Van driver covers number plate to avoid LTN cameras; Cycling in -50c; Pros react to UCI rule changes; Charity cyclist bins ‘Scrap the Mask’ slogan due to Covid; Bull charges through race; How Pedal Me deliver faster when it snows + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
How Pedal Me deliver goods more quickly when it snows
Our riders are special people, doing a special job which benefits the city – please give them space, and a cheery smile and a wave or the offer of a hot drink never goes amiss on a tough day! pic.twitter.com/NNZpYaR8zA
— Pedal Me (@pedalmeapp) February 9, 2021
You might think the freezing conditions and falling snow would be a problem for bike courier services like Pedal Me. But the company has said they can actually deliver faster when it snows…because there’s less motor traffic on the roads. They’ve even been helping out other logistics services which are less resilient to the weather. Today they’ve already got 900 deliveries booked in across the capital.
Pedal Me explained how they’ve been able to pick up jobs in a tweet: “Ok here we go, another 50 drops from one of our regular customers who’ve had a van unable to work (reason unknown). Because all of our senior staff are trained to ride – we can just pick this up and put non-time critical strategic projects on hold, for now.”
Bull on the loose charges through bike race (Video)
#Ciclismo |Esto ocurrió durante la salida de la 5ta etapa del Tour Por La Paz en Jalapa.
Un toro asustado, se abalanzó sobre los ciclistas que esperaban salida. Afortunadamente nadie salió herido. El animal siguió su rumbo y los pedalistas lograron salir.
Vía Duro Al Pedal 🚴♂️🐃 pic.twitter.com/OV7kBJ7MB4— Stereo100Noticias (@stereo100xela) February 7, 2021
The riders at the Tour por la Paz (Tour for Peace) in Guatemala got a fright at the start line of stage five. A bull somehow found itself on the road and charged through the race. As spectators jumped into race vehicles, the riders and motorcyclists following the race scattered in all directions. According to local news nobody was hurt in the incident and the bull was eventually moved on…
In 2019, Mathieu van der Poel was chased over the finish line by a dog during a cyclo-cross race in Belgium.
Jeremy Vine's plan to restore Kensington High Street cycle lane
If you can hire me one of these, I’ll drive it down Kensington High Street in the middle of the night and make it safe again pic.twitter.com/k5jZ0Qkt93
— Jeremy Vine (@theJeremyVine) February 9, 2021
Charity cyclist bins 'Scrap the Mask' slogan due to Covid
Sam Clarke, an adventurer and charity cyclist, changed his ‘Scrap the Mask’ slogan following criticism from strangers who wrongly assumed he opposed use of face coverings. The ‘Scrap the Mask’ slogan was meant to encourage people to share their struggles and not hide behind a mask. Sam has adopted Adventure Man Sam as the new name for his YouTube channel, where he documents his cycling adventures.
“There was no harm in it then and it was a completely apolitical metaphor but in the current climate it has become very political,” Sam told the Henley Standard. “Adventure Man Sam was the name I planned to use when I launched my blog in 2013 but I’ve had to rebrand because most people will always associate ‘Scrap the Mask’ with Covid. Unfortunately, I’m still wearing a T-shirt that says ‘Scrap the Mask’ in most of my footage but I can add a note on screen so people know what it’s really about.”
Sam was diagnosed with Alport syndrome when he was two and will have to undergo dialysis later in life but doesn’t let his situation affect his charity work. In 2019, he spent 10 months cycling across Europe while completing 25 skydives on the way. Sam planned to ride to Albania and only ended the trip to avoid being stranded during the pandemic. Last summer he completed Land’s End to John O’Groats instead, taking his fundraising above £20,000.
"What’s next? Everyone has to ride flat MTB bars?": The view from the peloton as the UCI announces widespread rule changes for 2021
What’s next, everyone has to ride flat MTB bars? 😂 https://t.co/gioHDoEHwe
— Larry Warbasse (@larrywarbasse) February 8, 2021
The UCI’s new rules, notably banning the super tuck and TT position, haven’t gone down too well with the pro riders we saw on Twitter this morning…
@UCI_cycling how many riders did you actually ask to change rules like that? It is getting more and more complicated and in fact the UCI should care about things what needs more urgent attention than this….
— Andre Greipel (@AndreGreipel) February 8, 2021
Sometimes I feel like we as riders should be able to issue fines, penalties and dq’s to the various powers that be for their own rule breaches.
— Alex Dowsett (@alexdowsett) February 8, 2021
However, there was some support for the changes. Dan Martin pointed out it’s probably better to be proactive about risk rather than waiting for an accident to happen to change the rules…
I think @UCI_cycling should be applauded for being proactive for once. Too often rules are implemented reacting to serious injuries or worse. Riding helmetless is perfectly safe, until you crash and hit your head. The barriers in Poland were ‘safe’ for 12 years. Just 2 examples.
— Dan Martin (@DanMartin86) February 9, 2021
I think those @UCI_cycling rules about arms on the handlebar and descend position are good. Although I’m still waiting to know what was or will be the sanctions for Tour of Poland organiser
— Jacopo Guarnieri (@jacopoguarnieri) February 8, 2021
Burglar finds himself in hot water after armed police spot men riding a bike carrying a boiler
Armed police on Teesside made an arrest after they spotted two men carrying a boiler while riding bikes. Teesside Live says the cops were responding to a report of an ongoing burglary when they spotted the strange sight. A member of the public reported the crime after hearing noises coming from an empty property at 4.25am on Sunday. Officers arrested one of the men who attempted to make off with the boiler a short distance away. He has since been released under investigation, pending further enquiries.
"It’s a big adventure for all of us": Alpecin-Fenix will target first week of the Tour de France with Mathieu van der Poel
Alpecin-Fenix will target the opening week with Mathieu van der Poel at the Tour de France this summer. The team say they aren’t looking beyond the opening stages which look very well suited to their star rider. Van der Poel has previously suggested he may consider leaving the Tour on the second rest day to prepare for the Olympics. The Dutchman fresh off his fourth world cyclo-cross title is due to return to racing at the opening WorldTour race of the year, the UAE Tour, in a couple of weeks.
Team manager Christoph Roodhooft told Cyclingnews that Van der Poel’s ambitions will be the team’s primary aim during their first appearance at the Tour. “We’ll see how it goes in the first week. It’s a big adventure for all of us,” he said. “We’ll go into the race focused just on the first week, and then we’ll see what happens after that. We don’t have the same level of team as Jumbo-Visma so for us it will be a completely different approach. We’ll pick the days that we think will particularly suit us before the Tour, but we won’t go there with any ambitions for the general classification.”
The opening week of the Tour includes a couple of days with rolling hills, including a hilltop finish at Mûr-de-Bretagne, as well as the potential for crosswinds on the sprint stages.
Van driver covers number plate to avoid LTN cameras
Another reason why cameras are a poor substitute for physical filters in #LTNs – this bozo is planning to cut thru the camera-controlled emergency access route on our road. Thankfully our LTN has planters everywhere else. #FiltersWork 👍@BowesLTN @CarolineRussell @Ianbarnes2001 pic.twitter.com/WCZ3AcyQdC
— Warwick Road Action Group (@WarwickRoadAG) February 8, 2021
At the end of January we shared the news that low traffic neighbourhood (LTNs) planters in Sutton and Croydon could be replaced by automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras. The experimental scheme was touted to replace the current planters at various locations in the two London boroughs. However, Warwick Road Action Group posted this photo to suggest it may not be a good idea. In the photos, a van driver can be seen covering his number plate to avoid getting caught by cameras at an LTN in north London.
Many replies pointed out that in the time taken to cover his number plate he probably could have just driven the new route…
This bloke was happy to freeze his fingers, sticking paper to his licence plate. But a detour of a minute or two in his warm van is too much. 🙄
— Knoxy (@knoxyface) February 8, 2021
Sad to see, but it’s an unfortunate reality that measures that rely on enforcement can’t be watertight, as we’ve seen with speed limits too. Better to look to well designed physical infrastructure first https://t.co/A3NNyaq2s2
— Healthy Streets Bruce Grove & West Green (@BGWG_Streets) February 8, 2021
130km superhighway cycle network to be built in Helsinki
Helsinki to build a 130km superhighway network to connect the suburbs with the centre of the city https://t.co/HqTBELFDGI
— APPGCW (@allpartycycling) February 8, 2021
Treeathlon: Planting trees by riding your bike
I suspect a lot of people could use a personal challenge right now.
So let’s do a Treeathlon.
Swim, bike, run or wheel further than you’ve ever gone before and I’ll plant a tree for you. Simple.
Challenge yourself for 2021. Details here: https://t.co/NDix0pU3Jp
— Ian Walker (@ianwalker) February 1, 2021
Environmental psychologist Ian Walker has challenged you to cycle, swim, run or wheel further than you’ve done before to get a tree planted. Just send him a tweet or an email with proof of your efforts and he’ll use a £1,000 pot set aside from his last book’s sales to fund Tees not Trees to plant a new bit of greenery on your behalf. The challenge started on February 1 and you’ve got until the pot runs out. Get on your bike, complete a big ride and get a tree planted. Tree-mendous.
Another camera dodging van driver
Van in @RailtonLTN playing by the same dirty rules the other day. pic.twitter.com/iXh6aqo8lD
— Emilie Rance (@EmilieRance) February 9, 2021
In response to the earlier story about the van driver in north London caught covering his number plate to avoid getting picked up by an LTN camera, we’ve been sent this…Looks like there are more motorists at it than just the earlier driver. This one was spotted at railton LTN in Brixton. In the plans for one Crystal Palace LTN, which is to have its planters replaced by cameras, resident permits could be extended to staff at a school in the area, carers and taxi drivers.
How to cycle when it's -50°C...
You may have seen our winter cycling survival guide earlier today offering you tips on how to keep riding during our one week of snowy conditions each year. But what about when it’s -50°C outside? YouTuber Lorenzo Barone has got you covered. Excluding what look like industrial oven gloves, stuffed with fur and mounted onto the handlebars, Lorenzo’s set up isn’t too different to what you might expect. Follow Lorenzo’s tips and you’ve got no excuse (other than you’re soft like me) to hide inside on the turbo this week…
9 February 2021, 08:58
9 February 2021, 08:58
Help us to bring you the best cycling content
If you’ve enjoyed this article, then please consider subscribing to road.cc from as little as £2.49. Our mission is to bring you all the news that’s relevant to you as a cyclist, independent reviews, impartial buying advice and more. Your subscription will help us to do more.
18 Comments
Read more...
Read more...
Read more...
Latest Comments
I think the police's wording in these cases is accurate: it is the use of those e-bike on public roads that is illegal. The existence of the e-bike is not illegal, nor is owning one/buying one/selling one/modifying one/riding one on private land with the landowner's permission. It would therefore be technically inaccurate for the police to simply call them "illegal bikes" as you suggest. I can see your point that that does open the door to a degree of misinterpretation by the public who might wonder in what way they were being used illegally when the answer is in fact any use on public roads (assuming not registered/licensed/insured etc.). But I think there's enough information out there that it you can find the answer in a couple of seconds on google, so really ignorance is not an excuse.
It sounds like a straightforward decision for the council. Include the cycle lanes in the scheme, or risk losing the £19.9m of funding, which was awarded on the basis of inclusion of an active travel element. The attitude reminds me of my local council's bid to be City of Culture. The emphasis was mainly on how much footfall and business the title would generate, rather than what would be done to promote arts and culture. Quality of life and physical and mental health are not a priority.
@quiff Pedicabs should be banned in London, blocking cycle lanes, severely ripping off tourists, blocking pavements when not in use, often a front for low-level criminality (drug dealing/transportation) and riders frequently highly aggressive. I had a nose to nose confrontation with one a couple of weeks ago as I was walking to the Proms because I politely asked him to move his incredibly vulgar contraption (it looked like Barbara Cartland's bedroom on wheels) off the pavement in Buckingham Palace Road where it was forcing all pedestrians to leave the pavement and walk on the roadway. Instant aggression, shouting and swearing and threatening violence – fortunately a passing police motorcyclist clocked what was going on and told him to pack it in and get his machine off the pavement. They are an absolute blot on our fair city.
There's another big question, which perhaps applies to a lot of cycle schemes: Where is the cycle parking that allows people cycling in that street to stop and use the local businesses?
Two further points deserve a mention: 1 - We DESPERATELY need real research into cycling and disabled people. Narratives around cycling vs disabled people are common, and cannot be dismissed because we do not have objective research into how many disabled people cycle, and on what forms of cycles. From my own knowledge, huge numbers use standard cycles - but I have no demographic data of actual or potential use, only surveys of experience from disabled people who DO cycle. 2 - In respect of point 1, 40% of disabled adults (and 1/3 of retired people) do not have a driving licence - non disabled adults is 22% do not have a full driving license. That is published ONS data. To invert that - 60% of disabled adults have a full driving license, compared to 78% for non-disabled. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/disability-accessibility-and-blue-badge-scheme-statistics-2023-to-2024/disability-accessibility-and-blue-badge-statistics-england-2023-to-2024 This is a question about basic equality.
@KiwiMike In the first paragraph it says "It requires the matching £25 Thule InLock Universal Panel to fit to your bike" which weighs 730g. I mentioned Ortleib panniers because they are quite heavy. You can get much lighter panniers. Saying a pannier is lightweight compared to Ortleib panniers isn't saying very much. For example the Altura Ultralite Vortex Waterproof also doesn't use a plastic rack mount, weighs 260g and currently costs £40 on their website. It does not need a Thule InLock to mount to the bike. I see their Altura Thunderstorm Adventure 15L Pannier weighs 690 grams, which also doesn't need the InLock. There is a trade-off here between weight off the bike vs weight on the bike but both items are still relatively heavy compared to other "lightweight" products. A Tubus Fly rack for example weighs less than 400g. This rack and two of the Altura Vortex panniers don't weigh much more than the Thule bag on its own without the InLock and rack.
@licenced I would be all in favour of grants for ebikes for people like yourself, at a minimum making up the shortfall between the cost of an equivalent unpowered bike and the powered one. As I said above in response to Trolly, the financial benefits of helping people with disabilities to get out and ride, in terms of alleviating the burden on the NHS of treatment for mental and physical illness caused by lack of exercise and independence, would mean the investment would quickly pay for itself.
I don't know enough about Ayr local politics to get a proper handle on this, but those Independents look like the type of Foggy from the "Last of the Summer Whine" party we currently have throughout England, who are Reform or Restore without the logo. Given the Conservative Party culture-war politics since about 2023 they now 'have permission' to be cavemen in public, and to make populist claims divorced from any evidence - which is the facilitator of policy failure. I'm not sure what game the Labour MP is playing, but the constituency has had MPs from SNP, Con and Lab within the last 10 years elections so is contested (but not usually marginal) and perhaps tends away from extremes (Corbyn really poleaxed Lab in 2019).
@OldRidgeback Leith Walk news: https://cycling.scot/news/scotland-s-bike-lane-networks-break-new-records Vehicle counter statistics: https://storage.googleapis.com/dft-statistics/road-traffic/downloads/traffic/local_authority_id/dft_traffic_local_authority_id_29.csv (from https://roadtraffic.dft.gov.uk/local-authorities/S12000036)
@OldRidgeback Unfortunately I don't think it's true that cycle journeys outnumber car journeys in Edinburgh. The latest news I heard (will post link separately) was that there was a recent survey (conducted in May 2026) in which the number of bikes exceeded the number of cars on Leith Walk in the morning rush hour. Whilst that is positive news, the unspoken implication is that outside of the morning rush hour, in locations other than Leith Walk, and potentially at time of year other than May (which typically has fairly clement weather), the number of cars still outnumbers the number of bikes. I haven't found good statistics for "number of trips" by mode, but Government statistics (link to follow) show far more cars than bicycles at pretty much every counter location in 2025.
18 thoughts on “Van driver covers number plate to avoid LTN cameras; Cycling in -50c; Pros react to UCI rule changes; Charity cyclist bins ‘Scrap the Mask’ slogan due to Covid; Bull charges through race; How Pedal Me deliver faster when it snows + more on the live blog”
I’ll bet some of those riders
I’ll bet some of those riders in the Tour por la Paz broke a few records!
Was one of the riders Jeremy
Was one of the riders Jeremy Vine’s brother, Bo?
GMBasix wrote:
His actual brother Tim Vine would be proud of that pun.
“Cycling isn’t the answer:
“Cycling isn’t the answer: you can’t carry a boiler on a bike”…
“UCI announces widespread
“UCI announces widespread rule changes for 2021”
This would be more useful and interesting if there was a linked article detailing the rule changes, rather than just a few embedded Tweets.
Quote:
No.
Nope.
Bit worrying that so many supposedly ‘professional’ riders seem not to realise that the rules already existed. Makes you wonder if the history of drugs cheating in cycling is just because people didn’t realise it wasn’t allowed…
I met Sam on the train back
I met Sam on the train back from John O’Groats to Inverness last autumn. Thoroughly nice bloke!
“Van driver covers number
“Van driver covers number plate to avoid LTN cameras” – no doubt a driver that insists cyclists should have registration plates, obey the law/highway code, blah, blah, blah!
Isn’t it illegal to cover
Isn’t it illegal to cover your registration plate? That is, more illegal than driving into an LTN?
As I understand it, police
As I understand it, police can issue a fine of up to £1,000 for a missing/obscured number plate. There are current government proposals to change this such that it will become a 3 points + £100 penalty offence. I think that ignoring a LTN/ No Entry sign falls to local councils and tends to be fixed penalty notices akin to parking/yellow box type offences e.g. £120, halved if you pay within 2 weeks.
As I understand it, police
As I understand it, police can issue a fine of up to £1,000 for a missing/obscured number
They can, but they don’t. Lancashire is a paradise for illegal personalised number plates like ADI 7ONE, ADI 5 LED and ADI 6 LED, because the police refuse to take action
wtjs wrote:
All the police need to do is click to send a report to DVLA who can rescind the rights to the plate, copy to insurance company.
All the police need to do is
All the police need to do is click to send a report to DVLA
They can, but they don’t. Maybe the TacOps officers receive payment from ADI Lighting to look the other way while they’re on the road, but they also adopt Nelsonian vision while binning my report of almost 2 months ago. I saw ADI 7ONE a week ago. They think it’s all over!
mpdouglas wrote:
Not in the Black Country they don’t. There are [i]loads[/i] of cars with obscured number plates roaming free and unhindered. They vary from the slightly smoked through completely illegible to now, the latest wheeze, completely missing. These are not old charabangs whose plate must have fallen off unnoticed in last week’s parking fracas, oh no, they are fully valeted performance cars sporting a smoothed over stealth look where the too-ugly plate is supposed to be.
Whenever I’m about and I see
Whenever I’m about and I see a number plate with excess dirt on it, I give it a quick clean. Even keep some soapy spray and cloths in my boot just for the occasion.
There was a fella I used to
There was a fella I used to see quite often on my regular commute that drove around in a nice clean car, except the rear number plate (and ONLY the number plate) was always absolutely filthy. Must’ve been really unlucky that the car wash always missed his plate eh?
UK must be different to
UK must be different to Australia.. drive around there with a dirty rego plate and you will definitely get pulled and issued with a very hefty fine..
https://www.criminaldefencelawyers.com.au/blog/what-are-the-penalties-for-an-un-clean-or-un-clear-vehicle-number-plate/
its stuff the UK police
its stuff the UK police usually ignore, like blown headlights, until the point they dont, if you follow what I mean, its like youd never be stopped solely for it, even though they could, but if you were caught speeding or they were doing one of their stop everything for 1 day a year multi agency things, it might get picked up. Supposed to be an MoT fail but most just carry spare legal plates in the boot, which magically fixes the problem.
funnily what noones said so far, Im amazed given the time of year they need to cover their plates up at all, most peoples cars, let alone vans, are covered in thick films of mud & rock salt (everyones seen van art yes ?) which completely obscures number plates. I think Ive had 3 close passes this winter already I couldnt submit because of that, and the roads sure arent going to be getting any cleaner for a while yet.