Is this the worst maintained cycle path in the UK?; Bikes ‘n’ guns ‘n’ drugs; Emergency bike bodges; Froome to leave Ineos; Emma Pooley sets new everesting record; Geraint Thomas’s cycling impressions + more
SUMMARY
“Sick of trying to stay alive on my bike in County Wicklow”
Thanks, everyone I am home. My phone has died so I can’t call anyone. The worst one was a white van I think they are called caddy vans. I got a look at the passenger as he looked in the mirror and by his face, they knew they had nearly hit me & run me off the road. Cyclists are https://t.co/JHEIDatoEl
— Bernie (@Bernieadufe) July 8, 2020
Islington’s first low-traffic neighbourhood is in St Peter’s ward
St Peter’s Low Traffic Neighbourhood in Islington – very very nice! We will definitely EXPECT CYCLES. 😀 Love that sign. pic.twitter.com/F0jw8AwwxH
— Streets for people (@BrendaPuech) July 8, 2020
Geraint Thomas's cycling impressions
French guy rides past today and shouts “allez Froome” I must be looking skinny, or just looking at my stem🤷♂️🤣
— Geraint Thomas (@GeraintThomas86) July 8, 2020
French guy presumably heading the opposite way.
Joaquim Rodriguez hospitalised after crash while mountain biking
According to Marca, Purito suffered a hard fall on Wednesday in Vallnord Bike Park in Andorra on Wednesday.
He seems to be broadly okay though.
Safe passing distance signs put up in Snowdonia
We mentioned these on the live blog the other day.
The signs urge motorists to leave a 1.5m gap when passinghttps://t.co/fjsyCfkAdh
— BBC Wales News (@BBCWalesNews) July 9, 2020
According to the BBC report, they’re basically covering the Brailsford Way.
Emma Pooley sets new everesting record
Another day, another everesting record.
The current overall everesting record is held by Lachlan Morton, who set it a week after losing what he thought was a new record because of wonky GPS data.
Earlier this week, 2010 world time trial champion, Emma Pooley, set a new women’s record, completing 10 laps of the Haggenegg climb (6.8 km at 13%) near Schwyz in Switzerland, to achieve the necessary 8,848 metres of climbing in a time of 8 hours 53 minutes and 36 seconds.
The route was approved in advance by the Hells 500 — the organisation behind the concept of everesting – which is something they said they’d start doing after Morton’s first effort.
It sounds like Pooley could have everested a fair bit quicker had she planned things differently.
She says she regretted choosing a slope with a 13.5% average gradient with insufficient gearing, adding that it was totally exposed and also featured a twisty technical descent with blind corners, gravel, and grass cuttings.
She also reckoned she made her attempt on a day when six tractors and hay carts were also doing reps of the climb and said she ran out of food and water on every climb from five onwards because she didn’t plan for enough.
“I blew up on the 8th ascent and no amount of gels and water stops would revitalise my legs,” she wrote on Strava. “Close to puking near the top of the last 3 laps.
“The whole point was to challenge myself: find my limits, and push them. Well ok, it felt more like my limits found me and punched me into a ditch but still: it was tough, I genuinely enjoyed it, and there was plenty of time to think.”
Chris Froome to leave Ineos at end of season
After a great many rumours, Team Ineos has confirmed that Chris Froome will leave at the end of the season.
Team INEOS confirms we will not be renewing @chrisfroome’s contract – so after 10 great years this season will be Chris’s last with the team.
— Team INEOS (@TeamINEOS) July 9, 2020
More to follow.
Emergency bike hacks
Cable ties feature prominently.
Here’s a collection of ridiculous bike hacks I’ve pulled off over the last year or two. Some I am proud of. Some I am confused about still being alive. https://t.co/oKhT5dVGmi
— Crashy McCiderface 🚴🏻♂️🌍🔥 (@philsturgeon) July 6, 2020
Bit of overlap, but you’ll also be interested in these nine roadside bodges. (When is a hack not a hack? When it’s a bodge.)
Froome heading to Israel Start-Up Nation
Welcome to our family, CHRIS FROOME!
ברוך הבא , כריס
Full statement : https://t.co/kXkZy3Uogq pic.twitter.com/eUKlwdWpdG— Israel Start-Up Nation / Israel Cycling Academy (@YallaIsraelSUN) July 9, 2020
Peterborough Police seize 24 stolen bikes (plus one or two other things...)
Tour bus firm recognises that negligence on part of driver resulted in death of cyclist in Edinburgh
In May 2017, Zhi Min Soh, a medical student from Malaysia, lost her life when she was run over by a Rabbie’s Tours minibus.
It is thought that she was thrown from her bike when her wheel became trapped in a tram track.
Her family were informed there would be no criminal case against the driver, but they launched a civil action through Cycle Law Scotland.
“Whatever caused Zhi Min to fall from her bicycle on the 31st May 2017 may never be known but had she been given sufficient room by the tour bus driver, she would most likely still be here,” commented Jodi Gordon, a partner at the firm.
It was never disputed that the driver had been travelling behind Zhi Min Soh and that he had been aware of her presence on the road.
He was also driving within the 20mph speed limit but had been closing on her when approaching a junction. When Zhi Min Soh fell from her bike, he was unable to take evasive action or stop in time.
There was no formal admission of liability from Rabbie’s Tours but the insurers agreed to compensate the family for their grief and sorrow. Cycle Law Scotland say that in doing so, there is recognition that there was negligence on the part of their driver.
“Zhi Min’s death was avoidable,” said Gordon. “The hope is that we learn from this unnecessary loss of life. As drivers, we must learn to recognise the vulnerability of cyclists and the fragility of life as we interact together on the roads.”
Froome leaving Ineos to join Israel Start Up Nation from next season
Our full story’s up now, including the implications for Froome riding this year’s Tour de France.
Korean coach and team captain handed life bans after triathlete took her own life
Inside The Games reports that Choi Suk-hyeon took her own life after years of physical and verbal abuse from the coaching staff at Gyeongju City Hall’s semi-professional triathlon team.
Coach Kim Kyu-bong and team captain Jang Yun-jung have been handed life bans by the Korea Triathlon Federation. Another athlete involved in the case was banned for 10 years.
Cars trapped in low traffic neighbourhood
Salford Council are trialling planters in a few locations to close roads to cars.
This is Stevenson Street.
How are all these cars dumped on our beautiful park going to get out 😂 pic.twitter.com/Sj5GtcYS8O
— Walk Ride Salford Central (@WRSalford) July 9, 2020
Video: What do you think would be an acceptable number of people dying on our roads?
No doubt you think this is an obvious point, but we think it’s well made all the same.
What do you think would be an acceptable number of people dying on our roads?
Powerful message by Transport Accident Commission Victoria. pic.twitter.com/sTb0w5c7aM
— Cycling Professor (@fietsprofessor) July 9, 2020
Cricket World Cup winner Jason Roy’s into cycling now
We had Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff racing Chris Froome on Zwift the other day and before that Darren Gough on Channel 5 series, Tour de Celeb.
Most strikingly of all, former England wicketkeeper Matt Prior got so into cycling he set up his own team.
The latest cricketer to show an interest is Jason Roy, who was a key member of England’s World Cup winning team last summer.
He’s been riding to maintain his fitness during lockdown and recently took delivery of a Ribble Endurance SL with Shimano Ultegra Di2.
“I love this bike, the way it rides is excellent,” he said. “The bike has especially smooth handling and also looks stunning. Cycling gives me another dimension to my training and I look forward to putting the hard miles in.”
Two-year-old cycling on Sheffield ring road
He turned 2 last week, rode on Sheffield ring road this week.
I asked her, 3: (“Do you like riding on the special new bike-only road?”) “Yeah! … I want to go further.”
🥰
Thanks @Bob_of_Hills, @SheffCouncil, @CycleSheffield etc… pic.twitter.com/hv4atcKglP
— Sam Wakeling (@samwake) July 9, 2020
The break has a six-minute gap in today's stage of the Tour
Hammering along together the break pass a “modern” chateau that could have come from a film set! No #TourdeFrance so it’s #TourdeMyGarden. 6 mins to the peloton so break should stay away, fast downhill finish! #TDF2020 #TDF #Cycling. pic.twitter.com/f6IfBUe3WJ
— Englishtifosi (@41Tourstages) July 9, 2020
Cycling is ‘great to blow the cobwebs away’ says Middlesbrough manager Neil Warnock
Neil Warnock was spotted out on his bike the other day.
Sir Neil Warnock out for a casual ride round Teesside, head to toe in Boro gear. Up the Boro and Up the Warnock! pic.twitter.com/4MYCiGHmBC
— Chris Garbutt (@Chris_Garbutt87) July 6, 2020
“Yes, that was me,” he told Teesside Live. “The lads went past in a car and pointed a camera at me and shouted ‘hello’.
“It’s not a club bike. I’ve had to pay for it if I’m honest. I had to pay for the hire of it. You’d think I get it sponsored at my age. It was an electric bike – I need that for the hills.”
It sounds like Warnock cycles for his mental health as much as his physical health.
“I did about 38km yesterday and I really enjoyed it,” he said. “You can get suffocated if you’re not careful and the problems become gigantic so you’ve got to just calm down and play it by ear.
“It was nice to blow the cobwebs away. I’ve always enjoyed that. And the countryside round here is just unbelievable so it was great to get out and do a few miles.”
Is this the worst maintained cycle path in the UK?
Essex County Council reportedly says that this stretch doesn’t need any repairs.
But is it the worst cycle path in the UK?
Is this the worst maintained cycle path in the UK?@TDF79 thinks this path in @essex_cc is the worst he has seen.https://t.co/gLFhYTucqO
— APPGCW (@allpartycycling) July 9, 2020
If we were to mix all the replies to this tweet together and boil them down to their essence, it would be something like, “Well that’s absolutely terrible but no, it isn’t even close to being the worst cycle path in the UK – let me tell you about this one path near me…”
Iwind – the world's first personal cycling air filter
Well this is, um….
Let’s just say it’s one of those Kickstarter campaigns and leave it at that, shall we?
“The essence of Iwind is optimum comfort and maximum efficiency. It sucks in the impure air around you, purifies it, and supplies fresh air back to the nose cone through the air duct.”
In the words of our editor: breathtaking.
9 July 2020, 08:04
9 July 2020, 08:04
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Latest Comments
@mitsky Just checking the figures and apparently the 2026 average cost is £58,000 per year per prisoner; worth noting that is only the direct cost, you then have to factor in ten years of lost tax income from the prisoner, ten years that the prisoner is making no contribution to society as a worker or as a consumer, plus the fact that if they were the primary breadwinner very likely the costs will include benefits for their family as well. None of which should be a reason for keeping violent recidivists out of prison of course, nor drug/drink drivers who kill, but it is a factor worth considering for lower-level offences.
@Surreyrider I ride in Surrey a fair bit and absolutely many do look like that but the point is they all *think* they're driving perfectly reasonably (as one discovers when remonstrating with someone who's skimmed one by 30cm, "I gave you masses of room") so deterrent penalties have little effect. That's why we need to strike at the root cause and actually train drivers properly and test them stringently (and more than once over the course of a potential 70+ years of driving, it's absolutely absurd that competence and knowledge in what for most people is the activity in their life that will run the biggest risk of killing people you never have to have your qualifications renewed).
@mitsky Imprisonment currently costs over £50k p.a. per prisoner and obviously that will rise over the course of a ten-year stretch with inflation. Regarding culpability and mitigating sentences etc, of course I'm not against condign punishment for drivers who kill (and cyclists on the tiny, tiny handful of occasions when this happens), including prison as appropriate; I was objecting to the ridiculous and oft-repeated demand of MM that drivers who kill cyclists must get ten years, "no excuses, no exceptions".
Hey, but their wool blend cycling adjacent t-shirts are/were fantastic.
@Surreyrider Still the boss. Ride one, you'll see why
@Smoggysteve "Most would happily ride on the roads and be treated with respect by drivers". But people aren't - and as far as I can see they won't be. Not until there is a lot less driving and it's slower around cyclists, and far more people driving have "skin in the game" eg. they sometimes cycle and their friends and family do also. That's what leads to the model - which is perhaps most advanced in NL - where cycling, walking and driving are all seen as separate normal transport modes. Their needs, vulnerabilities and any dangers to others are considered. And *that* leads to "mix / share when possible, separate when necessary". But "possible" is "where your 10-year old would be safe to cycle unsupervised" - so very few motor vehicles, going slow! And AFAICS everybody - even "existing cyclists" - is happy with the result. (I dunno about a few pro cyclists - but don't they tend to have training camps in different counties anyway?)
@quiff as an Edinburgh resident I can confidently say he's speaking without moving his lips in one sense: - while as I noted in a separate comment there *is* now some real separated cycle infra, all the examples i can think of have *at least as much space* for pedestrians. The rest of the "cycle infra" is essentially similar to the situation in the rest of the UK: eg. bus lanes*, cycle lanes and shared use paths (eg. "build" infra by sticking up a sign). Edinburgh is one of the places with a moderately extensive network of former railways which have been converted to "shared use" paths (completely motor traffic few). However though shared they are not narrow by UK standards. And this is all effectively a "free extra" for all non- motorised users, not like the "sign a cycle path" where pedestrians do lose space. I think this all comes from the "popular understanding" of cycling in which ultimately cyclists are the "other". They don't fit "motor vehicle" or "pedestrian" (including wheelchairs on the very rare occasions people think about that). Thus "cyclists are cheating" in multiple ways! They shouldn't get their own space as "there aren't enough" of them. And "they can just use the road / path". But being able to *choose* "on the road" or "on the footway" (shared use path) is clearly unfair - nobody else gets to do that! BUT of course even if they did pick just one of road OR pedestrian space it's still not fair anyway because they're "too slow" for the road (don't pay "road tax" etc...) and "far too fast" for pedestrians... * Though some existing cyclists may appreciate them when there are few buses, buses and bikes are a very poor mix for several reasons.
Whilst a shame for any employees, their bib shorts had the worst chamois pad I’d ever encountered, utter waste of my money. Even though they were Strava challenge discount purchases, still a waste of money.
Thanks, just going to have to suck it up. Got next week off and will take the easy, if expensive option...
@ktache Just go for the TNT Sports only package, £30.99 for a month. Alternatively have you considered experimenting with a VPN for a few pounds, allowing you to sign up for a free stream abroad, e.g. SBS Australia which streams the Tour live? If I didn't have a kind mate's login that's what I'd do!
17 thoughts on “Is this the worst maintained cycle path in the UK?; Bikes ‘n’ guns ‘n’ drugs; Emergency bike bodges; Froome to leave Ineos; Emma Pooley sets new everesting record; Geraint Thomas’s cycling impressions + more”
Good to see those passing
Good to see those passing distance signs – not a silver bullet but may help.
The BBC Wales Tweet says they are a UK first, but having read about stickers of Ainsley Harriott & Alan Partridge put on Bournemouth’s signs, I know that’s not true.
I have had many close passes
I have had many close passes just off those roundabouts so I’d say they work pretty well
HarrogateSpa wrote:
They’re a nice idea, but
I’d prefer to see a centre line between the cycle and car, and ‘Pass wide’ instead of ‘1.5m’.
According to the BBC report,
According to the BBC report, [i]”Cyclists taking to mountain roads in one part of Wales will see new signs reminding motorists to keep their distance…”.[/i]
And that is doubtless the truth of it. As to what the motorist will see, probably neither the signs nor the cyclists.
Wow, big Procycling news. I
Wow, big Procycling news. I know there were rumours, but now confirmed. That really puts the kybosh on Froome taking a fifth TdF title this year – there’s no way they will work for him now he’s off at the end of the year. In fact I suppose there’s now a big doubt that he’ll even make the squad. Or am I just venturing into tinfoil hat territory?
Can’t see INEOS taking Froome
Can’t see INEOS taking Froome with them, he’s not going to be allowed to lead and he’s not the right sort of rider to tow Bernal in the high mountains, even if he was prepared to bury himself for him (highly doubtful). Two options I think, either there’s been an agreement that Froome will miss the Tour in exchange for total support in the rescheduled Giro or Vuelta or there’ll be an earlier break by mutual consent – Israel Startup would be favourite to snap him up I think – so he can ride the Tour with another team.
If they left him at home then
If they left him at home then it’s defo not on performance grounds. I wish they’d have allowed a mid-season transfer. Would have made for an even more interesting race.
The question now is, who does Israel SUN bring in to support Froome?
Rumour is that the new UK
Rumour is that the new UK Team, Pirate Juice CC is eager to pick him up. Well put together with the best looking kit i have ever seen.
I notice from the recovered
I notice from the recovered bikes that they were mainly mountain and hybrid types, a few “ladies” too. I hope that some of them can be returned to their former owners.
Of course, because the police do not seem to be taking many bike thefts seriously, unless the victim is making an insurance claim there seems very little reason to always report the crime.
In the emergency bike hacks
In the emergency bike hacks thing, the double fishermans knot is mentioned, it is a far better knot for attaching two ends if they are going to be under tension than the standard reef (or granny). I have used it in the last week at work to improvise a securing “o” ring on a peice of equipment, and used the singled knot in elastic to create a very strong hair band.
I find it odd that Salford
I find it odd that Salford Council are using Road Closed signs when they only mean road closed to motor vehicles.
Because according to the police (and some posters) on this story the signage is unequivocal. https://road.cc/content/news/numerous-cyclists-ignoring-box-hill-closure-say-police-272657.
Why would a council put up a sign that meant no cycling (AT ALL!) when the whole intent seems to be to encourage cycling?
Hmmm….
Probably because ‘Road closed
Probably because ‘Road closed’ signs are readily available, whereas no-one’s bothered to make ‘Road closed to motor vehicles’ ones before (that there’s deviant thinking, after all).
Yup, as was me mentioned by
Yup, as was me mentioned by some at the time of the Box Hill brouhaha, if I recall.
ktache wrote:
There are plenty of examples of road closed signs with bicycle exemptions.
eburtthebike wrote:
The “no low flying motorcycles” one would seem to be about right.
There is a “no motor vehicles
There is a “no motor vehicles” sign which would serve the same purpose though – a motorbike and a car in a red circle.
“What do you think would be
“What do you think would be an acceptable number of people dying on our roads?”
That video brings home the fact that everyone killed has family and friends, and they aren’t just a statistic; should be shown to every driver annually.
Reminds me of the professor who asked his students to imagine a boon to society, anything they wanted, and it would be granted, and they came up with some great ideas. Then he told them that there would have to be human sacrifice for this boon, thousands of innocent lives every year, especially young people, so would they still want it? They all said no, then he pointed out that was exactly the situation with driving; a huge boon, but costing thousands of lives every year.