Anger over suspended sentence for unlicensed driver; Pendleton hears “rapid crunching gears” when overtaking men; Cllr’s child threatened by 4×4 driver; José Mourinho cycles around training pitch; Froome “can’t wait for August” + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Weekend catch-up
Been carefully drawing up your list of six friends and relatives to meet up with in a park somewhere all weekend? Here’s what you missed on road.cc…
Police escort group of four cyclists off Cheshire motorway
Nottingham cyclist hospitalised after axe attack
Manchester plans £10m bike hire scheme – says it’s learned from Mobike failure
Primal launches Dominic Cummings eye test jersey
Police retrieved “five pieces of fingers” from the Humber Bridge after a cyclist fell off his bike
Cyclists to be allowed back into Richmond Park – but only at weekday commute times for now
"The vast majority of delays are caused by motorists", say Surrey's Road Policing Unit
For all the motorists that moan about being delayed by a minute or two before they can overtake a cyclist or horse rider…
Footage from a motorway, where there are no cyclists or horse riders.
The vast majority of delays are caused by motorists.pic.twitter.com/OnlSxUvTn1
— Roads Policing Unit (RPU) – Surrey Police – UK (@SurreyRoadCops) May 30, 2020
…and they cite this footage from a motorway at the weekend (curious since the country is supposed to be in lockdown) as to why it’s not cyclists or horseriders that do 99.9% of the ‘holding up’. While some questioned their use of a motorway traffic jam to illustrate the point, they say that it simply served to show that “the vast majority of queues are caused by motorists and their own actions.
We get numerous meaaages from drivers complaining they are ‘held up’ by cyclists or horse riders and make them late.
The vast majority of queues are caused by motorists and their own actions – a point illustrated well by a big queue on a motorway.— Roads Policing Unit (RPU) – Surrey Police – UK (@SurreyRoadCops) May 30, 2020
Labour Councillor says 4x4 driver told her 11-year-old son: "You could have lost your life there, boy"
‘You could have lost your life there, boy’ said the 4×4 driver to my 11 year old son on his bike. He was far left on the road, her car was so big it straddled across the lane. And she not only expected him to stop for her but then told him that she has nearly killed him.
— Jo Rigby (@Jo_Earlsfield) May 31, 2020
Earlsfield Labour Councillor Jo Rigby claimed that her son was told this by the driver of a 4×4, even though he was ‘far left on the road’. She continued: “And on his own street. Which is 20 mph. And was built in 1895. Simply no room for these enormous vehicles.”
Not her kid. She would have detached from it if she had of killed him. This is the anti-cyclist narrative and why we need the media to stop feeding it.
— Jo Rigby (@Jo_Earlsfield) May 31, 2020
She then says that anti-cycling narrative in the media is to blame for the driver’s poor attitude.
Don't be a d*ick, take your litter home
A public service announcement from our own Jo Burt, who had to carry home someone’s very expensive broken inner tube because they couldn’t be bothered to do it themselves… it’s not hard, is it?
Van driver who caused cyclist to be placed in induced coma after sending him crashing into a wall given suspended jail term
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Numerous people have commented on Leicestershire Live‘s coverage of the incident and court report that 37-year-old Aaron Baxter’s sentence appeared to be extremely lenient, after he was given an eight month suspended jail term and a 12 month driving ban for aggravated vehicle taking, causing serious injury by dangerous driving and driving without a licence or insurance. Baxter had a previous conviction for driving without insurance in 2015, and didn’t reapply for his licence.
Baxter hit the 22-year-old victim on 19th August last year as he attempted to overtake another vehicle, and failed to spot the cyclist indicating to turn right as he pulled back in. The cyclist was knocked off his bike and was sent into a wall on Narborough Road South in Leicester, after Baxter hit him at around 29mph. He suffered what were described as horrific injuries, including a bleed on the brain, a broken eye socket and damage to both knees. He was placed in an induced coma at the scene before being taken to hospital in Coventry, where he spent two weeks recovering. He then spent six more weeks in recovery at home, and suffered from stress and anxiety.
Father-of-six Baxter stopped at the scene but then drove off in the white transit van, saying he had to take his children ‘somewhere’. He then returned – testing negative for alcohol – and it was learned that he had taken his father’s van without permission for the journey.
During sentencing, Judge Dean said that the fact Baxter was the victim of an alleged knife attack that almost cost him his life in October last year – three months after his motoring offence – was “powerful mitigation”, explaining: “I don’t know whether the fact you were a victim of an unrelated knife attack in October has brought home to you how the cyclist must have felt as a consequence of your actions in August last year.
“There was more than momentary inattention – you didn’t see him in time to avoid striking him.
“You accepted responsibility for what happened at the scene and expressed remorse.
“You’ve been punished by being the victim of an unrelated crime since this and are still affected by that and your life has been changed by the attack upon you as well.”
Now you can wear the Maglia Rosa before the actual winner of the Giro gets his hands on it
Today would have been the finish of the 103rd Giro d’Italia in Milano. The winner would have received this exact jersey, the only difference being the team logo in the window on the front. Shop now https://t.co/WkVXWiPJVY#castellicycling @CastelliCycling pic.twitter.com/9l1y9bn19w
— Giro d’Italia (@giroditalia) May 31, 2020
Yesterday would have been the final day of the 103rd Giro d’Italia, which hasn’t yet happened for obvious reasons… and now you can now buy an exact replica of the pink jersey that the General Classification winner would have been proudly wearing on the podium. It comes in the high-end ‘Race’ or more wallet-friendly ‘Competizione’ flavours, priced at £130 and £87 respectively on Castelli’s website.
All being well, the rearranged Giro will take place between 3rd-25th October.
Victoria Pendleton says she often hears "rapid crunching gears" behind her when she overtakes men
The two-time track cycling Olympic gold medallist turned jockey has kept a lower profile as of late, and in one of her latest Instagram posts says that she rarely gets recognised nowadays: “I think I am quite nondescript….which is no bad thing. It allows me to be a chameleon which I enjoy”, she says.
Pendleton also says that when out riding her bike on the road, some males don’t appear to take it too well when she overtakes them:
“If I’m out about on my road bike and I overtake a man for example …. I will hear a rapid crunching gears as they try to “make amends for it” occasionally combined with a mumbling of “I must of been daydreaming…like they need an excuse!” Usually followed with a pedal mashing (usually short lived) stomp back past me.
“It doesn’t bother me I think it’s funny. I’ve always been underestimated because of the way I look….one day I want to be intimidating…..but for now this is what I look like, a self portrait.”
In a post from yesterday, Pendleton also let her Insta followers in on her familiar-sounding lockdown routine: “I get up, drink coffee, eat porridge, train and then faff about the house, making more mess to try and make less, do gardening, admin, housework, DIY…days punctuated only by food not time. Trying to keep busy and resist snacking…..or get lured back into trying (one more time) to make a kickass sourdough!”
Everesting news: Buchmann's attempt deemed invalid, and a 'base camp' everesting while doing a wheelie
The feat of ‘everesting’ – which is cycling or running up the same hill continuously until you’ve rode the equivalent of Mount Everest’s 8,848m of vertical ascent – is so popular it’s almost worthy of its own newsfeed nowadays, as official everesting record keepers Hells 500 revealed last night that they’ve now got 7,000 successful attempts on record. The rules are that riders must use the same hill from start to finish, and the finish time is the total time taken to complete the elevation with breaks included… meaning that Bora-Hansgrohe’s Emanuel Buchmann failed in his attempt at the weekend, which was celebrated as an ‘unofficial world record’ when it was claimed he finished in 7 hours 28 minutes.
Hells 500 said: “An amazing ride, no doubt, but it isn’t a new Everesting record:
1) Unfortunately the first climb was on the other side of the mountain, which means these were not repeats of the same climb
2) The quoted time of 07:28 is moving, not elapsed time
3) Putting aside the ‘Everesting’ component of it, for interests sake the moment the 8848m/29029ft was hit was actually 07:51:42″
That means the record set by pro mountain biker Keegan Swenson less than two weeks ago still stands, at 7 hours 40 mins.
Also over the weekend just gone, Simone Temperato completed a ‘base camp’ ride (4,424m) while doing a wheelie. It took him over nine hours in total, and you can find the stats on his Strava profile.
José Mourinho needs a bike to get around the training ground due to social distancing
Jose out there cruisin’ in training pic.twitter.com/ByluAfPwjf
— B/R Football (@brfootball) May 21, 2020
The football manager – currently boss at Tottenham Hotspur – revealed that the reason he was spotted on a vintage bike at the club’s training ground in Enfield was because the players are so spread out due to social distancing regulations.
He told Sky Sports: “There was a period where we were starting 9am in the morning and finishing 5pm because by having players training individually, we had to organise lots of different slots, and the boys were coming at different times.
“We were really tired for a certain period. You can find a funny picture of me on a bike because we covered a huge distance and without the bike, I couldn’t control all of the sessions at the same time!”
Forced to work 9 till 5? Barbaric eh José!
Cyclist trampled on by boys racing horses
Limerick cyclist trampled on by horses being raced by boys
A CYCLIST was hospitalised after being knocked off her bike and trampled on by horses being raced by boys. It occurred on the UL river walkway / cycle path at 4pm on Thursday. Kate Twohig twe https://t.co/qU6IPSFvwf pic.twitter.com/9T5DGKDKBp
— TWDII (@TWDI_Ireland) May 31, 2020
The terrifying incident on a shared use path in the Irish city of Limerick occurred last Thursday, when Kate Twohig was trampled on by horses being raced by youths.
She wrote on social media:
“I was cycling along the bank and I had one of my biggest scares. Three boys on horses were racing down the path. They narrowly missed hitting a girl around three-years-old but the father managed to grab her in time.
“They collided straight into me. I was knocked from my bike and trampled.
“I was unlucky to have met them, but extremely lucky to come away with just the injuries I have.
“My knee was split open. I was very lucky as if it was half an inch higher or lower my tendons and ligaments would have been in trouble. I’m a keen marathon runner and cyclist. I was just coming back from a knee injury before this.”
Brazilian footballer to complete his return to former club by riding 600km to get there
Tour do Fred: centroavante inicia maratona de 600 km e cinco dias para se apresentar ao Fluminense https://t.co/mbb0xerJkL pic.twitter.com/KSVvmZfpoL
— globoesportecom (de 🏠) (@globoesportecom) June 1, 2020
36 year-old Fred – who has 39 caps for the national team – is returning to Fluminese, where he played between 2009-2016… and he has revealed that he will get there by embarking on the Tour de Fred, cycling 600km from Belo Horizonte to Rio to raise funds for those in need during the pandemic. Fred will donate a basket of essentials to families in need for every kilometre travelled and will also direct any extra fees generated through partnerships to charity, according to Explica.
Fred also said that he will not be revealing his route or locations during the journey due to the need for people to stay at home during the pandemic.
Anger over sentencing of unlicensed Leicester driver who left cyclist with serious injuries
WTF?!! Yet another driver judge (?), letting a fellow horrific driver off scot-free. We will never have justice for people cycling, as long as it is administered by drivers. @StopKillingCycl
— Donnachadh McCarthy (@DonnachadhMc) June 1, 2020
Disgraceful
— moderniseyourstairs (@valeofwigan) June 1, 2020
road.cc readers have reacted with anger to the sentencing of Aaron Baxter (covered further down this page) who despite having no license or insurance, and driving in a vehicle he had taken without permission, avoided a custodial sentence. The judge took the unusual step of taking into account an incident that happened after the offence, when Baxter was stabbed and needed a life-saving operation to survive the injuries. The just said his circumstances were “powerful mitigation”, and also heard from Baxter’s defence that he was “extremely remorseful” over his actions.
Don’t the prosecution have 28 days to appeal an unduly lenient sentence?https://t.co/HEN9YfpyZ5
— Theo (@Theoonabike) June 1, 2020
Some are calling for an appeal against the sentence, which the prosecution can do if they feel it was unduly lenient.
Uber allegedly scraps up to 20,000 Jump e-bikes
Head over to eBikeTips to read all about the curious tale of Uber’s sale of their Jump e-bike operation to Lime, which they insist had to involve the scrapping (or ‘responsible recycling’) of up to 20,000 perfectly rideable e-bikes.
Froome "can't wait for August"
I can’t wait for August 🙏😊🗓 @UCI_cycling #cycling pic.twitter.com/ANFsf54pLW
— Chris Froome (@chrisfroome) June 1, 2020
With the Tour de France supposedly beginning at the end of August, is this a warning shot fired towards his GC-contending teammates Egan Bernal and Geraint Thomas, or are we reading too much into things? It was reported Froome could be mulling a mid-season transfer in time for this year’s postponed Tour, but so far nothing has come of the rumours.
1 June 2020, 08:19
1 June 2020, 08:19
May is known for being more enthusiastic about cycling than the other one...
James May urges Prime Minister Boris Johnson to “bomb us with bicycles” with £80bn HS2 cash
Grand Tour presenter also says not wearing a helmet "makes you look like someone making a tiresome point”
1 June 2020, 08:19
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Latest Comments
@wtjs If you think this is just me placing items you've all seen before in a convenient and relevant topic handy for future quotation, you're right. This is Stagecoach following the police example at the same spot. The Stagecoach excuse for these 'alleged close-passing incidents' is that the driver 'had to pull in because of oncoming traffic'.
officers investigating submitted video “must not undertake forensic analysis of footage, but should carry out a triage function using investigative, non-analytical viewing of the footage alongside the evidence supplied by the person reporting the incident” Classic police Bollocks-Speak. What they mean is: we have made sure that we have no officers who have completed the 3 Year Police Course on Tape Measuring. This is Lancashire Constabulary overtaking me in a 2021 Peugeot 308 (width to mirrors 186 cms) while staying within the 370 cm left lane
Ward says he has been unable to obtain any documents from that meeting and is considering a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office Good luck to him, but they have numerous dodges on standby to stop him. The problem with such an FoI request is that the police and other authorities determined to 'Sod the Cyclists' are not at all concerned by that threat, as they are well aware that the Information Commissioner is really the Restriction of Information Commissioner and is very successful in that aim. The first dodge from the police is that the cyclist is a witness, not a Victim. Then it's invariably 'it's personal information about the driver' etc. etc. I have been trying since the incident below occurred to find what actually happened when they claimed they were taking action. On 1.9.26 ICO declared that it's taking 7 months from the receipt of a new complaint before it's even allocated to a case officer. Even for long established complaints they're on a really determined go-slow: just like the police, it's 'whinge, whinge, we're so terribly busy'. This is how they're killing off the FOIA. The last letter from ICO was really an incitement for me to drop the complaint: (direct quotation) "If you can’t wait, we understand. You can withdraw this complaint at any time, just let us know". The police know this and refuse any information about anything. My concern was 'what can I do if the police just lie about what they did?' I have no doubt that they would if they thought they could get away with it.
"Exceptional circumstances" - presumably after the devil is observed buying snow chains, or Ryanair investing in a new fleet of pigs ...?
@Benthic "just go round - be reasonable it's only for a minute every once in a while" / "we have to trust people to be sensible and most are" / "how else are shops going to get deliveries?" / "we need taxis" / "what about the disabled?" And the honest answer, not heard: "look, we know everyone does at some point, and while most people at some point get annoyed with *others* doing that they'd see this as a massive imposition / loss if we stopped *them*. If I tried to get (the existing...) laws enforced the police would mostly ignore me, I'll get death threats then be booted out of office. And even if not we'd run through the budget in a month or two trying to enforce things"
@Paul J Van Thourenhout's bringing back the Eli Iserbyt vibe we've not been missing in CX.
“Ideally we would like to get to a point where a national approach is implemented, but we are still a long way from that becoming reality, so we are trying to provide some consistency through national guidance.” He added he believed Derbyshire Constabulary’s policy appeared in line with the guidance Yes, that's what they want, ALL forces to adopt the Derbyshire approach: essentially, abandon the concept of non-contact close-passing, reduce whatever you're doing (which is generally very little anyway) so that it's only a very occasional joke advice letter that drivers can safely ignore. Forces need little encouragement to follow this advice! It is no doubt tedious to read this yet again from me, but it's true: the police attitude is 'get yourself KSI'd and we'll see what we can do'. The police really are b******s.
@Paul J yeah the comment in X summed it up nicely "a frustrated bully". Vanthourenhout should be assured a warm welcome at the Glasgow CX World Cup round at least 😆
@jasperdog Thanks. It's probably still a Secan for me, although there's Cotic, which uses UK built frames. Fairlight uses, of course, Reynolds tubing (made from German steel, I think) welded in Taiwan.
It's only a broken leg sir, not really that "exceptional" is it now? Tell you what, wait and see if it gets gangrene and needs to be amputated then we might be able to take some action.
18 thoughts on “Anger over suspended sentence for unlicensed driver; Pendleton hears “rapid crunching gears” when overtaking men; Cllr’s child threatened by 4×4 driver; José Mourinho cycles around training pitch; Froome “can’t wait for August” + more on the live blog”
I do enjoy the Surrey Police
I do enjoy the Surrey Police tweets – though they are playing with fire, the intended targets egos are far to fragile for such logic.
Feel Jo Rigby’s tweet gets close to the real problem here – ‘You could have lost your life there, boy’, yet never a chance of loosing a licence. Life seems to be they only allowable loss for bad behaviour on our roads. Excuse me, life of the vulnerable.
kt26 wrote:
Spot on! I shall be reusing this pearl of wisdom
Or as Jeff Tumlin, head of
Or as Jeff Tumlin, head of San Francisco’s transit authority so accurately put it, driving a car is the only place you can get away with murder by calling it an accident…
I wouldn’t agree the self
I wouldn’t agree the self detachment of drivers around cyclists,and weve all experienced the ‘I saved your life by not running you over’ conversations with a driver I’m sure, is caused by an anti cycling narrative in the media any more than its caused by a lack of a pro cycling narrative either .
Its something more deeply rooted in some peoples psyche that they dont see cyclists as people riding bikes,but just as mere objects almost, so theres no thought process going on behind it, drivers literally dont think when they are around cyclists, that’s the problem.
There’s even bumper stickers
There’s even bumper stickers for it. The “but did you die” quote from the movie The Hangover. As if that excuses poor driving.
There was a study done by an Australian University that found people perceive cyclists as less than human, more like cockroaches. Attitudes like that are taught not natural.
And even when you do lose
And even when you do lose control of your vehicle and somehow (and let’s not kid ourselves here, by sheer luck) avoid wiping out a bunch of innocent cyclists you get hailed as some sort of hero.
How come there is so much
How come there is so much leniency for motorists who inflict harm on Cyclists who have no protection around them? If someone was walking around with a loaded gun they would be immediately locked up until further notice!
I agree and I wonder why he
I agree and I wonder why he was attacked by someone with a knife and if they had caught his attacker, would the Courts have given him a suspended sentence. I think not.
I agree and I wonder why he
I agree and I wonder why he was attacked by someone with a knife and if they had caught his attacker, would the Courts have given him a suspended sentence. I think not.
Am I reading that right,the
Am I reading that right,the judge in the Baxter case has used their unrelated knife stabbing,as mitigation for the sentencing for leaving a cyclist in an induced coma as well as the catalogue of crimes leading upto it,because theyve been punished enough. Is this the law by karmic application now ?
I know, it is mental.
I know, it is mental.
The cyclist was almost killed in August, then an unrelated event happens in October.
What has the stabbing got to do with the original offences and the fact that it was reoffending ?
I’m hoping that some of these
I’m hoping that some of these new cyclists will realise quite how vulnerable cyclists are when they get back in their cars, and drive a bit more considerately.
eburtthebike wrote:
I hope you’re right.
Quote:
Er – no, he didn’t. The article says he drove off to take his children “somewhere” (Barnard Castle, perhaps?) and only then came back, where it was discovered he wasn’t licenced or insured.
Sheena is a punk rocker; that
Sheena is a punk rocker; that’s all!
Trampled by horses!? OMFG!
Trampled by horses!? OMFG!
I trust that the Gardai are actively searching for the three boys riding furiously? I’m sure they would if three cyclists had run down the three yer old girl also mentioned in the story.
According to Google,
According to Google, “Punishment has five recognized purposes: deterrence, incapacitation, rehabilitation, retribution, and restitution.” Perhaps the judge could explain which one is fulfilled by an event unrelated to the crime, three months later. “Opportunity to possibly empathise with the victim” is not a form of punishment.
The 4 x 4 driver / child
The 4 x 4 driver / child story reminds me of an incident earlier this year – I was cycling behind a 4 x 4 when it stopped and then started reversing. The road was single carriage way so I had to scramble out the way. I pressed my self up against the parked cars and the 4 x 4 driver reversed past me, lowered the window and said ‘careful, you’re going to get yourself killed’ in that patronizing, why are you on the road tone of voice.