LTN vandals film themselves ramming another new planter; Pro cyclist serving lifetime ban doesn’t want ‘who knows what sh*t’ Covid vaccine; Drosi Bikes convert old bikes into e-bikes; Dutch police trial blue flashing bike lights + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Former pro cyclist serving lifetime ban doesn't want 'who knows what sh*t' Covid vaccine
Riccardo Ricco is apparently anti-vaxxer who is scared of what these substances will do to his body.
Priceless. Bless him pic.twitter.com/Ip4wYVJUlP
— José Been (@TourDeJose) January 7, 2021
Riccardo Riccò, banned from cycling by anti-doping authorities, does not trust the Covid vaccine…In a Facebook post that has since been deleted, he said: “I read a lot of people who say that the vaccine must be mandatory. Are we joking! I do what I want with my body. Nobody can make me do something that if it were to have a negative effect on my body, I would be the only one that would lose.
“You can get injected with who knows what shit too, but don’t fuck [over] people like me that have been well informed (by doctors).”
Just last month, Riccò was handed a lifetime ban from the sport by Italian anti-doping authorities. A report in Gazzetta dello Sport linked the three-time Giro d’Italia stage winner to a 2015 Italian anti-doping investigation which saw former Inter Milan and Napoli footballer Giovanni Bia receive a two-year ban. It was the third time Riccò had been sanctioned, with previous transgressions including testing positive for an EPO variant, being thrown out of the 2008 Tour de France and banned for 20 months.
In 2010, Riccò was rushed to hospital in a critical condition with kidney failure and sepsis following a botched blood transfusion. The incident led to him being sacked by his new team, Vacansoleil, and at the time of the lifetime suspension he was already serving a 12-year ban…
'Low carbon heroes': Welsh pair turn unwanted bicycles into e-bikes to help new riders access cycling for a fraction of the price
Electric cycles are a great way to make #cycling for essential everyday journeys more accessible, and can help build on fitness and #cycling ability, via @BBCNews @drosibikes https://t.co/PgXqtk65J9 pic.twitter.com/hm354VsbZs
— Sustrans (@sustrans) January 7, 2021
Beth Ward and Robin Hughes have been labelled as “low carbon heroes” by the Welsh Government for turning unwanted old bicycles into e-bikes. They hope it will help encourage new cyclists to hit the road without the cost of buying a new bike.
“We could see people were cycling more. They had the time, the roads were quieter and people were beginning to dust off their old bikes, which they probably hadn’t used for years,” Robin told the BBC.
“People are beginning to learn that the great thing about e-bikes is that you can cycle further for longer. You can choose to pedal or use the motor. Either way, you are being more active yourself and you will be using the car less.”
Robin and Beth aim to convert as many bikes as they can with their social enterprise business Drosi Bikes and can turn an old bike into an e-bike for a fraction of the cost of buying new.
When all else fails...
Quick service on the road🔧😎 pic.twitter.com/QFvGb9ybNh
— Awesome Cycling 🚵♀️🚵♂️ (@AwesomeCycling) January 7, 2021
Laura Kenny learns to love virtual cycling during lockdown
Four-time Olympic gold medallist Laura Kenny was converted to the world of virtual cycling during lockdown. She told the Independent: “Lockdown changed my static bike mentality. I’ve always told my mum to go outside when it’s nice and sunny rather than use a static bike, but lockdown happened and it changed me as a person. I love Zwift because you have to concentrate the whole time. I used to think it was mind-numbing, even if I put a film on in the background, turbo was so boring for me.
“I do four hours a day online and I really enjoy it now. You’re racing other people and although you can’t just sit on someone else’s wheel like in real life, I don’t mind it at all.”
However, she isn’t convinced that competitive virtual cycling should be included in the Olympics: “I struggle with the Championships a little bit,” Kenny said.
“You’ve got power and heart rate monitored, but I think there are so many ways people aren’t honest on Zwift. There’s a very different element to actual racing with the drag factor. I get why e-sports works with staying indoors and not travelling in the pandemic. But is gaming a sport? Can you really call it a sport? It isn’t physical, is it? Sports like archery and shooting, they’re about concentration and mental skills but also hand-eye co-ordination. I struggle with the idea of gaming in the Olympics.”
Dutch police experiment with blue flashing lights for officers on bikes
Some Dutch police officers who patrol by bicycle will now have blue flashing lights to boost their visibility. Dutch News reports trials are taking place in six parts of the country and will be expanded nationwide if successful. The lights can be turned on if the officers need to stop at an incident or if they are responding to a call at night. Despite looking like the lights on police cars, they will not give officers priority on the road or at traffic lights.
The scheme was police cyclist Nick Schuermans’ idea. He said: “Police cyclists are not always easily seen. On the one hand, that is to our advantage if we don’t want to be noticed during surveillance, but on the other, there are situations when you really want to be visible.”
An all too familiar feeling here in the UK
I don’t know what is more painful…the cold feet/hands while riding in the cold or the in shower feeling when hands and feet warming up again…. pic.twitter.com/tpnxlJMKia
— Andre Greipel (@AndreGreipel) January 7, 2021
LTN vandals film themselves ramming another new planter
@ManCityCouncil They are at it again. The Planters need to be bolted down ASAP. https://t.co/VwUMdXxHBM pic.twitter.com/D7VmRDC8CY
— James Stafford (@Jamesdestafford) January 7, 2021
LTN vandals returned to Levenshulme last night, ramming another planter. The planters were only installed on Monday but have already been targeted by a driver, repaired by residents and vandalised again. A social media post this morning showed that the planters have now been bolted down and bollards installed to prevent drivers from mounting the pavement to get past.
On Tuesday, after repairing the previously vandalised planter, Streets for People said: “The community won’t stand for vandalism, and it does your cause no good. These filters are public property, supported by the vast majority of residents. Well done to all who got these plant boxes back standing proud in a couple of hours.”
Great to see bollards being added to prevent people bypassing the Levenshulme filters by driving on the footway, as well as the planters being bolted down to prevent vandalism.
However, I would ask @ManCityCouncil to ensure that pavements are left a 1.5m gap to remain accessible pic.twitter.com/UyrkLiZE4g
— Sam 🚴🌱🍻Ⓥ (@MCRCycleSam) January 8, 2021
Bob Jackon Cycles closure: legendary bike builder says investors pulled out at the last minute
Following a U-turn in which the 85-year-old Sheffield frame maker says it has now ceased trading with immediate effect, a representative told road.cc: “The new buyers/management team who were due to sign and take over last Monday pulled out at the very last minute.”
It will come as a disappointment to many who were pleased when in late November, the company said it wouldn’t be closing after all thanks to “additional investment”; however, this latest annoucement appears to be final.
Christ on a bike
Christ on a bike! pic.twitter.com/tL685SLW2z
— Bouncycastlequeen (@Mooley) January 8, 2021
Christ is picking up your order. Christ is on a bicycle. We’ve got too many questions…Most importantly what bike is he riding? Giant Trinity? Santa Cruz? Or is it a cycloCROSS bike? Specialized Cru(cifi)x? Canyon Holy Grail? That’s the combined effort of the road.cc team, don’t just blame me…
he’s delivering us all from evil
— Galileo (@7january1610) January 8, 2021
20th anniversary Bicycle Film Festival held at Edinburgh Festival of Cycling
The online festival will be held from January 15 to 24 and all content is available for streaming from 7pm on the 15th. The festival is a celebration of bikes and the people who ride them through the media of art, film and music. The film selection includes: a story about a charismatic Ghanian immigrant in Amsterdam who teaches refugee adult women to ride bikes as well as a bird’s-eye view of a BLM bicycle protest ride from New York to Washington DC.
Danish ultracyclist breaks 'vEveresting' record on Alpe d'Zwift
Michael Knudsen has added another impressive achievement to his palmares of ultracycling records. In 2017, he climbed 45,000 metres, equivalent to the combined height of the highest peak on each continent in one week. While in 2019 he rode a 5,000km virtual Race Across America on Zwift from the confines of a Copenhagen shopping centre.
Now, he has broken the ‘vEveresting’ (that’s short for virtual Everesting, not a Friday afternoon typo) world record for the fastest virtual Everest in a time of 7 hours, 17 minutes and 56 seconds on Alpe d’Zwift. Michael told us: “Actually it was very spontaneous. I did a triple ascent of Alpe d’Zwift recon ride last Monday to dial in my pace and then hammered it on Wednesday. I want do a real Everesting outside in the Spring so it was a good indicator of what power I can sustain for seven and a half hours.
“Now I’m focusing on the pro Zwift races in the Premier Division and I’ll go to the European Ultra Champs in Italy in May if Coronavirus allows and I’m currently looking into TransCanada which has 12,500 km of unsupported racing!”
Friday scenes in Levenshulme now that LTN planters have been bolted down
Active Neighbourhood trial day 5: Little ones are already taking advantage of safer streets. This is why we do what we do.
Also good to see some quick responses by @ManCityCouncil to vandalism, and improvements such as bollards on pavements and signs. pic.twitter.com/5UscoWGWSm
— Streets for People – Levenshulme and Burnage (@s4plb) January 8, 2021
Cofidis to launch women's team in 2022
En 2022, nous aurons une équipe féminine au sein de @TeamCOFIDIS, annonce @ThVittu. Une très belle initiative, en phase avec les valeurs et les missions de @Cofidis et de @CreditMutuel Alliance Fédérale. #CofidisMyTeam #diversité #égalité pic.twitter.com/cZZTdLxFaM
— Daniel Baal (@BaalDaniel) January 8, 2021
Pro cycling ever-presents Cofidis will launch a women’s team for 2022. Team president Thierry Vittu made the announcement earlier today in a move that will make the team the eight men’s WorldTour outfit to also have a women’s squad.
“I have the habit of saying that a sports team should be a representation of the Cofidis company. We have the men’s pro team and the paracycling section, and they reflect a good part of what the Cofidis company is, but it’s a group of 5,500 people in which the majority are women. So something is missing. We will have a women’s team as part of the Cofidis group from 2022. It won’t be this year because we need time to put it together and gather the resources, but in 2022 we will certainly have one,” Vittu said.
Chris Froome announces that Israel Start-Up Nation will use Hammerhead computers in 2021
Welcome to the team @hammerheadrides & @HJCAHelmets 🙌
📸 @veloimages pic.twitter.com/QKYpNvb741— Chris Froome (@chrisfroome) January 7, 2021
Froome et al are now using Hammerhead Karoo 2 computers, with the American cycling tech firm reaching the World Tour just over two years after their first full GPS unit was launched. HJC have also been announced as Israel Start-Up Nation’s new helmet sponsor.
Read our review of the first Hammerhead here – we’ll hopefully be testing the sequel soon.
Chris Boardman praises swift action to repair Levenshulme LTN
Great to see swift action by @AngelikiStg and @ManCityCouncil, so sad they needed to install bollards to protect people from drivers…even on the pavement. https://t.co/DCs6IAfOa9
— Chris Boardman (@Chris_Boardman) January 8, 2021
8 January 2021, 09:18
8 January 2021, 09:18
8 January 2021, 09:18
8 January 2021, 09:18
8 January 2021, 09:18
8 January 2021, 09:18
Help us to bring you the best cycling content
If you’ve enjoyed this article, then please consider subscribing to road.cc from as little as £2.49. Our mission is to bring you all the news that’s relevant to you as a cyclist, independent reviews, impartial buying advice and more. Your subscription will help us to do more.
22 Comments
Read more...
Read more...
Read more...
Latest Comments
It would appear that going forward, the Definition Integrale version will be the only model available, meaning that electronic groupset is the only option. There’s still stock available of the Definition 3.0 as of now and I’ve just ordered one with mechanical 105 to replace my aging winter sh*tter.
This is why genuinely I only expect my front and back time stamped bike cameras to ever be used in the event of my death on the road, that is if I don't get killed as pedestrian on a crossing with these bloody taxi drivers who keep stopping on the crossing... as I'm crossing it. It seems to me someone is going to have to take extreme and over the top measures for this constant harassment to been seen as the public danger it is, I'm not saying I or anyone else should do it but it would be great to see a bad driver leave court with a conviction with the word 'kryptonite' embossed backwards on their face... just a hypothetical...
I usually wear a folding helmet - a Hedkayse ONE. What I've learnt from this report is that the Newlane with MIPS is one of the best helmets around. But that's not what the headlines say. It would be a shame if miselading headlines led to yet another folding/alternative design for commuters disappearing from the market (Hedkayse no longer make the ONE and Hovding - the airbag alternative - went bust).
I bought one of these in 2015 and I still ride it. Bought specifically for Paris-Brest-Paris (which I had just failed) and I rode this bike (successfully) in the 2019 edition. Then I changed the tyres on it to 38mm and rode North London Dirt very happily on it a couple of months later. Super versatile. The only box it fails to tick these days is the aero one, but I can live with that. I keep thinking I need a new bike and I list what I really need - fast enough, mudguards, comfortable, disc brakes and think I should buy a Defy or Synapse, then I realise I already have that bike! 15mm front axle and QR rear is a total PITA - you can sleeve the front to 12mm bit even so. Luckily it is flat-mount so there is an upgrade path on the groupset - I have upgraded groupset once and I think only the seat post is original now, but a great find from Genesis' heyday. I had a flyer about this time too and loved that as well.
@eburtthebike Well there's (at least) a third thing - we're letting too many people drive who should never have been on the roads in the first place.
@chrisonabike Something to do with existing in a liminal world between cooperation and competition where every action has multiple meanings, even to the same person, perhaps?
I have given my thoughts on this in the forum thread "Derbyshire: action on close pass reports only in “exceptional circumstances”". My first attempt with links was submitted on 30/10/26 and is STILL AWAITING MODERATION so I resubmitted replacing the links with descriptions. It is copied below : Gloucestershire Constabulary is way ahead. They never took any action on close passes but in September 2024 they started sending out advisory letters to close passers. Note that in Gloucestershire an advisory letter merely asks the driver to refresh their knowledge of the highway code and is not a warning letter. search : close-pass-isnt-offence-says-police-officer on roadcc for the article I have had action taken for a close pass since. In one I am convinced that action was taken because an oncoming driver was inconvenienced. near-miss-day-of the day 946 In the other I suspect someone on the team slipped up and the driver was sent a NIP. I was told afterwards that the driver was going to go to court to challenge the decision but changed their mind when shown the footage. near-miss-day-931 The link also shows that a very similar close pass a year later was back to advisory letters and I have had many similar outcomes since. Some on here think advisory letters are a waste of time and I agree that for some drivers it will be as water off a ducks back, but I have noticed a distinct improvement in driving around me since the policy started. I think most drivers genuinely think they have done nothing wrong but a letter from the police is a real wake up call. In answer to your question then in Gloucestershire someone has to be inconvenienced for action to be taken. Inconveniencing an oncoming driver is one possibility but having to swerve or brake to avoid being hit is another. Obviously this rarely happens with a close pass, especially those at speed which are the most dangerous, you simply don’t have time to do anything. As far as I can make out being frightened out of your skin doesn’t count as inconvenience either. They now seem to have stopped sending even advisory letters for close passes as they are short staffed.
If the police are overwhelmed with evidence showing dangerous driving, then that shows that the dangerous driving is endemic: the graveyards and hospitals are full of the victims. If it is endemic, then one of two things must be true, or both: the detection rate is not high enough, and/or the punishment is not sufficient to deter. So in this case, we have the victims providing the evidence, in most cases all the officers need to do is view that evidence. If the officers don't have time, then the process should be automated, possibly by AI. If the driver disputes it, then a real person could view it, but if they consider the driving to be dangerous, the driver should pay for the officer's time. Then we have the lack of punishment, or punishment which doesn't fit the crime, because it does not deter people from offending. The current system of points and fines is clearly not working, and something rather more effective has to be done, like confiscating the car for instance. ".......the Chief Inspector recommended that road users use a rear-facing camera and evidence their own speed at the time of the overtake." I fail to see what the speed of the vehicle being overtaken has to do with the overtaking vehicle passing too closely. Would it be ok if you were doing 5mph, or 25mph? Baffling.
In principal, driverless cars have the potential to be much safer than human drivers, by virtue of the fact that they should be intent on following the rules of the road, nor driving whilst drunk/drugged, never be tired, frustrated, irrational etc, etc. Another advantage is that mistakes can be corrected and rolled out across the entire fleet (try that with humans. Add to that the resulting reduction in car ownership, increased car sharing, and the sheer amount of street space given over to parked cars will plummet. The key factor, however, is how much of those principles the owning companies are prepared to commit to. (Altruism isn't their strong point)
I'm going to take a close look at some of the lights mentioned. For reference: I extensively used the following: - Nightrider lumina (don't recall the exact model): horrible temperature control and after 18 months it bricked up on me and they refused to honour the warranty, will never buy anything from them ever again; - Lezyne 1600 XXL, two issues, firstly the strap that attached it to the handlebar never kept in place really well over rough terrain. Secondly: a cop stopped me and although -to me riding the bike- it appeared well adjusted, he claimed I was blinding oncoming traffic. He actually held the bike so I could check for myself from inside his car and he was simply right: the light level on the ground was ok but indeed, I was blinding oncoming traffic. That's a hard no, it had to go even though he didn't fine me. I don't want to annoy/be a risk to other road users; - Then the Lupine: solid as a rock, mounted on a GoPro mount, USB-C charging, StVZO compliant...but alas not enough oomph considering terrain and desired speed; Thinking back, it somehow seems like a light I had on my bike back when I was riding long distance events (Audax, crazy distances but lower average speeds) might have been ideal, that was a Son Edelux and it ran on a Son hub dynamo. But I don't want to install a dynamo and again, lower speeds.
22 thoughts on “LTN vandals film themselves ramming another new planter; Pro cyclist serving lifetime ban doesn’t want ‘who knows what sh*t’ Covid vaccine; Drosi Bikes convert old bikes into e-bikes; Dutch police trial blue flashing bike lights + more on the live blog”
I’d hope he’s aware of the
I’d hope he’s aware of the irony in what he’s saying, but I fear not
It sounds like a great
It sounds like a great initiative and all, but I’m not sure I’d want a ‘drossi’ ebike…
Good piece on their Mid-motor
Good piece on their Mid-motor here from someone who has tinkered with them. I didnt realise you could now get mid-motors that fit a standard 68mm BB shell – a good way to fill a gap in the market. Much more elegant than the “Deliveroo Special Wheel” mounted motors
The Bafang BBS01/02/HD
The Bafang BBS01/02/HD (sometimes available white-labelled) and Tongsheng TSDZ2 have both been around for a while now, Dave of this parish wrote an article on converting bikes some time ago: https://road.cc/ebiketips/content/advice/features/how-easy-is-it-to-convert-your-bike-to-an-e-bike-640
Thanks for this. The panda
Thanks for this. The panda kit reviewed appears to be a bit more primitive than the Bafang ones.
Thanks for posting about us!
Thanks for posting about us!
Just to clear up any confusion, ‘Drosi’ is a Welsh word meaning ‘to convert or to turn something into another for a particular purpose’.
All the best from the Drosi Team!
Well it does sound a little
Well it does sound a little less off-putting now that the extra ‘s’ has been removed.
Quite a few people I know
Quite a few people I know from the old raving days who frequently took this and that back in the day have now been transformed into anti-vaxxers who won’t entertainthe idea of taking the vaccines against COVID 19. There is the irony.
Irony kills, maybe not them
Irony kills, maybe not them but whoever they pass it on to. Maybe they’ve listened to ‘injected with a posion’ (an old skool fave of mine) too often! 🙂
Putting unknown stuff in the
Putting unknown stuff in the body to win a bike race? yes please
Taking unknown chemicals sourced from some geezer at a rave? yes please
Putting regulated medicines tested and approved by the authorities around the world in the body to save lives? no thanks
I did wonder the other day
I did wonder the other day though how long it would be till someone failed a doping test, and blamed it on a Covid injection, as the vaccine maybe deemed safe and is regulated, but has the research been fully done to be able to withstand a CAS appeal to check all of the variants that are now in use, dont result in unexpected false elevations of results for a blood passport ? As I doubt it’s been top of the list of things to check, and already seen some demand all athletes for Tokyo202(1)0 are vaccinated before entering Japan.
Also what happened to the no needles policy ?
Let’s face it, anyone who’s
Let’s face it, anyone who’s eaten a burger or a hot dog hasn’t got a leg to stand on about what they put into their body.
eburtthebike wrote:
Someone on a German Techo forum pointed out that most people there had put stuff in their bodies just based on a random logo on a pill.
Wiggle answered me about
Wiggle answered me about orders to Europe. All fine, probably a bit more expensive, but I can still sink my money into the UK!
https://twitter.com/Wiggle_Sport/status/1346487381013180416:
Hi Christof, from 01/01/21 all Wiggle orders to the EU are shipped duty paid. This means all duties and taxes are included in the prices on our product pages, and you will not have any further taxes/import charges to pay at customs. We hope this information helps.
“We have had to reschedule
“We have had to reschedule the second coming. This will now take place between 2047 and 2247.”
mdavidford wrote:
Again, fake news. Everyone knows he drives a Honda.
No, no, no. It was the
No, no, no. It was the disciples who were of one Accord. The man himself is Mopar and GM through and through, to ride a white Charger and separate the sheep from the goats (which we know is a GTO) ?
Quote:
Think that could have been worded a little better – as it is it suggests the women’s squads are just a bit of an add-on – an extension to the men’s – rather than of equal value in their own right.
Frankly I’m amazed no ones
Frankly I’m amazed no ones pointed out that Bob Jackson cycles are famously from Leeds not Sheffield.
Stanningley Road Bramley, not
Stanningley Road Bramley, not Leeds. Woodrup is in Leeds and is still going strong.
If you wish to be precise yes
If you wish to be precise yes. In which case woodrup is in Kirkstall, or maybe Burley. But the Bob Jackson logo pretty clearly says Leeds on it not Bramley, doesn’t it?
Better link for the Edinburgh
Better link for the Edinburgh Festival of Cycling: https://edfoc.org.uk/events/20th-anniversary-of-bicycle-film-festival-is-going-virtual/.
The one in the blog is just about tickets and is a bit shorter on details.