Petition demanding cyclists “display registration, pay road tax and have insurance” closes after six months… with just 353 signatures; Tadej Pogačar’s pisstaking attack (and latest win); Strava adds feature; Hire bikes go missing + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
He's taking the piss! Tadej Pogačar attacks with 160km to go, stops "for pee pee" and "hides in bush" to baffle rivals
As much as it might surprise you, us mere mortals and Tadej Pogačar are not the same. Shocking hot take, I know. I’m not just talking about our apparently inadequate efforts to push the pedals when compared with a generational talent’s superhuman abilities, but also our definitions of “a little bit of fun”.
Now, I can’t speak for you lot, but in my book “a little bit of fun” would probably be something along the lines of Tuesday evening 5-a-side or a weekend spin followed by drawing the curtains for a sporting sofa marathon and a roast… NOT attacking a professional bike race with 160km to go, stopping for a piss and then hiding in a bush until the peloton has passed so they all keep chasing, baffled by the strength of your attack. That’s just me though… different strokes for different folks, and all that…
Tadej’s attacks are getting even more ambitious 😂
The Slovenian and his team-mate Domen Novak attacked with over 160km to go on Stage 2 of Volta a Catalunya – the pair were caught, but Pogačar attacked solo on the summit finish to win by 1’23” 😳💪
📸 Getty Images pic.twitter.com/vRq2fYlbes
— Velon CC (@VelonCC) March 19, 2024
Yes, obviously he won the stage after the early tomfoolery.
Tadej Pogačar and Domen Novak during their attack in today’s stage. #VoltaCatalunya103
📷: oscar_penelo pic.twitter.com/sfywNSZYJP
— Lukáš Ronald Lukács (@lucasaganronald) March 19, 2024
Speaking to reporters and the TV cameras after winning Volta a Catalunya’s second stage by more than 1:20 atop the HC Valter 2000, Pogačar explained how his two-up pisstaking breakaway with Domen Novak unfolded as the pair rolled to the front of the bunch…
“Nobody held our wheel so suddenly we had a gap of 50, 100, 200 metres so then we went a little bit… we stopped for pee pee and hid in a bush so the peloton didn’t know where we were… it was just a little bit of fun!”
We’re not meant to have favourites, impartial reporting and all that boring stuff… but Tadej’s great, isn’t he? A cycling superstar… (sorry, Jonas)…
Taylor Swift has nothing on Tadej Pogacar…….. pic.twitter.com/2ZGiNXtdPn
— MarkContador (@MontVentoux23) March 19, 2024
Cyclist fighting for life after saddle sore develops into flesh-eating disease
A fundraiser has raised more than $114,000 for a cyclist’s medical bills and to support his family after he was left in a critical condition fighting for his life after a saddle sore developed into the rare bacterial infection Necrotising Fasciitis, also known as the flesh-eating disease.
[Busto family/GoFundMe]
Ryan Busto’s family updated the fundraiser to say that there have been some positive signs in the past week, his heart function improving to 47 per cent and a brief moment where he was able to open his eyes, “filling the room with hope and gratitude”.
Busto will need further surgeries, but the family says that “while his medical team grapples with the intricacies of his case, they are amazed with his progress”. The infection took hold during a cycling trip in San Diego after the cyclist developed a severe saddle sore.
“That turned into a life-threatening infection known as Necrotising Fasciitis, commonly referred to as the flesh-eating disease,” the family explained.
“The week leading into his sickness Ryan was on a cycling trip in San Diego. He was training every day and had aspirations to race this year. During the rides he would be the first person to jump in the front and protect his teammates from the wind. He loves to ride and does it with the biggest smile. When he would get back from a ride he loved to celebrate with his friends with delicious food and a cold beer, laughing, smiling, and sharing stories about the adventures of the day.
“Ryan is well known for his generosity and selfless commitment to his friends and loved ones. We remain hopeful for Ryan’s recovery, but the road ahead is uncertain. The strength and resilience he has shown throughout his life will undoubtedly fuel his fight for recovery. However, this journey will be arduous, and the support of our community is crucial.”
There are many types of bacteria that can cause Necrotising Fasciitis, the NHS describing it as a rare and life-threatening infection that can happen if a wound gets infected. It needs to be treated in hospital straight away. Symptoms can develop quickly within a few hours or days, with intense pain around the wound, swelling and flu-like high temperatures and headaches also associated.
Things we didn't expect to read today... actor who played Harry Potter's quidditch captain Oliver Wood also loves cycling
Sean Biggerstaff, the Scottish actor best known for his role as Oliver Wood, Gryffindor’s quidditch captain in the first two Harry Potter books and films is also a cycling fan.
Thank God for Vingegaard, MVDP and one or two others, without whom the Pogačar epoch would just be boring. #VoltaCatalunya
— Sean Biggerstaff (@Seanchuckle) March 19, 2024
Apologies, Sean, we’ve read you’ve been talking about cycling for years but it was just noticed by many for the first time yesterday…
No no. I love Jonas, just not as much as I love my son, Tadej, obviously.
HATE Jasper Philipsen though. Horrid wee bam. https://t.co/AyH6l2H5Mc
— Sean Biggerstaff (@Seanchuckle) March 20, 2024
Cost of West Midlands bike hire scheme vandalism totals £316,000 as more than 300 go missing and similar number need repairs
The West Midlands Cycle Hire project has suffered, like many other similar schemes, from extensive vandalism and thefts. The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) has revealed that 300 hire bikes have gone missing, while 280 need repairs, the cost for such loss and damage reaching £360,000, the BBC reports.
> Andy Burnham urges residents to not chuck hire bikes in canals
In October, just 780 bikes remained available to users of the scheme but this is, WMCA says, still “well below the required targets”. That figure improved to more than 1,000 as of 30 January and should rise to 1,100 by the end of the month, however Transport for West Midlands said the ongoing vandalism issue is “a challenge for cycle hire schemes nationally and internationally”.
> Nextbike resumes Cardiff cycle hire following “staggering” vandalism and thefts
A “full mitigation and recovery plan” has been enacted and early signs are that is has been “very successful”. A TfWM spokesperson commented: “Since launching the hire scheme in 2021, backed by government funding, the level of use in Birmingham and Coventry particularly has exceeded original expectations.”
Ned Boulting gears up for Fighting Talk debut
Obviously this is absolutely terrifying https://t.co/AhwTR2Jzl8
— Ned Boulting 🏳️⚧️ (@nedboulting) March 19, 2024
It’s got me thinking about what cycling-related “defend the indefensible” Ned could get chucked his way should he make the top two… something to do with a certain Lance Armstrong and his victories being reinstated to the record books, I’m guessing…
Wiggle and Chain Reaction websites shut, with all remaining orders to be "fulfilled within 7-10 days"
A road.cc comments section for the ages — does Pope Francis just want disc brakes? Or is he a Campag man?
We thoroughly enjoyed our trip into the comments section here…
stevez123: “He actually loves the bike but it’s hard to ride at speed with that BIG hat on.”
fenix: “It’s ok. Giro are working on the big hat problem.”
Working on the big hat problem by at least making it a bit more aero (and Visma-Lease a Bike branded)…
Huw Watkins reckons he might be upgrading after finding out it didn’t even come with Dura Ace. Those Ineos cheapskates. Although, as john_smith replied… God’s surely a Campag fan…
henryb: “…something something religious dogma…”
Rendel Harris: “Surely his Holiness must ride a Genesis Croix de Fer?”
mark1a: “No sense in pontificating on stuff we don’t know.”
Creakingcrank: “Even the Pope doesn’t enjoy that much mass.”
And a personal favourite…
thax1: “Makes sense for the modernisation of the Roman Catholic faith. Ticked off women’s ordination, married priests and same-sex relationships. Now they need to embrace the deep stuff such as disc brakes and fully integrated cabling.”
marmotte27: “All progressive that I am, I’ll lobby him for an en-cycle-ical on such traditional values as steel frames and rim brakes.”
Strava expands 'Best Efforts' to cyclists, telling subscribers about their longest rides, most elevation gain, biggest climb, plus power and distance bests
Strava has expanded its ‘Best Efforts’ feature so us cyclists can benefit too. You might be familiar with the concept already, it’s that feature that tells subscribers about their personal bests for running activities. In short, very depressing when you go and look at how slow that ill-advised off-season 5km was…
Well, now the feature is available for cycling activities too, which is much more up our street. Subscribers will now be able to see their longest ride, activity with most elevation gain, biggest single climb, as well as power bests from five seconds to an hour.
> “Strava’s ‘Weekly Snapshot’ makes me feel bad”: should you be able to turn it off?
You can find your Best Efforts on the ‘You’ page of the Strava mobile app, with Best Efforts for 10km, 10 mile, 20km, 40km, 50km, 50 mile, 80km, 90km, 100km, 100 mile and 180km also displayed. For power, you’ll get your best for five seconds, 30 seconds, one minute, five minutes, 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes, one hour and two hours.
For an inspiring look at how much you’re improved (or the opposite… although we’re choosing to stay positive), Strava will also show you your top five efforts historically for every year you’ve been on the training app.
> REVIEW: Strava Premium subscription
Strava says its research found that 77 per cent of active cyclists achieved a Best Effort in 2023, and 33 per cent achieving one last month, so what are you waiting for? It’s time to hit some PBs…
Tandem cycle lanes come to Cambridge
“Cambridge’s first dedicated tandem cycle lane,” Michael told the good people of Facebook, providing the amusing photo as proof. Hey, at least the pothole got fixed…
Zipp "reaffirms" safety of its hookless rims, but now advises teams to use tyres no smaller than 29mm
Another day, another Tadej Pogačar victory
Tadej Pogacar is just a LEVEL above the rest 🙌
It’s back-to-back stage wins at the 2024 Volta Ciclista a Catalunya 💪 #VoltaCatalunya103 | @DiscoveryPlusUK pic.twitter.com/0KwVjbMOyk
— Eurosport (@eurosport) March 20, 2024
Boo! Boring! No 160km attack. No hiding in the bushes to fool the peloton. Just efficient, seemingly effortless climbing…
Conservative MP slammed for "incorrectly" claiming that "bankrupt" council is prioritising £10m cycle lane extension over local services
Petition demanding cyclists "display registration, pay road tax and have insurance" closes after six months... with just 353 signatures
Another cycling-related petition closed on the UK Government and Parliament website yesterday, this time demanding that cyclists are required to “display registration, pay road tax and have insurance”. Now, these petitions run for six months, giving them approximately 180 days to drum up support and achieve the relevant threshold for a response from government or to be considered for debate in Parliament.
This latest one, however, won’t be requiring either, attracting a signature total of… drumroll please… 353. That’s less than two per day… or, as someone in the road.cc office suggested, probably about one signature for every similar petition on the government website at any one time…
It had asked for support to “introduce laws whereby”:
1) bicycles have to be identifiable in order for enforcement to be able to take place where they are breaking traffic laws.
2) bicycles are subject to a road tax charge
3) bicycles have to be insured to utilise the public highway
The reason being?
Bicycles/cyclists have been given greater priority in recent changes to the Highway Code. With greater power comes greater responsibility. Currently there is no way to identify cyclists who flout highway laws and act in an inconsiderate or dangerous manner. Cyclists should also have to contribute towards the cost of the public roads through a road tax charge. Cyclists sometimes cause accidents and therefore should have adequate insurance in order to indemnify themselves and protect others.
I’m not sure anybody will be losing sleep over this underwhelming shout from the people, the government having already definitively rejected a similar petition from Nick Freeman (Mr Loophole) in December 2021. That one, despite being pushed heavily on certain radio shows and in a few newspapers, still only just scraped across the 10,000-signature threshold for a government response, the Department for Transport quickly confirming what we all suspected… that there are “no plans” for such measures.
“The government considers that the costs of a formal registration system for cycle ownership would outweigh the benefits. The safety case for such a system is not as strong as that for drivers since, by contrast with motorised vehicles, cycles involved in collisions on the highway are highly unlikely to cause serious injury to other road users,” a spokesperson said.
20 March 2024, 09:09
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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!
38 thoughts on “Petition demanding cyclists “display registration, pay road tax and have insurance” closes after six months… with just 353 signatures; Tadej Pogačar’s pisstaking attack (and latest win); Strava adds feature; Hire bikes go missing + more on the live blog”
Class from Pogacar….how
Class from Pogacar….how long before any fun behaviour is banned by the UCI?
More importantly, what will
More importantly, what will Lance make of it?
He’d probably have more to
He’d probably have more to say about them having toilet stops – ‘in our day we held it in like reeaal men’
Lance will just keep on with
Lance will just keep on with the magic beans…
“He’s behind you”
“He’s behind you”
It’s a shame it’s not pantomime season 🙂
Mr Hoopdriver wrote:
Oh yes it is
hawkinspeter wrote:
Oh no it’s not*
(*Sorry)
Clevedon seem to be having
Clevedon seem to be having fun with their sea-front. I’m surprised they didn’t enjoy the wiggly lines as they’re so popular elsewhere.
https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/local-news/controversial-wiggly-line-road-markings-9176748
The Post seems to keep using
The Post seems to keep using that photo from ‘Save our Seafront’ (the group opposed to the changes), which shows the seafront halfway through “building” it. You’d think they could bother to send someone to take a photo of the finished product, before the council dismantle it.
brooksby wrote:
I suspect the Bristol Post writers are too lazy and I’d expect Clevedon seafront to be a bit blustery at this time of year. Maybe they’ll go for some seafront ice-creams when the weather improves.
It appears that the failure
It appears that the failure of Active Travel England to demand repayment of their grant has subsidised the North Somerset Council in vandalising their own Active Travel provision- all at the behest of the Tory Hyper-Junk press in their ceaseless quest to aid motorists in destroying the environment.
War on motorists continues
War on motorists continues
“The Tories are so desperate for “motorists” to become a distinctive political identity demographic, it’s mad.”
“She’s quite right; encouraging traffic to flow is communism.”
I despair of the department for drivers – can we have the finished review of road traffic offences and the results of the pavement parking consultation?
… because if you have a car
… because if you have a car and have paid “road tax” that gives you a claim over any tarmac / paved public space?
Perhaps with these just apply the other headline rule*? e.g. just tack on “in my / our opinion” to the end? Then you can ignore it.
* The first being if it ends with a question mark the answer is probably either “no” (“will e-bikes lead to the end of cycling as we know it?”) or “we don’t know” (“Do Labour have a secret plan to fix our streets?”)
Hirsute wrote:
Why are so many people so keen to tell the world that they are crap drivers?
On the subject of pavement
On the subject of pavement parking I just got an email informing me that it was recently debated in parliament. It’s a depressing read but does offer a glimmer of hope in that they are considering making it easier and cheaper for local authorities to deal with it using TRO’s, if I have understood the parliamentary language correctly.
https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2024-03-07/debates/047DDD2E-5BA9-4116-8CE2-CAC7805FC102/PavementParking
Thanks for that. I signed
Thanks for that. I signed the petition and got the same email this morning. I didn’t follow the links because they looked like they could have tracking information in them. The link you haveposted has the same ID string as mine so I can cross that off my list
I read an article yesterday
I read an article yesterday where They were complaining that yellow hatched boxes “take up too much room on the road” and are just traps for “hard working otherwise law abiding motorists”.
It worries me that so many motorists don’t seem to understand the purpose of things like yellow hatched areas – they are not there just to tick off motorists…
Do these people understand what it would be like if there were no parking restrictions, no road traffic laws, etc etc?? I remember playing Car Wars and Battlecars in my youth… It would be like that! (but without rocket launchers and armour).
brooksby wrote:
— brooksbyDon’t tempt them.
“hard working otherwise law
“hard working otherwise law abiding motorists”
Transl:
“I break road traffic laws all the time, some consciously, others out of shere ignorance. But I generally don’t get caught”
Yes, but you only break them
Yes, but you only break them because you’re in a hurry, with lots of important things to do, places to go and people to meet. Unlike those bone idle lycra-clad cyclists. In fact most of the time it’s their fault you need to break the laws.
Damn those lycra clad
Damn those lycra clad ruffians and their Jedi mind tricks!
Please sign the petition !
Please sign the petition !
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/644700
Too late for this one
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/643870
Is there a similar one
Is there a similar one calling for the banning of private motor vehicles from the roads?
This is the nearest
This is the nearest
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/654115
I will sign this one
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/655210
We believe LED headlights need to be banned on public roads. A recent survey found that almost 9 in 10 people think at least some headlights on cars on the road today are too bright.
I hope hat doesn’t creep into
I hope hat doesn’t creep into bike lights. I love my LED lights
Hirsute wrote:
I love this one. Ryan desperately seeking some kind of revenge upon the automotive industry, because he didn’t change his cambelt in time!
Signed. Thanks for the link.
Signed. Thanks for the link. 948 so far
39 assholes as of this moment
39 assholes as of this moment.
How are Strava calculating
How are Strava calculating biggest climb ? As I really doubt I’ve ever done a ride with 15,000 feet of climbing in it, that’s like riding up Mont Blanc.
stonojnr wrote:
You can click on the activity it’s getting it from. Mine shows 5,598 feet, and looking at the ride it was on a 108 mile ride with lots of hills nowhere near that tall. The ride varies from about 480 to 800 feet.
That’s for max elevation gain. My “biggest climb” statistic is a totally erroneous one, either from a GPS glitch or errors in Strava’s elevation calculator.
andystow wrote:
Yes, this. Your biggest individual climb will encompass the single individual segment that has the largest elevation change. The problem is, the map data that Strava used isn’t always accurate. Until I did a hilly sportive 2 years ago, my “biggest climb” was actually a stretch of road that was about 5m IRL, but a data black hole had the start of the segment some 150 vertical metres off. According to Strava the road starts about 120 metres below sea level in a very small spot…
Matthew Acton-Varian wrote:
I believe it at least used to be the case that if your recording device had a barometer for elevation, Strava would not overwrite it with their own.
Strava terms it ‘elevation
Strava terms it ‘elevation gain’, meaning altitude accumulated during a single Strava activity, probably over several individual climbs. Not difficult to find rides with that amount of elevation. Fred whitton gave me 3581m of elevation, whatever that is in ye olde units, can’t be far off.
If you doubt what your ride has recorded Strava has a feature in the web interface, not the app, to correct the accumulated climb.
It must be a different metric
It must be a different metric, because the ride activity shows ‘elevation gain’ which is only 597ft, which still feels more in the right ballpark,and it shows a maximum elevation of 15,435 feet, try more like sea level for actual maximum elevation, but how does that translate to biggest climb ?
Lets be fair here. That
Lets be fair here. That petition didn’t meet the 10,000 signatures threshold because it didn’t get enough traction. If everyone in the country was asked to vote on it there would probably be a few hundred thousand signatures. The number of twats on the road who clearly hate cyclists is more than 323 per town.
mctrials23 wrote:
That’s the problem with democracy – people are idiots.
What we need is to have leaders that work for the benefit of society and not just jumping on whatever bandwagon they think is popular.
Another cyclist dies
Another cyclist dies
https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/scottish-news/24198973.call-make-roads-safer-woman-died-horror-crash/
Wonderful first comment…
There’s a petition to sign
There’s a petition to sign which seems quite worthwhile. Three incidents involving vulnerable road users in 10 days!