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Man buys stolen bike for £80, tracks down owner online; Dutch PM gives cycle parking attendant a surprise; Peloton van blocks bike lane; Brailsford rides 460 miles during Team Ineos training camp; New Rapha EF kit + more on the live blog

All today's news from the site and beyond and we start a new week... ...
20 January 2020, 19:47
A happy ending on that stolen bike story ...

There's a happy ending on that stolen bike story from Merseyside earlier - the kindhearted Twitter user who bought the bike (complete with lock) for £80 because he was suspicious about its provenance has been contacted by the bike's owner who got burgled a couple of days ago and is delighted he will be getting his bike back!

20 January 2020, 19:15
Dutch PM gives cycle parking attendant a surprise
20 January 2020, 19:13
Nice gesture, organised by Hounslow Cycling Campaign
20 January 2020, 19:09
Meanwhile in North Wiltshire ...

Yes, we know there are only three in the picture, that gets explained in the replies (which are well worth a read anyway).

20 January 2020, 15:25
Man buys bike for £80 with lock still attached... so he can get it back to its original owner

It's only Monday afternoon, but here's your good news story for the week. Ste Burke was offered a pristine Whyte mountain bike (with the lock still attached) worth £1,350 for just £80. Knowing something wasn't right, he bought it anyway so he could return it to its original owner: "I'd be heartbroken if it was me", he said. 

Mr Burke believed it was stolen from the Crosby area of Merseyside, and has since been in touch with road.cc to say he is still trying to track down the owner and, will ensure it goes back to the right person - we'll update as and when that happens. What a gent!

20 January 2020, 16:13
Ikea without thousands of car parking spaces opening in Vienna

Plans for a less nightmare-ish Ikea have been revealed for the Austrian capital, with customers only able to get there by bike, walking or using public transport, with no car parking spaces at all. Fast Company report that two of the building's seven storeys will be used as a hostel, and the open roof will serve as a huge garden for you to chill with a pear cider and a few meatballs. Hopefully the deliveries - which will all be made by electric vans - are going to be slightly cheaper than the current price at UK Ikea branches to have your Billies sent to your doorstep... 

20 January 2020, 16:07
All Party Cycling Group elect new committee and change name

The group will now be known as the 'All Party Parliamentary Group for Cycling and Walking', with Labour's Ruth Cadbury and the Conservative's Flick Drummond serving as co-chairs. The APPCG say that although their main topics for discussion will still be 'cycling issues', cycling and walking groups often have similar concerns: "The APPCG Committee therefore decided that a standalone cycling group runs the risk of appearing somewhat anachronistic and detached from the current direction of political and policy debate", they said. 

20 January 2020, 15:13
Gaerne launch new Carbon G.Chrono road race shoes
Gaerne carbon G CHRONO

Gaerne's latest high performance shoe has a microfibre upper with 'laser-drilling', which they say provides supreme breathability and comfort. Two BOA dials provideva realiable closure system, and Gaerne's super light and thin carbon sole shoul transfer every watt through to the pedals.   

The price in euros is 309.90, more info on Gaerne's website

 

20 January 2020, 15:00
New EF First 2020 kit launched

It's been leaked so much at events already we pretty much knew what was coming anyway, but now the new Rapha kit for EF Education First is officially launched. You can buy it all now on Rapha's website, and above is a video with some sneak peeks at what the team's 'alternative calendar' will involve in 2020.

20 January 2020, 14:47
Milltag launch Factory Records collection
milltag factory records collection

Milltag have enlisted the skills of legendary graphic designer Peter Saville for their latest custom collection, that pays homage to the first Factory Records poster that appeared in 1978; the label went on to sign bands such as Joy Division, New Order, Happy Mondays and OMD. 

The Milltag x Factory collection includes a jersey, bib shorts, cap, snood and track mitts, with all items available to pre-order from 27th January on Milltag's website

20 January 2020, 12:47
You couldn't make it up...

It’s the very expensive gift that keeps on giving, and we can’t work out whether they intentionally seek bad PR or if numerous people working for them just seriously lack self-awareness… but after trying to sue a YouTuber for daring to use the word ‘peloton’, creating a series of cringey bourgeois ads that starred in this epic Twitter thread, posting huge losses on the stock market and making a festive advert widely considered sexist, now photos have emerged of a Peloton delivery van parked in a U.S cycle lane. 

While we can't confirm 100% if the image is genuine there are other photos of Peloton vans blocking bike lanes floating around the Internet, and the sheer irony was not lost on Twitter. Some have made the suggestion that Peloton may even have an ulterior motive in making cycling outside more unpleasant, but we’re saying nothing of course…

20 January 2020, 13:37
Close pass face
20 January 2020, 13:09
"I just want to give it one more good go": G commits to 2020 Tour de France, but wants to return to the Giro in the future

In the interview with ITV, Geraint Thomas says he wants another shot at emulating his 2018 Tour de France success, all but counting himself out of this year's Giro d'Italia. Ineos announced last week that Richard Carapaz will have a shot at defending his Giro title (won with Movistar) as team leader, while Thomas and Bernal will once again be joint leaders at Le Tour; however Chris Froome has openly admitted that he wants a shot at a fifth Tour title, which could potentially see a three-pronged Ineos leadership battle if he wins his battle for fitness in time for the Grand Departe on the 26th June.  

 

20 January 2020, 12:40
Handcycle shredding
20 January 2020, 12:20
Ghent residents say 'streets are more alive' after city centre car ban
Ghent_April_2012-2

The centre of Ghent has been car-free since 2017, and The Guardian have interviewed locals to ask them how it's affected their day-to-day lives: 

"A city where you can hear people walking and talking mixed with the quiet zoom of bikes is such a vast improvement over the incessant noise of cars", said IT manager Manu Joye, while University research assistant Moritz Gallei says: "The expanded area has made it much safer for cyclists. Complementary policies have been introduced like the cycle streets which have led people to cycle more. There are also fewer accidents and the city has become quieter to live in."

The only negatives mentioned are that public transport could be improved further and that it was perceived the city was quieter when the ban was introduced because of 'negative communications'. 

 

20 January 2020, 11:10
“It’s just like waves creeping up a beach – but there is no beach", says Bristol man who has started naming local potholes

The Bristol Post's interview with James Anthony revealed the 56-year-old has started to name potholes in the Bristol suburb of Hartcliffe. Mr Anthony calls the one hanging over the cycle lane in the photo above as "The Wave": “It’s just like waves creeping up a beach – but there is no beach", he said. 

On his pothole tour, he also introduced the reporter to Mega Crater and the broken eggshell; Kyle Dudd of Bristol City Council insists they are committed to road maintenance, saying they repair 4,500 a year across Bristol's 650 mile road network. 

20 January 2020, 11:04
"It's too cold to cycle"

And bloody cyclists always run red lights, so I'm told... 

20 January 2020, 09:10
Sign him up: Dave Brailsford puts in monster week at Team Ineos training camp, covering 460 miles
dave brailsford strava jan 2020

The team's head honcho appeared to have simply done the full week's training that his team were tasked with doing, covering a few miles less than Michal Kwiatkowski posted on Strava from last week's big week in Gran Canaria. 

It appears Brailsford's only rest day was on 14th January, and he began the week by riding 85 miles (136km) with nearly 3000m of climbing. It all culminated in a monster 111 mile (180km) tour of Gran Canaria yesterday, where he climbed over 4000 metres and averaged 232 watts over the seven hours of riding - he even bagged a KOM on the Barranco La Aldea-Entrada Tunel section

Brailsford was diagnosed with prostate cancer and wasn't able to ride while he recovered in the summer of 2019, but it appears the 55-year-old has well and truly kicked it into touch if these latest stats are anything to go by. 

20 January 2020, 09:24
LNER gate: Doctor who was refused bike space to make formal complaint

LNER refused Dr Graham Mackenzie on a train with his bike after working a long night shift, even though four spaces were available. Despite showing a stringent adherence to the rule that no bike can grace the train without being booked on - even if there is space - it appears they're more relaxed about how that booking is made, telling Mr Mackenzie to simply hit them up on Twitter to reserve a space... totally standard and normal policy, of course. 

Since our article was published Mr Mackenzie told road.cc he intends to make a formal complaint to LNER, and said their responses "weren't useful." 

20 January 2020, 09:04
Every back-of-the-packer can relate to this...

20 January 2020, 08:56
Weekend catch-up

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.  

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4 comments

Avatar
mingmong | 4 years ago
2 likes

Hats off to Ste Burke.  

Avatar
ktache | 4 years ago
1 like

Well done Ste Burke.

A fine tale.

You sir are a true gentleman.

Avatar
Philh68 | 4 years ago
1 like

The reactions to these reports puzzle me. I mean, Peleton’s raison d’être is stationary cycling which they ensure by parking in bike lanes, LNER is the short form of Let’s Not Encourage Riders, and why is it considered extraordinary to ride Ordinary bicycles?

The handcyclist is no surprise either - I bought a Catrike recumbent off a guy who was legally blind and had loss of function from a stroke. He used it for mountain biking. They’re not disabled, just differently able.

Avatar
eburtthebike | 4 years ago
3 likes

Ste Burke (?) is another person who should be nominated for a road.cc "Friend of Cyclists" award.

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