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Cyclist leaves homemade parking tickets on cars in the bike lane...gets told to f*&! off; Rower wins men's cycling esports champs; Kid drops roadies on steep climb; Doctor responds to councillor; Cyclist survives 100ft fall + more on the live blog

It's Wednesday and Dan Alexander is here to take you through the middle of the week on the live blog...
09 December 2020, 16:52
The first men's cycling esports world champion is... a rower

German rower Jason Osborne overcame a field of pro cyclists and Zwift specialists to win the first ever men's UCI Cycling Esports World Championships. The 26-year-old is a rowing world champion and competed at the 2016 Olympics in Rio. Turns out he's a pretty handy bike rider too. When rowers do cycling...

When cyclists do rowing...

09 December 2020, 15:56
Cyclist leaves homemade parking tickets on cars parked in bike lane opposite school
Homemade parking tickets

This cyclist took matters into his own hands after seeing the growing problem of drivers parking their cars in the bike lane opposite Hillhead School in Glasgow. Thomas Cornwallis placed homemade parking tickets on cars parked in the lane to raise awareness about the danger they pose to cyclists. One man, waiting to pick their child up, didn't take to the tickets very kindly and can be seen in the video below arguing and telling the cycling advocate: "I own my own law firm, now fuck off." 

Thomas told road.cc: "I went out to help raise awareness, placed them and moved on... In the video of the man, he shouted at me threw [the ticket] back at me, he started film, so I got a video of him talking nonsense."

Some people on Twitter then searched the man's registration plate on the gov.uk vehicle tax service, found the car was untaxed without an MOT then accused him of driving the car illegally. Thomas ticketed ten cars and said that despite the objection from one man, another driver moved on after having the reason for the action explained.

09 December 2020, 16:32
How to make friends with van drivers with Jeremy Vine
09 December 2020, 15:29
Tacx Boost trainer launches... which might look familiar
Garmin Tacx Boost

Garmin (the new owners of Tacx) announced the launch of its 'new' Tacx Boost trainer today, saying it is a 'powerful indoor trainer that features a forceful magnetic brake, realistic ride-feel and manual resistance control to help cyclists train year-round.'

If you think it looks familiar, that's because it is... Garmin tell us that spec-wise the Boost is the same as the existing Tacx Booster, that's been around for nine years, except the repackaged version comes with a speed sensor bundle that will allow the rider to track distance and speed on Zwift and other third party apps. 

The price is nice at £229.99, with the Boost described as an "affordable and quiet basic trainer that makes it easy to train year round." 

09 December 2020, 15:15
Ashleigh Moolman Pasio wins first-ever women's UCI Cycling Esports World Championship
09 December 2020, 14:02
Halfords allegedly sold Boardman bike with the forks the wrong way round

Yep, this is how one lucky customer got their new bike from Halfords. A Twitter user called Jon shared this photo of his friend's new Boardman bike, allegedly bought from Halfords with the forks the wrong way round. Unless...

09 December 2020, 14:48
Fair Fuel UK release latest 'Road User Survey'

In the past, the campaign group have been accused of running surveys that could possibly lead to slightly biased results in favour of motorists... and it appears the latest one isn't faring much better. Full story to follow, and if you want to take part in the survey then the link is here

09 December 2020, 12:52
Woman survives 100ft fall onto rocks in shocking cycling accident

KentOnline reports that a 28-year-old woman miraculously survived a cycling accident that saw her fall off a 100ft cliff onto the rocks below. The woman has asked not to be named but fell from the cliff near Joss Bay at Broadstairs in Kent. Her last memory before the incident was cycling along the cliff-top path between Ramsgate and Margate on August 18. 

The first thing the woman can recall is waking up in hospital a fortnight later following emergency surgery on her head injuries. "All I could see were casts on my hands and bandages on my head," she told KentOnline. "I remember being like 'what the hell?"

She was airlifted to King's College Hospital in London, placed in an induced coma and has since had seven operations. Her injuries included skull damage, two broken wrists, two broken ribs as well as several bones attached to her spinal cord, her elbow and some fingers. 

"It hasn’t put me off [cycling]," she continued. "It’s a hobby I’ve always loved, and I will do it again when fit enough.The only thing I’ll do differently is wear a helmet, as I was so stupid to not have done that day."

09 December 2020, 12:13
Hexr launches smartphone fitting app to help make bespoke helmets more accessible
Hexr smartphone app

Custom-fit helmet brand Hexr have announced a new 3D scanning smartphone app that will allow users to scan over 250,000 data points on their head to get an accurate fit. The app can be accessed on IOS 13 and onwards and the hope is that it will make custom helmets accessible to more people.

Co-founder and CTO, Henry Neilson said: "Like many, 2020 has been a unique year for us at HEXR. The rapid transformation of what is possible and necessary for safe commerce, has borne some of the world’s most advanced 3D capturing software, neatly wrapped in a beautiful and intuitive interface. I am immensely proud of the HEXR team who have built this, making custom available to millions, and further challenging the limits of existing technology."

09 December 2020, 11:48
'New Olympic cyclist detected': Kid drops roadies on steep climb

This may well be an old video, I feel like we've seen it before. But it's a great clip so why not share it again? It's been doing the rounds on Facebook and shows a kid dancing up a steep climb dropping roadies, with all the gear, as he goes... Remco Evenepoel will be 21 in January so it's probably time for the next generation... 

09 December 2020, 10:53
The Great British Bicycle Bubble of 1896
canyon factory boxes - via canyon

This story from Nasdaq is pretty interesting...In the 1890s, public interest in bikes rocketed as the humble mode of transport represented a 'social and environmental breakthrough'. Share prices in bicycle companies soared, the value of many tripling in the space of a few months in 1896. This happened even while the number of companies making and selling bicycles expanded more than five-fold.

By 1901, the bubble had burst. Low-cost American bikes flooded the market and enthusiasm steadied as people started to see bicycles as an inevitability and the novelty was gone. Five years after the bubble, at least 40 publicly traded British bike companies had gone bankrupt. More than 70% of the companies that benefited from the 1890s bubble went bust.

09 December 2020, 09:57
Gender parity at 2024 Olympics
Team GB women's team pursuit with Rio 2016 gold medals (copyright Britishcycling.org_.uk).jpg

The number of female cyclists competing at the 2024 Olympics will match the number of male athletes, the UCI has confirmed. A total of 514 athletes will take part in the cycling events at the Paris Games, split evenly between the men's and women's events for the first time ever. At next year's Tokyo Olympics, the mountain bike, BMX and BMX Freestyle events will see equal numbers competing but 2024 is the first time this will have been achieved in the track and road events. 

In Paris, 90 athletes will compete in the road events and 95 on the tack. UCI President David Lappartient said: "It gives us great satisfaction to achieve what is a key objective of our Agenda 2022. Gender parity at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 sends out a strong message to our athletes and society as a whole."

09 December 2020, 09:14
Pro rider aged 21 dies of COVID-19

A pro rider from Italian team Mastromarco Sensi Nibali has died of COVID-19. Marca reports Michael Antonelli was admitted to hospital two weeks ago, before being moved to the intensive care. The 21-year-old was recovering from a serious accident at a race in Florence in 2018 which saw him taken to hospital in a coma. Antonelli was slowly recovering from the incident and was able to feed himself and recognise people when he became infected.

09 December 2020, 08:50
Doctor responds to councillor who accused cycle lane of obstructing emergency services

A doctor working at St George's Hospital in Tooting has appealed for her local Conservative councillor to rethink plans to scrap the A24 cycle lane. Ian Hart is the councillor for a ward in Wandsworth and said that "emergency vehicles must be allowed to move freely," and that the "blockages and closures," on the A24 must be removed.

Sarah Krishnanandan works at the hospital and uses the cycle lane to get to work. She replied: "No! Please stop this lobbying. I’m a dr, who cycles to St George’s. I was called in for a Major Incident and cycling was the quickest route to the hospital. It’s is also a much safer route since the A24 cycle lane was introduced."

Critics of the cycle lane have used videos, such as the one below, to accuse the cycle lane of causing congestion and preventing emergency service vehicles from attending incidents. However, as some people have said on social media, it's not entirely clear that the removal of the cycle lane would have allowed the ambulance to pass.

Dan is the road.cc news editor and has spent the past four years writing stories and features, as well as (hopefully) keeping you entertained on the live blog. Having previously written about nearly every other sport under the sun for the Express, and the weird and wonderful world of non-league football for the Non-League Paper, Dan joined road.cc in 2020. Come the weekend you'll find him labouring up a hill, probably with a mouth full of jelly babies, or making a bonk-induced trip to a south of England petrol station... in search of more jelly babies.

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65 comments

Avatar
NZ Vegan Rider | 3 years ago
0 likes

Terrible crash ; cyclist knocked off ;-(

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xlX52rlVoI

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BIRMINGHAMisaDUMP | 3 years ago
1 like

Backwards facing forks on a bike purchased from Halfords? I've seen that dozens of times. If people ask me about buying a bike from Halfords I always recommend getting it checked post purchase by a qualified mechanic and I would never recommend taking a bike to Halfords for a service. 

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eburtthebike replied to BIRMINGHAMisaDUMP | 3 years ago
1 like

Lukas wrote:

Backwards facing forks on a bike purchased from Halfords? I've seen that dozens of times. If people ask me about buying a bike from Halfords I always recommend getting it checked post purchase by a qualified mechanic and I would never recommend taking a bike to Halfords for a service. 

A few years ago, I  had a spate, well three, of cyclists who had the front brake cable wrapped around the head tube, so that when they turned a corner, the brake came on.  All had been serviced by my local Halfords.  It was great business for me though, as I gained them as customers, being better and cheaper.

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EddyBerckx | 3 years ago
7 likes

Might be me but the main takeaway from riding over a 100 foot cliff and waking up 2 weeks later is not to ride over a 100 foot cliff as opposed to wearing a helmet while I do it next time...

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Sriracha | 3 years ago
0 likes

"This may well be an old video, I feel like we've seen it before. But..." Welcome to the Editorial Team here at retread.cc!

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MattieKempy replied to Sriracha | 3 years ago
0 likes

If you don't like it, go somewhere else!

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mdavidford replied to MattieKempy | 3 years ago
2 likes

We've all tried, but we just find ourselves popping up here again six months later.

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wycombewheeler replied to mdavidford | 3 years ago
1 like

mdavidford wrote:

We've all tried, but we just find ourselves popping up here again six months later.

strangely like lots of the content

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Sriracha | 3 years ago
7 likes

"The only thing I’ll do differently is wear a helmet, as I was so stupid to not have done that day"
Sheesh, I dunno, the helmet thing, or cycling over a cliff? Which would I do differently next time?

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Wardy74 | 3 years ago
8 likes

Owns own law firm, drives legally neglected Hyundai (no offence Hyundai owners). I suggest he finds another career.

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quiff replied to Wardy74 | 3 years ago
5 likes

I can't even work out what saying "I own my own law firm" was supposed to achieve. Apart from perhaps attracting some attention for bringing the profession into disrepute.

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Hirsute replied to Wardy74 | 3 years ago
11 likes

He'll need that legal advice

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RoubaixCube | 3 years ago
1 like

'New Olympic cyclist detected' or maybe its the power of being a local with a fresh set of youthful legs?

Ive had people on fat bikes out climb and out speed me after a rather brisk 30-40mile ride. Doesnt make them olympic cyclists though It just means im one foot in the grave.

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MattieKempy | 3 years ago
12 likes

The funny thing with that road user survey is that it's really easy to go on there and skew the results by answering all the questions in favour of cycling. Then stand back and watch the small explosion as the biased @rsehole who wrote it sees the results. I suggest that everyone does the same thing!

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Bungle_52 replied to MattieKempy | 3 years ago
1 like

Brilliant idea. Just done it. Thank you.

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Rik Mayals unde... replied to Bungle_52 | 3 years ago
3 likes

So have I, and sent it to all my cycling buddies. Sadly not on facebook but anyone on here can surely get it to as many as possible? Lets fuck up their day!

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bry nylon replied to Bungle_52 | 3 years ago
2 likes

me too - survey completed smiley

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andystow | 3 years ago
1 like

"Low-cost American bikes flooded the market..."

I live near to and frequently cycle past the former Duryea factory. Duryea also built the first motor car in America (boo!) Then I believe Duryea was joined by Rouse, formed Rouse-Duryea, then left and Rouse found another partner and became Rouse-Hazard. They made Rudge bicycles, among others.

For a while, Peoria, IL was a major hub of bicycle and rubber tire production. Now all that's left is a few street names: Duryea, Hazard, and Rouse. There's a new Trek store between Rouse and Hazard.

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Captain Badger | 3 years ago
5 likes

"It hasn’t put me off [cycling]," she continued. "It’s a hobby I’ve always loved, and I will do it again when fit enough.The only thing I’ll do differently is wear a helmet, as I was so stupid to not have done that day."

What, are helmets anti-grav these days?.....

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OnYerBike replied to Captain Badger | 3 years ago
3 likes

I'm very much in the Chris Boardman camp that insisting people wear helmets just distracts from far more important road safety issues, but if I knew I was going to fall off a cliff, I would probably rather be wearing one than not...

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wycombewheeler replied to OnYerBike | 3 years ago
0 likes

Unfortunately for the pro helmet lobby she wasn't wearing one, so they are not able to claim it saved her life, which clearly it wouldn't have done, as not wearing one did not prove fatal.

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Rendel Harris replied to wycombewheeler | 3 years ago
2 likes

wycombewheeler wrote:

Unfortunately for the pro helmet lobby she wasn't wearing one, so they are not able to claim it saved her life, which clearly it wouldn't have done, as not wearing one did not prove fatal.

Not sure it proves much for any lobby apart from the "some people get really lucky sometimes" lobby.

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hawkinspeter replied to Rendel Harris | 3 years ago
1 like

I'm glad she survivied, but my definition of lucky involves not falling off cliffs.

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AlsoSomniloquism replied to Captain Badger | 3 years ago
4 likes

TBH, I doubt the helmet would have made much difference on a 100ft fall anyway. She could well be a poster child for not needing one as she survived such a fall. 

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OnYerBike replied to AlsoSomniloquism | 3 years ago
1 like

Her injuries included skull damage - obviously it's impossible to be certain in any given case, but I would have thought that, in all liklihood, wearing a helmet would have made her injuries less severe, if only slightly.

For what it's worth, IMHO arguing that she survived despite wearing a helmet and therefore helmets are pointless is every bit as flawed as the (more commonly seen) argument whenever someone survives a crash who was wearing a helmet that the helmet must have saved their life.

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Blackthorne replied to OnYerBike | 3 years ago
1 like

And here we see the spotted troll, emerging from its ancient hiding place beneath the bridge to fling straw man arguments about helmets once again...

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Rendel Harris replied to Blackthorne | 3 years ago
2 likes

Blackthorne wrote:

And here we see the spotted troll, emerging from its ancient hiding place beneath the bridge to fling straw man arguments about helmets once again...

Why is a perfectly reasonable and well reasoned point met with cries of "straw man" and "troll"? If anything it's you that's trolling, friend.

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Hirsute | 3 years ago
7 likes

Didn't realise helmets are certified for a 30m drop down a cliff. I'll make sure I wear one if I go for a walk there - assuming in that circumstance it doesn't result in worse injuries.

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Steve K replied to Hirsute | 3 years ago
9 likes
hirsute wrote:

Didn't realise helmets are certified for a 30m drop down a cliff. I'll make sure I wear one if I go for a walk there - assuming in that circumstance it doesn't result in worse injuries.

I have to say, I think my takeaway if I were her would be "if I survived that without a helmet, there really is no point in wearing one"

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Hirsute replied to Steve K | 3 years ago
1 like

She really hadn't thought about anything. I thought of 3 things immediately - the head is now much bigger so more likely to hit something, what happens when the strap or helmet catches on the cliff face, what if a shard of rock is caught in a vent and you land on the shard?

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