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Cyclist narrowly avoids collision as lorry driver mounts bike lane to park in much-criticised infra; Spirit Halloween meme goes cycling; "Embarrassing farce": Fans unimpressed by Tour de France 'criterium'; Colbrelli retires + more on the live blog

Morning all! A bit of illness is hopping around road.cc Towers so you'll have to put up with Dan Alexander on the live blog once again today...(don't worry, Ryan will be back soon).....
31 October 2022, 08:50
Cyclist narrowly avoids collision as lorry driver mounts bike lane to park in much-criticised infra

Leith Walk cycle lane is back on our screens...

The 'segregated cycle infrastructure' caused social media meltdown and cries of derision back in the spring when photos of its bizarre zig-zag obstacle course layout went semi-viral amongst the cycling Twitter fraternity...

> "Moronic": Edinburgh Council to make changes to bizarre zig-zag cycle lane after social media backlash

Leith Walk cycle lane (Allasan Seòras Buc, Twitter)

Oh, not to mention the lamposts — we were told they would be removed eventually — that add one more thing to think about...

Leith Walk cycle lane Edinburgh (Image credit: Twitter/Sean Gray)

So, with that context given, you'll forgive me for not being too surprised to hear there could well be another way the cycle lane has managed to get worse (and more dangerous)...

Run the tape...

Nothing says 'segregated cycling infrastructure' quite like a wild HGV appearing inches from your right...

31 October 2022, 17:23
Fancy Rapha kit at discounted prices?
Rapha (press release)

Rapha is shipping off some old stock at up to 70 per cent discounts at pop-up sales in Birmingham and Bristol next month.

The Brum event will be at The Compound, 80 Water St, Birmingham B3 1HL, and will run from November 11th to 13th, while the Bristol event will be at The Airstream, Main Courtyards, Paintworks, Bristol BS4 3EH from November 18th to 20th.

Full details will follow soon but Rapha says the Archive Sale Pop-Ups will be "packed with a wide range of clothing and accessories, the Rapha Archive Sales will offer reductions of up to 70 per cent on products from past seasons. RCC members will enjoy priority access."

31 October 2022, 16:42
One final Halloween costume inspiration + reaction to British Cycling CEO Brian Facer stepping down

They may be on the look for a new CEO but British Cycling certainly have the memes covered...

It's a last-minute entry to the meme template that was keeping the live blog afloat last week...

Oh, and if you missed the big news earlier on...

> British Cycling CEO Brian Facer leaves post with immediate effect

31 October 2022, 16:11
Chris Boardman: This is what we can do to help women feel safe exercising in the dark

Writing in yesterday's Guardian, Active Travel Commissioner Chris Boardman suggested some ways men can help women continue to exercise through the winter months when the darker evenings may discourage some due to safety fears.

The clocks have gone back, the evenings are drawing in, the weather is changing. None of this makes it easier for people to exercise. For many, the winter nights can be a threat to mental wellbeing.

One in every five women is concerned about sexual harassment when exercising – and three in 10 have experienced it first-hand, while doing physical activity, mostly in streets and parks. And we know that people will not do something – whether that’s walking or cycling to school, or jogging before work – if they do not feel safe doing so.

As a father, I think very differently about the safety of my two daughters compared to that of my sons; I don’t expect my boys to hold their keys in their hand and text when they get to their destination. I don’t feel the need to advise them not to stay out too late or to walk home with a friend.

As men, we can play a big part in reducing the stress that women shoulder. Of course, I know that most of the men reading this aren’t the aggressors and that they would never harass a woman, but the point is that women do not know that.

Amongst the tips that follow: keep your distance, give other people space, don't make comments...

 Read the full piece here...

31 October 2022, 15:26
Sorry, what?
31 October 2022, 14:26
National Hill Climb Championships round-up — Andrew Feather and Illi Gardner crowned champions

Andrew Feather won a third National Hill Climb Championship yesterday, pipping defending champ Tom Bell to the jersey by two seconds, while Illi Gardner destroyed the women's field to take a stunning victory too.

Here's Feather's Strava activity in all its glory...

 

Just the 507w (8w/kg) for five-and-a-half minutes there as he smashed up the Old Shoe, Horseshoe Pass's steeper brother in 5:29. There were just two seconds between first-placed Feather and runner-up Bell over the 1.55km climb which averages 12.5 per cent.

Impressively, Gardner's winning time in the women's event (6:46) was quicker than 220 of the 260-man men's field...the 23-year-old dethroning Bithja Jones after her two-year reign.

> The hill we are climbing: Why I'm defending my National Hill Climb Championship title in the colours of the Suffragettes

 

Richard Bussell rounded off the men's podium...erm...well...using this...

31 October 2022, 12:45
"If someone's little darling in the Congleton area has just come home from Tesco with a seat post I'd very much like it back please": Jason Kenny loses a seatpost

Those mean streets of Congleton... 

31 October 2022, 12:11
Comparing bike lights - the beam comparison engine

We'll also have the corresponding article and our all-new big bike lights guide on the site later today.

31 October 2022, 11:26
Brian Facer steps down as British Cycling CEO
British Cycling logo

British Cycling has this morning said Brian Facer will step down with immediate effect, by mutual agreement...

More to follow shortly...

31 October 2022, 10:54
"A risk that I cannot afford to take": Sonny Colbrelli retires from racing aged 32 after unstable cardiac arrhythmia diagnosis
Sonny Colbrelli Merida Reacto Paris-Roubaix-3 (Credit Alex Broadway/SWpix.com)

[📷: Alex Broadway/ SWpix.com]

Sonny Colbrelli has retired at the end of a season which saw him diagnosed with an unstable cardiac arrhythmia. The Italian — who won Paris-Roubaix and the European road race title in 2020 — collapsed after the finish of the opening stage of Volta a Catalunya in March, and has not raced since.

Sonny Colbrelli Merida Reacto Paris-Roubaix (Credit A.S.O._Pauline Ballet)-2

[📷: A.S.O/Pauline Ballet]

The 32-year-old was fitted with a subcutaneous defibrillator implant (ICD), the same device Danish footballer Christian Eriksen got after his frightening collapse at Euro 2020. While Eriksen has returned to the Premier League with Brentford, and now Manchester United, Colbrelli says cycling "is a different sport" and returning to racing is "a risk I cannot afford to take".

"I say goodbye to cycling and try to do it with a smile for the good it gave me, even if it hurts to say goodbye after a season like last year," Colbrelli said.

"Cycling is not football. It is a different sport; you ride on the streets. Their training activities take place in a limited area, while in the case of a cyclist, you often find yourself alone for hours on little-travelled roads.

Sonny Colbrelli (credit: Rudy Project/Bettini Photo)

"I admit I considered it [removing the ICD and returning to competition]. Removing the defibrillator is against the medical practice and means removing a lifesaver that is necessary as secondary prevention. A risk too high. A risk that I cannot afford to take.

"I'm ready to keep trying to be a champion, like on the bike."

31 October 2022, 09:25
"Embarrassing farce": Fans unimpressed by Tour de France 'criterium'

WOW! This must have been some race, yellow jersey-wearing Jonas Vingegaard first, Chris Froome second and Vincenzo Nibali third?! In a crit race?! Incredible drama... you really have to wonder how the sprinters messed this one up?

The Tour de France's, how shall we say it? The Tour de France's lucrative off-season crit race in Singapore saw some of the sport's biggest names go 'head-to-head' in an event possibly closer to WrestleMania than the Tour de France...

And while it doesn't particularly annoy me — riders going to collect a handy winter payday in front of a crowd who otherwise would not get to watch their heroes — some people had plenty to say...

31 October 2022, 09:09
Weekend round-up: Bike lane etiquette, Hill climb heroes, Shimano talks bike sales, reviews + more

If, like me, you disappeared off into Friday evening never to open your laptop or phone again until an hour or so ago, here's what you might have missed on the site this weekend...

cyclist overtaking wheelie rider falls - screenshot via oneway.bradd on Instagram

> "Karma at its finest": Impatient cyclist tries to push another popping a wheelie out of the way... and lands flat on his face

For the pain lovers it was National Hill Climb Championships (more on that in a bit)... Bithja Jones told us all about why she rode the event in the colours of the Suffragettes...

Bithja Jones at Holybourne Hill Climb 2021 (image credit: Toby Davies)

> The hill we are climbing: Why I'm defending my National Hill Climb Championship title in the colours of the Suffragettes

Elsewhere on road.cc this weekend...

2022 Classified Powershift hub only - 1

> Review: Classified Powershift Kit & Wheelset

> Shimano says demand for bikes still higher than pre-pandemic despite "signs of cooling down"

> Review: Lusso Paragon Sleeveless Base Layer

MagicshineCompoOct22-04.jpg

> Win! Three Magicshine lights bundles must be won worth a total of £1,168!

Dan is the road.cc news editor and joined in 2020 having previously written about nearly every other sport under the sun for the Express, and the weird and wonderful world of non-league football for The Non-League Paper. Dan has been at road.cc for four years and mainly writes news and tech articles as well as the occasional feature. He has hopefully kept you entertained on the live blog too.

Never fast enough to take things on the bike too seriously, when he's not working you'll find him exploring the south of England by two wheels at a leisurely weekend pace, or enjoying his favourite Scottish roads when visiting family. Sometimes he'll even load up the bags and ride up the whole way, he's a bit strange like that.

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58 comments

Avatar
Rome73 | 2 years ago
1 like

'If someone's little darling in the Congleton area has just come home from Tesco with a seat post I'd very much like it back please": Jason Kenny loses a seatpost'

chain those seat posts to the frame. Saddles and seat posts for GSDs like to disappear otherwise. 

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NOtotheEU | 2 years ago
4 likes

"Cyclist narrowly avoids collision as lorry driver mounts bike lane"

Or recently on my commute:

"Cyclist s**ts themselves and narrowly avoids collision with lorry by mounting the pavement."

A couple of seconds before this pic it was directly behind me and not slowing so I bailed out onto the pavement. Obviously I sent it to the police.

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AlsoSomniloquism replied to NOtotheEU | 2 years ago
2 likes

I'm trying to work out where that is. Obviously close enough to Brum Centre to have the signs for the attractions, but seems to be just fields on that side. Somewhere to the South?

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NOtotheEU replied to AlsoSomniloquism | 2 years ago
1 like

A38 Tyburn Road. The central reservation is a very wide strip of bushes and trees there.

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AlsoSomniloquism replied to NOtotheEU | 2 years ago
2 likes

Ah, now I know where. I assumed single carriageway due to them not wanting to cross into the other lane. Probably thought he would punish you for not using the clarely demarked cycle lane on the pavement (parking spots really but it is a dumb lorry driver so.....)

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NOtotheEU replied to AlsoSomniloquism | 2 years ago
2 likes

They didn't want to change lane due to the fact they were undertaking multiple other vehicles at the time. 

99% of lorry drivers passing me are great and change lanes and then it's usually a VW or Audi that undertakes them and close passes me.

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Rome73 replied to NOtotheEU | 2 years ago
0 likes

What is the number plate blacked out? 

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HoarseMann replied to Rome73 | 2 years ago
1 like

BIRMINGHAMisaDUMP wrote:

What is the number plate blacked out? 

I suspect it's an attempt to limit the number of excuses the police might deploy to avoid taking any formal action.

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NOtotheEU replied to HoarseMann | 2 years ago
0 likes

Spot on. It was only reported a couple of weeks ago so why risk giving them an excuse to bin it.

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IanMSpencer | 2 years ago
2 likes

Jason Kenny rides an e-bike?!

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Jem PT replied to IanMSpencer | 2 years ago
1 like

IanMSpencer wrote:

Jason Kenny rides an e-bike?!

No wonder he is so fast!!

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Shelders | 2 years ago
0 likes

I'm a bit late reading the blog today so may have missed any reactions to this classic Express article in the motoring section. 
Nice quotes lifted to make a headline...

"Cyclists warned riding in the middle of the road is 'daft' after Highway Code changes"

https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/cars/1689572/driving-law-changes-cyclists-driver-warning-highway-code#conversation-wrapper

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IanMSpencer replied to Shelders | 2 years ago
8 likes

ending with this gem:

They said the new rules could put “too much burden” on the drivers of vehicles to spot cyclists who do not always wear hi-viz jackets.

I think I have an idea that they consulted an expert Bikeability instructor.

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eburtthebike replied to IanMSpencer | 2 years ago
0 likes

IanMSpencer wrote:

I think I have an idea that they consulted an expert Bikeability instructor.

Or a particularly slimey lawyer.

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brooksby replied to eburtthebike | 2 years ago
5 likes

You mean "a top lawyer"?

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brooksby | 2 years ago
4 likes

Maybe GMP were being unfair to the driver of that Mercedes.

Maybe they were so desperate to make sure they passed cyclists safely, the six foot pole helped them gauge their passing distance...  

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Hirsute | 2 years ago
4 likes

I've located Rakia

https://twitter.com/HarryHamishGray/status/1587047855138676736

This van was parked in the cycle lane, so I waited for him to move After a chat he set off and drove his van towards me, into the bike lane running over the kerb and wands, nearly hitting me

His excuse for blocking the entire cycle lane was 'I was doing a delivery'

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Safety | 2 years ago
13 likes

Re the Leith cycle/ lorry lane. Lets ignore the glaring criminal safety issues for a mo. What about the physical damage being done to brand new (not yet officially opened) infrastructure installed at great expense? Pavements are not constructed to the same spec as roads and are not expected or able to take the weight of cars never mind lorries. But will our beloved clowncil do anything about it? No chance. They'll simply move on to their next grandiose plan with ne'er a glance back.
If it was my money invested I'd be damn sure to safeguard my investment. Oh wait a minute it is my money!

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brooksby replied to Safety | 2 years ago
5 likes

True.

Does anyone remember this story from June? https://road.cc/content/news/dangerous-cycle-lane-fenced-293383

Well, it has still not been opened for general use and is still fenced off (to pedestrians and cyclists) and used as a parking area for deliveries (vans/lorries).  So by the time it finally opens - if ever - it will be well and truly "worn in".

And the contraflow cycle lane along there has been painted over because the shiny new shared use path was supposed to be in use!

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Hirsute | 2 years ago
8 likes

Falling off your bike to avoid being hit is not good enough for TVP

https://twitter.com/MuscleClinicUK/status/1587088275386269696

 

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BalladOfStruth replied to Hirsute | 2 years ago
6 likes

I remember that one - probably the worst example I can recall. Ludicrous decision by TVP.

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Awavey replied to BalladOfStruth | 2 years ago
1 like

youd like to think theyd have attempted a prosecution even if it had failed, I mean we had that one where the landrover passed, similar distance away and the lady fell off her bike and the driver was successfully prosecuted.

how is it different if a lorry, at that speed, does near enough the same thing, and the police only spoke to the driver so they could tell the cyclist what he said but didnt take it any further ?

that just doesnt make sense, the only thing I can think they are interpreting (wrongly) is the rear view camera doesnt evidence the closeness of the pass, it shows the near aftermath and you are having to infer whats happening in the bits you cant see, and hence something our loopholey lawyer type could exploit to the drivers advantage.

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Hirsute replied to Awavey | 2 years ago
1 like

They are on the wrong side of the road, so hard to see what defence could be put up unless it was the Helen measures one. But surely not every jury will fall for that

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Awavey replied to Hirsute | 2 years ago
1 like

absolutely, hence why I think they should have attempted a prosecution. Im just trying to puzzle their logic, and I can only think their issue was you dont see what the truck is doing up front first, and as its that bit you are prosecuting them on, and not the aftermath,even if the aftermath gives you enough of an idea of what was happening up front, theres still wiggle room there a "top lawyer" might exploit, and if TVP only prosecute on absolutes, it might explain it.

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AlsoSomniloquism replied to Awavey | 2 years ago
1 like

They even state the lorry driver admitted they didn't see the cyclist before he decided to pass the farm vehicle. Then took the drivers view that anything that is in front of a lorry driving on the wrong side of the road should dive out of the way as it is "normal" for a lorry to be on the wrong side of the road. Talk about normalising bad driving. 

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brooksby replied to Hirsute | 2 years ago
3 likes

That one is truly disgusting.

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The Accountant | 2 years ago
0 likes

I do not understand the complaining about the lorry on the cycling path. When I ride my bike I expect to react to hazards. When I drive my car I expect to react to hazards. When I walk my child to school I expect to react to hazards.

Why are people complaining about having to react to hazards? It is part of every day life.

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HarrogateSpa replied to The Accountant | 2 years ago
20 likes

I agree. My neighbour's pet tiger escaped the other day, and charged at me as I walked up my drive.

Why would I complain about having to react to this hazard? It is part of every day life.

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nosferatu1001 replied to The Accountant | 2 years ago
19 likes

Because the lorry isn't permitted to drive on a mandatory cycle lane in order to park. 

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The Accountant replied to nosferatu1001 | 2 years ago
0 likes

I don't know what it is like in England, but we teach our children about how to cross the road safely, how to ride a bike safely, how to respect the traffic making important deliveries.

We thank the delivery men for the job they do, for the supplies they provide to the local shops, for the value they provide to society.

If they have to drive up onto a pavement to deliver their goods, so be it. It is no big deal, correct? Are you one of those people walking around with a clip board looking for trouble, like in Germany? I think yes.

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