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Live blog: World Naked Bike Ride coming to Ipswich, Pokemon Go grandad has 22 smartphones on bike (video), Regent's Park cyclists block driver on wrong side of road, Cav to miss Milan-San Remo squad, Team Ineos to face anti-fracking protests + more

All today's news from the site and beyond.....
21 March 2019, 18:49
World Naked Bike Ride coming to Ipswich for first time

The World Naked Bike Ride is coming to Ipswich for the first time in July this year.

Cyclists will join the ride, which aims to highlight the vulnerability of the human body as well as protesting against car and fossil fuel dependency, on Saturday 6 July.

Co-ordinator Robert Brown told the Ipswich Star: “It isn’t a race, it’s a gentle, leisurely ride around town.

“Our motto is ‘bare as you dare’ but we find once people get on the bike and start cycling naked they love it.”

Other places in the East of England to host similar rides include Clacton, Chelmsford, Colchester and Cambridge, where more than 200 people take part each year.

“Most people are supportive – you get the odd nasty comment but that is usually from someone who is narrow-minded,” Mr Brown added.

“We are not breaking the law or doing anything illegal and we have worked with the police, who helped us decide on a route around Ipswich.”

He added that the ride would take place whatever the weather.

“Once we have organised an event, nothing stops us,” he explained. “At one of the Chelmsford rides, it started to hail heavily and it started to sting, and we ended up having to take cover in a bus shelter.”

21 March 2019, 18:27
Electric dockless bike hire brand Lime now operating in Islington
21 March 2019, 17:17
21 March 2019, 16:57
Cycling grandad and Pokemon Go fan lands smartphone brand ambassador gig

A 70-year-old grandfather from Taiwan who became an online celebrity after hooking up 11 smartphones to his bike to play Pokemon Go has landed a gig as brand ambassador for Asus.

When the tech brand heard about Chen San-yuan's exploits, they decided to make him the brand ambassador for their Asus ZenFone range, reports Mashable.

He now has an array of no fewer than 22 of them on his bike, with the partnership aimed at highlighting the device's battery and GPS capabilities.

21 March 2019, 15:18
Round of ap-paws please...
21 March 2019, 12:32
Commuter can be heard shouting "you nearly took out four people" to driver who attempts to cut traffic queue by driving on wrong side of the road

According to commenters under the video this has become a common problem in the area -  as traffic builds up heavily due to a pedestrian junction ahead, cars move into the other lane to attempt to cut the queue, and in this instance the culprit was apparently close to hitting four cyclists on the correct side of the road. Do you ride this road on your commute, and what do you think could/should be done to stop it from happening?

21 March 2019, 12:40
Win a ride with the Team Sky Zone Hoppers at Paris Roubaix
Zone Hopper CREDIT Team SKY

Fancy a chance to get right into the heart of one of the most chaotic races of the year?

Team Sky are giving you the chance to win a ride in one of the team cars that drive to several cobbled sectors to support the riders with wheels and bottles.

Head over here to enter. Then go an practise your wheels changes and 50kph bottle hand-ups, just in case!

21 March 2019, 12:31
Trolling a trolley dumper...
21 March 2019, 12:29
No idea what's going on here...

A bizarre image, apparently from a recent TfL board paper!

21 March 2019, 11:57
Cavendish left out of Dimension Data Team for San Remo

Team Dimension Data have today revealed their team for Saturday's Milan San Remo. It's notable for one admission, 2009 winner Mark Cavendish not included in the seven-man squad.
The Manx rider has been struggling to find form after recently discovering that he's been suffering from an Epstein Barr virus for the last two years.
Dimension Data will instead hope that Italian sprinter Giacomo Nizzolo can survive the Poggio for a chance on the Via Rome finish.

21 March 2019, 10:33
Cycling on the rise in London

Let's hope it continues on an upwards trajectory (and accident rates go downwards)

21 March 2019, 08:59
Nokere Koerse Highlights

Catch up with a crash-filled edition of the Belgian semi-Classic

21 March 2019, 08:34
WhatTheFrack
Anti-fracking campaigners say protests possible at Tour de Yorkshire and Road World Championships events due to Ineos sponsorship

Speaking to the BBC, Steve Mason of Frack Free United says there will almost certainly be protests over Ineos' involvement in cycling at the Tour de Yorkshire in May and the Road World Championships weekend in September. Ineos actually has permissions to explore for shale gas in the county, but work has yet to begin because of issues with planning permission.

On Tuesday's live blog we reported that Friends of the Earth campaigner Tony Bosworth says the Ineos deal with what is now known as Team Sky is an attempt at 'greenwashing' by the corporation: “Taking over Team Sky is the latest blatant attempt at greenwashing by Ineos. It’s a harsh change of tone that may see Sky’s Ocean Rescue campaign to clear plastic pollution from our oceans ditched from the team jersey in favour of Ineos – one of the biggest plastic producers in Europe.

"This is also a company that wants to frack large swathes of northern England and the East Midlands. Ineos has also been lobbying hard for the government to relax safety rules so fracking companies can trigger larger earthquakes before having to down tools.”

21 March 2019, 08:15
Scotsman Dean Nicholson adopts a cat on round-the-world bike ride

While riding through Bosnia in late December Dean was chased by a cat on a hill desperate to be fed, and since then Nala hasn't left his side. The pair are currently rolling through eastern Europe, and he's now raising funds for animal welfare charities. If you want to donate Dean's JustGiving page is here

21 March 2019, 08:11
Going for a ride...

If you aren't familiar with the 'You Had One Job' Twitter account, we reckon this might be their best find yet. 

Arriving at road.cc in 2017 via 220 Triathlon Magazine, Jack dipped his toe in most jobs on the site and over at eBikeTips before being named the new editor of road.cc in 2020, much to his surprise. His cycling life began during his students days, when he cobbled together a few hundred quid off the back of a hard winter selling hats (long story) and bought his first road bike - a Trek 1.1 that was quickly relegated to winter steed, before it was sadly pinched a few years later. Creatively replacing it with a Trek 1.2, Jack mostly rides this bike around local cycle paths nowadays, but when he wants to get the racer out and be competitive his preferred events are time trials, sportives, triathlons and pogo sticking - the latter being another long story.  

Add new comment

17 comments

Avatar
ex_terra | 5 years ago
1 like

There’s less waste in the back of the lorry than in the cab.

Avatar
peted76 | 5 years ago
1 like

I want my cat to come riding with me, I'd love that.

Avatar
ChrisB200SX replied to peted76 | 5 years ago
1 like

peted76 wrote:

I want my cat to come riding with me, I'd love that.

The best cyclists have a parrot.

Avatar
Jitensha Oni replied to ChrisB200SX | 5 years ago
0 likes

ChrisB200SX wrote:

peted76 wrote:

I want my cat to come riding with me, I'd love that.

The best cyclists have a parrot.

Indeed but a bit too soon for me  2

Avatar
Jitensha Oni replied to ChrisB200SX | 5 years ago
0 likes

ChrisB200SX wrote:

peted76 wrote:

I want my cat to come riding with me, I'd love that.

The best cyclists have a parrot.

Indeed but a bit too soon for me  2

Avatar
MarkiMark | 5 years ago
1 like

My original comment wasn't really aimed at the riders throwing bottles and wrappers away. A lot of these end up as souvenirs for someone roadside.

It was more about air miles, transfers, helicopters, and that circus that goes round ahead of each stage giving away feebies.

 

Avatar
MarkiMark | 5 years ago
3 likes

My original comment wasn't really aimed at the riders throwing bottles and wrappers away. A lot of these end up as souvenirs for someone roadside.

It was more about air miles, transfers, helicopters, and that circus that goes round ahead of each stage giving away feebies.

 

Avatar
pockstone | 5 years ago
1 like

Khan does the decent thing and takes City Hall to the tip.

Avatar
ChrisB200SX | 5 years ago
3 likes

The cyclist has only adequately made their point when the motorist reverses back the way they came and then drives appropriately on the correct side of the island.
While the motorist is still in the wrong and still trying to get away with it then the point clearly has not been accepted.

Avatar
BehindTheBikesheds | 5 years ago
6 likes

To get plod to attend then ring 999 and tell them that a driver who deliberately veered onto the the wrong side is drunk and nearly wiped out 4 people (don't mention cyclists), when approached you  suspect that they have a weapon of some sort in the vehicle.

They'll be round sharpish!

Avatar
hawkinspeter replied to BehindTheBikesheds | 5 years ago
4 likes

BehindTheBikesheds wrote:

To get plod to attend then ring 999 and tell them that a driver who deliberately veered onto the the wrong side is drunk and nearly wiped out 4 people (don't mention cyclists), when approached you  suspect that they have a weapon of some sort in the vehicle.

They'll be round sharpish!

...and maybe mention something about them being a possible terrorist (e.g. "Yes, the driver has a swarthy complexion and also has a beard").

Avatar
BehindTheBikesheds replied to hawkinspeter | 5 years ago
4 likes

HawkinsPeter wrote:

BehindTheBikesheds wrote:

To get plod to attend then ring 999 and tell them that a driver who deliberately veered onto the the wrong side is drunk and nearly wiped out 4 people (don't mention cyclists), when approached you  suspect that they have a weapon of some sort in the vehicle.

They'll be round sharpish!

...and maybe mention something about them being a possible terrorist (e.g. "Yes, the driver has a swarthy complexion and also has a beard").

Actually if it's the MET they should ring and say a cyclist was riding in the middle of the road and nearly mowed down 4 people. They'll send a 'Viper' rapid response unit round with their glock's ready to rumble!

"you said there was a cyclist threatening people?", "er, I said motorist but as you're here ..., don't forget your sworn oath cuntstable"

Avatar
brooksby | 5 years ago
3 likes

Is it me, or does Sadiq Khan look like he's been (badly) photoshopped into that photo...? 

Avatar
Miller | 5 years ago
2 likes

Round-the-world cat is a lovely item.

Avatar
MarkiMark | 5 years ago
1 like

So Ineos is destroying the planet...

From what I've seen, the TdF and other major cycling tours do a pretty good job of doing this already without the help of Ineos.

Avatar
DrJDog replied to MarkiMark | 5 years ago
2 likes

MarkiMark wrote:

So Ineos is destroying the planet...

From what I've seen, the TdF and other major cycling tours do a pretty good job of doing this already without the help of Ineos.

 

They should definitely stop them from throwing bottles away like they do. It's not a good image.

Avatar
Miller replied to DrJDog | 5 years ago
1 like

DrJDog wrote:

They should definitely stop them from throwing bottles away like they do. It's not a good image.

Many/most pro races have now introduced so-called 'green zones' for dumping stuff like gel wrappers and empty bidons so we should see less of this from now. Fines to be levied on riders who chuck bottles outside those zones.

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