“Re-education”: Cyclist attacks car passenger who allegedly threw litter at him; Pressure group asks PM to remove cycle lane… that was his idea; Tao donates £5k to his former school; Paris bike lane busy despite winter weather + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Tao Geoghegan Hart donates £5,000 to his old school
Tao’s a good lad…The Giro winner has donated £5,000 to his old school in Stoke Newington — £1,000 for every year he went there. In a letter to the school he wrote: “Dear Stokey, 2020 has been a tough year for the young, and the old. I’m lucky enough to be able to say that this year has also given me a lot, so I want to give a little back. Thank you for all the great memories. I hope this donation can help future Stokey kids to also dream big.”
Total of £2,700 in fines for seven people who failed to pay fixed penalty notices for cycling in a pedestrianised area of Grimsby town centre
Seven people received a combined court bill of £2,700 after failing to pay fines for cycling in Grimsby town centre. Planet Radio reports that North East Lincolnshire Council said they will continue to issue notices to anybody putting people at risk by cycling in pedestrian areas. More than 30 people have been successfully prosecuted since November.
In this case, all seven defendants were issued a £100 fixed penalty notice for cycling in a pedestrianised area on Victoria Street in the town centre. Those who failed to pay were taken to court, prosecuted for the original offence and given a larger fine.
Councillor Ron Shepherd is the cabinet member for Safer and Stronger Communities at North East Lincolnshire Council. He said: “Shoppers, businesses and people working in the town centre often complain about nuisance cycling in the town centre. There’s no need to cycle in the pedestrian area – Bethlehem Street and Osborne Street are literally a few metres away and run parallel to it.”
Chris Froome's race programme for 2021 season takes shape
This is what California dreams are made of 🥰 #cycling pic.twitter.com/ysSXu81Gz4
— Chris Froome (@chrisfroome) January 7, 2021
Chris Froome will start his 2021 season at the Volta ao Algarve in February in his first race for new team Israel Start-Up Nation. Before Christmas it was believed Froome would debut at the Vuelta a San Juan but it appears his plans have changed. The 35-year-old has been training in California over the winter but will do an entirely European race block building towards the Tour de France in July. Froome’s sports director Rik Verbrugghe confirmed to Het Nieuwsblad that the four-time Tour champion will race the Tour of Catalonia and Critérium du Dauphiné in a relatively light calendar.
“Due to the lockdown in Monaco in March last year and the distance with Ineos, his rehabilitation was not perfect,” Verbrugghe explained. “In the meantime, he has become so much stronger and he can again develop as much strength in the right as in the left leg.The most important thing is that he returns to his old level with which he was able to win the Tour.
“He will start in Portugal at the end of February, in the Volta ao Algarve. Then the Tour of Catalonia follows and Chris heads to the Tour via the Critérium du Dauphiné. Those are the broad outlines that are now established.”
Pressure group ask Boris Johnson to remove cycle lane... that was his idea
OneChiswick writing to the man who conceived the idea for the cycle lane on Chiswick High Road ten years ago to ask him to intervene to stop it “to save a largely Tory voting community” is priceless. pic.twitter.com/VP9Sz9pyJK
— Paul Campbell (@PauloCampbell) January 7, 2021
If you’re going to ask for a cycle lane to be removed, probably best not to ask someone who ensured it was put there in the first place…OneChiswick wrote to the PM asking him to intervene to help “save a largely Tory voting community.” What the anti-LTN group seem to have forgotten is that Johnson came up with the idea for the cycle lane during his time as Mayor of London.
The letter asks the PM to intervene against “socialist councils” and describes Chiswick as a “Tory voting community”, despite being part of the Brentford and Isleworth constituency which elected Labour MP Ruth Cadbury by more than 11,000 votes in 2019.
The first part of the letter reads: “Dear Prime Minister. Many congratulations on achieving a deal with the European Union — after the year you’ve had I’m sure that was a well received Christmas present. The pandemic must be a huge drain on your physical and emotional resources and whilst I don’t agree with he (sic) course you’re taking, I support you in these almost impossible circumstances.
“As if you didn’t have anough to cope with, I’m here asking for your help on another front. In fact, I’m writing to ask for your urgent help to save a largely Tory voting community less than six miles away from #10. The various schemes — cycle lanes and Low Traffic Neighbourhoods have been implemented with no consultation by socialist councils across London.”
The route finally opened on December 21, more than a decade after the plans for the route were unveiled by Johnson’s administration. You can see a before and after video of the route here. The PM has supported many cycle schemes in the capital and was said to be ‘ballistic’ over the scrapping of the Kensington High Street cycle lane.
Liv Racing release colourful new kit
A drum roll please… 🥁
Here is Liv Racing’s outfit.✏️ by @LivCyclingWorld, 🪡✂️ by @CuoreofSwiss. #LivRacing pic.twitter.com/74FaD5Ip02
— Liv Racing (@LivRacingWT) January 7, 2021
Record number of new users for Santander Cycles during 2020
Santander Cycles 24-hour membership registrations rose by 157% in 2020 compared to 2019. The total number of hires also increased as more than 10 million journeys were made using the scheme. These new figures from Transport for London (TFL) show the bike hire service reached a wider audience during the pandemic as people tried to avoid busier modes of transport. In 2020, the previous maximum daily hire number of 50,000 was surpassed on 14 separate occasions.
Notably, the scheme’s free codes for NHS staff and key workers were used on almost 220,000 hires by 18,000 people. The offer remains available to key workers until February 21.
One hour to vote for your favourite cycling fan account
#LFRFanFavouriteAccount20 – THE FINAL
Vote your Fan Favourite Account of 2020 between@OutOfCycling vs @NairoInGreen #LFRContests
— La Flamme Rouge (@laflammerouge16) January 6, 2021
This one’s a bit niche, so most of you can probably skip to the next post…However, if like me you’re a pro cycling fan who spends more time than they should on Twitter then you’ll probably have come across the ‘Cycling out of context’ and ‘Nairo in Green’ accounts. But which one is best? Funny pro cycling moments or Nairo Quintana propaganda? One hour of voting left to decide your favourite fan account of 2020…
US legal analyst compares treatment of cyclist he represented in racial justice protest to last night's unrest in Washington
I represented a client pro bono who was arrested at a protest of racial injustice in NYC because he was biking alongside a march and taking videos. They zip-tied him, threw him in a van, and held him for hours.
Contrast that to law enforcement response yesterday at the Capitol.
— Elie Honig (@eliehonig) January 7, 2021
While the world still tries to make sense of the actual President of the United States whipping up an ragtag mob of extremists to break into the Capitol building, Elie Honig, a CNN legal analyst and former federal prosecutor, has compared the response against ‘protestors’ yesterday to the treatment of a client he represented last year.
Honig said he voluntarily represented a man who he claims was “biking alongside a march and taking videos” during a racial injustice protest: “They zip-tied him, threw him in a van, and held him for hours. Contrast that to law enforcement response yesterday at the Capitol”, Honig added.
Back in June, we reported on disturbing footage that emerged of a cyclist being beaten at a protest organised to show solidarity for the Black Lives Matter movement. Pierce McCaffrey said that he was riding slowly to separate protestors from a line of police officers, saying: “They started tackling me to the ground, punched me, put my hands behind my back, handcuffed me and threw me into the car.”
Bob Jackson Cycles, who were 'saved' due to new investment in November, now say they have ceased trading with immediate effect
In Otcober, the much-loved bike builder said it would close after 85 years… but just over a month later, the company said it planned “to be around for at least another 85 years” thanks to “additional investment” in the company.
What happened we don’t know, but what we do know is that the business is listed as “permanently closed” on Google, and the website carries the message: “We would like to thank all our customers past and present for the last 85 years.
“We are ceasing trading with immediate affect [sic]”
road.cc has asked for comment.
"Car Wars: the Cyclist Strikes Back": Mercedes passenger attacked after allegedly throwing litter at cyclist
A driver in Melbourne captured the moment a cyclist got revenge on a car passenger who allegedly threw litter at him, with numerous people praising the cyclist’s actions in the comments underneath the video and describing it as “karma” amongst other things.
Around 18 secs into the video, the driver behind the dashcam can be heard saying: “What the f*ck? The guy in the Mercedes threw something”. Shortly afterwards, the cyclist catches up with the driver and begins throwing punches, before we see the car speeding off.
One person commented under the video: “Good on the bike rider for giving re-education to the passenger on littering”, while another said: “I’d have done the same thing or worse. A knee in the door would have been justified.”
Some condemned the violence on both sides, with one saying: “I don’t care who did what to who. This behaviour is immature and does not resolve anything.”
Benny St Leger added: “This is why cyclists need to be registered. So we can all give him a cookie.”
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Latest Comments
@Chris RideFar I think because the over complexity of what bikes have become over the last decade it puts off many who may of been prepared to service their own bikes in the past but are now not so confident. Disc brakes are the obvious one for me. Its no longer a simple task of swapping a brake cable and putting in new pads, there is the bleeding, cutting of hoses, fitting barbs etc, its 3 new tools just for that 1 job if your needing to replace the parts. Even bleeding alone put off many, cos if you mess it up youre left without functioning brakes. a simple cable pull is easy to see and understand. hydraulics can be poor but you dont know until you come to use it and it can just fade and become spongy mid ride. Thats before we get into internal routing, headsets, the million and 1 different BB standards etc.
@eburtthebike I'd be genuinely surprised if this didn't fall under the remit of the HSE and they hadn't done an investigation. Imagine if a forklift hit a cyclist on a large industrial site. Having said that, although the HSE are unlikely to give specific advice, the 'staff are encouraged to wear helmets' doesn't sound like the outcome of a competent risk assessment.
@Smoggysteve My JoeBlow II is about 15 years old and still going strong. I'd say you were the exception but then Perce agreed with you. If my cycling son ever decides to permanently 'borrow' mine I would definitely get another Topeak.
@mdavidford It may be private land but, unless it was a staff-only area, it was a way open to the public (even if they have to pay to be there). Road legislation therefore still applies.
@antigee The same applies in the UK to motor vehicle laws, e.g. they apply in supermarket car parks and other areas of public land, so presumably if we did have mandatory helmet laws that extension would also apply.
@eburtthebike I haven't been able to find the survey, not sure it actually existed, but I did find the below from them on Facebook: as you can see, it's not a survey at all as in "What do you think of cycling in Spalding?" but a specific call for any anti-cycling evidence. Additionally Spalding BID seems a very dodgy organisation: it's funded by a significant levy on local businesses - all local businesses, whether they want to be a part of it or not - which business owners have been taken to court for refusal to pay. It was set up after a poll of local businesses, winning by a single vote, but a number of businesses say they weren't informed of the initiative or weren't given a chance to vote, with "antis" somehow not receiving the paperwork etc. They have received £800,000 from this levy thus far plus £224,000 in other grants, having operated since 2024, and they seem to have managed to run a few minor events ("Keep Spalding tidy week" et cetera), organise some hanging baskets around the town centre and run this anti-cyclists campaign.
@mdavidford living in Aus' with mandatory helmet laws and here they do apply on some privately owned land. Concept is called "road related areas" and road rules apply. A road related area is anywhere public can access with a vehicle such as car parks on private land, roads that access sporting facilities and campsites. Not the UK but an interesting approach to how far legislation can be stretched
I recently replaced the two gear cables and two brake cables on my wife's 20 year old bike in about 20 minutes. It takes me all afternoon to bleed the brakes on my bike. While the new bikes are nicer to ride, they are are total PITA to service. That's progress.
I have significant evidence that Spalding feels pretty wanky. It needs to be banned without delay.
@mark1a there must be something new, perhaps featuring in some pictures? I'm thinking of getting an absolute black 4 piston press. But I also wouldn't mind something for using on a single piston, for cleaning and working in lube when servicing that's far quicker, with a squeezey lever. Any suggestions? The frame repair and new front mudguard stays make access difficult with the wedge of the park pp1.2.
33 thoughts on ““Re-education”: Cyclist attacks car passenger who allegedly threw litter at him; Pressure group asks PM to remove cycle lane… that was his idea; Tao donates £5k to his former school; Paris bike lane busy despite winter weather + more on the live blog”
Quote:
Are there no bounds to their profligacy? Three hundred euro, sheesh!
The Cycling Mafia hasn’t
The Cycling Mafia hasn’t quite got this extortion business down yet.
Either edited, or they’ve
Either edited, or they’ve found €299,999,700 down the side of the chaise longue.
Dan’s m key is broken from
Dan’s m key is broken from typing “PM” and “MP” and “helmet row” so many times.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-55548820
ecargo passenger transport – the cycling mafia have infiltrated the bbc.
hirsute wrote:
One tiny swallow doesn’t make a summer.
Where are the regular programmes about the health, social, global benefits of cycling? Why isn’t cycling mentioned in every article about those problems?
I did think of you when I
I did think of you when I posted. I hope you noted that neither person was wearing a helmet 😮
hirsute wrote:
Of course I did, I just didn’t want to mention it.
But I’m sure we have been
But I’m sure we have been told here multiple times over the summer that the cycle lanes would be empty once the seasons changed.
AlsoSomniloquism wrote:
I had to wait through two cycles of the lights to get across the road on the cycle lane at Vauxhall last week as there were that many cyclists queueing – it was 17.30, 2 degrees, and pissing it down!
Now I know you must be lying
Now I know you must be lying because you have just told me that cyclists waited at lights.
AlsoSomniloquism wrote:
I saw a group of 4 cyclists
I saw a group of 4 cyclists at the end of my journey home last night, all on the road together. Only one had lights on, and the batteries clearly needed changing. Some of these people are doing our image no good at all. Also destined to end up as a statistic.
Jenova20 wrote:
I don’t have an image.
By which I mean, I don’t consider myself affected by some person I don’t know and never met being inconsiderate, any more than some random motorist feels all guilty because they saw another motorist forgetting to (for example) switch their daylight running lights onto proper driving at night lights.
With that comment you are
With that comment you are tarnishing the image of everyone whose name begins with the letter ‘J’.
Jenova20 wrote:
as most of us posting here are drivers too (citation required), is our image also damaged by the jerk in the Merc?
Jenova20 wrote:
I saw a group of four human beings the other day sitting in the park drinking, spitting, making lascivious comments to women passers-by and ignoring all antivirus recommendations. I didn’t feel they tarnished my image as a human being, or an Englishman, or a Londoner, I just thought they were twats.
On Tuesday night whilst
On Tuesday night whilst cycling home I passed three people cycling in the opposit direcrion without lights and thought silly sods but couldn’t see why it would affect me.
Gus T wrote:
I get that. But at the same time there is clearly a war on our roads, fuelled by anti-cyclist rhetoric. All i’m saying is that some people will tar us all with the same brush for stupidity like this. Car driver stupidity is already endemic (Pretty much goes without saying).
Jenova20 wrote:
Your attitude just seems to add weight to those who think that “cyclists” are a group and that they share group responsibility.
Also, aren’t you guilty of accusing all car drivers of being stupid? You may benefit from thinking about that.
I hate it when all of these
I hate it when all of these people see cyclists without lights, makes me wonder why I spent all that money on lights…
alansmurphy wrote:
I just don’t see it, myself
Thanks for the positivity in
Thanks for the positivity in content Dan, more please.
Agreed. It’s also nice to
Agreed. It’s also nice to look through the comments section and see the conspicuous absence of everyone’s least favourite troll. Road.cc as I remember it…
où est le coq?
où est le coq?
Although it would have been
Although it would have been nice to read his condemnation of the knee jerk demand to remove a cycle lane that has only been open a few weeks after 10 years of planning and consultation.
Quote:
Inrng was reporting the other day that they won’t take a decision whether the race will go ahead, and if so, whether non-local teams will be able to take part, until 9 days before the start, not leaving much time for travel plans, etc., which might have had some influence on the change of plans.
Having had things thrown at
Having had things thrown at me from cars, I’m totally with the cyclist on this one, and as Benny St Leger said
“This is why cyclists need to be registered. So we can all give him a cookie.”
And I’d buy him a beer to go with it.
Looking at the vid again, it seems that the driver pulled in just so the passenger could throw something at the cyclist. Confirmed by this report https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9120263/Mercedes-driver-pulls-throw-rubbish-cyclist-red-light-foils-plan.html?ico=amp-comments-addcomment#comments-9120263
One for hawkinspeter
One for hawkinspeter
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/08/squirrel-attacks-nyc-neighborhood-fear
brooksby wrote:
Fake news! It was just Antifa dressed up as squirrels inciting the violence
hawkinspeter wrote:
I suspect that the squirrel was only concerned about the integrity of the vote, and didn’t actually mean to incite or cause such violence…
brooksby wrote:
Some would say that the violence was just to provide cover for the foreign squirrels planting covert technology
I wouldn’t like to encourage
I wouldn’t like to encourage violence…That being said – If you’re going to throw stuff at an innocent member of the public for no reason, then they can do whatever they like to you in retaliation as far as i’m concerned.