Thousands sign petition to “rebalance” active travel schemes away from cycle lanes and focus on safety of “those who must rely on cars” instead; Robot Wars, Bike Edition: Fuming cyclist flings delivery bot into hedge; Vuelta battle + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
“They totally ignored what the people want”: Thousands sign petition urging council to “rebalance” active travel schemes away from cycle and bus lanes and to focus on safety of “those who must rely on cars”
Over in Rotherham, the local council has agreed to “review and rebalance” the way it approaches active travel schemes, after a petition signed by over 3,600 people urged it to focus instead on delivering the “greatest safety benefit for the greatest number of residents”, particularly those “who must rely on cars”.
This week, councillors in the Labour-controlled local authority unanimously accepted the petition’s calls for all current and proposed schemes funded through the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS) to be reconsidered.
The petition, organised by Conservative councillor Paul Thorp, said the current schemes, such as the Broom Road/Wickersley Road Extension Corridor should be halted in favour of initiatives focused on “practical, high-impact pedestrian safety measures”, such as improved crossings, traffic calming, wider pavements, safe routes to school, “rather than prioritising dedicated cycle and bus lanes”.
Thorp and his fellow petitioners also called on the CRSTS funding to be reallocated in order to “deliver the greatest safety benefit for the greatest number of residents, particularly the elderly, disabled people, families with children, and those who must rely on cars for essential journeys”.
At a council meeting on Wednesday, Thorp told the local authority to “take the blinkers off and look at what people want and need” in the South Yorkshire town.
“Even though the funding allows walking, wheeling, cycling, and public transport, all the emphasis has been on cycling and bus lanes,” he said.
“All the current build schemes have proven the point: the lanes are not used and the data has not been positive for any of them.”
The decision to accept the petition – which received cross-party approval – comes just weeks after Labour council leader Chris Read confirmed that the proposed £10.7m Broom Road and Wickersley Road extension scheme would not go ahead, after a consultation found that it lacked public support.
The scheme was set to include new protected cycle lanes and controlled crossings for pedestrians, as well as new bus lane options.
Following the meeting, Green councillor Mick Bower told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that the council had “totally ignored what the people want” and made residents “doubt local democracy”.
Bower claimed that £250,000 had been spent planning the scheme, funding he argued could have been spent on “measures residents wanted”.
In response, Labour councillor John Williams, cabinet member for transport, jobs and the local economy, said: “This administration has engaged with our communities. We’ve listened and we’re acting on their feedback.”
Back in 2023, the first phase of Rotherham’s Broom Road active travel scheme was the subject of constant criticism from locals, who variously described it as “woke”, destructive for local businesses (including bike shops), and causing congestion (particularly during rugby matches), while some residents claimed that “proper cyclists don’t need cycle lanes” anyway.
Robot Wars, Bike Edition: Fuming cyclist “brake checked” by delivery robot chucks it into hedge in viral clip – and gets scolded by drivers for riding on pavement
Have you ever seen a hipster cyclist riding a fixie slam into the back of a small food delivery robot on the pavement, call the robot a “f***ing piece of s***”, and then fling it into the hedge? Well, now you have:
And before you ask, no, this isn’t behind-the-scenes footage of the live-action remake of WALL-E.
Instead, it’s a clip that’s been doing the rounds showing the latest, rather funny confrontation between humans and artificially intelligent machines in Chicago, where tiny futuristic delivery robots – formally known as autonomous urban delivery vehicles – have been causing quite the stir in recent week.
A few days ago, another clip went viral showing a swarm of delivery robots operated by the firm Coco taking up an entire footpath (and you thought Lime bike parking in London was bad).
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They’ve only been active in Chicago for a short spell, but the bots, which drop off food and groceries and are guided by GPS and sensors, have already sent residents to the hospital and smashed through bus stops, prompting city officials to set up an exclusion zone banning their use in certain places.
And it seems our fixie-riding cyclist finally had enough, after being ‘brake-checked’ (as one commenter accurately described it) by one of the bots on the footpath.
While the cyclist’s reaction was unexpected (causing the car’s passengers filming the scene to burst into hysterics), the reaction to the Metro’s clip of the incident was inevitable.
“He should not be riding on the pavement” – that was the gist of about 500 of the 700 or so comments under the newspaper’s post, where viewers were determined to publicly note that they sided with the machine over the person on the bike (who’s always in the wrong, regardless of the situation, it seems).
I also noticed quite a few references to “Lycra” in the comments, which is funny because our hipster, long-haired friend isn’t wearing any.
“It was hard to miss a massive robot with a flag, crashing into it is the forst [sic] sign his lycra is too tight and restricting blood flow to the brain, the second is not being able to differentiate between the road and foot path,” wrote Daniel Wilks. Anything to mention Lycra on the internet, eh?
This week’s viral clip isn’t the first time delivery bots and cyclists have butted heads over in the US.
Last October, a New Jersey cyclist was left hospitalised after being hit by a small delivery robot which darted across his path in the cycle lane, causing him to fly over the handlebars, before attempting to “flee the scene”.
“Suddenly, an object about the size of a Coleman cooler, maybe a little bigger, appeared right in front of me,” cyclist Conor Shannon, who broke his collarbone and suffered concussion in the crash, told Newsweek in May.
According to the cyclist, who can’t remember anything about the crash, the robot then tried to scurry away from the scene, only to be blocked by a passer-by (if only it were that easy for hit-and-run drivers).
“Next thing I know, I was unconscious, and when I came to, I was getting helped into an ambulance,” Connor continued. “These things are obviously very dangerous. It’s six months later and I’m still trying to get back to normal.”
YESSSS! Eddie Dunbar takes stunning, redemptive breakaway victory on Peñas Blancas following difficult 2026, as red jersey battle ends in stalemate
Come on!
They should probably start calling Peñas Blancas, the long draggy climb rising hight above the Costa del Sol, the Irish mountain.
Back in 2013, Nicolas Roche climbed into the red jersey on Peñas Blancas, becoming the first Irish rider to lead the Vuelta since Sean Kelly won the race in 1988.
And this afternoon, Eddie Dunbar planted another tricolour on the Malaga mountain, putting in a scintillating final 1.5km to overhaul Santiago Buitrago and secure his third career Vuelta stage win, ending a difficult, turbulent 2026 on the highest of highs.
After making a select group of four in the final 12km, including Buitrago and Kern Pharma’s Urko Berrade, as the breakaway splintered, Pinarello Q36.5’s Cork-London coalition of Dunbar and Thomas Gloag had the numbers on a steady climb seemingly suited to tactical ploys.
However, with 2km to go, it seemed as if Buitrago simply had the legs, the King of the Mountains leader surging clear, putting Dunbar – initially at least – under pressure.
But the Irishman regained enough composure to launch his own move – and as they approached the final kilometre, the gap between the two, which had looked like a chasm, began to diminish. And quickly.
With Buitrago visibly suffering, Dunbar blew by him in the final few hundred metres to seal Pinarello’s first ever grand tour stage victory, and the sixth win of the Irishman’s career.
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The win also banished the demons of what has been a turbulent year plagued by injury for the 30-year-old from Banteer.
In March, he was forced to abandon Paris-Nice on stage three after a heavy crash. Then just three days later, he was seriously injured while riding a city bike at home in Monaco, when a scooter rider crashed into him, leading to a prolonged spell off the bike.
“It’s incredible. I really didn’t expect this today,” Dunbar said at the finish.
“I even said on the team radio after 50 or 60km that today wasn’t my day, that I wasn’t feeling good. Then I ended up in the break and my legs came around a bit. I had two teammates in the break, which always helps. That made me feel a lot more comfortable in the breakaway. They did a super job and having Tom there in the final made a big difference.
“I had three months where I didn’t ride the bike at all after a bad accident – I really didn’t think I’d be here and competing for stages, let alone… I can’t believe it.”
Dunbar’s victory was also a redemptive one for his young English teammate Thomas Gloag, who has suffered his own prolonged spell of injuries, illness, and bad luck after being highly touted as an U23 when he turned pro for Visma.
After finishing third on the stage, the Londoner paid an emotional tribute to his family, friends, coaches, and the community at the Herne Hill velodrome who’ve backed him throughout his career. I reckon today’s third place is just the start.
A few minutes behind, it was a case of as you were in the GC battle, the top six overall all finishing together, despite a few tentative attempts by Primož Roglič to dislodge the increasingly secure Enric Mas in red.
He’ll just have to try again tomorrow, won’t he?
Over to you, Tom…
After Eddie Dunbar and Thomas Gloag’s stage-winning showing at the Vuelta, Pinarello Q36.5 will be aiming for a unique double over in Canada, where Tom Pidcock is currently racing the GP Québec.
Pidders will have his work cut out for him, however, looking at the start list, which also includes Remco Evenepoel, Paul Seixas, and Isaac del Toro, among several other big hitters getting ready for the upcoming Canadian worlds.
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There’s around 160km left, but you’ll be glad to hear I’m not sticking around on the live blog for that on a Friday evening. I’ll catch you all next week!
“The honest picture is that a fair number of our members are now choosing to avoid the park altogether, which is a pretty sad state of affairs given what it should be as a resource for cyclists”
More worrying bikejacking news from London’s parks:
The pressure’s on
Primož Roglič and his Red Bull team wasted no time on today’s final climb, ramping up the pressure from the bottom in an attempt to test the legs of red jersey Enric Mas.
However, it hasn’t seemed to bother the stoic Mallorcan, whose Movistar squad supplanted Red Bull at the front as we hit the climb’s final 10km. Talk about a show of force. And confidence.
👨🎤Tunnneee
🎶 Se mueven las caderas en la fuga#LaVuelta26 pic.twitter.com/eAK5G389fp
— La Vuelta (@lavuelta) September 11, 2026
Up front, meanwhile, KOM jersey holder Santiago Buitrago is leading a select group of four, which also includes Pinarello’s Irish-British duo Eddie Dunbar and Thomas Gloag, and Kern Pharma rider Urke Berrade. I’m not biased or anything, but come on Eddie and Thomas…
2026 Indoor Cycling World Championships will not take place in Derby, UCI says
In a short and sharp press release (by the UCI’s usually interminably long standards), the governing body announced that the 2026 indoor cycling world championships will not take place next month in Derby as scheduled.
The championships, which feature a range of artistic cycling events as well as cycle-ball, were set to be held in Derby from 16 to 18 October. However, those plans have now been scrapped, with the UCI stating that the organisers are “no longer able to ensure the event will go ahead”.
“The UCI is currently exploring various options to find a new organiser and a new competition venue. Further information will be communicated as soon as possible,” the governing body said.
Ezra Caudell regains consciousness and showing “encouraging signs of progress” after horror crash at Philadelphia Cycling Classic
In some very welcome news, Modern Adventure Pro Cycling has confirmed that their young rider Ezra Caudell has regained consciousness almost two weeks on from his horror crash at the Philadelphia Cycling Classic.
19-year-old Caudell suffered what his team has described as “multi-system trauma”, including severe chest injuries and concussion, after being knocked unconscious during the one-day race when he crashed into a lamppost after reportedly hitting something in the road and losing control of his bike.
According to Modern Adventure’s latest statement, released last night, Caudell remains in critical condition but on Wednesday was successfully wakened from sedation and taken off a ventilator. Since then, the squad says his progress has been encouraging and that he’s already cracking jokes and sending videos to his teammates.
“Eleven days after his crash at the Philadelphia Cycling Classic, Ezra Caudell remains in the ICU at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in critical condition, but he continues to show encouraging signs of progress,” the American team said in a statement.
“Ezra remains on ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation), which is providing support while his lungs continue to heal. Yesterday marked an important milestone: he was successfully weaned from deep sedation and taken off the ventilator, allowing his family and medical team a much clearer assessment of his neurologic status.
“Ezra sustained significant injuries in the crash, including a concussion and severe chest trauma. While his medical team remains focused on supporting his recovery from these injuries, his progress over the past several days has been encouraging.
“Despite the severity of his injuries—and very much consistent with Ezra’s personality—it wasn’t long after waking that he was making jokes and sending short videos to his teammates. His ability to interact, communicate, and recognise those around him has been an especially welcome and encouraging development.
“Ezra’s family remains at his bedside, vigilant and hopeful. He is very much on the minds of his teammates and staff at Modern Adventure Pro Cycling, as well as friends and supporters throughout the cycling community.
“We are deeply grateful for the extraordinary outpouring of support for Ezra and his family, and for the continued respect for their privacy during this difficult time. Important milestones still lie ahead. But after an extraordinarily difficult 11 days, there is genuine reason for hope as he begins his road to recovery.”
10 years of Tubolito: despite the rise and rise of tubeless, the humble inner tube is still going strong
Admittedly it’s not the most enthralling presser in our inbox today, but the folks at Tubolito – a pioneer of super lightweight and compact TPU inner tubes for those who don’t know – are celebrating the brand’s tenth anniversary. Get the bunting out (ideally bunting made out of thermoplastic polyurethane).
As Tubolito’s rise coincided with the tubeless boom for road and gravel, we might not have been surprised if the TPU tube was almost consigned to history by 2026 like the poor old tubular tyre – but alas, there’s still plenty of us who would rather not get covered in sealant whenever a tyre change is necessary. Sorry tubeless fans…
There are now loads of brands offering TPU tubes, with Tubolito’s lightest road tube weighing a silly 26g. Tubolito wasn’t the first – that’ll be Eclipse, who according to them made the world’s first TPU inner tube in 2011 (though we appeared to have written about them in 2010) – but the Austrians arguably took the tech to the next level and popularised it.
“Seeing our products used at the Olympic Games, world championships, and in everyday life by cyclists everywhere is the best confirmation of our work”, boasts Tubolito, the brand also saying it is “nowhere near done” improving the technology.
Have you moved to TPU tubes or tubeless, or stuck with cheaper butyl tubes? Let us know in the comments as always.
Stefan Küng pulls out of Vuelta a España day after winning time trial to prepare for world championships
Talk about a mic drop. The morning after winning his second career Vuelta stage, Stefan Küng withdrew from the Spanish grand tour, as he targets the world time trial championships in Montréal in nine days.
The Swiss specialist’s Vuelta success, which saw him beat Scottish rising star Callum Thornley by under three seconds yesterday afternoon, continues a strong late summer of performances against the clock, which also included a win at the Tour of Poland.
And now Küng is looking to capitalise on that form and finally bag a rainbow jersey in the time trial on the largely flat course in Canada, after two previous podiums and a slew of top tens.
“After completing 18 tough stages and winning yesterday’s time trial at the Vuelta, both Stefan and the team have agreed that it is best for him to withdraw now,” his Tudor squad said.
“Given the short turnaround between the end of the Vuelta and the time trial at the world championships, and the exertion involved in international travel, this decision allows him to recover and fully prepare for the world championships in Montréal, where he will compete in the individual time trial, the mixed relay, and the road race.”
650B’s not dead (to Hunt, anyway)
Some off-road wheel news now, with Hunt flying in the face of the 32” trend and pitching 650Bs as the best way to fit bigger tyres to existing gravel bikes:
> Hunt beefs up 650B Adventure Carbon gravel wheels with H_Core reinforcement
Why don’t cyclists use the cycle lane? #65,381
Romford Road cycle route this morning. Not much point in a cycle path if its going to be used as a car park
— cattleprodding.bsky.social (@cattleprodding.bsky.social) September 11, 2026 at 10:37 AM
Round two: Mas and Roglič’s GC battle hits the mountains as Vuelta set for Peñas Blancas summit finish
Seconds out. Ding, ding.
Yesterday’s Vuelta time trial in Jerez de la Frontera, if not quite a victory for Enric Mas (he did lose 33 seconds to Primož Roglič, after all), resembled the kind of boxing match where one fighter, ahead on points but feeling the pressure from his opponent, focuses on just getting through the next three minutes and taking as few damaging blows as possible.
Then, when the bell rings for the following round, he aims for the knock-out blow.
Alright, that’s enough tortured boxing metaphors for one live blog post, but red jersey Mas will be feeling like a heavyweight champion heading into round two of his red jersey showdown with four-time Vuelta winner Roglič this afternoon.
Following his impressive time trial performance yesterday (which he humbly played down in his post-race interviews), the Movistar man is 1.37 ahead of Roglič with just two GC days remaining, and 3.01 clear of third-placed Felix Gall.
He’s back on his favoured terrain, too, as the Vuelta heads back into the mountains for a tough summit finish Peñas Blancas, the finale to one of the longest stages of the entire race, at 211km.
The climb to Peñas Blancas, a 19km ascent averaging 6.5 per cent, was the scene of the first of Richard Carapaz’s three stage wins at the 2022 Vuelta, so the Ecuadorian, currently sitting in fourth, will be aiming for a repeat performance this time around.
While it lacks the jagged quality of tomorrow’s brutally decisive stage, the riders will still have to tackle almost 4,000m in elevation, with fatigue set to play a crucial role on that long final climb.
Of course, this being the Vuelta, the race organisers have categorised today’s stage as ‘hilly with an uphill finish’. Classic.
A day in the life of a grand tour rider, time trial edition
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Pinarello-Q36.5’s Spanish road race champion Marcel Camprubí here, giving us some insight into what it’s like being a pro bike racer during a grand tour time trial day. Turns out there’s just a lot of waiting around…
RIP Wiggle and Chain Reaction: And that’s that, and there was nothing we could do about it
And now, the end is near,
Our websites face the final curtain,
Once the biggest, but now it’s correct,
When you click, all you’ll get is a redirect…
That’s not a stem. That’s a stem…
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Ah, I see you’ve played stupidly sized stemmy before.
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Latest Comments
Rice cakes or flapjacks work well for me, gels and chews and bars on longer rides. Most of the time I'll stick to using carb drinks, seems to work better for me as I don't always feel like eating on the bike even though I know I have to, so the drink keeps me topped up.
I always ride with gels and a peanut butter Clif Bar as emergency bail-outs (which very rarely get used), but my go-to for longer ride is 100% peanut butter with salad in a white bread sandwich - protein, fat, carbs. And a banana, of course. Very old school.
@jaymack Exactly this. My regular go-to snacks are Squashies, porridge oat bars and jam sandwiches.
@Velophaart_95 It's about eight seconds from the traffic lights to the bus stop. Discount say three seconds for getting up to speed and letting Vine go first would have delayed the bus driver by about five seconds. You might also want to consider the fact that the bus driver is breaking the law by moving into an occupied cycle lane (Highway Code 140: Do not drive or park in a cycle lane marked by a broken white line unless it is unavoidable...You should give way to any cyclists in a cycle lane, including when they are approaching from behind you). I rather think that the one who needs to "give your head a wobble", if you must use that tedious and rather asinine cliche, is yourself.
@kingleo MGIF ... that's why. It happens regularly - e.g. dangerous overtake, just to have to stop at the entrance to the fuel station, because the forecourt is already rammed (and can be seen to be, from a distance)
Forgive my paranoia but one would assume that users of Garmin bike computers probably self-sort into a group one could easily name as "owners of expensive bikes". Surely there's a risk of scrotes using it to ambush cyclists and nick bikes?
Ah, that's a shame. Personal service was good from them in my experience (up there with Fairlight) and the bikes looked the part. The original Classic Electric was a perfect UK city/further bike with a powerful motor coupled to a surprisingly elegant and light frame. They've not be accepting bike orders for about three weeks - which is to their credit as it hopefully means fewer customers will lose out due to the closure. I was all set to order from them as I was in the market and was disappointed to see they were closed for new orders .
Ace Ventura 👏
Ah yes, Waze. That "community-driven app" that's owned by Google. Of course, they're famously "community-driven". The app that sells itself on being able to drive places faster by using cut throughs and rat runs down residential streets. The app that features alerts of where drivers might be caught speeding, rather than alerting drivers they are speeding. And you can now use audio apps, even news apps, directly through Waze. While driving. More of this is not making anyone safer.
@Backladder I'd thought of that one, but I'd want to be sure that the councils would a) not have cocked their own side up legally and b) stick to their guns once the first letters from M'very expensive friends arrived (and if the likes of a Mr. Loophole has already one once and hammered some hapless LA ...) Bureaucracies can be extremely bureacratic ... but they can also get risk-averse (and let those with disabilities / cyclists / pedestrians worry)
14 thoughts on “Thousands sign petition to “rebalance” active travel schemes away from cycle lanes and focus on safety of “those who must rely on cars” instead; Robot Wars, Bike Edition: Fuming cyclist flings delivery bot into hedge; Vuelta battle + more on the live blog”
We sure that clip is legit? Not staged?
Besides, hipster dude comes off relatively poorly against the motorised coolbox (small vehicle). But is definitely still the scourge of the roads. Won’t somebody please think of the F-150 drivers!
I think the fact checking and verifying boats long sailed from this port.
I wonder how happy the drivers would be if the delivery bots were driving on roads instead of footways and forcing them to do 2mph by blocking it completely…
What would make driving safer for motorists is if they stopped driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol and driving faster than the speed limit.
Ummmm…are people in Rotherham aware of what “active travel” means???
@SecretSam A 10 minute walk to the pub or takeaway in their case.
Over half of all UK car journeys are under 5 miles That’s what “those who must rely on cars” actually means. Lazy entitled people who can’t be bothered to walk or cycle short distances. No wonder we’ve got such an obesity problem in Britain. Let’s hope the Straits of Hormuz closure and the oner that seems to be developing in the Red Sea lasts long enough to make them get out of their cars.
@60somethingcyclist Let’s hope the Straits of Hormuz closure and the one that seems to be developing in the Red Sea lasts long enough to make them get out of their cars
I’m encouraged to be able to partially agree with a youngster, but there’s no sign up here in North Lancashire that the increase in fuel prices has had any effect on the willingness to drive everywhere no matter how short the journey, the tendency to leave the engine running while clogging up the roads outside the school or the fuel-wasting driving practices which are routine for panzer drivers. This is the time to re-introduce the fuel price escalator- they’ll hardly notice it in comparison to the increases to come.
@60somethingcyclist yes, and a fair amount of that is 3 miles or less, and there are even lots of “one mile or under”.
But… with any aging and increasingly unfit (in many ways) population 3 miles there and then back seems a big deal. Particularly since the mental model is still “drive or walk” for most.
Of course use of “cycles” helps ameliorate several of these issues. But it’s a change not only in thought but in “how society works” (where you’re expected to get to, carrying what) AND usually the built environment (with high- value items like those shops, schools and hospitals we’ve increasingly centralised.
@chrisonabike It’ll get a lot more unfit if we don’t change our ways. This vote was nothing more than councillors worrying about losing votes. We need to change our ways urgently, for the sake of our health and our survival as well as for economic reasons. In short, the UK needs some tough love. Burnham needs to have the moral courage to force local authorities to make these changes in the same way as the Dutch did in 1973. The then Dutch PM’s words are still relevant today:-
“The world from before the oil crisis will not return. We will have to adjust to a permanent shift in our way of life and our economic management.”
We need to change, like it or not.
“wider pavements”
Motorists never complain about wider pavements, do they?
smh
Apparently this pavement in Wales has proved too narrow for at least 3 drivers!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c9w4vdxrz9do
.. Although apparently this is an “accidentally put a walking route in the sat-nav” issue.
I have an idea who it might have been.
This is our local petrol station’s prices today. If anything they’re going to get a lot worse. Diesel is forecast to hit the £2 mark very soon. I’d be very surprised if we don’t see refinery blockades like those in 2000. Let’s see how anti-cycling they feel if that happens.