“Hardly convinced the UK is ready for a cycling revolution”: Former GB News producer becomes the “pedestrian version of Jeremy Vine” and films cyclists; Pidcock to skip Cyclocross Worlds; Christmas tree with sprockets? + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
"Tell me you don't pay for your own bike without telling me you don't pay for your own bike": Ben Swift dips his wheels in the National Cycling Network pool
I mean if I had free access to as many shiny new bikes with shiny new tech, I won’t mind dipping into this stretch of the NCN with my teammate and cousin…
> National Cycle Network or the world’s hardest cyclocross course?
The real question now is, when do we see the Swift cousins trace their way through a treacherous, watery, muddy CX course? Hold on, I’ll send an email to Ineos and ask them…
Time for some very meta blogging...
A very meta-Wednesday with this post on the live blog; road.cc reporting on the live blog about the reaction to London Cycling Campaign reporting about Simon’s cargo bike blog on road.cc.
🚪🚲🧐 Can you carry a chest of drawers by bike? We help @roadcc find out. (Obviously it’s a yes.) https://t.co/SRgzX9OBwo pic.twitter.com/BS8XsKc2xC
— London Cycling Campaign (@London_Cycling) November 28, 2023
There were, as usual, a few naysayers and disbelievers in the power of the cargo bike, but LCC wasn’t going to let them have their way.
But is it really safe? No is the answer https://t.co/tRPGf4JAXL
— London Cycling Campaign (@London_Cycling) November 28, 2023
Safer for everyone, apart from all those people outside the van.
One more time for those at the back:
Drivers. Kill. 5. People. Every. Day. On. UK. Roads.
— London Cycling Campaign (@London_Cycling) November 28, 2023
“The load was very well-secured – at no point did I have to stop and readjust the straps – & equally well-balanced, with no problems with the various potholes, speed humps & occasional cobbles”.
Don’t worry, he’s fully insured by our £5 million 3rd party liability insurance 😇
— London Cycling Campaign (@London_Cycling) November 28, 2023
"What's in the box?!" "A joke, sir"
An absolutely hilarious product found by Ryan on the Zwift Riders’ group. You can rest assured we wouldn’t peddle any such non-sense on our Black Friday/Cyber Monday/Deals November/Deavember blogs.
No Cyclocross Worlds Championship for Tom Pidcock
Tom Pidcock’s winter calendar is out, and it crushes my heart to see that the mercurial young Brit will be giving the UCI Cyclocross World Championships, to be held in Tábor in February a pass.
CX season is here! 🙌
Check out @tompidcock‘s 2023-24 winter racing schedule, including six #CXWorldCup events.
It all kicks off on December 16 🗓️🔜 pic.twitter.com/6GxGobJakl
— INEOS Grenadiers (@INEOSGrenadiers) November 29, 2023
But Pidcock will at least try to keep us entertained in road racing’s off-season by taking part in at least six of the CX World Cup events, starting with the race in Namur, Belgium on December 17, before saying adiós in Benidorm, Spain (or as some may call it, the natural hunting ground for Brits seeking warmth), and preparing for hopefully another spectacular road season.
And if you’re really in need of all the races that the Big Three (MvdP, WvA, TP) will be showing up for, we’ve got you covered.
A race-by-race comparison of the races of the Big 3 this cyclocross season
We look set for a 3 horse race between Van Aert, Van der Poel and Pidcock at Antwerp, Gavere, Hulst, Koksijde, Zonhoven and Benidorm pic.twitter.com/v1MDoSgqdF
— Mathew Mitchell (@MatMitchell30) November 29, 2023
Proof that cyclists will make anything with bike parts #498
“Can you take a look at my bike, the gears are making a tinselly noise”
A Christmas tree with some 250 sprockets? I see we’ve got some very different interpretation of what a Christmas tree is…
250 Sprockets and a few hours work and we have a shop Christmas tree!#christmas #upcycling #pashley #moulton pic.twitter.com/VaETJxc4Vy
— Traditional Cycle Shop (@Trad_Cycle_Shop) November 29, 2023
Christmas by cargo bike! What presents has Santa got the road.cc team this year?
Featuring our very own Santa, you may know him as Dave… Well worth a watch I’d say, just for the shenanigans and gags!
Hmm, now I wonder when does the hard-working news team at road.cc get their gifts? Surely we’re not on Father Christmas’ naughty list? Surely?!!
Environmental activists oppose new cycle lane plans due to proposed relocation of trees that survived “chainsaw massacre”
“We need to find the right balance between creating a modern-day city centre and one that has strong environmental credentials,” the council says, arguing that moving the trees is a “vital part” of the lane’s design and will be carried out successfully.
Plans to install a new city centre cycle path on Plymouth’s Armada Way – where over 100 trees were felled by the local authority in March this year, prompting a High Court injunction and widespread protests – have been opposed by local campaigners, who have described the council’s proposal to relocate six trees that survived the so-called “midnight massacre”, to make way for the lane and a new drainage system, as a “shame”, claiming that they are unlikely to survive the relocation attempt.
MP duped by Daily Mail article, criticises Will Norman for cutting down the famous London palm tree when it's only being relocated
Well, the Conservative MP for the Cities of London and Westminster, Nickie Aiken has just had her oopsie moment.
Using a Daily Mail article as evidence that the famous palm tree, sitting in the middle of a roundabout on the north side of Lambeth Bridge near Westminster, was going to be felled to make space for new cycle lanes.
Only that wasn’t to be the case, and the Walking and Cycling Commissioner of London was quick to shut her down.
As you know Nickie, the tree isn’t being chopped down it is being relocated to make London’s most dangerous junction safer for road users. We do not want any more fatal collisions at this location.
— Will Norman (@willnorman) November 29, 2023
“As you know Nickie, the tree isn’t being chopped down it is being relocated to make London’s most dangerous junction safer for road users. We do not want any more fatal collisions at this location,” wrote Norman, adding: “As the sign says, the [tree] is being moved not chopped down.”
As the sign says, the 🌴is being moved not chopped down. pic.twitter.com/AJ0iu59kEZ
— Will Norman (@willnorman) November 29, 2023
We all have our off days, I guess this was just one of those days for Ms Aiken.
David Millar's very cool, very awesome Decathlon from back in the day (+ Jaan Kirsipuu's Penta Pro, of course)
With Decathlon announcing a return to the world’s pro peloton, along with becoming the title sponsors for Team AG2R (oh and the much bemoaned loss of brown shorts too), it was only fair that the latest edition in the Bike@Bedtime series on road.cc feature one of the last few times that the French sports retailers marked its presence on the world stage, not just being ridden by none other than Team AG2R (surprise surprise), but also by Jaan Kirsipuu, becoming the first Estonian rider to win a stage in the Tour de France with his Decathlon Penta Pro.
> Fancy racing the Tour on this? Check out AG2R’s 2001 Decathlon Penta Pro
Sorry, allow me a second to just pause and admire this beautiful piece of machinery. They just don’t make them how they used to, do they?
But besides Kirsipuu, it was brought to our attention on Twitter by James Payne, that Scottish cycling star with Tour, Giro and Vuelta stage wins under his belt, also used to be sat atop a Decathlon bike in the early noughties.
Back in the day David Millar used to ride a Decathlon that looked awesome. @100Climbs @millarmind @Decathlon pic.twitter.com/9l7aIoXG2c
— James Payne (@JamesPayne1986) November 29, 2023
Just looook at this beauty! What a sad turn of events that Millar has now instead soured his own palette and developed an affinity for big, ugly, metal tanks.
“Misleading” Wahoo Kickr Black Friday deal result of “simple human error”, company says
In September, Wahoo introduced the new Kickr Bike Shift indoor smart bike, which at £2,699.99 represented a much more affordable alternative to the existing, original Kickr Bike, priced at £3,499.99.
Wahoo has said that “confusion” around its Black Friday deals, particularly around the inclusion of a year-long membership to Zwift, was due to a “simple human error”, after one customer complained that the ‘reduced’ pricing of the fitness company’s new Kickr Bike Shift was “misleading” and a “violation of marketing laws”.
Read more: > “Misleading” Wahoo Kickr Black Friday deal result of “simple human error”, company says
Charlotte Gill's "pedestrian Jeremy Vine" impression: Your reaction
As you may have noticed, the internet has been set alight today, Jeremy Vine has been dethroned, for there is a new Jeremy Vine, albeit on foot, filming all sorts of malicious cyclists out to terrorise everyone, from motorists to pedestrians. Let’s see what road.cc readers had to say about all the kerfuffle…
First off, setting the record straight, long-time reader Rendel Harris: “The pedestrian Jeremy Vine? Come off it, not a single inset meme, migraine-inducing flashing arrows or throbbing texts and no confusing 360° revolving spins of the environment from above, not a patch on our Jeremy!”
An interesting question from HoldingOn: “Do we think Charlotte Gill would have felt safe enough to run into the road waving her arms if she had just witnessed a car going through a red light?”
A couple more detailed, in-depth and passionate responses below.
Patrick9-32: “I would suggest that the iPhone Jezza take a better look at the footage she is saying is evidence of danger and ask herself, who is in danger? If a cyclist runs a red light or isnt paying attention to the road who is at risk? And if a car driver does the same, who do they endanger?
The cyclists should be obeying the traffic lights and the highway code and should not be using their phones, we should all be safe and careful, especially around pedestrians but, if things go wrong the most likely outcome is that they themselves get injured possibly with an “and…”. In the case of drivers doing those same things (which they do with just as high a frequency) the likely outcome of it causing a collision is they will be completely fine and only someone else will be injured.
If we lived in a world where car drivers were 100% safe and cyclists were still riding as they do now this would be a reasonable complaint but its completely unhinged to act like there is anything a cyclist could do that is even on the same order of magnitude of danger as a speeding driver.”
OnYerBike: “I think that Gill has actually demonstrated why we do need a “cycling revolution” – because everything she captured simply demonstrates that we need proper infrastructure that meets the (separate) needs of motorists, cyclists and pedestrians. At the moment, cyclists are mostly expected to use infrastructure designed for motorists, or occassionally use infrastructure designed for pedestrians.
For example, take the cyclist who “dashed out at me as soon as the pedestrian light went green”. It seems pretty clear that the cyclist was waiting until the pedestrian phase in order to cross the junction, presumably because she didn’t feel safe sharing the junction with moving motor vehicles. (Let’s ignore the fact that the cyclist hardly “dashed” out and certainly not “at” Gill).
Similarly, if “most cyclists are male (and young)” that’s precisely why we need better infrastructure. If it’s young males at the moment, its because you need to be brave and fit to feel (relatively) comfortable sharing the road with motorists. Other groups don’t cycle because they don’t feel safe doing so.”
Meanwhile, some reactions also from Facebook. James Thorpe said: “Much as it pains me, she probably has a point with lights and delivery app cyclists who do have a collective habit of riding like dingbats. But the rest is down to London being the (all types of) traffic Wild West and badly designed car-centric infrastructure.”
Rob Wagner also commented: “I just don’t get what this proves. Do cyclists do dumb things? Yes. Do they kill 100s every year, harm the environment, the local population, and contribute to the poor health of their users? No.”
“Hardly convinced that the UK is ready for a cycling revolution”: Former GB News presenter becomes the “pedestrian version of Jeremy Vine” and films rule-breaking cyclists
Hooray, everyone’s favourite (former) GBNews producer and anti-cycling bingo enthusiast Charlotte Gill is back at it, this time with something a bit more flamboyant and swashbuckling than what her previous attempts have been, some might say.
Her hall of fame highlights include the article in the eye-openingly conservative magazine The Critic, criticising a new study on Low Traffic Neighbourhoods, despite failing to address any of the study’s findings, as well as the elite, deluxe edition of the anti-cycling bingo with a top of the shop entering, ticking off every single uninspired checkbox: from “a war is being waged against car drivers”, “a ‘Lycra Lobby’ of cycling activists and eco wonks”, “I don’t drive, enjoy cycling and probably have a relatively low carbon footprint”, “an assault on democracy”…
Oh before I forget, she was also behind bringing up an argument on Twitter in March that it’s mums who should stand up and oppose the dreaded Lycra lobby – because they can’t “cart around children” by bike, apparently – a claim swiftly shut down by loads of women posting pictures of them doing exactly the same activity, including Bath’s bicycle mayor Saskia Heijltjes.
Gill, who last month left her role as producer at GB News, was most recently under fire for comparing the 20mph speed limit in Wales to cyclists needing stabilisers. I know the list is long…
What happened when I turned the camera on cyclists 🚴♀️ 🎥 https://t.co/8iPa4N8FDn pic.twitter.com/H0j9bwsyOC
— Charlotte Gill (@CharlotteCGill) November 28, 2023
Well now, Gill has been on an expedition on the streets of London, and for once, she couldn’t stop herself from applauding a cyclist, albeit only for a tiny bit of inspiration. Following in the footsteps of one “lycra-loving” Jeremy Vine, she strapped on a body cam (her iPhone) and took to the streets, becoming the “pedestrian version” of the Channel 5 presenter and “play cyclists at their own game, filming their transgressions”.
Lo and behold, the inception of the one and only ‘Chaz Cam’, as christened by her.
She wrote on her blog: “It goes without saying that cyclists aren’t as dangerous as cars on average, and of course, not everyone cycles badly. But too often you hear “it’s only a few bad eggs giving others a bad name” to minimise the number of naughty cyclists – when the issue is actually quite pronounced, as I have found. I would guess it’s more like half of cyclists behaving badly on the road, not a minority.”
Chaz Cam Investigates: Taking my research pretending to be Jeremy Vine (to cyclists) extremely seriously pic.twitter.com/qE1bQ6hBC9
— Charlotte Gill (@CharlotteCGill) October 25, 2023
And in case you didn’t feel like clicking on the link above this very fine day, worry not! Your live blog host has done his homework and read through Gill’s handiwork, laying down all the horrible, spiteful and malicious deeds cyclists are responsible for.
It begins with probably the most common one — one which we at road.cc have also brought up in our discussions on the live blog: Going through red lights. “I lost count of the number of cyclists doing this on my day out with the Chaz Cam,” she wrote.
“Although you might say I was being pedantic (well, I was pretending to be the pedestrian version of Jeremy Vine) and that cyclists may as well go through the light if no pedestrians are waiting, I found they do even when a pedestrian is there. One female cyclist dashed out at me as soon as the pedestrian light went green (see below).
> Are red-light jumping cyclists “great adverts” for cycling? Jeremy Vine seems to think so…
Alright, next up, cyclists on phones. She said: “It wasn’t unusual to see cyclists riding with one hand or none on their handlebars, as if thinking they looked extremely cool while doing so.
“One cyclist, who a van white beeped at, due to his being dangerously close in front, sped away, only to look at something other than the road (my guess being his phone).”
Also in the findings of the investigation were the age-old “lighting issues” and “riding on the pavement” (cough, yesterday’s live blog comes to mind, cough). And finally, she took aim at another easy target, delivery riders, claiming that they were just “bad cyclists” rushing through people for “tiny sums of money”.
In conclusion? She said that the “Chaz Cam investigations” have hardly convinced her that “the UK is ready for a cycling revolution”.
“The reality, in my opinion, is that half of cyclists behave well, and half of cyclists don’t. It’s definitely not the case that ‘most cyclists follow the rules’,” she said. “They don’t – because they perceive themselves as “the green and the good” of British society. It’s also generally my experience that most cyclists are male (and young), and the most aggressive ones almost always so, countering councils’ propaganda of inclusive transport.”
So if not all cyclists are bad, and the ones which are do not cause nowhere nearly as harm or damage as a bad motorists, shouldn’t by the same benchmark we all should be in agreement that the UK is also not ready for a driving revolution? Ah well.
That was quite a way to start my Wednesday, is this all a painstakingly wonderful and detailed attempt at parody or just a lousy attempt with poor arguments for cheap clicks? I feel I’m losing my mind here, help me figure this out…
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I've had a Komoot subscription for a few years. I won't be using the ChatGPT thing as everything about AI is objectionable, but that apart, the remark above about 'don't send me down a muddy gravel track' is absolutely on the nose. I first got Komoot as a way in to my local off-road routes, which did work, so if I'm planning a road ride I have to examine the Komoot route carefully as it does default to the shoddiest surface available. I think Komoot was always off-road focussed so this is simply in its nature.
Can it go lower than that? Also, what's the maximum rear cog one can configure? One would assume with a virtual set up like this that the range is more or less infinite but "up to" makes it sound as though there are limits.
Correct. The Guardian is not a source of scientific data. It is a newspaper that REPORTS on the findings of scientists. And scientists are almost unanimous that anthropocentric global warming is real and represents a thereat to humanity. Anyway, this article isn't from the Guardian, so I don't know why you're wanging on about it.
Have the people complaining actually tried the ChatGPT for Komoot app? It doesn't sound like it to me. Because if they had, they would have much more specific complaints about how crap it is. (I'm going to confess I'm a bit of a hypocrite - I haven't tried it myself, as I don't have a ChatGPT account (I do have a Komoot account). But plenty of examples on the internet of people trying it and getting routes that have seemingly little relationship to the prompt supplied).
“planning the race for the morning hours and avoiding the afternoons could substantially increase rider and spectator safety” but it would reduce the appeal to sponsors and TV broadcasters, who pay the bills and so are far more important than the riders and spectators. It's therefore not going to happen. Even making a last-minute switch in extreme situations probably won't work because of the amount of logistics and people involved - the TdF is SO much bigger than the Tour Down Under.
Ah, the scientific rigour of the climate-change-denying right, a blank assertion with no evidence offered coupled with an insult. Pathetic.
Or, in higher temperatures, use ice jackets and ice bundles which can be replenished from the support car.
A cooling sleeve cools you down for maybe 30 minutes and then it becomes a hassle, it also prevents heat leaving the body as an "empty" sleeve now becomes an extra layer. It does make some sense for a time, but in the long run it's just problematic to use. It's just much easier to just pour water over your body.
This kind of journalism makes me laugh. As climate change brings ecological breakdown and migration on a biblical scale and international food security puts the price of food out of most people's pockets then there isn't going to be any bike racing in the morning or any other time. Get an allotment and learn how to protect it. Good luck everyone.
I often wonder why they don't wear cooling arm sleeves and cooling hats under their helmets. At a guess it's probably something to do with 'the rules', as this is road racing. Headsweats caps and similar make a big difference to how hot you get and you avoid getting your head sunburnt through the gaps in your helmet.
91 thoughts on ““Hardly convinced the UK is ready for a cycling revolution”: Former GB News producer becomes the “pedestrian version of Jeremy Vine” and films cyclists; Pidcock to skip Cyclocross Worlds; Christmas tree with sprockets? + more on the live blog”
Do we think Charlotte Gill
Do we think Charlotte Gill would have felt safe enough to run into the road waving her arms if she had just witnessed a car going through a red light?
Just watched her video again
Just watched her video again – the “WAIT” light at the pedestrian crossing goes out just as the cyclist passes, so the “Green man” wouldn’t have been showing for her until then.
Wasn’t there someone on here spouting nonsense about “established reds”? If drivers can claim that nonsense, then it wasn’t an “established red” for the cyclist….
Nigel !
Nigel !
(Surely time for his next regeneration)
Hirsute wrote:
The tragedy is that although he’s not (or at least not overtly…) here at the moment, he’s still occupying our heads.
Time will tell, but I think
Time will tell, but I think he may be back already.
perce wrote:
He definitely is, no time needed to tell.
He definitely is, no time
He definitely is, no time needed to tell
There seem to be two of the usual sort of trolling nutter supporting each other below. Is that the same one replying to himself. Maybe he changes hats and uses different computers?
wtjs wrote:
No, Lefty is a PBU who was banned once as thisismyusername and has since returned and changed his username five times, an alt-rightist cycle hater but who isn’t totally dedicated to trolling, seems to be a part-time hobby; Nigel/Rakia/Blender etc x10 has been here much longer, banned at least seven times and is psychopathically dedicated to their trolling. Obviously they’re two cheeks of the same arse but pretty sure not the same person.
Yep, spoke too soon.
Yep, spoke too soon.
I emailed the mods.
I emailed the mods.
Hopefully they will act swiftly.
So did I, he seems to have
So did I, he seems to have been binned with commendable speed, thank you mods!
It’s the shadowy folk, the
It’s the shadowy folk, the men in grey suits, Dr no who really control the site!
So it was you called who it
So it was you called who it back…
She does seem to prefer
She does seem to prefer focussing on cyclists’ transgressions rather than all road users’ transgressions (cough – cough – motorists – cough – cough).
I would wager that she only likes pedestrians because they Know Their Place and keep out of the way of the All-Powerful motorists.
I would suggest that the
I would suggest that the iPhone Jezza take a better look at the footage she is saying is evidence of danger and ask herself, who is in danger? If a cyclist runs a red light or isnt paying attention to the road who is at risk? And if a car driver does the same, who do they endanger?
The cyclists should be obeying the traffic lights and the highway code and should not be using their phones, we should all be safe and careful, especially around pedestrians but, if things go wrong the most likely outcome is that they themselves get injured possibly with an “and…”. In the case of drivers doing those same things (which they do with just as high a frequency) the likely outcome of it causing a collision is they will be completely fine and only someone else will be injured.
If we lived in a world where car drivers were 100% safe and cyclists were still riding as they do now this would be a reasonable complaint but its completely unhinged to act like there is anything a cyclist could do that is even on the same order of magnetude of danger as a speeding driver.
Quote:
Ummm, how does a cyclist get to be dangerously close in front? Is it all those reversing cyclists that we hear so much about?
Glad it’s not just me that
Glad it’s not just me that puzzled over this. I had to read it twice as I thought I must have misread it the first time.
Teleport.
Teleport.
BeCaUsE tHeY aRe In ThE wAy!
BeCaUsE tHeY aRe In ThE wAy! (Before they “sped away” – Schrodinger’s cyclist by definition has both inconveniently slow and dangerously fast components. )
The pretentious use of a
The pretentious use of a possessive gerund is a telltale of the supercilious tone of the whole ‘article’.
I once saw a white van driver
I once saw a white van driver losing it with a cyclist for “cycling dangerously in front” of him and thus apparently endangering the driver’s daughter. In that case he was complaining about a cyclist filtering, using the gap in front of his van to move from the nearside to the offside. And the greatest risk to his young-ish daughter was that she was not using a child seat as legally required.
Is it just me that hopes some
Is it just me that hopes some people will just **** off and die?
The problem with all these
The problem with all these ‘exposes’ regarding driving and cycling is that they are in London. My visits to London say that the level of all travel (including pedestrians) is awful as large numbers of people are in a hurry and think their life is more important than every one elses. I have found this less so than most other places I have visited around the country – although bigger cities tend to be at the worse end.
True, but… While London
True, but… While London overall has a population an order of magnitude greater than Amsterdam or Copenhagen remind me again if they’re known as being places where it’s possible to cycle and walk?
(I agree that some natives of those countries would not call them the best places in their respective nations, but isn’t even Copenhagen several orders of magnitude better than London in this respect? )
chrisonatrike wrote:
I would give a qualified yes to this about London. Its a gazillion times better to cycle in than any other UK city I have cycled in – except perhaps Newcastle, but I was recreational cycling there rather than commuter cycling – so different types of routes with different types of expectations.
Leaving aside the Imperial remnant of LBKC of course….
Charlotte Gill is an odious
Charlotte Gill is an odious toad of a clickbait journalist, please don’t give her more publicity.
peted76 wrote:
bravely filming cyclists navigating a car dominated world
The pedestrian Jeremy Vine?
The pedestrian Jeremy Vine? Come off it, not a single inset meme, migraine-inducing flashing arrows or throbbing texts and no confusing 360° revolving spins of the environment from above, not a patch on our Jeremy!
Rendel Harris wrote:
Journalist will obviously be
Journalist will obviously be writing stuff worrying about providing sufficient, proper quality cycle infra, where those cycling are given clearly demarcated space from pedestrians and the infra continues at pedestrian crossings and junctions.
Was I right?
I think that Gill has
I think that Gill has actually demonstrated why we do need a “cycling revolution” – because everything she captured simply demonstrates that we need proper infrastructure that meets the (separate) needs of motorists, cyclists and pedestrians. At the moment, cyclists are mostly expected to use infrastructure designed for motorists, or occassionally use infrastructure designed for pedestrians.
For example, take the cyclist who “dashed out at me as soon as the pedestrian light went green”. It seems pretty clear that the cyclist was waiting until the pedestrian phase in order to cross the junction, presumably because she didn’t feel safe sharing the junction with moving motor vehicles. (Let’s ignore the fact that the cyclist hardly “dashed” out and certainly not “at” Gill).
Similarly, if “most cyclists are male (and young)” that’s precisely why we need better infrastructure. If it’s young males at the moment, its because you need to be brave and fit to feel (relatively) comfortable sharing the road with motorists. Other groups don’t cycle because they don’t feel safe doing so.
We definitely do need better
We definitely do need better infra, but it will not fix cyclists on phone while riding on roads shared with cars. To me it seems more dangerous than the stuck in traffic drivers Mickey catches.
cyclisto wrote:
Yes, but dangerous to whom?
A cyclist on a phone is at risk of losing control and getting themselves hurt. A driver on a phone is at risk of not seeing someone and causing a KSI.
Note that one of those cases is illegal and the other isn’t which reinforces that one causes far more danger than the other.
A distracted cyclist can
A distracted cyclist can cause a car to go off planned course and cause serious accident. The standing still drivers stuck at traffic, hardly seem a danger to me, the only danger in Mickey’s videos is himself going back and creating tension that could distract car drivers on the not stuck direction.
cyclisto wrote:
Why would a distracted cyclist cause a driver to crash and has that ever happened?
Meanwhile it takes approximately 30-40 seconds for a distracted driver to sufficiently pay attention to their surroundings after looking up from their phone. This is why you see RTCs caused by drivers just following the vehicle in front as they haven’t clued themselves into the situation fully after using their phone. It’s a real problem and that’s why it’s illegal to be using a phone when driving even if the car is stationary.
As an example, if a pedestrian decides to cross the road between stationary cars that are stuck in traffic, then a driver may see the car in front starting to move and assume that they can also move forward, but unless they look up and actually pay attention, the crossing pedestrian will likely get injured.
One of the scariest moments
One of the scariest moments of my cyclist life is when stray dogs popped up in front of me just a few meters in front and instinctively changed lane without checking traffic to avoid them. It was a wrong decision because if a vehicle had been passing me, I would be dead now, but I had no time to think. Had the dogs been a cyclist on phone and I was driving a truck, I could have made a great mess.
Everything that moves on the road, must be under control.
cyclisto wrote:
How exactly do dogs “pop up” in front of you? Where they underneath a manhole cover and were climbing up the ladder?
With a cyclist and a truck, why would the truck be following so close behind the cyclist as to cause a collision and why would you blame the cyclist for that?
Also, if my aunt had balls, she’d be my uncle (though her pronouns may stay the same)
They were lying on the side
They were lying on the side of the road in shadow and then pop up, because sometimes cyclists seem like a giant kebab for untrained dogs.
The truck could similarly overtake a cyclist and he could start changing course. In general if you try to take eyes off road and try to control arguably the hardest to control vehicle with one hand, crazy things can happen, it’s not that rocket imagination.
cyclisto wrote:
So why would the truck driver be overtaking a cyclist and not leaving enough room? How would a safe overtake leave the driver at risk of crashing if the cyclist got distracted?
My interpretation of safe roadcraft would be that the truck driver might start to perform a safe overtake and if the cyclist starts drifting in front of them, they’d brake and abort the overtake. They’d probably feel agrieved and use their horn angrily, but how would it cause a crash?
Is this an actual scenario or just a thought experiment?
My dog example was to
My dog example was to showcase that when something goes out of control, bigger unexpected problems may occur, affecting other people. You may say your scenario, I may refer another (also real to me) example when a rider holding with one hand handlebars turned in a crazy angle, and you come up with another scenario etc etc and continue forever
I believe that riding a bike while holding and talking to a phone an one hand, is dangerous for both the rider but other road users as well, so this Final Destination scenario making will not lead anywhere.
cyclisto wrote:
A cyclist can turn “in a crazy angle” to simply avoid a pothole and that should not cause a collision, but could cause a driver to perform an emergency stop. I just don’t think any of your examples demonstrate a danger to someone in a vehicle.
Better not take a hand off
Better not take a hand off the handlebar to signal, fiddle with my bike computer, ring the bell, wipe snot from my nose, take a drink…
hawkinspeter wrote:
My daughter has just started driving lessons. I asked her about passing distances, as she’s cramming for her theory test. I explained it as “You should pass them with enough space that if they suddenly fell over, you wouldn’t drive over them”.
Eh ???
Eh ???
You are supposed to give cyclists tons of room precisely because they can change direction.
HC 163
I was riding an unlit trail
I was riding an unlit trail about dawnish, ten or twelve years ago, with a, for that time, enormously powerful newfangled magicshine led light, when a dog, not on lead, obvs, made a flying entrance, stage left, straight for the light, the only thing it noticed. Not exactle pop up, but they can do strange and unexpected appearances out of nowhere. Broken collarbone…
Geoff Ingram wrote:
Broken collie-bone?
cyclisto wrote:
The dog instinctively changed lane? Or a missing “I”?
In any case, any dog having the capacity to pop up in front of me – whether because it is off the lead or on a ridiculously long lead – makes me take pre-emptive action long before it has a chance to pop up anywhere. “Instinctively” changing lane is not instinct, it’s acquired habit. Time to change that habit, whether cycling or driving.
You shouldn’t be changing lane without knowing your destination lane is clear enough to do so. if you haven’t been monitoring traffic enough to know what’s around you, the only correct thing to do is brake to avoid or mitigate an impact.
Yes I missed an I.
Yes I missed an I.
The dogs were in a shadow of a bus stop and mixed around people, I don’t think I could have ever seen them even if I looked there.
Of course I shouldn’t be changing lane without knowing my destination lane is clear. But the time margin was very minimal and I was going at my full flat cruise commuter speed.
Now thinking though, you must be right, I indeed mostly swerve to avoid obstacles. I should start practice braking than swerving for such cases where no other option is available.
Sadly my experience of
Sadly my experience of cyclists using dedicated infra in West London is one where they still ignore signals that are dedicated to cyclists and ignore pedestrians on the crossings, and waiting to cross.
At the same time though there needs to be common sense to attitude on shared infrastructure. As an example where it makes no sense not to wait at lights I will wait, but there always will be instances where it is better both for my safety and traffic flow for me to go through a red light. Prime example is where I cut through an ASDA car park to avoid a major roundabout. I used to stop at the lights, but after an instance of a driver overtaking and cutting across my path to go to the petrol station, and multiple stupid MGIFs as the lights change, i will now go through the red as soon as I can see no more traffic is coming in from the opposite direction.
Edited: to clarify the inclusion of pedestrians waiting to cross and not just just cyclists passing those crossing. – hope that is OK.
Adam Sutton wrote:
We’re in a growth / transition phase (hopefully) with cycling. So – perhaps in a generation (very optimistically) if we have “mass cycling” in some places* we’ll see similar levels of compliance to rules (or alternatively similar levels of asshattery) as for people driving cars.
The other reason for saying “generation” is that we have no formal means of educating road users. There is no road user training – even the driving test is a once-a-lifetime occurrence.
In fact since cycling is a more “casual” mode you might expect cyclists to be about as “well behaved” as people walking (if they were less worried about cars). I guess that depends on overall assessment of personal danger, people being more motivated to look out for themselves than others.
Of course engineering can help guide people. In your example I’d guess if there was a cycle lane buypassing that red light – even if say you were sometimes held at a cycle red light – you’d take it?
* Say 10% or more of trips being cycled. Obviously this is not the same as peak flows in certain places; says here that in 2015 “bikes now make up around 16 per cent of traffic in Central London, rising to around a quarter during peak hours”! (I think I find the first more astonishing if correct.)
I think a cycling revolution,
I think a cycling revolution, or similar, will happen, and Charlotte Seagull will not even notice.
“I would guess it’s more like
“I would guess it’s more like half …” doesn’t seem consistent with doing ‘research’. Maybe a random sample with appropriate stats would help.
Haha look now, all those
Haha look now, all those grasses who film people don’t like being filmed themselves! Should be zero complaints from most on here
Left_is_for_Losers wrote:
It may comes a shock to some but “grassing”, better known as reporting a crime, is a common occurrence in a democratic society.
Left_is_for_Losers wrote:
Grasses? Bet you’re another one of these wankers that doesn’t take safety seriously. Shame on you.
His hero is “top road safety
His hero is “top road safety expert” Nick Freeman though.
Left_is_for_Losers wrote:
Nobody here has said they don’t like being filmed, nor complained that they have been filmed. The videos in what, for now, we shall have to call an ‘article’ (as if it represented balanced journalism or evidence in any way) are of other people.
The complaints are about the malevolent mischaracterisation of cyclists in general and false equivalence.
I would no more fear being
I would no more fear being recorded cycling than I do driving, just as I both use a camera on my bike and have a dashcam in the car.
I’ve probably seen you driving like a C yoU Next Tuesday in one of those dashcam vids that insistently pops up on Arsebook all the time.
When I watch these
When I watch these dashcamshitdriver things on YouTube, I’m never sure if I’m disappointed or relieved that I’m not in that episode.
Oh indeed, we are all, even
Oh indeed, we are all, even the most sanctimonious and saintly members of road.cc capable of mistakes. You should try working in broadcast though, to this day if I catch an episode of it’ll be alright on the night for fear of seeing myself. Still unsure if the time many moons ago I walked into a studio without checking if it was a rehersal or the actual weather being done.
Ha ha look now, I found your
Ha ha look now, I found your dick using this microscope
Grasses? How old are you? 13?
Grasses? How old are you? 13?
S13SFC wrote:
Maybe they were an extra on The Sweeney, back in the day?
Left_is_for_Losers wrote:
Not a single complaint in these comments thus far about being filmed, not one. People are criticising the stupid interpretations the “journalist” has made things that she films, but not one person has complained about her filming. You’ve made yourself look a bit of an arse there (again).
As I’m doubtless right up there on your list of “grasses”, for the record anyone is welcome to film me on the road at any time, I’ve got nothing to worry about just as the majority of safe, law-abiding drivers have nothing to worry about from me filming them.
Rendel Harris wrote:
I’ll go one step further – I would be very happy for (in fact I would absolutely encourage it) a police officer to follow me every time I go out on my bicycle.
HoldingOn wrote:
Indeed, it can be hilarious sometimes when you’re riding along at, say, 20 in a 20 zone and thinking well everyone’s very polite today, nobody is trying to pass me, the oncoming drivers are all driving at a reasonable speed and waiting for me to come through before pulling to my side of the road if they need to…then you get to the lights and look round and find there’s a police car somewhere in the cars behind you!
HoldingOn wrote:
Excellent suggestion. You could call it a “red lantern act” – every cyclist upon the king’s highway should be followed by a copper waving a red light. That would warn motorists about the potential hold up and inconvenience also!
Could this cause problems for the police though, due to the number of road offenses they would have to fail to observe (problems outside of Scotland and Lancashire that is)?
Left_is_for_Losers wrote:
Look at all this frothing, they do say the cut hog squeals the loudest
I think it’s quite sad that
I think it’s quite sad that you have to reply to your own comments.
Left_is_for_Losers wrote:
Better than having multiple accounts to reply to myself with eh Clem/Perce?
Left_is_for_Losers wrote:
Quite hilarious squarking
Quite hilarious squawking from Charlotte Seagull.
So white minibus man driving up the chuff of a person on a bike and leaning on his hooter is ‘the cyclist positioning himself dangerously in front’.
Still in a hole. Still digging for Australia.
Though TBF the lady is from Canada.
Yes, that’s a particularly
Yes, that’s a particularly egregious quote. I hadn’t realised I’ve been getting it wrong all these years, and that aggressive tailgaters are actually innocent victims of the dangerous road users in front of them.
GB News presenter hates
GB News presenter hates cyclists.
World remains un-shocked.
SecretSam wrote:
Tom Harwood – their deputy political editor – is pro-cycling.
https://twitter.com/tomhfh/status/1559840812678144000?lang=en
https://twitter.com/tomhfh/status/1662833457326596100
You cannot have any positive
You cannot have any positive news connected to GB News on here! The wokes will shout you down because nobody can have another view which differs from theirs. They resort to insults.
I await….
Is it bad that I really like
Is it bad that I really like that sprocket Xmas tree?
brooksby wrote:
Isn’t that what you see if you look inside a Rohloff or Pinion gearbox?
EDIT – maybe not enough metal bits…
Interesting little snippet
Interesting little snippet from Parliament today about fuel duty. Jeremy Hunt is appearing before the Treasury Select Committee. Reporting on the Guardian live blog
let us pray ?
let us pray ?
I think the header is too
I think the header is too kind to Nickie Aitken MP.
Her “will chop it down” claim was fabricated by herself, not by the Daily Mail.
If the ex GBeebies producer
If the ex GBeebies producer filmed pedestrians crossing on the ‘Red man’ I bet it would be more than 50%
BIRMINGHAMisaDUMP wrote:
Though to be fair (to pedestrians, not to her) crossing on the red man is not an offence whereas riding through a red light is.
Rendel Harris wrote:
I was thinking the same thing, so had a look. Rule 21 & 22 have some fun wording:
That fun “should” word again
“Do not” here – rather than “must not”
I know “should” is advisory and “must” is compulsory – but what about a simple “do not”?
There is, of course, the point that the pedestrian could simply step to the side of the crossing and cross the road without using the lights…
Wow. GBeebies. I bet you sat
Wow. GBeebies. I bet you sat up all night thinking of that. Anyone who has a view which differs from yours is probably thick and racist.
GB News viewing and listening figures are beating many other news programs. At least you get opinions from all sides rather than being spoonfed what the likes of BBC spout out.
You should watch it, there’s a reason why they are collecting so many awards.
Biker Phil wrote:
They’ve won two awards in their history, as far as I can ascertain: Nigel Farage as best news presenter and best breakfast news show, both at this year’s TRIC awards. The TRIC awards are about the lowest rung of media awards in terms of prestige, this year they were sponsored by…hang on…GBNews!
I’m sure you can tell us all the other awards I have somehow missed that justify the phrase “so many”?
They won awards last year too
They won an award last year too. Eamonn Holmes best news presenter, and they were nominated for best news channel. This years awards saw Nigel Farage win best news presenter, best mulit channel news and they had three of the five nominees out of five for best news presenter. It is a refreshing channel to watch. You should try watching it, much better than the BBC, ITN, SKY etc. They are gathering pace and giving the hard left wing news channels a bloody nose.
They were not sponsored by GB News this year, that is a bit tenuous. They were a partner, as were Freesat, SKY, Sony, Samsung, WH Smith, Cello, Freeview, Digital Network to name a few. The award which was sponsored by GB News was won by Talk TV.
Finally, the TRIC awards have been going for around 50 years, much longer than pretty much all the other awards, and the winners are voted for by the general public. Are you suggesting they are rigged?
GB News may not be to the liking of the hard left, but they are growing in popularity as they say what the silent majority are saying. It’s usually the very vocal minority who like to shout them down.
So they’ve won three awards
So they’ve won three awards in two years, all from the same third-tier awards organisation – no BAFTAS, no National Television Awards (voted for by the public)? Not quite sure how this justifies describing them as “collecting so many awards”.
Ah yes, the BAFTAS, voting
Ah yes, the BAFTAS, voting the the masked singer as the best entertainment program. Such class. And the national television awards, giving awards to gogglebox.
Biker Phil wrote:
TRIC Awards Best Reality TV Programme nominee 2021 and 2022: The Masked Singer.
TRIC awards Best Entertainment Programme winner 2021, 2022 and 2023: Gogglebox.
Got any more fish in a barrel you want me to shoot?
In any event, regardless of the quality or otherwise of the awards, the fact remains that GBNews has garnered three in two years, so your claim that they are “collecting so many awards” is manifestly false.
With consumer demand falling
With consumer demand falling , cycle retailers closing and manufacturers going by out of business it doesn’t look as if the great cycling revolution is happening any time soon the essential problem being the vast majority of the population aren’t really interested