When tweets go wrong: Halfords’ “fuel-efficient” question backfires; 2024 Tour de France to end in Nice?; “Not all car drivers are bad”; Cycling UK tells employers to encourage riding to work; Julio Jiménez dies in car crash + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
When tweets go wrong: Halfords’ “what’s more fuel-efficient” question backfires dramatically
As avid readers of the live blog (I’m sure they exist somewhere) will know, Cycling Twitter can be a pretty unforgiving place for the unsuspecting social media admin.
One slip of the finger or dodgy victim-blaming road safety campaign, and you’ll be hearing about in the comments and QTs for a few weeks at least.
But surely Halfords – a retailer involved in the cycling industry for over a century – would know better than to poke the online bear with an ill-judged tweet about cars… during Bike Week as well?
Apparently not…
What’s more fuel-efficient, air con on❄️, or window down💨? Drop an emoji below👇
— Halfords (@Halfords_uk) June 7, 2022
The replies – and there were a lot of them – were predictably and brilliantly to the point:
🚴🚴♂️🚴♀️
— Antonia Comrie (@antonia_comrie) June 7, 2022
Riding a bike. Thank you for reminding us where your brand’s real allegiance lies… it’s in the downstairs of the store!
— Family ByCycle (@FamilyByCycle) June 7, 2022
Not driving.
— Sir Chris was once a Racer 🇺🇦 (@AracerRacer) June 7, 2022
Cycling! Free air-con from the lovely breeze on a hot day, especially going down hill
— Kimberley (@Kimberleypfp) June 7, 2022
Walking, wheeling, or cycling. Get with, huh??? It’s 2022 not 1972 and btw it’s also bike week.
— Katy Rodda Still Wants 2m (@KatyCycles) June 7, 2022
— Emilysgonebiking (@EmilySimcock) June 7, 2022
Halfords be like… pic.twitter.com/AyAKrs3kC4
— (◍•ᴗ•◍)✧*。erin (@ErinMacT) June 7, 2022
But, of course, there’s always one (or two):
On modern cars using the AC will have negligible effects on fuel economy, as opposed to drastically increasing drag 👍 This comment section is why most drivers think cyclists are all pricks
— Ryan (@RDG_Photos) June 8, 2022
Ah, the joys and perils of social media…
Hi cycling twitter. 😂😂👏🏼👏🏼🚴🏼♀️🚵🏽♀️🚲 pic.twitter.com/97JiYJQTaX
— Bex (@wevegotwheels) June 7, 2022
Pro cycling graffiti
kann mich mal jemand kneifen? pic.twitter.com/E1wokf0Muq
— J:annis (@__mc1r) June 8, 2022
I wonder if RCS will be taking any notes for next year’s Giro train…
Spanish great Julio Jiménez dies in car crash
Julio Jimenez est décédé ce matin dans un accident de voiture. Il avait 87 ans,
Vainqueur de la mythique étape du Puy de Dôme en 1964, Julio fut l’un des plus grands grimpeurs que nous ait donné l’Espagne. pic.twitter.com/gDf12t5l5f
— David Guénel (@davidguenel) June 8, 2022
Julio Jiménez, one of the great climbers of the 1960s, died this morning after the vehicle he was in crashed into a wall. He was 87.
Known as the ‘The Watchmaker of Avila’, Jiménez – who along with Federico Bahamontes defined an era of world-class Spanish climbers – won the mountains classification at the Tour de France and Vuelta a España three times each, as well as five Tour stages.
One of his stage wins in France, on the Puy de Dôme in 1964, was the scene of Jacques Anquetil and Raymond Poulidor’s legendary shoulder-to-shoulder battle further down the climb’s savage slopes.
Jiménez, who rode for the likes of Bic and KAS during his decade-long career, was also a consistent winner at the Giro d’Italia and his home Vuelta, and in 1967 he finished second overall at the Tour de France behind Frenchman Roger Pingeon.
During that year’s ill-fated Tour, Jiménez led a small group containing Poulidor and Britain’s Tom Simpson onto the wooded lower slopes of Mont Ventoux, where Simpson would tragically collapse and die near the mountain’s barren summit.
🖤 Julio Jiménez, el 𝐫𝐞𝐲 de la montaña
🎥 @ArchivoRTVE / @ciclismortve pic.twitter.com/K06t6ze71r
— La Vuelta (@lavuelta) June 8, 2022
Carlos Garcia, the President of the Provincial Council of Avila, said in a statement: “His record speaks for itself to classify him as one of the greats of cycling in a few years in which cycling was forged as a heroic and exciting sport.
“The memory of Julio Jimenez, training and competing in the mountain passes of the province of Avila will be perpetual and will be an example for current and future generations of cyclists that this land has always given.”
Cycling UK says employers must do more to encourage active travel to work
Cycling UK is marking Bike Week by telling employers that they must do more to encourage active travel.
According to research published this week by YouGov on behalf of the cycling charity, 43 percent of young people (that’s anyone aged between 18 and 24, unfortunately for me) are considering changing their method of travel due to expected increases in transport costs.
And Cycling UK thinks that removing barriers which currently prevent people cycling to work will benefit both employers and their staff.
Of those 18 to 24 year olds surveyed who don’t currently ride to work, 37 percent said that they would be more likely to do so if their workplace offered improved facilities, such as bike storage and lockers.
36 percent said they’d be more likely to cycle to work if their employer offered financial help to purchase a bike, while 29 percent would be persuaded by a cycle to work scheme.
“People should be considering cycling as a cost-effective way to commute shorter journeys,” says Cycling UK’s chief executive Sarah Mitchell.
“The upfront investment, even with e-cycles, soon pays for itself when you consider how much you are saving at the petrol pump.
“However, there are still lingering perceived barriers to cycling, and employers can play a key role in making it a realistic and practical option for their staff.
“It’s a win-win solution; companies can attract the best young talent while enjoying better staff retention and productivity. At the same time, it eases the financial burden on workers, who no longer need to pay to go to the gym yet will feel happier and healthier.”
Benelux Tour cancelled for 2022 due to overcrowded calendar
📣 Benelux Tour will be moved to 2023
The race was originally scheduled between 29/08 and 04/09 of this year.
👉 Read more (NL): https://t.co/pANw6SBFhq
👉 Read more (FR): https://t.co/xv4AxKxror pic.twitter.com/bh83wxxBcg— Benelux Tour (@BeneluxTour) June 7, 2022
The Benelux Tour has been cancelled for 2022, with race organisers blaming the “overcrowded cycling calendar” for the race’s hopefully temporary demise.
Founded in 2005 and – like football’s League Cup – formerly named after its lead sponsors Eneco an BinckBank, the once-derided stage race has developed into an entertaining summer blast over spring classics terrain, and boasts an impressive winners’ list which includes Niki Terpstra, Tom Dumoulin, Mathieu van der Poel and Sonny Colbrelli.
However, with this year’s race set to clash with Vuelta a España, the tour’s organisers have cited logistical and safety difficulties, such as clashes with other races’ finishing times and a lack of police assistance on certain stages, as part of the decision to cancel the 2022 event.
Officials say they have already started working to find an appropriate date for 2023.
A statement from the Benelux Tour reads: “For the organisation, relocating the event is the only solution to avoid the problems caused by the overcrowded cycling calendar, especially in the logistics and media field.
“The pressure on that international cycling calendar causes several conflicts for which, despite frantic efforts, there is no other solution than this postponement.
“The times of broadcast of the other races at the same time would have forced the organization to plan arrival times which would become uninteresting for the supporters and guests on-site, as well as for the television viewers. It would also result in impossible departure times and travel for the teams.”
But it’s not all bad news (at least for British cycling fans, anyway) – as Dan Martin pointed out today, the Tour of Britain’s status as the ideal world champs preparation race has been strengthened yet again…
With the cancelation of @BeneluxTour I am thinking the @TourofBritain start list just got a whole lot stronger, ideal preparation race for the Worlds a few weeks later.
— Dan Martin (@DanMartin86) June 8, 2022
Wiebes doubles up at Women’s Tour
Lorena Wiebes (Team DSM) wins stage three of the Women’s Tour in Gloucester 🏆#WomensTour #UCIWWT pic.twitter.com/GJBDJSczBT
— The Women’s Tour (@thewomenstour) June 8, 2022
Another day, another win for Lorena Wiebes.
Today’s typically dominant sprint victory – Wiebes’ ninth of an astonishing season – was arguably even more impressive than her win on stage two, however, coming as it did after a tough, grippy day in the rain to Gloucester.
Despite Kasia Niewiadoma’s probing moves on the climb to Speech House, which managed to drag a small group clear containing Elisa Longo Borghini, Wiebes was able to regain contact on the flat run-in to the line.
In the final two kilometres her DSM teammate, British champion Pfeiffer Georgi, delivered a superb show of strength on the front of the peloton, delivering the Dutch rider perfectly into place to unleash her devastating sprint.
And when Wiebes goes, there’s not much anyone else can do these days…
“Not all car drivers are bad”: Motorists come to aid of road.cc reader after crash
Here at road.cc we often get stick – some warranted, some not – from people who say that we’re too one-sided and all about bashing drivers.
That’s not our intention. Many of our stories, such as those featured in the Near Miss of the Day series, are simply written to highlight bad driving practices, especially those which endanger other road users.
Not all motorists are terrible of course (some are even great), as this story sent to us by road.cc reader Nigel proves.
Nigel told us that he had been riding home from work in Billingham when he suffered a nasty crash which broke his femur.
It was during this traumatic incident that he “discovered not all car drivers are bad” and that most people – even when behind the wheel of a car – are decent human beings after all.
Nigel said: “The lady behind me in her car stopped to check I was okay, then rang an ambulance and waited with me for the two hours it took the ambulance to arrive.
“Two other drivers helped me get to the pavement. They also took my bike home and got my wife from work.
“Another driver stopped and gave me an emergency blanket. Also, a lovely lady from a house nearby brought a seat out for my wife and gave everyone hot drinks. One of her neighbours rang his girlfriend as she is a paramedic.
“I honestly can’t fault the drivers and passers-by who stopped to help.”
More of this please… though maybe not the leg-break aspect of it all, that sounds rough. Get well soon Nigel!
What Twitter was made for...
What twitter was made for. 👏 pic.twitter.com/KZLxhq0yoz
— Daniel Lloyd (@daniellloyd1) June 7, 2022
Top Ganna pips Van Aert to Dauphiné time trial
“It’s red for Van Aert!” 😲🟥@WoutvanAert falls agonisingly short in today’s Stage 4 time trial – but he still holds a healthy lead at the top of the GC standings 📈#Dauphiné | @JumboVismaRoad pic.twitter.com/zGpuP0Q8Sc
— Eurosport (@eurosport) June 8, 2022
The finish of today’s 31.9 kilometre time trial at the Critérium du Dauphiné was an eerily familiar one for Wout van Aert.
With David Gaudu just ahead of him, Jumbo-Visma’s Belgian star was once again relegated to second place right at the death.
This time, however, it wasn’t Gaudu who was responsible for Van Aert’s defeat (in fact, the French climber was almost caught by his two-minute man at the line), but world TT champion Filippo Ganna, who pipped the Belgian by two seconds.
TOP GANNA ✈️🌈⏱️💨👏 #Dauphine pic.twitter.com/yNG4cQXXcc
— pro cycling trumps (@procycletrumps) June 8, 2022
That the monstrous Ganna – contractually obliged to win in his first TT outing since the Top Gun sequel was released – only managed to win by such a narrow margin after spending the last three stages envisioning his descent from the start ramp, underlines the outrageous all-round ability of Van Aert, who is yet to place outside the top six during this year’s Dauphiné (and that sixth, if we’re honest, was a bit of a blip).
Of his 18 race days so far this year, Van Aert has only finished off the podium five times. Five times.
Unsurprisingly then, he extends his lead in yellow, followed on GC by Mattia Cattaneo, teammates Primož Roglič and Jonas Vingegaard, and Ineos rider Ethan Hayter, who’s underlining his reputation as something of a mini-Van Aert after an impressive third place today, 17 seconds down on teammate Ganna.
With the next two stages suiting both riders, I suspect we’ll be seeing more of this emerging duel between the sorcerer and his apprentice…
Councillor brands segregated cycle lane “biggest waste of money I’ve seen”
🚲| Calling all cyclists in #Ashfield!
Cyclists in Sutton-in-Ashfield can now make use of the new cycle lane on High Pavement, which has been funded from the Government’s Active Travel Fund. The route is segregated from traffic to give cyclists a safe route into the town. 👇 pic.twitter.com/qaez5ArjQ6
— Nottinghamshire County Council (@NottsCC) May 27, 2022
Ah local councillors, they’re the gift that keeps on giving when it comes to cycling infrastructure related fury.
This time, an independent politician in Sutton-in-Ashfield has colourfully described a new segregated cycle lane as “the biggest waste of money I’ve seen in all my time”.
Presumably he remembers Fernando Torres’ spell at Chelsea, so I highly doubt that’s true…
“I was very clear with the County Council that they should fix the broken roads and pavements in Leamington and Sutton first,” Ashfield District Council leader Jason Zadrozny told Nottinghamshire Live. “Residents are going nuts. I don’t blame them.”
“This is has actually made it worse for cyclists. Nobody asked for this work to be done.
“Ask any cyclist the biggest obstacle they have face – they’ll tell you it’s the potholes.
“It doesn’t matter whether this has been paid for by your council tax or general taxation. It’s an insult to residents.”
Hold on, back it up a minute. Is Jason right? Are potholes the biggest barrier to cycling safely on the roads? I can’t think of anything else off the top of my head, so maybe he’s right…
Councillor Neil Clarke, cabinet member for transport and environment, has defended the new two-way segregated bike lane, which was supported by the Active Travel Fund.
“High Pavement is a key cycle route in Sutton in Ashfield as it connects existing routes together to link them to the town centre,” Clarke said.
“The road carried around 10,500 vehicles a day and can be intimidating for cyclists.
“We carried out surveys in 2021 and found that many cyclists were cycling on the pavement, which is illegal, and so the new cycle lane on High Pavement gives cyclists a safe route into and out of Sutton-in-Ashfield.
“This new route has been created thanks to funding from the Government. This funding cannot be used for roads maintenance and is ringfenced for schemes like the one on High Pavement.”
2024 Tour de France to end in Nice? Reports suggest race’s traditional Paris finale will be moved to avoid clashing with Olympics
There may be exciting news on the way for those cycling fans who spend the third week of every July grumbling about the Tour de France’s processional final stage into Paris.
“Why don’t they have a proper race? None of this champagne toasting nonsense…”
Well grumble no more, as according to La Gazzetta dello Sport, the Tour’s 2024 edition will end around 1,000km south of Paris, in Nice.
The Gazzetta says that this ground-breaking final stage – which, if true, would mark the first time ever that the Grande Boucle has not concluded in France’s capital city – will take place on the Côte d’Azur to avoid clashing with the build-up to the Olympic Games in Paris, which begin on 26 July, just five days after the Tour is set to end.
If Nice does make history by hosting the Tour’s finale in two years’ time, it will go a long way to making up for the city’s subdued 2020 Grand Départ, shunted to late August and held under tight Covid restrictions.
The sports paper also claims that the 2024 Tour will mark another historic first – a Grand Départ in Italy, paying homage to the country’s greatest cycling names, Gino Bartali, Fausto Coppi, Marco Pantani and Ottavio Bottecchia, the first Italian winner of the Tour in 1924.
The race will reportedly kick off in Florence before three full stages in Italy (including a potentially tricky trek through the Apennines), finally crossing over the border on the fourth day after starting in Pinerolo, the scene of Coppi’s era-defining escape at the 1949 Giro.
All eyes this morning, however, seem to be on the tantalising prospect of a thrilling finale over the Col d’Èze, more akin to what we’re used to seeing in early March at Paris-Nice than during the annual parade up and down the Champs-Élysées…
The prospect of a finish away from Paris is almost more exciting than an Italian start. See also Verona for the Giro, Santiago de Compostela for the Vuelta. https://t.co/kc4LE2HUWm
— Daniel Friebe (@friebos) June 8, 2022
Yes, the Paris final stage is one long bore-fest.
— noblecyclist (@noblecyclist) June 8, 2022
Maybe this will finally be the catalyst to get rid of the ‘tradition’ of not racing on the final day of racing. https://t.co/rmOCpYsvmK
— Cillian Kelly (@irishpeloton) June 8, 2022
Tour de France 2024 finishing near Nice .. Col d’Eze TT anyone?
Can we get a petition.. 🙂@ChrisSidwells @iancleverly @EdwardPickering— David Walters (@Academy_ds) June 8, 2022
What do you think?
Could the reported 2024 finale in Nice spell the end of Paris’ 110 year hegemony at the Tour?
Could we also see the end of the now-traditional end-of-term procession on the Tour’s final stage? (I know what Bernard Hinault would say…)
Should ASO follow the lead of the Giro and Vuelta and spread the race-ending love around France?
Or is the yearly bunch gallop on the Champs-Élysées (and its lack of GC intrigue) an untouchable tradition?
Let us know!
Tour de France poll result – Vive la Paris!
Ah, you bunch of traditionalists…
With the 2024 Tour de France rumoured to be finishing in Nice to avoid clashing with the Olympics, over half of those who voted in our poll this morning (quite surprisingly) believe that the final celebratory stage into Paris should remain untouched.
Perhaps you all agree with cycling writer Ed Pickering, that a bike race – and particularly one as important and historic as the Tour – is really only ten to twenty percent about the actual racing (and isn’t that why we love it so much?).
Bah. Turning the final day of the bike race into just a bike race runs the risk of missing out one of the best things about bike racing, which is that it’s not just about bike racing.
If you see what I mean.
(Deleted and reposted after editing for grammar 😳) https://t.co/C6OBqkLOCN
— Edward Pickering (@EdwardPickering) June 8, 2022
In the comments, however, our readers were rather divided about the future of the Tour’s final stage (what’s new?):
With Paris transforming itself from car park to cycling city, I’d say the final stage on the Champs-Élysées is more relevant than ever before!
I’m in two minds about the TdF finish. I saw it on the big screen at Canary Wharf a few years ago and it looked fabulous: dusk, the City of Light, the aerial display… glorious. But why not mix it up a bit?
Keep the Tour finish in Paris but change the parcours, half a dozen laps up the steep cobbled climbs in Montmartre then down to the Bois de Vincennes and back along the cobbled quais by the river, left up to the Pantheon, back down across the front of Notre Dame and then left to finish on the Champs. Logistical nightmare but it would make for some damned good racing.
mdavidford, on the other hand, went all 1903 on us and argued that the race should finish “where it started – make it a proper tour and get rid of all these transfers”.
Alright, Henri Desgrange, next you’ll be calling for 400-kilometre stages, banning derailleurs, and making the riders fix their own punctures…
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Latest Comments
It’s pathetically like Trump (whom Nigel, as I recall, thinks is the greatest POTUS in history), isn’t it? Before one has even finished the headline one knows not only that he’s going to be an idiot about it but exactly what he’s going to say.
@GMBasix sorry I'm on my mobile device and didn't bother to look at the third paragraph before hitting "Post". Turns out autocorrect mangled it, sorry about that.
@jackcycles Why would the Met investigate the allegations against Arday? From what I can tell Arday had a post at Cambridge University and the allegations are about a paper published by Belfast University. Not sure where the (London) Met Police would come in to it? In fact, I can't see any sign of police involvement at the moment, current reporting is about academic investigations.
@jackcycles Firstly, he is on the road. Secondly, I don't know what you're trying to say because all the words are there, but they come out in some sort of spaghetti.
@jackcycles So predictable. How sad.
"Why don't you stick to the road mate?" Was the pedestrian's perfectly reasonable question. After all, Mikey is relying on the good will of more vulnerable road users to make space for him on a busy walkway, creating inconvenience for themselves and wasting Mikey's time too. Well, I can answer that. Firstly, Mikey produces provocative YouTube content. If he was quietly cycling on the road, well that's not very interesting content is it? But having silly altercations on a shared footpath by constantly activating an irritating bell and engaging in snarky conversations gets a few clicks and keeps the revenue rolling in. Secondly, Mikey has a very sketchy road safety record himself. The last time I saw him riding on the road I'm YouTube, he ride straight through a red light. I don't know of the Met police bothered to investigate him for it, doubtful given the amount of Twitter policing they have to do - also don't forget they spent 4 months investigating someone for revealing Jason Ardey's alleged plagiarism..... So perhaps it's just as well he sticks to the pavement!
@sizbut Yeah, I'm not sure why she's dragging that one up and blaming Kasia. Her own team got most of the criticism for poor communication that she went down, and not sending anyone to help, so much so that she left the team at the end of the season.
Nigel "courteous" comments coming in 3...2...1... CM's completely in the right and the pedestrian's a dick. However, as I commented on the Facebook video, it would have been nice to see CM thanking the people earlier who stepped aside without complaint. Every pedestrian and driver who gets a thank you or an after you from a cyclist when appropriate is just that little bit more likely to treat the next cyclist who comes along decently.
l o v e Mikey — keep at it. Hot London day, maybe. A big hello works fine in a cool rainy Edinburgh.
“When I crashed two years ago, she pulled full gas” - Blissfully ignoring the fact that with just 6k to go everyone pulled full gas, including her own team mate who won the stage.
59 thoughts on “When tweets go wrong: Halfords’ “fuel-efficient” question backfires; 2024 Tour de France to end in Nice?; “Not all car drivers are bad”; Cycling UK tells employers to encourage riding to work; Julio Jiménez dies in car crash + more on the live blog”
Quote:
Yes, that’s also an option. But most people don’t have the space to keep a horse, so a bike is a more practical answer…
Plus if you think vehicle
Plus if you think vehicle emissions are bad you should see Horses. Was literally a massive issue in Victorian times.
A boon for anyone growing veg
A boon for anyone growing veg however ?
This was actually “city
This was actually “city transport / climate emergency 1.0”. A global conference in New York broke up early because the problem was considered insoluble. You need horses to cart in all the horse feed, and also to cart away all the poo. Dead horses were an issue since people would run them until they broke.
An unexpected technical saviour appeared and made the problem irrelevant. However we are now dealing with the spider we swallowed to catch that fly.
Entrenched in that comment is
Entrenched in that tweet is the preconception (misconception?) that a bicycle cannot be a horse for every course, travel everywhere and do all the things that are possible in a car.
And I’m sure that if you
And I’m sure that if you pointed out that the answer isn’t always a car for the particular course, you’d either get abuse or incomprehension.
mdavidford wrote:
Yes, that’s also an option. But most people don’t have the space to keep a horse, so a bike is a more practical answer…
Instead of privately owned horses, we should have public owned free roaming horses. It’d be like the dream of autonomous vehicles, but a lot more chaotic.
the problem is the horses are
the problem is the horses are too autonomous…and calling them on an app is a problem….ziphorse or ubernag….
Only one horsepower too.
Only one horsepower too.
Won’t it be called shugalump?
Won’t it be called shugalump?
I thought it would be called
I thought it would be called Hey!
Hackneigh.
Hackneigh.
hawkinspeter wrote:
e-horses that can be hired by anyone, but first you have to download a bridle. At the end of the ride, make sure to tether your e-horse in an approved e-hitching location. Oh, and bring your own oats.
Bmblbzzz wrote:
Just remember never look an e-horse in the mouth.
Grahamd wrote:
Isn’t an e-horse a donkey?
I’m just concerned about the
I’m just concerned about the policing of e-horse use. I’m worried it might lead to some kind of robo-cop.
Good point – will cities be
Good point – will cities be providing e-cargohorses for rental? Few people have the space to keep one at home.
Bmblbzzz wrote:
But many service providers do not permit tethering, especially whilst roaming.
hawkinspeter wrote:
Also known as the Republic of Ireland. 😉
I shall never forget the first weekend after I moved there to an apartment a mile outside of Dublin city center. Was woken up on the Sunday morning by the sounds of hundreds of hooves clip clopping past my window.
After a couple of hours of WTF-ery with my English cultural assumptions in full flow I found out that there was a regular horse market just down the road.
Smithfield Square for anyone who knows Dublin.
Think it’s open window up to
Think it’s open window up to 30, aircon any faster than that. Bike is much less however, unless you’ve eaten cabbage, sprouts and baked beans the night before
Ah that used to be the
Ah that used to be the general consensus, but the completely non controversial point Halfords were making in an era where people might be thinking of fuel efficiency in their cars is that most AC now has negligible difference to fuel consumption vs open windows and it’s better to leave AC just on all the time for maintenance/servicing concerns.
But there you go not every darn tweet needs a must respond with some messianic devotion to cycling angle to it, gawd knows why Musk wants to buy the thing, unless it’s to rid us of it.
Quote:
He didn’t, but now has managed to get loads of capital out of the overpriced Tesla stock to do with what he wants.
Awavey wrote:
To be fair, many of the posters did point out the massive discrepancy between the number of tweets Halfords makes about cars vs how many they make about bike (when they are supposedly committed to both) and the fact that this one was made during Bike Week.
Be interesting to know how
Be interesting to know how many of said Twitter posters would even set foot in a Halfords store to buy anything cycling related…but maybe we can hold onto that thought for another week till they release their prelim results for the last financial year.
Their reflective and
Their reflective and fluorescent slap bands are a pound each.
Why didn’t Halfords just find
Why didn’t Halfords just find out the answer from a more conventional source? You’d like to think they know people/experts. Then they could advise the great unwashed that actually use Twitter.
……oh, that’s not the way Twitter works?
We’ve had enough of experts?
We’ve had enough of experts?
(Unfortunately one of the few honest observations Gove has ever made).
I suspect Halfords next move
I suspect Halfords next move will be to recommend you come in for an AirCon re-gas to ensure maximum efficiency.
Replacing all that ozone damaging gas that has leaked out.
I’m in two minds about the
I’m in two minds about the TdF finish. I saw it on the big screen at Canary Wharf a few years ago and it looked fabulous: dusk, the City of Light, the aerial display … glorious. But why not mix it up a bit?
A road.cc poll should settle this. How about it?
Where should the Tour finish?
a Paris
b Nice
c Le fin de ma rue
captain_slog wrote:
d) Where it started – make it a proper tour and get rid of all these transfers.
d) and get rid of the team
d) and get rid of the team cars too. Make them fix their own punctures. With patches (glue-on ones, obviously).
“Should the Tour de France
“Should the Tour de France move its final stage from Paris?”
With Paris transforming itself from car park to cycling city, I’d say the final stage on the champs elysees is more relevant than ever before!
Headlines demonstrating
Headlines demonstrating agency of motor cars:
The Sun:
MOWED DOWN – Berlin crash: One dead & at least 12 people injured after car ‘mounts pavement and zig-zags into shoppers for 200m’
Metro:
One dead and dozens injured after car crashes through people on Berlin pavement
and The Grauniad:
One person killed after car driven into crowd in Berlin
The Grauniad at least gave
The Grauniad at least gave agency to something other than the car.
Sorry – that had been my
Sorry – that had been my point! <slaps wrist>
brooksby wrote:
BBC: Berlin: One dead and others hurt as car drives into pedestrians
Independent: Berlin crash – latest: One dead, 30 injured as car hits crowd on Kurfuerstendamm
Telegraph: Berlin car crash: One dead and at least eight injured after vehicle drives into crowd
It also bugs me that they’re debating whether it “was intentional or an accident” when all they have to debate is whether it was intentional.
Meanwhile, the Scotsman gets it right: Berlin car crash: At least one dead and eight injured after vehicle driven into crowd in Charlottenburg
Their article, however has this: At least one person was killed and eight others injured after a vehicle drove into pedestrians in Berlin, rescue services said.
I’m prepared to give them
I’m prepared to give them leeway on this one, as they are stuck betwixt rock & hard place and are deliberately not describing the driver here, even though the police have released some details, until the full nature of the incident is confirmed by the authorities, which are just the modern times we live in now.
Awavey wrote:
They don’t have to reference the driver, just state that the “vehicle was driven”. They are actually following the much older guidelines that the motoring industry persuaded journalists to use (approx 1930s IIRC) which was explicitly to reduce the sense of agency in motor crashes (or motor accidents as they preferred).
As I say I’m prepared to give
As I say I’m prepared to give them leeway on this particular case, as its deliberate obfuscation to try not to give any sense of agency to the action, until the appropriate investigations have concluded.
Whoever News 12 Westchester
Whoever News 12 Westchester are, they got the message.
https://westchester.news12.com/1-dead-over-a-dozen-injured-after-driver-hits-pedestrians-in-berlin
A man drove a car into pedestrians in a popular Berlin shopping district on Wednesday, killing at at least one person and injuring at least eight others, rescue services said.
The man drove into people on a street corner at around 10:30 a.m. before getting the car back on the road and then crashing into a shop window around a block further on, police spokesman Thilo Cablitz said.
Channel 4 news made it very
Channel 4 news made it very much driver oriented, also teacher killed, her students injured.
ktache wrote:
Their online headline still isn’t quite right…
Berlin: One dead and others hurt as car drives into crowd
although the article is better
https://www.channel4.com/news/berlin-one-dead-and-others-hurt-as-car-drives-into-crowd
Keep the Tour finish in Paris
Keep the Tour finish in Paris but change the parcours, half a dozen laps up the steep cobbled climbs in Montmartre then down to the Bois de Vincennes and back along the cobbled quais by the river, left up to the Pantheon, back down across the front of Notre Dame and then left to finish on the Champs. Logistical nightmare but it would make for some damned good racing.
Sounds Brilliant, a real
Sounds Brilliant, a real spectacle – But the last day is always a procession with no early racing.
Still like the idea though
I hope the “encountering a
I hope the “encountering a nice motorist” was a different Nigel, and wasn’t Our Nige… Not that I’d wish a broken femur even on Our Nige.
Good to hear They’re not all bad 😉
Nah, our Nige was an Essex
Nah, our Nige was an Essex boy as I recall whilst Billingham’s up in County Durham.
Although he was originally
Although he was originally from oop north way, thought it was more Lancashire though.
Although it sound “nice” the
Although it sound “nice” the section where Nigel mentions ““Two other drivers helped me get to the pavement.” Erm, nope, stay where you are mate until medical staff can determine no spinal or neck injuries. Sounds like “lets get you out the road so traffic can flow again” even if Nigel was thinking he was ok and agreed to it.
When I broke my hip an off
When I broke my hip an off duty fireman wanted to move me to the side of the road. I pointed out that I had a broken leg and I’d rather stay put, and traffic (1 car every 5 minutes) could get round me so if rather stay put.
The fireman decided that what I think was a coherent and logical position proved I must have concussion for disagreeing with him.
It was pretty painful being lifted onto the stretcher so I’m glad I stuck to my guns, especially as not aggravating the fracture saved me an op.
It may be deduced from my
It may be deduced from my user name that I am disappointed by the loss of the 2022 finale of the Benelux Tour in Geraardsbergen
Nigel proven’s story
Nigel proves’s story demonstrates that most drivers are human beings, and as long as you’re lying on the floor in agony, they’ll treat cyclists like one too. Mystified as to why they didn’t capitalise his last name though.
Seriously, maybe one way of getting drivers to treat us like that all the time is to have an advertising campaign focussing on injured cyclists with bones poking through the lycra?
eburtthebike wrote:
Have a like for that.
Thanks. I like testing the
Thanks. I like testing the theory that some people will respond to the most obtuse comments.
eburtthebike wrote:
That’s Sanger’s Law: “the best way to get the right answer on the internet is not to ask a question; it’s to post the wrong answer.”
The biggest obstacle for a
The biggest obstacle for cyclists are motor vehicles, the second biggest are the potholes caused by motor vehicles. Fortunately a segregated cycle lane fixes both permanently. Have fun causing your own problems motorists!
Actually, Bristol City
Actually, Bristol City Council turned their covid/temporary lanes into permanent ones with bolted-down wands, but still didn’t bother repairing the terribler road surfaces over which they run.
Halfords are a “motoring” and
Halfords are a “motoring” and cycling retailer, I hardly think the sanctimonious tweets are necessary or justified, but they’re unsurprising seeing those responding seem to have a habit of that kind of thing.
In the real world not everyone can afford to spend a lot on a bike and Halfords have always done well at catering for many budgets. My own first bike as a kid was a Halfords cheapo Apollo, and commuting today I reckon a good 25-30% of bikes I see locked up at the station are Halfords Apollo/Carrera. They’re Carrera ebikes too while not all singing and dancing seem to get good reviews and are decent value. I can’t help feel there’s a subset of people identify as cyclists that are out of touch with reality.
I’m not clear what your point
I’m not clear what your point “but Halfords have cheap bikes” has got to do with the article or comments. That was Halfords making some point about car air con not being a biggie and then people having fun pointing out that Halfords also sell bikes which come with air con built in?
There’s no doubt a subset of people who identify as cyclists are out of touch with someone’s reality. The fact that they cycle in the UK when most other people don’t shows that.
Or is this “I think you’re all middle-class tossers”? “Us normal people can barely afford a bike after paying for the two cars which we need because we can’t afford to live near work, the posh school the trendy coffee shops so lay off it”?
P.S. Halfords is pretty good for parts and basic fixes (your mechanics may vary). I can’t speak about their bikes as I tend to get them second hand.
Actually look at the the
Actually look at the the tweets, it was more than having fun. It was a bunch of twaddle about where Halfords allegiance lies, in their self righteous minds with motorists.
Arguably halfords do a fair bit for cycling, they have a huge section on cycling and like you say similarly I’ve bought a fair bit over time in parts. The discount with British Cycling often makes them cheapest and click and collect means your not beholden to Hermes… sorry evri that online retailers seem to insist on using.
This isn’t about class at all, I just have an aversion to twattish sanctimonious behaviour. Time and again this ilk seem detached from the reality of getting about, from A to B outside of London.