Bike lane van driver gets ‘you park like a c***’ sticker; Merckx: Cav not GOAT sprinter; 12% of Brits want a bike for Christmas; Lizzie Deignan’s new kit day; Esports World Championships; Cargo bike Christmas tree delivery + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Bike lane van driver gets 'you park like a c***' sticker
We’ve long since enjoyed the ‘You Park Like a C***’ Twitter account. It’s pretty self-explanatory…they upload all the best (worst) snaps of drivers parked like…well, you get the idea. We’re enjoying it even more since the account name was changed to ‘You Party Like a C***’… I wonder who that could be aimed at?
They’ve got stickers too if you really want to let someone know how dangerous and inconsiderate their parking is. That’s exactly what Steve did…
“One sticker down, 499 to go…” he captioned his pics of this van driver making use of that lovely segregated car park on the side of the road…
Steve said he “even waited around for a minute in case it was a delivery driver (who I have some degree of sympathy for at this time of year). Nope, it’s just abandoned there.”
One sticker down, 499 to go… pic.twitter.com/PdHuclKSBi
— Steve 🇵🇸 (@Lollercake) December 8, 2021
And just like that the interest in the stickers started to roll in, while others shared stories of placing a couple on the morning commute…
Helloooo https://t.co/JL4AP4rcfM
— You Party Like a C*** (@YPLAC) December 8, 2021
Christmas tree cargo bike
Bought a Christmas tree today. pic.twitter.com/qq4uIJAxM9
— Conor Dunne (@conordunnealot) December 8, 2021
It wouldn’t be Christmas without a few photos of people transporting their tree home by bike. Ex-pro Conor Dunne certainly has the engine to get this one back, and even gets a free close pass deterrent too.
The photo gave one punter a smart idea involving AG2R Citroën’s American pro Larry Warbasse…
😂😂😂😂😂
— Larry Warbasse (@larrywarbasse) December 8, 2021
"I wouldn't say Mark is the greatest sprinter of all time...but I wouldn't have had a problem with it if he had beaten my record": Merckx talks Cav, Remco, Wout van Aert
Eddy Merckx is never short of an opinion, and this week gave his two cents on the big names in the peloton. Speaking on Eurosport, Merckx reflected on Mark Cavendish’s summer…”I wouldn’t say Mark is the greatest sprinter of all time, but he is one of the greatest. There have been so many top sprinters who have also won many stages. But he’s a really nice guy and I wouldn’t have had a problem with it if he had beaten my record. I have a lot of appreciation for Cavendish.”
> Mark Cavendish “violently attacked” in armed robbery at his Essex home
Next up was Remco Evenepoel, the often touted heir to Merckx’s throne, a rider the five-time Tour de France winner hasn’t shied away from criticising in the past. Merckx told Het Nieuwsblad he admires his compatriot’s character, but “if there really is only one leader, you shouldn’t take Evenepoel with you.” A comment seemingly referring to Evenepoel’s rogue tactics at the World Championships and Olympics.
“I admire his character. He is a rider of great class and very strong. The problem is that he turned pro too early and skipped the other categories. As a result, he misses something in his preparation. I hope he can make up for that in the coming years and show that he is a super champion.”
On Van Aert, Merckx had little to say that we didn’t already know…he’s “super strong” and a “real champion”.
Five British female riders qualify for Esports World Championships
The UCI and Zwift has confirmed the 50 riders that will progress from the open Continental Qualifiers, and compete for their nations at the UCI Cycling Esports Word Championships 2022, that’s taking place on 26 February.
Races across five continents saw a total of 550 eligible riders take to the start line for a chance to represent their country and out of the ten successful female riders from Europe, five British riders qualified for a place in the final: Zoe Langham, Mary Wilkinson, Illi Gardner, Alice Lethbridge and Lou Bates. No male riders from the UK made the cut.
The Word Championship race will be held on the Knickerbocker Circuit in Zwift’s New York, where rolling roads and steep gradients will make for a thrilling, selective race.
12 per cent of Brits want Santa to bring them a new bike this Christmas
Direct Line Cycling Insurance has crunched the numbers, coming to the conclusion that one in eight Brits (12 per cent) are planning to buy a bicycle this Christmas. What’s more, one in ten surveyed said they had already bought a bicycle this year. Almost a quarter of those purchases came from those living in the east of England and over a quarter were aged between 25 and 44.
> “Shop early for kids bikes,” says UK bike brand… but is it too late for Christmas already?
Two in five (39 per cent) said they would be treating themselves to a bicycle this year and nearly a third (30 per cent) said they plan to buy a bicycle for a friend this Christmas. Those numbers seem a little high to us, but hey, we won’t be complaining if they’re right.
If you need a gift for the cyclist in your life that’s not quite as costly as a bike, check out our Christmas gift guide… and for the shortlist of what not to buy, check out our ‘None of these please! 11 gifts not to buy for cyclists this Christmas to avoid a festive faux pas’ avoid at all cost list…
New kit day for Lizzie Deignan, Jasper Stuyven and Mads Pedersen — Trek-Segafredo reveal new kit for 2022 (good luck wearing that at Paris-Roubaix)
My first thought? The soigneurs will be gutted if it’s another wet Roubaix. That’s one sparkly white kit…
Santini has created this sharp design for the Trek-Segafredo boys and girls to wear next season. All the kits are made from recycled fabrics: Ecofabric RECY by Corno, which, as the names suggests, is an eco-friendly product made from yarn recycled from used materials and those discarded in the environment, and Sitip’s Native – Ecoknit, also made from recycled fibres and yarns without the use of polluting chemicals.
There are a few nice colour touches to distinguish the men’s and women’s kits, notably that light blue/red stripe (not the beer) across the chest. Thoughts? Pretty stylish, but maybe not one for unpredictable UK climate…
Poll time...
We haven’t done one of these for a while, but I’m bringing it back…Trek-Segafredo’s sparkly Santini stripe…hot or not?
Henry the Hoover goes for a spin
You can’t carry a vacuum cleaner on a bicycle. Checkmate cycling lobby. @CantCarryCycle
Just look how happy this vacuum is on a bicycle! pic.twitter.com/WN0Tp27Otf— CycleGaz™ (@cyclegaz) December 9, 2021
Bournemouth Police intercept suspect after "Tour de Charminster" chase
Police joked they’d been involved in the Tour de Charminster after intercepting a suspect, finding Class A drugs. A Bournemouth Police spokesperson told the Bournemouth Echo: “Quick thinking and quicker feet led to an abrupt end to this male’s Tour de Charminster Cycle Race!”
Police say the man made off on a bike at 1.20pm in Grafton Road, Charminster, Bournemouth yesterday afternoon but was quickly apprehended by a mobile police unit. A 42-year-old man is assisting officers with their investigation.
Kit of the year?
Really enjoyed making this kit, I painted it by hand and then scanned it in for it to be designed properly and then made by @rapha ! It’s been incredible the amount of support we’ve received off of it. If you still want to pre order a jersey or buy a cap, you have until Sunday! pic.twitter.com/Lq4YRT1N10
— AlecBriggs/ Pedaler (@Alec_Pedaler) December 9, 2021
Here you go, Trek-Segafredo…here’s how you do it. No boring clean white kits allowed at Tekkerz…
Could you gain 15 per cent more power in just four weeks?
Upcoming webinar: @ryanmullen9 (Trek-Segafredo) and Sebastian Weber share the story of turning a season around. Ryan gained 15% power (FTP) in only 4w time, and won both the National TT & National Road race.
.
Sign up now: https://t.co/JtBTFYCXyq— INSCYD (@INSCYD) December 8, 2021
It’s the cycling equivalent of one of those dodgy adverts…15 per cent more power in just four weeks…who wouldn’t want that?
That’s what INSCYD is claiming to have achieved with WorldTour pro Ryan Mullen. The Irishman, who is headed to Bora-Hansgrohe in the new year to help Sam Bennett, is the topic of this webinar next Wednesday.
It intriguingly says it will share the story how Ryan Mullen turned his season around.
After performing an INSCYD test he changed his training, gained 15% power in 4 weeks time, and won both national time trial and road race within just a few days. That sounds like an ad to us…but hey, maybe that’s just me being cynical…
"Where can we buy these stickers?": Your reaction to 'You Park Like a C***'
Loads of tweets and merchandise customers coming from @roadcc‘s lovely article about a YPLAC fan this morning. Keep the orders coming. Tell a friend. 🙏 https://t.co/JL4AP4qEqe
— You Party Like a C*** (@YPLAC) December 9, 2021
You Park Like a C*** has seen a spike in orders since we dropped that bike lane van driver story on the live blog this morning…their tweet above answers all the questions about where you can get your own…
Jon Fell saw the photos of the van and wondered, “Remind me. Why don’t we cyclists use cycle lanes?”
Paul Cooke backs his skills…”It’s paked in the right direction to bunny jump a mountain bike on to and over it, pretty sure they would think about parking there next time.”
TheMaso reckons YPLAC has room for expansion, “Can we get some ‘YDLAC’ stickers too? For when you catch up to them at the lights.” Secret Squirrel wants them A4 size…
It wasn’t all in favour, however, bobbinogs commented: “I understand the sentiment in the YPLAC…but I don’t see most drivers (who have been stickered) changing their behaviour, and it will likely just lead to a more entrenched “cyclists are xxxx and the next one I see will get the closest close pass in history” attitude. It is like a race to the bottom.”
Anymore thoughts?
9 December 2021, 08:53
9 December 2021, 08:53
9 December 2021, 08:53
9 December 2021, 08:53
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Latest Comments
Same here. I have a helmet with built in front and rear lights and have a red light clipped onto my bag plus lights attached to my bike front and rear but still have drivers putting me in danger. My commute is about two miles and I normally have around four incidents a week where I have to brake hard or take other evasive action to avoid being hit by distracted drivers. A big percentage of these are drivers coming on to roundabouts when I am already on them.
Glasgow's South City Way sounds great, does it not? As a user from before and after I wholeheartedly welcome the construction of the segregated route, but so much of the detailed construction is poor, if not unsafe. I provide a link to a presentation I made when construction was half complete (a personal view) and the construction errors remain outstanding to this day: crossed by high speed flared road junctions, poor colour differentiation, car door zone risks and so on. And yet cyclists come because they feel safe. It's a complex subject but IMHO the feeling of safety (or lack of) is a critical component. https://drive.proton.me/urls/B67AK44G90#CFueBGjscoWr
I can only conclude that you haven't been into a city in the last few years. Food delivery riders in particular are riding overpowered "eBikes" that are basically mopeds ... powered only via the throttle without pedalling at significantly more than 15mph. Problem is they look like normal bikes/ebikes and not like mopeds so that is what people describe them as. My reading of the article is that it is those vehicles that are being talked about here.
I have the Trace and Tracer, which have essentially the same design, albeit smaller and less powerful. The controls are a little complicated but only because there are loads of options. In reality, once you've chosen your level of brightness, you'll only cycle through 1 or 2 options and it's dead simple. The lights are rock solid, bright, with good runtimes. The only thing I find annoying is charging them - if your fingers are slightly wet or greasy, getting the rubber out of the way of the charging port is a pain in the arse.
Dance and padel is all very well, but when is Strava going to let me record my gardening?
You can use it to check whether it's raining.
If it's dusk, i.e. post-sunset, then the cyclists should have lights on and thus the colour of their top is irrelevant. If you want to complain about cyclists not having lights when it's mandatory then by all means do but their top has nothing to do with it.
All of my Exposure lights with a button allow cycling through the modes with a short press. I have five of those; it would be odd if Exposure didn’t allow this functionality with the Boost 3. I also have two Exposure Burners if I remember correctly: they are rear lights for joysticks that clip on and are powered through the joystick charging port. They don’t have a button. None of my Exposure lights have failed. I looked at the Boost 3 review photos but none showed the button, so far as I could tell. I also have Moon lights. Good experience generally. One did fail, possibly because it was so thin it used to fall through the holes in my helmet onto the ground. Also, the UI and charge indicators vary for my Moon lights. Perhaps the latest ones are more consistent. My worst lights ever were from See.Sense.
Steve really doesnt like exposure products does he? Boost and Strada marked down for being too complicated. While the Zenith and Six Pack reviewed by his colleagues give them rave reviews (as most exposure products have on road.cc), the Zenith even touted as 'even more intuitive to use' with the same controls.
They are more interested in dog shit. https://www.lancasterguardian.co.uk/news/people/lancaster-police-launch-search-for-person-who-sprayed-dog-faeces-with-pink-paint-5605519
58 thoughts on “Bike lane van driver gets ‘you park like a c***’ sticker; Merckx: Cav not GOAT sprinter; 12% of Brits want a bike for Christmas; Lizzie Deignan’s new kit day; Esports World Championships; Cargo bike Christmas tree delivery + more on the live blog”
I’m not sure what Chris Clegg
I’m not sure what Chris Clegg is complaining about – the Audi clearly has its BOLAs on…
Steve K wrote:
Woohoo!
It is amazing how many people
It is amazing how many people think double yellows do not apply if they mount the pavement and/or put the BOLAs on.
AlsoSomniloquism wrote:
no no no
single yellow = mount the pavement
double yellow = park entirely on the pavement
Cycle lane: just park in that
Cycle lane: just park in that
Captain Badger wrote:
No, that’s a siren
While the vehicle is
While the vehicle is illegally parked and putting a point across can be a good thing, I do hope that the sticker is one that peels off easily or that could be a case of Criminal Damage.
I understand the sentiment in
I understand the sentiment in the YPLAC…but I don’t see most drivers (who have been stickered) changing their behaviour, and it will likely just lead to a more entrenched “cyclists are xxxx and the next one I see will get the closest close pass in history” attitude. It is like a race to the bottom.
bobbinogs wrote:
I guess in the case of a car in a cycle lane, the driver might assume the stickerer (is that a word?) was a cyclist, but in general YPLAC isn’t a cycling thing.
bobbinogs wrote:
If you have time to spare,
If you have time to spare, simply waiting right behind the car / in front of the car (as appropriate) in the cycle lane, until the owner returns, is an option. If possible, accompanied by lots of “Bl00dy inconsiderate, eh?” comments to passing pedestrians.
Slightly more confrontational might be to just park next to the vehicle, in the main traffic lane, and wait…
Or, if you have a slim cable lock, lock your bike to the driver’s door… 😉
That’d need Nick Freeman to
That’d need Nick Freeman to get that to stick
visionset wrote:
Wouldn’t stand up at ap-peel……
Criminal damage charge very
Criminal damage charge very unlikely, even if they were able to identify with evidence the person responsible: https://law.stackexchange.com/questions/9214/received-a-sticker-on-my-car-window-on-a-private-company-car-park
Maybe so but posting it on
Maybe so but posting it on twitter with a personal account and claiming that this was the first sticker of many may be evidence enough as to who the perp is.
No disrespect to Steve on his crusade, but just be careful where and how the stickers are being attached.
DoomeFrog wrote:
No they don’t, according to the supplier they’re semi permanent
https://yplac.co.uk/product/50-mini-stickers/
note that this is not an advertisement. Other passive-aggressive methods of petty revenge are available….
You’d hope that the stickers
You’d hope that the stickers use the same stuff that parking tickets use. That way there is no way that you can be done for criminal damage.
Yep. I’d prefer something
Yep. I’d prefer something less sweary too. Maybe a proforma flyer where you can select the relevant offence – “This ticket is for (delete as appropriate): parking on the pavement / parking in a cycle lane / close passing a cyclist” etc.
I found someone selling
I found someone selling “Learner Parker” stickers not long ago, but Etsy has lots of choices if you search for “Bad parking sticker”
It’s not criminal damage,
It’s not criminal damage, well not unless the stickers contain hydrofluoric acid or suchlike. All adhesives can be removed from glass with zero damage.
It’s unlikely you’d be
It’s unlikely you’d be prosecuted, but in theory it could amount to criminal damage even if it temporarily impairs usefulness of the property (e.g. because you can’t easily remove it at the roadside). E.g. the CPS guidance notes that smearing mud on the walls of a police cell [I wonder if it was really mud…] has been found to be criminal damage
https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/criminal-damage
Put it somewhere that doesn’t
Put it somewhere that doesn’t obscure their vision, but maximises it for other road users.
It’s not clear from Steve’s
It’s not clear from Steve’s photos, but FYI there is in fact a load of dedicated parking spaces (that don’t block the cycle lane) literally metres away: https://goo.gl/maps/5mps1v1iuAfd49R98
Walk? Are you mad?
Walk? Are you mad?
OnYerBike wrote:
That doesn’t feature in white van man mentality, I once saw a white transit parked on double yellow lines whilst loading, unfortunately I was in my car at the time so could not take a photo, the double yellow lines ended in line with the rear of their vehicle and with no other cars about they would only have had to park one vehicle length further away to be legal!
makadu wrote:
It’s legal to load on double yellows. It’s yellow kerb markers that make it no loading
Captain Badger wrote:
It’s legal to load on double yellows. It’s yellow kerb markers that make it no loading
[/quote]
It is, but the loading and unloading should be continuous and obvious and mostly limited to 20mins for cars and 40 mins for vans. If you lock your car and disappear for a few minutes then you probably deserve a sticker or better still a ticket.
IanMK wrote:
Oh yes, you have to be clearly loading, and I can’t find much of anything in my sympathy pocket for teh kn0bber in the cycle lane above – was responding to Makadus post though
Can we get some “YDLAC”
Can we get some “YDLAC” stickers too? For when you catch up to them at the lights.
Can I get some in A4 please?
Can I get some in A4 please?
As much as I hate to agree
As much as I hate to agree with Mr Grumpy Mercx he’s got a point, Cav isn’t the greatest yet. But he could be. He’s still a couple of grand tour stages behind Super Mario ( Yes I know there’s a lot of doubt over some of those but they weren’t taken away).
If he manages to eclipse Eddy’s record at the tour this year then I think he should be regarded as the best.
Best is such a loaded term
Best is such a loaded term though. I cant think of many sports where the performances are comparable over more than 10 years tbh. Equipment, training techniques are constantly moving.
Trying to state the GOAT is fun to play “Top Trumps” with but aside from that pretty meaningless.
I agree but other sports do
I agree but other sports do it, look at football. people still bang on about Pele but lets be honest he was good for his time, would he have been as good in the modern game ? Its all subjective I suppose.
Cipo pitched up for the first
Cipo pitched up for the first week, bagged his stages then would post pictures of himself on the beach whilst the rest struggled through the mountains. Cav refused to quit stage 11 in the 2018 Tour even when he was half an hour outside the time limit. No contest.
I suppose that Xmas tree
I suppose that Xmas tree would guarantee you a decent amount of passing distance…
I admire their moxy to
I admire their moxy to transport something like that using a bike, however assuming its the UK i believe there are laws for safe transportation of cargo, that means you cant just carry something sticking out width ways like that.
The longest thing I’ve
The longest thing I’ve carried by bike was a new mop, and I cable-tied it along the top tube. It stuck out the front a bit, but barely went beyond my back wheel (dangled a handkerchief off the end, IIRC).
(Wouldn’t have dreamed of carrying it crossways…).
Probably like many here done
Probably like many here done that – both on the rack (pointing backwards hanging off the rack – won’t do that again due to wheelies when I took my weight off the front…) and in a trailer. (Good excuse to fit lights to it so my tree was lit up like a….)
I did do a slightly smaller one crossways but that was only cycled on a “bike path” (shared use) and pushed elsewhere.
With creativity and a lot of time fiddling with bungees it’s amazing what you can shift. Although wooden planks several metres in length are really not wise even if you’ve a trailer you can stand them up in. Or so I’ve heard…
I get Trek are trying to show
I get Trek are trying to show both their teams are equal & share the same core team kit branding, but I much preferred this years blue kit for the womens team. White kit as everyone knows is a pain to keep clean, and worse goes completely transparent when it gets wet, so a thumbs down from me.
I’m more bothered by the
I’m more bothered by the legibility of white against pale blue. They could have done with making it a few shades deeper – like, say, I dunno, maybe #1BB4E1?
Would the transparency be an
Would the transparency be an issue though as I’m sure all the ladies in the pro -peloton wear sports bras.
Well you can see on the
Well you can see on the studio promoshoots it’s pretty see thru even to start with,having gone for that ultra pro team breathable mesh weave look.
Is it an issue? Depends on how body confident you are, lots of women would find it embarrassing to be put in that position, for want of a better way of describing it.And I expect more than few riders will pair it up with more solid style baselayers.
Every time I came to this
Every time I came to this site now malwarebytes blocks a request to quiz-maker saying potential fraud site.
That appears to be because
That appears to be because Quizes are an up and coming Phishing vector (im doing a quiz – why should I give them my details – its only for fun).
Tarring all activity with the same brush is Malware Bytes.
It would be highly
It would be highly discourteous and definitely not worthy of a cheery wave for anyone to adapt that sticker to slap on a certain poster’s comments. I hope nobody does.
Rendel Harris wrote:
You Post Like A C……? Shouldn’t there be a keyboard instead of a car?
Car left in tribute to the
Car left in tribute to the individual who says that the motorcar is “humanity’s greatest ever invention.”
Rendel Harris wrote:
Oh very good, chapeau neuf de pape!
“You can’t carry a vacuum
“You can’t carry a vacuum cleaner on a bicycle.”
Clearly you can, but you can’t take it for a ride in the woods; nature abhors a vacuum.
You can’t do it while it’s
You can’t do it while it’s plugged in and turned on, either, which sucks.
I got rid of my vacuum
I got rid of my vacuum cleaner. It was just gathering dust.
Great little article in the
Great little article in the New Statesman.
https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/transport-politics/2021/12/cycle-lanes-dont-cause-congestion-but-theres-money-to-be-made-in-pretending-they-do
I also have an ‘O’Level in
I also have an ‘O’Level in Stating the Bleeding Obvious!
I like the subheading:
I like the subheading:
“Road use will only become more dangerous if it’s turned into yet another culture war.”
Horrendous story of road
Horrendous story of road violence on the BBC:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-59596579
brooksby wrote:
Horrific, that lads poor family 🙁
These collisions will continue whilst the law sees driving as a right and not a privilege. Change that mindset/rule first, then, I am sure people’s perceptions will change in regard to driving and lawbreaking.
At least it’s jail time and
At least it’s jail time and they didn’t get fooled by the old getting pregnant trick.
I suspect the reason she didn’t get a suspended sentence is because she gave a reason for not seeing the scooter rider; being distracted by counting money. Plus, seemed to blame the rider for going slowly, even though they were travelling as fast as their scooter could go.
Had she just said she had no idea why she failed to see, then might, as we’ve seen with other recent cases, have got more lenient treatment.
The headlights demonstrate a lack of care, but probably did not contribute to the collision as the moped would have been lit. I’m not sure why the BBC article seems to focus more on the lack of headlights than the role that distraction played in this.
There is an argument that the
There is an argument that the Greatest Sprinter is different to the most prolific. Getting dewy eyed and turning a blind eye to sprinters using chemical engineering just because they weren’t hauled up for it by a complicit governing / testing regime doesn’t really hold a lot of water for me.
Could a sprinter compete at 2-3 Grand Tours without needing to drop out early at each? He rides the whole tour which may then exclude him from subsequent ones. All the others also followed their peak with a steady decline with no comeback like we saw last year. So I don’t see who else can compete with someone as successful and as gutsy as Cavendish, so probably the GOAT.