“What is wrong with cycle lanes in England? Or don’t you care about their safety?”: Council leader fights back criticism of new cycle lanes; Matthew Brennan meets Spanish ‘tennis player’ down under+ more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Driverless taxi spotted in London
First sighting of a Waymo in the wild in London. Immediately noticed how many drivers are impatient and aggressive when sitting behind a vehicle that is programmed to abide by the speed limit. pic.twitter.com/eOImGMcA2l
— Bob From Accounts ? (@BobFromAccounts) February 2, 2026
They’re coming! This may only be a trial run, but believe me they’re coming. It’s a good thing we recently ran a story on driverless taxis in London…
E-cyclist ends up in race, causes minor breakaway annoyance
Let’s set the scene. It’s the opening race of the season, the famous Grand Prix La Marseillaise. There are barely 5km left and miraculously your breakaway escape is hanging on (just) ahead of the incoming sprint trains. Every millimetre, every racing line counts.
Cue the clip…
???♂️? El incidente del GP La Marsellesa de este domingo volvió a poner de manifiesto la inseguridad que viven algunas pruebas ciclistas modestas – https://t.co/uChWRbhtG3 pic.twitter.com/jstfyKMHz8
— Eurosport.es (@Eurosport_ES) February 2, 2026
Thankfully, the e-bike rider eventually moved to the side of the road and out of the way, but it’s still an ominous sight. The break didn’t last in the end, and the sprint was won by wily French sprinter Bryan Coquard.
At least it’s far less dramatic than what happened at the Etoile de Besseges almost a year ago to the day. Or the Tour of Holland for that matter in October…
Matthew Brennan meets Spanish 'tennis player' in airport
One prodigious talent, fresh from another big win down under, bumps into a fan at the airport. It’s just nice to see Matty Brennan finding time for his fans…
The keen fan, a Carlos A. from Spain, was reportedly so starstruck by Brennan he managed to completely walk past the famous Filippo Fiorelli standing just next to him scoffing Tim Tams.
Ah well, Carlos is apparently a fan of all things Australia and plans to return to the country as soon as next year! Hopefully he’ll be able to make amends…
Google Maps rolls out AI for walkers and cyclists
Google’s Gemini AI has been steadily increasing its encroachment on our daily habits over the last 18 months and now it’s entering the cycling realm.
The Express Tribune of Pakistan report that Gemini AI is rolling out navigation tools that can be used to “make navigation more interactive and hands-free”
“Users can ask about the neighborhood they are exploring, nearby attractions, top-rated restaurants, or places with specific amenities, and the assistant will respond with relevant information drawn from Maps data.
“Cyclists, for their part, can query things like estimated time of arrival (ETA), upcoming calendar events, or even dictate messages to contacts without having to touch their device or take their hands off the handlebars.”
In a world of Siri, Alexa and presumably some other voice-based system (anyone remember Cortana?) it’s not clear what bits of this AI tech are actually new. Still, Google say “the goal is to make navigation safer and more convenient” and that it “is part of Google’s broader effort to embed Gemini across its products,” whether you like it or not.
Edinburgh hire bike scheme expands... again
One of the things I enjoy about regular live blog shifts is seeing certain stories get better over time. Take Edinburgh’s bike hire scheme for example.
I was a student when the city’s scheme folded due to a lack of demand. Now, not only is the scheme back, but growing! In October we covered the Voi e-bike’s expansion to the north and east of the city, covering Leith, Newhaven and Holyrood Park. Today, confirmation that it’s growing again!
The Voi shared e-bike scheme is expanding northwest; Stockbridge, down to Crewe Toll, and along the Hawthornvale Path towards Newhaven, along with an increase to 700 bikes and new parking locations. Voi have had over 500 suggested parking locations from the public across the city since launching.
— ? edi.bike | weekly news digest (@edi.bike) 3 February 2026 at 10:14
Expanding west to include Stockbridge, the hire scheme now sees around 1,000 journeys made a day on average, though reportedly 17,000 journeys were made last week.
Edinburgh Council’s Transport Convenor Stephen Jenkinson is understandably “delighted” by the expansion.
“We’re now reaching our original citywide target number for e-bikes, with the scheme covering large swathes of the Capital. It’s great to see people enjoying this convenient, economical, and environmentally friendly way to get around.” Indeed it is…
Bauke bids farewell
I bloody love Bauke Mollema. A crash away from second place in the Tour de France behind Chris Froome, three Grand Tour stage wins, a retroactive third place on GC at the Vuelta, it really feels as though he is one of the last hitters from the Wiggins/Froome era. A GC man who became a one-day racer and breakaway artist in recent years. But it’s all coming to an end.
The 39-year old had confirmed a while ago this would be his final season but has now put out this rather nice video. For record’s sake, I’m hoping he can make a Giro appearance in pursuit of a stage win, and then line up at Il Lombardia in the Autumn. Mollema, who won the race in 2019, currently shares the records for both most starts and finishes in the ‘Race of the Falling Leaves’, an appearance in October would give him both honours outright. Fingers crossed…
"Prioritising vehicle speed": Frustration over plans to remove cycle lane months after council claimed it was committed to "safer and easier" active travel
One councillor suggested the proposal to remove the cycle lanes would create the “worst of all worlds”…
Medals roll in for GB at European Track Championships
The medals have kept coming for GB at the European Track Championships in Turkey, with two World Records falling.
After Emma Finucane knocked a quarter of a second off the 200m flying time trial, then came the women’s team pursuit.
The team of Katie Archibald, Millie Couzens, Josie Knight, Anna Morris and Kate Richardson actually broke the 4km record in the first round against Italy before going another eight tenths faster in the final to set a time of 4:02.808, beating Germany by more than 2.5 seconds.
The women’s success came after Joe Truman took GB’s first gold of the championships in the 1km time trial, completing his effort in a whopping 57.996 seconds. It’s the first major championship title for the 28-year old after previously winning eight silvers and bronzes at World, European and Commonwealth Games.
Elsewhere Matthew Bostock, Henry Hobbs, Will Tidball, Ben Wiggins and Ollie Wood won bronze in the men’s team pursuit, with Tidball replacing Wiggins for the bronze medal match-up against Switzerland.
That enabled Wiggins to focus on the points race where he finished an agonising fourth, behind WorldTour pros Tim Torn Teutenberg (who took gold) and Jasper De Buyst, but ahead of former World Champion and reigning Olympic Omnium champion Benjamin Thomas.
Day three of the championships will resume shortly, with Emma Finucane aiming for gold in the discipline in which she is now the world record holder. There’s also action in the women’s omnium and the men’s scratch race.
Victorian bridge reopens to cyclists and pedestrians
Good news for those of you living near the Essex-Sussex border, the steel Boxted Bridge has reopened!
The bridge was closed a little over two years ago due to concerns the structure’s beams were “dangerously corroded”. But the BBC report that the bridge is now usable for pedestrians and cyclists whilst Essex County Council mull over what to do in the long-term. A public consultation has also been opened for residents to contribute their opinions. It’ll be open until the 12th February (next Friday).
"What is wrong with cycle lanes in England? Or don't you care about their safety?": Council leader fights back criticism of new cycle lanes over junction
I’ll be honest, any robust Facebook defence of cycle lanes will have a challenge compared to James from Wokingham Borough Council, a man who is surely on the hall of fame of road.cc internet good eggs by this point. But that’s no reason to knock the effort of Gloucester City Council leader Jeremy Hilton.
Announcing the public meeting with a contractor ahead of upgrades to the city’s London Road/Black Dog Way Junction, the Liberal Democrat steeled himself for the inevitable comments from the motonormative hivemind that is Facebook.
When accused of “council money wasting”, Hilton replied quickly “government grant aided project. Cyclist route all the way from Bishops Cleeve to Gloucester. What’s wrong with their safety?”
Accusations that “The council should just move to Amsterdam if they want to see bike lanes everywhere.” are refreshingly batted back with a similarly toned retort – “what is wrong with cycle lanes in England. Have you been to London recently. Or don’t you care about their safety?”
A trapping question (“Have the council had a survey to see the number of cyclists use this junction like they do with cars.”) is deftly managed with a neat paragraph explaining how it’s “being built to encourage cycling and make that activity much safer than today. There is no point in building it with missing sections at hazardous locations.”
“Focking stupid idea” is parried away with “says a motorist.”
It’s a surprisingly amusing read, with Cllr Hilton’s mood discernible in each and every response. The subtext is rich, the emotion tangible. Of all the Facebook slop to peruse this morning, it really wasn’t so bad.
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Latest Comments
And this Ladies and Gentlemen is how councils up and down the land waste your money. The contracts will have been costed and awarded. Penalties will now be owed by the council to its contractors for cancelling the start of works at short notice - likely funded out of the original active travel budget.
@Rendel Harris Not everything that is publicly (co-)funded is a public good and even fewer of those are indispensable. Just because it was partly funded from the public purse does not mean it's meant to be free - and especially if there are other benefits for the public. If we assume otherwise, there should be no obligation to pay for bus rides. And let's not fool ourselves - if the ceremony was free, the organisers would simply charge the local govt even more for the event overall. Of these two imperfect options I'd rather shift at least part of he burden on the rich spectators willing to pay for the tickets.
@tomlew The Tour is very much more than just a private event, it has taken nearly £100M in public money to come to the Uk. If it was self funding like a rock concert, fine, charge what you want, but having taken such a vast sum of money from the public and expecting their goodwill in terms of putting up with road closures etc said public have every right to be disgruntled at the attempt to sting them for even more to see part of an event that they’ve already paid for. As the article notes, other Grand Depart presentations have been free, why shouldn’t this one be? Your statement “it’s easy to spend other people’s money” would appear most apposite for ASO, with the addendum “then expect them to give you even more whilst you trouser the enormous profits.”
Road.cc staff all ride like Pogačar? Sounds dubious to me.
@Rome73 I assume You don't have video evidence. As it would be worth submitting to the DVSA to let them know that driver's eyesight is poor enough to have their licence revoked.
@Rendel Harris If only you'd read my previous comment more carefully... I clearly justified my position by appealing to the concept of a public good. The TdF isn't one, so why are you demanding to decide how the investor should spend their money? That is exactly the middle ground you're talking about — leaving control in the hands of the owners when the goods in question are not indispensable, while retaining control over essential ones. BTW, monopoly? I imagine there are hundreds of other public events in most UK towns. Are you going to hire an army of public officers and introduce price regulation for rock concerts as well?
@tomlew Yes, there's absolutely no middle ground between disgracefully exploitative overcharging and giving things away for free, is there? Just sit back and accept whatever private companies want to charge once they have achieved a monopoly of something and be happy, marvellous. Don't complain or ask for fair pricing because that would be "spending someone else's money". It's worked so well with water and power and fuel and rent, hasn't it?
@Rendel Harris So where's my new bike? I feel I deserve it, so I guess you owe me one now. It's always so easy to spend somebody else's money, isn't it?
@tomlew Ah, good old "market forces", the excuse for price gouging everywhere. Just because you can get away with charging stupid prices doesn't mean you should or that it's right to do so.
I bought mine more than 4 years ago and have used it many times, flying all over Europe - exclusively with BA. The baggage handlers have given them a good thumping. We've had the frame itself dented significantly and pierced (one assumes - and Ed from Buxumbox confirms - this is hard to do on the shell cage!) The sides are dented, as expected, and were pierced on one occasion. We witnessed a baggage handler at Tenerife airport lift and throw our boxes onto the conveyor belt single handed. It bounced off the edge of the belt at least once. One of the boxes also started to behave like a shopping trolley so I have replaced the front wheels (now a new design) and I was told that this is due to the box being dropped onto them. The bikes have - up to now - always survived this handling. Does anyone have any tips on how to dissuade a single baggage handler do this? Do you overestimate the weight so that they might be inclined to get two baggage handler to move them? They are certainly great for quick disassembly and re-assembly, albeit a pain to get a taxi for. A Mercedes Vito with the rear seats down or removed, a Renault Scenic likewise. Two (with two small cases) also fit inside a Dacia Jogger with the rear seats down - perhaps we should have a database...?
44 thoughts on ““What is wrong with cycle lanes in England? Or don’t you care about their safety?”: Council leader fights back criticism of new cycle lanes; Matthew Brennan meets Spanish ‘tennis player’ down under+ more on the live blog”
Driverless taxis as rolling
Driverless taxis as rolling speed limit enforcers? Now that IS funny.
For now … but if they
For now … but if they become the dominant motorised mode (or just because of the vast money behind these and the US and possibly Chinese governments) you may see strong lobbying for that speed to go up, or them to get access where previous motor vehicles weren’t supposed to * because of how safe they are of course.
* OTOH motor vehicles are somehow found where they’re not legally permitted every day in probably every village, town and city in the country…
Latest ‘ebike’ (but not an
Latest ‘ebike’ (but not an ebike) story:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgl8we54pp4o
“A 13-year-old boy from Poole has been arrested on suspicion of a driving offence“
Just came here to post that
Just came here to post that myself, yes the driving offence is a giveaway and also the “pillion passenger” reference certainly implies illegal electric motorcycle.
I was puzzled so checked the
I was puzzled so checked the Dorset Police press release, which the BBC has simply copied.
But of course they could have checked…
Oh wait, it’s the BBC.
Comments are all about
Comments are all about cyclists !
https://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/comments/25819798/
Actually they largely seem
Actually they largely seem more obsessed with scooters. ?♂️
Almost as if they just post the same old comments, regardless of what the story is…
E-cyclist ends up in race
E-cyclist ends up in race
That’s definitely (maybe) Laim Gallagher
I hadn’t considered that
I hadn’t considered that aspect of driverless taxis, I was feeling quite negative about them but that adds a big tick on the plus side, it will be excellent to see a stately procession of cars all going at the speed limit with a taxi in front, they will also presumably slow down in good time when approaching an amber light as well. Unfortunately it does add another concern, how many times as a cyclist am I going to be faced with oncoming drivers using my lane to try to overtake them? Perhaps the police could team up with the taxi companies and use their videos and speed data to prosecute?
This is my fear. Drivers will
This is my fear. Drivers will have absolutely zero respect for driverless cars and just overtake more rashly and dangerously as a result.
Here’s a wild idea:
Here’s a wild idea: driverless cars (eventually) lead to shorter journey times- less late braking (rubber band effect), no blocking junctions, stopping in unsafe places, less minor bumps that stop traffic. Reduced idiot factor. Improved flow is the key.
Discuss!!
In theory both flow
In theory both flow management and road safety should improve in parallel with the removal of the FHF, aka effing-human-factor. As a lifelong cyclist who was hit and injured by a taxi driver, I truly hope the theory will work and deliver practical improvements.
I think you’ve misunderstood
I think you’ve misunderstood the amber light rule – it’s there to tell drivers to accelerate (in my experience).
Avatar
I think you’ve misunderstood the amber light rule – it’s there to tell drivers to accelerate (in my experience)
No, no, no! That’s the function of the red light – at least in Lancashire, where the police are highly sympathetic to RLJs at speed, and simply ignore the reports
Lancashire Police. What a shower.
I was outside my house last week, three young yobs in black, with the usual balaclavas on, riding down the centre of the main road, 40 mph at least in a 30mph zone. Police car approaching from the opposite direction. One yob pulls a wheelie on his illegal bike down the centre line in front of the oncoming police car. I waved my arms at the officer and pointed to the yobs. He just stared at me and carried on driving down the road. Absolute clown.
Well, Lancs police have a reputation to maintain for not seeing (motor)cyclists. Or apparently most things…
Round the parts it seems to be a different meaning for drivers.
Green: Go like hell.
Amber: Go even faster.
Red: Proceed with caution.
Isn’t the average speed of
Isn’t the average speed of traffic in London around 12 mph? So how are the driverless taxis able to go as fast as the speed limit?
Funny things, averages…
Funny things, averages…
Don’t be mean
Don’t be mean
Daveyraveygravey wrote:
That would certainly make a novel defence to speeding charges, the average speed in London is 12 mph so I could not have been doing 40…
Now that the technology
Now that the technology exists courts should be able to insist drivers who pick up a few speeding offences should be limited to driving a speed limit limited car. After getting their license back after the ban.
Should be immediately enforced for all the many drivers who are over the points limit for a ban but whose smarmy lawyers pled hardship in face of a ban.
Don’t remember the season
Don’t remember the season when Trek replaced their bikes with sheep. Was that the year Mollema failed to complete Il Lombardia?
I’m a little surprised it was EweCI approved.
Driver claimed “I was nowhere
Driver claimed “I was nowhere near you”.
Essex police going with course or offer (supposedly).
“The quartet of Katie
“The quartet of Katie Archibald, Millie Couzens, Josie Knight, Anna Morris and Kate Richardson actually broke the 4km record in the first round against Italy before going another eight tenths faster in the final to set a time of 4:02.808, beating Germany by more than 2.5 seconds.”
I thought a quartet was four not five?
Squads have a spare rider so
Squads have a spare rider so the best four can be selected for each round.
A sub four minute ride is tantalisingly close now for women’s team pursuiting.
True, but if you’re referring
True, but if you’re referring to the whole team (as opposed to the four who rode a particular round), they’re a quintet, not a quartet.
Quartet sounds a lot better
Quartet sounds a lot better than foursome, doesn’t it?
[i]Essex-Sussex border[/i] ?
Comments borked since site move to WordPress. No image upload, broken unicode/emoji support, broken rich text/quoting/markup functionality, images from historic posts gone…
Oh and I’m seeing link to the WP Dashboard in the top left and can access it (in a limited way), probably shouldn’t be able to.
Also no edit feature for posts, and like count from historic posts gone too… appreciate that there’s probably more to worry about at the road.cc mothership after a WP migration, good luck, you’ll need it.
Sort functionality doesn’t work properly either – it threads them whatever you select.
And the carousel shows all the comments – not just the latest from each thread (so most of them are currently the latest few in this thread).
No page numbers for me
‘Home’ or road cc gives me a keyboard pop up instead
This is awful.
On a positive note, you can actually like your own posts though, every one counts.
Huge apologies, we’re working through all the issues and hoping for normal service to be resumed very soon. Bear with us!
That’s no fun, I enjoy it when new trolls appear and leave 50+ posts on the same issue and don’t get a single like, if they can break their duck by giving themselves a like that spoils the feeling of solidarity!
The last 2 posts from jack and rendel have no reply option for me. Other posts do.
Anchor links are jumping to random places on the page – like click on a comment link in the carousel and it will dump you halfway down the article.
And when you post a comment it will jump to somewhere in the middle of the previous comments.
Comments carousel is still prone to showing you versions of itself from hours ago, though, so nice that some things haven’t changed. 😄
RE: comments carousel – I’d give this a like … but it doesn’t like it.
(The “quote” feature seems to have gone also; indeed it’s generally still pretty glitchy and clunky for me on Android / Samsung browser. Was this done by a UK cycle infra designer on a month or year off [due to “consultation process”] ?)
What’s wrong with cycle lanes?
This is relative to my local area of Lancashire.
Badly designed. Famously, the cycle lane designer at LCC was a non cyclist.
Badly installed. Merely painting a white line down the centre of a pavement is not good enough.
Badly maintained. never swept, absolutely full of glass and debris, when reported to LCC via the Love Clean Streets app, they tell porkies and put on the app that the glass has been cleaned up, when they haven’t even been down to clean it up.
I will always without fail use a cycle lane if it is well designed, well made and well maintained and crucially, takes me in the direction I want to go. Apart from the failings above, many cycle lanes around Lancashire take cyclists in the opposite direction, then simply stop. Put the infrastructure in, done to a high standard. And the cyclists will use it. Even though we do not pay road tax so do not pay anything towards the roads. 😂
All true, but completely misinterprets the original question.