“Cyclists shouldn’t be allowed on main roads”, says motorbiker who almost hits one… while riding with blurred-out speedometer and doing wheelie in 40mph zone; Jeremy Vine says floating bus stops are “desperately needed” + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Jeremy Vine says floating bus stops are “desperately needed” after London Victoria crash, but critics argue they’re “dangerous for a large number of pedestrians”
“Dear God. Floating bus stops — which separate these monsters from the pavement area — are so desperately needed.” That was Jeremy Vine’s response to yesterday’s crash at London Victoria, where 17 people were injured after a route 24 bus was driven off the road and hit pedestrians during the morning rush.
The tweet reignited a familiar row, with some bristling at his language. “Dear Jeremy, buses are not monsters. Separating them from the pavement is separating them from their users,” one reply said.
Another added: “Floating bus stops are not the answer to a tragic incident like this. They are a further impediment and dangerous for a large number of pedestrians since being designed as part of the cycling infrastructure.”
Floating bus stops — where the bus stop sits on an island and passengers cross a cycle lane to reach it — have long been divisive. Disability campaigners, especially blind and partially sighted groups, say they feel unsafe and intimidated.
TfL’s own research found around 60 per cent of cyclists didn’t yield to pedestrians at zebra crossings, fuelling that perception. Sarah Gayton of the National Federation of the Blind UK has even called for London’s walking and cycling commissioner Will Norman to resign, while professor Anna Lawson, who is blind, argues the design makes streets “much more difficult and dangerous.”
However, leaked government documents from last year showed that out of 623 pedestrian-cyclist collisions in London between 2020 and 2022, just four took place at floating bus stops — about 0.6 per cent. TfL says the risk is low overall, though it has admitted many sites don’t meet best-practice standards and is retrofitting zebra crossings to make it clearer that cyclists must stop.
In May last year, the Guardian revealed that then-Transport Secretary Mark Harper was considering a ban on the design. Campaigners warned such a move could stall new protected cycle lanes across the country.
Norman said it would “put lives at risk,” while the London Cycling Campaign accused the government of ignoring bigger accessibility problems, such as pavement parking. Cycling UK also defended bus stop bypasses, but stressed they should be built in cooperation with disabled people.
“No plans” for Israel-Premier Tech to drop ‘Israel’ from name, as sports director blasts “King of the Vuelta” Matteo Jorgenson’s calls for squad to leave race following protests
L’Angliru looms
It’s almost time. After the Alto de Mosquera and the Cordal soften everyone up, the race finishes on the Angliru: fourteen and a half kilometres, averaging around ten per cent with ramps up to twenty-four per cent. It’s steep almost from the start, there’s a brief lull in the middle, then the road kicks again past those cruel gradient posts and into the fog.
Visma-Lease a Bike’s Jonas Vingegaard looks composed in red, but is anything certain when you start scaling this beast? Will João Almeida and UAE Team Emirates finally spring the trap and capture the red jersey? Or could it be Tom Pidcock’s day, who looked strong on stage 11, although no one could really tell once the riders stopped pushing after the announcement that there would be no stage winner. Or maybe the it’s the breakaway which survives, in which case, could we see Ayuso do a three-peat?
Either way, we’re in for a race atop the most feared climb in all of Spain…
“Take some perspective”: Matteo Jorgenson urges fellow riders to “realise the bigger situations”, after being thrown “under the bus” by Israel-Premier Tech sports director
Expanding on the story Ryan covered this morning — where Israel-Premier Tech sports director Daryl Impey branded Matteo Jorgenson the “King of the Vuelta” for privately urging the team to leave the race — here’s a bit more from the Visma-Lease a Bike rider himself.
Speaking to FloBikes about Wednesday’s chaotic stage, Jorgenson described how he felt during the pro-Palestinian protests which resulted in scrapping of the Bilbao finish: “I think there were just two moments where it was dangerous, one, when going through the finish line for the first time, and then one time on the climb when we were running through some protesters with a banner. But I think in general, I felt pretty safe on the bike, and I think we got through the stage well.”
Asked what could be done, he admitted riders have little control: “You don’t have much choice or power in this situation, so I don’t really have solutions for you. I think I’m voicing my opinion where I can, and I think the rest is left to people who can make decisions.”
And on the mood in the peloton: “I think we are all adapting to the situation as well as we can. Sometimes, as cyclists, we’re really in our own world, and we have to be focused on our task, so we are all sometimes annoyed when these situations arise. I try to encourage everyone to try to come out of that and realise the bigger situations and take some perspective.”
Plenty of fans praised him under FloBikes’ YouTube video. One wrote: “Name a specific rider that doesn’t stand on your side is a classic move to throw somebody under the bus and deflect the situation. It may work PR-wise, but counterproductive to what you’re trying to achieve.” Another pointed to IPT’s leadership: “It’s quite telling that Daryl Impey, a South African, is the Directeur Sportif for IPT, given the history between South Africa and Israel.”
Others just backed Jorgenson outright. “Power to Matteo — I really liked him before this and I now love him! Mega fan now!” And another commenter made the case for protest in sport, namechecking Jesse Owens at the 1936 Olympics and the Black Panther salute: “People have always and should have the right to protest at these events… especially when ethnic cleansing and war crimes are being committed. Would you not protest against the Nazi movement in 1938?”
Impey may have tried to paint him as the problem, but judging by the reaction, it looks like Jorgenson has only gained more respect for speaking up.
Big silly cycling party alert: Cobble Wobble makes its comeback in Frome after 13 years, complete with costumes, chaos and a King & Queen of the Cobbles
After thirteen long years, the Frome Cobble Wobble is back. The event takes place on Sunday 14 September, with entries open now until midnight on 7 September.
First run in 2009 and last held in 2012, the Cobble Wobble is the “world famous” (not my words) sprint up 179 yards of cobbled Catherine Hill in the centre of Frome. The course is narrow, lined with 17th-century buildings and a wall of spectators, and it has inspired copycat events in Germany and even the Red Bull Hill Chasers.
Event organiser Andrew Denham said: “The Cobble Wobble is so much more than a race. It’s a big silly party that just happens to be stretched out over 179 yards of cobbled hill. With bikes. And fancy dress, and the odd world champion athlete thrown into the mix. It’s quirky and positively life affirming.”
Denham explained why it’s taken so long to return: “After the 2012 edition I was busy running The Bicycle Academy. Putting on such an event isn’t easy, and the industry has been in such a pickle it’s been hard to put enough sponsorship in place. As far as I’m concerned there just wasn’t any point in considering it unless it could be done properly.”
He added: “Here we are, 13 years later, now in our 40s, organising a great big silly bicycle party on a cobbled hill. There are no age restrictions, fancy dress is encouraged (but not mandatory), and the best bit… everyone’s invited.”
Winners of each category and the 20 fastest overall will qualify for the evening finale to crown the King and Queen of the Cobbles. But you don’t have to be fast to leave with something — most prizes, including bikes, are handed out by drawing names from a hat.
Trump tariffs led to bike sales “free fall” says Chinese brand, as US imports plunge in first half of 2025
“We have to send a message to Israel”: Spain’s Foreign Minister calls for Israel-Premier Tech to be removed from Vuelta a España amid pro-Palestine protests
Spain’s Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares has become the most high-profile figure yet to call for Israel-Premier Tech to be removed from the Vuelta a España. Speaking on the Spanish public broadcaster, Radio Nacional de España, Albares confirmed he would support the team’s exclusion.
“I understand it, and I would certainly be in favour of it,” he said, while stressing that it is not the Spanish Government but cycling’s governing body, the UCI, who has the power to decide participation.
Albares pointed directly to the precedent of Russia’s and Belarus’ expulsion, including Gazprom-Rusvelo, a Russian ProTeam from sport in 2022, following the invasion of Ukraine.
“We cannot continue to maintain a normal relationship with Israel as if nothing were happening,” he said. “Because we have to send a message to Israel, to Israeli society. They have to understand that Europe and Israel can only relate – as stated in Article 2 of the Association Agreement – when human rights are respected, because as democratic countries, we base and relate to each other in that way.”
Despite growing concerns about safety and numerous riders even calling for the squad to leave, Israel-Premier Tech have insisted they are going nowhere. After the protests in Bilbao forced stage 11 to be cancelled, the team issued a statement claiming withdrawal would set a “dangerous precedent” and said they remain “committed to racing on at the Vuelta a España.”
This morning they also told road.cc there are “no plans” to change the squad’s name next season, despite speculation that they might rebrand simply as Premier Tech.
The protests fuelling this row have been among the most vocal cycling has seen in years. In the Basque Country this week — where support for Palestine is especially strong given the two regions’ shared history of struggle for self-determination — activists blocked roads, stretched banners across climbs, and clashed with police in Bilbao, forcing organisers to neutralise the stage and cancel the finish.
On stage 10, Intermarché-Wanty’s Simone Petilli had also crashed after demonstrators entered the road, while stage 5’s team time trial was also delayed by a blockade.
Demonstrators say IPT’s participation whitewashes Israel’s “genocide” in Gaza. Spain itself officially recognised Palestine as a state in May 2024, a decision that frames Albares’ intervention today.
Race organisers, however, have claimed that their hands are tied, with Vuelta technical director Kiko García admitting: “We hope there will be rapid changes, because time is rolling on… the team’s participation is obligatory, and whoever can decide the opposite — that isn’t us. Our duty is to protect the race, of course, the riders and the teams.”
“This little dude’s sign was so good, he didn’t want me to sign it in case I ruined it”
Geraint Thomas shared this moment from the Tour of Britain — his final race as a pro — as young fans waved a handmade Welsh flag sign and a giant cut-out of his face. “Been amazed by the support from young and old this week. To everyone who has braved the British summer and come out so far: thank you.”
A fitting send-off for the Welsh legend in his last week in the peloton…
“Can we now make it to £2m?”: Sir Chris Hoy’s Tour de 4 raises £1.4m for cancer charities before start line, with thousands ready to ride in Glasgow
Sir Chris Hoy’s new endurance challenge has already raised more than £1.4 million, before the riders even line up in Glasgow on Sunday. The six-time Olympic champion, diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer last year, launched the Tour de 4 to fundraise for five cancer charities, and set a £1m goal. That’s already been blown past, with organisers now aiming for £2m.
Around 5,000 cyclists are expected at the start line on Sunday 7 September at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome, including Hoy himself, his wife Sarra, Mark Beaumont, Andy Murray, and broadcaster Dermot Murnaghan, who is also living with stage four cancer. Routes include a 56-mile ride and a family loop, with all funds going to charities including Macmillan, Maggie’s and Prostate Cancer UK.
Hoy told participants: “Just amazing everyone. Well done each and every one of you who’ve signed up and are working hard to raise valuable funds.”
Tour de 4 organisers added on social media: “With one week to go we are so excited to share that we haven’t just reached our £1m fundraising target, we have smashed it. The biggest thank you to each and every one of you. The question is, can we now make it to £2m by next Sunday?”
For Hoy, who won six Olympic, 11 world and 43 World Cup titles before retiring in 2013, the challenge is also personal advocacy. He has spoken openly about the lack of screening for prostate cancer, which is set to become the UK’s most commonly diagnosed cancer within 15 years.
Vive la révolution! It’s trois Français in the top five as Grégoire outsprints Alaphilippe to win stage four of Tour of Britain
The Tour of Britain finally hit the hills, and with them came Remco Evenepoel trying his very best to turn it into Liège-Bastogne-Liège. Two long-range attacks from the Olympic champion kept the peloton on its toes, but both times he was reeled back in before the finish at Buron Dasset.
Romain Gregoire wins Tour of Britain Stage 4 💪🏻
The Frenchman battled it out with countryman Julian Alaphillippe and held his sprint to beat the former World Champion in Burton Dassett Hills pic.twitter.com/UIvNZfaQmW
— Cycling on TNT Sports (@cyclingontnt) September 5, 2025
Sam Watson led out the final ramp, only to be mugged on both sides by Julian Alaphilippe and Romain Grégoire. Alaphilippe looked set to finish the job, but Grégoire launched an even sharper sprint to bag the stage win and pull on the leader’s jersey. Edoardo Zambanini came through for third.
With Grégoire and Alaphilippe completing a one-two, and Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale’s Aurélien Paret-Peintre following in fourth, meant three French riders finished in the top five. Sacré bleu, I say!
In the general classification, Grégoire, as expected, sits pretty at the top, followed by British star in the making Matthew Brennan two seconds behind, while Alaphilippe completes the top three.
Vuelta stage 13 halted by protest on the Angliru as pro-Palestinian activists demand Israel-Premier Tech’s expulsion
Drama on the lower slopes of the Angliru: just as Jefferson Cepeda, Bob Jungels and Alexandr Vinokurov hit the climb, protesters with banners and flags blocked the road and brought the breakaway to a standstill. The trio were stopped for nearly a minute before being waved through, while the peloton slowed and rolled past with the demonstrators standing at the roadside.
🇵🇸| Mientras @lavuelta no expulse al equipo sionista @IsraelPremTech la protesta no se detendrá. No será con nuestra complicidad: STOP GENOCIDE!!
Mila esker Asturies! ✊🏼#LaVuelta25#StopGazaGenocideNOW pic.twitter.com/IRcu8Lp2nr
— Malcolm iXa 🍉 (@ideiazabaldub) September 5, 2025
An activist from the Basque Country posted online: “As long as the Vuelta does not expel the Zionist team Israel-Premier Tech, the protest will not stop. STOP GENOCIDE!!”
The race is back on now, and the leaders are almost at the part of the climb where gradients move scarily past the 20 per cent.
The Spanish dogs have joined the Vuelta protests too!
“They want you to cycle, but roads have to be safe”: Cyclist killed by lorry driver in crash so horrifying it took ten days to identify his body – but council says junction is “safe for all road users”
João Almeida conquers the Angliru to take stage 13 of Vuelta as Jonas Vingegaard clings on to red
Stage 13 of the Vuelta a España delivered the spectacle everyone feared and hoped for on the Angliru. João Almeida outlasted race leader Jonas Vingegaard in the final few hundred metres, seizing the stage win and clawing back a handful of seconds on the red jersey.
A 6th stage win for UAE Team Emirates – XRG 😮💨
João Almeida attacked the Alto do Angliru and the Queen Stage from the front to beat race leader Jonas Vingegaard on Stage 13 🙌🏻 pic.twitter.com/56J69R5oxb
— Cycling on TNT Sports (@cyclingontnt) September 5, 2025
The day was brutal from the off: a 25-man break went clear at astonishing speed — 41.6kph on a stage with more than 4,000 metres of climbing. Mads Pedersen grabbed his sprint points and called it a day, Antonio Tiberi crashed twice, and Bob Jungels lit up the finale with a solo push before being inevitably caught by the GC favourites.
On the Angliru, Almeida, Vingegaard, Sepp Kuss, and Jai Hindley forged clear while Tom Pidcock slid backwards, his podium spot suddenly looking fragile. With 4km to go, Almeida pressed harder, dropping Kuss and Hindley, then finally shaking Vingegaard inside the last 500 metres.
Almeida said after the finish: “Yes, this is a special one, I still don’t believe it. Thanks to my teammates, they were key today. We did an amazing stage. I just put my pace from the bottom, and I just did the best I could. The last kilometre was on the limits. I thought Jonas might pass me in the finish line, but I knew the finish line from two years ago. So I took the last corner, and then it’s hard to pass.”
And he confirmed what any cyclist who’s dared to look the beast that Angliru is in the eye: “I think this is the hardest climb in the world. It’s crazy. I’m very sore.”
He added: “I have a lot of time to make up to Jonas, but he’s looking phenomenal, so I think it’s going to be a hard task. But we never give up.”
Vingegaard stays in red with 46 seconds in hand, Almeida is closing in, Pidcock remains third at 2:18, and Hindley moves into fourth.
Unstoppable Lorena Wiebes continues clean sweep by making it four in four at Simac Ladies Tour
Another day, another win for Lorena Wiebes. Stage four in Alkmaar brought the closest sprint yet, but still the same result — Wiebes surging to her fourth straight victory at this year’s Simac Ladies Tour.
Lorena Wiebes with a clean sweep at the Simac Ladies Tour claiming her 114th win 🥇 pic.twitter.com/zKdL9PfMis
— Cycling on TNT Sports (@cyclingontnt) September 5, 2025
Letizia Paternoster opened things up early, Elisa Balsamo piled on the speed in the final 500 metres, and then came the heavyweight finish: Chiara Consonni, Shari Bossuyt, and finally Wiebes, who timed her move to perfection for career win number 114. Consonni came closest, finishing within a bike length, but it was Wiebes again taking the bouquet — and another 10 bonus seconds.
Her overall lead now stretches to 30 seconds over Megan Jastrab, with just two stages left. It’s getting scary out there for anyone not wearing the European champion’s jersey out there…
“They asked us to quit the Vuelta, but we did not surrender to the terrorists”: Israel-Premier Tech boss Sylvan Adams hits out at “violent terrorist” protesters and dismisses name change “fake news”
Journalist claims Israel-Premier Tech “pushes Israeli propaganda through communication channels, like WhatsApp, with journalists”
British journalist, broadcaster, and author Sophie Smith wrote on Twitter/X earlier today that “Israel-Premier Tech representatives on multiple occasions have pushed Israeli propaganda through communication channels, like WhatsApp, with journalists.”
That observation sits against a long record of Sylvan Adams, the Canadian-Israeli billionaire team owner, making clear that Israel-Premier Tech is an “ambassador” for the “settler-colonial” state.
Adams, who moved to Israel in 2015, has repeatedly described promoting the country as his life’s purpose, saying: “Everyone who rides for us knows what the team stands for. Anyone who doesn’t sympathise with Israel wouldn’t be riding for the team.”
The team has been central to Adams’ strategy of showcasing Israel on the world stage, from bringing the 2018 Giro d’Italia Grande Partenza to Jerusalem to signing Chris Froome as a global figurehead.
He has openly defended Israel’s military campaign in Gaza — labelled by several human rights organisations as “genocide” and having resulted in the deaths of over 65,000 Palestinians, an alarming majority of them civilians — insisting there is “nothing controversial” about it, while declaring: “In physical warfare we have achieved miracles that resemble science fiction, but in communications warfare we are losing miserably.”
Following this week’s protests at the Vuelta, Adams told Israeli media: “Fake news. We will never ride without the name Israel.” He also labelled demonstrators who disrupted stage 11 “terrorists”, even as organisers and riders raised concerns about the team’s ongoing participation.
His comments and actions tend to negate any arguments from detractors, and even riders like Tom Pidcock calling for “no politics in sports”, instead reinforcing what critics have long argued, that Israel-Premier Tech is political by design, because its owner insists it must be.
One last post: if you weren’t entertained, at least you were irritated
And that’s it — my final shift on this wonderful, quirky road.cc live blog. Hopefully I’ve managed to keep you entertained, occasionally informed, and probably annoyed in equal measure. Thanks for reading, thanks for shouting at the screen, and thanks for sticking with me through the chaos. Your live blogger’s off now to start a PhD, swapping the usual pro cycling madness and naughty culture wars drama for the deathly, morose, and cruel grind of academia…
“Cyclists shouldn’t be allowed on main roads”, says motorbiker who almost hits one… while riding with blurred-out speedometer and doing wheelie in 40mph zone
Remember MotoMad? Of course you do. This week’s first live bog featured his furious rant about a “selfish, entitled tosser” cyclist who had the audacity to be riding on a road with a solid white line. So it’s only fitting that we end the week with him, considering that he’s back at it again, and somehow he’s managed to up the stupidity.
This time it’s a Facebook upload called “The Reason Cyclists Shouldn’t Be Allowed On Main Roads.” The reason, apparently, being… him.
The footage starts the way all sensible safety videos should: with a wheelie in a 40mph zone. He zips past cars and vans, speedometer blurred out, because nothing screams “responsible road user” like hiding the evidence.
Then, towards the end, he’s blipping the throttle like Valentino Rossi on an off day, hugging the kerb so tightly he nearly mows down a perfectly chilled cyclist just riding along. And somehow it’s the cyclist’s fault.
Normally, Facebook’s the place you go if you want to find comments about cyclists being the spawn of Satan. But MotoMad has pulled off the impossible: even Facebook thinks he’s an idiot.
“Pulling wheelies and speeding, but the cyclist is the problem,” said Daniel Ballard. Mike Walker chimed in with the obvious: “Yeah, when I go slower than the speed limi,t I always cover the speedo.”
Tamara just skewered him: “There is a reason there is a big 40 on the floor, but I’m sure you know that, hence why your Speedo is blurred out. You posted this video thinking you had a valid point.”
Others weren’t impressed with the cornering either. “Who taught you how to ride? S**** line into the bend, get some proper training and try again, or stick to riding in 30mph limits,” wrote Graham Fost.
Neil Tomlinson was less diplomatic: “Don’t ride like a kerb-hugging diva and you might have spotted him!”
And Christopher Stubbs boiled it all down: “That’s what happens when you ride like a fool.” I mean, no arguments there.
The advanced riding crowd got involved too. Chris Player lectured: “If you had used an advanced riding method, you would have positioned your bike out towards the central line, enabling you to see further around the bend, matching your speed to the sight lines. You’re not on a track using a racing line!” Harsh, but fair.
Kevin Parker piled on: “Try using a safer line around corners, tucking into the kerb on a left-hand bend gives you virtually no view of the road ahead, if you had stayed towards the white line, you would have seen the cyclist much earlier.” In other words: stop pretending you’re in MotoGP.
And Alexander Holt finished him off: “Travel at a speed that allows you to stop in the distance you can see to be clear. Could have been a tractor, pedestrian, horse, broken down car.” Which is just the entire Highway Code in one sentence.
So yeah, when even Facebook’s comment section thinks you’re the clown, you’ve really managed to tell on yourself. Again.
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Latest Comments
@Rendel Harris Without disputing the broader point that horizontal speeds matter in an impact, I'm not sure your cricket ball example really works. When a ball is bowled at 90mph it's not released horizontally - if it was it would end up a beamer and you'd be no balled. It's thrown down as well as along, so its vertical speed is significantly higher to start with than a ball simply dropped from the same height.
Physics would appear to disagree with you:
It's astonishing that without knowing anything about me beyond our interactions on here you know the exact circumstances of the incident described and, presumably psychically, my state of mind at the time as regards my willingness to take risks. I wasn't taking risks, I was taking a long sweeping bend on an NSL road that I had taken many times before, with all due caution, but unfortunately hit a diesel spill on the apex. So you admit that motorcycle helmets can reduce damage. Good, because it did. For a clearly intelligent man you don't half come out with some nonsense sometimes. Marquez was thrown forward from his bike at a speed that I would estimate as being somewhere between 80 to 100 mph and came down on his head, and you are claiming that the only force acting upon his head/helmet is the gravitational force of dropping from 1.5 m? The fact that his head was moving forward at 80mph plus at the time would have exerted no influence on the level of force experienced? That is patently absurd. Consider a cricket ball bowled at 90 mph. If you drop a cricket ball from 2.5 m it will experience a force sufficient to make it bounce about 10cm, and yet somehow, even though according to you horizontal speed is irrelevant to the force of impact, a ball bowled at 90 mph manages to bounce up to head height or higher. How does it do that if "the horizontal speed is irrelevant to the impact"? If I hold you upside down out of the window of a train going at 100 mph and drop you 1.5 m to the ground, will your head only experience the same level of impact force that it would if I had dropped you 1.5 m from the ground when the train was stationary? Seriously?
@chrisonabike Ah yes, the Monmouth Pl pump track. Apparently there is a bingo card of annoying bike infra features and someone was keen to get a full house. The good planners of Bristol were clearly envious and copied the design on Whiteladies Road this year
Also "if there is going to be cycle infra anywhere, it should be in the park". Having cycled in Bath a couple of times I can see where he's coming from (thinking about child and elderly relatives). I understand this as "this town's motor traffic is so out of control that even proper cycle infra (the whole raison d'être of which is 'motor traffic') doesn't make me think my relatives would be safe". That's pretty sad.
@slc when I last visited, it was more like humps - for the cyclists that is! Up and down at the "creative" bus stop "bypasses" (eg. on Monmouth Place). Edinburgh might be jealous with their "trap you in a "protected" bike lane when the bus pulls into it" efforts. Both are pretty hopeless.
Even Uk efforts to *improve* safety for all vulnerable road users neatly feed back to also dissuade vulnerable road users. Again improves those safety numbers... This happens because these are never allowed to "inconvenience" motoring (or - can't allocate too many thousands for that because this big road already costs millions). So rather than reduce and/or move the motor traffic, the "safer infra" becomes uninviting and inconvenient (see "wait 5 minutes at the lights", "dodgy underpass" and "concrete trenches in the sky" overpasses).
@belugabob seems the threads have got out of sync (as my browser shows 'em), but yes. A great way to improve the cycling KSI stats is to have no cyclists. Guaranteed zero cyclist KSIs! The UK hasn't got there (yet) of course, but along with reducing cyclist numbers another proven way is to reduce the interactions between cyclists and motorists. That has happened both in NL and also in most of the UK - but ... a bit differently here. The roads have become so uninviting to most that what cycling there is increasingly takes place in parks, along canals, or in people's garages. Good for those road safety figures though. And as long as we keep pointing at them (to the exclusion of anything else), we could keep "winning the argument"... all the way to having nobody travelling outside a motor vehicle - or outside at all. And think how many lives will be saved!
@wtjs "My only objection to the anti-helmet propaganda involves the notion that wearing a helmet makes the wearer more likely to suffer a collision and consequent head injury." I've never heard anyone claim this, perhaps you could post a few examples? What is demonstrably true, is that cyclists who wear helmets have more collisions, but no-one claims that they always involve the head. Given the levels of pro-helmet propaganda over the last thirty years, your claims of anti-helmet propaganda are risible. And I'm being very, very polite. "I resort to common sense to dispute this." No you don't. You merely assert something without evidence, and anyone resorting to the 'it's common sense' argument has already lost.
@Rendel Harris "I do try not to enter into discussion with you on this Bert, because I know you will never change your stance one iota, but I’ve crashed a motorcycle at around 35 mph and hit my head on the kerb hard enough to compress discs in my spine and tear neck ligaments but above the neck I came away with nothing worse than a mild concussion." That's BURT not Bert, and as for someone who will never change their stance, kettle, meet pot. Thanks for your anecdote, but as I'm sure you're aware, anecdotal evidence is evidence of absolutely nothing. That's the same as all those hundreds, if not thousands, of cyclists holding up a broken helmet claiming that it saved their life, when the death rate of cyclists does not fall with increased helmet wearing. "If you’re going to tell me that I could’ve done the same thing without a helmet on and walked away with the same injuries I’m going to have to say that’s nonsense." As you ought to know by now, wearing protective equipment influences behaviour. If you weren't wearing a helmet, would you have taken such risks? The answer, as I'm sure you know, is no. The evidence you provide does not prove that motorcycle helmets are effective in a direct impact at more than 16mph, it shows that helmets can reduce damage by being a sacrificial layer, not an impact absorber. You might be interested in the evidence about when helmets were made obligatory for motorcyclists in the UK: the deaths of motorcyclists fell immediately. But someone did a rather more rigorous analysis, and found that the helmets became magically effective between 10pm and 2am. Clearly they weren't magic, so something else was more likely to be the cause of reduced motorcyclist deaths, so what happened at the same time? The breathalyser. So motorcyclists and drivers weren't driving drunk, and the reduced deaths were nothing to do with helmets. The same effect has been observed in USA states, which were obliged to bring in motorcycle helmet laws or lose federal funding. The death rate didn't drop. Some of those states then withdrew the helmet law, amidst predictions of dead motorcyclists piled up on every corner, but the death rate in those states didn't rise. PPE for victims in a road scenario is largely irrelevant, as shown by the data, because those with more protection take more risks, and drivers take more risks around those perceived to be wearing protection. What really works is reducing risk, by segregation and making those posing the danger take more care. That is what has been shown to work, not more protection. Perhaps Rendel, we should all drive tanks? EDIT "Again, it’s clearly nonsense to say the helmet hasn’t worked when someone’s walked away from coming down headfirst on the tarmac from a height at high speed." I've just watched the video, and the vertical drop appears to be about 1.5m, so well within the capabilities of the helmet in a direct collision. The horizontal speed is irrelevant to the impact.
25 thoughts on ““Cyclists shouldn’t be allowed on main roads”, says motorbiker who almost hits one… while riding with blurred-out speedometer and doing wheelie in 40mph zone; Jeremy Vine says floating bus stops are “desperately needed” + more on the live blog”
I’m not saying MotoMad is in
I’m not saying MotoMad is in the subset of motorcyclists that make the stats show that they are more likely than all other road users to be KSIs (I think)…
But…
Could he be a future Darwin Award Nominee?
Got a definite born again
Got a definite born again biker vibe about it,as most motorbike riders will have got the stupid stuff (wheelies, fast close passing etc) out their system in their early life, and by the time they hit middle age with thousands of miles on roads in traffic, are all too aware of their mortality on a motorbike.
So yep carry on riding as he is, its a matter of when, not if, he becomes another statistic on the roads
Can’t help thinking that Mr
Can’t help thinking that Mr MotoMad probably got a naughty little thrill from being featured on this site earlier in the week and is posting more rubbish to get more attention from you/us, in which case he has well and truly achieved his aim. Difficult to find a balance I know but maybe this should be the last time he features.
Nah check his instagram feed
Nah check his instagram feed its full of rubbish like this, and wheelie competitions.
Adwitiya… come on…
Adwitiya… come on…
“… after a route 24 bus came off the road and hit pedestrians during the morning rush….”
“TfL says the risk is low
“TfL says the risk is low overall, though it has admitted many sites don’t meet best-practice standards and is retrofitting zebra crossings…”
So who will foot the bill for that failure?
What makes a road a ‘main
What makes a road a ‘main road’?
Also, to be fair on motomad, his name does suggest that he’s accepted that he’s at least a little bit insane.
Edit:
It seems that the term ‘main road’ is not an official classification.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-on-road-classification-and-the-primary-route-network/guidance-on-road-classification-and-the-primary-route-network#chapter3
Quote:
TMI
Last i checked, one of the
Last i checked, one of the arguments FOR floating bus stops was you move the stop INTO the road, because that way busses pulling in don’t start by steering towards pedestrians.
(Of course this isn’t really an argument for floating stops but for built out stops rather than laybys. Its just build outs give you more space to put cycle lanes behind them…)
But IIRC there are safety stats to show build outs are safest, but build out floating bus stops are still safer than layby bus stops…
Motomad here. Vroom! Vroom!
“Motomad here.” Vroom! Vroom!
“What you cyclists don’t understand is people like me have huge adrenaline thresholds and we need to do wheelies in traffic and corner at high speeds with our knees scraping on the road.” Vroom! Vroom!
“I also find riding a large motorbike fast while doing wheelies is great way of attracting sexual partners. A bit like FetLife. Whoops Tinder. I can not only afford huge expensive motorbikes but I also know how to handle them.” Vroom! Vroom
“Cyclists are slow and get in the way. I only want you banned from main roads for your own good.
Anyway. Catch yers all next week, if I’m still in one piece! Got tarmac to burn. I need the toilet and keep forgetting which zip to unfasten. Mummy was really cross when I did a wee wee in my leathers last week.
They said he was a wanker, before he collided with a petrol tanker…la,la,la ,la Leader of The Pack.” Vroom! Vroom!.
Floating bus stops – as the
Floating bus stops – as the Ranty Highwayman noted on “LTNs” it seems a thing can be quietly doing its work for decades and generally be accepted and indeed dull, until it gets a “label” in the media and becomes an “issue”, if not a “scandal” or an “onslaught”…
There is a partial truth in all the noise which is *any* change will cause “problems” – because people navigate public space on autopilot / under assumptions to a large extent.
And (on “but cyclists failed to yield!”) to a first and probably second approximation nobody takes instruction on new rules and infra (see eg. Highway Code changes). So there will be a period – possibly years – where “how this works” is being negotiated. Which will be unsettling and perhaps even dangerous for some. BUT pedestrian/ cyclist negotiation seems to “work” well enough in the place where this happens most frequently (eg. NL).
(Although we should keep listening – I have read the odd report of those with visual impairment feeling unsafe in the centre of Dutch cities. Of course we should always relate back to how safe people feel in motor-centric UK places *and what the collision data says*.)
Anyway – trigger warning – the following article contains many sentences, some of several words, considered opinions and measured language etc.
https://therantyhighwayman.blogspot.com/2025/02/floating-bus-stops-redux.html
Vingegaard for the win.
Vingegaard for the win.
Juan ‘my wayuso or the highwayuso’ to knock off before the final climb and come in 5 minutes down.
One day, that cyclists will
One day, that cyclists will be a 45ft trailer.
Darwin will out.
I’ve plenty of motorcycle
I’ve plenty of motorcycle track time, and I can see MotoMad’s skills were poor (crap cornering lines, lacking smoothness in machine control, little ‘acceleration sense’, and failing to match speed with vision).
The advanced riders were, unsurprisingly, correct about positioning for maximum view ahead and matching his speed to that view. When I’m cycling, I wish more motorcyclists had done advanced training; the 3-stage overtaking technique is a much more considerate way for motorcyclists to overtake cyclists.
Another_MAMIL wrote:
Yep, he’s a very poor rider. The advanced motorcyclists are correct. His road positioning is poor and his awareness isn’t even second rate. I’ve been riding on two wheels, with and without an engine, for many decades. I read soemwhere that it takes an average motorcyclist 24 years to become skilled, unless they receive proper training. I’d assume this guy hasn’t been riding more than 5 years from the basic mistakes he makes. I hate to say it as I don’t wish ill on anyone, but it’s only a matter of time until he takes a slide down the road. Hopefully, he won’t take anyone else with him.
The only reason we need
The only reason we need floating bus stops is because of dangerous idiot drivers like this:
https://youtu.be/TMv_RN-9OuI
Rear view is important in this incident as it shows the driver in no hurry beforehand to keep up, presumably distracted by phone…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7N82veI-lsk
Given that motorbike riders
Given that motorbike riders constitute a disproportionately high proportion of those that die and are injured on our roads, there is a strong argument for banning motorcycles, not bicycles. MotoMad is just strengthening that argument.
“Dangerous motorbikers who
“Dangerous motorbikers who perform wheelies and hide evidence of their speeding shouldn’t be allowed on main roads.”
“We have to send a message to
“We have to send a message to Israel”: Spain’s Foreign Minister calls for Israel-Premier Tech to be removed from Vuelta a España amid pro-Palestine protests. Spain, like other EU countries, has zero impact on the Middle East events but wants to make the headlines. Spain can’t talk to Israel’s PM, can’t stop the fighting, can’t help Gazans. But it can put media pressure on La Vuelta organizers and the UCI to have IPT thrown out of the race. Absolutely pathetic!
Now forced to make sure I
Now forced to make sure I have a trekking pole each time I go for a walk. It is the only way to ensure a suitable buffer from vehicles.
I swear the driver yesterday gave more room to a pothole than he did to me a vulnerable pedestrian.
The problem ones do not even think that braking is an option.
I wonder what the stupid biker makes of pedestrians in the road.
I wonder how much space you
I wonder how much space you would get using an ice axe with covers (protect the blades/points) as a walking aid…
(Yes, some ice axes are designed and sized to be used as walking sticks in addition to use as an axe…)
You can also get walking
You can also get walking poles with a foldable ice axe in the handle:
Came here to say we rom
Came here to say we rim brakers won’t go quietly, Warren.
TBF both rim and disc brakes
TBF both rim and disc brakes can go quietly with the right pad choice…
If you think the rim brakers
If you think the rim brakers are making a lot of noise, wait til you hear the disc brakes…
{ETA: as always, chris was there seconds before me!]