Too much protection: cyclist makes a grim discovery; French pro punctures lung in training collision with a dog; Are cargo bikes the future of deliveries?; 3-year-old rides 55km; Cyclist helps police catch drink-driver + more on the live blog

Cargo bike company Pedal Me has trawled the data to address some common misconceptions. Beyond the obvious benefits of less pollution and congestion, Pedal Me found hard evidence that cargo bikes are better suited to delivering goods in London than cars or vans. Using 19,000km of mobility data from their fleet in September, they found the average speed of a cargo bike was 2mph faster than traffic speeds in 2018. With congestion increasing 153% on last year, they suggest the average speed difference may be even greater now. 

Beyond competitive moving speeds, e-cargo bikes don’t have to waste time looking for parking space. Parking is a huge burden for delivery vans (studies say between 9-15 minutes), usually with additional walking to the final delivery, frequent fines and regular traffic blocks. pic.twitter.com/SWCtOrQ0iM

— Pedal Me (@pedalmeapp) November 24, 2020

Cargo bikes also take shorter, more direct, routes. From analysis of 2,000 jobs they found their fleet’s routes were 6% shorter than car trips. Of trips further than 5km, that figure rose to at least 10% longer in a car. 

The smaller capacity of cargo bikes (in terms of weight and volume) mean deliveries are distributed between more vehicles. This can result in globally more efficient routes and often require fewer hours overall to be completed (e.g. 2 bikes x 4h < 1 van x 9h). 6/🧵 pic.twitter.com/D9M9HKb6oq

— Pedal Me (@pedalmeapp) November 24, 2020

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Mikael Cherel (@mikaelcherel)

Cyclingnews reported that AG2R La Mondiale’s Mikaël Cherel sustained serious injuries including a broken collarbone, collapsed lung and two broken ribs after a training crash with a dog. Cherel, who has ridden 14 Grand Tours including this year’s Tour de France, was training in the south of France when he collided with a dog that had escaped from its owner.

He wrote on Instagram: “You might be wondering why I’ve posted this picture of a cute little dog on my timeline. Perhaps it’s the morphine that I’ve been prescribed that is kicking in.

“Of course, I can’t blame the dog that I crashed into after it tried to cross the road right in front of me. Neither can I blame the lady walking along the seafront from whom the dog escaped – although I can be annoyed about her act of cowardice, taking the opportunity to make her escape while I was left lying on the ground.”

Racers with a 2020 licence will receive a 50% discount on their 2021 licence, British Cycling has said. The discount comes after a year where racing was heavily disrupted and with the prospect of another reduced calendar next year. British Cycling suspended all activities at the start of the month in line with national restrictions but expressed disappointment that the government did not permit group rides of up to six people.

A police worker who crashed into a terminally ill pensioner while cycling on the pavement has been fined £30. The cyclist collided with John Wilson, 73, last month. According to the Metro after reviewing the incident, the police decided they would not be prosecuting and issued a £30 fixed-penalty notice.

Wilson was left angry by the punishment: “If any member of Joe public did what this guy did he’d be prosecuted. A £30 penalty is not fitting of the crime.”

The pensioner, who suffers from prostate cancer, was taken to hospital after the crash with facial injuries and had his iPhone smashed beyond repair.

A Bristol cyclist helped police catch a drink-driver after the man fled the scene of a crash. Daniel Newton left his motorbike at the scene but was followed by a passing cyclist who then pointed out Newton’s house to the police.

Ms Brown, a witness to the incident, told Bristol Live: “After failing to remove the bike, he ran off. A third witness noticed the defendant walking out in the road in front of her while she cycled. She said he seemed a bit dazed.

“As she cycled up to the scene of the collision, the neighbours explained what had happened. The woman cycled back to where she had seen the dazed male, followed him and watched him go into a property. When police arrived minutes later, the cyclist was able to point out the property he had gone into.”

Newton failed a breath test and was arrested. He has since admitted to driving, without insurance or a full licence, and failing to report an accident.

At the age of three Daisy Adams cycled from Bristol to Bath and back again, racking up 34 miles (55km) in a six-hour ride. Cycling mad, she learned to ride a bike at two and rode 45 miles over 12 days this summer to help raise more than £4,400 for stillbirth and neonatal death charity, Sands. Daisy’s got quite the fan club on Instagram where the ‘pint_sized_cyclist’ has over 2,000 followers.

One response said: “I struggle doing Bristol to Bath and back and I’m 30 in a few months what an amazing little person.”

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Daisy Adams tiny biker (@pint_size_cyclist)

Relive all the highlights from GreenEDGE Cycling and SCOTT Sports’ 9-year partnership. From the infamous incident when the team bus got stuck under the finish line in Corsica to Matt Hayman’s Paris-Roubaix win via leaders’ jerseys at all three Grand Tours, Milan-San Remo and Liège–Bastogne–Liège. It’s been some journey.

If you found the earlier post about Pedal Me’s cargo bikes interesting you can read the full story on ebiketips here..

I don’t think I’ve ever mistaken a UK street scene for a Dutch one before.
A powerfully simple 40sec video showing just how fast we can make things better, if we dare to try different. https://t.co/nv5vwXPra2

— Chris Boardman (@Chris_Boardman) November 25, 2020

Something a bit more positive now… Proof that proper active travel infrastructure can be implemented in the UK. This 40 second video from Dulwich in south London shows that cyclists, pedestrians, people on scooters and motor traffic can exist harmoniously on our streets.

Olympic gold medallist and now cycling and walking commissioner for Greater Manchester, Chris Boardman said: “I don’t think I’ve ever mistaken a UK street scene for a Dutch one before. A powerfully simple 40sec video showing just how fast we can make things better, if we dare to try different.”

Mine and @margynewens work praised by a former Olympic Champion and active travel guru ….

<goes for a little lie-down> https://t.co/kvyqc9rGm5

— Richard Leeming (@RM_Leeming) November 25, 2020

It’s a cold November morning with some light rain yet we’re still seeing a huge uplift in #ActiveTravel in #Dulwich, especially from families doing the school run. #ChangeIsHere#DulwichModalShift #StreetspaceLDN pic.twitter.com/FyRmVTXcuC

— Clean Air for Dulwich (@CleanAirDulwich) November 26, 2020

Callum Skinner won Olympic gold and a silver at Rio in 2016 on the track, but it was the aftermath of that success that he spoke to BBC Sport about this week. Skinner explained: “From 2016 to 2018 were the most dangerous years of my life.

“Suddenly, the distraction of the Olympics was no longer there and I was faced with a lot of issues from school, issues around the separation of my parents, dyslexia, other small things.I had all these feelings about being inadequate, a bad brother, a bad son, a bad cyclist. Self-loathing.

“The time of realisation was at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in 2018. For the want of a better phrase, I had a mental breakdown after I got disqualified from the Keirin. I just felt a huge sense of embarrassment and my mood was starting to sink. It got to the point where the team doc was offering me emergency medication to get me through.”

Skinner’s mother moved to Manchester to be with the Scot while he trained and he told a senior figure at British Cycling about his struggles. He doesn’t want to name the person but their reaction brought about his retirement from the sport.

“One person made it horrible,” he continued.

“They had authorisation to give me time off and the response was that we can’t have all our athletes having a three-week holiday or else we wouldn’t have a team. That made me spiral. To have someone say that to me given how long it had taken to get me to the point to ask for a break was devastating. I had to try to explain what depression was and it was an inappropriate and surreal conversation to have.

“Most people were fantastic. I was always met with compassion, friendship and love, but that conversation finished me as a cyclist. That was 2019. Something you love turns into something you hate. What I’ve got now is my childhood love of riding my bike. I’ve got it back again. I’m so grateful for that.”

*WARNING: REPULSIVE CONTENT*

Went for a walk this morning along #Brighton seafront and spotted this😱👉is this a new way of stopping someone stealing your bike? Look carefully at the saddle❗️
I feel sick 🤢 pic.twitter.com/rbu4Huucal

— Rupert Rivett (@rupephoto) November 26, 2020

Well this is pretty grim. Hopefully you’ve all finished your lunch before seeing this. Rupert Rivett shared this photo from Brighton and suggested it might be an innovative new way to stop people stealing your bike. The good people of Twitter are trying their hardest to find plausible alternatives…

Weird place to keep spare chamois cream.

— Colin Lynch (@FormerTTchamp) November 26, 2020

These Black Friday limited edition Campagnolo Zonda wheels are aimed at anyone ‘from beginners looking for their first wheel upgrade to elite riders in need of tough alloy wheels for training.’ Available exclusively at ProBikeKit, only 500 pairs have been made and the company says they provide ‘excellent bang-for-buck’ at £549.99.

Muc-Off are back with this new puncture tool that’s stealthily stashed in a bike’s bar ends. Muc-Off says: ‘Each lightweight and durable set contains everything needed to get back riding when stuck with a hole that’s just not sealing: a stainless steel 2-in-1 puncture plug reamer tool, a variety of different sized tyre worms and a trimming knife. And weighing in at just 33g per side, the Stealth Tubeless Puncture Plug is a small lightweight solution that offers massive benefits.’

Cycling Industry News reported this data from Lime which recorded a 127% increase in e-bike rides between March and October 2020. Trips taken in October increased by 24% compared to June and July, despite the less favourable weather conditions. Furthermore in comparison to 2019 which saw a 38% reduction in rides from August to October, the figure was just 6% this year.

Florence Milner, General Manager, UK & Ireland at Lime said: “During the first lockdown we saw traffic levels drop by nearly 80%, with many turning to cycling as a way to get around. This experience highlighted how much better the air quality could be if there were less cars on the road. These latest figures show that people are still willing to choose the sustainable option even when it’s not the height of summer and it is a promising look of what the future of sustainable transport can be.”

Those of you with a strong stomach can scroll further down to read about the revolting sight that greeted a Brighton man earlier today… and after seeing the news, road.cc news editor/encyclopedia Simon MacMichael recalled writing about a similar incident back in 2013, when Danish police were hunting for a man who was repeatedly masturbating onto a woman’s bicycle saddle. The victim’s bike was targeted five times, only on Wednesdays, and as far as we know the perpetrator was never caught. Perhaps he fled to the South East…