Is that Rhonda Pickering?! Near Miss of the Day goes viral; Not a crash, just falling with style; Team Cav linked with for months told “elite-level lies”, says Audrey Cordon-Ragot; Eternal Valverde; Dogs in cargo bikes + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Not a crash, just falling with style
Credit to regular contributor Jo for the headline inspiration…
Een perfect uitgevoerde stunt! Al was het wellicht niet de bedoeling 😂💯#x2obadkamerstrofee #VlaamseDuinencross #veldrijden #cyclocross pic.twitter.com/pXLYJBsraB
— X²O Badkamers Trofee (@X2OTrofee) January 5, 2023
For more from Jo check out his long-read feature on the new North Downs Way Riders’ Route…
Eternal Valverde
Is anyone going to explain to him what ‘retirement’ actually means? https://t.co/SxekyRECJw
— Cillian Kelly (@irishpeloton) January 6, 2023
Dogs in cargo bikes
Perfect content for a Friday morning…
Random moment with Raven.
Imposter trying to muscle-in on Raven’s patch. pic.twitter.com/1KOq6nG2Cu
— 𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐧 𝐖𝐨𝐥𝐟 (@CitizenW0lf) January 5, 2023
— Dublin Commuter Coalition (@DublinCommuters) January 6, 2023
Team Cav linked with for months told "elite-level lies", says Audrey Cordon-Ragot
[📷: A.S.O/Thomas Maheux]
French national champion Audrey Cordon-Ragot was, along with Mark Cavendish, linked with a move to Jérôme and Sébastian Pineau’s B&B Hotels-KTM squad that eventually came to nothing, the current team then folding due an apparent lack of sponsorship.
Well, Cordon-Ragot has been speaking in the French press about the protracted affair, saying it’s a “crazy story” and one she “still can’t believe”.
“For two months, we were pushed around. As far as lies go, that’s on an elite level,” she told Le Télégramme. “I’m still trying to find explanations: was it a vicious circle, a spiral, a descent into hell where you lie once, then a second time, then a third time and you end up convincing yourself of your lies?”
> Mark Cavendish’s future uncertain after team boss tells riders to look elsewhere
Big words. And she wasn’t done there…
“I believed so much in this project, I had put my DNA into it. People are going to think I’m completely stupid, but until December 6, I was convinced that it was going to work. I was even yelling at people who said it wasn’t. I feel guilty for taking so many people with me in this shipwreck.
“In the spring, I met the Pineau brothers in Theix. They presented me with their project and proposed me to be part of it. I was in on the secret, it gave me confidence, and I embraced the project like never before. At the same time as I was preparing for the Tour de France – I took care of recruiting the riders and staff with one of my friends and future coach.
“When I asked, Sébastien Pineau reassured me. In mid-October, we were summoned to Paris for an interview with the management, to try on clothes, etc. At the time, I was told that the team’s co-sponsor was about to sign. Why would I doubt it?
> Mark Cavendish ‘confirmed’ as leader of a team which may not exist in two weeks
When the October team presentation was cancelled she “spoke with Mark Cavendish. He told me that he had no news, that he was starting to be afraid.”
“On November 30, I reiterated my concerns to Sébastian Pineau who told me that he never had any doubts, that the bikes will arrive the following week. On December 2, Jérôme Pineau tells me that the whole project will not be done and that only the women’s team could eventually be saved,” she continued.
“Three days later [December 5 – Ed.], the Pineau brothers had a meeting with the directors of B&B Hotels and in the evening, by videotape, they told us that it had only taken them ten minutes to convince them and that, this time, it was sure to go ahead.
A day later Cordon-Ragot “learnt that B&B Hotels no longer wished to continue and that they had informed the Pineau brothers that very morning”.
“I am extremely disappointed, extremely saddened. It calls into question the trust I can give to people. It makes me a bit withdrawn, which is not like me. This story has impacted me enormously. After my stroke, it was a new ordeal.
“I feel more pity. The trust is gone. They tried to save a project that was no longer a project. In the end, we all felt like we were taken hostage.
“I would never understand. I will never understand either that they don’t take responsibility, that they look for other culprits when, sorry, the only culprits are them and the bad people they surrounded themselves with.
“What hurts me deeply is to hear from X and Y that they are trying to blame me, that basically if the team didn’t work out, it’s my fault. In other words, I’m being blamed for talking to the media – something I’ve never done, this is the first and last time I’ll be speaking today – and for not going through with the project when I waited until the last day. All of this sticks in my craw, all this disgusts me. I find it despicable. But the bicycle wheel turns.”
AG2R Citroën Team's social media admin's innovative answer to rider reveals
Maintenant on peut vous les montrer, nos recrues lors du stage de décembre ⬇️😎
Now we can show them to you, our recruits during the December training camp ⬇️😎#AG2RCITROËNTEAM #RoulonsAutrement #RideDifferently pic.twitter.com/k3UIar8Px4
— AG2R CITROËN TEAM (@AG2RCITROENTEAM) January 6, 2023
But cyclists
A driver has been arrested on suspicion of drink driving, after they crashed their car into a building causing it to collapse. https://t.co/H3t0qqseN4
— APPGCW (@allpartycycling) January 6, 2023
Sonny Colbrelli steps into politics with Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia party
Retired racer Sonny Colbrelli — who was forced to retire from the sport last year due to heart problems just months after winning Paris-Roubaix, the biggest victory of his career — is stepping into politics.
The news, first reported by bresciaoggi.it, is that Colbrelli is on Forza Italia’s electoral list for the next regional elections in Lombardy, scheduled for 12 and 13 February. Along with nine others, including the three current local candidates, Colbrelli will run for a couple of spots in the regional elections.
In their coverage, Cyclingnews points out that Colbrelli has previously reportedly stated he is “a fan of Berlusconi”, the party’s 86-year-old president who has been found guilty of tax fraud and been involved in numerous other scandals.
They also note that in 2014 the former Bahrain Victorious fast man posted a Facebook comment suggesting Mussolini was needed to deal with immigration in Italy. The post was later deleted and Colbrelli said he regretted it and denied it had racial connotations.
Alex Dowsett to turn WorldTour time trialling abilities to triathlon
Sorry to all ‘Rules’ absolutists, Alex Dowsett could be going for a swim before and a run after his bike rides very soon…
The clues were there…
Now, in a press release for NoPinz he says “work has already begun on some new projects”.
“I’m having to contain my excitement and secrecy over them,” Dowsett said. “I’m excited to be with NoPinz for the next step of my career, racing on home soil some more, trying some different disciplines within cycling and who knows, maybe even picking up a pair of goggles before a bike race and a pair of trainers afterwards.”
Dowsett was part of the top team of pro riders drafted in to… well, draft Joe Skipper’s sub-seven Ironman attempt. That was obviously just the bike leg, but it seems it won’t be too long before he’ll be taking on all three too.
More on that cyclocross rider c̶r̶a̶s̶h̶i̶n̶g̶ falling with style
Go back to the earlier post if you haven’t seen the video yet…
Here’s some more info on Benjamin Frederick posted in ‘The Challenge Tires London and SE Cyclo-Cross League’ Facebook group…
Jamie Anderson wrote: “Now that’s what you call a crash recovery! Our Flandrien Hotel CX Scholarship Holder Benjamin Frederick from the USA literally flies over the sand in the X2O Troffee in Koksijde Belgium.
“Ben’s cyclocross career was halted by a traumatic brain injury in 2016, and now, he is thankful for the chance to just ride bikes. He is now racing and raising awareness of brain injuries.
“Ben is as much fun off his RitcheyLogic bike as his is on it, and it’s been awesome having him and his partner Leslie with us at the Flandrien Hotel for the Christmas – New Year Racing block.
“We have hosted more than a dozen international athletes from eight different countries, providing to all of their needs during a hectic period of training and racing in Belgium.
“We are looking forward to supporting more international riders in their preparations for the Cyclocross World Championships in the Netherlands in early February.”
And the all-important link to his Instagram…
Crash vs accident
2/
“…when, where and why child pedestrian-motor vehicle collisions occur who will die as a result, than for almost any other disease in childhood. It would make more sense to talk of a case of accidental meningitis or accidental leukaemia.” Professor Ian Roberts pic.twitter.com/mcJjXgUWKO— RoadPeace (@RoadPeace) January 5, 2023
Peloton to pay $19M in fines over dangerous treadmill defect
More bad news for Peloton… is there ever any good news for the home training brand these days?
The exercise equipment company has agreed to pay $19 million in fines in relation to a delay in reporting a defect with its treadmills that caused one person death and multiple injuries.
The news was announced by the federal consumer watchdog the Consumer Product Safety Commission who yesterday in a statement that said Peloton had knowingly failed to immediately report the defect to the commission, as required by US law.
In December 2018 and into 2019, Peloton received more than 150 reports of incidents where users were pulled under or entrapped, including the death of a child who suffered broken bones, lacerations, abrasions and friction burns.
CPSC said that Peloton didn’t immediately report those incidents to the Commission, despite knowledge of them taking place.
Welsh pride and head shaking... more reaction to THAT NMotD...
Makes me proud to be Welsh. https://t.co/wGTzdSHD2o
— Mat Toor (@muckton) January 5, 2023
Anyone else?
“Why are you stood there for?”
Well. I mean, it’s a Give Way like. I’m guessing he was Giving Way. Until it was safe to proceed. Like how you were told when doing driving lessons. Remember them? Guessing not…
— David Cameron (@DJCameron84) January 5, 2023
— phil wright (he/him) (@ukwrightphil) January 5, 2023
That’s funny 😆 – a slightly ranty apology (I think). Some of our fellow citizens we walk amongst …honestly 🤦🏻♂️
— Mark (@Markstevel78) January 6, 2023
Is that Rhonda Pickering?! Near Miss of the Day goes viral
Well, quite a few people have seen this now…
The corner-cutting motorist and their less-than-impressed passenger combine for a classic of the near miss genre, with some suggesting shades of a certain Ronnie Pickering… (Who? Ronnie Pickering? Who? RONNIE PICKERING)…
You’ve almost certainly all seen it before, but there’s never a bad day to watch it again. If it’s your first time, I envy you getting to enjoy the life-changing hilarity of the red-faced Citroën Picasso driver’s insistence in people knowing who he is…
Anyway, back to the issue at hand — NMotd 842…
Rhonda Pickering
— Hantsman (@hantsarchitect) January 5, 2023
Not quite the aggression of good ol’ Ronnie P, but some excellent lines nonetheless, our favourite being…
“So get off the road […] you’re standing there, there’s other traffic, you’re going to cause an accident…”
Watch the full video here…
Have a good weekend everyone
Rhonda Pickering
— Hantsman (@hantsarchitect) January 5, 2023
6 January 2023, 09:11
6 January 2023, 09:11
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@Rendel Harris Hmm.... I stand corrected. I still think Obree had a /lot/ more talent. And Jan-Willem today clearly has dropped in levels, relative to those he's racing against.
I cycled a lot on the continent and have done fir many years. I've never been close passed, and only once had a scary overtake by an oncoming vehicle. Im close passed almost daily in the UK and dangerous overtakes are common. Some serious driver education is needed here, not to mention presumed liability legislation.
@TrainWalkWheel at least one person on here seems to have better understanding of these than I do but AFAICS the model is even less likely to lead to good outcomes than happened with eg. a certain UK bus company. The one notorious for moving into an area, putting the existing providers out of business by running more services for pence and losing money, then - having captured the market - jacking up the price and dropping services. At least in that case the intention was presumably to deliver a self-sustaining service in the end (albeit perhaps a worse, overpriced one). But AFAIK mass bike share itself has never made money directly. So one wonders what the end plan is if any one of these market-share-capture firms actually won? (Presumably that isn't important and it's all about trading / financial shenanigans in some way. I doubt they could hold the local authority to ransom for the extra cash...)
Alas it's another part of "because cars / 'change', we can't just copy a well-proven design eg. from NL" On top of this is the UK "not invented here" making it up / no expertise or standard designs AND a "we must fit cyclists in around existing road space" causing strange contorted layouts. So what happens is we get things like bi-directional cycle *lanes* (not separated cycle paths) because cheapest / easiest to patch in. So that means that pedestrians don't have a space to wait *after* crossing the cycle space and *before* they have to deal with the road. (It also puts another block in the way of cycling convenience at traffic lights - say at a T-junction - because unlike NL the lights then apply to cyclists going straight on, whereas in NL that would be an informal cycle path crossing for pedestrians with no lights applying to the cycle path part - so cyclists just keep rolling).
In 2019, Shanghai and other Chinese major cities implemented strict regulations and clean-up operations tp remove millopns of abondoned dockless bicycles that had created public nuisances and blocked pavements. One can't blame local authorities for taking actions in order to stop a messy situation triggered by unruly users.
@Jakrayan Criticising people for not riding primary is like criticising a victim of domestic abuse for cringing when their partner threatens them with their fist. People don't ride in the gutter because they want to, they do it because if they don't they know there's a better than even chance that in any given ride at least one driver will be so affronted by the ENTITLED BIKE NONCE TAKIN' UP THE WHOLE ROAD!!!11 they'll do a deliberate punishment pass that could kill you or leave you maimed for life. Getting over in the gutter isn't a great solution, but multiple uncomfortable but not life-threatening passes is better than one potentially catastrophic one. It shouldn't be a cyclist's responsibility to put their life at risk just to remind drivers to obey the rules of the road they should be doing regardless. And as for "just getting off and walking", putting aside the reality that a ridden bike takes up *less* space than one with the rider walking alongside and so I'd argue the most considerate way to use that inadequate infrastructure(presumably there are no safe alternatives within a reasonable distance or why would anyone on a bike be using it at all) would be to proceed across on the bike at walking pace and then stop and put your foot down if someone needs to get by you; plenty of people use bikes as mobility aids and so "just get off" isn't as simple as it's made out to be. A couple of years back I had the worst sprain of my life, I could barely even hobble for two weeks and had a huge honking brace on my foot, had to sleep on the sofa downstairs because climbing them was a no go. I could still ride my bike though, do my shopping, see my mates - plenty of people have impairments that aren't temporary, to them "just get off" is tantamount to saying "just stay home". Let's keep it a benjamin as the kids say: "shared responsibility" and "keeping everyone safe" are, literally, copouts. They've framed the entire campaign so they can justify only taking actions that don't piss off drivers, and don't require them to actually do any work except harassing a few cyclists as they do a lunch run to the local Greggs, because that's the level of seriousness police in this country - in an institutional sense - believe road crime deserves.
"Scott says that it ‘redefines cable routing in the mountain bike industry’. While we’re yet to see if that claim rings true" I have a Spark RC Pro (2022) with mechanically controlled components. Because we use the front brake lever on the drive (right) side in the UK I have the rear brake hose and two cable housings (dropper and shock) on the NDS entering the headset. On my current bike I use 3.0mm Jagwire housing with no problems. I can install them by just pushing them through the headset without dismantling it. The new 2027 Spark has two openings either side of the headset so it is set up for a rear brake to be on the DS (right). Maybe they are dismissing countries that have the UK's brake lever configuration.
The first link is to one of their cycling computers.
To be fair when I'm out on the roads, car or bike, I see very many instances of people cycling who could be doing better. Ignoring the delivery riders, most of whom we know aren't actually riding bicycles / Ebikes, the most common issue I see is people riding too close to the edge of the road. Yes, drivers absolutely should do better, however this type of riding does little to discourage drivers from overtaking, and they will still pass too closely leaving the rider with FA room to the left either. So educating riders as to how to ride more safely isn't a bad idea IMHO. As for that narrow bridge, if it's popular with pedestrians I don't see how getting off and walking a few yards is a massive issue. And I'm normally in SPD-SL road cleats!
Indeed. Some lanes are so narrow, and with overgrown vegetation, that the driver may not be able to see anything behind in his wing (door) mirrors, and vans usually don't have a rear window so no rear-view mirror either. Much easier in this situation to just turn around and head back to the nearest farm gate, it won't be far. After all, 'share the road' works both ways. And before someone comments to say if you drive where you can't clearly see what's behind you, that driver may have no choice - deliveries, tradespeople etc.
9 thoughts on “Is that Rhonda Pickering?! Near Miss of the Day goes viral; Not a crash, just falling with style; Team Cav linked with for months told “elite-level lies”, says Audrey Cordon-Ragot; Eternal Valverde; Dogs in cargo bikes + more on the live blog”
I’ve seen so many references
I’ve seen so many references to it, but I’ve never actually watched the Ronnie Pickering video before. That’s made my day, that has
Nearly as good as that angry
Nearly as good as that angry driver in Reading
There’s a special place in
There’s a special place in our hearts for ‘clown takes a pratfall’
Dan Alexander wrote:
Always worth another viewing. Possibly the finest clip on YouTube!
brooksby wrote:
Same here! He fucked up, and he wanted to have a fight about it!
Carlton Reid has done an
Carlton Reid has done an interview/podcast with Chris Boardman about the latest DfT/ATE capability fund announcement from earlier in the week https://www.the-spokesmen.com/capabilityboardman/ you can listen or read the transcripts for yourselves but just wanted to highlight this particular bit Chris said “But no, it’s not new money. It’s part of the £2 billion dedicated funding that was promised in 2020”
Also related Norfolk county council have announced this which very much ties in with the bullet points about local walking cycle plans they announced so maybe theres more in this pipeline they keep referring to https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/23231557.cycling-upgrades-planned-20-norfolk-towns-villages/
I think if Kesgrave is going
I think if Kesgrave is going to be Active travel England’s poster child for active travel, alot of people are going to be very very disappointed.
I couldn’t resist googling
I couldn’t resist googling for Ronnie Pickering and this is his non-apology, mostly blaming the moped rider and implying that he made money from it. https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/road-rage-ronnie-pickering-wishes-28027953
Including “But Ronnie is not one to back down and he further hit the headlines a few years ago after squaring up to Tommy Coyle’s dad Chris at a weigh-in.
He also assaulted a drug dealer selling outside a friend’s house which landed him in court.
But there has been no lasting damage and Ronnie takes a light-hearted view of it all now.”
Just like the non-apologies of Matthew Paris and Jeremy Clarkson.
Actually the moped rider did make some money from it “Steve, 44, said he sold the rights for the footage to an American video company for $300, or about PS200. He added: “They are also going to pay me a percentage of what it makes so it’s been good.” Hopefully Gareth will make a few quid from the Rhonda Pickering vid. https://www.thefreelibrary.com/So%2C+who+the+hell+is+Ronnie+Pickering%3F+Rider+who+filmed+viral+video…-a0430397709
I wonder if Ronnie gets a cut from the tee shirts? https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ronnie+pickering+t-shirts
I also notice that he makes a
I also notice that he makes a big statement claiming that the moped rider edited out all the stuff where he was winding The Ronnie Pickering up but none of that made it into the viral video. Funny, that – it doesn’t look like the video was edited at all…