‘Obscured’ cycle lane markings lead to £42,000 payout; “I ache just thinking about cycling”: Reaction as Greg James finishes 1,000km Comic Relief Challenge; King Charles says e-bikes are cheating + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
'Obscured’ cycle lane markings lead to £42,000 payout
An accident on a Greenock cycle lane has led to a £42,000 payout after “obscured road markings” left the claimant with a fracture.
This incident happened in March 2023 on the cycle route which follows Campbell Street and the Esplanade, according to a freedom of information request obtained by the Greenock Telegraph.
It is one of several claims made against Inverclyde Council in the past five years. Since the beginning of the 2020/21 financial year, the local authority has paid out a total of £435,124 in compensation, covering injuries ranging from fractures and concussions to hernias.
The biggest single payout was £50,000. That followed a slip, trip or fall at the Bluebird Family Centre in Greenock in July 2021, which also resulted in a fracture.
Potholes have also proven costly. One incident on Auchmead Road in June 2023 led to a £35,000 payout after someone suffered a fracture, while another on Carnock Street in October 2021 resulted in £33,000 compensation for a similar injury.
In another case, a member of the public was awarded £31,725 after tearing a ligament in a fall on Roxburgh Street.
The figures show that in the past 5 years, the council has received 207 compensation claims. Of those, 36 were upheld, and 110 were rejected, while 15 were withdrawn and 46 are still ongoing.
Fractures were the most common injury, accounting for 71 claims. There were also 22 cases involving sprains and strains, 17 lacerations, 16 bruising injuries and 14 relating to soft tissue damage.
A spokesperson for Inverclyde Council said injury claims are dealt with by its insurer, adding: “Any settlement depends on the circumstances of the claim and medical evidence provided at the time. It would not be appropriate to go into the details of individual claims.”
King Charles says e-bikes are cheating
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Whilst officially inaugurating the new coastal walking route bearing his name, King Charles mocked cyclists on e-bikes, saying that it was “cheating”.
According to GB News, when the monarch spotted several people on electric bikes, he said: “Have you got the latest bikes?”
When he was informed that they were e-bikes, he quipped, “Cheating”.
> E-bikes aren’t cheating, says Sir Bradley Wiggins
The king was in East Sussex to formally open both the King Charles III England Coast Path and the Seven Sisters National Reserve, one of 25 reserves being established to commemorate his Coronation.
The 77-year-old walked the two-kilometre route dressed in a lounge suit and walking with a stick, and took about an hour, stopping to unveil two plaques along the way.
> E-Bike myths debunked: 6 common misconceptions about electric assistance
The Seven Sisters reserve marks the halfway milestone of the 25 National Nature Reserves, planned for completion by 2027.
Japan bans 1,500 people caught drunk cycling from driving, under first year of stricter traffic rules
Police say anyone caught under the influence on a bike would likely “pose a serious risk of traffic danger if they drive cars as well”.
"We were pleased to make a difference": Cyclists help clean up National Cycle Network
Cyclists from the Cycle Opportunities Group for Salisbury, or COGS, took part in the Great British Clean on Tuesday.
They focused their efforts on Southampton Road, which forms part of Route 24 on the National Cycle Network.
During the two-hour little pick along the road, they collected seven bags of rubbish.
“This was a great opportunity to make a small contribution to keeping our city clean and tidy,” said Rob Jacobs, the chairman of COGS.
“Littering is such an anti-social activity by a minority of residents, and we were pleased to make a difference.”
This was part of the Great British Spring Clean, which is the UK’s largest annual mass-participation litter-picking programme, organised by Keep Britain Tidy.
Lucy Davey, who organised the COGS litter pick, said: “Evidence demonstrates that where an area is clean, then people are less likely to throw their litter on the ground.
“I would like to thank the COGS members who participated and the city council for supporting our activity.”
Could an electric tandem be the right bike for you? Find out why e-tandems and multi-seaters aren’t as niche as you might think
Electric tandems might have more uses than you originally imagined… find out in Richard Peace’s introductory guide to a bike genre that perhaps shouldn’t be quite so niche.
Happy first day of spring!
Daffodils are blooming in the Netherlands right now.
— BicycleDutch (@bicycledutch.bsky.social) 20 March 2026 at 09:48
Cycle lockers to be added to Dublin city centre
Dublin City Council are planning to install around 40 cycle lockers around the city centre. These lockers, intended for short-term use, will allow visitors to securely park their bikes for a few hours while they socialise, shop or dine.
They will be installed in several public locations throughout Spring 2026, and will be followed by an evaluation period of at least one year to assess their impact.
“I am delighted to launch this innovative pilot of cycle lockers in Dublin City, a practical step forward in building a more active, living and engaged city,” said the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Councillor Ray McAdam.
“We know that one of the biggest barriers to cycling is the simple question of where to leave your bike safely. This pilot tackles that challenge head on by providing secure, convenient parking in the very places people want to be, whether that is to meet friends, support local businesses, or enjoy everything our city centre has to offer.
“If we are serious about creating an active city, we must make cycling easier. If we are serious about a living city, we must make it easier for people to spend time here.
“And if we are serious about an engaged city, we must remove the small, everyday obstacles that hold people back from participating fully in city life.
“These cycle lockers may be a small intervention, but they represent a big shift in how we think about mobility, accessibility and the everyday experience of Dublin.”
Alec Dundon, Senior Executive Engineer, City Centre Projects, Dublin City Council, added: “Installing these cycle lockers lets us see how secure short‑term bike parking works in busy urban spaces.
“This pilot will help us understand where lockers are most effective and how people use them, shaping future cycling infrastructure that is practical, reliable and supports more people to feel confident cycling into the city for short trips.”
The cycle lockers will be fitted with smartlocks, so a user can open and close their locker and pay for their bike’s stay via a smartphone app.
They are different from the Bike Bunkers being rolled out separately to provide secure cycle parking in residential areas.
The first lockers have been installed on Capel Street and Grafton Street Lower.
The project, with the support of the National Transport Authority, is being managed by Bleeper on behalf of Dublin City Council.
Hugh Cooney, CEO of Bleeper said: “We’re delighted to be working with Dublin City Council and bring our experience in shared mobility to this new Cycle Locker pilot for the city. This is another way for people to feel facilitated to cycle to the city centre.”
No gravel tires Visma-Lease a Bike?
No gravel tires, @vismaleaseabike? 😂 pic.twitter.com/ZJTjGpEuVu
— Unibet Rose Rockets (@rockets_cycling) March 19, 2026
“I ache just thinking about cycling”: Reaction as Greg James finished 1,000km Comic Relief Challenge
BBC Radio 1 presenter Greg James has raised over £3.3 million this week in his 1,000km Comic Relief Challenge.
At the finish line, he said: “I can’t believe it’s done! I couldn’t see; I just kept bursting into tears at everyone I saw. Please, let me get off this bike.
“It feels amazing to complete that, to have done that amazing, to have pushed through it all, to be part of an amazing team, to have raised so much money, and to have finished!
“It’s been such a struggle at times but everyone has got me through it. The thing I will remember the most is the joy of seeing everyone. There was so much joy on that whole journey.”
View this post on Instagram
Reactions from viewers have been supportive, with Georgy Jamieson saying on BlueSky: “Just watched Greg James on the telly finish his epic cycle challenge for Comic Relief. Just got something in my eye.”
Steven Brownsea said on Instagram: “3 million let’s go , heroic adventure this week I have laughed cried and cheered , we are all behind you sir , you have helped so many people love and respect always.”
Daniel Peake said: “I’ve been watching the Greg James 1000km challenge all week, which has been incredible. I ache just thinking about cycling.”
thatdamnqa.bsky.Social shared a photo of Murrayfield Stadium, joking: “Someone arriving for their radio show on a really long commute.”
“Please, let me get off this bike!”: Greg James completes 1,000km tandem cycle epic and raises over £3.3m for Comic Relief
Visma-Lease a Bike’s Matthew Brennan withdraws from Milan-San Remo due to illness
Unfortunately, Matthew has fallen ill and is not fit enough to start in Milano-Sanremo tomorrow. Victor will replace him. pic.twitter.com/c89eSalUhc
— Team Visma | Lease a Bike (@vismaleaseabike) March 20, 2026
British sprinter Matthew Brennan has had to withdraw from Milan-San Remo due to illness.
He was expected to make his debut in La Primavera, but will have to wait another year.
He will be replaced by Victor Campenaerts. Visma-Lease a Bike will not have to rely more fully on Wout van Aert, Matteo Jorgenson and Christophe Laporte
3 years for causing death by dangerous driving, driver who left cyclist in coma avoids prison + ‘legal first’ as cyclist convicted of manslaughter over fatal pavement collision: road.cc sentencing round-up
The first edition of our new sentencing round-up series, analysing the state of play when it comes to sentencing for driving and cycling offences in the UK.
Sentencing is a much-discussed topic on road.cc, particularly with regards to the punishments handed down to drivers who seriously injure or kill cyclists.
To provide a more straightforward reference point, we’re introducing a regular round-up of sentencing stories from local publishers and police forces from around the UK, and sometimes internationally in particularly notable cases.
Cycling DJ Dom Whiting teases first 2026 UK event
Dom Whiting, the DJ who has been holding Drum & Bass on the Bike rides since 2023, has teased his first 2026 UK event.
On Facebook, he has shared a photo of himself in Guildhall Square, Southampton, holding a copy of the Daily Echo.
He captioned the post, “After 4 long months, THE WAIT is nearly over. The first UK RIDE of the year will be taking place right here…
“ANY GUESSES WHERE?!”
He was last in Southampton in 2024, when an estimated 2,000 fans arrived to watch him cycle down Above Bar Street.
A sociable tricycle...
As Greg James comes to the end of his Red Nose Day Ride on a tandem, maybe he could have used this ‘sociable tricycle’ instead…
A New Sociable Tricycle
The Cycling World Illustrated
September 16, 1896— Cool Bike Art (@coolbikeart1.bsky.social) 20 March 2026 at 08:14
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@mattw "I think we already have a “safety system” on our roads – that interventions are evidence based." Partially. We can - for example motorway design/rules are a fairly good example of a broader "safety first" approach. (Possible exceptions being the removal of some the hard shoulders to add capacity - more on "capacity" later). BUT contrast what happens on other roads. Particularly our "multi-function" urban roads which act as both "places" (parking, lots of pedestrians about) and "routes" (motorists wanting to pass through). Under e.g. the Dutch system that would be a fundamental conflict of interests which would need to be resolved (streets / roads should serve a single function). There is a fundamentally different starting point: the Dutch system starts from "*everyone* can travel *safely*". But baked into the UK system is the notion of "flow of *motor* traffic" being at least as important as safety. Thus it ends up making it OK to provide for vulnerable road users effectively as an afterthought - and particularly at the expense of their convenience, because that motor traffic capacity is one of the most important things. (In the machinery of local government we have all kinds of metrics related to this which ensure that happens e.g. "journey time reduction" etc. which is what Chris Boardman et al. were looking at). This also helps explain why "our roads are relatively safer than other places in Europe in that context" We have achieved safety by literally driving the vulnerable road users off the streets! As many streets have effectively become roads it then becomes logical to all that they are "for" motor traffic, and people should just get in the car. That has become self-reinforcing. And for anyone left who can't / won't it's "well ... take your chances; or use the narrow footway, wait several minutes to cross the road at the lights or descend into the occasional unpleasant and socially unsafe pit of an underpass..." Note that NL road safety is still very good *despite* having a sizeable fraction of the population cycling, including the rather young and old. (Cycling is (in isolation) probably inherently a little more risky that walking - I don't have numbers though). And IIRC it's safer specifically for *pedestrians* there (despite all those dangerous cyclists...)
In this case, it got to that speed by use of the throttle alone, when power should have cut out well before that, so it's not quite such a terrible test as the one where they turned the pedals and said "there - see - it's doing 45!". That said, reaching more than walking pace with just the throttle should be a fail*, so the actual speed it reached is neither here nor there. [*unless it's ancient]
LeBron's rack just looks like a Canyon LOAD front rack to me - £38 on their accessories page
"Tiger Woods gets five-year driving ban after reckless driving plea" I guess he won't be facing any exceptional hardship... https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5y7xvpn5kno
@chrisonabike given the incredible efficiency and effectiveness of the DVLA I am inclined to believe him I agree - the Paragons at DVLA have been insufficiently lauded as the best thing since Border Force, and I'm sure they'll get around to BF64 TGE when they get the chance. After all, they and I know where he has lived since 2021. And as for HY66 ZZB... although I don't know where HE lives
I'm curious how your tires' inflated width was so large on 21mm internal width rims. 28mm tires having WAM of 35.7mm, on 21mm internal width rims, is way out of the norm. I've got 30mm Conti GP5000 S-TRs on 25mm internal width rims, and they have a WAM of 33mm and change. The usual rule of thumb is that for 2mm of change from the design rim width, the inflated width will change 1mm. For 28mm tires, the design rim width is 19mm (ETRTO), so with 21mm internal width rims you'd expect the tires to measure a millimeter larger in width, give or take another 1mm or so due to the ETRTO tolerances on measured tire width. What tires are you using?
One thing we tend to forget until something like this happens. Even the greatest of riders can be beaten by the nature of the sport itself.
So lifting the rear wheel and hitting 58mph is still considered a meaningful test? I guarantee it never went that fast with his 51 year old arse sitting on it. But never mind that - he should have his nads removed.
@mattw I can see value in EAPCs having a cut off at 20mph, theoretically to ease traffic in 20mph zones I can't. Fortunately, it's not going to happen because of the current 'anti-ebike' climate. So, the right outcome for the wrong reasons.
12 thoughts on “‘Obscured’ cycle lane markings lead to £42,000 payout; “I ache just thinking about cycling”: Reaction as Greg James finishes 1,000km Comic Relief Challenge; King Charles says e-bikes are cheating + more on the live blog”
Re the social tricycle, do you think you’d get abuse from knuckle dragging drivers for riding two abreast?
I was nearly knocked off my bike on that very corner on the Esplanade in Greenock about 18b months ago. There is a cycle path which is pretty much a shared path separated from the road by grass for much of it, but to continue right you need to join the road.
Further on into Greenock is a cycle path which is pretty much a car park and ive never been able to ride in due to parked cars. Council has done nothing to improve any of this.
Arggh!
Media Guidelines:
1.1 Impartiality: Publishers must not use the term ACCIDENT when describing road collisions – collision, or crash, are more accurate, especially when the facts of the incident are not known
More city centres (and retail parks) need bike lockers, to improve security (assuming that they are more secure that. just locking to a bike stand) as security is probably a big factor in deterring people from cycling to places like that.
@belugabob cycle lockers? Hmm… in the UK – for the 6 cyclists currently likely to be in the local area at once – it probably looks like a boon.
Alas, that’s probably in the “not sufficiently cash or space efficient” bracket overall. Though still a fair bit cheaper and neater than a car park!
Meanwhile if a place is serious about cycling being anything other than a niche mode of transport, here’s the way to go:
Yes, not cheap at 3 million (3k per space!) and ongoing staffing costs. But better than people not wanting to cycle because bikes get nicked or trashed. And stops people tripping over them outside shops.
And *much* better to have hundreds of people arrive by bike than by car!
I totally agree. I ride past a retail park (Manchester Fort) five days a week on my way to work. But I would never stop there, whilst I’m passing, to purchase an item or two that may fit nicely in my rucksack.
I’m not prepared to risk my main mode of transport, which I use for commuting to work, while I pop into one of the many stores. Because:
1> The bike would be too visible to light-fingered passers-by.
2> Battery-powered angle grinders will easily cut through the Sheffield stand, even if I had a shit-hot bike lock.
3> People these days would rather film a thief and post on their favourite social media, rather than doing something really useful like, you know, calling the police.
So, at the moment, I will continue to ride past the retail park and take my bike home. Then jump into my car to drive back to the retail park so that I can make my purchase(s) with the comfort of knowing that my car is harder to steal than my bike.
Using a stick to walk with when you have legs to balance is cheating… e-assisted bikes allow people who would likely have to stop riding continue and encourage others who might never start to get out and ride.
What a nob
Indeed. A rich irony that somebody who has been cosseted to the most incredible degree, to the extent that somebody else puts the toothpaste on the brush for him and he gets a choice of five boiled eggs for breakfast so he can make sure he gets one that’s just right, and who is chauffeur driven everywhere (apart from when he’s on a private train carriage, helicopter or private jet), sees fit to tell other people they are “cheating” by getting a little extra assistance on their bike ride.
“The 77-year-old walked the two-kilometre route dressed in a lounge suit and walking with a stick, and took about an hour…..”
At 2kph, he hasn’t got a leg to stand on criticising ebikes.
“The local authority [i.e. the local taxpayer] has paid out a total of £435,124 in compensation, covering injuries ranging from fractures and concussions to hernias.” What’s their plan for the near future – paying compensation packages or auditing/improving the faulty infrastructure?
Still time to change the cycling destination of your Easter holidays. Spain’s transport unions are calling for strikes as from 27 March, 2026.
https://euroweeklynews.com/2026/03/18/easter-strikes-at-spanish-airports-set-to-cause-missed-connections-and-slow-boarding/
I would like to post on Driver crashes into building in the forum, but it’s gone weird.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crm1wzg3980o
And david19XX hasn’t posted in a while.