Energy gels and lost GPS data as The Simpsons parodies cyclists; ‘I peaked as a dad at this point’: The £19.99 Cervélo balance bike; First female DS in men’s WorldTour; Anti-LTN group blame road closure for crime and guns + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
'Grasping at straws': Gunman on the loose...anti-LTN group blames road closures
#BreakingNews
London Fields has a GUNMAN on the loose on a bicycle.
LTNs in #Hackney have allowed criminals with GUNs to roam freely.
Arm Police despatched.
‘Safer Street’ Think not.
Remove these dangerous LTNs in #Hackney to to safe lives.
(Clip forwarded by a resident) pic.twitter.com/N5VCGFjPcY— Save Hackney Roads (@HackneySave) December 3, 2020
Save Hackney Roads, an anti-LTN group, has been accused of grasping at straws for blaming road closures after a gunman was reported on the loose in London Fields, Hackney. The group posted the video above and claimed the gunman was on a bicycle so could escape the police easily: “LTNs in Hackney have allowed criminals with guns to roam freely. Remove these dangerous LTNs in Hackney to save lifes.”
One Twitter user replied: “Grasping at straws there. I don’t live near any LTNs yet someone got stabbed down the road from me by someone walking. Crime happens regardless of the street layout.”
Another added: “Even the usual anti-LTN accounts are backing away from this one in embarrassment.”
How exactly will removing LTNs restrict this individual’s ability to roam freely?
— David S (@Pionir) December 3, 2020
That’s the sound of the bottom of a barrel being scraped to splinters.
— Bobby from vintageshimano.com (@vintageshimano) December 3, 2020
Are no passing zones the future of bunch sprints?
Speaking to AD.nl, former WorldTour sprinter and five-time world champion on the track Theo Bos, suggested no passing zones would help improve rider safety in bunch sprints. By creating a sprinters’ zone next to the barriers in the final 300m, Bos believes you could stop dangerous overtaking manoeuvres and reduce the amount of crashes. The first rider to the sprint zone would not be allowed to leave it and therefore avoid riders moving across the road during the sprint.
“No more wild west in the bunch sprints, with officials interpreting it only a little loosely, but few rules that everyone understands and that everyone can enforce,” Bos said.
“This [no passing zone] prevents riders from swerving all over the road – sprinters, but also lead-outs. If you are at the head of the peloton at 300 meters in the sprinters’ section, then you stay there. Leaving gets you relegated. If you overtake riders from behind, you are allowed to leave the box, otherwise you cannot pass in it.
“You can no longer dive into small holes, like Sagan in the Tour. But you also no longer get the situation that the front rider slams the door – with all the consequences that entails. Anyone who passes between the rider and the barriers in the sprinters section will be relegated.”
Bos believes new rules are needed following a year marred by sprint incidents, the most notable of which was the terrifying crash at Tour of Poland involving Fabio Jakobsen and Dylan Groenewegen. Sam Bennett and Peter Sagan were also both relegated from sprints for dangerous actions at the Vuelta and Tour respectively.
Chris Froome's good deed for the day
Rescued this little guy from getting run over, anybody know what it is? 🐍 pic.twitter.com/kppPiAQTe9
— Chris Froome (@chrisfroome) December 3, 2020
Community rallies for cycling charity after van is destroyed in fire
Big thanks to @Leicester_News from @LeicesterWFA for allowing us to use a council van for events whilst ours is, um, indisposed.. pic.twitter.com/TKvCjY8eOb
— Eric Ludlow (@ericonabike) November 27, 2020
Leicester cycling charity Wheels for All were devastated to find out the van they use to collect cycles was destroyed in a fire. The charity runs inclusive sessions to support anyone with different needs, regardless of age or ability gain independence through cycling. The Leicester Mercury reports the van, which the charity uses to transport their fleet of bikes, was gutted by a fire last week.
However, Wheels for All received a helping hand from Leicester City Council who have loaned a van while a permanent replacement is sorted. Chairman of the charity, Peter Simmonds was grateful for their support: “This will enable us to lay on sessions for our clients and bring them some much needed fun and exercise in the run-up to Christmas.
“I’d also like to thank Midland Tail Lifts as well, for offering to fit a tail lift on a replacement van free of charge and and to the organisations around the country offering a similar service to ours, who have given us practical and moral support. It’s given us a real boost after the shock of seeing our van go up in smoke.
“The van was insured, and we are awaiting an update from our insurers but whatever the result, we will have to pay an excess, and our premiums, which already form a large part of our expenditure, are bound to increase. Any help would be gratefully appreciated.”
New name, kit and bikes as Team Sunweb become Team DSM
𝐔𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟏’𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤…
▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ 𝟏𝟎𝟎%
𝐔𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐚𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞.
𝐑𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐞: “𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦 @DSM“
𝑃𝑙𝑎𝑦 𝑣𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑜…#KeepChallenging pic.twitter.com/WW8p8aDtk4
— Team Sunweb (@TeamSunweb) December 4, 2020
Sunweb have ended their title sponsorship of the team, with Dutch State Mines (DSM) taking over. The announcement was made at the team launch for 2021 and shows the new Team Skyesque black and blue colour on their kits, Scott bikes and team car. Sunweb remain a partner but both the men’s and women’s WorldTour teams will now be named after the ‘global science-based company’ DSM.
Sunweb had a successful final campaign under the old banner, winning three stages of the Tour de France as well as Jai Hindley’s second-place on GC at the Giro d’Italia. Romain Bardet will join DSM for 2021 and provides added depth in their GC ranks following Wilco Kelderman’s departure to Bora-Hansgrohe.
Interestingly the team will now make their own kits and won’t rely on commercial brands. Team DSM’s Head of Science, Narelle Neumann said: “Having the highest demands when it comes to equipment and material, it has been a long-cherished ambition for the team to be able to facilitate a customised clothing solution.
“We are extremely pleased that we are now in a position to realise that as we take on this new challenge of producing our own bespoke race apparel. In close collaboration with DSM and Bioracer, our new race wear will facilitate better performance. By stepping away from commercial brands and using new cutting-edge technologies, simply put, we want to produce the very best and fastest race clothing for our riders – without compromises. We are confident that this is a step that will definitely deliver a competitive gain.”
Your reaction to Team DSM
Sure they haven’t become Team Sky?
— Ben R (@Chairmanbenr) December 4, 2020
Plenty of our readers have spotted similarities between Team DSM and Team Sky kits of old…
Saved a few pennies on a full respray
— Ian_b (@Ian_in_Spen) December 4, 2020
Ten years on from Kuota-road.cc Cherie Pridham becomes first female directeur sportif in men's WorldTour
Breaking Barriers: Cherie Pridham hired by team Israel Start-Up Nation as a Sport director . First female DS in a World Tour team. Congratulations Cherie! https://t.co/K7K277W1dZ pic.twitter.com/WSq3ZwzMwB
— Israel Start-Up Nation / Israel Cycling Academy (@YallaIsraelSUN) December 4, 2020
The news of Cherie Pridham’s appointment as directeur sportif at Israel Start-Up Nation brought a smile to many at road.cc who remember the days of Kuota-road.cc. That’s right, in 2010 we sponsored a cycling team here in the UK and Cherie was team director.
Now she’s made headlines after becoming the first female directeur sportif in the men’s WorldTour with Israel Start-Up Nation. Excited by the move, she said: “I feel truly proud and privileged to be the first woman to serve as a sports director at the WorldTour level, joining one of the best teams in the world and being entrusted with great and legendary riders.
“So, for me, I want to get it right because when I do, I know that it will inspire others to take the same journey and that really does mean something to me. My role is Directeur Sportif, not Female Directeur Sportif, and I know that I’ll be expected to concentrate on that aspect. I’ll be tackling the very same issues as my colleagues – I’ll make the same mistakes and have the same successes too.”
More bling kids bikes
Yesterday, we showed you possibly the coolest balance bike going as Specialized released a 2kg carbon bike that could be bought, if it hadn’t sold out, for the princely sum of £999. But does a toddler really need a weight-saving carbon frame? Check out this paint job Sam Shaw gave his son’s bike for an estimated cost of £19.99…
Although, further to my last tweet, I did do this when my lad said he “wanted a #bike like daddy’s”. I regret nothing. #cycling pic.twitter.com/VlLZ9GZcb8
— Ｓａｍ Ｓｈａｗ (@velosam) December 3, 2020
One second-hand balance bike that cost a fiver some sandpaper and a couple of cheap cans of spray paint was all that was needed to create this masterpiece. And it seems Sam’s skills have been attracting attention from other fathers looking to get their son a cool looking bike (spoiler alert: it’s not for the kids). Bill Stewart asked: “Cracking job! Can you build one for a 6’2” 39 year old Driller working offshore Brazil so he can ride with me when he gets home.”
Superb! Good job yours wasn’t a Specialized though – they’d have sued.
— Martin Thomas (@humbert15) December 4, 2020
Sustrans submit planning application for Warwickshire's longest traffic-free greenway
Walking and cycling charity Sustrans has submitted a planning application to turn a section of Route 41 between Leamington Spa and Rugby into a 6km off-road track that will be Warwickshire’s longest traffic-free greenway. The route, also known as the Lias Line, was identified as very poor when Sustrans reviewed the National Cycle Network last year with much of the off-road sections overgrown and poorly surfaced.
The work on the project is expected to commence in April 2021 with phase one seeing the creation of a new sealed surface off-road stretch of track on the route of the old Lias Line railway between Offchurch and Birdingbury. Two further phases would then begin, subject to funding.
Sustrans have submitted the planning application to the three local authorities the route will pass through with Startford-on-Avon taking the lead on the application. Sustrans Senior Network Developer, Carmen Szeto said: “The National Cycle Network belongs to everyone and it can help all of us to lead happier, healthier lives. That’s why I’m so excited by this project which will transform cycling and walking in Warwickshire. Clearly, we have been delayed by the pandemic but we’re now back on track and raring to go. Throughout this project we’ve worked closely with the local community to ensure we have a project which works for everyone. So we want everyone to have their say on this application so that the result is something truly special which we can all be proud of.”
Tesla Model B Concept e-bike features an independently turning front wheel and suspension spokes
You can read the full story on ebiketips.
The Simpsons parodies cyclists with a trip to 'The Greasy Chain'
Last week’s episode of The Simpson’s parodied the world of cycling with an amusing trip to a biker bar called ‘The Greasy Chain’. More Hells Peloton than Hells Angels, the bar Skinner and Chalmers visit only serves energy gels and oxygen and the pair get into trouble after knocking over a line of GPS computers charging at the bar. “The bike computers! Our stats were on there! They hadn’t synced yet,” the cyclists complain.
“Yeah but you still got the exercise right?” Chalmers replies while being chased out by the angry mob…
4 December 2020, 09:11
4 December 2020, 09:11
4 December 2020, 09:11
4 December 2020, 09:11
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Latest Comments
"attributed by experts", yeah sure, ok! Citing 8 year out of date per capita figures shows the weakness of your argument. Here's a couple of reasons I believe that the Netherlands fatality rate might be higher than the UK (independent of the crappy Dutch infrastructure), none of which you and Chrisonatrike suggested or mentioned: 1) not enough people wearing helmets in Netherlands. All sane people know that wearing a cycling helmet can potentially save lives, yet the Dutch seem to think themselves too special to wear one. Despite the fact the Netherlands has a superior privatised health system compared to our rotten, inefficient NHS, post-crash options are limited for people with severe head trauma which will inevitable lead to increased fatalities in the Netherlands. 2) Risk compensation by drivers and cyclists. Cyclists are lulled into a false sense of security thinking that segregated cycle lanes are their special infrastructure which insulate them from accidents. They don't. Then, car drivers take more risks due to increased congestion caused by the same cycling infrastructure, leading to a double-whammy of risky behaviour. 3) Cultural issues. People in the UK are renowned for their stiff upper lip, stoic, courteous behaviour. They naturally protect more vulnerable road users. I, myself, had a magnificent cycling experience earlier today on the local country lanes, waving and saying hello to the locals and cyclists alike. There really isn't a place like the UK (well, outside London anyway) that matches our hospitality and camaraderie. P.s. I'm not sure who Nigel is, I assumed you meant Nigel Farage but I can assure you I'm not him and that he has more pressing things to do than write responses on a cycling website. I hope that's helped your understanding a little, and enabled you to think a little independently rather than just suck in information that self-described "experts" want you to believe. Oh and Norway et Al are terrible comparators as hardly anyone lives there (and who'd want to to be honest? Lol!)
Yup. The UK has latterly tried add the safety back in after it was lost for vulnerable road users. (And after giving all the direct routes / valuable space over to motoring). But it's offering a modicum more safety in return for them losing a lot more convenience - so that has been reducing the "problem" also! Plus we lean heavily on "but people can be trusted to be reasonable" and "for any misbehaviour police it better". Unfortunately those are not good assumptions or choices for safety in a motornormative environment. (And road policing isn't a priority anyway). NL isn't the only place in Europe they've realised that mass motoring the old way is unsustainable (for lots of reasons). They're just the furthest on. In NL they still have some challenges because the (larger - thanks US!) car strikes back, and there are some questions about the impact of e-things. But they're *still* investing in improvements, and proportionally significantly more than the UK, even though they're already far ahead...
The Stockton Hub which I used occasionally (I don't live in Stockton) was open only during standard office hours, Mondays to Fridays, rendering it useless for families and leisure cyclists. It's a standard problem for a lot of government-funded or charity-run public services which close when many people most need them, presumably because staffing costs would rise substantially. The article also mentions cycle hubs in Redcar and Darlington which, so far as I can tell, have never existed.
Ho ho ho! No, we need to stop these idiotic cyclists completely (or limit them to velodromes, parks and maybe "rail trails") - that way there won't be any cyclist road fatalities! Simples! Meanwhile in many parts ofEurope they're finding the benefits of making it such that lots of people don't use cars for every journey - by fixing it so it's convenient and increasingly safe - despite much larger numbers of people getting around outside of cars than in the UK...
The fatality rate in the UK has fallen five years in a row during a period, starting with the Covid years, in which building of "idiotic Dutch roundabouts and segregated cycling infrastructure" has massively increased, so in fact using your own benchmark the statistics clearly show the benefits of increased cycling infrastructure. Not quite the gotcha you seem to think when viewed through non-troll lenses, Nige. The stupidity of your "argument" is further clearly illustrated by the fact that the list-topping Norway, Sweden and Denmark all have massive segregated cycling networks. The Dutch model used to demonstrate clearly the safer nature of the Dutch system, e.g. in 2018 the Netherlands had 8 fatalities per billion kms ridden compared to 21 in the UK; the primary reason for the increased fatality rates in the Netherlands has been attributed by experts to the massive uptake in ebikes (47% of new bikes sold in NL are now ebikes compared to 10% in the UK), particularly amongst the older population, nothing to do with the infrastructure.
It used to be great price this, but they played the ace marketing card and got the popularity and now...
Many thanks for posting these statistics and showing the downward trend in fatalities. One thing that stood out for me when clicking through to the government statistics page is the UK's exemplary record on this Vs other European countries, especially the much-vaunted record of The Netherlands, which actually shows twice as many fatalities as the UK per million of the population. The question that arises is therefore: why are the greens and other left-wing parties so keen to adopt an inferior and more dangerous road system when ours is obviously working well? It smacks of a need to regulate people's lives and curtail freedom. We need to stop these idiotic Dutch roundabouts and segregated cycling infrastructure, and get people sharing the road in a fair and equal manner, when the statistics show it's safer to do so. (Chart shows road fatalities per million population)
That's where the convertible aspect comes in. I've got a gravel bike but the canal I sometimes commute on has roots under the tarmac and barriers. The mtb with 'drops' is more comfortable for this and fits through the barriers. If I want to do something more technical I can put the flat bars on.
@FionaJJ These officers deployed next-level stupidity, and it must be difficult for the police to find people this dim. It doesn't even need rolling-roads or whatever, just a reputable bike computer on a quickly changed mount for the difficult cases where a proper EAPC has been modded, although you would need to look hard in Lancashire to find a police officer who knows how to make a pedal cycle go. Most illegal electric motorbikes are immediately obvious, not least because the crim is wearing a face mask. I saw an obvious one tonight coming out of Garstang Sainsbury's, not pedalling but without a face mask because everybody knows that the police only come into the town to hide away in the police station 200 yards away.
22 thoughts on “Energy gels and lost GPS data as The Simpsons parodies cyclists; ‘I peaked as a dad at this point’: The £19.99 Cervélo balance bike; First female DS in men’s WorldTour; Anti-LTN group blame road closure for crime and guns + more on the live blog”
Evil Cyclists
Evil Cyclists
They’re coming for you!
They’re coming for you!
(Edit, sorry, that’s a bit big – any way to make it smaller?)
Compact Corned Beef wrote:
Just move a bit further away from the screen.
(P.S. I’ve got one of their hoodies – https://evilcyclelobby.teemill.com/)
Hah!
Hah!
Pretty sure I’ll find one of their t-shirts under a tree in a few weeks.
Yup – I have one of their
Yup – I have one of their tshirts 😀
Tsk – going around
Tsk – going around frightening the Daily Mail readers.
Nice idea from Bos. He knows
Nice idea from Bos. He knows a thing or two about sprinting. “Sprinters’ zone” is much clearer than road.cc’s “no passing” misnomer, though.
Interesting that Bos’ own
Interesting that Bos’ own memorable “exploit” in a bunch sprint is not mentioned – 2009 Tour of Turkey helping Daryl Impey into the barriers and sending him into intensive care with broken jaw and several vertebrae …
that little guy is a ‘Chris
that little guy is a ‘Chris Froome’ , a rather rare creature…
Did somebody say ‘slithering
Did somebody say ‘slithering reptile’?
Compact Corned Beef wrote:
No one said “DIY bar tape”, quite dissapointing
DSM = Dutch Sky Mimics!
DSM = Dutch Sky Mimics!
Same colour palette, I have the orkaan Jersey from Stolen Goat in a very similar design with the vertical blue stripes.
https://road.cc/content/review/144507-stolen-goat-orkaan-race-tech-jersey
Definitely good news to get new sponsorship into the World Tour though.
muhasib wrote:
Interestingly Stolen Goat clothing is made for them by Bioracer, who appear to be ‘working closely’ with this new team DSM.
Given Team Sunweb in various
Given Team Sunweb in various guises have had 2 vertical lines front & centre on their kit since 2014…what exactly are they mimicking?
Team DSM, with a logo that is
Team DSM, with a logo that is a bit similar to ISN, a kit that is using Skys cast offs and a great big Saxo Bank logo across the arse…their “????????? ????’? ??? ????” was more like, downloading 2012….
The Simpsons has literally
The Simpsons has literally not been funny in decades. It’s like a parody of itself now.
Sons of shimano was quite
Sons of shimano was quite funny though
Rick_Rude wrote:
That’s the problem with growing up. I never bothered myself, so the Simpsons is still funny.
Rick_Rude wrote:
Viewing figures have been slowly going down over the years, but there’s still several million people who might disagree with you there. Meh, personal whatever.
Also “literally” ?
Maybe he meant “literarily”?
Maybe he meant “literarily”?
I just went onto IMDB and sorted the Simpson’s episode by IMDB rating. The best episodes are all in the 1990s with the only 2000s episodes being at number 48 and 99. Only one 2010s episode just made the list at number 100.
i actually found the simpsons
i actually found the simpsons clip quite amusing, one line though, hmmm.
”are you pedestrians or are you vehicles?”
referring to what? the american cyclists regularly bump up and down off the pavements there? Or the fact we’re powered by the same things as pedestrians, but too fast to mix with them, yet too slow[ sometimes[ to mix with cars?
Gary’s bike channel wrote:
In many jurisdictions in the US bicycles are allowed on the sidewalk and the law states that when on the sidewalk they should be treated as pedestrians, e.g. a car entering or leaving a driveway must yield to them, but on the roadway they must be treated as another vehicle. It’s quite a common complaint from US drivers that it’s too confusing to share the space with another user whose status can keep changing, e.g. if a cyclist is on the right and wants to turn into a driveway on the left, they have to wait for a clear space and the car driver doesn’t have to yield, but if they hop onto the pavement just before a crosswalk they become a pedstrian and they do have to yield.