out when viewers can expect to catch 40 winks on the sofa https://t.co/yYsEQfNUni (🇫🇷)
— the Inner Ring (@inrng) June 28, 2023
And while we disagree that the breakaway-deciding early kilometres are nap worthy, we’ll let it slide for the amusing and informative nature of Pierre’s investigative work. Alternatively you can turn things upside down and just use the sleep schedule for a ranking for which stages promise the most excitement.
(Virtually) climb the Tour de France's toughest climbs on Zwift
Zwift has launched a new climb portal, allowing users to climb ascents featured in the Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes Avec Zwift. From 8pm BST on 30 June, Zwifters can ascend imaginary versions of real-world cols.
There will be two portals in Zwift: one just outside the volcano in Watopia, and one in France. The climbs available through the portals will change, but will take Zwifters to legendary climbs used in the Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes Avec Zwift during the month of July.
To access the portals, Zwifters can choose the portal climb options via a dedicated tile on their homepage, from within the routes list, or they can navigate their own way to the portals in-game if riding in Watopia or France. The Climb Portal routes will all feature a flat warmup, before Zwifters enter the portal and begin climbing.
Some of the climbs included include Col d’Aspin, Puy de Dome and the Col du Tourmalet and each will see “the pitch and direction of the climbs perfectly match their real-world inspirations, giving Zwifters the realistic challenge of these climbs, as well as a completely new visual experience”. In short, all of the suffering, just without the views…
Professional cycling being a totally normal sport continued...
“Yeah, mate, you know how I told you about that team whose Tour de France kit is a human billboard for a walking trail in Israel? Here’s another one…”
❤️💛💙#LidlTrekKitDay pic.twitter.com/VFl3H8ctDc
— Lidl-Trek (@TrekSegafredo) June 28, 2023
Is the middle pocket full of cut-price surprises you definitely don’t need, but can’t say no to? Are those sponsors actually fake brands made to look like the real thing’s logo? So many questions…
Kristen Faulkner's Tour de France Femmes in doubt after being hit by motorist during training
> Kristen Faulkner’s Tour de France Femmes in doubt after being hit by motorist during training
Pothole crisis "made worse" by heavy vehicles... so make cyclists pay road tax, concludes GB News journalist
Let’s kick off the live blog with some thoughts from GB News presenter Martin Daubney, whose Twitter bio proudly points out he was a “MEP [member of European Parliament] who voted the UK out of the EU” and works for “Britain’s most-loved news brand”… I’ll give you a second to work through that…
Daubney started off by sharing analysis by the University of Leeds, reported in the press, which suggested the average electric car puts 2.24 times more stress on roads than a similar petrol vehicle — and 1.95 more than a diesel, concluding that larger electric vehicles can cause up to 2.32 times more damage to roads.
Britain’s pothole crisis made worse by electric cars – they weigh more & can cause X2 damage. It’s time to slap a pothole tax on bloated EVs – which currently pay zero road tax https://t.co/YTLWcG2i7Z
— Martin Daubney 🇬🇧 (@MartinDaubney) June 27, 2023
One replier called it an “excellent point”… adding, “I only use bicycles and a 125cc motorcycle that weighs 136kg, often two-up. Yet most people need 1200kg+ cars to move around alone. Let’s quadruple council tax for anyone needing more than 500kg of vehicle per person, that’s very lenient still.”
Say the line, Martin, say the line…
I think cyclists should pay road tax TBF, and be insured
— Martin Daubney 🇬🇧 (@MartinDaubney) June 27, 2023
Our intrepid engager’s response?
That’s not called thinking, Martin. It’s opining, cluelessly. Cyclists pay council tax just like drivers do, but they don’t pay VED because there’s no emissions. Most are also insured and as risks are low so are the premiums.
— NetherSchot 🇪🇺 (@NetherSchot) June 27, 2023
And a few more for luck…
Media law trainer David Banks asked: “Is that the best you can do? I was batting away idiots like you when I was writing about biking 30 years ago and road tax was ancient history back then. You must be truly desperate for attention to dig up that old myth.”
Can you please point me in the direction of where I can reclaim the “Road tax” I should have been exempt from as I’m a cyclist
— georgesmith@75 (@georgesmith1975) June 27, 2023
28 June 2023, 08:17
28 June 2023, 08:17
Traditionalists rejoice!
Shimano 105 12-speed mechanical groupset breaks cover
Traditionalists, rejoice! Slip-up by Corratec confirms Shimano will add a mechanical shifting option to the R7100 groupset it released as Di2 only last year
28 June 2023, 08:17
Help us to bring you the best cycling content
If you’ve enjoyed this article, then please consider subscribing to road.cc from as little as £1.99. Our mission is to bring you all the news that’s relevant to you as a cyclist, independent reviews, impartial buying advice and more. Your subscription will help us to do more.
87 Comments
Read more...
Read more...
Read more...
Latest Comments
@chrisonabike I could call it mamilism and get cheap bikes and lycra ;-)
As long as cars crossing the cycleway have to wait for bikes to pass rather than vice-versa,.I don't see a problem.
"This cycleway isn’t just a piece of infrastructure, it’s an invitation to thousands of people to leave the car at home and travel in a way that’s better for them and better for their community." Er no, a cycleway *is* just a piece of infrastructure. The idea that you need a dedicated cycleway in order to ride a bike is ludicrous and false, and gives succour to those who think that cyclists don't belong on a road.
I only get punishment passes when Im riding close to the gutter usually when there's a painted farcility!
I reckon you should go for some patriarchal system - you might grow to like it and I reckon it would be popular with lots of men who seem to feel hard-done by. Perhaps you could institute a holy sacrament which would allow you to circumvent local drugs legislation, or at least get some tax exemptions (coffee?). Anyway - we all love a good protected-characteristic-fight - today misogyny versus religious discrimination!
@This Wreckage I never realised it wasn't misogyny if it was based on religion, I wonder what else I will be able to get away with once I found my own religion!
"Landcross Road is now like a rat run, cars bomb through there. Surprised that there hasn’t been a smash there or somebody hasn’t been knocked down yet." Is that a vote for a modal filter there? Or - better - seeing how this could be fitted into a broader pattern of LTNs for residents? Or even starting a conversation on what they expect from travel locally / regionally and how could that be delivered. If the answer is - predictably - "like now but driving is more convenient" how much is that *really* going to cost / affect them going forward? Spoiler - they might well get lucky and have a few more years of "help for the hard- pressed motorist". (Particularly through the influence of Reform moving the conversation at a national level). But with more people here, more bills from people living longer (and all the other changes, the wars we're paying for...) the *real* costs of mass motoring may come back to bite pretty soon.
Scrapbook or it didn't happen?
This make me think of the early days of the bicycle - European countries which at the time still had prescriptive and quite restrictive views of female roles and appropriate behaviour and there were certainly outpouring of concern about the idea of women cycling. (Although I believe there was more acceptance of the zoo of "wheeled self-propelled contraptions" of the Victorian era). And ... maybe they were right in that perhaps this did lead (eventually) to some social liberalisation / young people mixing? Also thinking about an example the other way where NGOs working to help people have provided bicycles to eg. assist women bringing produce to market, only to find that these are all appropriated by men. (Perhaps a bit like "the man drives the car" which can still be seen to some extent in the UK). Of note is that Dutch women on average make more cycle trips than men. That's nothing to do with ebikes, but the efforts made (infra and built environment) to make driving not be the default for shorter trips. Plus women still do more of the admin / (child)care than men there.
Even better, there's a 4 hour rolling road block on this afternoon as the carnival parade travels through the town. Those on social media complaining about this work have known about it for months and despite what they may claim, they are not the silent majority but a vocal minority.
87 thoughts on “Pothole crisis worsened by heavy vehicles… but make cyclists pay road tax, concludes GB News journalist; Philippa York responds to Lance Armstrong trans comments; Alex Dowsett battles the club 10 (+ state of TT scene discussion) + more on the live blog”
Another slow news day?
Another slow news day?
It seems we have to put up with this nonsense far too often.
It’s not like you are preaching to the converted, is it?
Converted?
Converted?
What am I saying?
Obviously Nigel in his latest guise as Knee Yo Anderson, or whatever daft moniker he has given himself this time will always play the contrarian, to get his kicks of being vocal against everyone, on everything.
Bores the fucking pants off me!
I’m afraid the only solution
I’m afraid the only solution is to ignore and not reply.
Seconded. Had my allowance
Seconded. Had my allowance now.
Didn’t a PBU have a difficult
Didn’t a PBU have a difficult time with a pothole?
The “bloated EV” thing is
The “bloated EV” thing is bollox, the weight and bloat of a vehicle has more to do with size and design and less to do with fuel type. For example mid-size EV such as Tesla Model Y or Hyundai Ioniq 5 could weigh just under 2 tonnes, not much different from a diesel BMW 3 series. A small EV such as a BMW i3 is around 1.2 tonnes. A full-size Range Rover (not a battery or motor to be found) is around 2.7 tonnes.
The whole thing is a diversion tactic to persuade people that “petrol good, electricity bad” and put back the 2030 cut off for UK sales of new fossil fuel cars. Something that has been successfully done in the EU, the commission has already rowed back on the 2035 date with an exemption for so-called “e-fuels”.
I was watching a YT video,
I was watching a YT video, and there are safety concerns regarding American EV size and weight in a collision, especially when involved with city cars.
The Ford F150 Raptor EV was around 2500lb heavier than its ICE counterpart, which as a burly off roader was already a chunky vehicle.
The battery in the new Electric Hummer alone weighs as much as a large family hatchback.
And those suvs in the USA are
And those suvs in the USA are exempt from the normal ped safety rules.
Where’s the orginal though?
Where’s the orginal though? I can’t find it, having got bored searching through all the dross in the churnalism articles rehashing the same news.
As far as I can see all the original did was match up similar models of vehicles and show the electric ones are all heavier – by up to a few 100 kilos. They then applied the “axle weight to the fourth power” formula to predict the level of road stress (and hence damage).
That’s all fair enough. Not really news but good to remind people. And it’s still the case that large vehicles (delivery vans, buses, trucks) do an awful lot more damage per vehicle than cars.
The slightly sad bit is that all (again – haven’t found the original) the conclude that therefore we need stronger roads to cope with the extra wear from electric vehicles. (And – sensibly – we need to think about multi-storey garages).
Other possible conclusions are available e.g. maybe we should be incentivising smaller EVs and fewer of them? Perhaps we should consider if we’re losing the “war on pot holes” and seriously think about a change in approach?
The problem with small EV’s
The problem with small EV’s is that they (mostly) have small batteries so struggle with the range anxiety problem. Which leads on to charging infra issues.
But people like to drive their SUV/W@nkPanzers irrespctive of drivetrain…..
https://www.theguardian.com
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/jun/28/advertising-watchdog-bans-hyundai-and-toyota-electric-car-ads
The Larger Cyclist wrote:
Indeed. And it’s “anxiety” mostly, the “but what if” complaint. Change. Few people ever drive their cars to the limit of their range (or even a more modest EV range, see below) in a day.
In fact the majority of journeys in the UK are of a length more suited to walking / cycling*. Of course people may currently make several of those per day but that doesn’t add up to between 80 – over 200 miles**.
However “what’s the point of getting a car which won’t even …”
* In 2020 according to the UK government’s National Travel Survey, 25% of trips were under 1 mile, and 71% under 5 miles.
** According to industry body SMMT the the average EV range increased from 74 miles in 2011 to over 260 miles in a decade.
I think it is slightly
I think it is slightly disingenuous of The Telegraph and other outlets which have since picked up the story to imply that these results were the conclusions of a proper scientific study. As far as I can tell, journalists at The Telegraph merely extracted the kerb weights of vehicles from a study (likely this one), but that is the only part of the “study” that was used – the kerb weights, which are easily available on Google. (Arguably the original Telegraph article is actually slightly clearer on this point, where as subsequent media – including this live blog – are more prone to making it sound like the entire analysis was carried out by University researchers).
From there, the journalists (as far as I can tell) simply took the ratio of the weights of the EV and matched ICEV, and raised it to the fourth power to give an estimate of the difference in the amount of road wear (e.g. Mitsubishi i-MiEV 1,185 kg; matched with Mitsubishi Mirage 1.0 920 kg – the EV causes (1185/920)^4 = 2.75 times as much damage).
FWIW the research article I have linked above does also suggest EVs create greater road wear than the ICEV equivalent.
chrisonatrike wrote:
Graduated licensing:
Is there a link to the actual
Is there a link to the actual research? As I suggested yesterday, a ford transit is 2t+ at an entry level model before you start loading. Why is there no mention that the rise in home delivery might be increasing pot holes.
One van loaded takes off the
One van loaded takes off the road the similar amount of cars as the parcels/shopping delivers, and now with the rise of heavy weight electric cars perhaps more people should shop online. Also to mention do electric cars pay road tax lol
I’m not sure that I’ve seen
I’m not sure that I’ve seen evidence that the rise in home deliveries has reduced mileage driven in cars. The convenience of home deliveries arguably increases ‘free’ time but if that is used to drive to your chosen activity….
The point is, as others have explained better than I, the Torygraph is trying to blame EVs for potholes to undermine progress away from the combustion engine without considering the problem in its entirety. Particularly, as I suspect (wild generalisation incoming) that many of their readership are driving large SUVs ?
IanMK wrote:
Scum of the Earth.
lonpfrb wrote:
Really?
I’ve no idea about the paper
I’ve no idea about the paper’s demographic but large SUVs are really not helping. Even though it may be initially tempting to say “no worse than the usual” or “it’s just the politics of envy”.
Bur scum of the earth because
Bur scum of the earth because someone drives an SUV is a bit much no?
ErnieC wrote:
Not quite apt, I’d say. Better would be “super-elite of the earth further enhancing their status at the expense of everyone else by buying in to a motor industry regulation-dodging money-spinner” (our “honest tradesfolk” tend to use more “utile” vehicles).
That’s not very snappy though.
Can you still buy a small car
Can you still buy a small car these days?
perce wrote:
Other models are available.
Festus wrote:
That may or may not be true. Thinking about how personal habits have changed, I suspect that the wider availability of delivery means: (a) we now receive multiple doorstep deliveries to deliver what previously we might have collected from multiple shops on one trip to a shopping hub; and (b) we buy more ‘stuff’.
I would argue home delivery
I would argue home delivery is more carbon efficient than driving individually, even before looking at low carbon delivery vehicles.
My online shop might be 50kg, which I could do myself in a 1800 kg vehicle, or it could be combined with 1000kg of everyone else’s in a 2500kg vehicle. So the one van is equivalent to 20 cars.
The best option would be the last mile delivery is done by me or a courier with active transport of course.
On balance, probably. I was
On balance, probably. I was thinking less of the weekly grocery shop and more of the phenomenon of e.g. Amazon next day delivery of a widget weighing 100g, which might not previously have warranted a dedicated trip.
Re: the Voldemort podcast
Re: the Voldemort podcast with Caitlyn Jenner – summary, that’s an hour of my time I’ll never get back.
Caitlyn acts like a very old person who just wants to talk about themselves and who does not support trans athletes. Lance plays to Jenners ego, asks no hard questions, or mildy sensitive questions and tries ‘too hard’ to be as neutral as switzerland.
Thanks for the breakdown, and
Thanks for the breakdown, and giving me no need to waste my own time. Thanks for being a hero!
Pippa York saying it as it is
Pippa York saying it as it is. Chapeau!
And on the TT side, my Club 10 last night had 21 participants, and this year we have seen numbers closer to pre-covid levels since the pandemic. Whilst the improvement comes along side there being a road bike category amongst the results, there are still problems facing the wider community. Open road courses, depending on location, can seem intimidating for some riders. On the flip side, another club’s events I have raced in occasionally have had an average of less than 15 riders for their regular 10 mile series, bearing in mind they are a more focussed road racing club compared to my own club being an all-round race and recreational club both on and off road.
Also, would you be put off by a course having a sharp 90 degree turn nicknamed “Dead Man’s Corner”? Just curious.
I, for one, support the idea
I, for one, support the idea of a weight/wear-and-tear based road tax for cyclists.
The way I see it, there’s two ways it can go: either they keep the rates for motor vehicles as they are and scale the rates for bicycles from that (using the weight over each axle equation – I don’t know if anyone has the table to hand), meaning that we’d pay some minuscule fraction of a penny that would cost the Government hundreds of times more to actually claim in admin than it would be worth. OR, we can set the bike tax at some nominal fee that is actually viable for the Government to claim (say £2, for example), and scale the vehicle rates up from that, meaning a mid-sized family hatch costs about £6,000 a year.
Either way, it’d be fucking hilarious.
Untill 1988 there was a dog
Untill 1988 there was a dog licence of 37p (£1.20 in todays money I think) which was abolished as it was costing more than it collected and lots of owners didn’t bother.
The Clifton Suspension Bridge
The Clifton Suspension Bridge charges £1 in each direction for motor vehicles. Bicycles and pedestrians cross for free.
Once upon a time, they charged (IIRC) two pence for a pedestrian or a cyclist to cross, but gave up because it was costing more to deal with than it collected.
Keeping a mid size dog emits
Keeping a mid size dog emits around 5 tonnes of CO2 a year. So it would actually make sense to charge dog and other pet owners like cats for keeping them. If that reduces their numbers so much the better, the number of birds killed by domestic cats is humongous.
marmotte27 wrote:
I’ll go down this rabbit hole…an average size dog will be responsible for between 500 kg and 1 tonne of CO2 per annum, still a very large number but nothing like 5 tonnes. Professor Mike Berners-Lee (relation) of the University of Lancaster, who specialises in calculating carbon footprints, estimates the average dog’s carbon footprint at 770 kg per year.
In terms of cats, yes they do kill a huge number of birds per year but a large proportion of those are birds that are already sick or injured. It is not only generally agreed by experts that cat depredation makes no difference to the size of bird populations but also that without the domestic cat rat populations would run wild; rats predate on birds’ eggs and so bird populations would, counterintuitively, be severely negatively affected by an absence of cats.
BalladOfStruth wrote:
we could get the government to take a tax of £1 on the purchase of every new bike to cover the “road tax” for the first 100 years of use, then complain that the same should be done for cars.
Re: making cyclists pay “road
Re: making cyclists pay “road tax” etc.
I remember reading years ago about a cost-benefit analysis comparison between modes of transport.
Basically cycling v any other form of inactive transport where the user sits (ie driving, and it might have included public transport too).
From what I remember, cycling BENEFITS the economy at 25p per mile per user v 50p pmpu COST to the economy for all the other inactive transport methods.
As this was years ago, presumably the figures are different but the point is still relevant.
Anyone know of an updated version of the report?
Upload your strava to DVLA
Upload your strava to DVLA.gov and get a tax refund for every km covered and a one time bonus for every KOM achieved!
mitsky wrote:
…
Anyone know of an updated version of the report?
— mitskyThere was an infographic by The Discourse, recently quoted/RT’d here:
Some numbers from Bristol Cycling campaign:
https://www.bristolcycling.org.uk/who-pays-for-our-roads/
And don’t forget that air pollution “is the largest environmental risk to public health”: – BMJ, 15 May 2023
https://www.bmj.com/content/381/bmj.p1037
In 2020 the BHF claimed that particulate-related air pollution could kill 160,000 people in the UK by the end of this decade.
“In London alone, air pollution contributes to in excess of 9,400 premature deaths every year, and costs the health system between £1.4 and £3.7 billion per year, as well damaging buildings and biodiversity through the formation of pollutants into acid rain.”
From https://www.londoncouncils.gov.uk/node/33224
Additionally, no-one can argue with the fact that choosing active travel has many benefits for the individual’s mental and physical health, as well as externally for everyone around you. More people cycling and walking could save the NHS (and UK taxpayers) a fortune.
Exeter Cycling campaign stated that, according to the DfT Value of Cycling Report in 2016, “Per sq metre, cycle parking delivers 5 x higher retail spend than car parking”
The whole ‘cyclists should pay road tax’ argument also ignores that fact that most cyclists also drive and many will already be paying a tax on their vehicle(s). I pay £160 VED per year for my car to sit on the driveway all week while I cycle to work. Whenever possible I also cycle into town, to appointments, club committee meetings, to delivery or collect items etc.
Facts about cars from Brent Toderian:
We could spend many hours collating convincing, strong factual data about the benefits of active travel and conversely the horrendous effects of motor traffic but in the end the people in power – government, councils, and decision-makers in business etc – don’t give a shit. They don’t care one bit about our health, about public and personal finances or the environment / climate change.
They and their dog-whistle media puppets prefer to be outraged about out-groups, including demonising cyclists and how they should wear helmets, hi-viz, daytime lights etc so we are a better target for abuse and distracted drivers to hit-and-run.
Simon E wrote:
Essential to get the Road Collision Reporting Guidelines made mandatory for the mainstream media so that Attitude and Behaviour will change.
The Department of Culture Media and Sports to be responsible for enforcement not some voluntary IPSO Editors Code of Conduct that does nothing about hate speech.
100% agree.
100% agree.
You may like https://www.facebook.com/groups/3331869633536303/
“Road Tax” – I’m going to
“Road Tax” – I’m going to make some sweeping statements, based upon nothing more than how I see the world:
Lets ignore the fact that we (all) pay “Road Tax” in the form of council tax. Some (arguably most) will also pay VED for the car they use less than other people, because they cycle instead.
I am asking myself – “Would I be happy to pay an amount of money specifically to fix the roads I cycle on?” I am currently leaning towards “Yes – but only IF I can claim for the damage caused to my bike by the unfixed roads, if the roads actually get fixed in a timely manner and if they clean the detritus/rubbish off the road, so I’m not risking a puncture/crash everytime I use it”
Of course (bringing back the bit I ignored earlier) – I would then expect an equivalent reduction in my other taxations, since the money I give there isn’t being used to keep the roads in a useable condition.
I would like to see vehicle
I would like to see vehicle tax changed to some equation like
Rate = X*vehicle weight*(CO2/mile+1)*Miles driven per year
where X is a factor which puts a normal small family car driven the average amount somewhere near where it is now and people who use big heavy vehicles or drive a lot or produce a lot of pollution pay their fair share while those who have cars but don’t use them or choose small, non polluting vehicles pay less. That would stop the most damaging to the road and the environment vehicles getting away without paying for the damage they do while also rewarding those who make greener choices.
why “C02/mile+1”?
why “C02/mile+1“?
Also (not necessarily one for you) – should the C02/mile calculation be done during the vehicle MOT? Am thinking of those altered cars that sound ridiculous, that must be burning through a load of fuel – the manufacture C02/mile calculation wouldn’t apply to their vehicle!
ohhh – would it be better to stick a tax onto the cost of fuel, so people that drive more/ have big fuel guzzling vehicles, pay more?
HoldingOn wrote:
There’s already quite a lot of tax on fuel in the form of duty and VAT, and it doesn’t capture EVs. As mentioned in my other post, scaled road pricing may well end up being the solution.
HoldingOn wrote:
So EV’s don’t pay nothing, if it was 0 it would make the total come out as 0 overall. They should pay for their use of the road, the damage they do to it and the pollution created from things like tyre wear spitting microplastics into the atmosphere.
Patrick9-32 wrote:
And they will in <2 years…
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/introduction-of-vehicle-excise-duty-for-zero-emission-cars-vans-and-motorcycles-from-2025
Weight of an EV is a red herring BTW. The incremental damage/particulates/rubber waste done by a 25%* heavier 1.5-2.0T EV is neglible compared to that of any multi-ton truck, coach, bus etc.
*Skoda Enyaq is approx 25% heavier than the equivalent Kodiaq
While you’re doing your
While you’re doing your numbers on all this, what’s the coefficient of child labour mining for Cobalt in Africa for EV batteries vs. the vector of Uyghur slave labour in China producing solar panels?
Patrick9-32 wrote:
Way too complex to administer IMO. I suspect there will be a move to blanket road pricing with perhaps various tiers based on vehicle type / class.
Don’t see that it is. All
Don’t see that it is. All that info is already in the system from ved and mot records, so it would be straight forward to calculate.
Unless you refer to the X variable and trying to get it to be representative for a typical average mile driver.
Pippa York is absolutely
Pippa York is absolutely entitled to participate fully in society, and nobody should be allowed to stop her. She can dress as she wants, act as she wants, and be named whatever she wants. These rights are common to all, of either sex.
What she shouldn’t be able to do, because she is a man, is participate in sporting events reserved for women. Nor should she expect (although I’m not sure whether she personally does) that the law should insist that people who don’t believe she is a woman (which she isn’t) don’t express that belief.
There are lots of things in society I’d like to be different, and lots of things I believe that are probably factually wrong. I’m not being prevented from participating in society because society disagrees with me on them.
But of course, none of this should distract from the main point which is that Armstrong is a cheating blowhard bully.
This is where the radical
This is where the radical agenda from Trans bullies and the Hard Left get free rein from a subservient Mainstream media.
No one has the brains or guts in the media to question statements like “everyday in the UK there’s a debate on my right to participate fully in society”.
What rights don’t Trans people have?
Ah yes, the ”hard left” are
Ah yes, the ”hard left” are totally in control of the media! I’m just going to roll around on the floor laughing for a few hours. Thanks for that, made my day. Keep ’em coming.
You need to read before you
You need to read before you post.
“get free rein from a subservient mainstream media” is what it means, anyone daring to say anything but Woke rubbish simply won’t have a job. Post a Trans / UKR etc flag on you bio, trot out the party line that men are actually women, and keep on marching. The Observer and The Guardian are Hard Left media organisations like that.
Laughing on your own on the floor for hours? Sounds like you need to go for a ride. Cycling benefits mental health.
Well they do say that
Well they do say that laughter is the best medicine (in the mainstream media) so please keep posting.
Am I alone in thinking that
Am I alone in thinking that all things considered I must be from an entirely different species than this “Martin Daubney”?
Must be something in the name
Must be something in the name.
i would think the only way to
i would think the only way to avoid congestion in towns and cities is to have the same rules as japan and Germany ,if you can,t park off the road then you cant have a car ,
I would love it if they
I would love it if they introduced that round here, my neighbours reactions would be hilarious.
Street parking is theft.
Street parking is theft.
Brian Moore tweeted a
Brian Moore tweeted a brilliantly succinct response to Martin Daubney’s tweet:
https://www.tuesdaytens.co.uk
https://www.tuesdaytens.co.uk/tens/2023/TT04/results/ITT.html?raceCat=All&highlight=&lang=en
Re: Alex Dowsett at Lea Valley CC Tuesday Tens, Alex posted 20:03 which is thought to be a club record, beating a time set by a much younger Tao Geoghegan Hart…
I started a few minutes before Alex and fortunately he only lapped me twice!
Sounds more like a
Sounds more like a handicapped road race than a tt 😉
On the same day that GB News
On the same day that GB News presenter Martin Daubney illustrates his profound lack of knowledge, understanding and empathy, Nigel Farage wins an award, the TRIC Award for Best News Presenter! I kid you not.
I suspect they were holding the list of winners upside down.
https://www.facebook.com/watch?v=969083930801500
And yet OFCOM won’t enforce
And yet OFCOM won’t enforce impartiality rules on GBeebies, despite the fact that it wins (incredibly) a news presenter award and its self-selected title, because it’s supposedly a talkshow channel not a news channel – this also allows Tory MPs like Anderson and the Mogwump to present shows without breaching the rules which clearly say they shouldn’t.
Check the members register of
Check the members register of interest and it’s a news programme!
Rendel Harris wrote:
Always the Hard Left demanding more enforcement and clamping down on speech they don’t like. But it’s those people over there that are Facists right?
Roulereo wrote:
OFCOM rules are that no politician may present bulletins, reports or interviews as part of a news programme in order to ensure impartiality. These rules apply to politicians from all parts of the political spectrum and seem eminently sensible unless you’re the sort of idiot who calls people fascists (note spelling) for believing that it’s sensible to require minimum standards of impartiality from news broadcasters.
“impartiality from news
“impartiality from news broadcasters”…
What sort of idiot even thinks that is even a thing these days?
I’ll bet you’ll fall over when you hear of the reporting on Boris Johnson’s shenanigans, or the goings on over the pond with Hunter Biden and his laptop being hidden by a cabal of Democrats, media and even the FBI.
Wow, you really don’t know
Wow, you really don’t know very much at all about the current government.
Best stop digging.
.
.
I know, I know. It’s terrible, isn’t it, when the wrong people get the most votes..
.
We simply can’t be having that, can we?
.
I suspect that the same
I suspect that the same people who voted for Farage also voted for Brexit: some people never learn.
eburtthebike wrote:
Very much so, when Farage was nominated he called on everyone who supports his political views to vote for him in order to “Challenge the self-congratulatory establishment”. It would be interesting to see how many public votes Farage garnered and measure them against his viewing figures: last year there were 1.3 million public votes, so assuming roughly the same numbers this year Farage would have needed approximately 260,000 votes minimum to beat his four fellow nominees. The ratings for his show generally hover around a pretty dismal 100,000 viewers, so it’s pretty safe to assume he got a fair number of votes for his politics rather than the quality of his show.
One thing that doesn’t seem to have been mentioned an awful lot is that the awards this year were sponsored by… GBNews! Imagine what the righties would say if the Guardian won an award sponsored by the Guardian…
Ouch.
Ouch.
It seems weird that some of these people work so hard to get outraged.
These Hard Left types obviously watch a lot of Right Wing tele, wonder how they feel adding to the ratings and profit of those they claim to hate.
It gets better:
It gets better:
“Nigel Farage booed off stage after winning news presenter gong at TRIC awards”
https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/news/nigel-farage-booed-off-stage-after-winning-news-presenter-gong-at-tric-awards-351655/?fbclid=IwAR2KccsdWz1sWSGJFfoeOQ7HyEOzfSx5AGYF79uoNjaTJkXB4N2QuoBIwPQ
He beat fellow hosts Piers
He beat fellow hosts Piers Morgan and Eamonn Holmes. Wow! Tough competition. I wish we could send him and his ilk to Rwanda
Kmee Yo Anderson wrote:
If that was the candidates list, none of them should have won. I wonder if photographic proof was required to vote.
If drivists were willing to
If drivists are willing to pay an extra tax based on road wear they can be my guest.
For every £16,987 paid by a Fiesta the Model Y would pay £62,742 and a cheap city bike would pay 24p.
Good to see Road CC helping
Good to see Road CC helping Isreal to ‘sport wash’ its apartheid and illegal occupation.
Agree. If you have a Guardian
Agree. If you have a Guardian account, post the above and see how long your account is suspended for….. Comment may be free in the Guardian but have a pop at the Isreali state….. oh boy.
If you have a Guardian
If you have a Guardian account you’ve got bigger problems…
Like, why are you swallowing whole media that is funded by Bill Gates and George Soros (via their Trusts and Foundations) for tens of millions of pounds each year anyway..?
What do those Billionaires get from their funding I wonder?
You sad troll. The Guardian
You sad troll. The Guardian is owned by the Scott Trust. Check it here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Trust_Limited
Pointless replying to you any further. Troll off, or better still, go for a bike ride…. if you own a bike.
Calm down Princess.
Calm down Princess.
Do one second of Googling – News & Media Ltd | Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
George Soros has shown in the past he can’t cope with anyone questioning his attempts to coerce the public, by targeting media that calls him out:
George Soros hedge fund makes £16m bet against Daily Mail owner shares | George Soros | The Guardian
Still not riding your bike
Still not riding your bike Troll. Give it a try
I’ve never had my account
I’ve never had my account suspended there but comments in that sense have been deleted. As have comments about so-called antisemitism in leftwing parties.
Expecting common sense or
Expecting common sense or logical through processes from a Brexiteer GB News presenter is like expecting money to grow on trees.
I dunno what’s the bigger car
I dunno what’s the bigger car crash here, the blog itself or the comments. LOL!