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news
putin1“Fight Putin – Ride a Bike” meme in support of Ukraine goes viral
A graphic posted to Twitter by a user in Salford urging people to “Fight Putin – Ride a Bike” has gone viral on the social network, getting retweeted by the leader of the Green Party in Sweden, and also being downloaded so it can be put on the back of a bicycle to show support for Ukraine in the face of Russia’s invasion.
The graphic, which uses black type and graphic representations of a petrol pump and a bicycle against the blue and yellow of Ukraine’s flag, highlighting Russia’s economic dependency on oil exports, was created by Harry Gray and has been widely retweeted from a number of accounts worldwide – as well as being turned into a rear ‘number plate’ on a bike closer to home.
life is a simulation I swear https://t.co/I7dlDpeNjo
— Harry Gray (@HarryHamishGray) March 6, 2022
wow I made this, so cool to see it spread like this!
— Harry Gray (@HarryHamishGray) March 6, 2022
Aged 26 and from Salford, Greater Manchester, Harry has his own fashion business and does all types of cycling from road to utility, as well as running the Twitter account @WR Salford (Walk Ride Central Salford).
He told us: “I thought it was important to convey the simple message that funding the global fossil fuel market enables Putin to continue to fund his war in Ukraine.
“One of the only meaningful things we can do to use less Russian fossil fuels is cycle rather than drive – especially since most journeys in the UK are under 5 miles.”
It’s not the only bicycle-related graphic to have done the rounds on social media since Russia invaded Ukraine last month.
Twitter user @no_face posted a reworking of a Second World War poster from the United States which, in the original version published in 1943, exhorted Americans to save fuel for the war effort, telling them, “When you drive alone, you drive with Hitler – Join a shared mobility club today.”
Car-pooling and car-sharing may be more prevalent nowadays than they were in 1940s America, but the recent reimaging of the poster says, “When you drive a car, you drive with Putin! – Get on a bike today!”
If you want to hit Russia where it hurts, cut your petroleum use. https://t.co/Kj6WWWf709 pic.twitter.com/GIxAM0Atre
— Eric (@no_face) February 25, 2022
Almost a fortnight has passed since Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine, with the attack receiving near-unanimous condemnation at the United Nations and countries around the world imposing sanctions on Russia which have focused mainly on the financial sector and assets held by its citizens abroad.
However, the energy price crisis that was already apparent before the invasion means that the sector has largely avoided the strict sanctions that many outside Russia are calling for.
Harry has told us he is more than happy for people to download his graphic to show their support – here are a couple more versions in different aspect ratios to the one above.
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
Latest Comments
- mdavidford 9 min 54 sec ago
There's a few places clustered either end of the road that might potentially have CCTV (a few shops, garage, Orange Hall, surgery), but a much...
- joules1975 13 min 51 sec ago
Fair enough, but to describe the tool required for the lockrings as 'niche' when its a readily available in various forms from dozens of...
- dubwise 31 min 31 sec ago
Aye, and he wanted to take Team Oz bike, etc. with him. Really? Is he really that thick that they would have said yes....
- Secret_squirrel 1 hour 7 min ago
Disappointed that the not even in the land of the free do they shoot or jail bike thieves.
- brooksby 2 hours 56 min ago
Nope - had an urgent appointment with his tax advisor
- S.E. 5 hours 44 min ago
That made me think of that "Hot Fuzz" comedy movie... so many truths in it.
- Rendel Harris 7 hours 37 min ago
Good to see a V-brake option available for all those people who ride Cosmic Elites with V-brakes...seriously, you must know really that the answer...
- mattw 8 hours 15 min ago
Get thyself over to Buildhub - a community owned forum where I am on the moderation team ("Ferdinand") which is about self-build and renovation....
- Destroyer666 18 hours 18 min ago
Nonono, not those, but those that have constructed Italian cars and motorcycles that have been driven to hundreds of race and championship...
- RoubaixCube 18 hours 27 min ago
This may well be the case although Im unaware of the brands popularity on their home turf. I used to see them being advertised more in the UK...
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18 comments
Painted my lid.
Ooh cranium!
Why is a cycling site is pushing a political theme? I have less interest in 2 former Soviet Union states battling for supremacy, than the dreadful Middle East conflicts or the Vietnam conflict, both engineered by the U.S.; it's not lost on me that the current regime in Ukraine are the product of a U.S. backed coup in 2014..
The unwarranted invasion of an otherwise peaceful and modern democracy. The widescale destruction of civilian infrastructure and the civilians themselves by an aggressive, authoritarian regime on the whim of a deranged tyrant who is clearly suffering some sort of "the nurses are stealing my stuff" style paranoid delusion is probably a tad more important to us who live in Europe.
A USA backed coup? Now that is a political statement. It might be worth you checking out how popular Zolensky is with Ukranian voters.
https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-48007487.amp
The president (Poroshenko) who came to power as a result of the revolution (not a coup, they are two different things, and though undoubtedly supported by America, not American backed, again two different things) was ousted in the elections of 2019, so whatever is not lost on you, reality and fact certainly are.
It's a cycling-related thing that has happened in the world. So they published a news item about it. That's kind of what cyclng sites do.
Why this on a cycling site? Because someone made a cycling-related thing. And this is a cycling site.
So you're interested in history. A good study! Unfortunately you seem to have been given some - at best - simplistic textbooks. I think you'll find it's a bit more complicated than that. May I recommend a quick look at Wikipedia - it's patchy, sometimes contains rubbish, subject to bias (as everything is) but it's often a good place to start for an overview of the past and can point you to other sources for further study. See Vietnam War (the Second Indochina War), List of modern conflicts in the Middle East.
Especially for the Middle East you'll find the Russia / the USSR / the Russian Federation figures just as much in those - an example being Syria (check the "Main Belligerents" section).
Both the US and Russia have a unpleasant record of interference in neighbouring states - as well as those further away - with both having direct or indirect responsibility for some horrendous suffering and body counts. If you live in a western democracy you'll also almost certainly find your own state (or certainly its predecessors) will have bloodied its hands too.
Beyond that why does Ukraine have prominence when we've largely ignored previous Russian invasions (Transnistria, Crimea, Chechenya, Afghanistan)? Probably because "it's happening next door / to people who look like us". Focusses the mind.
Funny how the article of 10 ways to save fuel in the DM today has things like turn off Aircon but does not include ride a bike. Go figure.
Standard - case of #invisiblebike again (view here). This operates on all levels, from drivers through the media, planners and politicians (some "but why?" research here and "why we won't spend money" here). None can see - or speak of - the bikes.
I think the bicycle must be the true vehicle of the ninja the way people's minds just refuse to take them in. #jitenshaninja
Since it sounds like gas / heating bills will be going up even more a graphic with a turbo might be appropriate too.
I like the sly use of a backwards "Z".
I thought it was signifying an eBike
It's an anti-Zwift protest.
I don't like it - too much like half a Nazi SS insignia. Also, where's the cross-bar?
Specialized
or maybe a tribute to KISS?
Here's a version for those who like crossbars and utility bikes without a squiggle. Thanks Harry - genius.
That's better!