“Sad” – Boardman verdict on KFC drive-thru queue; UCI reveals revised calendar … again; Another candidate for best cycling lockdown vid; April new car sales down 97%, Halfords report 1,500% rise in turbo sales; + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
"London’s road to recovery cannot be clogged with cars": Sadiq Khan on Streetspace Plan that 'could see cycling increase tenfold'
London’s road to recovery cannot be clogged with cars. It has to be one Londoners can walk & cycle down as part of a greener, cleaner, healthier future.
Walking & Cycling Commissioner @willnorman sets out our plans for #StreetspaceLDN @BikeBizOnlinehttps://t.co/JaCEUd0ddL
— Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) May 4, 2020
Will Norman – the Mayor of London’s Walking and Cycling Commissioner – launched the Streetspace Plan last week, outlining in BikeBiz how up to eight million journeys a day will need to be made by alternative means when the lockdown begins to lift with public transport running at a much lower capacity.
Promises to ensure as many of those journeys are made by bike as possible include building more emergency infrastructure as already seen in Lambeth, such as wider pavements, temporary cycle lanes and new routes to reduce crowding. Traffic lights will also be altered to reduce the time Londoners must wait to cross, and some roads may also be restricted to bus lanes and bikes only at certain times of the day. Norman says early modelling by TfL has revealed there could be a “more than ten-fold increase” in distance cycled in the capital compared to pre-pandemic levels if the public resist clogging the roads with cars.
“We will work with boroughs to reduce through traffic on residential streets, creating low-traffic neighbourhoods right across London to further enable more people to walk and cycle as part of their daily routine, as we have seen happen during lockdown”, says Norman.
3T giving away unique 'Exploro Arlecchino' to celebrate going back to work in Bergamo
The Italian bike brand have been in lockdown for two months, and say they have been shipping bikes from Denmark and turned to making valves for breathing equipment during the worst of the pandemic. To celebrate heading back to Bergamo to resume operations, they’re giving away one special edition Exploro in the colours of Harlequin (Arlecchino in Italian), the famous chequered costume-wearing servant. Why Harlequin? Because a statue of him on a roundabout is the first thing you see when you enter Bergamo…
3T say the Exploro Arlecchino is worth a cool 8,500 euros, and features the 3T DiscusPlus i28 LTD carbon wheels, SRAM Force electronic groupset and their new handbuilt Torno carbon crank arms, said to be the world’s thinnest… not to mention the very unique paint job.
To enter you just need to sign up to 3T’s newsletter here, with entries open until 18th May – 3T say they chose this date to show ‘support for bike stores’ – as bike stores are allowed to re-open in Italy on the 18th – and then the winner will be picked on the 19th.
Colnago taken over by Abu Dhabi-based investment firm
The legendary Italian brand have just announced this morning that UAE investment fund giant Chimera Holdings have acquired majority shares in Colnago.
Ernesto Conago – who founded the company that bears his name in 1954 – commented: “Chimera Investments will give Colnago the ability to grow and increase its presence in all markets, while maintaining and improving the quality of Colnago products. We have a unique opportunity with the support of Chimera to ensure that we continue to build the world’s best bikes well into the future.”
Chimera promise that Ernesto “will always be the Godfather and the guiding force of the new developments.” The reaction on social media has been rather mixed…
The horror…https://t.co/sEpLfXsxYr
— Herbie Sykes (@herbiesykes) May 5, 2020
Interesting news. Was Colnago struggling and need saving or do they just want a big cash investment? https://t.co/3DonuU6jXd
— david arthur (@davearthur) May 5, 2020
He can do with it as he sees fit, (and obviously he’s just lost his brother), but it’s natural for people to feel mournful. Colnago is the story of and a standard bearer for Italian cycling. It’s Nencini, Motta, Tre Cime, Goodwood etc.
Everything of its time and all that.
— Herbie Sykes (@herbiesykes) May 5, 2020
"Say goodbye to difficult hill climbs and tired legs": an e-bike advert re-imagined for the 1960's
Comparison firm Uswitch have taken six modern tech inventions and re-imagined what the adverts would have looked like if the gadgets were invented 60 years ago… one of which is the e-bike. Full story over on eBikeTips.
Halfords report 1,500% rise in indoor trainer sales in first week of lockdown
We’ve already reported that sales of indoor trainers have rocketed during the lockdown, and the bike industry in general is seeing strong sales while many workshops are snowed under with repair jobs – and now retail giant Halfords have confirmed that they’ve seen a 500% increase in turbo trainer sales. For the first week of lockdown that started on the 23rd March, they sold 15 times more trainers than over the same week in 2019.
Halfords have also now partnered with gym and fitness company Les Mills to offer 25% discounts on virtual spin classes via their Les Mills On Demand Platform – this is to help you avoid the so-called “Instagram Live fitness frenzy” according to Halfords, not something we’d likely be tempted by in any case…
Car registrations at lowest levels for 74 years
While there’s been a huge increase in bike sales, new car registrations have almost been wiped out by the lockdown.
Figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders revealed that the April 2020 total was down to just 4,321 for the whole of the UK, compared to over 160,000 in April 2019. They say with a 97% fall in sales this is the steepest decline in modern times, and the last time this few cars were sold in the UK was in 1946. For the whole year SMMT say they expect 1.68 million new car registrations, the lowest number since 1992. Here is that decline represented in graph form with car registration numbers from 2004-2020…
Incredibly the best-selling car in April was Tesla’s Model 3 with 658 UK registrations, with Jaguar’s electric I Pace in 2nd place with 367. The Nissan Leaf EV also made the top 10 with 72 sales. Most of the 4,321 registered were actually company car fleets, and with all motor showrooms shut throughout April the number of private cars sold numbered just 871; figures not seen since the early days of motoring.
Wonder how long it took one of the large UK bike shops to sell 4,000 bikes in April? We’ve asked a couple of them to see if we can make a bonus intriguing comparison stat…
UCI unveils new calendar, with no comment on Tour de France confusion
After the whole original 2020 UCI calendar was completely decimated by coronavirus lockdown rules worldwide, new dates for all World Tour events have now been officially confirmed.
The new dates for the Tour de France are still listed as 29th August – 20th September, even though the French Prime Minister announced last week that no mass participation sporting events in the country can resume until September. Meanwhile, the Giro d’Italia is set to start on 3rd October, a shortened Vuelta will start on 20th October (overlapping with the Giro) and Paris-Roubaix is set for 25th October.
President David Lappartient said: “We have drawn up a solid, attractive and varied new calendar that is as realistic and coherent as possible. This has been achieved as early as was practicable and in line with information available today concerning the evolution of the pandemic. Riders, teams and organisers now have the dates they need to anticipate the resumption of racing on 1st August. This is a very important step that the entire cycling community, financially impacted by the pandemic, has been waiting for to move forward. I would like to acknowledge the spirit of solidarity and responsibility shown by all players – in this respect I thank Unipublic which accepted to reduce the length of the Vuelta Ciclista a España – and the courage that the families of professional cycling have demonstrated in these difficult times.”
Here are all the dates in full for the men’s calendar:
1st August: Strade Bianche (Italy)
5-9 August: Tour de Pologne (Poland)
8 August: Milano-Sanremo (Italy)
12-16 August: Critérium du Dauphiné (France)
16 August: Prudential RideLondon-Surrey Classic (Great Britain)
25 August: Bretagne Classic – Ouest-France (France)
29 August -20 September : Tour de France (France)
7-14 September: Tirreno-Adriatico (Italy)
11 September: Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec (Canada)
13 September: Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal (Canada)
29 September -3 October: BinckBank Tour
30 September: La Flèche Wallonne (Belgium)
3-25 October: Giro d’Italia (Italy)
4 October: Liège-Bastogne-Liège (Belgium)
10 October: Amstel Gold Race (the Netherlands)
11 October: Gent-Wevelgem in Flanders Fields (Belgium)
14 October: A Travers la Flandre (Belgium)
15-20 October: Gree – Tour of Guangxi (China)
18 October: Tour des Flandres (Belgium)
20 October – 8 November: Vuelta Ciclista a España (Spain)
21 October: Driedaagse Brugge-De Panne (Belgium)
25 October: Paris-Roubaix (France)
31 October: Il Lombardia (Italy)
And the women’s:
1st August: Strade Bianche (Italy)
8 August: Postnord UCI WWT Vårgårda West Sweden TTT (Sweden)
9 August: Postnord UCI WWT Vårgårda West Sweden RR (Sweden)
13-16 August: Ladies Tour of Norway (Norway)
26 August: GP de Plouay – Lorient Agglomération Trophée WNT (France)
29 August: La Course by Le Tour de France (France)
1-6 September: Boels Ladies Tour (the Netherlands)
11-19 September: Giro d’Italia Internazionale Femminile (Italy)
30 September: La Flèche Wallonne Féminine (Belgium)
4 October: Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes (Belgium)
10 October: Amstel Gold Race Ladies (the Netherlands)
11 October: Gent-Wevelgem in Flanders Fields (Belgium)
18 October : Ronde van Vlaanderen (Belgium)
20 October: Tour of Guangxi Women’s WorldTour (China)
20 October: Driedaagse Brugge-De Panne (Belgium)
23-25 October: Tour of Chongming Island (China)
25 October: Paris-Roubaix (France)
6-8 November: Ceratizit Madrid Challenge by La Vuelta (Spain)
Fabio Wibmer has completed lockdown cycling videos
The Austrian stunt specialist trashes a mansion in the most glorious way one can imagine in his latest completely epic lockdown-themed vid, called ‘Home Office’ . He even manages to satisfy his sponsors by riding over a line of Red Bull cans and pushing his Canyon BMX to the absolute max while tailwhipping on a washing machine, jumping in and out of a swimming pool, backflipping off the roof onto a mattress and shooting a basket amongst other things.
Although we’re big fans of this stop motion animation masterpiece, Wibmer’s vid has to be the best bike-related thing we’ve seen on the internet during the lockdown… what’s your favourite scene? And more importantly, who does that house belong to and are they footing the repair bill??
*It goes without saying don’t try any of this at home, unless you’re Fabio Wibmer.
Zipp launch new sub-£1,000 303S wheels, and we've alreadt reviewed a pair
How to 'alienate people from cycling for life'
Twitter asks ‘what’s happening’ before writing anything. Well I am shit out of ideas here, except maybe to alienate someone from cycling for life! Thanks to @PeterBrazier for this. #shitplanning #shitcycling #nomodeshift pic.twitter.com/gVOn6616i5
— Shit Planning (@PlanningShit) May 5, 2020
The latest headscratcher from Shit Planning is a particularly ‘good’ one.
Chris Boardman on KFC's reopening
That’s pretty….sad https://t.co/lWxxZ2TPAm
— Chris Boardman (@Chris_Boardman) May 5, 2020
As you’d have probably guessed, Manchester’s Walking and Cycling Commissioner isn’t amused by the sight of a ginormous queue of cars waiting for the drive-thru service at KFC’s Colindale branch.
A lot of 'key workers' appear to be commuting in expensive cars in London...
If your car journey wasn’t necessary 3 weeks ago, why is it suddenly necessary now? #lockdown https://t.co/NjxuiFMPHY
— Simon Munk (@psimonk) May 5, 2020
As a small number of businesses reopened this week, some cyclists have noticed that traffic levels seem to have increased quite significantly considering only key works and those picking up essentials should really be driving anywhere – have you made similar observations?
Boardman clarifies KFC comments
The Olympic champ, Boardman Bikes boss and current Walking and Cycling Commissioner for Manchester faced some criticism for describing a queue of cars for the recently reopened KFC in Colindale, north west London as ‘sad’ on Twitter earlier this afternoon; similar scenes were described outside KFC branches in other parts of the country.
I get all the hate but for some it’s been a tedious, awful month or more. Same meals, no getting out etc.. Maybe a little treat will pick up their spirits a bit.
— The Tone (@Tony1979) May 5, 2020
I think we should be a little more understanding. Some people will struggle to embrace change. I miss fast food 🥘
— Caroline 🚲🎧🐈🎬🔭🇪🇺🐝 (@caroline_MCR_) May 5, 2020
Boardman has clarified the comments, claiming it was not aimed at individuals but the predicament we find ourselves in that people are prepared to queue so long for fast food…
It wasn’t really a judgment of individuals, I said ‘it’s sad’ not what I was sad about.
I’m sad that this now our society, and sitting in an hour long traffic jam to eat fried chicken is now ‘a little treat’
I want more for my society, more for people to aspire to. https://t.co/FfdJgFb3pC
— Chris Boardman (@Chris_Boardman) May 5, 2020
Do you think the huge queue a depressing sign of a return to a car-fuelled normality when the lockdown fully lifts, or is it understandable that people are prepared to wait for a treat in the form of KFCc to lift their spirits?
5 May 2020, 07:57
5 May 2020, 07:57
Nike are back making bike shoes, although these ones are just for spin classes
Nike step back into cycling with “visually stunning” SuperRep spin bike shoes
Could this be a hint at Nike's return to the world of road cycling?
5 May 2020, 07:57
The four-time champ is doubtful that organisers will be able to prevent crowds from gathering
Chris Froome doubtful Tour de France organisers can prevent crowds of fans (+ video)
Four-time champion reveals concerns in interview with ex-England cricketer Keven Pietersen
5 May 2020, 07:57
Police in Gloucestershire are appealing for information
Cyclist ‘pulled from bike and kicked’ after close pass in Gloucestershire
Incident happened in same area where family was verbally abused while cycling last month
5 May 2020, 07:57
Unless you're the biggest cycling anorak there ever was then we doubt you can, but feel free to have a go...
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Latest Comments
@chrisonabike Will you two please stop panda-ing to one another?
@kingleo They're only imposing the 18+ age limit, raised from 16, on escooters, not legal ebikes. There is no minimum age for riding an EPAC in Ireland.
I thought it was all about the gear ratios?
@chrisonabike These are polarising issues - anyone attending would have known there was trouble bruin.
@VIPcyclist Yes, the live coverage on S4C was a few stages at the beginning and a few at the end. Shame it wasn’t the whole lot. Stage 19 was particularly good live. Setting the record for the fastest time up the Alpe. He went a bit faster than I did a few years ago 😮. Amazing watching Pogačar hit the bottom of the hill with the breakaway over 3min ahead of him. S4C is available to watch again on the BBC iPlayer if you want to rewatch. The adverts seem to be stripped out too 👍🏻. S4C are looking forward to next year when some stages are here at home in Cymru 🙂. Non-welsh speakers can just watch the video I guess. I like it in my own language, but the iOS app ‘Tour Tracker’ is very very good too, especially for time trials. It’s also more ‘live’ than the live video. So, if it announces some sort of incident you can focus on the live feed to wait for it! (Cymraeg is one of the British Isles oldest living languages BTW.)
I paid for my month, first week off work so I wanted proper full day coverage. Enjoyed it, nice to be able to pause live coverage, but then they make you watch the adverts when trying to catch up. Channel 5 for when I was working, alright, less chat. Seemed to use the tnt virtual studio. Already cancelled, of course, but will be catching the TdF femmes until I'm booted off. Even though I could watch the commenwealth games I haven't, I hope the games have done well securing the rights because their viewing figures will be right down, such coverage benefits being on the BBC.
A goat has a carbon fibre fuselage, Pratt and Witney jet engines, hydraulic retractable undercarriage and in flight movie screens, but that doesn't make it a Boeing Dreamliner.
Didn't we do this earlier in the week?
If you come to road.cc only to read road bike articles, why do you keep clicking through to the other ones? Seems a bit daft
It's not the riders, it's not the equipment, it's not the clothing, it's not the nutrition, it's not the training. All those factors together probably allow for no more than 10% of the total improvement. Hmm, I wonder what the rest could be? It must be the tires ;-)
40 thoughts on ““Sad” – Boardman verdict on KFC drive-thru queue; UCI reveals revised calendar … again; Another candidate for best cycling lockdown vid; April new car sales down 97%, Halfords report 1,500% rise in turbo sales; + more on the live blog”
I can just imagine how fun it
I can just imagine how fun it would be to show up to a group ride on that bike xD If I get lucky, perhaps I will need to order a matching jersey and bibs to complete the look? 😛
Yeah it’s not quite a Look
Yeah it’s not quite a Look Mondrian scheme
https://www.bikeituk.club/wp
https://www.bikeituk.club/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Mapei_Retro_Team_Kit-front.jpg
perhaps?
If it’s the difference
If it’s the difference between Colnago going bust and their name being picked up by a ‘Sports Direct’ type company or being able to stay true to the Colnago name and keeping the C frames built in Italy then I’m all for it.
If any Colnago frames are
If any Colnago frames are made in Italy in ten years time I’ll be surprised.
handlebarcam wrote:
If Ernesto is still going, i’d be surprised if they aren’t – he’d be nearly a hundred by then but I wouldn’t bet against it…
The bottom is going to drop
The bottom is going to drop out of the second-hand market for turbos once this is all over. I’m looking forward to a cheap upgrade to a direct drive turbo.
that Fabio Wibmer vid is epic
that Fabio Wibmer vid is epic!! make me literally LOL
I’ve been on the Colnago
I’ve been on the Colnago website; they don’t have any MTBs…..as bad as Campagnolo no longer making MTB groupsets. It’s 2020, what’s wrong with these companies….isn’t MTB viewed as cycling in Italy?
Going to be a fun job keeping
Going to be a fun job keeping the fantasy league scores updated this year then.
Re: The KFC video. Looking at
Re: The KFC video. Looking at the road markings they have decided to totally fill up the bus / biking lane along that road.
Shit infrastructure:
Shit infrastructure:
Someone has surveyed this, someone else has designed it, someone allocated budget, someone (probably a committee) has reviewed and approved it, someone went out and actually built it and then someone went out to inspect it and sign it off as a job well done.
Total cost: £???
Total use: Zero.
Accountability by all those involved to the taxpayer: Fuck all.
For me the winner on the
For me the winner on the twitter thread was someone called
Adam Tyson
Clearly an A-level art project, a powerful statement on society.
1500% increase in sales? Ok,
1,500% increase in sales? Ok, here’s a test for whoever wrote that: if they sold 1 in the week before lockdown, how many did they sell in the week after lockdown?
Sriracha wrote:
1,500
What have I won?
eburtthebike wrote:
1,500
What have I won?— Sriracha
No. Sorry. 🙁
Sriracha wrote:
1,500
What have I won?
— eburtthebike No. Sorry. 🙁— Sriracha
It’s a trick question – the comparison wasn’t to the week before lockdown.
No trickery, just a simple
No trickery, just a simple maths question. Testing my assumption that journalists prefer [i]impressively big numbers[/i] over clarity of communication.
Either that, or the [i]impressively big number [/i]was in a press release and the journalist does not know what it means either, but it looks good so they cut and paste.
But you asked
But you asked
The answer is, we don’t know, because the increase isn’t over the week before lockdown:
Sriracha wrote:
1,500
What have I won?
— eburtthebike No. Sorry. 🙁— Sriracha
Hey! I was using the ministerial, government approved, Hancock system of measurement i.e. the numbers mean whatever I say they mean.
who knows, lockdown isn’t
who knows, lockdown isn’t finished yet, there is no answer to your question
kevvjj wrote:
Didn’t read the source material, see me after class. But I do see what you did there (still get a detention).
15.
15.
judda6610 wrote:
not quite, but close.
Go for 16.
Go for 16.
(1*[1+1500/100] = 16)
Yay, we have a winner!
Yay, we have a winner!
If the amount of the increase (i.e. “the rise”) was 1500% [of the original 1] then the increase is 1500/100 times the original, which is to say the increase is 15 x 1 = 15. An increase of 15 over the original 1 gives a new total weekly sales of 16.
Percentages are generally understood up to 100%. Tell someone that sales were 100, and then increased by 15%, they probably get that sales are now 115. Tell them sales increased 100% and they get that sales doubled. But say that they increased 1,500% and many people just think, gosh – that’s a lot.
Although, I see it has now been edited. Well done for changing 1500% into “15 times”. At least the number is meaningful instead of just [i]impressively big[/i]. However the ambiguity remains. Is it the difference (the amount of the increase, i.e. “the rise”) or the new total which is 15 times the original amount. I’m betting most people would understand the latter, although the original text (1500% [i]rise[/i]) gives the former. Maybe not important at 15 or 16 times, but the 500% figure – are we talking a new total of 5 or 6 times the original?
“considering only key works
“considering only key works and those picking up essentials should really be driving anywhere”
Not the case, anyone who can’t work from home still needs to go to work, including myself as a lab based scientist. Would love to be commuting by bike at the moment, but the lack of any childcare doesn’t allow the time.
I do wonder if an RTA had
I do wonder if an RTA had happened further up being as all the other roads in view were practically empty.
The Costa Coffee drive
The Costa Coffee drive-through at Cameron Toll in Edinburgh opened yesterday with a similar queue when I saw it. I prefer Costa to Starbucks but it would have to be a hell of a lot better (or cheaper) before I waited that long for a cup.
The KFC thing is depressing.
The KFC thing is depressing. It shows how quickly we will get back to congestion, pollution, and not giving a rats arse about people’s health again. No thought about how driving around pumping out pollution making non-essential journeys and its impact on the environment and the health of us all ?
Podc wrote:
I was pretty disgusted yesterday when I saw a massive queue of cars trying to get into Asda Hulme and then smelt the grease. It was exactly the same a month ago when McDonalds closed. People are taking the piss already. Poor Snowdon. Take it easy people. Go back to what you were normally doing, don’t do everything all at once.
Agree (typed this Vegan). A
Agree (typed this Vegan). A good time to learn
and make good changes.
Part of it is the policy of
Part of it is the policy of the fast food companies, Drive Thrus have less person to person contact than standard counter takeaways, which is why they are being opened first, and they often have a policy of ONLY motor vehicles. When I was bussed into the Hedge End McDs, 30 odd years back, we were training the “crew” that you would serve cyclists at the hatch but to declare that they shouldn’t be coming through.
About 15 years ago, when I was knocked out early on the Friday night poker session, I rode out to the Frimley Bridges Farnborough Drive Thu, got served, nothing said, and happy poker players.
But I am aware of cases when cyclists have been refused service, and pedestrians?
Which does remind me, when we get back to the “New Normal”, I must check out what the evil arches have done to the old Tumbledown Dick.
The more I read comments from
The more I read comments from Chris Boardman the more I like and admire him.
In all fairness tot he KFC
In all fairness tot he KFC thing (which I also feel is sad) but maybe people feel that if it is just a ‘drive through’ then perhaps they feel that is the only way to get thier fast food ….I mean you could hardly expect people to que up at the drive through on thier bikes or on foot….could you?
At a risk of sounding smug,
At a risk of sounding smug, never have I ever set foot in a KFC or eaten any of their food.
Is it really that good, that people will queue for it?
brooksby wrote:
Don’t mistake popularity for quality.
(Billions of flies eat dog-shit, but I’m not going to start)
hawkinspeter wrote:
At a risk of sounding smug, never have I ever set foot in a KFC or eaten any of their food.
Is it really that good, that people will queue for it?
— hawkinspeter Don’t mistake popularity for quality. (Billions of flies eat dog-shit, but I’m not going to start)— brooksby
But is it finger licking good?
eburtthebike wrote:
“This post was brought to you by the good people at…”
😉
brooksby wrote:
I haven’t eaten there in decades, but as a gluten-free pescetarian, there’s nothing on their menu that I would eat, the last time I checked which to be honest was a long time ago.
However, I can sympathise with people having favourite foods and missing them. I love the refrigerated kimchi that I get from a chinese supermarket, but they were all sold out of it when I went there during early lockdown and I had to buy the stuff in jars which is just not the same.
I’m more aggrieved by the queues of cars rather than the choice of restaurant.