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"I need to check the power to see if he's got talent": Criminal mastermind behind G's bike theft was 15; Good Samaritan driver lends cyclist spare light; Peloton got worse; Aussie cycle fines; Xan der Poel; Riding through floods + more on the live blog

It's Tuesday and Dan Alexander will be taking you through the day on the live blog...
16 November 2021, 15:05
"I need to check the power to see if he's got talent": Criminal mastermind behind G's bike theft was 15
Geraint Thomas with French police via Facebook

Geraint Thomas having his bike stolen while stopping for a coffee was Sunday's big story. How did it happen? Who was the culprit? How did they catch them? Well, G's spilled the beans on his Geraint Thomas Cycling Club podcast.

Firstly, the headline: the thief was a 15-year-old kid who looked all too delighted to have been arrested...

"[The police told me] he was 15," G explained. "The picture of him looked like he had just been to Disneyland...massive cheesy grin. I was like 'did he take that here?' You can't go around stealing bikes but I kind of wanted to help him because he can't be in a good place."

The bike, a Pinarello Dogma F, painted as a Pinarello Dogma F12, with mismatched wheels and a Thomas nametag wasn't even top of the 2018 Tour de France winner's priority list.

"They gave me my Garmin. That was the thing I was most worried about because I haven't downloaded my training this week. I'm going to have to download it and see if he's got any talent. See what speed and power he's putting out. He was lucky I charged my gears actually, at least it was in good working order for him."

So how did it all unfold? Well, it all began at a cafe in Menton when G and EF Education-Nippo pro Michael Valgren stopped for lunch. I wonder if Cannondale will kick up a fuss about the thief picking the Pinarello?

"We left our bikes outside and were sat at the table closest to the door. I could just about see the front of my wheel. Part of me was thinking 'should I move it?'. 
The owner of the cafe turned around and asked us 'two bikes? Ah but there's only one here' we laughed and were like 'okay, thanks mate'.

"He said, 'no no no no there's only one bike' we still thought he was joking but went outside...'Ah bollocks, my bike's gone!'"

Thomas had been home for 15 minutes when the police called saying they'd found it. "I was like 'bloody hell that was quick!'" G continued. "They saw a guy riding the bike and thought it didn't look right, he wasn't dressed like a professional athlete. They stopped him, a couple of them were cyclists I think, saw my name on it, arrested him and took the bike."

Now we wait for those all-important power numbers...

16 November 2021, 16:35
Someone check on Jeremy

Prepare yourselves for the incoming 360-degree cinematic masterpiece with live 'Gary Neville Monday Night Football-style' analysis of how a taxi driver closed passed him on the way to work. We're not complaining though, keep them coming, Jeremy...

For a close pass of a different kind...check out our Near Miss of the Day (Tour de France winner edition)...

16 November 2021, 18:01
roadtrip.cc? The road.cc forum temporarily goes all Tripadvisor
16/11/21 cottage forum post.PNG

We're not sure if David9694 came to the right place when posting on the road.cc bike forum about his recent stay in a holiday cottage, and whether it's ever ok to sample the host's liquor collection.

simon e comment.PNG

Simon E suggested that this particular thread should be hosted elsewhere, but as it's led to a healthy discussion we'll leave it be for now! If you want to take a break from talking about cycling you can join in here.

16 November 2021, 17:00
100% launch Eastcraft and Westcraft sunglasses
100% Westcraft and Eastcraft glasses

 

Sunnies brand 100% have just launched two new designs, the Eastcraft and the Westcraft, each using a “5.5-base cylindrical lens for increased peripheral view and protection.”

The angular Eastcraft gives you the option to use a single ‘shield’ lens or a dual lens setup and the design incorporates a locking hinge mechanism which sits at the bridge of your nose for easier lens removal. 

You can also install side shields if you want more protection from sideways rain. The Westcraft offers the same lens colours, locking hinge and removable side shields as the sunnies above. Here, though, you have a rounded design which gives us all sorts of 70’s aviator vibes.

100% Westcraft sunglasses

Both models start at £169.99 and are avilable now. Seeing as we’re based in the West Country, I guess it’s the Westcraft for us.

16 November 2021, 15:43
Before he dropped the entire field (bar one)

You've probably heard Tom Dumoulin ran a very quick 10km on Sunday. If not, where have you been? 

16 November 2021, 14:27
$116 fine for NSW cyclists breaking Aussie road rules...although in fairness I'm not sure why you'd want to do this...

 

Cyclist not passing on the left - image cc licensed by Sam Saunders on Flickr.jpg

Aussie cycling fines are a constant source of bewilderment for those of us on the other side of the world. In February, it was announced Melbourne cyclists would face a A$1652 (£900) fine for breaking the 10kph speed limit on the Southbank Promenade.

Then there was the Queensland cyclist fined A$1,000 (£548) for talking on her phone while riding.

Today's dose is a little less absurd, but still very costly. Why you'd want to undertake a car indicating left, I'm not sure, but any cyclist who does that in NSW faces a $116 fine, while in Victoria it's $182...

16 November 2021, 14:24
Your regular dose of commuting goodness
16 November 2021, 12:16
MAAP makes us all jealous with its latest Aussie summer release
MAAP Pro Bib Shorts 2.0

It’s still sunny weather over where cycling apparel brand MAAP is based and so its shorts news, not tights, incoming from the Australian brand.

MAAP’s new Pro Bib Shorts 2.0 are its most technologically advanced bib short to date. “We’ve elevated the technical functions in these bib shorts with supportive compression that will aid with blood flow and recovery — two very important benefits for cyclists, no matter which level of performance you’re at,” says MAAP.

You’ve got a unique lightweight 3D aero structured finish and an ergonomically engineered thermo moulded chamois with an antimicrobial microfibre top liner and laser cut perforations for breathability. 

Four-way stretch compression fabric is also used to enhance blood flow and recovery during efforts, while the raw cut knitted fabric is designed to minimise pressure as well as maximise comfort, and all critical seams have also been flatlock stitched to prevent abrasion. 

Find out more about the Pro Bib 2.0 and see MAAP’s latest arrivals at maap.cc...

MAAP Pro Bib Shorts 2.0
16 November 2021, 11:51
Nike wants to fly Tom Pidcock to Oregon to test 5km abilities
Tom Pidcock 5k

The running news is never-ending at the minute...

Tom Pidcock has done an interview with Rouleur magazine, in which he said he would be up for attempting a 5km effort on the track, hopefully without the dodgy GPS data and scepticism of the running community.

"Yeah, I will do it at some point," Pidcock said. "Nike wants me to go and do it in Oregon at their facility, so after cyclo-cross worlds [Jan 29-30 in Arkansas], I’m gonna go there and do it. But we’ll see. I want to run one on the flat first to get another time. I don’t want to get over 15 minutes. It’s pointless, innit? The idea was to run sub-15 minute 5km at the end of ’cross season."

Pidcock claimed to have clocked a 13:25 5km last winter, only to be torn to shreds by the legion of runners ready to point out he definitely didn't land such an impressive time...

Yesterday, we shared the news of Tom Dumoulin's mightily impressive 10km time at an event in his hometown of Maastricht. The Jumbo-Visma rider covered the distance in 32:38...very speedy. Even more impressive than Adam Yates' sub-three hour effort at the Barcelona Marathon.

16 November 2021, 11:13
Xan der Poel wins Scottish National Cyclocross Championships

Remember that kid from the Tour of Britain? The one who attacked the breakaway on the pavement and got a bottle from Pascal Eenkhoorn for his efforts. If you hadn't already guessed from that cameo Xander Graham is a very talented young bike rider. A point proven by the fact he won the junior Scottish National Cyclocross Championships over the weekend. 

> Team Jumbo-Visma's youngest recruit steals the show in Scotland

Even better, Xander's Instagram handle is Xan_der_Poel. Come on, that's very good...

16 November 2021, 11:08
Nerve-shredding skills...

Yeah, I think I'll give that one a pass...

16 November 2021, 10:31
Safe bike parking "couldn't be more urgent" as Sheffield city centre £330,000 bike hub delayed
Telephone House Sheffield (Google Maps Street View)

Russell Cutts, owner of Sheffield bike shop Russell's Bicycle Shed, has said the need for secure cycle storage in the city centre "couldn't be more urgent". The comment came as works on a new £330,000 secure bike hub in Telephone House were delayed.

The Star reports that in May plans were revealed for the secure unit on the ground floor of Telephone House tower on Charter Square. According to council documents it would have space for 200 bikes, a workshop, bike hire, sales, charging for e-bikes and changing rooms with lockers.

Of the £330,000 budget, £294,000 of funding was to come from the Local Transport Plan. Mr Cutts said he was disappointed by the delay and wanted to run the new hub, having already attracted up to 400 cyclists to his Midland Station facility.

"It's disappointing that the cycle hub plans for the city still haven't become a physical reality yet," he told The Star. "The last couple of years have been difficult for every business and local authority but the need for good quality secure cycle parking couldn't be more urgent.

"The roads have returned to being congested with car traffic since lockdown ended and many of those journeys could be done by bicycle however bicycle theft has rocketed in the city over the last 12 months and this discourages use. We are here ready to help the council realise its plans and create a secure cycle parking facility for users of the city."

16 November 2021, 10:03
Good Samaritan driver lends cyclist spare light to get home safe (+ other nice things out on the road)

Here's some positivity for your Tuesday morning...

Anyone who's commuted by bike, excluding the impeccably organised amongst you, will have probably experienced that nightmare scenario at some point. You're riding home in the dark and one of your lights dies. Maybe it's been flickering away on low battery for a while, forcing you to up the pace in a desperate bid to make it home in time. 

Colby hadn't realised her rear light was out of juice, but experienced a nice touch of humanity from a passing driver...

Melodie Bryant replied, saying "this is what happens when everyone is familiar with what it's like to be on a bike. That driver had either ridden, or had a relative who does." I've got to say, just from personal experience, the couple of times it has happened to me I've received friendly heads ups from drivers, rather than any Philip Pulman-esque aggression about the lack of lumens... 

And check out all this positivity in the replies...I had to double check it was actually Twitter...see, it's not all bad...

16 November 2021, 09:49
Peloton CommuCycle: When you want to ride a bike but don't want to ride a bike...make sense?

Thankfully this originated as a slightly tongue-in-cheek example in Vanarama's 'If tech brands pivoted to vehicles' article. But yes, it is a spin bike within a vehicle so you could do a Peloton class on the commute to work. If only there was a mode of transport with fitness benefits that can easily be scheduled into your daily commute...someone's going to make a lot of money once they invent that...

16 November 2021, 08:42
Cyclist rides across flooded seawall — is it worth the risk?

Ah yes, it must be the time of year when all these clips of people riding on through the flood waters pop up on our timeline. This one's from Vancouver where Park Board officials announced the closure of Stanley Park and the seawall. However, this rider still managed to give bike surfing a go...

In answer to our question in the headline...we're saying 'no'. At best you, your bike and clothes are soaked through. At worst, things get very, very dangerous.

Back in 2014 a cyclist died in Oxford after trying to ride through floodwater along a towpath next to the River Thames. The incident happened at the same stretch of river where a teenager drowned in 2007 when he fell into the river.

> Film maker stays in NYC with his bike and video camera to document Hurricane Sandy (+ video)

We've seen similar, if not worse, videos to the one from Canada...back in 2019 an cyclist in Edinburgh was filmed riding past cars stranded in deep flood water.

What do you reckon, worth taking the long way round?

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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67 comments

Avatar
eburtthebike | 2 years ago
8 likes

"Aussie cycling fines are a constant source of bewilderment for those of us on the other side of the world."

No they aren't; they hate cyclists and want them off the road, so just like the UK, but with their Aussie directness, they are just blatantly open about it, instead of sneaky and underhand like the Brits.

Avatar
Philh68 replied to eburtthebike | 2 years ago
1 like

In Australia bicycles are classified as a vehicle and riders can be fined equally with motorists, except where special rules for bicycles are deemed necessary to fine them well out of proportion to motorists. And any rules designed to protect cyclists must be offset with absurd fines on ridiculous rules just so cyclists know their place.

Avatar
eburtthebike | 2 years ago
13 likes

I think this picture sums up the Peleton crap sufficiently well.

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chrisonabike replied to eburtthebike | 2 years ago
5 likes

Quite right, antisocial, taking up space and frankly boring. And it's not even getting the lout out of the car. We can do better:

 

Avatar
Owd Big 'Ead | 2 years ago
7 likes

Good grief, there's some whinge-bags on here.

It was an onshore gale, hence the barge being run-aground. I spend a lot of time out on the seas and oceans, or at least I did pre-Covid and there's nothing there that is inherently dangerous. The only reason the waves are coming over the seawall is due to their momentum being stopped by the seawall itself, but the amount of seawater topping the seawall isn't going to be enough to drag a person into the sea.

There's nothing in the panoramic shots to indicate any possibility of a rogue wave, the water is probably too shallow, or the seabed to flat.

Some people just need to worry needlessly about everything. One wonders how you even get out of bed in the mornings?

However, his actions could be construed as dangerous for nothing more that it could encourage others to do something more risky to gain likes on social media

Avatar
HarrogateSpa replied to Owd Big 'Ead | 2 years ago
4 likes

Thanks Professor.

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Owd Big 'Ead replied to HarrogateSpa | 2 years ago
1 like

Talking out my arse again blush

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pockstone replied to Owd Big 'Ead | 2 years ago
7 likes

'One wonders how you even get out of bed in the mornings?'

After a fully audited risk assessment, of course.

Avatar
HarrogateSpa | 2 years ago
3 likes

Tom Pidcock used to plant trees to offset the emissions from travelling for races.

Now he's planning to go to Oregon just to run 5km, besides working for an oil, fracking and plastics company.

Avatar
Rendel Harris replied to HarrogateSpa | 2 years ago
2 likes

HarrogateSpa wrote:

Tom Pidcock used to plant trees to offset the emissions from travelling for races.

Now he's planning to go to Oregon just to run 5km, besides working for an oil, fracking and plastics company.

To be fair (and absolutely agree with the criticism re the company by whom he's now sponsored) he's said he may drop in to Nike's Oregon HQ to try a 5k on their track after he's raced the cyclocross WC in Arkansas in January - still a fair trip but he's not planning on a transatlantic jaunt just to run a 5k.

Avatar
Awavey | 2 years ago
2 likes

I'm not sure I'd react that positively to such an offer of lights in that situation, but that maybe my fiercely independent streak at play.

How much use is a light anyways that's so cheap you carry them round in a glove box in a car, fully charged obviously all the time, and happily hand them out like sweets.

I'd like to think I'd notice the light had failed anyway and had some kind of back up plan,which wouldnt rely on encountering some random munificent benefactor on the way.

Avatar
Mungecrundle replied to Awavey | 2 years ago
3 likes

A while back I bought a job lot these:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Domire-Cycling-Silicone-Safety-Warning/dp/B00VW...

Pretty much disposable, but under 50p a unit. I usually carry a couple as spares and have given them to other cyclists without lights after dark. Never had a negative response to the offer and they are fine for use round town.

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AlsoSomniloquism replied to Mungecrundle | 2 years ago
0 likes

Did you buy the mug at the same time?

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brooksby replied to Mungecrundle | 2 years ago
0 likes

At that price, I'd be concerned that they were manufactured by Bangladeshi three year olds or something... 

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Mungecrundle replied to brooksby | 2 years ago
7 likes

I like to think of it as daycare with a purpose.

Avatar
Rendel Harris | 2 years ago
15 likes

Always pleasant when an expected confrontation switches to something else: a while back a police car pulled up alongside me at the lights in Nine Elms, passenger window rolled down:

"That your bike sir?"

"It is, yeah."

"Had it long?"

"Few years."

"What do you make of the Di2 then, I'm trying to decide whether it's worth the upgrade."

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Steve K replied to Rendel Harris | 2 years ago
6 likes

I had a taxi driver call out to me out of the window and ask how good I found my garmin.

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Sniffer replied to Lance ꜱtrongarm | 2 years ago
16 likes

Nigel never really gets how things work.  The story is about people doing nice things, all the replies before his are about people doing nice things.  His response was to make an attack on a group of people he doesn't like because they have on occasion stuck up for cyclists.

Have a good day, and that includes you too Nigel.

Avatar
Rendel Harris replied to Lance ꜱtrongarm | 2 years ago
10 likes

Garage at Large wrote:

Can't have been in Surrey then, all they'd have wanted to know is where the nearest Krispy Kreme is on the way back to their Twitter desk.

It was not, however two years ago my wife and I stopped to help a lady who had crashed in "Little Switzerland" round the back of Box Hill; the police happened to arrive before the ambulance and they could not have been more efficient or more helpful in calming and reassuring the lady that everything was going to be alright, securing the safety of the road, and even calling the lady's boyfriend and arranging to meet him at a specific police station so he could pick up her bicycle. Both officers, incidentally, looked extremely fit (in the physical health sense, not the attractiveness sense, although Mrs H assured me they also fitted the bill in the latter sense); chatting with them while waiting for the ambulance it transpired that one was in training for his first triathlon and the other was a fell runner in his spare time, so I doubt Krispy Kreme formed a significant part of their diet.

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Clem Fandango replied to Lance ꜱtrongarm | 2 years ago
15 likes

Garage at Large wrote:

Can't have been in Surrey then, all they'd have wanted to know is where the nearest Krispy Kreme is on the way back to their Twitter desk.

Ah there he is.  

D minus.  Must try harder.

Avatar
Kapelmuur replied to Rendel Harris | 2 years ago
8 likes

Recently a 4 x 4 stopped on a narrow rural lane and as I was squeezing past the driver said "I just wanted to warn you that about 200 metres ahead the road is  flooded and I don't think you'll get through".

I've also had a white van man offer me and my bike a lift home when I was stopped trying to fix a mechanical and another one stopping to warn me that there was a big pothole on the inside of the bend I was approaching.

Avatar
eburtthebike replied to Kapelmuur | 2 years ago
1 like

Kapelmuur wrote:

Recently a 4 x 4 stopped on a narrow rural lane and as I was squeezing past the driver said "I just wanted to warn you that about 200 metres ahead the road is  flooded and I don't think you'll get through".

I've also had a white van man offer me and my bike a lift home when I was stopped trying to fix a mechanical and another one stopping to warn me that there was a big pothole on the inside of the bend I was approaching.

They were all cyclists really, just being forced to drive.

Avatar
AlsoSomniloquism | 2 years ago
2 likes

Re: sharing lights. 

I was cycling home in the dusk and the guy in front of me had a dead / dying rear light. I had two so offered him one. He declined and just took the front light and attached it to the rear of his bike.....

Avatar
brooksby replied to AlsoSomniloquism | 2 years ago
3 likes

I hate it when people put the wrong light on the wrong end of their bikes.

White light at the rear? no Red light at the front?? surprise

Avatar
Captain Badger replied to brooksby | 2 years ago
7 likes

brooksby wrote:

I hate it when people put the wrong light on the wrong end of their bikes.

White light at the rear? no Red light at the front?? surprise

Easy, just ride in reverse

Avatar
Fursty Ferret replied to brooksby | 2 years ago
5 likes

My emergency light can do red or white, the plan being that if one of my normal lights dies it can replace either.

Also blue, green, rainbow, and a very fetching red/blue police style strobe. Never been stopped for that one and it does cut down the close passes.

Avatar
IanGlasgow replied to brooksby | 2 years ago
1 like

brooksby wrote:

I hate it when people put the wrong light on the wrong end of their bikes.

White light at the rear? no Red light at the front?? surprise

Maybe it was one of these

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/cl-500-front-or-rear-led-usb-bike-light/_/...

Avatar
brooksby replied to IanGlasgow | 2 years ago
0 likes

IanGlasgow wrote:

brooksby wrote:

I hate it when people put the wrong light on the wrong end of their bikes.

White light at the rear? no Red light at the front?? surprise

Maybe it was one of these

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/cl-500-front-or-rear-led-usb-bike-light/_/...

I can sort of see the idea behind that, but it means people need to actually remember to turn it round depending on which end of the bike they're attaching it to...

Avatar
ike2112 | 2 years ago
0 likes

I actually like the look of that Peloton car - I avoid riding in the city, feel too vulnerable and some of the road layouts are horrendous, forcing you into tram lanes, bus lanes, bike lanes that are between 2 regular lanes that people frequently cross...
If I was powering the vehicle by cycling but had the frame protection of a small car - I'm all for that!

Avatar
nniff replied to ike2112 | 2 years ago
0 likes

ike2112 wrote:

I actually like the look of that Peloton car - I avoid riding in the city, feel too vulnerable and some of the road layouts are horrendous, forcing you into tram lanes, bus lanes, bike lanes that are between 2 regular lanes that people frequently cross...
If I was powering the vehicle by cycling but had the frame protection of a small car - I'm all for that!

 

You need one of these www.mypodride.com

www.mypodride.com/podride-videos

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