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Bizarre attack on cyclist by shirtless man wielding metal pipe; Phil Gaimon almost hit by speeding drivers overtaking on blind bend; Rate that infra...where is UK's best (+ worst); Local paper fun; Nico Roche goes dancing + more on the live blog

This is your official 10 days 'til Christmas warning (so 9 days until you have to start thinking about those presents) ...distracting himself from that, Dan Alexander is here for your Thursday live blog...
16 December 2021, 15:21
Bizarre attack on cyclist by shirtless man wielding metal pipe

Today is turning into a US special (with some UK-based bike lane blunders in between)...

This shirtless pipe-wielding attacker, 29-year-old Zachary Nulsich, has been arrested by the Harris County Sherriff's Office and now faces 20 years in prison having been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a second-degree felony.

The victim, 46-year-old Steven Blum, said he was riding along the newly opened trail for the first time. When rounding corners he often shouts out to pedestrians to let them know he's there, something he did as he passed the attacker for the first time.

On the way back down the trail, however, the shirtless man was now armed with a metal pipe which he jammed into the front wheel of the IT worker's Specialized Roubaix. Thanfully he managed to avoid crashing and pedalled away before calling the police.

"I had no idea what his intentions are after that," Blum told Chron. "I can only assume more harm. It's pretty scary to see a huge shirtless guy running after you with a pipe. I had no words or incidents prior to that. I don't get out on the trail very much either. I don't really know his motivation, not that it really matters."

Records showed Nulisch lives in a home which backs onto the trail, he is due back in court in January.

16 December 2021, 16:49
Another cycle lane classic

You can build the nicest cycle lane in the world...but if someone parks in it it's not much use. Fair enough, you could argue the nicest cycle lane in the world would be constructed so nobody can park in it, but hey, someone will try.

This driver got the You Park Like a C*** treatment (I wish I could shoehorn an every little helps joke in)...

Tesco's social media team replied asking for more details, saying they would be looking into it. We'll see if we hear from them again...

16 December 2021, 15:50
I only came here for a bicycle tyre...

One of our Canadian readers got in touch with this amusing tale of trying to buy a bicycle tyre. You can almost imagine the manager's conversation..."Ah where shall we put these bike tyres?" "I dunno just hang 'em up there out the way"...

To be fair, if I got to watch someone on a power lift pick my tyre off the ceiling every time I bought one, I'd definitely keep going back...

16 December 2021, 14:43
How much? Reaction to Rapha's eye-watering coffee machine
2021 Rapha Rocket Espresso R Cinquantotto coffee machine - 1.jpeg

You've probably seen Rapha has another premium product with a premium price tag...this time it's a £2,735 coffee machine. As I said, a premium price tag.

> Fancy a Rapha coffee machine? That’ll be £2,735, please

Captain_slog is on board (to an extent)..."Oh, I like this. I imagine using it would feel more like driving a steam train than making a cup of coffee. But even if space and funds allowed I don't think I'd get one. I use a cafetiere at home and like to save up the cafe-stop espresso (plus big wodge of cake, natch) as a reward for getting those miles in or climbing that hill."

On Facebook, John Bull is absolutely not on board, and started with the (completely unsubstantiated) conspiracy theories..."Surely this is a Rocket Espresso for twice the price because someone's labelled it Rapha?"

Dan Flower read the small print: "You can only use it if you have a moustache and live in black and white. And for gods sake, don’t smile."

And David Walker's clearly having a bad day..."Some mug will buy it because they're a knob." I hope that "mug" was a deliberate hot drink-based punsult. If so, top work!

16 December 2021, 14:14
Wood you be so brave?

What we don't know is if there was a whole Christmas tree there at the start of the journey... 

16 December 2021, 12:04
Local paper letter fun: Bournemouth is not Amsterdam

Today we're on the South Coast for a Daily Echo letter that made us chuckle...

David Meads from Bournemouth titled his input 'Bournemouth is not Amsterdam where cycling has always been a way of life' and went on to bemoan the fact the cycling and walking investment from the Department of Transport has, in his mind, seen an "unseemly rush to provide wide cycle lanes" in places where "the lesser spotted cyclist is a rare sighting".

Which builds to the crescendo..."Cycling may well be the big thing in the future but there is still the here and now that should be dealt with. Bournemouth is not Amsterdam where cycling has always been a way of life, and probably will never be."

We can't be thinking of the same Amsterdam...

16 December 2021, 11:49
Great bike shark
16 December 2021, 11:33
F1 star Fernando Alonso eyes end of recovery from cycling crash — set for surgery to remove titanium plates from jaw
Fernando Alonso (via fernandoalo_oficial on Instagram).PNG

Double world champion Fernando Alonso will undergo surgery in January to remove the titanium plates from his jaw which were fitted after the F1 star was hit by a driver while cycling back in February.

> F1 ace Fernando Alonso sustains “multiple fractures” after he was hit by driver while cycling

Alonso was hit by a motorist making a turning into a supermarket car park near Lugano in Switzerland.

The Alpine driver told F1's website that he will have the plates removed in January before taking two weeks off before preparation for the 2022 season begins.

16 December 2021, 11:19
Nico Roche goes dancing
16 December 2021, 10:32
Phil Gaimon + American pro riders almost hit by speeding drivers overtaking on blind bend

Back in 2019, Phil Gaimon made a hard-hitting video titled 'Please Share This When I'm Killed by Someone Driving a Car', in which the ex-pro racer recalled an incident where a driver, speeding on the wrong side of the road, almost hit him while overtaking another motorist on a blind bend.

> “When I'm killed” – ex-pro Phil Gaimon’s powerful YouTube film about vulnerability of cyclists

Gaimon signed off the video saying, "I know how I'm going to die. It's going to be something like this."

Last night Gaimon was back with another video from the very same stretch of road, another chillingly similar incident...this time two speeding motorists, seemingly racing down the hill, overtaking on the wrong side of the road, drive straight at the group which included US-based pros Alex Howes and Kiel Reijnen.

Gaimon's camera shows him urgently jump off the road as the drivers speed past, before picking up him saying "fuck that" having narrowly avoided another catastrophic collision.

16 December 2021, 09:51
One good, one bad: two more for your rating...

A reader got in touch to share his submission of how not to do bike lanes. This one from Wadebridge in Cornwall got a fresh lick of paint recently, including that confusing give way...my only guess is that a crossing is going to be built on top of that speed bump? Otherwise, who knows?

For the good column, we've this one between Haringey and Waltham Forest...

Marks out of ten? 

16 December 2021, 08:47
Rate that bike lane...where is Britain's best (+ worst) infra

Loads of infra pics popping up this morning so I thought we could play a game of 'rate that cycle lane'. Take a look at these and have a think what they should score out of ten...like Come Dine with Me but for active travel. Yes, I'm aware that all sounded very Alan Partridge.

First up this shiny headline-grabbing segregated route over Westminster Bridge. Possible extra points for it's ultra-quick assembly, some on social media said construction took less than a month.

Just look at all those bollards...I'm saying 8.9/10 for this one...but, in the words of every football pundit covering their back..."it's a game of opinions"...so feel free to tell me how disgraceful an 8.9 is... 

Next up, we're off to Glasgow for something at the other end of the scale...

That's more like it...faded paint, a van parked in the cycle lane, no real segregation...3.2? Or is that being too generous? Finally, we're dipping back into England, to Sheffield, for this...

Suddenly that 3.2 from Glasgow is looking a lot more appealing. Anyway, can I give this a score if there isn't any infra to rate? It's got to be a 0... 

I'm off to scour the web for more bike lanes to rate. Back in a minute...

Dan joined road.cc in 2020, and spent most of his first year (hopefully) keeping you entertained on the live blog. At the start of 2022 he took on the role of news editor. Before joining road.cc, Dan wrote about various sports, including football and boxing for the Daily Express, and covered the weird and wonderful world of non-league football for The Non-League Paper. Part of the generation inspired by the 2012 Olympics, Dan has been 'enjoying' life on two wheels ever since and spends his weekends making bonk-induced trips to the petrol stations of the south of England.

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29 comments

Avatar
Jenova20 | 2 years ago
1 like

"This shirtless pipe-wielding attacker, 29-year-old Zachary Nulsich, has been arrested by the Harris County Sherriff's Office and now faces 20 years in prison having been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a second-degree felony."

The Americans, once again, showing us how pathetic the UK legal system is.

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Btgriff | 2 years ago
7 likes

This is on NCN 54 between Stourbridge and Brierley Hill. It's about as good as it gets from Dudley Council. They did get some emergency active travel funding and installed some bike stands but alas no pop up lanes around here.

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chrisonabike replied to Btgriff | 2 years ago
2 likes

Ah, good old Notional Cycle Network!  Still, on the bright side, that's parking for you and five friends when you want to go drink Super Pils / get high behind a bush...

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Rendel Harris | 2 years ago
4 likes

The Bournemouth letter ("it's not Amsterdam") reminded me irresistibly of the novel The Better World of Reginald Perrin (if you only know the TV series, I heartily recommend the novels, some of the funniest books of the last quarter of the last century): Reggie sets up his ideal hippie community in Brockley and the neighbours come round to complain (from memory so forgive errors):

"I quite understand," said Reggie, "Brockley is not Montmartre."

"No, it's not."

"It's not the Reeperbahn in Hamburg."

"Exactly."

"It's a pity, isn't it?"

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Rik Mayals unde... | 2 years ago
3 likes

I came across two BT vans parked completely on a cycle path yesterday, and the front van blocking some of the pavement too. Sorry I can't work out how to rotate the picture, it is upright in my pictures but it has pasted it side on. You get the idea.

 

 

Avatar
Oldfatgit | 2 years ago
1 like

Christmas Trees on a bike:

I can't help but think, after looking at some of the images shown on here, that if a car decided to carry a load the same way that cyclists have - we'd all be shouting, ranting and raving about what a dangerous arse they were being.

I know we're all cyclists, but are we *really* ok with loads being carried horizontally, or over hanging the rear without markers?
Are we *really* ok with loads being carried in the front of a cargo bike that obscure the forward vision of the rider?

The site seems to be celebrating these dangerous acts, rather than pulling the riders up for it.

Avatar
chrisonabike replied to Oldfatgit | 2 years ago
1 like

Go on - show us how it's done, you know you want to...

(sorry - half the lights are round the back...)

 

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chrisonabike replied to Oldfatgit | 2 years ago
0 likes

I confess, I've done worse, much worse - but not on roads.

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chrisonabike replied to Oldfatgit | 2 years ago
0 likes

Oldfatgit wrote:

Christmas Trees on a bike: I can't help but think, after looking at some of the images shown on here, that if a car decided to carry a load the same way that cyclists have - we'd all be shouting, ranting and raving about what a dangerous arse they were being. I know we're all cyclists, but are we *really* ok with loads being carried horizontally, or over hanging the rear without markers? Are we *really* ok with loads being carried in the front of a cargo bike that obscure the forward vision of the rider? The site seems to be celebrating these dangerous acts, rather than pulling the riders up for it.

I confess, I've done worse, much worse (well - as bad). But for what it's worth not on roads (I'm blessed with an mini car-free network nearby).

Agreed - people gonna stupid on whatever form of transport. If someone was cycling poorly secured trees down an A-road or even just a busy urban road that wouldn't be clever. Nor if they strapped one crosswise and rode down a busy pavement.

"Dangerous" though? The examples don't seem to be doing that, though?

Reason for shouting about drivers is they're a risk to everyone - with the possible exception of bigger vehicles. Cyclists? Mostly other cyclists and pedestrians. My feeling* is that if you correct for the fact that we exclude pedestrians from lots of "car spaces" cyclists are less dangerous to pedestrians than cars - on their own or transporting stuff.

A bike is not likely to be transporting as big / heavy a tree as a motor vehicle, nor moving it as fast.  Electic power does make a difference - but again speed is still limited. I wouldn't like to be hit by a cargo bike - even unloaded - but I'd take my chance with that over a car anytime.

Bike transport is arguably less hazardous in that for overhanging loads they will be lower e.g. than having them on a car roof / van.  So the "dropping them on" likelihood would be less. Finally if you missed with the bike but the tree hit someone I don't think you'd drag someone along with the tree - as you could with a car - because you'd also be off.

* I've zero data on that and there are plenty of circumstances which could skew things e.g. if tons of people ride pissed-up / careless kids "scaring" the old or disabled / maybe there are more TT bikes than I think (wink).  Possibly rich_cb might have some numbers...

Avatar
brooksby | 2 years ago
11 likes

Quote:

This shirtless pipe-wielding attacker, 29-year-old Zachary Nulsich, has been arrested by the Harris County Sherriff's Office and now faces 20 years in prison having been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a second-degree felony.

Here in the UK, that would probably have been written off as a mere jape by a bloke having a bad day, and nothing more said about it...

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IanMK | 2 years ago
5 likes

Just to bring a bit of balance to the letter in the Echo.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/dec/14/anti-cycling-lobby-...

 

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PpPete | 2 years ago
10 likes

Ah yes, Bournemouth.  

Been there on my bike, arrived on Swanage Ferry, left via Christchurch.  Took ages to weave my way through seemingly endless gridlock, nearly got taken out a few times by RLJing motorists who wanted to get across a junction to the next standstill before their fellow morons motons. Abused by irate peds when cycling at walking pace along supposed "shared use" path.  Shan't be going back. not. ever.

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Pyro Tim replied to PpPete | 2 years ago
2 likes

Sounds like you had a positive day in Bournemouth. They normally drive at you to run you off the road. Having ridden a 100 miles a week, every week for several years, this year I've ridden about 100 miles total on the roads. Since lockdown it got worse, and I'd rather live. The lanes they are building look fantastic from the car, but actually ride them, and you realise that you have to stop and press the beg botton to leave, only to cross and find yourself on a pavement where cycling is forbidden.

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Shake | 2 years ago
0 likes

Also from Bournemouth Echo, the council have decided to remove the well used LTN https://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/19786796.bcp-council-votes-reopen...

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stonojnr replied to Shake | 2 years ago
0 likes

I posted last week in the blog Suffolk county council were planning to remove this segregated lane in Ipswich, its already gone within 7 days of that article https://www.ipswichstar.co.uk/news/traffic/ipswich-cycle-barriers-down-a...

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brooksby | 2 years ago
2 likes

Interesting read on the Slate (US) - 

The American Addiction to Speeding

How we became obsessed with driving fast, no matter the cost

https://slate.com/business/2021/12/speed-limit-americas-most-broken-law-...

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AidanR replied to brooksby | 2 years ago
0 likes

Interesting indeed. It baffles me, though, that a police officer would (from a standing start) chase a car going at 90mph to pull them over and issue them a ticket. Surely it would be much safer and more efficient to put it in the post?

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visionset replied to AidanR | 2 years ago
4 likes

AidanR wrote:

Interesting indeed. It baffles me, though, that a police officer would...

You do know the prime moitvator for taking up the profession?

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AidanR replied to visionset | 2 years ago
1 like

visionset wrote:

You do know the prime moitvator for taking up the profession?

Are you suggesting that it's not to protect and to serve? 

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Captain Badger replied to AidanR | 2 years ago
2 likes

AidanR wrote:

Interesting indeed. It baffles me, though, that a police officer would (from a standing start) chase a car going at 90mph to pull them over and issue them a ticket. Surely it would be much safer and more efficient to put it in the post?

The more enlightened (I know, US, but everything's relative) forces  have abandoned the policy of pursuing drivers over minor offences, due to the death toll resulting from car chases

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chrisonabike replied to Captain Badger | 2 years ago
2 likes

Captain Badger wrote:

AidanR wrote:

Interesting indeed. It baffles me, though, that a police officer would (from a standing start) chase a car going at 90mph to pull them over and issue them a ticket. Surely it would be much safer and more efficient to put it in the post?

The more enlightened (I know, US, but everything's relative) forces  have abandoned the policy of pursuing drivers over minor offences, due to the death toll resulting from car chases

Wait - the cops pursue drivers?! Oh - maybe you mean "offenders in cars" not "people who commit driving offenses"? (See any number of stories on e.g. Streetsblog NYC etc. The US generally has an even more generous definition of "accident" than the UK!)

Avatar
Captain Badger replied to chrisonabike | 2 years ago
1 like

chrisonatrike wrote:

...

Wait - the cops pursue drivers?! Oh - maybe you mean "offenders in cars" not "people who commit driving offenses"? (See any number of stories on e.g. Streetsblog NYC etc. The US generally has an even more generous definition of "accident" than the UK!)

Fack me....

The forces that actually analysed outcomes found that a high percentage of fatal collisions resulted from chases that were started on things like dodgy tail lights, but then found that the real reason for running turned out to be personal use possession or a licence infringement. Important, maybe, but the RBA on the chase just didn't stack up

There have been similar studies in the  UK, with similar findings. What's more important than training officers in high-risk driving, is training them in public risk assessment, and when to stop (or even not start) chasing. Few chases are ever abandoned due to risk to the public, and this has tragic results.

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mike the bike replied to Captain Badger | 2 years ago
0 likes

Captain Badger wrote:

 

 

 

Fack me....

...... Few chases are ever abandoned due to risk to the public, and this has tragic results.

Probably an over-simplification of the current situation.  All police pursuits are assessed over the radio by an experienced controller and the decision to continue is theirs, not the police driver's.  This removes, or at least reduces, the 'red mist' effect from the equation.

Obviously no system is perfect and mistakes will be made but they are many fewer than years ago.

Avatar
Captain Badger replied to mike the bike | 2 years ago
0 likes
mike the bike wrote:

Captain Badger wrote:

 

 

 

Fack me....

...... Few chases are ever abandoned due to risk to the public, and this has tragic results.

Probably an over-simplification of the current situation.  All police pursuits are assessed over the radio by an experienced controller and the decision to continue is theirs, not the police driver's.  This removes, or at least reduces, the 'red mist' effect from the equation.

Obviously no system is perfect and mistakes will be made but they are many fewer than years ago.

The controller relies primarily on RA by the driver - as they're are largely the ones who can actually see what's going on. That doesn't mean they're objective.

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AlsoSomniloquism replied to brooksby | 2 years ago
1 like

Not Just Bikes on Youtube does alot about the americans obsession with multilane "choads" and no alterantives to car travel,

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the little onion | 2 years ago
10 likes

Call that bad infrastructure? Luxury! We had to cycle on square wheels across a wolf-infested minefield with targets painted on our back, with a headwind in both directions.

You tell that to kids nowadays, they won't believe you.

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chrisonabike replied to the little onion | 2 years ago
1 like

Infrastructure? Luxury. When I were a lad, there were nothing but roads.

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Captain Badger replied to chrisonabike | 2 years ago
3 likes

chrisonatrike wrote:

Infrastructure? Luxury. When I were a lad, there were nothing but roads.

Rourds?? You were loocky to have rourds..... 

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Rendel Harris | 2 years ago
7 likes

Not sure we can give Westminster points for swiftness, it was supposed to be completed in 2017 but the awful terrorist attack in March that year delayed it far longer than necessary. Some very stupid people claimed that the painted cycle lane that was there at the time facilitated the terror attack - hard to see how as the terrorist actually drove his car down the pavement - and there's been faffing about ever since. In fact the cycle lane now will offer protection against terrorists as - as on other London bridges - it will now be impossible to get a vehicle onto the pavement to attack pedestrians.

For all that though, now it's here it's really good!

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