“So long as it’s not just paint in the road”: Council unveils major cycle lane plans… and the Facebook comments support it!; Olympian handed retroactive ban for missed doping tests but keeps silver medal + more on the live blog
Facebook surprises
Where better to start than with a pleasant surprise? At a certain point, the lobes of your brain become trained to expect the worst of the internet. This is after all the internet of 2026.
Big Tech thrives off of spewing, it relishes the enraged pressing of like buttons and cross-faced emojis. We know all about how cycle lanes have become victim of this sort of thing, and even take a deeper breath when daring to plunge into the hell of a Facebook comments section. So imagine our joy when seeing the reaction to this post from Haringey Borough Council in North London…
Cycle lanes connecting tube stations, protected infrastructure along busy roads, enhanced access to bus lanes. In the words of the council cabinet member for Transport: “Our roads are too dangerous. The number one reason why more people don’t cycle is safety.
“So, we’re prioritising roads where the most road collisions and injuries happen for new cycle lanes. Green Lanes is one of the most dangerous roads in London – and that has to change.”
We might think this is a slam dunk… but so do the commenters!
“Brilliant. Currently, Green Lanes is a nightmare to cycle down.”
“Would love more cycle lanes and separate tracks”
“Amazing news!!
“
“So long at it’s a proper cycle lane and not just a line of paint on the road.”
And on it goes. Sure there’s one man griping about LTNs, (this isn’t Tower Hamlets sir) another who thinks, “They cycle on the pavement why would they need cycle lanes?”, but maybe just maybe Facebook is not so bad.
Oh, and for those of you in and around Haringey, you can have your say on the consultation when it opens, with work due to begin in the new year. Perhaps the internet has its perks after all…
That's err... one weak fork!
The poster says their mudguard got caught in the brake and they then “slid a while on my hands, pavement gave me a delicate kiss on the cheek.” Poetically put…
Olympian handed retroactive suspension for missed doping tests but keeps silver medal
Now we can officially say the off-season has begun, the live blog sinks into its two regular spots of transfer speculation and doping chat, with an occasional splodge of Grand Tour route analysis and new kit reveals.
This post is from the doping side of things, where Olympic silver medallist in the Omnium Daria Pikulik has been handed an 18-month suspension after missing three anti-doping tests within a year.
In a statement on Instagram, Pikulik who competed on the road for Human Powered Health until earlier this year, wrote that she was “fully aware of the gravity of the situation” after missing two tests in September and October 2023.
“I made a consistent effort to keep my whereabouts information updated in the system; however, due to an oversight on my part—compounded by an exceptionally heavy workload—a third missed test occurred in September 2024.
“I spent the last two years trying to defend my good name. Ultimately, in March 2026, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) issued a ruling; while no specific sanction was imposed, I was found at fault for missing the tests.
“In September, I was officially suspended for the period from December 2024 to June 2026. This has been an incredibly difficult time for me and my loved ones. It was never my intention to violate anti-doping regulations.
“Throughout my entire career, I have undergone dozens of doping control tests without any issues.
“Nevertheless, I must accept what has happened and move on. I apologise to everyone I have let down, and I thank everyone who has stood by me during this period.”
The interesting thing about this is that Pikulik’s suspension is backdated to the date she was informed of her third missed test meaning that, coupled with the length of her suspension, she’s already free to return to racing, having only forfeited her results and prize money gained during her suspension, not the period during which she missed the tests. The Olympic silver remains hers.
Though Human Powered Health dispensed of Pikulik’s services following the public announcement of missed tests, it does also make you think the team could have used her a super-domestique deluxe since it was only her result that would be disqualified. Alas, another instance of anti-doping not catching someone doping, and another curious outcomes that leaves an athlete able to continue their career like nothing has happened.
The jousting sequel someone was presumably asking for
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@Rendel Harris Or less unelegant?
@shufflingb So far I've had no issues with the port going wrong (unlike my Hammerhead Karoo V2, which melted!) 20+ hrs run time means I don't usually have to charge on the go. My plan for Pan Celtic means I'll have tome to charge when sleeping, and on the go as a last resort. I am looking at an angled USB C Male to Female cable though, to move the port below.
@mdavidford And indeed, looking in my copy of the complete OED, it's nearly 200 years old at least and is cited for first use by Thomas Carlyle, so you can't get a much better provenance than that. It is a bit ugly though, isn't it? "The previous criticism of a lack of strategy" or "that we were lacking in strategy" would be rather more elegant.
Re, Brandon Herrera 1) Given the exceptionally lenient sentences drivers who kill with their vehicles receive, it is almost like they get away with it. So, as has been said before, if someone's intention is to kill then using a vehicle could be the way he "... could get away with it..." 2) If he is this incensed about cyclists on roads slowing him down a little bit... How does he feel about all the other people IN MOTOR VEHICLES who force him to sit stationary in rush hour traffic? 3) My guess, as I've said before with the likes of him, is that he feels emasculated by cyclists. Which fuels his anger towards them. He feels weak because he himself isn't "tough" enough to be on a bike on public roads when faced with the danger of (ironically? paradoxically?) crazy people like him behind the wheel.
Why does 'unstrategic' require a [sic]? You'd think if it's good enough for the OED it would be good enough for road.cc.
Putting aside any imperfections, the emphasis on quality of infrastructure, and distinguishing between everyday and racing cycling is something to be welcomed! Good luck wales.
How are the 20mph speed limits being accommodated for the TDF stage? Is the stage avoiding all urban areas and villages or will there be special permission to exceed 20mph because the roads are closed - albeit not to pedestrians? Although there are clear benefits from the 20mph limit, it has seriously kerbed cycle road racing and time trialling in Wales and is starting to have a similar effect in England. If the aim is to attract more people into cycling, doesn't it make sense to find a way of accomodating competitive club cycling alongside active travel and leisure cycling? Just think of all the youngsters who will want to emulate their TDF heroes after seeing them racing in the flesh.
Hasn't it always been the case that active travel has been abused? Councils claiming to have put in hundreds of miles of bike lanes and claiming funding for it, and the consequence being that they simple paint bike symbols between the pavement and the existing white lines marking the edge of the road? Or my personal favourite of taking the money from central government and painting a bike lane, but then allowing car owners to store their metal cubes in it 24/7, and then wonder why it's (a) unused by cyclists and (b) they're getting complaints about cyclists riding in primary position.
Wait, what? Cyclists have absolute priority? So if you're emerging from a junction or turning right into one, other vehicle drivers just have to stop and wait? I like this radical approach.
@Born_peddling Going back to the infrastructure issue.....does a cyclist have priority sign count..... because there's not the space for a cycle path?? (Hill in the background is deceptively steep)