“How traumatic”: Drivers fume at cyclist for ignoring new cycle lane… blocked by barriers because motorist drove into bollard; BBC answers three “biggest cycling questions” and two are about helmets; Fancy staying at Pinot’s farm? + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
“How traumatic”: Drivers fume at cyclist for ignoring new cycle lane… blocked by barriers because motorist drove into bollard
It’s fair to say that plans to introduce new active travel measures in the Fife coastal town of Methil haven’t gone down too well with some of the locals.
Last November, you may remember, we reported that contractors working on the town’s new cycling and walking infrastructure were forced to, well, walk off, after a dozen residents (I know, a whole dozen) staged a day-long protest, blocking the road.
The demonstrators interrupted the works to criticise the decision to remove a roundabout as part of the active travel improvements, claiming the changes would harm local businesses and negatively impact motorists.
Rather interestingly, to keep warm, since it was November, they lit a fire in a metal barrel, which led to a visit from the fire service and a warning about black smoke drifting across the carriageway and creating a hazard for drivers. Where’s Alanis Morissette when you need her?
Anyway, seven months on and with the scheme almost complete, some Methil motorists are still complaining about the new infrastructure, which they claim – shock – is being ignored and underused.
Yesterday, the Fife jammer locations page posted this clip of a cyclist in the town committing the heinous sin of riding on the Methilhaven Road (a 20mph zone), avoiding the new shared bike lane, the entrance to which was blocked by some barriers:
“Incredible scenes in Methil this morning, council spend a fortune on a cycle path for them to still use the roads,” the page posted on Facebook and Instagram.
Unsurprisingly, the video triggered quite a few classic anti-cycling replies in the comments, ranging from suggestions that cycle lane use should be a legal requirement for people on bikes to the now-obligatory call for all cyclists to pay ‘road tax’.
Yes, that’s the quality of debate we’re talking about here.
However, some viewers were confused by the big red things blocking the entrance to the new protected infrastructure.
“We’re talking about the cycle path with the barriers in the middle of it, yeah?” asked one Instagram user.
Some locals, however, were on hand to point out that the bike lane is open – just that the section in question is blocked off because a motorist recently drove into a post on it. Which really fills you with confidence.
“Jeez, if that’s the damage a motorist has done to a lighting bollard on cycle path I think I would feel safer on the road as well! You’re not safe anywhere with these car drivers,” wrote Kenneth.
> Why don’t cyclists use cycle lanes?
In any case, broken bollard or not, it was also pointed out to Methil’s outraged residents that cyclists have every right to be on the road – even when there’s a shiny new bike path beside them.
“Considering most serious cyclists can handle pedalling at 20mph, and he’s in a 20mph zone, he’s holding up no one unless the car driver is breaking the law by wanting to get by,” John said. “The cycle network is not mandatory. Many cycle lanes are overgrown, rutted and in poor repair.”
“There are two great examples on this video of why cyclists don’t use cycle paths as well,” added Steven.
“One is the junction that forces them to stop and the other is the barriers for the roadworks stuck in the middle of it. But of course, entitled drivers think cyclists must get out of their way at all times regardless of how shit the infrastructure is.”
Another user asked: “FFS, when did all the Karens move to Fife? Clip cut off before we saw the end of the overtake manoeuvre, which appeared to have a clear road ahead, what is driver mumping about? Took them longer to record that clip and upload it to here than it did to overtake the cyclist.”
And finally, Scarlet wrote: “How traumatic for you. Do you need a lie down after having to work out how to overtake another road user?”
“The BBC isn’t biased. Much”: Cyclists baffled as BBC Bitesize answers the UK's three “biggest cycling questions” – and two of them are about helmets
Whenever an email from a reader drops into our inbox with the heading ‘BBC again’, you know it’s going to be, ahem, interesting.
This time, road.cc reader Richard was perusing BBC Bitesize, the broadcaster’s longstanding portal designed to help schoolchildren with their homework and exam revision, and spotted a newly published page on cycling.
Which is exciting. Until you read the questions they’ve come up with, however.
According to Bitsize’s cycling page, “with 3.5 million posts with #cycling on TikTok alone, there’s a lot of chat, claims and questions online”.
Based on these hashtagged posts, Bitesize’s ‘Other Side of the Story’ – which helps children “navigate fake news and misinformation” – highlighted what it says are the “most searched questions about cycling online”.
And, that’s right, two of the three questions are about helmets. Question number one: “Is it illegal to cycle without a helmet?” That’s a fun one to start with.
Clicking on the answer, the BBC (accurately) says: “The correct answer is no. It is not illegal to cycle without a helmet, regardless of how old you are.”
The answer goes on to quote a spokesperson for the RoSPA (The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents), who told Bitesize: “This means it is not illegal for either adults or children to cycle without a helmet.
“However, Rule 59 of the Highway Code advises that cyclists should wear a cycle helmet that conforms to current regulations, is the correct size and is securely fastened. While this is guidance rather than a legal requirement, RoSPA encourages cyclists to wear a properly fitted helmet.”
The spokesperson also said that helmets are designed to reduce the risk of head injuries if someone falls from their bike, or to make any head injuries less serious.
The RoSPA did, however. note that helmets should be seen as “one element of road safety, which includes safe behaviour from the cyclist and responsible driving from motorists”. Phew, I didn’t think we were going to get there.
Nevertheless, Bitesize goes on to quote brain injury charity Headway and their belief that helmets should be compulsory for all child cyclists and “that anyone, however old they are, who gets on a bike should wear one”.
Hmmm. And if that wasn’t enough, the third question posed by Bitesize was also about helmets, this time focusing on how long they last.
“Even if you only cycle a few times a year with barely a bump, it’s always worth checking your cycling helmet as parts of them can deteriorate as they age,” the Beeb said.
Oh, at least question two wasn’t about helmets, and instead asked: “Is cycling good for exercise?” Here, Bitesize rightly noted that cycling is good for your physical and mental wellbeing, though I do find it slightly odd that they characterised it as a “cheaper alternative” to the gym and not, you know, a car.
“If you’re old enough to join a gym, but the membership fees are putting you off, both the NHS and Cycling UK recommend cycling as a cheaper alternative,” Bitesize said. “It’s a one-off purchase – although you will need to make sure your bike is properly maintained – and the scenery seen from a bike can always be different, instead of the same gym walls!”
Let’s just say road.cc reader Richard wasn’t impressed with his weekend of revision.
“There are only three questions, and two of them are about helmets,” he told us. “The other one, about health, is rather sparse. But the BBC isn’t biased. Much.”
Is this the greatest cycling competition prize of all time? Thibaut Pinot offering free three-night stay at his farm during Tour de France, complete with helicopter ride, barbecue, and the chance to feed his goats, of course
This is not a drill, I repeat, this is not a drill.
Airbnb, remember, entered the ‘cycling prize’ world last year when they teamed up with the Tour de France to offer a series (or “collection”, as the marketing people like to call it) of unique experiences offering fans behind-the-scenes access to cycling’s biggest race.
These prizes included a tour of the commentary box with former yellow jersey wearer and gurner-in-chief Thomas Voeckler and, of course, the chance to ride on the Champs-Élysées with Mr Champs himself, Mark Cavendish.
This year, however, Airbnb have really upped the ante (if you’re a lover of tears, lost causes, and goats, that is). Because the ‘holidaying in someone’s garage’ specialists are offering one lucky family to stay, for free, at Thibaut Pinot’s farm during this year’s Tour. Madness.
The retired French darling retired in 2023 to live the quiet, pastoral life, filled with cute Instagram photos of his animals and free of any forlorn or cruelly shattered hopes to win the yellow jersey.
And now he’s converting his farm, temporarily at least, into an Airbnb for three nights during as the Tour passes through his hometown of Mélisey.
The stay, which is open to a single family of up to six people from 16-19 July, will include a welcome barbecue hosted by Pinot, a bike ride with the man himself, a lakeside picnic, and a helicopter ride to watch stage 13 of this year’s race, with access to the team paddock. Now that’s what I call a prize.
“I’m proud to open the doors to my new life and my farm in Mélisey, in Haute-Saône, to help people discover the region where I grew up and to which I’m deeply attached,” Pinot said in Airbnb’s press release.
“With the Tour de France passing through the village, it’s the perfect opportunity to show that our countryside has just as much to offer as anywhere else, and that we’re really at home here.”
The stay goes live at 9am UK time on 19 June – but you better be quick, as the spot is dished out on a first come, first served basis. And I’m guessing this one could prove quite popular. I’ll have to check if journalists are allowed to enter (would save me booking my own hotel during that part of the Tour, anyway).
However, if you miss out on staying at Chez Pinot, Airbnb has no shortage of swashbuckling retired French riders willing to give up their time this July. You can also win the chance to ride part of the Tour route with none other than Pierre Rolland, and join Laurent Jalabert for a group spin. Oh, the panache.
Bikes, bikes, and more bikes!
This Charmig Man: Uno-X’s Anthon Charmig storms to biggest career win with impressive solo attack from breakaway at the Dauphiné
A Ridley bicycle on a hillside desolate, will the Dauphiné make a WorldTour winner of me yet? When attacking the breakaway, this Charmig man…
Apologies for that, but I reckon an ill-fitting parody of the Smiths is the least a live blogger can do to pay tribute to Anthon Charmig, after the Dane put in the ride of his life this afternoon at the Dauphiné to secure his first ever WorldTour win.
The Uno-X Mobility rider was part of a three-strong group, including Raúl García Pierna and Clément Braz Afonso, who had winched themselves clear of their breakaway companions on the final climb, with around 13km to go.
As the break – out front for almost the entirety of the marathon 234km stage (the longest at the Dauphiné for two decades) – looked like it was about to reform, Charmig attacked with the summit in sight.
View this post on Instagram
And that was that, the 28-year-old building a 41-second lead to take what in the end proved a comfortable victory, just the second of his career (after a stage at the Tour of Oman in 2022) and his first at the highest level.
Picnic PostNL’s Henri-François Renard-Haquin won the sprint for second, another near miss for the struggling Dutch squad, while Bahrain Victorious’ Vlad Van Mechelen was third.
Behind in the peloton, aside from a brief flurry of speculative attacks on the final climb, things remained calm and controlled, a welcome sight for EF’s Alex Baudin, who holds the yellow jersey into tomorrow’s team time trial, a dress rehearsal for next month’s big show in Barcelona.
Wout van Aert’s Tour de France prep hindered by pothole crash on time trial bike – as coach says Belgian star “has come down from his pink cloud” and is struggling for form after Paris-Roubaix win
You can forgive Wout van Aert for being slightly off the boil on stage one of the Dauphiné, after the Belgian star finished 127th, 24 minutes down on winner Alex Baudin yesterday afternoon.
After all, it’s Van Aert’s first race back since his career-defining victory at Paris-Roubaix in April – and by all accounts, he made sure to properly celebrate winning his first ever cobbled monument.
The Visma-Lease a Bike leader’s slow return to form has also been hampered by a recent hard crash on his time trial bike, caused by an errant pothole, forcing Van Aert to start the Dauphiné with bandages on his right arm and leg.
“It was not a nice crash. I crashed on the TT bike and lost the handlebars in big pothole,” he told Sporza this morning.
“It was not a soft landing, but I’m OK, and good enough to do this race. Otherwise I would not start here.”
Asked about his form on stage one, Van Aert said: “Unfortunately, I was not feeling great immediately. I knew anyway that it would be too tough for me, but of course I wasn’t feeling my best either. So I chose not to push and to finish in a fairly conservative way.
“I wasn’t terribly bad. It was my own choice not to push myself too hard. I hope to feel better today [Monday], and if not, I just need to stay calm.”
However, the crash isn’t the only reason for Van Aert’s under par showing yesterday. According to Visma’s head of performance Mathieu Heijboer, a healthy amount of post-Roubaix partying is to blame for his slow adjustment back to racing life.
“After Roubaix, Wout took the time to recover and enjoy himself,” Heijboer told Het Niewsblad.
“A lot has come his way. Many celebrations, especially. When you have to get back into the rhythm of training and racing at some point, it simply takes a little more time. He has to come from further back than usual. That isn’t even about data. It just takes a little longer to get going again.”
Coach Maarten Wynants, however, is confident that Van Aert is where “he needs to be”.
“Wout has come down from his pink cloud. But in the meantime, he has the harsh reality of an altitude training camp behind him and has already picked up that rhythm again,” Wynants said.
“As far as I’m concerned, he is where he needs to be. Let’s not forget that the Tour is still a long way off. This race should allow him to take another step closer to that top form.”
EF Education-EasyPost’s Mikkel Honoré in intensive care after breaking collarbone, three vertebrae, and seven ribs in horror crash at Heistse Pijl
A brilliant first career victory for young British rider Noah Hobbs at the Heistse Pijl on Saturday – beating big hitters like Søren Wærenskjold and Milan Fretin – was soured slightly by the news that the 21-year-old’s EF Education-EasyPost teammate Mikkel Honoré was taken to intensive care following a heavy crash in the finale.
Speaking to WielerFlits yesterday, the Dane’s DS Ken Vanmarcke confirmed that the team had been involved in several crashes during the 1.1 ranked race, the last of those bringing down Honoré.
View this post on Instagram
“He crashed really hard and is still in intensive care at the hospital the day after,” Vanmarcke said. “Mikkel is stable, but he has broken seven ribs, three vertebrae, and his collarbone. He is also dealing with a collapsed lung. That is quite difficult; it will be a long rehabilitation.
“Ten minutes later, we win the Heistse Pijl with our young talent Noah Hobbs. You cannot celebrate that in a big way when someone is crying out in pain.”
EF confirmed the news yesterday evening, saying in a statement: “Mikkel Honoré crashed at Heylen Vastgoed Heistse Pijl and sustained multiple injuries, including a fractured clavicle, several broken ribs, and other non-surgical fractures. He remains under medical care and will undergo surgery on his clavicle in the coming days.”
So David, what’s in the UCI’s big box of brainy ideas this week?
Classic UCI, dropping an email with an innocuous title at 5.20pm on a Friday evening (and 6.20pm in Europe), hoping nobody notices that they’re shuffling the calendar, appealing the SRAM gear restriction judgment, and banning front pockets and big bike computers. Cheeky, cheeky…
Your handy guide to slogging your way through a UCI press release
It’s Friday evening, you’re about to shut down your laptop and head out on the bike/to the pub, and an email pings into your inbox.
Reluctantly, you take a look. It’s from cycling’s governing body and includes the captivating title: ‘The UCI reviews cycling development in India and modifies provisions governing participation of Belarusian and Russian athletes in international competitions in line with IOC recommendations.’
What do you do? Well, you have two options. One: You slam the laptop shut and bolt for the door, never looking back. Or, two: You open it and try to work out what the UCI are trying to slip into the public realm without anyone noticing.
If you picked option two (you poor soul), then try our patented guide to slogging your way through a UCI press release.
Tip one: Start scrolling, just keep on scrolling. There’ll be nothing interesting or newsworthy at the top of these things, don’t worry. The success of a 2.2 ranked race in India? Lovely, but scroll on. Belarus being let back into international racing? That’s just the UCI following IOC guidelines. A training camp for South American riders? Keep scrolling.
Ah, here we are. 15 paragraphs later, and we finally get to the UCI’s new calendar changes. Some highlights: the women’s Vuelta is being moved to later in the season from 2027 (no dates confirmed yet), and the men’s is being shifted slightly to allow for the late August mega worlds next year.
In 2028, the worlds in Abu Dhabi is also being pushed to the last full week of October, to allow for “more favourable” weather conditions.
Tip two: Look for key words. These days, the big key UCI word is ‘SafeR’. If the SafeR group is mentioned, something’s happening. After a few hefty paragraphs on the extension of the yellow car system and improved race signage, the governing body finally got to some juicy bits.
First up, there are some new regulations coming into effect from 1 July, banning riders from wearing jerseys featuring front pockets (which the UCI reckons are used purely for aero gains), while the ‘bottle down the front’ style favoured by Jan-Willem van Schip is also out.
And, as we noted earlier, from 2028, bike computers will be limited to a size of 126 × 71mm, “corresponding to the largest products currently available on the market”.
Finally, the UCI also confirmed that they will appeal the recent decision by the Brussels Court of Appeal to uphold SRAM’s attempt to stop the governing body from going ahead with its gear restriction trial (it’s never-ending, this one).
“In light of the Brussels Court of Appeal’s decision, and concerned by both the very low threshold applied by the BCA for imposing interim measures and the limited scope of the Court of Appeal’s review in the appeal proceedings, the Management Committee confirmed the UCI’s intention to lodge an appeal before the Belgian Court of Cassation,” the UCI said.
Another few boring paragraphs on race rankings, and we finally get some news about a rule requiring the women’s peloton to only work with agents holding a UCI licence.
And now for tip three: Ignore David Lappartient’s statement, always.
Or, you know, you could just enjoy your weekend.
“I tried to save as much energy as possible, I didn’t panic”: Paul Seixas downplays early Dauphiné time loss
The Tour Au-, the Tour de Auvergne, Alps, wait, the Tour, ah, who cares… The Critérium du Dauphiné kicked off yesterday afternoon, with a tricky hill stage to Saint-Ismier, where EF Education-EasyPost’s Alex Baudin, the last survivor of the day’s breakaway, soloed to a surprise, brilliant win.
Despite the up-and-down terrain, the peloton enjoyed a largely subdued opening stage at what is regarded as the key Tour de France preparation race, as GC favourite Paul Seixas’s Decathlon team controlled things at the front.
Until, that is, a dangerous move featuring Netcompany Ineos duo Oscar Onley and Kévin Vauquelin slipped away in the finale, gaining 12 seconds on Seixas and other yellow jersey contenders such as Isaac del Toro and Juan Ayuso.
Not that Seixas, hotly tipped to win the race in the absence of Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard, is too bothered about the time loss.
“I tried to save as much energy as possible, I didn’t panic,” Seixas told Cyclingpro.net this morning, ahead of stage two.
“I knew the finish was tough, and 12 seconds doesn’t really change the overall standings. It’s great for Oscar and Kevin, but the mountain stages are going to be very tough.
“I didn’t get much help from the others because I think they were a bit worried about losing time in the sprint, which was slightly uphill. But voilà, I did what I could, and we only finished 12 seconds down, so it was a successful stage.”
And despite losing key climbing domestique Matthew Riccitello to illness during the stage, Seixas remains extremely confident about the week ahead.
“To be honest, I felt great,” he continued. “I had a really relaxed day because I felt really good on the bike, I didn’t struggle at all. I felt great the whole time. I recovered really well last night, so it was a fairly quiet day for me.
“We’re obviously down a rider with Matthew, but we’re still very motivated. We’ve got a very solid team with riders who are really strong in time trials, so we’re hoping to achieve the best possible result.”
Oh dear, Jan-Willem, what you have been up to again? Can’t leave you alone during a race for a second…
“I had to dare to lose it all. Second or third doesn’t matter to me”: Demi Vollering pulls off stunning comeback to overhaul Anna van der Breggen in epic Giro d’Italia finale to complete grand tour triple, as Scottish climber Lauren Dickson stars for FDJ
The final weekend of this year’s Giro d’Italia Women certainly wasn’t lacking in drama and excitement, was it?
After the chaos and confusion of Saturday’s shortened stage on the Colle delle Finestre – when a rogue sheet of ice threatened to scupper FDJ United-Suez’s best laid plans – Demi Vollering entered the final stage 49 seconds down on pink jersey (and her old boss) Anna van der Breggen.
Sunday’s stage may have lacked the twin Alpine brutes of Finestre and Sestriere, but that just meant Vollering and her management speak-loving FDJ United-Suez team were forced to pivot, reset, and rethink their maglia rosa-hunting strategy. And boy, did they adapt, lighting the race up with over 100km remaining on the Montose, the day’s sole Cat One climb, and whittling the peloton down to the seven strongest.
Antonia Niedermaier’s dangerous, lull-sensing attack on the flat drew Elisa Longo Borghini and Niamh Fisher-Black clear. Behind, Vollering and Van der Breggen bridged to Vollering’s FDJ teammate Lauren Dickson, who – with the European champion intent to sit on – soon got to work.
Scottish rider Dickson, one of the real revelations of this Giro, set an infernal pace on the final climb of the race, the Colletta di Brondello, teeing up Vollering’s long-awaited attack. Van der Breggen, forced to chase Niedermaier after Dickson’s turn was done, attempted to answer the first dig. By the second a clear gap had opened.
At the top of the climb, Vollering was 20 seconds clear. That marginal gain belied the severity of Vollering’s explosive attack. The former Tour de France Femmes winner (despite admitting later that she nursing cramp in the closing stages) was stomping on the pedals, a picture of determined ferocity as she bridged to the front. Van der Breggen, perhaps still nursing the wounds from her crash on Friday, looked laboured, defeated.
By the finish, the game was long over. Italian champion Longo Borghini, emotional at the start as she recounted her battle with illness this year, timed her sprint to perfection, overhauling Fisher-Black for a brilliant, redemptive “comeback” win on home roads.
As Longo Borghini unleashed her sprint, Vollering sat up, soaking in the atmosphere of her first Giro win, the victory that completes the Dutch star’s grand tour triple. The gap was enough to catapult Niedermaier into second, 30 seconds down.
Van der Breggen ended up on the final spot on the podium, 1.37 behind, a remarkable achievement for a rider who spent three seasons in the SD Worx team car, coaching Vollering, before returning to the sport last year.
Not that that will offer any consolation for the 36-year-old, who – after this year’s Vuelta – has now lost two grand tours on the final day this season.
But this year’s Giro was all about timing. And Vollering, her fourth grand tour in the bag, has her timing down to a fine art.
“Yesterday evening, Lars [Boom], our DS, and Lieselot [Decroix] came to our table when we were having dinner, and they started to joke a little bit, like, ‘Prepare yourself, because tomorrow’s going to be a very long and very big day for all of us’. And the girls, they were like, ‘Oh, yeah, let’s go’,” Vollering said after sealing the pink jersey.
“From the start on, they were on fire. They really tried to be in the breakaway, that didn’t happen, but then my teammates directly put a pace on this long first climb. And yeah, Lauren [Dickson], she was amazing today. She kept going, and then we made it over the top with a small group.”
“Today was all about daring to lose. I had to dare to lose it all. So I was able to, and yeah, I let Antonia go away and I was like to Anna, ‘I]m fine with also third, because second or third doesn’t matter to me’.”
Critérium du Dauphiné, stage two: A long and lumpy day in the saddle for the peloton – and another opportunity for the breakaway to steal the show?
Paul Seixas may have been wishing for an easy, straightforward stage at the Dauphiné this afternoon, but I’m not sure he’s going to get it.
Today’s mammoth 234.3km route between Saint-Martin-Le-Vinoux and Le Puy-en-Velay is just 20 minutes or so short of full monument length, with the hills to match, including three cat twos and a stinging cat three just 12km from the finish.
We hear it’s been a hard fought battle to get in the break too, so I don’t think young Paul will have too much time to scroll through TikTok in the peloton, or whatever the youngsters do these days…
Important cycle lane planning tips, #58
If you do do infrastructure for a cycle lane make sure it isn’t easy to remove. Because drivers will remove it to park their cars.
— David Gregory-Kumar (@drdavidgk.bsky.social) June 6, 2026 at 8:09 AM
“It was much worse than everyone had thought. I hit a fire truck at pretty much 100kph, I was doing 50 and the truck was doing 50”
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The reckless behaviour may have been intentional, but can you prove beyond reasonable doubt that the specific intent was to kill the cyclist? If you charge with murder instead of manslaughter and can't convince all 12 jurors of that, you get no conviction.
The French will try anything to get a Tour de France winner.
Unfortunately convicted Fraudster Louise Haigh is unavailable to serve as Transport Minister as she has been given (checks notes) the lead role for Ethics and Propriety as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. That’s right - Burnham has appointed to an ethics and propriety role a person who not only committed fraud, but reportedly stayed silent when the person she sold one of the phones she stole to got arrested for having bought it from her in good faith.
Perhaps because the riders are going to fairly fatigued at this point of the race, and with a load of big stages still to come, so more likely to be using (if indeed they are)?
Well, "Texas law recognizes manslaughter as criminal homicide under section 19.04 of the state’s penal code. A person commits the crime of manslaughter if he or she recklessly caused the death of an individual. This differs from murder, where the accused intentionally and knowingly caused the death of someone. Manslaughter can be interpreted as an action that unintentionally caused a death, which is referred to as reckless behavior." I would say trying to hit a biker with a car so hard that she completely shattered the Honda's rear hatch window and crushed the hatch inward is severely intentional. The driver has been "booked into the Brazos County Jail 13 times since 2012...Those include criminal mischief, theft, resisting arrest, assault, hit and run, escape from custody, deadly conduct, possession of a controlled substance, and multiple driving offenses."
Well, the new transport secretary isn't Lousie Haigh, she's been appointed Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. Has anyone worked out what that job is yet?
@jh2727 I fear you may be right but if you are I find it a very unsatisfactory state of affairs. If it is an offence then they have the choice of sending a NIP, a warning letter or an advisory letter instead of NFA. All of these should be just a matter of pressing a button. In the case of the NIP, once the driver has been identified and checked for previous they have the option of a course, a fixed penalty notice or taking it to court. The first actually generates income, the second only goes to court if it's contested. I can see why they don't always use the courts but I can't see any reason not to use the others. Some on here would say that letters and courses are a waste of time but I don't. It hasn't happened to me yet but if a driver has already been dealt with in that way then the next time it's going to be very difficult to justify not taking action. I have also noticed a marked improvement in driving around me since Gloucestershire started sending advisory letters rather than NFA for close passes.
Also, with 8 seats and space for 6 standing, that's over 1 tonne just in passenger weight, plus the weight of the vehicle. Okay, they might not usually be at capacity, but a company is hardly likely to run them almost empty. It was vehicle weight which damaged the bridge and they're solving that with more vehicles? This report is just a press release reissued. The Barnes and Hammersmith Electric Light Transit is supposedly a grassroots community group that developed this junk?
@Another_MAMIL I'd say yes. I've not read up on the requirements lately, but my understanding is that while the heavy lifting of doping tests can be done after competition as it routine at the Olympics and in tennis, or as part of the whereabouts testing (athletes specifying when and where they'll be for an hour each day), the doping authorities have the right to turn up and request a test any other time, specifically to deter microdosing. They can't get into trouble if they aren't there when the testers turn up, but refusing is not an option. I have heard of testers turning up on mass at tournament hotels used by tennis players, including one time in the run up to the start of the Paris Masters event. I remember because rumour has it that one well known player had a sudden and coincidental family emergency that meant they had to temporarily leave the country. That was around the time biological passports were coming in, and they were taking blood samples. If memory serves me right, that was late at night, but not the middle of the night. While some players may have been in their pyjamas, it sounded as if all of the top players were targeted, and the tournament hadn't yet started, so much less disruptive, and harder for any player to claim they'd been victimised. As much as I support actions to catch or deter doping, it's because sport should be fair. Having just one or two competitors woken in the night is not fair.
29 thoughts on ““How traumatic”: Drivers fume at cyclist for ignoring new cycle lane… blocked by barriers because motorist drove into bollard; BBC answers three “biggest cycling questions” and two are about helmets; Fancy staying at Pinot’s farm? + more on the live blog”
At least there’s a genuine reason that Fife bike lane is closed. Here’s what I found blocking the cycle lane on Kingston Bridge, London, last week. First a Road Works sign, then a sign reading “Bus Lane Closed Ahead”. The bus lane is the red section in the middle of the road! (The cycle lane is the narrow section between the yellow ‘lip’ and the concrete barrier.)
@JohnP_SM7 To be honest, it’s usually filled with people dozily walking in it.
@Surreyrider Fair comment! And quite often I’m in the bus lane rather than the bike lane – I know the signs don’t say so, but I assume bikes are ok in that bus lane…
@JohnP_SM7 If sometimes use the road but not the bus lane. Not sure about the ‘bikes in bus lane’ rules.
@Surreyrider Bikes are often allowed to use them. That one is marked right turn only, and then ends with a “no right turn except buses and taxis” sign – but no warning of that at the start.
AFAIK bikes are always fine in bus lanes (though the Highway Code says “as indicated on signs”) – as indeed they would be on any part of the road (whether or not there is a cycle lane, separate cycle path, shared use footway…)
Exceptions: guided busways usually are not for bikes – think that prohibition is always signed.
@chrisonabike The Cambridge Guided busway isn’t specifically signed against bikes, Its ‘No Entry, Except Buses’, but you still get muppet drivers who try (I saw a stuck artic one night who had tried). Its got two concrete L shaped rails and the buses have sideways wheels to keep them on it. You have to be very skilled to ride it, the rumour though is folk have when the cycle path next to it has been flooded 😀
A chance to feed the GOAT’s goats? Count me in.
Although to stay on-brand, Thibauld would probably hurt his knee in a freak accident on the morning, and be unable to act as host.
That photo of the farm and the goats looks very AI
Does anybody have any info on how often a cycle helmet should be replaced, assuming it is used several times a week and has not had an impact.
I once read somewhere that the recommended lifespan was around 7 years, but that helmet manufacturers recently and probably not surprisingly, recommended a shorter lifespan.
Presumably the lifespan is limited by exposure to UV light?
@Mr Blackbird https://helmets.org/eps-foam-helmet-liner-performance-with-age/
@Mr Blackbird my comment from hours ago is apparently awaiting moderation. Someone did an actual published study ages ago, and the EPS degrading is not a concern.
Turn this into a URL starting with the usual https etc.
helmets.org(slash)eps-foam-helmet-liner-performance-with-age
A lot of sources seem to suggest every 3-5 years, although that doesn’t seem to be informed by any particularly convincing evidence.
From what I can gather, it appears that the main concerns are exposure to UV, heat and cumulative physical impacts (even if individually small). As such, lifespan is highly dependent on usage – if stored away from UV and extreme temperatures, there’s very little evidence that performance degrades noticeably purely by the passage of time.
Even with a frequently used helmet, there seems to be scant published data to support the 3-5 year rule – it seems to largely stem from expert opinion. Which might hold more water if the it was expressed by anyone other than helmet manufacturers. The few independent published studies I have found have shown no significant deterioration with age, even when testing regularly used helmets.
That said, even if your helmet is exactly as effective as it was the day you bought it, there is an argument the technology moves on and a new helmet might be better anyway. A lot of the top-rated helmets tested by Virgina Tech are newish models. For example the current top-ranked bicycle helmet, the Pikio Si Oblik, was released earlier this year, and pretty much all the top 10 within the last 2 years. It’s possible that this is a reflection of “Goodhart’s Law” with manufacturers knowing that a top-scoring helmet will sell well, but I would argue that designing a helmet with the objective of acing VT’s tests will necessarily lead to a safer helmet than solely aiming to pass the certification tests.
You may be right. But although the advice on when to replace helmets is mainly published by the helmet manufacturers, I wouldn’t entirely discount it for that reason – I understand they can deteriorate over time because of the glues, materials used, and then mode of construction etc, which I presume the manufacturers know most about.
“The BBC isn’t biased. Much”: Cyclists baffled as BBC Bitesize answers the UK’s three “biggest cycling questions” – and two of them are about helmets”
They missed the biggest question about cycling in the UK, but of course they would, as it’s ‘Why is the BBC so biased about cycling?’.
@eburtthebike I don’t really see what the problem is.
Children (who BBC bitesize is aimed at) should be informed of the facts around helmets and their safety characteristics.
I don’t know anyone who has ridden a bike for a long time who doesn’t wear a helmet… I’ve certainly been saved from a very serious head injury by wearing one.
Presumably all the people who weren’t wearing helmets are dead already? Who knows.
@jackcycles Or maybe the people who don’t wear helmets are just going about their business riding thousands of miles a year as I have been doing since the mid seventies and you’re just not seeing them because you don’t look properly.
I have been riding bikes for several decades, and I am not dead. For the last decade I’ve worn a helmet less and less often, and now do so very rarely. I don’t cycle very fast, or far, or off road, and rarely on A-roads.
So a helmet would be well-matched to offer protection against lonely threats: falling off while getting on/off, or slipping over and scraping my scalp, or low branches.
If you don’t hear from me tomorrow, you know…
Lonely – likely…
@jackcycles “Children (who BBC bitesize is aimed at) should be informed of the facts around helmets and their safety characteristics.”
Quite right, they should, as should adults. Sadly, they won’t get those facts from the BBC, which relentlessly promotes helmets and refuses to publish the actual data. For instance the R4 prog ‘More or Less’ which has the proud boast that it debunks urban myths and misinformation by actually looking at the facts: except when it comes to cycle helmets. For the only time in the prog’s history, it didn’t look at any statistics or data, only interviewed pro-helmet people and the presenter made his own views very clear. That’s just one example, but there are many others, all of which promote helmets and fail to examine the facts.
Then there’s the failure of the BBC to publish the facts about the health benefits of cycling, which massively outweigh the benefits of electric cars, but for every article even mentioning the former, there are a hundred of the latter. The R4 prog ‘Inside Health’ talks loudly and long about how to improve health, but almost completely ignores cycling, despite the fact that it is the most effective step many people could take, and much more effective than what they do choose to promote.
Well hopefully I can fill in those blanks for you that the BBC left out.
According to the respected journal of epidemiology, a comprehensive meta-analysis of all previous research into helmet wearing and safety (https://academic.oup.com/ije/article/46/1/278/2617198) concluded the following:
“Helmet use is associated with odds reductions of 51% for head injury, 69% for serious head injury, 33% for face injury and 65% for fatal head injury. Injuries to the neck were rare and not associated with helmet use. These results suggest that strategies to increase the uptake of bicycle helmets should be considered along with other injury prevention strategies as part of a comprehensive cycling safety plan.”
I think you raise a valid point about health benefits of bike use vs disincentives from being put off due to wearing helmets, but for younger cyclists hospital admissions for lifestyle-related obesity etc will be far overweighed by the negative implications of serious head injuries from not wearing a helmet. Besides, in the UK wearing a helmet isn’t mandatory, but a personal choice.
If you have rigorous research which concludes the opposite or directly contradicts the meta-analysis above, please do let me know.
@jackcycles Your comprehensive meta-analysis seems to be missing some vital data, namely the mileage of each of the cyclists (it also misses out the speed but in its defence it does admit that) if the non helmeted cyclists ride over 3 times the distance per year of the helmeted cyclists then the helmets do nothing on a per mile basis and that is surely how we should normalise this data?
You might not consider it rigorous reasearch but to give you some preview data on a currently ongoing study into helmet effectivity, I am currently at approximately 250,000 miles unhelmeted with no fatalities, no serious head injuries, one minor head injury and no facial injuries, I’ll try to report back when I reach 500,000 miles.
@jackcycles Well done for not quoting Thompson, Rivara and Thompson (TRT) the most vociferous helmet zealots on the planet, but unfortunately, the author of this study is Jake Olivier, the next most vociferous helmet zealot on the planet.
Meta studies can be useful, but only if the studies selected are broadly based, including all relevant papers, but they can, and are, easily manipulated by choosing studies that only support one point of view. The author should also be demonstrably objective, independent and unbiased. Even more respected than the Journal of Epidemiology, used to be Cochrane Systematic Reviews, which did both of those: until it came to cycle helmets. The authors were TRT and they excluded any studies which contradicted their views, but included their own.
Much more reliable are actual epidemiological studies by independent, unbiased authors, showing at best, no reduction in deaths, the only reliable metric, with helmet use.
The only proven effect of helmet laws and propaganda is to reduce the number of cyclists, who then lose the overwhelming health benefits, and the actual effects are huge and negative.
It isn’t updated any more, but this website will give you a lot of background https://www.cyclehelmets.org/1027.html
@jackcycles “Children (who BBC bitesize is aimed at) should be informed of the facts around helmets and their safety characteristics.”
And whereabouts in the answers they gave did they do that? Did they detail the comical testing regimes bike helmets undergo to get certfied? Did they mention that not a single bike helmet manufacturer claims their helmets can project from brain trauma of any sort? Did they outline that the window in terms of speed or angle of impact within which your skull would fail to provide protection but a bike helmet would is so small you could ride a thousand lifetimes and statistically never encounter an accident of that type? Did they bring up the now several credible studies that suggest wearing a helmet can *increase* the risk of some injuries especially certain kinds of severe spinal trauma?
Helmet Evangelists should sign up with the Mormons, you’d fit right in with their magical underwear thing.
Ah, jackcycles. Poor, innocent jackcycles. You must be new here. You don’t know that a trigger event for road.cc and many readers is whenever there is a news article about helmets. Hence the pile on for you.
Ironic when there’s an earlier article in the Blog taking a superior line by talking about motorists being triggered by cyclists.
And another word of advice jackcycles…. don’t ever post about his vis.
@Smiley775 ‘….don’t ever post about his vis.’
Who’s vis?
Site master, please bring back comment editing.
😁😁
Tour Auvergne Rhône-Alpes gives TARA, taratata 🎺
Given that literature’s most famous prince, Hamlet, is a Dane, got to be scope for a Prince Charmig gag somewhere? By Adam and the Anthons?