Convicted fraudster targets speeding “Tour de France guys” with megaphone in Central Park; When Cav and Wiggo met Lance and Jan; Priest apologises for leading Mass in cycling kit; Van Vleuten reconsiders retirement; Remco’s home + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
The future...
Some of you will be happy to know about this garage door clicker that’s built into your handlebar and this is not April 1. pic.twitter.com/M4HUrffO8r
— Phil Gaimon (@philgaimon) September 26, 2022
Two more years! World champion Van Vleuten considers postponing retirement
On Saturday, when Annemiek van Vleuten launched an audacious late attack to win her second road race rainbow jersey – after a race spent working in the service of her Dutch teammates, just three days after fracturing her elbow during the mixed relay team time trial – the rest of the peloton must have been thinking: ‘Well, at least she’s retiring next year’.
That collective sigh of relief was stifled, however, when last night the 39-year-old superstar told Dutch talk show host Eva Jinek that she was reconsidering her plans to step away from the sport at the end of 2023.
.@AvVleuten kondigde afgelopen zomer aan volgend jaar te stoppen met wielrennen, maar haar prestaties dit jaar zijn zo goed, dat ze twijfelt. “Soms begin ik wel te twijfelen ja, dit is echt mijn beste jaar. (..) Ik word volgend jaar 40, dus het is eigenlijk ongelooflijk.” #Jinek pic.twitter.com/AyjMgSNqtk
— Jinek (@Jinek_RTL) September 26, 2022
The Movistar rider, who turns 40 in eleven days, admitted to the RTL 4 presenter that she believes that 2022 was her best season yet – backing up her high placing on road.cc’s Cycling’s Greatest Seasons list (which reminds me, I should probably update that) – prompting her to “doubt” her decision to retire before the Paris Olympics.
When asked by Jinek whether she still had the desire and hunger to win, after accomplishing virtually everything there is to accomplish in cycling, Van Vleuten said: “Winning is not my drive, continuously improving myself is.”
If she continues to improve on her superlative 2022, the rest of the peloton are in for a rough year. Or two…
Just a couple of pommies enjoying a coldie at the end of the worlds…
World Championship Memories: The most ‘Aussie’ pictures of all! @SwiftConnor and @jakey_stewart enjoying a beer at the end of their races in Wollongong… That brings back memories for me that does … Cold KB tinnys after a bike race in the 70s!
📸 Richard Scriven pic.twitter.com/UhemCImAaP
— British Cycle Sport (@VeloUK) September 27, 2022
Remco’s return: Evenepoel set for first race in rainbow jersey at Binche-Chimay-Binche
Another story from the ‘What are the world champions going to do next?’ category for you…
While Remco Evenepoel told reporters in Wollongong that the only race on his schedule after winning the rainbow jersey on Sunday would be one “through the night clubs” (ah, to be 22 again), it now seems that the newly crowned world champion will make his debut in cycling’s second most famous garment on 4 October, at Binche-Chimay-Binche.
The rolling, sprinter-friendly semi-classic, also known as the Memorial Frank Vandenbroucke after one of Belgium’s most precocious and tragic cycling heroes, will mark round two of Remco’s glorious homecoming parade.
Y los sueños se hacen realidad no? Un pequeño Remco Evenepoel con la camiseta del campeón del mundo.😍💛 pic.twitter.com/9kzOLr8ltm
— Rodri (@RodriSabato) September 25, 2022
Two days before the race, a public celebration will be held in Brussels’ Grand Place, in honour of the 22-year-old’s remarkable achievements this year: a dominant Worlds win, a first monument victory at Liège–Bastogne–Liège, and Belgium’s first grand tour triumph for 44 years, at the Vuelta a España. Not too shabby, eh?
While the crowds will gather in Brussels and on the lanes of Wallonia to sneak a glimpse of Belgium’s newest cycling hero, Binche-Chimay-Binche will also act as the farewell party for another of the country’s stars.
Philippe Gilbert – the last Belgian to win the worlds road race before Evenepoel, ten years ago – will hang up his wheels next week after what should be a rather fitting celebration of Belgium’s cycling past, present and future.
Now come on, Remco, stick around for Il Lombardia. You know you want to…
Sagan retires… No, not that one (yet)
#Wollongong2022 was the last race in the career of 🇸🇰 Juraj Sagan. The Slovak announced his retirement on his Instagram account.
🏆 4x Slovakian Champion Road Race pic.twitter.com/Cffnu6WfO4
— Domestique (@Domestique___) September 26, 2022
Football meets cycling: Virgil van Bike
I think it’s fair to say that Van Dijk seems a touch sharper on two wheels than on the football pitch so far this season…
Ouch…
Lol Musk is upset because NASA just pulled off hitting an asteroid, while all his products ever hit are pedestrians. https://t.co/fLsmt0s9te
— Read Class Struggle Unionism by Joe Burns (@JoshuaPotash) September 26, 2022
But, but, tunnels…
“Unfortunately I can’t turn back time”: Van der Poel returns home after Wollongong assault conviction
Mathieu van der Poel over hotelincident bij landing in Zaventem: “Ik dacht het zelf op te lossen en dat draaide verkeerd uit. Maar ik zou nooit iemand pijn doen.”https://t.co/4YdBil2E5W #Wollongong2022 pic.twitter.com/AU3ADHWi4K
— Sporza 🚴 (@sporza_koers) September 27, 2022
On the same morning that a grainy eight-second video popped up online, appearing to show – albeit briefly – the incident which led to him being charged with assault the night before the world road race championships, Mathieu van der Poel returned home from Australia and told waiting reporters at Brussels Airport that he was aiming to “put this behind me and look forward again”.
The Dutch rider had been initially due to appear at Sutherland Local Court today, but the hearing was brought forward to yesterday to facilitate his flight home. He was fined A$1,500 (£909) after admitting two counts of common assault.
According to New South Wales Police, the 27-year-old pushed two teenage girls during a confrontation at the Grand Parade Hotel in Brighton-Le-Sands on Saturday night.
> Video footage of Mathieu van der Poel hotel incident appears online
Faced with a plethora of television cameras when he stepped into the airport today, Van der Poel admitted to the assembled crowd of journalists that he had made a mistake.
“Of course I am sorry. I should have handled this differently, but unfortunately it happened,” he said.
When asked whether he should have contacted the hotel reception or his Dutch team prior to the incident, the Alpecin-Fenix rider said: “It was already late and I wanted to sleep. I thought I could solve it myself, but that turned out wrong. Unfortunately I can’t change that now.
“There were stories about pushing and stuff, but none of that happened,” he continued. “I had one girl by the arm, certainly not with the intention of hurting her. Anyone who knows me knows I’ve never hurt anyone.
“I’m trying to put this behind me and look forward again. I’m happy to be back in the country. Now I’m looking for the peace of mind from home. It’s up to the team to handle it.”
Ah sure look, it’s all the lads: Wiggins and Cavendish join Armstrong, Hincapie and Ullrich for Mallorca podcast recording
Ah, Mallorca – a cycling paradise for everyone from winter training pros to ambling cyclo-tourists like myself… And it’s also the home of controversial podcasts, apparently.
This week, s̶e̶v̶e̶n̶-̶t̶i̶m̶e̶ ̶T̶o̶u̶r̶ ̶d̶e̶ ̶F̶r̶a̶n̶c̶e̶ ̶w̶i̶n̶n̶e̶r̶ Lance Armstrong’s The Move podcast has set up shop on the Balearic Island, where the former world champion (he gets to keep that one, right Travis?) is pretending to care about the well-heeled fans who have paid $50,000 to enjoy his famously affable and convivial company while trudging up the Sa Calobra.
As well as those super-keen amateurs with more money than sense, Big Tex has also been joined by a veritable who’s who of the mid-90s to early noughties peloton: Big George Hincapie, historically big but now quite lean Jan Ullrich, and even bigger Johan Bruyneel (sorry, I couldn’t resist) for a special live post-worlds edition of his long-running podcast.
Oh, and Bradley Wiggins and Mark Cavendish are there, too. And the internet isn’t happy.
While Ullrich (the subject of Daniel Friebe’s recent excellent biography) was and remains a more popular figure among cycling fans than his American counterpart – despite both riders being mired in the same murky depths – most of the online reaction has questioned why Cav and Wiggo (the former still makes his living from riding bikes, while the other has a high-profile punditry gig with Eurosport-GCN) would want to be associated with He Who Must Not Be Named:
Meanwhile, Mark Cavendish and Bradley Wiggins have been cycling in Mallorca with some American who didn’t win the Tour de France seven times. I guess optics don’t matter when you’re retired (or nearly retired). pic.twitter.com/bTIeXrIREY
— Matt Butler (@mattbutler503) September 27, 2022
@N_Squillari do Cav and Wiggo look a tad uncomfortable? Armstrong, Bruneel, Hincape an Ulrich. A motley crew if ever there was. pic.twitter.com/yKWS61HL2K
— dermot mc ginn (@dermmcginn) September 27, 2022
What a bunch, I idolised one of these guys growing up, yes I belonged to the Armstrong generation, then he almost ruined the sport I loved and let me down. I still do not know how I feel about him, what I do know is I am disappointed Cav is there.
— Jess Notzing (@JessicaNotzing1) September 26, 2022
And I wouldn’t be disappointed if he was retired. But as a active pro cyclist I don’t think he should be with people who have lifetime UCI Bans. Whatever you think of the ban. I don’t want to be overly critical – just I am disappointed.
— Jess Notzing (@JessicaNotzing1) September 26, 2022
What is it about these dopers you so admire pic.twitter.com/gf9Dokcq4p
— Bradders (@6WattsPerKg) September 26, 2022
Jeez Kav.. lay down with dogs, get fleas..
— keydefender (@keydefender1) September 27, 2022
Of course, Cavendish has in the past defended Armstrong’s character – if not his doping – citing the Texan’s personal support for and encouragement of the Manxman when he was at the start of his pro career.
Meanwhile, Wiggins’ attitude towards the American has oscillated as wildly as his own jiffy bag-encased reputation in recent years, from praising Armstrong in his first autobiography to calling him a “lying bastard” in the wake of his 2013 doping confession, and back to defending his “human side” and including him in his book of ‘Icons’ in 2018.
In any case, the condemnation of Wiggins and Cavendish’s stint in Mallorca (and even Armstrong’s continued status as persona non grata in a sport filled with the remnants of its not-so-distant past) highlights cycling’s ongoing struggle – almost ten years on from Oprah – to reconcile the apparent need for black and white narratives with its extremely grey reality.
And then, this guy come up and says, “Cycling is in much better shape now, the new generation are all clean” pic.twitter.com/Wv3zY9VcHI
— Simon Warren (@100Climbs) September 26, 2022
Slightly uncomfortable cycling images
Is just me or is there something slightly ‘uncomfortable’ about this image? pic.twitter.com/5fytt65UxQ
— Chris Sidwells (@ChrisSidwells) September 26, 2022
Maybe Tommeke was just giving Remco advice on how to deal with the pressures of being a young world champion?
At least there were no beans involved this time…
Not the first weird photoshoot with Boonen. pic.twitter.com/6D0u6DnuH6
— Graham Healy (@Healycycles) September 26, 2022
Italian priest ordered to apologise... for celebrating Mass in cycling kit
It’s been quite the week for the Catholic Church’s relationship with cycling. Yep, you read that right.
First, the Vatican sent a rider to the world championships, purportedly to bless the passing of the rainbow jersey from Alaphilippe to Evenepoel (I may have made that bit up).
Now, an Italian priest has been forced to apologise for conducting Mass… in his cycling kit.
Father Fabio Corazzina was taking part in the Peace Walk, an annual pilgrimage where around 100 cyclists ride their bikes through Sicily in memory of those who stood against organised crime on the island.
However, Father Corazzina’s outdoor mass for the devout cyclists in Mazara del Vallo – an image of which was posted on social media – was heavily criticised by the Bishop of Brescia, Pierantonio Tremolada, who accused the bike riding priest of making a “joke” of the scared rituals of the Catholic Church, reports the Giornale di Brescia.
In a warning letter, Tremolada expressed his astonishment that Father Corazzina did not “think about the consequences of such an act, which was intentionally spread through social networks. How can one not realise the perplexity and pain that this would have caused, and has indeed caused, in so many people who deeply love the Eucharist and place it at the centre of their life of faith?”
Corazzina has since apologised for the impromptu Mass and has proposed fasting as a means of reconciliation (which should do wonders for his power-to-weight ratio… Sorry!).
Central Park megaphone man reaction
Responding to this morning’s story about the 71-year-old New Yorker who spends his days shouting at what he believes to be speeding cyclists in Central Park, road.cc reader SimoninSpalding said: “I am not sure that any of those people on bikes were wearing “$500 plastic pants” or were even close to being “Tour de France guys”.
“What I saw was a nice peaceful scene with no motor vehicles where cyclists and pedestrians were doing a decent job of sharing a space without conflict.
“Apart from the idiot in the hat with a megaphone.”
Awavey, however, urged caution to those condemning the megaphone wielding pensioner, writing: “From that scene alone yes, and not saying the crazy old guy is right at all, but I do know friends who have visited the park to ride, and it can apparently get a bit intense at times of the day, with lots of club style riding going on, and the NYPD/park enforcement officers are often very visible in their presence checking cyclists for speeding.
“So I’d be cautious to judge what’s happening there off a 30sec clip from the other side of the Atlantic.”
Rendel Harris, meanwhile, questioned whether the Central Park ‘world’ on Zwift contributes to the sometimes-aggressive style of riding witnessed in the park, “with people seeing if they can match their virtual race times with real-world ones?”
In the end, Simon concluded by arguing: “If I was an ‘activist’ interested in improving road safety and could spare one hour a day to do it, I would probably focus my efforts where there was a problem to be solved rather than randomly abusing people riding bikes.”
Convicted fraudster and ‘activist’ targets speeding “Tour de France guys” with megaphone in Central Park
I know it’s early on a Tuesday morning, the weather’s miserable (at least where I am), and the pound is falling faster than Geraint Thomas at a grand tour… but don’t worry, because it’s anti-cycling bingo time again!
And boy, do I have a rather unusual one for you this morning…
Over the weekend, the New York Post (basically the American Sun) interviewed a so-called activist who spends an hour every weekday and three hours at the weekend tracking the speeds of cyclists at a Central Park junction with a radar gun – before shouting at them through a megaphone.
“An aggravated activist is calling bull on Central Park’s spandex-clad ‘Tour de France’ bicyclists,” reads the Post’s opening paragraph. Line!
71-year-old Jerome Dewald told the paper: “If you’re in the crosswalk and these Tour de France guys come flying through, they can call you an a–hole, but by the time you say it back, they’re already 40 feet down the road. The bullhorn solves that problem.
“I’ve had a few guys assault me. One guy threw a bottle at me. One guy slapped the horn out of my hand.”
A video of the dandily dressed self-styled entrepreneur (we’ll get to that later) putting his megaphone to use managed to garner over 32,000 likes on YouTube last month.
Dewald says his campaign was inspired by the tragic death in 2014 of Jill Tarlov, who was killed in a collision with a cyclist at the junction. The cyclist was reported to have reached 35.6mph earlier in the day in Central Park. However, Tarlov’s widower told the Post that he has not spoken with Dewald and does not want to relive his wife’s death.
> NYC controversy: Cyclist not charged in Central Park collision that put pedestrian on ventilator
Nevertheless, the 71-year-old claims that things have got worse since 2014 and that “kids are going to get hurt, if not killed” by speeding cyclists in the park, unless better enforcement and infrastructure are introduced soon.
He continued: “It is not uncommon for the Tour de France guys, the guys with the $3,000 bikes and the $500 plastic pants, to come flying through here at a speed of between 28 and 33 miles an hour when people are in the crosswalk, even when the light is red. And they yell at you, too.”
Your bingo card may be filling up fast, but there’s a twist coming up that not even the caller saw coming.
In 2005, Dewald was convicted of fraud and larceny charges in Michigan for his role in organising two political-action committees during the 2000 presidential election – one which raised money for Democrat Al Gore, and one backing Republican George W. Bush.
“Dewald simply used the 2000 presidential election to create an air of legitimacy for his illegitimate objective: to funnel money to his for-profit consulting firm under false pretences,” Sixth Circuit Justice Ronald Lee Gilman, responsible for reinstating Dewald’s conviction after a successful appeal, said in 2014.
A later campaign organised by Dewald – this time focusing on marijuana legalisation – also came under scrutiny after other activists questioned his motives.
At least he’s worrying about “$500 plastic pants” now…
27 September 2022, 09:06
27 September 2022, 09:06
27 September 2022, 09:06
Party on, Remco!
Huge crowds greet world champion Remco Evenepoel at Brussels Airport
The new king of Belgium...
27 September 2022, 09:06
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As I recall it made cycling more popular rather than doing for it...honestly, this article is an absolute dumpster fire of factual errors (Orson Welles did not write 1984 and Warner Bros do not organise MTB races) and grammatical and syntactical mistakes ("TV coverage is also, in no short order, what rings in the lion’s share of sponsorship money" - what?). What on earth happened?
@Sriracha It is indeed ridiculous that one can buy these illegal machines just on a promise that one won't use it on public roads; almost as ludicrous as being able to buy a motor car that can do 230mph with a promise that one won't ever do more than 70mph. By all means let's have a crackdown on illegal electric motorcycles, but there should be simultaneous legislation restricting all cars to 70mph maximum with severe confiscate/crush penalties for any vehicle that has been modified to circumvent the restrictor.
Yes, let's send in the army to go after the group that kills 1750 people a year and seriously injures 25,000 more, 85% of whom admit to breaking the law when it suits them. Shocking that these thugs have been allowed to get away with their illegal behaviours for so long and at such devastating cost to their victims and their families.
@Steve K Yep, at the time I had a back wheel conversion ebike, fully legal kit from a reputable UK supplier, all three of my LBSs refused to do a front brake fluid replacement for me; they were very polite and apologetic but they all had a policy of only working on purpose-built ebikes from well-known manufacturers. One explained that there were plenty of falsely-badged dodgy kits around with 750W motors masquerading as 250W and they didn't want to risk any potential legal issues if they were found to have facilitated getting an illegal machine back on the road.
@leedorney Nowt wrong with inner tubes, but if you'd have spent £100 buying tyres to use them tubeless I bet you'd be at least marginally annoyed.
The cheery face of occupation...
Much as you cannot outrun a polar bear, but you might be able to outrun the bloke next to you, it's about persuading the scrote that the bike next to yours is easier to steal, though of course not as nice. And mine will always be grubbier. And it helps with the insurance payout. I like my hip lock DX1000, at the time of purchase it was the only lock that would fit around the rim and tyre, securing the rohloff to the frame and secure object. And it definitely looks the part. Yet to see the LPL attack the locking mech, the key, to my untrained eye looks better than my many kryptonites. As the above has it, these diamond sold secure locks are getting cheaper and that is no bad thing.
It's good to see that there are bike shop owners with principles. I was in a bike shop recently when some of the Deliveroo fraternity brought their bikes in. The staff saw that the bikes were illegal and refused to touch them. Fortunately the riders didn't cause any trouble, although this might have been because there were another 4 guys in the repair shop, with a lot of spanners and wrenches in easy reach! Illegal bike are a real problem, whether they're modified e-bikes or electric motorbikes. The Police and councils to occasionally run operations to try and catch them but they won't chase them. In my area they're being used for drug dealing.
Perhaps the friendly approach might work?
I don't believe tall stories about invincible bike locks, period. Even IF it could withstand an angle grinder, what happens if the thief doesn't use a grinder but another means? Say he douses that hard but brittle lock with refrigerant spray and gives it a good whack with a hammer? Or -what happened to me but fortunately with a low value bike- they don't manage to cut the lock and out of spite they attack the frame and cut through it?
51 thoughts on “Convicted fraudster targets speeding “Tour de France guys” with megaphone in Central Park; When Cav and Wiggo met Lance and Jan; Priest apologises for leading Mass in cycling kit; Van Vleuten reconsiders retirement; Remco’s home + more on the live blog”
I am not sure that any of
I am not sure that any of those people on bikes were wearing “$500 plastic pants” or were even close to being “Tour de France guys”. What I saw was a nice peaceful scene with no motor vehicles where cyclists and pedestrians were doing a decent job of sharing a space without conflict. Apart from the idiot in the hat with a megaphone.
For the sake of clarity, I
For the sake of clarity, I need to correct myself. When I said idiot, what I meant to say was convicted fraudster obviously.
I apologise wholeheartedly for any confusion caused.
From that scene alone yes,
From that scene alone yes, and not saying the crazy old guy is right at all, but I do know friends who have visited the park to ride, and it can apparently get a bit intense at times of the day, with lots of club style riding going on, and the NYPD/park enforcement officers are often very visible in their presence checking cyclists for speeding.
So I’d be cautious to judge what’s happening there off a 30sec clip from the other side of the atlantic.
Awavey wrote:
I wonder if the fact that there is a Central Park “world” on Zwift contributes to that, with people seeing if they can match their virtual race times with real-world ones?
I have no way of knowing what
I have no way of knowing what might happen there at other times, but if I was an “activist” interested in improving road safety and could spare 1 hour a day to do it I would probably focus my efforts when there was a problem to be solved rather than randomly abusing people riding bikes. The signals aren’t particularly clear in the clip, but there are a couple occasions where the lights appear to be against the pedestrians but he is still abusing cyclists.
Totally, I just feel it’s too
Totally, I just feel it’s too easy to bracket the guy as another anti cycling idiot, which he may well be still, carrying out something that looks frankly ludicrous to us, without knowing the full context of what does happen there.
If you and SimoninSpalding
If you and SimoninSpalding want some context (conscientiousness which I applaud) then you could do worse than browse the back pages of BikeSnobNYC – he lives there, spent many years as a roadie (Fred) taking part in early morning circuits of said park in moving up the categories – and also supplying vigorous critique of the same. Including a fair few with attitude trying to bully the pedestrians out of the way. Some samples:
After a pedestrian died.
Central park now available on Zwift!
Awavey wrote:
Is that with hand under opposite armpit, as demonstrated by Vic Reeves?
It’s like normal riding but
It’s like normal riding but you can’t make out the words…
It’s not fair, I was only
It’s not fair, I was only doing 35mph in a 30 like I always do.
https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/hundreds-of-thousands-of-drivers-fined-after-police-change-speeding-rules/
Steve McNamaras quote on it
Steve McNamaras quote on it is a classic, some of his members who have been driving “professionally” for 35 years without a single point on their licence…have been getting 12 points within 3 weeks.
Erm… maybe they should drive to the limit then, just an idea. ?
So they’ve been speeding for
So they’ve been speeding for the whole of their professional careers – because they knew they would not be caught? They respect only the penalty, not the law.
I read that article and
I read that article and honestly couldn’t understand why the newspapers were actually (appearing to be) on the side of the poor beleagured motorists.
They haven’t reduced the speed limit – they reduced the level at which they prosecute. So all of those people who are complaining that they shouldn’t have been charged and wouldn’t have been under the old system, were still breaking the speed limit.
The 5mph is not insignificant
The 5mph is not insignificant. The InterWeb argues about the actual number but they all agree that the 5mph difference at least doubles the risk of killing someone. Given the propensity of pedestrians and cyclists to “appear from nowhere” so drivers take no evasive action, the difference is not trivial.
I’m confused.
I’m confused.
Only yesterday we were being told that a proposal for a 15mph limit had been turned down due the the inability of speedometers display speeds accurately enough in increments of less than 10mph to make compliance possible. And yet today we are told that reducing the prosecution threshold from +6mph to +5mph (or +20% to +17%) is sufficient to cause lots of law abiding taxi drivers to get points.
Sounds like speedometers are plenty accurate to me, and the tolerance could be reduced even further.
My understanding is that
My understanding is that speedometers must not under read but can overread by 10% + 6.25mph. So if the speedo says you’re doing 20, you cannot be doing more than 20 but could be doing as little as 12.5mph. So there should be zero possibility of getting a speeding ticket provided your speedo is saying you are doing at or under the speed limit, and indeed when combined with the prosecution guidelines the speedo may well be displaying >10mph over the speed limit before you are prosecuted.
Although when it comes to 15mph, another issue may be that there is no “tick” mark at 15mph, so the driver is being expected to estimate half way between the 10 and 20mph tick marks, which is harder than basing speed on the tick mark itself.
I wonder how many cars &
I wonder how many cars & taxis on the road have a mechanical speedo needle, rather than a digital display &/or satnav?
With a 15mph limit, what would the Police do about cyclists going over it? Would hire bikes need speedos? Maybe not, as 15mph + 10% + 2mph = 18.5mph.
Firstly they would need to
Firstly they would need to campaign for legislative change.
I get the impression most
I get the impression most cars have a mechanical speedo needle – even when I’ve hired brand new cars it seem that many still do, let alone older cars. A GPS/phone on SatNav mode might display the speed, but those aren’t covered by the regulations that cover the car’s built in speedometer.
By and large speed limits do not apply to cyclists anyway, so that part is a bit moot.
That said, I’m not entirely convinced not having a speedometer would inhibit the government from passing legislation to apply speed limits to cyclists anyway – there are plenty of other examples of legislation where an individual may break the law without necessarily realising it. One that often comes up is drink driving – we don’t install breathalysers on all cars, and yet we set a numerical limit for the permitted alcohol level.
OnYerBike wrote:
I think the majority on new cars are now GPS. I recently rented a Hyundai abroad and found that the speedo read the same as my phone satnav app, and that everyone seemed to be driving very close to the speed limit. It’s probably cheaper once you have the GPS in the car than the old mechanical cable to the gearbox, and many new cars seem to have them for all those features that you never knew you needed – and in fact you still don’t.
Said Hyundai had a feature that the tailgate could not be opened at all if the key was in the ignition. I’m so glad they saved me from the horrific fate of doing that.
Please keep that under your hat or Lord Winston, whose gynaecological experience makes him an expert on active travel, will try to get it legislated…
TheBillder wrote:
I doubt that any new cars are GPS. Does the speedometer still work in tunnels? Does it suddenly jump 5 MPH when driving between tall buildings?
It’s not usually a mechanical cable any more, but the ECU probably already has an electronic sensor on the output shaft, and definitely has sensors on all four wheels for ABS and traction control. It processes this and tells the display where to put the needle.
Good points all – but I
Good points all – but I suppose the important part is that speedometers seem to be far more accurate than in the past, and therefore may read lower at a given speed. Drivers have to learn that 10% over isn’t going to save them from a ticket.
I’ve a 2019 Kia Proceed. At
I’ve a 2019 Kia Proceed. At 80kph on the speedo (dial type), the GPS reads 76kph, and those road signs that flash up your speed as you enter lower speed limit areas (like 50kph/30kph in a shool zone), tend to agree with the speed displayed on my GPS and not with the actual speedo dial figures.
…the supplementary digital display on the cockpit info screen is aligned with the speedo dial figures.
So, as long as I keep within that speed, which is displayed on my speedo dial, I can (presumably) be confident that I am within the required limit.
Testing this theory on a stretch of road (120kph) I sat at 118kph with cruise control on. This 11km stretch of motorway has a pair of average speed cameras – I’ve never been pulled for speeding there – and the calculations suggest that the actual speed is around 112/113kph which tallies with the displayed GPS speed.
So, it seems that even in this day of modern tech, there is still a degree of inaccuracy to the speedo set up. Now small anomalies like tyre size, inflation, etc., may have a small bearing here…but there is still arouind 5 to 8% inaccuracy from actual calculated speed (GPS speed) – rising as speed increases beyond those figures above…
If I was in my previous car (a 2011 Kia Ceed) – which relied on less ‘sophisticated technological advancements’, and was using a separate Garmin GPS unit, there was no discernible difference from the Garmin readout and the displayed speed on the speedo dial.
The moral: keep below the posted limit, then go a bit slower…slow driver…slowwwwwer cyclist.
With a 15mph limit, what
With a 15mph limit, what would the Police do about cyclists going over it?
In Lancashire, at least, the police refuse to accept that any cycling speedometer gives any indication about the speed of a cyclist- this is why they are deemed to always be travelling at less than 10 mph and it’s always legal to cross single or double unbroken white lines in any position to overtake a cyclist- independent of whether there’s a right hand bend just ahead and the overtaking driver can’t see oncoming vehicles until he hits them. Therefore even the notoriously cyclist-phobic LC will have trouble nailing cyclists for exceeding speed limits specifically, although they could get them for furious cycling- presumably only if they hit someone.
A police officer (TVP) told
A police officer (TVP) told me that GPS data was not accepted by the courts. So I don’t think this is limited to Lancashire. I then suggested that given that I was doing 17mph (according to the Garmin) and the threshold would have been 10mph they could do some simple calculations and even allowing for error it would still be within a threshold that would be mathmatically conclusive. He said they didn’t have the resources for that. So nobody is ever going to get done for that offence.
I would agree that the conclusion is that without being caught on a calibrated device then it’s difficult to prosecute anybody against a specific number. Furious Cycling on the other hand…….
So if the law holds that
So if the law holds that motor vehicle speedometers can not accurately discern speeds below 15mph, how is the law abiding motorist supposed to navigate the 10mph/solid white line regulation?
Sriracha wrote:
I would be interested to know if anyone has ever been prosecuted specifically for that offence (rather than general careless/dangerous driving). I seem to recall a NMotD on here a few months ago where the police response effectively suggested that motorists can’t be prosecuted (although I think the actual statement was along the lines of the cyclist isn’t required to have a speedometer, which raises a whole lot of other questions!)
I would be interested to know
I would be interested to know if anyone has ever been prosecuted specifically for that offence
In Lancashire nobody has ever been prosecuted for crossing single or double white lines while overtaking a cyclist- they police have never issued warning letters or the joke driving course for this offence either. Neither has anyone ever been prosecuted in Lancashire for close passing a cyclist.
From the article ” The
From the article ” The lowered threshold only applies to London, while Lancashire Police have also brought in similar rules. Other forces have kept the ‘10% + 3mph’ formula.”
Just waiting for wtjs.
Just to be a real pedant, a
Just to be a real pedant, a widow is a woman who has lost her husband, a man who has lost his wife is a widower. All credit to him for not giving this idiot any credibility or further publicity; as the late great Linda Smith said, “They don’t deserve the oxygen of publicity; actually they don’t deserve the oxygen of oxygen.”
Good spot! A spell in the
Good spot! A spell in the corner for me (I’ll blame my lack of coffee this morning…)
If Jerome Dewald was English,
If Jerome Dewald was English, we’d dismiss him as a eccentric English duffer with nothing better to do, but he’s American, so he’s just demented. Don’t they have laws about disturbing the peace in New York?
E-Scooter rider jailed for
E-Scooter rider jailed for Collision with Pedestrian.
Rightly so as well. Any vehicle who slammed into her like the footage showed should have been found guilty whether cycle, car or illegal road scooter.
Agreed but a little confused
Agreed but a little confused how he can be banned from driving?
E-sccoters are classed as
E-sccoters are classed as motor vehicles. You need a provisional license minimum to use the hire ones in my city for example (or seemingly just use your parents driving license from the ones around).
So he was charged with driving offences, hence ban on driving.
Thanks. Everyday is a
Thanks. Everyday is a learning day so thanks for the information.
Completely agree, but I can’t
Completely agree, but I can’t help but think he would have got a lot less than 16 months in prison and a 3 year ban if he had been driving a car. Unless perhaps she’d been killed, which would be a lot more likely with a car.
AidanR wrote:
There are more details here – https://www.sussex.police.uk/news/sussex/news/court-results/e-scooter-rider-sentenced-for-causing-serious-injury-in-bexhill/
“Paul Satchell had been stopped by PC Jason Kemp and PC Daniel Turk in Watermill Lane, Bexhill, after using the powered vehicle.
The officers were in a patrol vehicle that stopped to warn the 58-year-old that he need to stop riding, but Satchell ignored them, turned away from the police, and rode off.”
So that would be an aggravating factor when it comes to sentencing. He also messed the court around by failing to attend on several occasions, which probably didn’t do him any favours.
There’s a picture of the scooter, don’t know the exact make but I’ve seen similar ones advertised with top speeds of 50 km/h.
How fast was he riding that
How fast was he riding that thing (on the footpath…)?
For clarity he was on the
For clarity he was on the carriageway. As far as I can tell the speed limit on that road is 30. Given the very narrow camera angle it is hard to get an accurate impression of speed, but I’m certainly not convinced he was going faster than that and may well have been significantly under. I would find it plausible to suggest around 20mph.
(A bit of sleuthing finds the location to be outside 5 Watermill Lane. The parked car in the video is parked on the grass verge – absent from Streetview although clearly evident from the damaged grass and visible in the satellite image of the same location. https://goo.gl/maps/EPfz1KM8Af4W2f9X8 )
Whilst I certainly don’t object to the outcome in this case, I would echo the sentiment that the punishment does seem harsher than similar cases in which the offender was driving a car – including for example the porche driver yesterday who was found not guilty of causing death by dangerous driving (albeit yet to be sentenced for the admitted offence of causing death by careless driving).
Oh, my mistake – I thought
Oh, my mistake – I thought that dark line was the edge of the carriageway rather than a broken line in concrete or something… So the victim was walking in the carriageway to get around the badly parked car, you think?
You do see a lot of these privately owned e-scooters nipping around roads in town (and on footpaths, too).
I wouldn’t ascribe too much
I wouldn’t ascribe too much blame to the badly parked car – I don’t think the pavement would have been blocked. It sounds from the various news reports like the woman was crossing the road. From the video it’s clear she didn’t cross in necessarily the shortest line across the carriageway and to some extent may have adjusted her path to avoid the parked car, but I’m sure we all sometimes follow indirect routes or desire lines when crossing quiet residential streets rather than going the absolute shortest route across.
I expect there might have
I expect there might have been extras involved for the sentencing (no insurance, not road legal) and they also mention in the text he was “evading Police” at the time.
I want that garage door
I want that garage door remote.
Imma leave this here: https:/
Imma leave this here: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/sep/26/the-festival-where-everyones-welcome-so-long-as-their-names-nigel
“Just sit still, my boy: this
“Just sit still, my boy: this won’t hurt a bit…”
Given that Armstrong’s
Given that Armstrong’s admitted he started doping when he was 21 he’s got a bloody cheek to have the rainbow bands on his sleeves, even if he hasn’t officially been stripped of his 1993 title.
He still thinks he has 7 TdF
He still thinks he has 7 TdF wins, when G had his trophy stolen, Armstrong tweeted him saying “have one of mine, I have 7.” I have less of a problem with the doping, one could say it was a level playing field in that era, however it’s the reputations and livelihoods (LeMond, Andreu, O’ Reilly, etc) he destroyed along the way I find abhorrent. Sociopath.
Rendel Harris wrote:
I’ve removed the possibly superfluous words. He’s like a stick of rock that has ARSEHOLE all the way through it.
Disappointing to see Cav & Wiggo happily rubbing shoulders with the biggest pair of unrepentant pathological liars that the sport has ever seen. I’m not sure what to think about Jan Ullrich, am tempted to buy Daniel Friebe’s book.
Some look at a bunch of guys
Some look at a bunch of guys having a ride together, a laugh and catching up, and think that’s good. Good for their mental health (ie. Wiggo), and good to listen to their chat.
Most don’t care anymore who cheated (Lance, Jan), or who may have but not got caught. Instead of just turning off, or looking at something else, why grumble and whine constantly?
Roulereo wrote:
Who are the “most” of whom you speak? The public at large or those who are fans of cycling? If the latter, that’s a rather presumptuous statement on your part and one which certainly doesn’t accord with my experience in talking to other fans about it. However, I do sincerely apologise for not maintaining the shining standards of courteous positivity which are of course so noticeable in your posts, but if you disapprove of what I said, instead of just turning off, or looking at something else, why grumble and whine constantly?