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BBC Breakfast covers the Tour of Flanders… without mentioning the winners; Tadej Pogačar: great at bike racing, terrible at posting photos to social media; Catholics v 15-minute cities; Too much Kwaremont on the Kwaremont; Ronde-up + more on the live blog

The Tour of Flanders is over for another year, and all that Belgian beer has morphed into one serious headache, but Ryan Mallon’s here to keep the party going on Monday’s live blog (warning: may contain Ronde content)
Mon, Apr 03, 2023 09:26
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BBC Breakfast covers the Tour of Flanders… without mentioning the winners; Tadej Pogačar: great at bike racing, terrible at posting photos to social media; Catholics v 15-minute cities; Too much Kwaremont on the Kwaremont; Ronde-up + more on the live blogFlanders crash
03 April 2023, 07:59
Flanders crash
BBC Breakfast covers the Tour of Flanders… without mentioning the winners

You’d have thought that, after a decade of British dominance at the Tour de France, the UK’s major news outlets would be used to reporting on cycling’s biggest races by now.

Well, think again.

After an in-depth discussion of the latest exits from the Premier League managerial merry-go-round earlier this morning, BBC Breakfast’s sports reporter John Watson turned his attention to the Tour of Flanders, much to the surprise of every cycling fan watching.

But nope, Watson wasn’t set to describe how Tadej Pogačar made history by becoming only the third male rider ever to win both the Tour de France and Ronde van Vlaanderen, or how Lotte Kopecky took an emotional second consecutive win in her home race, just weeks after the death of her brother.

Watson was on the big red sofa, rather inevitably, to talk about that crash…

So, no mention of who actually won yesterday’s races, or even – considering it’s the BBC – that two British riders, Fred Wright and Anna Henderson, made the top ten.

Or that the Ineos Grenadiers’ Brit Ben Turner was seriously injured in the crash (more on that later), or that the rider responsible, Bahrain Victorious’ Filip Maciejuk, was disqualified for the manoeuvre and later apologised.

> Horrendous Tour of Flanders crash sees Bahrain Victorious pro disqualified

Nope, just lots of references to Maciejuk riding on the pavement (maybe John is in the middle of an intense game of anti-cycling bingo?) and, strangely, “rubbernecking”, as if the riders checking on the condition of their stricken teammates are the equivalent of nosy motorists passing a crash on the motorway.

“When it goes wrong in cycling, it goes wrong spectacularly,” Watson opined. The same goes for cycling reporting on the BBC, I guess.

But who knows, maybe Lorraine’s currently undertaking an in-depth analysis of Alpecin-Deceuninck’s use of resources during that frenetic first hour in the crosswinds? I’ll check…

03 April 2023, 16:51
03 April 2023, 08:55
Tadej Pogacar 2023 Tour of Flanders (SWpix/Zac Williams)
“King of not cropping photos”: Tadej Pogačar – great at bike racing, terrible at uploading photos to social media

Is there anything Tadej Pogačar can’t do?

The 24-year-old Slovenian cemented his status as the greatest all-rounder in the current male peloton (and perhaps of the last fifty years), ratcheting those Merckx comparisons up another notch, by pulling off a staggering solo display at yesterday’s Tour of Flanders.

In case you missed it (which I’m sure you didn’t), the two-time Tour de France winner launched attack after attack on the sport’s most mythic cobbled bergs, before dispatching some of the finest classics talents we’ve seen in years to win comfortably in Oudenaarde.

Tadej Pogacar 2023 Tour of Flanders (SWpix/Zac Williams)

[SWpix/Zac Williams]

It was truly era-defining stuff.

And, as regular readers of the live blog will know, Pog isn’t just the current king of cycling, he’s also a member of its meme aristocracy, a standing underlined by his nonchalant tweet to swanky jumper supremo Adam Blythe – just fifteen minutes before the race rolled out from Bruges yesterday morning.

> "Gen Z and their phones": Tadej Pogačar still replying to Twitter memes... 15 minutes before Tour of Flanders starts

However, it goes to show that 274km of chaos and cobbles can leave even one of the sport’s greatest ever talents tired and mentally drained.

While Pogačar’s pre-race tweet reminded us of his Gen Z status, he more closely resembled your auntie Karen on Facebook in the hours after his win.

In a (since deleted) celebratory post, the four-time monument winner committed the cardinal sin of image posting on social media – he forgot to crop the photo:

Tadej Pogačar Tour of Flanders victory tweet

And not only that, Pog left his camera roll open for all of us to see, with references to David Brent and (rather aptly) cartoon King of the Hill giving us even further insight into his love of memes:

Tadej Pogačar Tour of Flanders victory tweet and camera roll

Tadej Pogačar: king of cycling, king of memes, king of tufts, king of not cropping photos…

03 April 2023, 10:19
Egan Bernal and Pope Francis (picture courtesy Vatican Media)
“Isn’t the Vatican a 15-minute country?” The Catholic argument against 15-minute cities… and why they’re just like the Taliban, apparently

Just when you thought you’d heard every possible angle on the whole 15-minute city debate, in comes the Catholicism, delivering a rousing mass on the evils of convenient shops and healthcare.

Yep, you read that right. Earlier this month, the Catholic Herald, the 135-year-old London-based Roman Catholic monthly magazine, published an article titled ‘The Catholic argument against 15-minute cities’ (I wish I was making this up).

In the article, the Herald argues that the idea of providing “everything you need to live well in an urban setting” stands in stark contrast to the anti-government, individualistic stance of the Roman Catholic Church – which, famously, has never told anyone how to live their lives.

> Why is the 15-minute city attracting so many conspiracy theories? 

According to writer James Jeffrey, a regular in the Spectator, the concept of 15-minute cities will “disincentivise the family unit” and punish those who have children, while echoing the worst excesses of 20th century communism, which led to “millions of lives lost”.

And, if you thought that was bad, 15-minute cities are also similar, Jeffrey says, to the repressive tactics employed by the, wait for it, Taliban.

“I’ve experienced transport being excessively controlled by the Taliban, and I can assure you it sucks,” he writes.

“Their IED campaign in Afghanistan’s Helmand province was so deadly effective that the British Army lost its freedom of movement.

“Admittedly the use of IEDs is an extreme form of traffic fines—but the principle is the same: someone else interdicting your movement. It changes everything.”

Okay…

The article, predictably, has been roundly condemned by cyclists and various non-conspiracy theorists:

However, it does pose one important question: What does the Pope – who, of course, lives in the world’s oldest (and only) 15-minute-country and, by all accounts, loves cycling – think of the whole debate?

03 April 2023, 16:41
Careful now

And now we head over live to the Catholic Herald’s headquarters, where an anti-LTN and 15-minute cities protest is breaking out…

Thanks to road.cc reader Awavey for reminding me of this classic in the comments! Careful now…

03 April 2023, 16:07
Ethan Hayter wins opening stage of Tour of the Basque Country

In better news for the Ineos Grenadiers, Ethan Hayter took the opening stage of the Tour of the Basque Country this afternoon into Labastida, launching in the dying metres of the tricky uphill finish to bear Mauro Schmid and John Aberasturi after an inch-perfect lead out from teammate Omar Fraile:

“The team really backed me, as I wasn’t amazing in Catalunya,” Hayter said after the race. “But I’ve stepped up here. I just have to thank them.

“Omar’s an expert in Basque Country racing and I only had to do the last 100 metres. It’s really nice to get this.

“I broke my collarbone in the Tour Down Under and it took me a while to come back from that, hopefully, this will give me more confidence to keep going forward.”

03 April 2023, 15:50
Active Travel April Fool’s Jokes > Jordan Peterson
03 April 2023, 15:29
Tom Pidcock rues “complete hunger flat” at Tour of Flanders

Last Ronde news story for the week, I promise (and then of course we move onto Paris-Roubaix)…

While the Ineos Grenadiers’ Tom Pidcock briefly looked like infiltrating his way into the Big Three after Tadej Pogačar initially put the pressure on up the Oude Kwaremont, the young British hope eventually faded before finishing a lowly 52nd – and it was all down to the dreaded bonk.

“What a job these boys did yesterday,” Pidcock posted on Instagram today. “Unfortunately I couldn’t repay them.

“It was all mint until I had a compete hunger flat, I’m amazed I even made it to the finish. A stupid mistake, but there’s always next year.”

03 April 2023, 14:07
Maddy Nutt's Ribble Gravel SL — a podium-winning gravel race machine
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by road.cc (@road.cc)

 > Maddy Nutt's Ribble Gravel SL — a podium-winning gravel race machine

03 April 2023, 13:46
Cyclist in Brazil dies after swallowing bee during training ride

A cyclist in the Amazon area of Ponta Negra, in Brazil, died after suffering an anaphylactic shock having swallowed a bee while training.

News outlet G1 reports the insect flew into the rider's throat and stung him. He called the emergency services when he started to feel ill but was found unconscious by paramedics and firefighters.

The cyclist was transferred to hospital following several resuscitation attempts but passed away on March 30, with anaphylactic shock the cause of death.

Back in 2021 a US-based cyclist crashed and was taken to hospital after a bee flew into his bicycle helmet and began stinging him.

03 April 2023, 13:33
“Records are there to be broken”: Massive numbers tune in for Lotte Kopecky’s Ronde win
03 April 2023, 12:57
03 April 2023, 12:26
Throwback Monday

This morning’s Tour of Flanders ‘report’ on BBC Breakfast reminded us here at road.cc of a certain Mark Cavendish’s scathing review of the Beeb’s coverage of cycling following the ill-fated 2012 Olympic road race:

Ouch. I bet that still stings.

03 April 2023, 11:59
Tadej Pogacar on his way to winning 2022 Strade Bianche (Anton Vos/CorVos/SWpix.com)
Lunchtime Pog Polls

Do a Columbo, do a Columbo…

Oh, just one more thing about the Tour of Flanders, sir.

Where do you reckon Tadej Pogačar’s sensational Ronde win ranks in the, admittedly scary, list of blistering performances the 24-year-old Slovenian has already churned out during his still young career?

Does yesterday’s staggering solo domination – punctuated by brutal attack after attack on the Oude Kwaremont, Paterberg, Koppenberg, and Oude Kwaremont again – top his era-shattering smash and grab time trial to Le Planche des Belles Filles at the 2020 Tour de France?

Or do you think his savage Tour-killing attack on stage eight of the 2021 Grande Boucle, though the pouring rain to Le Grand-Bornand, most accurately sums up the Pog phenomenon?

Tadej Pogacar in yellow - picture credit A.S.O., Charly Lopez

A.S.O., Charly Lopez

Or perhaps you’re a bit hipster and prefer his startling entrance onto the scene as a 20-year-old at the 2019 Vuelta, where he leapfrogged onto the podium with a spectacular stage win on the penultimate day? Or what about his Strade Bianche decimation last year, or his destruction of Paris-Nice last month?

There’s plenty to choose from, if we’re honest, so if I haven’t mentioned your favourite above, let us know in the comments!

Super Survey Maker

But don’t think for a moment that was the only Pog poll this lunchtime…

Yesterday, when asked about the potential to win all five monuments (he’s currently on three), the UAE Team Emirates star noted that nothing was impossible, and that “some extra kilos” were all that was separating him from a future stab at Paris-Roubaix.

Which probably explains why the Ronde’s organisers immediately starting supplying him with frites…

What do you think? Is a monument clean sweep possible for the only rider who actually seems capable of living up to the billing of the ‘Next Merckx’?

Super Survey

03 April 2023, 11:27
Pedal Me bike in Londn (picture via Pedal Me pn Twitter)
Transport for London launches Cargo Bike Action Plan, which aims to promote use of cargo bikes and address barriers that prevent shift from vans

Transport for London has launched a new initiative which will see it working with boroughs, businesses, and the freight and servicing industry to promote the use of cargo bikes and transform how deliveries and servicing trips are made in the capital.

According to TfL, cargo bikes could replace up to four percent of van kilometres by 2030, a figure that rises to 17 percent in central London.

The government’s Cargo Bike Action Plan, which was launched on Friday at the National Cargo Bike Summit in London, will aim to address the barriers that inhibit or prevent a shift from vans to two wheels.

The plan will involve developing a London safety standard for cargo bikes, exploring opportunities to provide space, such as micro-hubs and parking to support last mile cargo bike operations, monitoring key cargo bike routes, supporting further cargo bike uptake, ensuring suitable capacity for cargo bikes on future TfL cycle schemes, and providing businesses with the tool and information they need to make the switch to cargo bikes.

> “Adrian, you’re wrong!” Pedal Me’s co-founder on cargo bikes

“Cargo bikes are no longer a niche concept, and they can be real game changers when it comes to delivering freight and servicing trips,” says London’s cycling and walking commissioner Will Norman.

“Not only do they provide environmental benefits by not contributing to air pollution, they also make journeys more efficient, and present a much lower risk of danger to people walking and cycling than vans and HGVs.

“I’m delighted that TfL is launching this action plan to explore how we can grow the use of cargo bikes on our road, to help both the environment and the health of Londoners, and build a better, safer, greener London for everyone.”

Just don’t tell Adrian Chiles…

03 April 2023, 10:58
“Stick to grand tours please”: Mathieu van der Poel speaks for every classics rider in the peloton
03 April 2023, 09:27
Lotte Kopecky (Zac Williams/SWpix.com)
Ronde round-up: Injury updates, more Pog memes, German ex-pro stag do vibes, and too much Kwaremont on the Kwaremont

Yesterday’s Tours of Flanders were something else, weren’t they?

They had basically everything you could want from a cold Sunday in early April: a frenetic and chaotic start, crosswinds and echelons, controversy (though we could have done without the mass crashes, I suppose), a trademark Koppenberg squeeze, tactical intrigue and long-range attacks from favourites, and, finally, two worthy winners and two staggering solo performances.

Tadej Pogacar Mathieu van der Poel 2023 Tour of Flanders (SWpix/Zac Williams)

(SWpix/Zac Williams)

With the Flanders buzz only starting to fade away now, and with the aim of not making it a very long day on the live blog for any non-racing fans (I’m sorry), I’ve decided to compile some of the news – and memes, there are always memes – into the following Tour of Flanders round-up.

Or Ronde-up (sorry, again)…

In the midst of all the action-packed racing, yesterday proved a day of carnage for much of the peloton.

The big pile-up of the day, sparked by Bahrain-Victorious’ Filip Maciejuk’s risky off-road dash to the front (you know, the one covered by BBC Breakfast), left several riders injured.

UAE Team Emirates’ Tim Wellens – who was set to play a key role for Tadej Pogačar later on – broke his collarbone in four places, while Peter Sagan and Danny van Poppel were among those to suffer cuts and bruises which ended their race.

Ineos rider Ben Turner – whose spring campaign was already impacted by a fractured elbow sustained during a crash at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad – also sustained a radial fracture to his left arm after going down in the crash.

2022 Gent-Wevelgem winner Biniam Girmay also went down hard in a high-speed spill later in the race, spending last night in hospital with concussion, though Matej Mohorič escaped serious injuries in the same crash.

Meanwhile, the Maciejuk pile-up debate shows no signs of slowing down, as Movistar’s Carlos Verona weighed in on the controversy, and the “lack of respect” currently in the peloton:

That “lack of respect” was also witnessed up close by one fan, who assumed he was just going to have a jolly day watching the race cruise by:

Speaking of spills, Pogačar’s attack on the final ascent of the Oude Kwaremont was so powerful that it sent this fan flying backwards into a nearby table:

Or perhaps it was a case of too much Kwaremont on the Kwaremont…

And on the subject of enjoying a beverage or two on the side of a cobbled hill, André Greipel and Marcel Kittel – members of the Retired German Sprinters’ Alliance – were giving off strong ‘dad and son on a stag do’ vibes yesterday:

Oh, and did I mention Pog is king of memes?

While Lotte Kopecky is certainly the queen:

Now, that’s enough of the Ronde (for the time being, at least)… 

03 April 2023, 08:27
Tadej Pogačar uploads Tour of Flanders win to Strava... and gets flagged (by MVDP?!)
Tadej Pogacar uplaods Tour of Flanders win to Strava... gets flagged (main image Zac Williams/SWpix.com)

Looks like a certain Mr Van der Poel was busy on his phone last night…

> Tadej Pogačar uploads Tour of Flanders win to Strava... gets flagged

Ryan Mallon

After obtaining a PhD, lecturing, and hosting a history podcast at Queen’s University Belfast, Ryan joined road.cc in December 2021 and since then has kept the site’s readers and listeners informed and enthralled (well at least occasionally) on news, the live blog, and the road.cc Podcast. After boarding a wrong bus at the world championships and ruining a good pair of jeans at the cyclocross, he now serves as road.cc’s senior news writer. Before his foray into cycling journalism, he wallowed in the equally pitiless world of academia, where he wrote a book about Victorian politics and droned on about cycling and bikes to classes of bored students (while taking every chance he could get to talk about cycling in print or on the radio). He can be found riding his bike very slowly around the narrow, scenic country lanes of Co. Down.

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58 comments

Avatar
eburtthebike | 1 year ago
8 likes

The Catholic story does demonstrate just how utterly, incredibly absurd are the people arguing against 15 minute cities.  I'm astonished that the editor passed it for publication, as it has only had the effect of bringing the Catholic Herald into disrepute.  I thought the Taliban got some of their ideas from the catholics.  Anyone who thinks that that is crazy has clearly never seen the Magdelene Sisters, about the prison camps run by the catholic church for women who had somehow dishonoured or offended their family, up until the late 20th century.

Even Moses rode motorcycle "And lo, the roar of Moses' Triumph was heard throughout Israel"

Avatar
Rome73 replied to eburtthebike | 1 year ago
2 likes

Asylums did much the same job elsewhere. Close to our house in London is an old asylum (now luxury flats) where  the tunnel that was used to walk 'fallen women' from the nearby train station to the asylum was still in use in the 1950s. The tunnel was to keep the women hidden from view. 

Avatar
eburtthebike replied to Rome73 | 1 year ago
0 likes

True, but it wasn't religious thing and the women weren't sent there by priests, and they weren't run by the CofE.

Avatar
brooksby replied to Rome73 | 1 year ago
1 like

BIRMINGHAMisaDUMP wrote:

Asylums did much the same job elsewhere. Close to our house in London is an old asylum (now luxury flats) where  the tunnel that was used to walk 'fallen women' from the nearby train station to the asylum was still in use in the 1950s. The tunnel was to keep the women hidden from view. 

And before that you had the workhouses ("coming soon to a city or town near you!").

Avatar
Matthew Acton-Varian | 1 year ago
8 likes

Brilliant to see such huge viewing numbers for the Women's Ronde, absolute class.

I don't have the ability to watch live at the moment but the highlights available on YT show that they are just as exciting and entertaining as the mens at the moment. 

Love it or hate it, but GCN making every attempt to secure broadcasting rights equally between mens and womens racing is a huge boost for parity between teh men and womens pelotons.

Avatar
IanGlasgow | 1 year ago
8 likes

"it does pose one important question: What does the Pope – who, of course, lives in the world’s oldest (and only) 15-minute-country and, by all accounts, loves cycling – think of the whole debate?"

 

Avatar
brooksby replied to IanGlasgow | 1 year ago
5 likes

IanGlasgow wrote:

"it does pose one important question: What does the Pope – who, of course, lives in the world’s oldest (and only) 15-minute-country and, by all accounts, loves cycling – think of the whole debate?"

 

Did he take off his puffer jacket before setting off?

Avatar
hawkinspeter replied to IanGlasgow | 1 year ago
15 likes

IanGlasgow wrote:

"it does pose one important question: What does the Pope – who, of course, lives in the world’s oldest (and only) 15-minute-country and, by all accounts, loves cycling – think of the whole debate?"

I always believed that it was the Catholics that invented Mass transit

Avatar
hawkinspeter replied to hawkinspeter | 1 year ago
13 likes

hawkinspeter wrote:

IanGlasgow wrote:

"it does pose one important question: What does the Pope – who, of course, lives in the world’s oldest (and only) 15-minute-country and, by all accounts, loves cycling – think of the whole debate?"

I always believed that it was the Catholics that invented Mass transit

Also, one of the first internet payment banks: PaPal

Avatar
quiff replied to hawkinspeter | 1 year ago
3 likes

Even if it's only been 25 minutes since you posted (and even if you did set yourself up for it) this post is underrated. 

Avatar
Rendel Harris replied to hawkinspeter | 1 year ago
5 likes

hawkinspeter wrote:

Also, one of the first internet payment banks: PaPal

Don't forget the company to help people overcome problems with paying sales tax, VAT? I can!

Avatar
belugabob replied to hawkinspeter | 1 year ago
7 likes
hawkinspeter wrote:

hawkinspeter wrote:

IanGlasgow wrote:

"it does pose one important question: What does the Pope – who, of course, lives in the world’s oldest (and only) 15-minute-country and, by all accounts, loves cycling – think of the whole debate?"

I always believed that it was the Catholics that invented Mass transit

Also, one of the first internet payment banks: PaPal

He's been communioning by bike for years

Avatar
mattw replied to IanGlasgow | 1 year ago
2 likes

I think the Pope can probably recognise one of his nutters, when he reads it.

And will not provide publicity.

Avatar
IanGlasgow replied to IanGlasgow | 1 year ago
1 like

I'm surprised nobody's commented on the most serious problem with this pic - those socks aren't UCI approved!

Avatar
mark1a replied to IanGlasgow | 1 year ago
3 likes

👏👏👏

Nobody expects the UCI Inquisition... 

Avatar
Hirsute | 1 year ago
8 likes

Why I don't use the cycle lane part 347

//pbs.twimg.com/media/FspIfvrXsAAiwh9?format=jpg&name=small)

Some very novel responses along of the lines of 'what's the problem', 'you are making it an issue'

Clearly never heard of third party liability, negligence, duty of care and basic H&S !

https://twitter.com/david_mccraw/status/1642204727654883331

Avatar
brooksby replied to Hirsute | 1 year ago
6 likes

If you lay a cable like that, aren't you supposed to put some sort of cover over it so it isn't a trip hazard?  I mean, I have to do that on extension leads in my office so I'm pretty sure it is the same for laying something on public land across a footway and a cycle lane...

Avatar
Oldfatgit replied to Hirsute | 1 year ago
5 likes

Isn't it an offence to place a private cable across the footpath and carriageway like that?

Report it to the local Highway Authority, and you might want to consider the Blind Institute (can't remember their proper name, but they were complaining about floating bus stops and cyclists)

Avatar
Hirsute replied to Oldfatgit | 1 year ago
1 like

Not my tweet, so don't know the location.

I would have unplugged it all had I come across it !

Avatar
Matthew Acton-Varian replied to Hirsute | 1 year ago
0 likes

Unfortunately you would not be able to unplug it. EVs have a safety feature where you have to plug in with the vehicle unlocked, and when you lock the vehicle, it also locks the charger in place. The vehicle will not charge if the vehicle is unlocked, and you cannot remove the plug unlesss you unlock the vehicle.

Avatar
Hirsute replied to Matthew Acton-Varian | 1 year ago
3 likes

The charger cable is going into the black box and the black box has a cable to the property.
I'll wager that the black box contains a 13 amp plug that can be removed.

Avatar
Miller replied to Hirsute | 1 year ago
3 likes
Hirsute wrote:

I'll wager that the black box contains a 13 amp plug that can be removed.

Considering that an electric car contains about a tonne of batteries, the charging current can be a LOT more than 13 amps. Go carefully there.

Avatar
quiff replied to Miller | 1 year ago
0 likes

Sure, but that arrangement does rather look like an attempt to weatherproof a domestic mains plug something like this.  

Avatar
Hirsute replied to Miller | 1 year ago
1 like

Yes but you can also use a normal plug -see quiff's reply

"Sure, but that arrangement does rather look like an attempt to weatherproof a domestic mains plug something like this (link is external)."

Avatar
chrisonabike replied to Hirsute | 1 year ago
0 likes

Ranty Highwayman has some good thoughts on this kind of thing, as usual.

Avatar
Miller | 1 year ago
3 likes

"The Catholic argument against 15-minute cities" - got to be a Daily Mash headline surely. What I'd like to know is how lacking in self-awareness you need to be to write or publish stuff like that?

Avatar
brooksby replied to Miller | 1 year ago
8 likes

Quote:

... stands in stark contrast to the anti-government, individualistic stance of the Roman Catholic Church – which, famously, has never told anyone how to live their lives.

Avatar
Patrick9-32 replied to Miller | 1 year ago
4 likes

The majority of catholics are older
Older people tend to lean more right wing
Right wing people tend to hate anything to do with active transport

It only takes three logical steps to get to the point where writing an article about how un-catholic active transport is makes sense. 

Realistically, this is one of the catholic church's more sensible takes. Having unprotected sex as much as possible as a remedy for sexually transmitted diseases and famine is more in their wheelhouse. 

Avatar
chrisonabike replied to Patrick9-32 | 1 year ago
1 like

The first three postulates are debatable.  Particularly the first unless you limit it to a specific region or country.  As the Monty Python song reminds us, you can count as a Catholic before you're born...

Patrick9-32 wrote:

Realistically, this is one of the catholic church's more sensible takes. Having unprotected sex as much as possible as a remedy for sexually transmitted diseases and famine is more in their wheelhouse. 

Hang on a minute - I don't think that's quite right.  Surely "sexual mores should be dictated by a group of men who are not supposed to have sex"?

Avatar
Patrick9-32 replied to chrisonabike | 1 year ago
0 likes

None of those things are debateable.  

Its reasonable to limit to the english speaking world for a publication written in english, certainly in the UK it is definitely true that religion is more common in older people: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/culturalidentity/rel...

This study shows a clear trend towards right wing politics as people age in the 2019 general election: https://www.britishelectionstudy.com/bes-findings/age-and-voting-behavio...

And here is one for the right wing not being into active travel: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-social-policy/article...

And maybe I was being facetious with them telling people to have more unprotected sex, what they actually say is that all the sex you have should be unprotected. Otherwise just keep it in your pants... Which is something no human in their, or your entire genetic history has managed to do... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Church_and_HIV/AIDS#:~:text=Catho...'s%20opposition%20to,preventing%20the%20transmission%20of%20AIDS.

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