Live blog: Leave v Remain poll: Leave the Lycra or remain in it? Brompton boss clarifies Mamil comments; Vogel inspiration; (Very) off piste cross country skier; What has the EU ever done for you? NewPirelli tyre +more
SUMMARY
Live blog: Brompton boss clarifies Mamil comments
Yesterday we reported on comments made by Will Butler-Adams, the head of Brompton Bicycles, regarding Mamils and why there’s such enmity between motorists and cyclists.
The Telegraph had it down as a ‘rant about middle-aged men in Lycra’ but it sounds more like Butler-Adams was ranting about the need to normalise cycling.
He says he was actually crediting Mamils with ‘bringing cycling back to life’ after it ‘died’ in the Fifties.
Somehow this seems to have been taken out of context. I said that cycling as a mode of transport died in the 50’s & MAMILS drove its rediscovery but if we want mass cycling in our cities we need to normalise it, with great infrastructure & mass participation. pic.twitter.com/ssaK7S222g
— Will Butler-Adams (@Will_Brompton) February 28, 2019
London cycling commissioner responds to predecessor's criticism
Yesterday we reported on Andrew Gilligan’s accusation that Sadiq Khan is presiding over the construction of a “fake cycle network”.
He said that in many areas the mayor is doing little more than adding Quietway signs to roads and claiming them as new routes.
We’ve just added the response from the current London cycling commissioner, Will Norman. You can read the story here.
Sticky side down
Great save from Jack Carlin over at the World Champs in Poland:
well held @jack_carlin97 pic.twitter.com/cR7vKPt9HO
— Callum Skinner (@CallumSkinner) March 1, 2019
Great Britain pipped by Australia in both men's and women's team pursuit at Track World Championships
New world record for the Aussie men’s team.
Laura Kenny won't be riding the omnium
After Great Britain took silver in the team pursuit, Laura Kenny said she wasn’t performing to her usual standards (see below).
A bit more on that.
Cross country skiing doping investigation uncovers links to cyclists
Austria’s National Anti-Doping Agency has been working alongside police for the last few months on Operation Aderlass.
It’s been pretty high profile in the world of cross-crounty skiing.
Video of Austrian police walking in on Nordic skier Max Hauke WHILE HE WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF A BLOOD TRANSFUSIONhttps://t.co/1kUCPH1Mn7 pic.twitter.com/eOVethtfVY
— Neal Rogers (@nealrogers) February 28, 2019
It’s being reported that blood bags have been seized and that 50-60 athletes have been linked to the doctor involved – some of them cyclists.
Pirelli launch the Scorpion range of mountain bike tyres
Two years after launching their range of road tyres and a year after going road tubeless, Pirelli have finally hit the trails. There’s a tyre for hard terrain, soft terrain and a rear only option too. They’re available in the UK from March 2019, head over to off.road.cc for the full report.
Review of the Cinturato Velo tubeless is here and of the Pirelli P Zero silver road tyre here.
EU has agreed to change Road Infrastructure Safety Management directive to include safety of cyclists and pedestrians
While this might not apply to us by the end of the month, it’s good to hear the EU has agreed to have the needs of cyclists represented in the revision process of the Road Infrastructure Safety Management Directive, which the European Cyclist’s Federation said was previously car-centric. The ECF gave presentations for the European Commission and Members of the European Parliament and reached out to representatives of the Member States highlighting the importance of providing adequate infrastructure to all road users, including cyclists and pedestrians. They also prepared a set of amendments when the first legislative proposals were published.
Thanks in part to lobbying by the ECF, new changes to the RISM include:
– Member States shall take the needs of cyclists (as well as pedestrians and motorcyclists) into account in the implementation of all safety procedures defined in the Directive.
– The European Commission shall provide guidance on quality requirements regarding vulnerable road users. Those guidelines shall be developed in close cooperation with Member State experts. The ECF considers this a key element to make sure EU funding is not spent on infrastructure projects that are unsafe for cyclists or that create new barriers for cycling.
– Member States shall ensure that the training curricula for road safety auditors includes aspects related to cyclists and cycling infrastructure.
– Cycling traffic and cycling infrastructure are on the indicative list of data to be collected in the new procedure of network-wide road assessment. This should form a solid basis for more evidence-based policies.
Leave V Remain Poll: Leave the Lycra or Remain a MAMIL* and proud
Normalising cycling’s image as a mode of transport in the UK is a hot topic at the moment – the furore about Brompton boss, Will Butler Adams’, comments on Lycra and his clarification of them below is proof of that. It’s also reflected in the row over between former London Cycling Commissioner Andrew Gilligan and his successor over the substance of Sadiq Khan’s vaunted cycling infrastructure improvements in his term as mayor.
One thing we can all agree on though, Lycra the sight of cyclist’s in Lycra (particularly if they’re middle aged) does seem to get some people’s goat. So in our usual spirit of Friday Leave V Remain mutual love tolerance and respect we’re asking if you’d be prepared to do your bit to normalise the image of cycling by leaving the Lycra on your next urban adventure or will you remain a MAMIL/MAWIL (or some variety thereof) and proud? The poll is live – have your say!
If you need some inspiration...
For @KristinaVogel to be so positive after going through something so horrendous is nothing sort of incredible
More on her interview with @Chrishoy https://t.co/o62H0peRB2 pic.twitter.com/Rdn2nFlpWk
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) March 1, 2019
Watch Chris Hoy’s interview with Kristina Vogel. Hoy called her “an incredible human being”, and Vogel recently said her passion for cycling “still burns” despite her paralysis. Link to Hoy’s full length feature on the BBC here.
Motorist who claimed he was blinded by sun jailed for three years for killing cyclist
Why the hell would you choose to drive?
There must be a cyclist holding up all the traffic pic.twitter.com/i0Ilt1Acu4
— Jorgy (@Jorgy1967Tiger) February 27, 2019
Less cyclists holding up traffic on the way home pic.twitter.com/dzleZ9pVF2
— Jorgy (@Jorgy1967Tiger) February 27, 2019
Alex Dowsett crashes out on UAE Tour stage 6
#UAETOUR Unfortunately, @alexdowsett could not finish today’s stage 6 due to a crash. He was taken from the parcours to the hospital for examination. First diagnosis besides abrasions and bruises: fracture of the thumb. Get well soon, mate!
— Team KATUSHA ALPECIN (@katushacycling) March 1, 2019
Despite a fractured thumb, it seems like the Katusha-Alecin rider had a fairly lucky escape.
Near Miss of the Day 261: Oncoming driver forced to slam brakes on
Yeah, probably not really the right time to overtake judging by the smoking tyres of the fella going the other way.
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Latest Comments
Probably the coolest thing about this lamp is that it can be sandwiched between the mount and a Garmin, which means it uses net zero mounts. How cool it would be if lamps like Magicshine Hori did the same and provided a Garmin mount at the bottom for another piece of kit! BTW I wouldn't judge it too harshly about its battery life. I take this lamp primarily as a compact DRL, which uses flash mode and offers decent battery life. The way I see it, the full mode is for emergency rides back home only.
Nothing necessarily wrong with enforcing against people cycling under the influence, but it's the performative song and dance about it and the implication that new rules and punishments are needed because 'they can get away with anything at the moment' - when actually the powers already exist and they could just quietly get on with using them if they wanted to.
@cardch Or we could support actual UK made rather than rebadged Chinese brands. Gloria are made by Waltly and you can even just order direct from them for far less.
@mdavidford the new No10 North office at First Street doesn't allow ebikes in the bike storage which is inside this new build site
@lesterama I don't think you will be disappointed with either option.
Baroness: "...the concern of pedestrians – many of us elderly and disabled – put at risk and having to use pavements and crossings with trepidation (and in some cases stay at home)..." Just wait 'till she hears about motor traffic! (Presumably her point would be "I still can, but not those cyclists...") I could be very wrong but does the good baroness walk everywhere? I've got a suspicion she might drive (or be driven) quite a bit? Ah, but ... careful and considerate responsible licenced and insured drivers, identified by their vehicle numberplates ... which means that any deaths of pedestrians crossing roads or even on the pavements could only be the work of a few reckless drivers. And fortunately the legal system has no problems permanently removing them from the road at the first offence...
@lesterama I chose a Fairlight. I think the attention to detail and craftmanship is just as good, but you save a chunk of cash. The obvious caveat is that it depends on what features you want/value. Fairlight only has four models, all with steel frames. There's nothing in Fairlight's line up that is a direct comparison with this Definition Integrale, for example.
RE: Build it and they will come, #782 "Glasgow isn't Amsterdam" - good to see this despite "but we have weather in Scotland!" / "But our city was bulldozed for motor traffic so we can't go back" / "We have narrow historic streets" / "There's no cycling culture here!" / "but there's a hill" etc. But yes, Glasgow isn't Amsterdam in that picture because: - the junction has very little provision for cycling (what about those going left?) - "single file" - carrying stuff on backs (not slinging your bag in the front rack / basket) - lots of "dress for the journey, not the destination" (hi vis, helmets etc) - no children to be seen
@the little onion Whilst it might seem that way I think perhaps it is a good thing for a crackdown to be launched against drink-cycling ebike renters. They have become a very popular alternative to public transport or cabs after a night out and speaking from experience in London at closing time you will see a large number of quite clearly drunk people staggering out and hopping on a Lime or Forest bike, and when I'm cycling or taking the bus in town late at night I do see a lot of people quite clearly not in a fit state to be riding any bicycle weaving about in traffic. Of course, I'm sure there are a number of people who ride their personal, privately owned ebikes when not in a fit state to do so but I think that would be quite a small number, simply because ebikes are expensive and highly nickable bits of kit and most people wouldn't risk leaving them locked up outside in London at night whilst they go to a pub or club. I would have no problem with the police running a campaign to stop Lime etc riders at random for sobriety checks, with the proviso that they do exactly the same with motorists.
@mctrials23 Agreed. An accurate exposition.
10 thoughts on “Live blog: Leave v Remain poll: Leave the Lycra or remain in it? Brompton boss clarifies Mamil comments; Vogel inspiration; (Very) off piste cross country skier; What has the EU ever done for you? NewPirelli tyre +more”
Can’t argue with that.
Can’t argue with that.
Typical newspaper trying to
Typical newspaper trying to make controversy where there is none.
Typical newspaper trying to
Typical newspaper trying to make controversy where there is none.
Typical newspaper trying to
Typical newspaper trying to make controversy where there is none.
He needed to clarify his
He needed to clarify his comments because it came across that a person who sells bikes was criticising people who buy bikes. Not a good look.
Miller wrote:
He’s been in the industry for years – always incredibly positive about cycling. So is it him that’s in the wrong or the journalist looking for something to exploit….
I know what I’d bet on.
I’ll take Will B-A’s word for
I’ll take Will B-A’s word for it – there’s no way I’m signing up to The Torygraph to read the full hatchet job…sorry, article. Before I read that explanation from him, I did think it might just be his ‘Gerald Ratner moment’.
“He says he was actually
“He says he was actually crediting Mamils with ‘bringing cycling back to life’ after it ‘died’ in the Fifties.”
This is how I read it from the quotes in road.cc but the headline said the opposite. I shall take my Brompton off the bonfire as soon as I get home. Hope no one has lit it 😛
StoopidUserName wrote:
That was how I’d read it too as I couldn’t quite tally the headline with the actual comment, so just assumed there must have been more in the paywalled Torygraph article, but seemingly not
Worthy of Rita Skeeter I’d
Worthy of Rita Skeeter I’d say!