“Could build a velodrome for that”: Irish Tour de France start to cost €30m; Active travel and motoring groups combine to urge government to protect cycling funding; Cyclist asks court not to fine homeless man who stole his bike + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Active travel and motoring groups combine to urge government to protect cycling and walking funding, after Sustrans report finds that active travel generates £36.5 billion for UK economy
A group of organisations representing a range of disparate interests, from active travel and road safety to motoring and business, has urged the government to protect a £4 billion funding pot for ‘levelling up’ cycling, walking and wheeling across the UK, and dealing with the cost-of-living crisis.
The group’s letter – addressed to the Secretary of State for Transport, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, and signed by members of the Walking and Cycling Alliance, the AA, the road safety group Brake, the countryside charity CPRE, the Road Safety Foundation, the Urban Transport Group, and the Federation of Small Businesses – emphasised active travel’s key economic and societal role, and called on the government to protect the budget set out in this year’s Cycling and Walking Strategy.
The letter echoes Cycling UK’s recent call for people to write to their MP to ask them to protect active travel funding from the widely expected cuts in government expenditure when the Chancellor of the Exchequer (whoever that may be by next week) presents the Budget on 31 October.
> Write to your MP to help save active travel funding, urges Cycling UK
While many active travel advocates are worried that money set aside for cycling and walking could be at risk from the new Budget (though, given the current turmoil in British politics, it’s hard to tell which way the wind will blow), Sustrans’ latest Walking and Cycling Index has estimated that active travel generated £36.5 billion for the UK economy in 2021 (based on 17 urban areas surveyed in the report).
Sustrans said that this figure was based on the direct economic benefits of cycling and walking, as well as reducing the cost of traffic congestion and running a car, improved health (and thus a reduced burden on the NHS), and fewer sick days at work. The report also found that people who walk to the high street spend up to 40 percent more in shops than those who drive.
“It’s clear that active forms of travel, such as walking and cycling, bring in billions of pounds of economic benefit,” says Sustrans’ CEO Xavier Brice.
“Plus, as people are hit by the cost-of-living crisis, affordable ways of getting around are critical. People must have the opportunity to make the active travel choice instead of expensive car use, to boost people’s spending power for the benefit of the economy and our hopes of growth.”
> Drivers should welcome cycle lanes, says AA president
The AA’s president Edmund King, who last week argued that drivers should welcome cycle lanes as they encourage people to use their bikes for everyday journeys, thus reducing congestion, added: “Every driver is a pedestrian and most cyclists are drivers, therefore it is in everyone’s interest to level up walking and cycling infrastructure. By creating new routes, as well as investing in existing paths and footways, we can create a safer, greener transport network that benefits all road users.
“Maintaining the £4bn budget for these projects will also help drivers save money on fuel or electricity. When we ask AA members what mobility modes they would consider to replace one or more car journeys per week, the top answer was bicycle (47 percent), followed by eBikes (41 percent).”
Brice concluded: “It is high time we to stopped pitting motoring against walking, wheeling and cycling and instead realise the benefits that long-term Government investment for active travel can have for economic growth and to support people on low incomes through the cost of living crisis.”
Weekend catch-up
A bike thief’s unexplained change of heart, hairpin heaven (or hell, depending on your point of view), Chris Whitty’s new job, another cycle lane debate, and pro cyclists playing football…
No, it’s not the plot of my hotly anticipated debut West End musical (but it’s close) – just some of the stories featured on road.cc over the weekend:
> Cyclist attacked and robbed of bike — only for offenders to return it 10 minutes later
> Sir Chris Whitty appointed to Active Travel England Advisory Panel
> Plan to cut down 140 trees for cycle lane to new housing development sparks debate
> A cycling climb to go straight to the top of your bucket list
> Cyclist helping Ukrainian refugees find new home mugged of bike by youths
> Cyclist smashes teeth in pothole crash, demands council action on dangerous roads
> Near Miss of the Day 829: Fast undertake on cyclist lands driver three points & fine
More top-tier disc brake bantz
Ah, it appears that cycling author Simon Warren has solved the mysterious case of the conscientious bike thief:
Disc brakes?
— Simon Warren (@100Climbs) October 23, 2022
More Miguel Ángel López drama, as reports in Spain say Colombian is looking to leave Astana
Less than a year into his second stint at Astana Qazaqstan, Colombian climber Miguel Ángel López is reportedly looking for a way out of his contract with the Kazakh squad.
The 28-year-old returned to Alexander Vinokourov’s setup, where he spent the first six years of his pro career, earlier this year after a tumultuous and ill-fated season with Movistar, which saw López’s relationship with the Spanish team break down in spectacular fashion following his dramatic and bad-tempered withdrawal on the penultimate stage of the 2021 Vuelta a España.
Despite signing a two-year deal with Astana after being released by Movistar, drama has continued to follow López into 2022.
In July, he was temporarily suspended by the team after reports emerged that he was being investigated for alleged involvement in a drug trafficking and money laundering ring in Spain, led by doctor and physiologist Marcos Maynar.
> Miguel Ángel López being investigated as part of doping probe in Spain
While López has strongly denied any involvement in the case – with Astana lifting his suspension in early August, just in time for the Colombian to finish fourth overall at the Vuelta – Spanish cycling website Zikloland has reported this morning that his alleged links to Dr Maynar have caused yet another potentially irrevocable fracture between team and rider.
According to Zikloland, after prematurely ending his stay at Movistar, López is looking for a second early exit from his contract in as many years, and is currently courting alternative options for 2023.
It’s just a pity a film crew wasn’t there to film this latest acrimonious split…
There are bikes literally everywhere in Amsterdam…
Cleaning the canals of Amsterdam 🚲
— Michael Warburton (@MichaelWarbur17) October 22, 2022
Oh Netherlands, I’m shocked.😲I thought you were above such boorish and loutish behaviour. At least we in the UK have the decency to steal the bicycle rather just dump it in a canal.
— Pickleman (@Pickleman1967) October 23, 2022
Cyclist asks court not to fine homeless man who stole his bike
#CourtResult – After we had recovered the stolen bicycle, the victim asked the court not to fine the offender, a local rough sleeper. He was sentenced to a one-year conditional discharge and required to pay a £26 surcharge. https://t.co/Ei5gXaHNzx
— BTP Lancashire (@BTPLancs) October 21, 2022
A cyclist whose bike was stolen from Lancaster railway station asked the court not to fine a local homeless man for the theft.
According to the British Transport Police for Lancashire, the bike was stolen on 2 September from the railway station. Within an hour, the police had reviewed the CCTV footage and arrested the suspect in the city centre.
While the bike was not initially recovered, the suspect – who was interviewed and bailed after denying that he had entered the railway station – was spotted the following day, after failing to answer his bail, riding the stolen bike near the scene of the crime.
The man was then arrested, with the bike returned to its owner.
However, the British Transport Police tweeted on Friday that “after we had recovered the stolen bicycle, the victim asked the court not to fine the offender, a local rough sleeper.”
The man was sentenced to a one-year conditional discharge and required to pay a £26 surcharge.
One Chiswick’s new “Illegal Driving vs. Eating” campaign
Meanwhile on “One Chiswick,” the anti-cycling Facebook page which has posted countless abusive messages aimed personally at people who cycle in my area, we have a new version of Heating vs Eating — yup, it’s “Illegal Driving vs Eating.” pic.twitter.com/J8uvY6eIIK
— Jeremy Vine (@theJeremyVine) October 24, 2022
The original post was here. Of course one alternative to being fined for your driving is to actually respect legal traffic restrictions, brought in to stop residential streets becoming Google-Waze ratruns and protect small children among others. But no. pic.twitter.com/8NEAXVoDPn
— Jeremy Vine (@theJeremyVine) October 24, 2022
Peloton user Rishi Sunak becomes the UK’s 117th Prime Minister of 2022
In the same way that the Conservative party is rapidly running out of gormless ideologues and sycophants to office manage the country into oblivion, it appears that we’ve run out of images of politicians on bikes to mark the now-all-too-frequent occasion of their ascension to the decaying, poorly heated throne.
But never fear. While we don’t have a photo of Rishi Sunak – at once an “avid supporter of cycling” and “the most pro-driver chancellor in history” – we do have a startling admission to share with you all about the new PM: he loves his Peloton.
> Rishi Sunak pledges to “stop war on motorists” and review LTNs
Last year, in an appearance on the Twenty Minute VC podcast (VC stands for venture capitalists, apparently), Sunak said that he rises at 6am everyday to work out on his Peloton, as Britney Spears provides the soundtrack. Not literally, I imagine, but you never know…
(I’ll also refrain from making a reference to spin, spinning, spin classes etc.)
Sunak then told Mumsnet founder Justine Roberts earlier this year that his Peloton regime was necessary due to his love of cookies and cake. I’m not making this up.
“These Maryland cookies are my favourite. I have one of them most days actually,” he said.
“People always like to take the mick out of me for my Peloton that I use but the reason I have to use this Peloton is because I’m constantly eating either cookies or cake most days.”
A man of the people.
Now, where’s our latest ‘What will Rishi Sunak mean for cycling’ piece? Surely we could issue them as monthly bulletins at this rate…
“Could build an indoor velodrome for that money”: Tour de France Grand Départ in Ireland projected to cost over €30 million
While the prospect of a Tour de France Grand Départ in Ireland has excited cycling fans across the island, the decision to prioritise bidding for one showpiece weekend of racing while the sport – from the grassroots to the elite level – struggles financially has been met with more than a few faint murmurs of discontent.
As we reported on the live blog last week, the news that the Irish government and Northern Ireland executive have submitted an expression of interest to host the opening stages of the Tour de France, in either 2026 or 2027, prompted a somewhat mixed response.
> Ireland bids for cross-border Tour de France Grand Départ
While some cycling fans were in buoyant mood at the prospect of the world’s biggest race on their doorstep, others pointed out the dubious environmental impact of foreign grand tour starts, the legacy of pro cycling’s relationship with doping (particularly the cloud still lingering over the Tour’s only previous trip to Ireland, in 1998), and the lack of political will or funding for the domestic racing scene.
Those rumblings, however faint or preceded with the caveat that a Tour Grand Départ would still be welcomed with open arms, certainly won’t be quietened with today’s news that the estimated costs of hosting the Grande Boucle could rise to over €30 million.
As reported by Sticky Bottle today, following last week’s formal expression of interest in hosting the Tour, a detailed proposal will be worked on by a “project team” involving people and agencies from both sides of the border until the middle of 2023. According to the Irish government, a finalised bid will then be submitted.
Ireland’s Minister of State for Sports, Jack Chambers, told Newstalk this morning that the Tour was one of the “biggest and most prestigious” sports events in the world and that, if the race was secured by the joint north-south bid, it would hold “huge potential” for the island.
Marcel Kittel wins stage two of the 2014 Giro d’Italia in Belfast (LaPresse)
“We see the projected costs at between €20 million and €30 million, which would be shared north and south, that’s the current indication of potential cost but we are at an early stage of the bid development process,” Chambers said.
“We will have to scope out the route, the logistics, the organisational planning, but that’s the projected costs presently.”
The TD also dismissed doping-related issues – including the assertion that Ireland was intrinsically linked to the infamous Festina Scandal of 1998 – and claimed that Irish cycling was at the forefront of the anti-doping community.
“I know there were issues in 1998 but obviously this is something that… every second year there is an opportunity, obviously when the Tour moves out of France for the start of the race, and I think, you know, cycling has had difficulties in the past that people are well aware of, but this is a huge opportunity for the island of Ireland,” he said.
Chambers, who said he had “fond memories” of the 1998 Grand Départ and the Giro’s start in Belfast in 2014, added: “This represents a brilliant opportunity from a north-south perspective… and the shared island approach and having that collaboration north and south. Sport is one of those areas that can build bridges and there is a huge potential from a tourism perspective in showcasing our country.”
While Ireland’s politicians say that the Tour de France could inspire the same, if not greater, levels of cross-community spirit witnessed during the Giro eight years ago, as well as boosting tourism, the bill for hosting the race (a similar amount to the figure paid by Yorkshire the last time the Tour visited the UK, also in 2014) has been criticised by some who have pointed to financial problems closer to home.
That the Tour bid comes only two months after Cycling Ireland took the decision to not send a squad to the road world championships in Wollongong, citing the mounting costs and the body’s stretched budget, has not been overlooked by those in the Irish cycling community:
Velodrome, multiple Corkagh park initiatives. Sending teams to the Worlds for a start….
— Conor McGrane (@ConorTMcGrane) October 24, 2022
Not to mention announcing this after the whole not sending riders to the Worlds thing.
— Patrick Kane (@patrick_kane_) October 24, 2022
Nor have two of the elephants in the room when it comes to the ‘legacy’ of the Tour and Giro starts in Ireland: the lack of an indoor velodrome and the current squeezing of the domestic racing scene.
Just under three weeks ago, Irish track star Lara Gillespie said that a velodrome in Ireland would be a “huge asset” both for the island’s elite racers – who have been forced to train on the boards at their base in Mallorca for a number of years, despite producing world champions such as Martyn Irvine – and at grassroots level.
“It would be a huge asset if we had [a velodrome] and we could knuckle down on all the little small parts we maybe are lacking right now,” Gillespie told RTE 2FM at the start of October, ahead of the track worlds in Paris.
“But we’re definitely getting there and the track in Mallorca is such a life saver for us but in future, once we get kids (on the track) younger and getting those skills and just getting people used to it, it would just make such a huge difference.”
Meanwhile, 2022 marked the long-anticipated return of the Rás Tailteann stage race, one of Ireland’s most iconic sporting events, in a reduced five-day format and with a much more local field than in the past – the first time that the Rás had been held since 2018, after several funding and sponsorship issues forced the organisers to cancel in 2019, a precarious economic situation that was later exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Tour of Ireland, the Rás’s old rival in terms of major international week-long stage races, has not appeared on the calendar since 2009, when Lance Armstrong showed up and Russ Downing took the overall win.
It’s perhaps not surprising, then, that some have blasted the decision by the governments north and south to seemingly prioritise a showpiece spectacle like the Tour over the island’s own racing scene and talent – though others hope that the legacy of a second Tour de France start in Ireland may kickstart an Irish cycling renaissance:
See why some are not particularly happy about this when there’s SO much could be done for domestic cycling with money like that. https://t.co/hHVMZBPpO3
— Cillian Kelly (@irishpeloton) October 24, 2022
Hard to see relevance of that that comparison. Investment in TDF will be recouped with just two days of tourism exports.
— Noel (@noel_mcglynn) October 24, 2022
It’s not really.
Granted, you spend on the Tour and you get back that money (and some, hopefully) on tourism etc.
But it’s still frustrating to see the political will to get the Tour here for a few days whereas a velodrome that could grow the sport for decades is still not built.— StickyBottle.com 💚 🚲 (@sticky_bottle) October 24, 2022
Does my head in that the Guards and councillors who will be all over the pictures of the Tour are the same lads who are actively killing the sport by getting local races cancelled.
— Aidan (@onthenickel) October 24, 2022
So as long as the 30mil comes out of Bord Failure’s purse, and not Cycling Ireland, we’re grand.
Needs to be assurances that local racing will be supported. How many editions of the Rás could be run for €30m?
— Donal (@Spelt_D_o_n_a_l) October 24, 2022
Is it really worth it? How much revenue and interest did it develop after the last time? Also, if its a positive thing, why still bring up the doping incident?
— Michael Butler (@mikebuts) October 24, 2022
It’s completely worth the €30m provided the legacy is built on as it has been in Yorkshire. We had the Giro and did sweet FA with the legacy. It’s also completely worth putting €3m into the Ras which would fund it for a decade or more & do wonders for Irish cycling.
— @edenglish (@edenglish_) October 24, 2022
What do you think? Is hosting the Tour de France worth it? Or should that money be pumped into local races and riders instead? Or maybe even better cycling infrastructure? Let us know!
Ethan Hayter: “I think I can get quite close to Ganna’s Hour Record”
As part of the line-up that usurped Italy as team pursuit world champions in Paris earlier this month, Ethan Hayter knows a thing or two about beating Filippo Ganna on the track.
And while most of the cycling world believed that the machine-like Italian blew the Hour Record out of the water in Switzerland at the start of October – blitzing even Chris Boardman’s seemingly unsurpassable “superman” mark to set a new benchmark of 56.792km – Hayter reckons he can become the third straight Ineos Grenadiers rider to achieve one of cycling’s most historic and prestigious feats.
“I saw a few things saying nobody’s ever going to beat Filippo’s record, but I think I can get quite close to it if I try it one day,” Hayter, who added the omnium title to his team pursuit gold at this month’s track worlds, told VeloNews last week.
“Give it a bit of time, maybe wait for some new technology to come out, and I’d like a go.
“I beat Dan [Bigham] at the nationals in the flat time trial and he broke the record. Obviously, it’s not the same, but I think I could put a bit of time into Dan, and then see where that leaves me with matching Filippo. But then Filippo did beat Dan by quite a lot, so…
“I know how much time and resources the team put into it, and all the little things that get them the extra metres,” Hayter said.
“It would take some discussion with the team and my calendar, and my training. I’ve not really tried much individual stuff. I’d like to try the individual pursuit one time, but it’s not easy when you do the team pursuit, omnium, and madison already.”
At the rate Hayter – who just turned 24 last month – is progressing in the pro ranks (he won the Tour of Poland in August and took fourth and ninth in the TT and road race worlds before his rainbow-laden week in Paris), and with the weight of Ineos behind him, I wouldn’t dismiss him eventually taking the Hour Record just yet.
Though, Ganna was bloody fast to be fair…
Nothing to see here, folks: Movistar announces agreement with Saudi Cycling Federation
With sportswashing an increasingly hot topic of discussion, not just in cycling but – with the FIFA World Cup in Qatar fast approaching – across all sports, we were quite surprised to see a press release from Team Movistar, announcing an agreement with Saudi Arabia’s cycling federation, drop nonchalantly into our inbox.
> Cycling’s most controversial sponsors
“The Saudi Cycling Federation and Spanish Abarca Sports (Movistar Team) signed an agreement today in the presence of Mr. Abdullah Alwathlan the President of the Saudi Cycling Federation and Mr. Eusebio Unzué the President of Abarca Sports and General Manager of Movistar Team,” the statement says.
“The agreement aims to develop technical staff, enhance cooperation on training programmes, exchange experiences, hold regular workshops and support events, races and activities in the Kingdom for years to come. The cooperation between the parties aims to jointly develop cycling projects in the Kingdom at all levels.”
Perhaps even more surprisingly, a decent chunk of the press release – on the face of it about a knowledge-exchange project which will see Movistar help develop cycling in Saudi Arabia – focused on the Spanish organisation’s women’s team, led by Giro, Tour and Vuelta winner Annemiek van Vleuten.
> World champion female triathlete slams Saudi’s ‘gesture’ of allowing women to cycle
Until 2013, it was illegal for women to ride bicycles in Saudi Arabia. While women are permitted to cycle now, they are only allowed to ride in restricted recreational areas such as beaches and parks, and on the condition that they dress modestly and are accompanied by a male guardian at all times.
The statement continues: “The team started its activity in the pro cycling top tier in 1980, being the longest-running (43 years) and most successful squad in the UCI world Tour, including some of the best cyclists, men and women, in the history of cycling and ranking first in the world rankings in 1992, 2008, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016.
“In 2018, the team created the women Movistar Team, that has become one of the best women cycling teams in the World, achieving the victory in Tour of France, Giro Italia and Vuelta España in 2022. Moreover, the team is worldwide recognized as a leader in sustainability practices amongst the cycling family and an innovator in the use of technology and big data to enhance the competitivity of its cyclists.”
24 October 2022, 09:12
24 October 2022, 09:12
24 October 2022, 09:12
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Latest Comments
Drivers regularly pull out in front of me and cause me to slam on the brakes or avoid them. Very often they have seen me and just assume I'm not going very fast or they assume I will slow down/stop (which I do). Too many drivers don't look for cyclists, hate giving way to them or expect the cyclist to be moving slowly and just pull out.
@Rendel Harris By the time someone is looking at prison time its too late. As has been proven time and time again, the severity of punishment is a poor deterrent to bad behaviour if people don't think its going to happen to them or they don't think they will be caught. Now I do think that there should be far more severe and immediate punishments for bad driving when drivers are caught but this would need to be coupled with a massive push to actually act on information/proof of bad driving. As anyone that submits footage to the police knows, its a crapshoot and certain police forces are anti-cyclist. This would try to essentially put people off misbehaving whilst driving before they cause an accident rather than getting the tired old excuse of "it was a single dangerous incident, they definitely don't do this all the time and their luck finally ran out". Perhaps it should go even further and if you have a history of speeding and you hurt someone speeding, that is looked upon in a very dim light.
Can we talk about “Washing up liquid contains a lot of salt – not a great idea to use a corrosive substance on a bicycle”? This is an urban myth. I have washed all of our many bikes using Fairy liquid or Ecover for decades. I’ve never found any evidence of corrosion, paint, laquer or decal wear, or any sign of anything. I regularly service forks and bearings, swapping a lot of gear, and everything has always been fine. Here’s far too much info below - long story short, Fairy liquid in 5L of hot water has a borderline-homeopathic amount of salt, it’s fine to use on a bike. ============ The honest answer is that neither Fairy nor Ecover publicly disclose the actual sodium chloride concentration in the consumer products I could find. The safety data sheets list hazardous ingredients above reporting thresholds, but sodium chloride is not reported for either product. However, we can put some realistic bounds on it. Fairy Original The SDS lists: Sodium laureth sulfate: 20-30% Lauramine oxide: 5-10% Alcohol: 1-5% No sodium chloride is declared. 15 In detergent formulations, sodium chloride is commonly used as a viscosity modifier (thickener) and is typically present at around 0.5-3%, sometimes lower. The absence of declaration suggests it is either not present or present at a low concentration that does not require reporting. This range is an informed formulation estimate, not a value stated by Fairy. Ecover The Ecover ingredient information lists: Sodium lauryl sulfate Lauryl glucoside Cocamidopropyl betaine Alcohol Lactic acid Sodium octyl sulphate Again, no sodium chloride is listed. Ecover's formulations tend to rely more heavily on plant-derived surfactants and may use little or no salt for thickening, but I could not find a published concentration. 63 What does this mean for bike washing? Let's assume a worst-case 3% salt content in Fairy. If you add: 10 mL Fairy to a 5-litre bucket Then salt introduced would be approximately: 10 mL × 3% ≈ 0.3 g salt Distributed through 5 L water ≈ 60 mg/L salt For comparison: Typical seawater: ~35,000 mg/L Lightly salted winter road spray: often hundreds to thousands of mg/L The wash bucket above: ~60 mg/L So even under a pessimistic assumption, the salt concentration is hundreds to thousands of times lower than the salt exposure your bike gets from winter roads. From a corrosion perspective, the quantity of salt introduced by washing-up liquid is essentially negligible compared with: Riding on salted roads Coastal spray Leaving winter grime on the bike Therefore my practical conclusion remains: ✅ Fairy or Ecover in a wash bucket is extremely unlikely to contribute any measurable corrosion risk. ✅ The important thing is rinsing and drying afterwards. ✅ Winter road salt is the real enemy, not washing-up liquid.
Another example of a driver's actions that would have been a straight fail in a driving test but is barely likely to lead to a disqualification... I'm wondering if having a driving licence is like a "Get out of jail free" card...
Yes indeed. I have a version of the R8100 and you definitively need ceramic for the socket.
@perce I'm not sure I agree with that. I think thats just confirming that he is take fully responsibility and recognises that the cyclist could have done nothing to mitigate it.
If we don't fight it now, we'll all end up forced to wear baggy shorts!
@Rendel Harris Agree, I am baffled that the 84 year old who is now banned from driving for year can then start driving again without a retest. We should be re-tested regularly.
@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).
37 thoughts on ““Could build a velodrome for that”: Irish Tour de France start to cost €30m; Active travel and motoring groups combine to urge government to protect cycling funding; Cyclist asks court not to fine homeless man who stole his bike + more on the live blog”
Should have been addressed to
Should have been addressed to “to whom it may concern” and maybe send another one in a week.
The clown did at least seem to back active travel, though a lot of what he said was often misunderstood…
ktache wrote:
Currently looks like Rishi Sunak is most likely to become PM. I suspect that a lot of racists will make their views known and I’d guess that the ex-UKIP supporters will jump ship from the Tories.
.
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Very clever, successful guy, now Prime Minister.
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Yup, I can see why you would call him a clown.
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Whilst you, on the other hand ….
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Being successful doesn’t mean
Being successful doesn’t mean someone can’t be a clown in Politics. The last two PM’s seems to be proof of that. Unless you really really can’t see why either of them were forced to resign?
The clown was forced to
The clown was forced to resign in disgrace several months ago.
Please at least try to keep up.
He then had at least two holidays whilst absolutely having to remain caretaker prime minister.
You have identified the wrong
You have identified the wrong person, but then comprehension does seem to be a stumbling block for you.
In this thread last week ( https://road.cc/content/news/cycling-live-blog-21-october-2022-296747 ) , you replied to me with
“Please, please, please. Do not let inconvenient facts get in the way of blind leftie ranting.”
This did not relate to anything I wrote, nor anything anyone else wrote.
Are you going to explain your comment ?
Cargo Freestyle should
Cargo Freestyle should definitely be a thing, can’t think of anything better for normalising it for the younger generations.
Was very surprised to
Was very surprised to discover wheelies are possible:
Looking forward to cargo trials coming soon or maybe even cargobike football.
The outlook of the
The outlook of the Brislington railway cycle path project in Bristol doesn’t look good: https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/serious-doubt-bristol-cycle-path-7734204
Came across this at the
Came across this at the weekend
I was just following the spec.
I saw that but I did think it
I saw that but I did think it at least potentially made sense, if it’s on a busy road and guiding cyclists round to a cycle path on the other side it would allow cyclists to wait and get across safely rather than wait on the centreline for a gap in the traffic. I agree that in isolation it looks pretty daft, but I can picture a context in which it would actually be quite useful.
I found a better view !
I found a better view !
Mmm, doesn’t look great I
Mmm, doesn’t look great I agree, though is that a shared pavement sign over on the right lamppost, to which cyclists are being directed?
Reminds me of one of my
Reminds me of one of my favorite local bits of infrastructure
Shake wrote:
I presume that’s the same idea as Rendel has suggested above?
Cyclist comes off onto (stupid!) curved bit to line them up for (presumably) dismounting and walking their bike across onto that island/refuge in the middle of the main road to get over to the cycle lane on the other side of the road?
Rather than indicating and moving over to the right of your lane…
Quite a a bit of London infra
Quite a a bit of London infra seems to rely on those take a left to turn right infra? Seems they are planning it for Holburn as well. Very rare cars have to do the same thing though.
Two-stage turn – there are
Two-stage turn – there are lots of variants. It’s implemented here in Edinburgh on e.g. Leith Walk (as reported by road.cc in 2017, although the Macdonald road junction design has been changed again because Tram).
I’m with David Hembrow on this one – it’s an admission that you don’t know how to deal with cyclists. Or rather you’re not prepared to provide both safety and convenience.
theyre called jug handle
theyre called jug handle turns, and are supported in LTN 1/20 as viable infra options. I think theyre popular with road planners partly because alot of them dont realise how clunky they are to ride, and partly because it means you can create a bi-directional route option, but take up only half the space.
Awavey wrote:
I think they are mostly popular because they cause zero inconvenience to motorists
And the refuges are never
And the refuges are never wide enough to even start to offer protection for the full length of the bicycle.
That’s fair comment but:
That’s fair comment but:
Well it’d be fairer to know
Well it’d be fairer to know where this is and the surrounding situation. But it does look a bit like “our
streetsminds are too narrow”. They’ve ticked a box – it’s “possible” to cycle off the road…Possibly a case of “no one cycles here. This whole area is set up for the car anyway. Fixing one or other street won’t change that. So why should we spend money to cater for the non-existent, annoy our funders / party organisations and reduce convenience the general populace – who could potentially put us out of a job?”
Re; the active travel group
Re; the active travel group ’twas funny to see the ABD loons losing it and accusing the AA of betraying their founding fathers.
Of course we couldn’t expect the small band of bigots at the ABD to know that cycling has had a long association with the AA and they’re not all about motoring.
Not commenting on the crime
Not commenting on the crime with the hit and run death, but as comments are rightly closed on that article I just wanted to mention that the same Bolton Ironman that meant the initial removal of the wands is the same one that allowed a woman to drive onto the closed circuit causing an injury to a triatlete. Same road as well although it seems very long on Google Maps.
Maryland cookies are shit.
Maryland cookies are shit.
If you are going to try and admit to a guilty pleasure, at least try and make it something plausible that a multi millionaire/billionaire might enjoy, and no-one would ever have just one, for a start they would be stale by the time you got to the end of the packet no matter how good your biscuit tin was.
My Never to ever be a higher rate taxpayer cookie of choice is Claire Ptak’s egg yolk cookies, and I will often have a block of that cookie dough sitting in my tiny icebox type freezer, ready to bake a batch.
He might actually just get
He might actually just get them shipped across from actual Maryland though. Need to use the benefits of a US green card for something.
…and being richer than the
…and being richer than the King.
Don’t want to get all
Don’t want to get all political but this Bloke kept his Freedom of Movement with the USA whilst campaigning to end everyone else’s Freedom of Movement with the EU. Bast*rd.
“Don’t want to get all
“Don’t want to get all political”
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
How big are the cookies he’s
How big are the cookies he’s eating, if he MUST use a Peloton to cancel out the one cookie he eats per day??
https://twitter.com
What are an acceptable number of road deaths?
Might bring a tear to your eye – it did mine.
This might be interesting. I
This might be interesting. I’m sure the BBC will be even-handed, unbiased and completely balanced. Or they’ll cancel it because Rishi.
I can remember my BiL moaning
I can remember my BiL moaning about a cycle/car one from a a few years ago. He demonstrated a lack of knowledge about what double white lines mean.
It will be interesting to see how much HC knowledge drivers have in this programme.
Dropped now according to
Dropped now according to iplayer tv guide
Hour long news at 6 for some
Hour long news at 6 for some reason.
Can’t see a new dash cam
Can’t see a new dash cam compilation for this week either !
It’s repeated Wed and Fri at
It’s repeated Wed and Fri at 3.30am.on BBC News according to my Sky guide.