“Soundbite silliness” – London Cycling Campaign on taxi boss bike lane jibe; Top XR Chiswick church trolling on pop-up bike lane; Mo Salah tweets bike pic, helmet row ensues; Cyclist vs driver road rage; GB Olympic champs launch coffee brand + more
SUMMARY
Weekend catch-up
Spent the weekend meeting family and friends at local parks one-at-a-time? Here’s what you missed on road.cc…
Bournemouth seafront cyclists given “one more weekend” to ride responsibly
14 million people ready to get on their bikes says British Cycling
UK at a crossroads to choose cycling and active travel for the future, says Chris Boardman
Geraint Thomas predicts riders will “blow up” in final week of Tour de France
What's Mo Salah riding?
The Liverpool striker uploaded this pic last night, and appears to have taken to two wheels for some lockdown exercise (and for impromptu photo shoots) while the Premier League is still on hold – but what we really wanna know is… what’s he riding? We think we have an idea, perhaps we can confirm or deny with the bike brand later today!
Cyclist and driver filmed engaging in comedy fisticuffs in Devon
In the clip, a woman can be heard shouting “don’t do it guys”, as the cyclist in the black corner – wearing cycling shoes and what looks to be a TT helmet – trades blows with with a heavily-built man in the white corner. She then can be heard saying “I’m not strong enough to intervene, don’t intervene”, before another man can be heard telling the pair to calm down.
According to the admin who uploaded the footage, the owner of the pickup we see three seconds into the clip was not involved.
It was brought to our attention by a road.cc reader who used to live in Crediton, and still follows the ‘Spotted: Crediton and surrounding areas’ group on Facebook. He told us: “It’s worth noting that cycling shoes should always be removed before getting into it with a car driver.”
It’s unclear who shot the footage or what caused the furious punch-up, and as far as we know nothing has been reported to the authorities.
A little something for those who say cyclists should have number plates
In response to all the haters out there I have invented a cyclist registration board. Patent is pending. pic.twitter.com/niBIUnwO0p
— 🚴🏻♂️Fast Felipe🚴🏻♂️ (@2wheelsnot4) May 17, 2020
This resourceful gentleman just needs to pay his road tax, don some high-viz and he’s good to go…
Olympic champs launch 'values-driven' coffee brand
5 Rings Coffee is described as “a sustainable and ethical ‘third wave’ coffee brand”, and is the brainchild of Rio 2016 gold medallists Callum Skinner, Owain Doull and Philip Hindes. Here they are with their medals just so ya know…
Hindes comments: “The journey for 5 Rings began way back in 2012 when, as we developed a lasting friendship through our international travels in professional cycling, we would, without fail, go on the hunt for great coffee. In our cycling careers, we were fortunate to have reached the pinnacle of any athlete’s profession by becoming Olympic champions. We’ve also been fortunate to share many memories and stories which, we believe, coffee is all about. Coffee is so much more than a drink – it brings people together to socialise and discuss the good, the bad and the ugly of life.
“By launching our company today, we are aiming to contribute to the greater good of the coffee community, bringing world class and sustainably-sourced coffee to the UK and international market. We are looking forward to starting this journey.”
5 Rings say that due to coronavirus they are currently unable to sell ground coffee, so launch with two whole bean varieties priced at £7.99 and £8.49 – the website is here.
Skinner appears to be a particularly busy chap at the moment, having launched the Rear View cycling glasses on Kickstarter last week and continuing in his position as a BOA athlete rep for Global Athlete. Hopefully a few Skinner Lattes will help him to stay alert through his busy working days…
Mo Salah's cycling snap turns into helmet row
Mo Salah’s innocent photo of himself riding a handsome road bike (that we’re yet to identify) and uploaded to Twitter and Instagram has prompted a number of responses that questioned his lack of helmet…
Pity he didnt wear a lid!
— Wheelnut (@Wheelnut8) May 18, 2020
Helmet !!!
— Kristian Stentoft (@Kstentoft) May 18, 2020
No Mo! Where’s your helmet? 🤷🏼♂️
— David Allison (@DavidAWF8) May 18, 2020
Of course in the United Kingdom cycling helmets are not compulsory and Salah isn’t doing anything wrong, although one reply makes a case that we can perhaps agree deserves some consideration…
I don’t support compulsory helmet use but considering how easy he goes down I’d probably advise it in this case
— Colin Thompson (@colinwthompson) May 18, 2020
Gordon Ramsay takes a swipe at Cornish locals who took issue with him riding too far from his (second) home
A UK tabloid claimed last month that Ramsay was “risking further wrath” from neighbours by riding outside during the lockdown (perfectly acceptable of course), and now the TV chef has took a potshot back in an Instagram Story.
Sharing a video of his Zwift set-up while competing in a virtual race, Ramsay told his neighbours “not to get their knickers in a twist” just in case they thought it was real… and if you thought there’s no way that could happen, well Chris Hoy was accused of “making an unnecessary journey” three weeks ago when he told Twitter that he had just been passed by Geraint Thomas; of course Sir Chris was talking about G’s avatar, and responded to the accusation: “I’m pretty sure you can’t catch the Coronavirus on Zwift”.
Have you seen Wiggo's new look yet?
Sir Bradders delighted Rangers supporters while revealing his new bearded, shaven-headed look over the weekend. His followers were almost unanimous in their appreciation of the new look while, understandably, they were split over his choice of vintage football shirt. Yesterday he followed up with a slightly more neutral piece of 90’s sportswear…
A definitive answer to our 'Why don't cyclists use cycle lanes?' feature
— tower of power (@michaepaddon) May 18, 2020
We could just replace all the words with this photo really.
Police forces remind drivers of their responsibilities as more traffic returns to the roads
With higher levels of traffic reported since England’s lockdown rule changes last week, drivers are being warned to slow down and watch out for cyclists and pedestrians, as many key workers have turned to active travel while Britain has seen an increase in recreational cycling during the pandemic.
Inspector Kirsty Clough of Warwickshire Police said: “This is particularly important at the moment as vehicles are now sharing the roads with more people who have turned to cycling, running or walking for their exercise during the current pandemic. As more people return to work, our roads will become busier not only with traffic but with some people also choosing to walk, run or cycle to work.
“Driving safely within speed limits helps to keep all road users safe and to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on our roads. We also want to support new road users, in particular pedal cyclists to keep them safe on the roads.”
Mo Salah's bike revealed
We’re now 99.9% sure that the bike (that you’ll see was caught up in a good old ‘helmet row’ over on Twitter) is a stock £799.99 Vitus Razor VR Disc Road model. The tan wall tyres and shape of the fork give it away, although the brake levers on the pic above are set up quite a bit nicer than Mo’s.
If you’re liking Salah’s cycle of choice and fancy it for yourself, you better be quick because there are only a limited number of size small frames left on both Wiggle and Chain Reaction Cycles.
The real-life Bicycle Thief: man rides 1,800km home across India on 'stolen' bicycle after having his own stolen
Prasant Nayak, a plumber working in Goa, was forced to steal the bicycle after some unknown miscreants robbed him of his own bike on way, writes Asish Senapati.https://t.co/dhAlH6n3W3 via @NewIndianXpress
— TNIE Odisha (@XpressOdisha) May 16, 2020
The plot of this tale closely mirrors that of the classic Italian film Bicycle Thieves (featured in our best cycling films guide) to begin with… except for Prasant Nayak – a plumber who was working in Goa, actually managed to get away on a bike he was forced to steal after having his original bike stolen.
Nayak was left stranded in Goa with no work and 1,800km from home, so had no option but to cycle back to his village in Odisha. During the trip his own bike was stolen, so he took another one that was left nearby to continue the journey. Nayak didn’t accept that he had committed a crime, because it’s likely the ‘thief’ had probably took his bicycle and left theirs by mistake.
When he finally reach his village, Nayak received a hero’s welcome before being placed into quarantine.
Push for cycling infrastructure is "a class war", according to the General Secretary of the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association
this is obvs trolling but it’s interesting to see the tropes used to push back against car-free streets – cyclists portrayed as the elite gentrifiers of cities from which poor people who live (and drive) in the suburbs are excluded https://t.co/rJI3H0hHgW
— Niamh McIntyre (@niamh_mcintyre) May 18, 2020
Steve McNamara – the General Secretary of the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association – made the comments on Talk Radio over the weekend, saying that increased cycling infrastructure is a “class war”. Amongst other things McNamara said:
They (cyclists) can afford to live very central and they want to cycle half a mile to work in the morning because it suits them.
What they’re doing is redesigning these cities in their own image to work for them. They want to be able to sit in the middle of Manchester Piccadilly, in the middle of Oxford Circus, drinking their drinking their eco-caramel coconut lattes or whatever the trendy drink of choice is, without giving any thought to how the constituent parts get there.”
This is at odds with comments MacNamara made in 2016, when he met representatives from the London Cycling Campaign to support Greenpeace’s Clean Air proposal for London. At the time MacNamara said: “Black cabs are committed to cleaning up London’s air and will be emissions free in new vehicles from 2018. We stand together with the London Cycling Campaign and Greenpeace in calling on the next Mayor to implement a Clear Air Zone to ensure that other vehicles operating in the capital clean up their act.”
Why the backpedalling from Mr MacNamara? We’ve asked London Cycling Campaign if they support his latest comments.
"Soundbite silliness" - London Cycling Campaign responds to taxi representative's "Class war" comment
Simon Munk, infrastructure campaigner at London Cycling Campaign, has described Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association general secretary’s Steve McNamara’s claim today (see below) that allocating safe space for cycling as the capital emerges from lockdown is nothing more than “soundbite silliness.”
Munk told us: “In short, this is the usual soundbite silliness from McNamara. Not really fitting, particularly in a global pandemic which appears to be exacerbated by pollution.”
He added: “He used to say every scheme was the wrong scheme, wrong time, wrong place, until I pointed that out.
“Now he appears to have become obsessed with lattes. Really, this says far more about him & the LTDA than about cycling or anything else.”
Some top trolling by Extinction Rebellion in West London
As we reported earlier today, campaigners from Extinction Rebellion were out in towns and cities across the UK to create their own pop-up bike lanes.
We’re not sure whether this one that we stumbled across in Chiswick, West London, was deliberately sited because of the building it’s located next to, but if so, chapeau!
The red brick building on the left is the Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady of Grace & St Edward, and you may recall that the parish priest initially opposed plans for Cycleway 9, which will run along Chiswick High Road (the road at the T-junction in the photo).
It looks like those of us in West London are going to get a pop-up bike lane along there sometime soon pending construction of the full route, but we like the Extinction Rebellion route on the side road, too.
18 May 2020, 08:31
A round-up of the action (or inaction in the case of the cancelled Bristol event) that took place over the weekend
Extinction Rebellion campaigners paint pop-up bike lanes across country as streets reclaimed (+ videos)
Streets stencilled with bike symbols, while socially distanced rides celebrate reclaiming space
18 May 2020, 08:31
18 May 2020, 08:31
18 May 2020, 08:31
Hopefully all our team members joining in will have working WiFi this time!
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It's not a 'statement' though - it's road.cc's words, based on l'Equipe's interpretation. The actual statement issued on it said that the judge authorised it "guaranteeing strict proportionality between the infringements on the rights of the athlete and the stakes of the fight against doping in terms of fair competition and protection of his health."
Trust me Callum, if you'd grown up watching the Tour in the 1980s, as I did, you would not be hankering after those long flat stages that weren't even as exciting as watching paint dry, it was more like listening to paint dry. As for the supposed benefits of those long TTs, what did they give us? Indurain winning five Tours in a row without winning a single road stage in any of them. As McT says below, you simply can't Pogacar-proof a course and we just have to accept, and enjoy, the fact that we are watching the greatest GT cyclist of all time. Anyway I think it has been a great Tour so far, yes no enormous drama about the inevitable winner (though of course Vinegaard and now Lipowitz have shown us that anything can happen) but just about every day has had a fascinating plot and multiple subplots. Some time in the future there will be another Indurain-style winner, playing it cautious, following moves, making incremental gains and winning without ever lighting up the race and we'll be saying I wish the old days of Pogacar making those spectacular solo breaks were back.
The main issue is the layout of the stages with the bigger climb first then a shallow finish climb. It means pogacar can get a gap at the top of the big climb and then stretch 10-15 seconds to a minute plus at the finish over smaller riders like Vingegaard. A summit finish on the hardest climb might not lead to the most exciting racing but equally would keep the gaps closer. I totally agree with the TT kms though, they should have 60+km tts in the grand tours.
@MaxiMinimalist I mean, that statement makes it sound like they had reason to think those two are doping. Either they didn't follow procedure and are making shit up to cover themselves up or something is going on.
Quite possibly. But the changeover time loss would be a bit more significant if it was done on the flat just after the downhill when the riders are travelling faster, the deceleration, changeover and acceleration loss could easily be around 30 seconds, which is quite a lot of a 34 minute effort.
So Skoda have taken a leaf out of Dung-Old Karen Taco Trump's book and are re-naming something when they have no authority to do so?
@Mr Blackbird Fair points, though I was wondering if doing the climb and descent on a standard bike and swapping to TT for the flat section would have been worth it? Certainly quite a few riders seemed to be having handling difficulties maintaining the best line on the descent with their TT machines.
No. The climb wasn't severely steep and allowed a reasonable speed to be maintained on a TT bike, his bike handling skills on road or TT bike are outstanding for the descent and on a road bike he would have lost a lot of time on the flat last 9k section. Terrific performance by him though!
Would he have performed better on his normal bike?
the National Bus and Rail Union told the Oireachtas (Irish Parliament) the following month, saying the requirements (making the cyclist scum wear helmets and HiViz) would, “make the roads a safer place, as it would make potential hazards easier to spot.” Nothing to do with driver behaviour then? Stagecoach is even putting intimidating threats against cyclists on the side of the buses now! ttps://upride.cc/incident/px60beo_stagecoach41-closepass/
39 thoughts on ““Soundbite silliness” – London Cycling Campaign on taxi boss bike lane jibe; Top XR Chiswick church trolling on pop-up bike lane; Mo Salah tweets bike pic, helmet row ensues; Cyclist vs driver road rage; GB Olympic champs launch coffee brand + more”
Looking at the bendy fork I’m
Looking at the bendy fork I’m guessing Mo’s riding a Pinarello? Never mind the bike though, I’m trying to identify the tyres…
My initial reaction was that it would be a Specialized, because that’s all celebs seem to ride but I doubt it would be de-badged…
Mo’s bike now driving me mad.
Mo’s bike now driving me mad. From the look of the tyres and the lack of groupset name on the levers indicating (probably) Claris I’m thinking it might be a Vitus Razor Disc, but that seems a surprisingly modest bit of kit for a Premiership player!
I think you’re bang on the
I think you’re bang on the money – if you look at the bigger pic on his Twitter feed, you can see the colour change in the paintwork on the headtube. It’s the Vitus Razor VR Disc (Sora) [Wiggle have it] – I like that he’s got himself an entry model before splashing the cash on a 10k bike straight away! Sensible!
It is is an Arkose that’s
It is is an Arkose that’s very Mo. He’s not one for ostentation and devotes a huge amount of time to charity. Not a Liverpool fan but he’s a very positive role model.
Who prepped his bike? Spoke
Who prepped his bike? Wheel reflector should be opposite the valve!
Sriracha wrote:
Is that a Rule?
I know the one about relating the position of the tyre logo to the valve, but didn”t know about wheel reflectors.
(Although neither of mine have wheel reflectors: one has spoke reflectors, the other has nothing, although both have reflective stripes on the tyres).
it’s a question of wheel
it’s a question of wheel balance, not mere aesthetics!
Sriracha wrote:
That’s why they go by the valve, to balance the join opposite the valve which is the heaviest part.
By Jingo, you’re right! Just
By Jingo, you’re right! Just played with my wheels and discovered I have been long labouring under a misapprehension. The better balance is achieved by placing the reflector adjacent to, not opposite, the valve. Now, just need to find a reflector whose weight is the difference between valve and wheel jointment and I’ll be done. With apologies to the one who prepped Mo’s bike. (P.S. who [I]is[/I] Mo?)
I wonder does that also apply
I wonder does that also apply if the rims have a welded joint instead of a pinned one like most decent rims these days? I would suggest that a welded joint will add almost no additional weight to the rim. Actually come to think of it you’re far better having a pair of reflectors opposite each other, and rotated 90 degress from the valve/joint anyway, leaving the valve stem and valve hole to battle it out between them for achieving the perfectly balanced wheel. Of course those who are particularly fussed about the marginal gains of such things can even buy little balance weights. Yes I’m also bored like some others on this thread and would never normally take so much time over-thinking something so insignificant, never mind go to all the trouble of posting a reply as well!
oh ffs, I knew as soon as I
oh ffs, I knew as soon as I saw Mo’s photo it would get turned into another helmet row
Wouldn’t driving helmets be
Wouldn’t driving helmets be more appropriate for most premiership footballers, the seem to crash their very expensive and overly powerful sports cars with alaming regularity.
Airbags FTW
Airbags FTW
And actually, I’m not sure that they do – because if they did it would be all over the internets within seconds
“Comedy??” Not ok. Driver of
“Comedy??” EDIT Someone shoving – deeply unpleasant, I’d have thought. He’s still in the school playground: anything or anyone you don’t like, sort them out with your fists. Hopefully someone broke it up before any serious harm was done.
To clarify again, the pick-up
To clarify again, the pick-up (or its driver/passengers) were not involved according to the admin who uploaded the footage.
Fair enough – must be the
Fair enough – must be the grey writing on a black background I keep getting. it’s not doing it now.
a lot that’s unexplained here – like why the traffic has stopped and the bike’s on the ground.
if you’ve been assaulted (I’m assuming Mr Time Trial is, in our terms at least, innocent – he probably is) you would not call it comedy – that’s pretty objectionable and mis-judged.
No, but i’m guessing the car
No, but i’m guessing the car that the bicycle is under might be. So I guess it’s not too comical for the rider involved.
It does say the driver of the
It does say the driver of the pickup was NOT involved.
No, wait, it’s back
No, wait, it’s back
I’ve not really heard of Mo
I’ve not really heard of Mo Salah, so don’t give a toss if he is/is not wearing a lid or what bike he rides.
Thanks for sharing. Busy day?
Thanks for sharing. Busy day?
What’s going on with Salah’s
What’s going on with Salah’s shifter positioning is the more pressing question!
Arkose though?
Sod the helmet – any
Sod the helmet – any knowledgable bike riders knows that there is no scientific proof whasoever that helmets work. Far more important was whether or not he was wearing the correct length socks.
Of course it got turned into
Of course it got turned into a helmet row from the sheer number of helmet-shaming wankers out there who feel the need to comment on literally every picture out there. Elinor Barker (you know, that multiple Olympic / World / European champion) jhad a pic of her riding a little shopping bike with her dog in the basket like half a mile to the shops along a gentle path and immediately the cries of “helmet!!” could be heard from all the judgemental dickheads out there.
On my ride yesterday, I saw numerous other cyclists. Some on bikes that had clearly not long been dragged out the shed, some in normal clothes, one guy wearing a World Champs top (and from his physique, he was certainly not a World Champion in cycling – pie eating maybe…), some wearing helmets, some not, some wearing hi-viz, some not, a guy on a road bike wearing baggy shorts and pedalling far too low a gear…
All of these people I managed to nod/smile/wave/say hi to. None of them I called out for what they were or weren’t wearing, how they were or weren’t riding. It’s easy – if you feel like telling someone in real life or on a picture/article to wear a helmet, shut the fuck up. Simple.
Carlton Reid’s peice in
Carlton Reid’s peice in Forbes referencing the previous bike boom in America.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/carltonreid/2020/05/01/bicycling-booms-during-lockdown-but-theres-a-warning-from-history/#757100db41cf
There are some good links in there about what some UK cities are doing.
There was a small bit on todays lunchtime South Today about some of Readings proposed “new” Corovirus cycle measures, but being Reading, Cllr Tony Page will somehow mess it up.
I’m must be as bored as any
I’m must be as bored as any else to even comment on this thread .
I must be more bored,I logged
I must be more bored, I logged in and liked 😉
‘As everyone else’ not ‘any
‘As everyone else’ not ‘any else’ FFS.
Helmet row? Well yes, I keep
Helmet row? Well yes, I keep them on the top of my shelves.
Give who ever came up with
Give who ever came up with ‘Mo Salah’s cycling snap turns into helmet row’ a raise.
I may be wrong, but aren’t
I may be wrong, but aren’t most of London’s Black Cab drivers predominately white and male?
And black cabs cost a fortune
And black cabs cost a fortune so it’s only the better off who use them if you want make everything about class.
Exactly! The Black cab is THE
Exactly! The Black cab is THE most elitist form of urban transport. It’s the most expensive, the most exclusive and has the smallest modal share – smaller even than cycling.
I think its pretty much any
I think its pretty much any taxi service costs a fortune…
But I suppose you are calling for a driver to bring their vehicle to collect you from wherever you are, and then to ferry you to wherever it is you want to go, at a specific time – it should be an expensive service!
One day soon we’re going to
One day soon we’re going to wake up and find, suddenly, that wilfully-ignorant, uneducated twats with chips on their shoulders, like this LTDA bloke, are widely considered to be tiresome and irrelevant again.
Does not matter what
Does not matter what demographic taxi drivers are, it’s only one person saying stupid shit not all of them. What I’m interested in is the real reason he objects, could it be that the average taxi journey is only a couple of miles and likely faster and cheaper by bicycle? Anything that conveniences cyclists will surely inconvenience their business model.
How does a few Twitter
How does a few Twitter comments on somebody not wearing a helmet equate to a “row”?
Called by the inlaws on my
Called by the inlaws on my permitted daily unrestricted exercise and held a socially distanced open air meet-up with my one permitted extra-domus person, being the lady of the house, on the front drive. Turns out her husband was also out on his bike. So why not her, I enquired. Too scared of the cars says she.
Ok, just one datapoint. But if Mr Cabbie is right about the cycling demographic all the more urgent the need to stake out more road space for cyclist and get vehicular traffic off the roads. After all, in today’s competing societal claims, nothing trumps the equality card.
If you think Bicycle Thieves
If you think Bicycle Thieves is about cycling, then you’ve definitely missed the point. If it had been set 20 years later in London, it would have been called Ford Anglia Thieves…