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.
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.
10 Comments
Read more...
Read more...
Read more...
Latest Comments
I was a few bikes away from the fatal collision during Ride London a few years ago, I barely avoided the victim's dog which was running loose. Definitely one of those slo-mo adrenaline fuelled moments and I was only doing about 40kph. At lead out speeds it really doesn't bear thinking about.
@Xenophon2 "That’s a lot of batteries to keep track of, to the point that I have a dedicated charger with 3 m USB-C cable in my office, another one at home. Can’t imagine having to deal with another battery such as on the Flight Attendant." Top tip: In reality most of the SRAM stuff lasts a month or two even with pretty heavy usage. I just charge all the batteries on the last Sunday of every month and have yet to be caught out. The SRAM batteries are so cheap / small / light it's also worth keeping a spare in a saddle bag or similar.
@chrisonabike There does seem to be evidence that 20 mph limits work on roads that already lend themselves to such low speeds, and I do think the lack of a 25 mph limit option is an issue for some roads. Speed limits should especially not be set very low in the hope that many or most drivers will only exceed them by a set amount because, not only is it not true that many people drive like that, the opposite can happen. Instead of targeting the drivers most likely to cause harm, you're putting the prohibition onto the behaviour of more sensible drivers and forcing the police to target them. The DfT guidance used to have a paragraph calling out this presumption. The extent to which road design and conditions at the time dictate traffic speeds is too stark to ignore. I've seen urban roads with signed 40 mph limits have lower average speeds than some roads with posted 20 mph limits. And yes, that road in Gloucester has signs openly inviting drivers to go faster, and almost none of them do: the non-compliance was about 2%. Compare that to over 99% non-compliance on some roads in Wales. What I'm mainly talking about is the increasing imposition of 20 mph limits on much higher-standard main roads. That's where you see extreme levels of non-compliance. In some cases, the average speed has even been known to go up after the limit has gone down. Showing such contempt just brings speed limits into disrepute and my contention is that drivers should take speed limits seriously.
@chrisonabike There does seem to be evidence that 20 mph limits work on roads that already lend themselves to such low speeds, and I do think the lack of a 25 mph limit option is an issue for some roads. Speed limits should especially not be set very low in the hope that many or most drivers will only exceed them by a set amount because, not only is it not true that many people drive like that, the opposite can happen. Instead of targeting the drivers most likely to cause harm, you're putting the prohibition onto the behaviour of more sensible drivers and forcing the police to target them. The DfT guidance used to have a paragraph calling out this presumption. The extent to which road design and conditions at the time dictate traffic speeds is too stark to ignore. I've seen urban roads with signed 40 mph limits have lower average speeds than some roads with posted 20 mph limits. And yes, that road in Gloucester has signs openly inviting drivers to go faster, and almost none of them do: the non-compliance was about 2%. Compare that to over 99% non-compliance on some roads in Wales. So no, when speed limits match the road, compliance is much higher, but speeds are not. What I'm mainly talking about is the increasing imposition of 20 mph limits on much higher-standard main roads. That's where you see extreme levels of non-compliance. In some cases, the average speed has even been known to go up after the limit has gone down. Showing such contempt just brings speed limits into disrepute and my contention is that drivers should take speed limits seriously.
@jaymack Yes...to an extent, and I'm happy at the moment with my twelve-year-old Dura Ace mechanical, but I must admit when I had Ultegra Di2 I did notice not so much the ease of shifting but the perfect trimming of the gears after every shift so that the chainline was always absolutely perfect and that did enhance the simple pleasure of being outside, for me anyway. At least until that day I forgot to charge the battery which died at the turnaround on an eighty-mile ride and had to ride a very lumpy forty miles home stuck in 50x14...
@Daclu Trelub Well no, given that I object to the use of derogatory slurs against people with mental health issues I think I'll "bother" the person who's using derogatory slurs against people with mental health issues. Have a little think, if capable: if your mother or someone else close to you had dementia or mental health issues, would you be happy for people to be pointing at them mockingly saying, "Looks like she's a few chips short of a fish supper"? Stop it.
@Rendel Harris Go and bother somebody else with your opinion.
I'm sure electronic gears, pedals, seat posts etc. are each a modern marvel but they all seem to solve a problem I've never encountered. However I have encountered others faffing while searching for batteries, cables and even a firmware update. All of which just gets in the way of cycling's simple pleasure - being outside
@Daclu Trelub Yeah...that sort of expression is OK when being jocular about someone who's a bit dense or slow on the uptake, is it really appropriate for someone who quite obviously has mental health/dementia issues?
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!