Viral video of mountain biker stuck behind runner divides opinion; EF Pro Cycling are selling team bikes for £4,500; “From the same department that researches bear defecation habits”: Least surprising cycling research of the year + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
EF Pro Cycling are selling team bikes for £4,500
The traditional off-season bike sale is up and running, EF Pro Cycling listing a whole host of their team bikes for £4,514, meaning you could pick up a 2025 Cannondale SuperSix EVO 4 Hi-MOD with Dura-Ace for that price (excluding shipping). They come with FSA AXG i21 wheelset but you can upgrade to various Vision wheels for an extra cost of between £345 and £575.
They’re available in sizes 44, 48, 51, 54 and 56 and all the info’s on the EF Pro Cycling website. If you ask nicely they might even tell you whose bike you’re buying.
"From the same department that researches bear defecation habits": Least surprising cycling research of the year
I’m shocked! Shocked, I tell you!
> Bike lanes crucial to preventing cycling near misses, major new study suggests
At least you all had some fun with it…
From the same department that researches bear defecation habits, as well as papal headwear traditions.
— Real Gaz on a proper bike: gazza_d@toot.bike (@gazza-d.bsky.social) 4 November 2025 at 10:09
Over on Facebook, Andy Bray commented: “In other news, most Popes are likely to be Catholics.”
OldRidgeback: “And in other news: water is wet shock!”
A ‘Pope is Catholic, bear shits in woods, water is wet’ full house. Top work, everyone.
World's oldest Olympic champion — who won team pursuit gold in London in 1948 — dies aged 101
Charles Coste, pictured above at the 2024 Paris Olympics, the world’s oldest Olympian, has died aged 101. Coste won Olympic gold in the team pursuit at the 1948 Games in London, winning his medal as part of the victorious French team.
President Emmanuel Macron announced Coste’s death yesterday, calling the Olympic legend “until his final breath, the tireless messenger of a certain idea of sport”.
Coste won gold in London 77 years ago, the track cycling events at that Olympics held at Herne Hill Velodrome. He also raced on the road for the Peugeot team and retired in 1959 having raced at the Tour de France twice and Giro d’Italia four times. In 1950 he finished fourth at Paris-Roubaix. Coste was heavily involved in the Paris Olympics last year, carrying the torch during the opening ceremony and attending track cycling events.
International Olympic Committee president Kirsty Coventry said Coste would be “remembered forever”.
Spoiler alert: it had nothing to do with concerns about knee pain or fitting a longer stem
"If it saves the life of a child then it is worth it": Cycle lane under fire over £500,000 “safety improvements”, but councillors defend scheme which has reportedly boosted bike use by 41%
Running squares is the new pedalling squares
Tour de France director hits back at claims there would be more TT kilometres on next year's route if Remco Evenepoel was French
Tour de France technical director Thierry Gouvenou, the man behind the Grande Boucle’s route, has hit back at claims from former pro Jan Bakelants that the Tour would have more time trial kilometres if Remco Evenepoel was French. Next year’s route has just 26km of individual time trialling, although there is an opening-day team time trial, however Gouvenou bristled at the idea Remco would get a more favourable set-up if he was born across the border in the race’s home country.
“Former riders need to understand the reality: right now, there’s one rider who’s head and shoulders above everyone else. Whether you give him cobblestones, the hills of Flanders, wind, long climbs, short climbs, he’s good everywhere,” Gouvenou told Flashscore.
“We used to do time trials at 25 kilometres. Last year we added eight kilometres, and I don’t think he [Remco] gained any more time over 33 than over 25. Would adding 50 kilometres make any difference? I’m not sure.”
The Belgian won the 33km flat time trial in Caen at this year’s race, putting 16 seconds into Tadej Pogačar. A TT-heavy route has been a commonly touted option for making the Tour more competitive, Evenepoel having regularly beaten Pogačar in races against the clock.
In fact, of 11 time trials competed against each other, Evenepoel has won nine, the only two where Pogačar has beaten Remco coming on the extremely hilly final stage of the 2024 Tour and this year’s mountain TT, essentially a hill climb. Given Jonas Vingegaard’s time trial proficiency too a TT-heavy route seems like a decent option if you want to at least try to make Pogačar’s life more difficult, however Gouvenou doesn’t think it would make much difference. Thoughts?
Politicians who cycle: Zohran Mamdani
New York’s new mayor is Zohran Mamdani, an election to office unsurprisingly being celebrated by cycling groups in the city, Streetsblog NYC saying he “may have only won a narrow mandate last night, but an ongoing cycling boom gives him manoeuvrability to build bike lanes”. A far cry from Donald Trump’s claims that NYC’s cycle lanes need to be scrapped to make way for motorists.
Zohran Mamdani hops on a Citi Bike — going back to his campaign office in Chelsea, his campaign tells me after. A woman heckles him, shouting “communist!” pic.twitter.com/pNgkOeE8o3
— Jeff Coltin (@JCColtin) October 8, 2025
POLL: Would the Tour de France have more TT kilometres if Remco Evenepoel was French?
Several winners of Cycling UK 100 Women in Cycling prize decline award due to exclusion of transwomen
Viral video of mountain biker stuck behind runner divides opinion
Let’s kick the day off with a video that’s doing the rounds on TikTok and some other social media sites…
Needless to say it’s got people talking online, some sticking up for the runner and perplexed by the mountain biker’s rage, others sticking up for the mountain biker and perplexed by the runner’s obliviousness. Maybe he just had the latest episode of the road.cc Podcast turned up to full volume and was enjoying Ryan’s dulcet tones, unaware of the red-faced rider shouting behind?
We’d also love some extra context (then again this is TikTok so maybe we’re asking too much), is that a dedicated mountain bike or shared-use trail? If the former, is it well-signposted and obvious that it’s for riding not running?
It’s certainly a bit bizarre and presents neither party in a particularly glowing light, except perhaps the runner’s buddy who gets an earful early doors and jumps out the way.
But is all as it seems?
However, it’s at this point that things get even more complicated, as it turns out the audio is a meme and has been chucked in from another video of a motorcyclist and a policeman having a stand-off, the disgruntled rider repeatedly shouting ‘Déjame Pasar’ (let me pass). That audio has been dubbed here, either that or the mountain biker is an incredible actor, so we now don’t even know what/if anything was said.
This undermines much of the reaction having a go at the mountain biker for their rude attitude and shouting, although again there may still be shouting and impatience in the non-meme-ified audio.
As the top commenter on Reddit pointed out, this all could have been avoided if the rider simply bunny-hopped the runner. Much of the more serious reaction was split between questioning the runner for not letting the rider pass and frustration at the mountain biker’s attitude (although who knows now? For all we know, he could have said ‘excuse me sir, sorry to bother you, but please may I scoot on past aboard my bicycle? Your impressive running speed is not quite fast enough for me to continue my pursuit politely behind… jolly good… I thank you most kindly for your co-operation’).
Some pointed out how dangerous it can be to run or walk on a dedicated mountain bike trail where riders might not expect to see anyone so ride at faster speeds, but others pointed out even in that situation they would still show respect to a fellow human being enjoying some exercise.
One runner who uses similar trails said: “I often run on mountain trails like this; always cognisant of riders and they’re often very cognisant of me. I don’t understand the runners’ issue here.”
However, another suggested that “if the runner was on a bike and the cyclist was in a car, this scenario would have r/fuckcars [been put on another thread calling out dangerous driving] calling for the public execution of the driver.”
“The amount of times I’m out on my bike and a car [driver] overtakes in some dumb ass place and I think ‘could you not wait for a safe place to pass’ and then someone on a bike does exactly the same, idiot!” someone else agreed.
This Reddit user rose above the who’s to blame discourse and decided to hate the game, not the players… “This is the ideal situation because everyone involved gets to be mad. Feels like that’s the main goal a lot of the time.”
We’ll leave the final word to the paramedic in the comments section… “In case you were wondering, this is what it’s like to drive an ambulance with emergency lights and sirens.”
5 November 2025, 09:03
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Bunchery noted! 😄 To be honest I know nothing about the park in question. I only have experience of C lanes, or lack of, in Yorkshire & I dont often cycle much more than a few miles - town centre & back, which are part cycle laned. On other routes I rarely see cyclists although one longer route than mine has a good number of users. I recently cycled a dozen miles from another city & there were no cycle lanes (on the most direct A road route) until I got within about a 1/4 mile of the centre & they stop about a mile plus from home, so only of limited use on that ride. I doubt any type of lane will be used by the I'm all right Jacks, who suit themselves no matter what, I might at times even be one... I think there are no cars allowed in the park (?) so I'd hope any lane paint would last a few years of only bikes & shoe wear. But its not a panacea, we still have human foibles to deal with. I dont know what "rep" the park has, is it dodgy at night? Will any of the proposals solve that if users feel unsafe there? It takes time for changes / "improvements" to take effect.
I have just seen Vitality's new ad called 'your health best friend' and disappointed to see it play on the old 'rude, shouting MAMIL' trope, and ends with them getting their 'comeuppance' and crashing over a wall. Odd choice to villainise part of your target audience, even if someone in marketing thinks it's funny?
'3 years in prison for TikTok-distracted driver who paralysed cyclist' But cycling mikey is abhored and chastised for reporting drivers who do exactly that. He should be given a medal.
'Sarah Whitebread, Head of Policy and Public Affairs at Cycling UK, said: “That mindset has contributed to dangerous and careless drivers reducing or even avoiding disqualification through claims of ‘exceptional hardship’. Speeding, driving while exhausted or passing dangerously close to someone aren’t harmless slip-ups, they are decisions that can leave families grieving.' Took the words out of my mouth. Motornormativity is so deeply embedded in our society that even killing someone with a car can be excused. A perfect example is: 'John Rice, described as a man of both “exemplary” character and community standing as well as a man with historic speeding offences.......' You can't have an exemplary character and break the law: unless it's only crimes committed while driving. Putting other people's lives at risk is utterly unacceptable: unless you're driving. How can you have 'community standing' when you disrespect everyone in that community and deliberately put their lives at risk? We need a massive change in our society, to make dangerous driving socially unacceptable, which would make the changes to smoking look like a walk in the park. How can we make dangerous driving be viewed as bad by the majority of the population?
@kil0ran Agreed very pointless to say "You're now banned from driving.". I've often asked: How can someone be told they are "banned" from doing something (ie driving which requires a licence) when they weren't qualified (passed a test and obtained a licence)...? The individual will themselves know that they shouldn't have been driving as they didn't have a licence so a ban is not worth the paper it is written on, as shown by how many continue to illegally drive afterwards anyway.
@Paul J not so - his friend (not named in the reports) helped pressure his cousin (Gabrielle Debotte) to keep quiet - thankfully she didn't. Not clear whether the friend was also in the car at the time or came round to the house later: "You were drinking and playing music; Gabrielle Debotte upstairs in a terrible state could hear you laughing and joking. "You and your friend talked to her about what to say and not to say and how to act. "You scared her. "Over the course of the evening, your friend made Gabrielle Debotte write a note on her phone with a false account that she had not seen you on the day of the collision at all.
@mdavidford "the contract was awarded to Capita, with Fujitsu to deliver the IT"... 😬
@Daveyraveygravey one of the first life driving bans was issued to the driver responsible for killing time trialling legend (in these parts at least) Derek Witt in 2008. I must dig out the offender's name and see what he's been up to since he got out. Life ban somewhat pointless as he wasn't licensed anyway https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/latest-news/derek-witt-killed-in-car-collision-93197
@jaymack Agreed. We test vehicles every year at a cost of (from memory) £65 so let's bring in a 3-year or 5-year re-test window for the drivers. Similar cost averaged out. Theory refresher (the vast majority of drivers haven't passed a theory test on the current version of the HC) followed by a soft retest with the option of the examiner recommending remedial action such as awareness courses.
@jaymack seconded. Of course currently the issue isn't keeping driving schools and/or examiners in business, it's that there seems to be a chronic shortage of the latter So this sensible idea is likely to be decried as uninformed "pie in the sky" even more than others pertaining to improving road safety. 😬 (And of course "but we already passed our tests, we pay for insurance etc so this amounts to another attempt to batter honest drivers with legislation and expenses...")
51 thoughts on “Viral video of mountain biker stuck behind runner divides opinion; EF Pro Cycling are selling team bikes for £4,500; “From the same department that researches bear defecation habits”: Least surprising cycling research of the year + more on the live blog”
Both are idiots. The runner
Both are idiots. The runner could easily have gone to the side of the trail a little more and kept running and the MTBer could easily have just waited until waved through. I guess the only thing we can’t tell is what communication there was between the two.
Without the actual audio, it
Without the actual audio, it’s hard to say much. In general, I would say once the runner was aware of the cyclist, it would be polite to let them past at a convenient moment.
But we don’t know if the runner was aware of the cyclist – some hubs are very quiet; we don’t know if the cyclist called out; I doesn’t look like the runner is wearing earbuds but I wouldn’t like to say I’m sure.
I would say it was very poor of the cyclist to try and push past when there clearly wasn’t space to do so.
In addition, letting the cyclist past at a convenient moment doesn’t imply doing so immediately. It’s not completely clear from the video, but it looks to me like the trail is quite narrow at the start of the clip and quickly drops off into deep piles of fallen leaves/sticks which would be hard to run in, where as at the end, when the runner does let the cyclist path, the trail is a bit wider and so the runner can remain on the trail and keep moving safely. I could understand if the runner simply wanted to keep going for a few seconds until the trail widened.
Spending cuts or a ‘war on
Spending cuts or a ‘war on motorists’… Hmm, I know what I would vote for!
When is the right time to
When is the right time to choose the path towards more independent mobility for children, more mobility options for those with some disabilities, nicer places, more local resilience, better public health, saving money … ?
… Apparently never, because at any point the money that it would cost to start that change could instead be dumped into self-renewing holes in the road. Or go on an extra lane for the temporary convenience of motorists.
Making them feel … often no better really, especially not since after a short time the road is trashed again / that lane is filled by other motorists.
Just as much a con as populist politicians who promise that everyone will be richer – but inflation swallows any difference and an increasing gap between the richer and poorer (and greater expectations of what we now “need”) leaves more people feeling relatively badly off.
Sometimes the rich get richer
Sometimes the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, on other occasions the rich get richer and the poor remain the same
“poll shows that”
“poll shows that”
Well then, commission another poll that shows the opposite.
You are Sir Humphrey Appleby
You are Sir Humphrey Appleby and I claim my five crowns.
HoarseMann wrote:
Yeah, we’re not going to be getting next year’s Nobel peace prize!
It’s interesting that if the
It’s interesting that if the “war on motorists” were real, a litre of petrol now compared to about 20 years ago would be around £2
Surely it should be sold in
Surely it should be sold in pints and gallons? Or else what did we fight for?
SecretSam wrote:
Wouldn’t people just have been banned from buying it? Seems like a pretty incompetent prosecution of a war to facilitate your enemy in purchasing the material they need to keep fighting it.
mdavidford wrote:
Strangely enough, commerce tends to continue between warring countries as they need to keep the money flowing: https://direct.mit.edu/isec/article/46/1/9/102856/Wartime-Commercial-Policy-and-Trade-between
Yes, but in this case, it
Yes, but in this case, it would be like selling them the actual gun they will use to shoot you, rather than things they might be able to convert into it.
No comment on the behaviour
Given the audio is fake/dubbed, no comment on the behaviour of each person in the clip but to compare it to cyclists and drivers…
(video https://www.youtube.com/shorts/lM2sYiHcQPY )
The cyclist was only held up for a short time untill they could safely pass the runner.
The same works for drivers most of the time (when they safely pass, rather than unsafely).
If a cyclist is able to keep moving on most roads and a driver is following…
The driver is still moving at a decent speed.
If a driver is held up in queues of motor traffic at 0mph they are stationary.
But which scenario antagonises some drivers more…?
The reason is that they can
The reason is that they can identify with the other drivers but not with the cyclist.
It should also be noted that on almost all occasions the road will be wide enough to overtake any cyclist. The problem is that there are cars coming the other way – so really it’s still the cars delaying that driver not the cyclist.
Im going got defend the MTBer
Im going got defend the MTBer on this one. And the reason for this is, its a downhill therefore fast section of a dedicated track. The rider recording this has a good view of the runner. But this being an open downhill route with no traffic signage or ettiquette there is a good chance another rider could be not far behind going at a must faster pace and they might not be so quick to see either. There, for me, lies the issue.
As I said, I had no comment
As I said, I had no comment on the behaviour of either of the people in the clip.
And the update from Road CC with the original clip/audio seems to smother any reason for uproar about it.
With regards to Your scenario, I would suggest that the simple rule for skiing applies.
In that: the skiier behind/further up the slope should be more cautious towards people and the conditions in front/down the slope and adjust their speed accordingly to be safe for all.
Expecting a cyclist to behave differently to accomodate another is a bit like victim blaming.
We wouldn’t say a cyclist must speed up to avoid the danger of a driver behind.
There is some more context on
There is some more context on TikTok from the bikers account (with original audio). Apparently there was a running race that day, with a route that utilised that trail, hence the runner’s reluctance to stop to let the biker pass.
The biker also knew before they hit the trail that this race was on and runners were likely to be encoutered. So, I think it’s the biker who is out of order here. If I’d turned up to the trails to find such an event on, I’d probably have gone elsewhere to ride.
HoarseMann wrote:
Agreed. I live where the trails and roads often have events or closures, so I check the land manager websites before I head out. Simple.
If only there were some sort
If only there were some sort of tool or accessory that one could attach to a bicycle that would allow the rider to grab the runner’s attention.
If only.
Empty wrote:
Presumably it’d have to disrupt the runner’s bluetooth headphones to be able to get their attention
hawkinspeter wrote:
Presumably it’d have to disrupt the runner’s bluetooth headphones to be able to get their attention— Empty
Not necessarily
mdavidford wrote:
That looks a lot more convenient than my current “runner notification system”
A squirrel in the woods?
A squirrel in the woods? Wouldn’t be notable.
chrisonabike wrote:
Even when they’re tapping you on the shoulder?
Nah, round here we get them
Nah, round here we get them shouting at us from the trees and mugging people in the streets…
If it’s a race like mentioned
If it’s a race like mentioned by the rider they aren’t generally allowed to wear them. A lot of the races I’ve done it’s an automatic DQ
Empty wrote:
If only human beings had been born with some sort of vibrating arrangement in their throats whereby they could expel air and modulate it with some sort of protuberance in their mouths to make various sounds, not only being able to grab their fellow humans’ attention but also convey exactly what they desire. If only.
PS True story, about two weeks ago I gave in and bought a bell for my everyday errand-running Tricross because I was fed up with pedestrians moaning at me that I should have a bell (because apparently “Mind if I just come through on your right there please?” said in a polite tone isn’t good enough). The first time I used it, with a gentleman [sic] walking his dog on the clearly marked cycle half of a divided path, I got the response, word for word, “Fuck off you woke fucking pervert paedo cunt.”
Rendel Harris wrote:
So was the dog walker only wanting to encounter sleeping cyclists?
I still think the best method is to call out “ding ding” in a friendly tone (sometimes I go with “beep beep” if it’s a ped on a cycle lane).
I go for bell from a distance
I go for bell from a distance, then voice up close if necessary – someone’s going to be offended no matter what you do, but at least if I get “haven’t you got a bell” then I can retort that yes, I rang it way back there but you didn’t react. [ETA: this has reminded me to move the much-more-effective-from-a-distance Spurcycle bell onto the daily driver]
Yes. I use the friendly ding
Yes. I use the friendly ding-a-ling-a-ling method. I prefer to have two hands on the bars when I’m braking.
But maybe if I used beep-beep, I wouldn’t get accusations of not paying road tax.
Mr Blackbird wrote:
This is another reason why bells aren’t so good – typical bells will require you to move a hand. However, if you’re wanting to overtake a ped, then you should be going slowly, but conversely they could have a small child/dog that may require you to suddenly brake/swerve.
Maybe you would have gained
Maybe you would have gained the respect of this guy if you’d shouted “Outa my way you dog shagging wanker!” And as you were passing him, expel a loud raspy fart with the expletive”Get out and fucking walk!”
Some people are unsettled by politeness.
Rendel Harris wrote:
I have found this also.
The obvious solution is clearly a car horn. No sensible person would utter what he did after someone had beeped, as we all know that would mean a fight!
Rendel Harris wrote:
Got some evolving to do.
chrisonabike wrote:
Better hurry up as you wouldn’t want to be towed
.
Wouldn’t want to be a toadhog though…
Just need a Frog bike…
Just need a Frog bike…
(1) Such an accessory may be
(1) Such an accessory may be no more effective than the rider’s voice. I use a bell, but it often doesn’t elicit much of a reaction until I’m close enough that voice feels more appropiate.
(2) Even if the runner’s attention has been grabbed, they don’t have to immediately move.
I hang a bluetooth speaker
I hang a bluetooth speaker off my handlebars and play music through my phone.
That would have been loud enough in this case.
When I encounter organised
When I encounter organised groups of runners locally on the trail, I now call “bike back.”
That’s the call they pass forward as soon as I ring my bell before passing the one at the back, so I’m saving them some effort.
Looked to me like the runner
Looked to me like the runner moved to the side when the path widened, then the path narrowed and he had to move back. Biker thought he had time to pass, but didn’t.
I’m wondering if Zohran
I’m wondering if Zohran Mamdani will be advised to avoid cycling for security reasons.
Boris was only advised to do so when he became Foreign Secretary, not when he became mayor…
https://road.cc/content/news/209933-boris-johnson-banned-cycling-security-team
Shurely “Khan!!”
Shurely “Khan!!”
(Poor Nigel – another mayor has been elected who’d be a major trigger for them)
But sadly Sadiq has been
But sadly Sadiq has been forced off his bike in terms of cycle commuting although he does seem to get the occasional lap of Richmond Park in – and London to Brighton a couple of times, including this year. The Daily Mail love to go on about his two-Range-Rover convoy without mentioning that it’s what he has to have as recommended by the police close protection team in order to protect him against the sort of people who hate him because they’ve been reading the Daily Mail…
Great example of
Great example of motornormativity here: https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/new-temple-meads-car-park-10624223
The Southern Gateway “multi-modal transport hub” will include a seven-storey car park with 379 spaces and a three-storey cycle hub, for cyclists to securely lock up their bikes. The plans were approved unanimously by councillors on planning committee A on Wednesday, November 5.— BristolPost
What’s the betting that cyclists will have to climb stairs to get to their parking. Also, they’re going to be charging for cycle parking.
As a Bristol resident…sigh.
As a Bristol resident…sigh.
PS the Bristol Post is utter toilet paper
SecretSam wrote:
You’re not wrong about the Bristol Post, but it is handy for some local news.
With the Temple Meads cycle parking, I wonder if cyclists will be allowed to access it from the back side of Temple Meads i.e. from the Cheesegrater Bridge side as the issue seems to be the narrowness of the Bath Rd shared pavement.
I’m just surprised the “cycle
I’m just surprised the “cycle hub” part isn’t a “toast rack” shoved in a corner (perhaps where geometry prevented them using the space for parking?)
As a mountain biker, in
As a mountain biker, in Scotland where there is a Right of Responsible Access, I often come across this scenario albeit normally people walking their dogs not runners.
The principle of Responsible Access applies – do you think it responsible to walk/run down the middle of the road? Same applies to a Mountain Bike trail. You become a slow moving hazard that is not expected on the trail by the normal trail user.
If the trail is clearly signed as a Mountain Bike trail you do not actually have any right to use the trail as a pedestrian and could be guilty of “trespass” as you may not have the landowners permission to use that trail. I said “could be” before anyone jumps down my throat.
The difficulty comes when a mountain bike trail crosses a pedestrian path or where the trails are not necessarily signed, for instance natural hand built trails in forests. But if the trail is clearly designed for bikes (berms, jumps etc) then, again, the runner is not being “responsible” by using it.
Finally though there is also a principle of “Share With Care” and you should never ride a trail at a speed that you can not safely stop in the distance you can see. It doesn’t help when runners/walkers are trundling along with earbuds in and can’t hear us screaming “Rider!” at 100db at them
Yup, down here in sunny
Yup, down here in sunny Bristol, there’s a couple of dedicated MTB trails I use up at Ashton Court and Leigh Woods (the Road CC staff will know them). You occasionally get people walking or running on them, despite the signs warning them and the fact that with berms, etc it’s obviously a dedicated trail.
I did politely mention it to a walker once, who responded quite unpleasantly. Probably drives a Range Rover.