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“I don’t have airbags, I need to brake”: Cyclists slam “entitled” driver creeping along at roundabout and forcing cyclist into emergency stop; Bike lane or “cyclist execution chamber”?; ‘brat’ summer but make it cycling edition + more on the live blog

It’s Tuesday and Adwitiya is on the rapidly-cooling-down live blog hot seat, bringing you all the news, views and more from the cycling world
Tue, Oct 08, 2024 09:54
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“I don’t have airbags, I need to brake”: Cyclists slam “entitled” driver creeping along at roundabout and forcing cyclist into emergency stop; Bike lane or “cyclist execution chamber”?; ‘brat’ summer but make it cycling edition + more on the live blogVan driver and cyclist at roundabout, Ealing (@Das_Pig on Twitter)
13:32
2023 Gralloch - Valtteri Bottas-7
Sky Sports broadcaster Sanny Rudravajhala asking the right questions: After finishing 133rd in men’s 35-39 category of gravel world championship, what’s next for F1 star Valtteri Bottas?

If you hadn’t seen this, the gravel world championship over the weekend had a familiar yet surprising face amongst its riders, 10-time F1 race winner and former teammate of seven (erm, eight, if you ask some) time world champion Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas.

Familiar — because the Finnish racer-cum-rider is known for his love of gravel riding, to the point that one might ask if he’s really more of a cyclist than a driver now, driving Formula 1 cars as his day job and coming back to ride backs as his true passion.

> Valtteri Bottas says "refreshing" cycling "more fair" than Formula One as you don't need best bike to win

And yet surprising because, what was an F1 driver doing at a gravel world championship?! Don’t get me wrong, he’s more than welcome, it is just — a bit surprising.

But without a contract for next year, and as his current F1 team Sauber gets taken over by Audi next year — it looks more and more unlikely that the Finn will be out an F1 seat. So what’s next for him?

Maybe a chat with ex-Barcelona and Stoke City player Bojan Krkić might be handy?

> Can he ride it on a cold rainy night in Stoke? Ex-Barcelona (and Stoke City) footballer Bojan launches new gravel bike brand

12:35
Cornton Road junction, Stirling (Google Maps)
“It’s a lottery that does not favour the cyclist”: Cyclists worried about roundabout layout which goes against Highway Code, but council which has ignored calls to fix the area for two years says it’s “aware of issues”

Continuing the theme of poor roundabout layouts in the UK on today’s live blog, here’s another one from Stirling in Scotland, as cyclists are worried about the appalling state of the Cornton Road cycle lane (which, let's be honest, is a strip of red paint) before each junction, which gives motorists the right of way and forcing cyclists to stop in order to allow traffic.

Dr Crispin Bennett, who commutes along the route, said: “It causes confusion and conflict, in addition to being dangerous. It always goes against the Highway Code.”

Kevin Simpson, a local resident and father who also cycles the route with his daughter, said: “The danger is from both sides when cycling, especially with my daughter; it’s a lottery that does not favour the cyclist as to what drivers will do.

“Both drivers exiting onto Cornton Road, but worse from those coming off Cornton Road and into a side street without a pause.”

Dr Matt Kidd, another commuter along the road, said: “They cause danger and uncertainty when I cycle to work. Drivers on the whole are considerate and understand that cycles are going to cross the side roads, giving way to me which is nice, but there’s a good deal of uncertainty which is where the risk of an event increases.

“I’ve cycled in many European cities and applaud that vision the council has.”

Cornton Road cycle lane, Stirling (Google Maps)

Sally Stovell, a local resident and mother who cycles with her children to school. She said: “It prioritises cars instead of bikes and it’s a bike lane. It would also make more people use the bike lanes rather than just going on the road.

“Why would you go on a lane where you have to slow down at every junction when you can go on the road and have right of way? Imagine they made cars give way on a main road at every side street. The need to make active travel appealing and work if they actually want people to use it.”

Daily Record reports that Dunblane and Bridge of Allan Green councillor, Alasdair Tollemache has been calling for action on the route for the last two years and says he has been inundated by emails and messages about the issue from concerned cyclists.

Cllr Tollemache said: “Over the last two years, cyclists have contacted me frustrated by the lack of action on this issue. We’re trying to encourage active travel and simply changing the priority at the junctions along the cycle path alongside Cornton Road would comply with the highway code and make cyclists safer. I have pressed the council again this week for a timescale.”

A Stirling Council spokesperson said: “We are aware of these issues on Cornton Road. Officers are assessing what improvements are required to the road and the wider network following the changes to the Highway Code in relation to bike prioritisation. A decision will be taken on this as soon as possible.”

08:19
Van driver and cyclist at roundabout, Ealing (@Das_Pig on Twitter)
“I don’t have airbags, I need to brake”: Cyclists slam “entitled” driver creeping along at roundabout without giving way to rider and forcing cyclist into emergency stop

You see someone in a motor vehicle who should be stopping and letting you pass, but you know that they’ve seen you and decided that they’re still going to give it a try, you slow down and just as the two of you are on the collision path, wits take over the driver and they gracelessly stop, but so do you, because of course, you’re the one who’s got the most to lose… But yet, the driver gives you the look saying, “I don’t know where you came from mate!”, or worse, a honk to say, “Come on now, don’t waste my time here”.

I’m sure this exact incident, in some way or the other has happened to so many of us, yet it’s always a pretty disarming moment… This time, it happened on the roundabout junction between the A4020 and Church Road and St George’s Road in Ealing, London to the cyclist who goes by the name of Das_Pig on social media.

“I don’t have airbags. If you don’t look like you're going to stop, I need to brake,” they said. “No need to shout your face off because I prioritised my safety. Another Hats Group driver with an irrational hate towards cyclists.”

Several cyclists replied sharing their stories of how many times this has happened to them. One even mentioned the most disastrous hiccup you can face on the bike: Having to pull an emergency stop while being in a big gear and then struggle to get up-up and away.

“I would tend to fluff my restart there. It can sometimes take me an age to get back down the gears after an emergency stop. If only they had waited correctly in the first place, neither of us would have had the unnecessary delay, whilst I fluster and apologise for taking so long.”

Another person talked about how motorists don’t get what it means to be a cyclist, writing: “This is the number one thing car drivers don't get. Hit a car in your car, it's a big bill. Get hit by a car on your bike, it's serious injury or death. ‘Over’ cautiousness is a given.”

Eddie Coldrick also mentioned another instance of poor driving by a Hats Group driver, saying: “I nearly got squashed by a Hats Group ambulance at a pinch point on my bike. Wrote an email to them, but no response. Somehow they are RoSPA [Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents] accredited, but all I see are complaints about their poor driving and disregard for cyclists. RoSPA also ignored the complaint.”

Some other comments:

“You totally did the right thing there mate!”

“Sometimes the drivers know full well they've driven poorly, but like a guilty child who's done something wrong they just blame someone else. There's only you, so they blame you. At least you don't live with them, everything would be your fault.”

“Entitled d*** of a driver.”

What do you guys make of it? If you’ve experienced similar near-miss events like this, let us know!

11:39
Introducing the best “dogmestique” in the peloton: Maurice Ballerstedt’s ride with his slick, suave dog
11:24
In case you missed this cheery latest (for a change) from the bike industry...
10:39
Irio Tommasini, legendary builder of racing bikes and founder of iconic brand Tommasini Bicycles, dies aged 91
Irio Tommasini (credit: Tommasini Biciclette)

After starting working on bikes at the young age of 15 and then going on to start the now-iconic Italian brand Tommasini Cycles in 1957, legendary frame builder Irio Tommasini died yesterday, aged 91.

Tommasini Cycles shared the news via a Facebook post, writing: “With deep sadness, we announce the passing of Irio Tommasini, who, with his passion and genius, founded our company in 1957.

“Irio, who has left us at the age of 91, lived a life deeply rooted in the world of bicycles since 1948, first as a cyclist and later as a master craftsman. His attention to detail, love for tradition, and constant drive for innovation, which made Tommasini frames true works of art known and admired all over the world, will continue to guide us in the work we do every day, carrying forward the story of Irio and the Tommasini company.”

Irio Tommasini (credit: Tommasini Biciclette)

Irio Tommasini (credit: Tommasini Biciclette)

Besides being completely enamoured by cycling from a very early age, Irio, originally from Buriano, gained a hands-on experience in dealing with bikes at a large Milanese cycles company when he was still a teenager. He then moved south to Grosseto, Tuscany where he founded his namesake frame-building company in 1957. In the 1970s, the company expanded its production and sales network in Italy and abroad.

Irio served as an inspiration to many venerated craftsmen who came after him, such as the late Mark Reilly, one of the UK’s most respected frame-builders and widely seen as the country’s leading exponent of using titanium as a material for bicycle frame.

Tommasini frames were and still are appreciated both for their finish and size. Many amateur and professional riders have relied and continue to rely on the company winning with these frames. Today, the company’s workmanship remains artisan thus rewarding experience and choice of the best materials.

> Bob Parlee, founder of legendary US custom frame builder Parlee Cycles, dies aged 70

09:37
“brat summer”: Cycling edition in Bratland (ft. very brat bike lane)

I know summer’s over, but brat summer? It still lives on!

If you’re as terminally online as me, you’re probably vaguely aware of the cultural storm of British pop star Charli xcx’s 2024 club album ‘brat’ (erm, aka your live blog host’s favourite album of the year!), and how it’s minimal yet garish album cover has basically claimed the colour neon green as it’s own. So this image of the bike lane with that green paint with the lower-caps text and that sans serif font… come on now, that’s a brat-coded bike lane!

brat bike lane (@mvddm on Twitter)

when i'm in the lane, yeah i'm biking that (@mvddm on Twitter)

And once again, if you’re as terminally online as me, you might’ve seen the host of TikTok dance videos it’s given rise to, primarily the song ‘Apple’. So it was only a matter of time we’d have cyclists recreate the video.

And it’s not just any cyclists, it’s Ed, James and Tommy, or as they are known by the Instagram account ‘thehairlessbikers’, who cycled the length of Norway and stopped at Bratland to film the dance video!

One of them even got himself a brat green helmet. Wow, sooo brat...

10:01
Drug driver who caused horrific crash which seriously injured cyclist avoids jail, given 10-month suspended sentence
CCTV footage of incident that saw drug driver avoid jail for hitting cyclist (Facebook/Ted Sayers)

The "impatient" driver was overtaking a stalled vehicle at traffic lights in Blackburn, pulling into the opposite lane and hitting a cyclist described as "very fortunate not to have died".

> Drug driver who caused horrific crash which seriously injured cyclist avoids jail, given 10-month suspended sentence

08:56
Why cyclists don’t use the bike lane? Because it’s the “cyclist execution chamber”

No I mean it, literally!

I think Mel C Thompson best summarised how such a dastardly thing probably came to be, commenting under the tweet: “City planners be like: The punishment for making us do these lanes in the first place.”

Adwitiya Pal

Adwitiya joined road.cc in 2023 as a news writer after graduating with a masters in journalism from Cardiff University. His dissertation focused on active travel, which soon threw him into the deep end of covering everything related to the two-wheeled tool, and now cycling is as big a part of his life as guitars and football. He has previously covered local and national politics for Voice Wales, and also likes to writes about science, tech and the environment, if he can find the time. Living right next to the Taff trail in the Welsh capital, you can find him trying to tackle the brutal climbs in the valleys.

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18 comments

Avatar
nniff | 8 min ago
2 likes

I take blind people out on a tandem.  There are usally three or four tandems in a group, and everyone wears a bright orange tabard, with 'blind cyclist' written on the stokers' tabards.  Visual impairment/blindness is frequently associated with other issues, and so fast we are not, and we try to stick to quieter roads.  Tandems are also cumbersome; this is not the same as paralympics tandems - this is cycling for life enrichment, exercise and socialisation.  The stokers' enthusiasm is enormous - in the event of rain, we just all get wet.

The number of times we have to stop suddenly for motorists still staggers me. The stokers don't take their feet out of the pedals because getting them back in again is not easy.  The pilot has to stop, prevent the bike from toppling with a visually-impaired/blind cyclist on the back (who is inevitably alarmed), and then try to get the bike going again, and reassure the stoker.  You are in whatever gear you were in at the time you slammed the brakes on - no popping the back wheel up here.  If you're lucky with the gears, you can ask the stoker to lift their right foot up (they have toe clips to help keep their feet in place), and '3-2-1-go' you might get going again.  If not, you have to sort of shuffle into motion one-legged while half-sitting on the crossbar to hold it steady until you can get enough speed to be able to pedal.  And you can't really stand up on the pedals, because that makes tandems sway and the stokers don't like that. If it's a hill start, then it's especially difficult.

Motorists overtaking a line of tandems while indicating left, and then left hooking them is a regular occurence, particularly at mini-roundabouts.   Close passes are frequent too, which bring the usual curses from the pilots, but often cries of distress from the stokers.  It's unbelieveable.

However, as a pilot, it's profoundly rewarding, but the stupidity, or lack of consideration or awareness of motorists is bewildering.  I commuted into London on a bike for about ten years and became very used to high traffic environments, and felt mostly able to take care of myself - albeit with a few notable exceptions.  As the epitome of vulnerable road users, this is different and, frankly, difficult to explain without invective.  

Avatar
Carior | 24 min ago
1 like

To add to the junction creepers stuff - don't you just love the ones who start creeping, you move out so you know, you can have some space and not go within 6 inches of the moving car and rather than taking the hint they seem to think that what you are trying to do is give them move space to creep into you:

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: the soft fleshy human is not moving away from your 1 tonne murder machine to give you more space to make start your illegal act, we're doing it because you're scaring the s**t out of us and we don't want to die.

Rant over......

Avatar
john_smith | 3 hours ago
0 likes

"whilst I fluster and apologise for taking so long.”

I don't think so. Shift onto the small ring while you are standing there, very carefully making sure not to unship the chain, and then ride off at a leisurely pace, all the while keeping an eye on the vehicle of the dodgy driver who caused the situation in the first place in case it should start moving before you are safely out of the way. If it does, stop again.

Avatar
brooksby replied to john_smith | 30 min ago
1 like

john_smith wrote:

"whilst I fluster and apologise for taking so long.”

I don't think so. Shift onto the small ring while you are standing there, very carefully making sure not to unship the chain, and then ride off at a leisurely pace, all the while keeping an eye on the vehicle of the dodgy driver who caused the situation in the first place in case it should start moving before you are safely out of the way. If it does, stop again.

How do you change gear while stationary?  I was under the impression that you need to be actually moving for derailleur gears to - er - change gear?

Avatar
john_smith replied to brooksby | 9 min ago
1 like

The chain and sprockets need to be moving. It's sufficient to lift the rear wheel off the ground and turn one of the cranks.

Avatar
eburtthebike | 3 hours ago
5 likes

Eddie Coldrick also mentioned another instance of poor driving by a Hats Group driver, saying: “I nearly got squashed by a Hats Group ambulance at a pinch point on my bike. Wrote an email to them, but no response. Somehow they are RoSPA [Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents] accredited, but all I see are complaints about their poor driving and disregard for cyclists. RoSPA also ignored the complaint.”

RoSPA have a long history of wilfully neglecting the safety of cyclists, with at least one instance of CTC (CUK now) leaving the group.  An early demonstration of motonormativity i.e."we only care about the car occupants."

I'm not sure they've improved, and they certainly used to promote helmets as "the" answer to cyclists being killed by drivers.

Avatar
the little onion replied to eburtthebike | 3 hours ago
3 likes

https://road.cc/content/news/61675-rospa-calls-sentencing-parity-dangero...

 

They don't seem that great, to be honest.

Avatar
Rendel Harris | 4 hours ago
2 likes

Quote:

 it’s always a pretty disarming moment

Disarming, unless used in the literal sense of taking weapons away, means to ingratiate oneself by defusing criticism and hostility; don't know about you but that's not really the way I feel when someone pulls out in front of me…

Avatar
mdavidford replied to Rendel Harris | 3 hours ago
3 likes

'Discomposing' is possibly the kind of thing that was intended?

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Rendel Harris replied to mdavidford | 3 hours ago
3 likes

Indeed, or perhaps discombobulating.

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andystow replied to Rendel Harris | 32 min ago
1 like

Rendel Harris wrote:

Indeed, or perhaps discombobulating.

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bikes replied to mdavidford | 1 hour ago
0 likes

Maybe a mix up between alarming and disturbing.

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brooksby replied to bikes | 30 min ago
0 likes

bikes wrote:

Maybe a mix up between alarming and disturbing.

You're thinking of "alurbing" 

Avatar
Miller | 4 hours ago
2 likes

That Ealing incident, I cycle that exact stretch of road occasionally. It's an absolute zoo. It's buses, cars, delivery riders, lorries, lime riders, pedestrians, cyclists all mixed up together with multiple traffic lights, ped crossings, junctions and shops. Without in any way excusing the van driver, it's frustrating for everyone and requires maximum vigilance all the time. I'm glad to get off that bit or road.

Avatar
Kendalred | 4 hours ago
3 likes

Ah yes, the mysteries of the mini-roundabout. Seems these particular road infrastructures tend to illicit the most brainless of manoeuvres. I've had countless instances of having to shout 'give way to the right on a roundabout!' to morons pulling out on me here, and it's downhill so scrubbing even more speed off is necessary:  

 

Avatar
Bungle_52 replied to Kendalred | 4 hours ago
3 likes

From many discussions in the past, even though the current highway code says give way to the right, the police think the law is give way to vehicles ALREADY ON THE ROUNDABOUT to the right. Mini roundabouts are intended to slow down traffic.

In this case the cyclist is already on the roundabout and the van crossed the give way line so it should be reported in my opinion.

Avatar
Surreyrider replied to Bungle_52 | 1 hour ago
2 likes

Drivers round my way often ignore the existence of the mini roundabout and drive as if it's a continuation of the road they're on. But standards generally at any type of roundabout these days are pretty poor with slowing or stopping not being many drivers' first instinct.

Avatar
brooksby | 5 hours ago
9 likes

'Cyclist Execution Chamber' - "No, Mr Boardman, I expect you to DIE!"

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