Essex Police blasted (again) for victim-blaming filtering tweet; New law on dangerous driving, so Daily Record bangs on about cyclists in the “centre of the road”; No-saddle guy falls off his bike, indoors; Brailsford’s new signing + more on the live blog

“I thought you may enjoy this video of a man at one with his work in Tyneham Village, Dorset,” says road.cc reader Jason.

“Touching up the no cycling sign, which is beside another no cycling sign, which is beside a list of rules that includes no cycling…”

Only 4 years since a life changing moment during an Ulster cycling race @Markmillar55 finishing 6th in the Commonwealth Games Para Marathon
@@GoTeamNI @birminghamcg22 @AthleticsNI pic.twitter.com/9X0VpXVX75

— Laura Kerr (@LauraKerr_NI) July 30, 2022

In June 2018 Mark Millar was racing in the Ulster 100-mile time trial championships in Co. Antrim when he was struck from behind by a motorist driving an SUV.

According to Sticky Bottle, Millar broke his spine in four places in the collision and his spinal cord was severed, leaving him paralysed from the waist down.

Elaine Adu, the Christian pastor who hit Millar, was handed a year-long driving ban and ordered to complete 80 hours community service, a sentence the cyclist described at the time as a “joke”.

Within fifteen months of the life-changing crash, the now-42-year-old – who had competed at home and abroad in cycling and triathlon races (including three editions of the iconic Rás) before the collision – was back in competition at para-events.

At the weekend, Millar finished sixth in the Commonwealth Games para-marathon in Birmingham, capping a remarkable journey since 2018.

“I think I have to be delighted with that. It’s my first Commonwealth Games, I’m only in a wheelchair four years after a big accident so I’m delighted to get to this level and be competitive,” he said after the race.

“It has been a tough journey back but also a very rewarding one coming into wheelchair sport and progressing as quickly as I have. I was probably top ranked at the amateur level in cycling but long distance triathlon was my main sport whenever the accident happened.

“I had a good aerobic base so it was just a matter of getting the arms built up and I took to the wheelchair racing quite quickly, I also did a bit of para-triathlon.”

TCRNo8 RACE REPORT 09 / "Durmul Drama"https://t.co/1Qw4I82Jss As the dash for the Danube began last night, it didn't come without drama on the Durmul Strategic parcours. Even into this morning, riders were racing on the Transalpina Pass. The finish is in sight. Almost..#TCRNo8 pic.twitter.com/rMzrDU1aLp

— The Transcontinental (@transconrace) August 2, 2022

The finish line is in sight (kind of) for the leaders of the Transcontinental Race. Seven riders have made it through the fourth and final checkpoint before the finish in the Bulgarian coastal city of Burgas.

Christoph Strasser has maintained his lead, which he took yesterday morning, on the tough gravel section surrounding the Transalpina Pass, ahead of Ulrich Bartholmoes (who has been struggling with both his tracker and his legs in the poor conditions) and Adam Bialek.

The Danube Dash. With riders reaching the end of CP4 parcours, these are the 3 Danube crossings as per the TCR Race Manual. The bridge south of Bucharest (Ruce) is banned, given its E-Road status. How will this play out? Christoph (100) is around 40-km from the river bank #TCRNo8 pic.twitter.com/nk8NLfLxqb

— The Transcontinental (@transconrace) August 2, 2022

Strategy – particularly concerning which ferry to board to cross the Danube on the way to Burgas – could decide the eventual winner, though it’s just been confirmed that Strasser has just made it across the river.

Can anyone catch him?

Meanwhile, seventh-placed Marin de Saint-Exupéry had time to chat with some locals on the Transalpina Pass:

Meanwhile, on the Transalpina. Marin (042), before tackling the CP4 parcours. Christoph has just made it across the Danube.#TCRNo8#Transcontinental pic.twitter.com/y6UgfHRDCJ

— The Transcontinental (@transconrace) August 2, 2022

And, of course, you can keep up-to-speed with all the dot-watching goodness on the race’s website.

You may remember Chad Tavernia, otherwise known as the Cycle Jockey, or more pertinently, No Saddle Guy.

The 41-year-old retired law enforcement officer from Malone in New York State first popped into the road.cc consciousness just over a year ago after completing a century… while out of the saddle the whole time.

After being questioned over the validity of his initial outdoor effort (I’m looking at all you cynical people in the comments), he then repeated the feat indoors on rollers back in November, in order to silence the doubters. He even starred on the road.cc podcast a month later, proving that us cyclists really are suckers for anything to do with mindless suffering.

> What does it take to ride 100 miles out of the saddle? 

Well, yesterday Chad suffered in a slightly different way than usual while training on the rollers.

Posting on the popular Zwift Riders Facebook group, where he’s become a bit of a cult figure, Chad informed us that “a momentary lapse in concentration sent me off the rollers, arm first into two of my cooling fans”.

Ouch.

While the spectacular indoor fall (though who here hasn’t catapulted off their rollers at least once?) resulted in 15 stitches, Chad seemed more concerned about his lost PBs.

Thank goodness he had his saddle on this time…

Dear reader, I regret to inform you that Essex Police are at it again…

On Friday, we saw that the county’s Roads Policing Unit don’t take kindly to cyclists, after being recklessly overtaken by Range Rover drivers, effin’ and jeffin’ all over their social media.

Well, it turns out that they’re not that fond of cyclists filtering through traffic either.

In a since-deleted tweet, which was flagged by the Colchester Cycling Campaign, Essex Police advised cyclists and motorcyclists against filtering.

We are pleased to see that Essex Police have deleted their tweet advising cyclists and motorcyclists not to filter.

— Colchester Cycling Campaign (@CampaignCycling) July 29, 2022

On their website, on a page titled “Keeping our vulnerable road users safe”, they also warned against filtering as part of their “top tips” for motorcyclists, alongside other useful guidance such as “don’t drink or drug drive”.

Now @EssexPoliceUK should update this advice on their website https://t.co/5Q8rOdKfZt pic.twitter.com/cWj4AJtRLr

— Colchester Cycling Campaign (@CampaignCycling) July 29, 2022

Under the heading, “Filtering is dangerous, don’t do it”, Essex Police reminded people using bikes, motorbikes, or e-scooters that “your decision to filter through the traffic could result in you being injured or worse”.

They continued: “As a smaller “vehicle”, drivers in cars and lorries may not see you approaching them from behind. If they haven’t checked their mirror before changing lanes, they may not see you until it’s too late.”

Needless to say, not everyone was impressed with Essex Police’s latest dabble in victim-blaming:

Filtering is legal and covered in the National Standards for Cycle Training and the Highway Code pic.twitter.com/saXmcUSAsV

— Colchester Cycling Campaign (@CampaignCycling) July 29, 2022

hang on, they were advising AGAINST the highway code?

— Michael Polom (@pmmikes) July 29, 2022

In other words "if they are guilty of driving without due care and attention". As you say lovely victim blaming from @EssexPoliceUK

— ChrisC (@ChrisC_CFC) July 29, 2022

Imagine being in an incident whilst filtering, i.e. someone opening their door whilst queuing in traffic. How would @EssexPoliceUK respond? Considering their own bias on filtering. How can the public enforce the police to follow the law?

— ᗩᑎᗪY ᗪEᖇᗷYᔕᕼIᖇE (@Andrewbanshee) July 30, 2022

Another 'anti cyclist' post from the police, as bad as being told to wear helmets! (I do). I would have less issues if they (the Police) also tweeted to remind drivers to check mirrors etc, but never do. It is always proportioning blame onto the victims in a similar manner to

— Cyclist_With_Attitude (It/trouble/nutter/mad) (@CyclistAttitude) July 30, 2022

Oddly enough, since that latest backlash against their road safety ‘advice’, that particular tip has been removed from Essex Police’s website…

Result pic.twitter.com/T1mKzV6Ee5

— Colchester Cycling Campaign (@CampaignCycling) July 30, 2022

Perhaps the message is getting through?

The Tour de France may just have finished, but cycling’s silly season has already begun, with teams able to announce their singings for 2023 from yesterday.

We reported yesterday that Hayter the younger (more commonly known as Leo) will join Ineos as a stagiaire until the end of the season before going pro with the British team in 2023, while Eddie Dunbar has also confirmed his move to Team BikeExchange-Jayco and Norwegian star Alexander Kristoff has penned a deal with upcoming home team Uno-X.

Hayter Jnr’s signature wasn’t the only piece of business wrapped up by Ineos this week.

Yesterday, Sir Dave Brailsford was pictured at the grand unveiling of an aging British star with something to prove.

Not convinced this cat can ride 150km in the wind on flat days. pic.twitter.com/FjGt3JCxJY

— Daniel Friebe (@friebos) August 2, 2022

Yep, that’s right, Mark Caven- oh, wait… Aaron Ramsey has signed for French football club OGC Nice, which of course are owned by chemical giants Ineos and overseen by Brailsford in his role as the company’s Director of Sport.

The former Arsenal and Juventus midfielder might be fine for pootling around Nice and the Côte d'Azur, but can he do it on a cold April Sunday in Flanders?

Ah, the Highway Code, the content gift that keeps on giving…

I know what you’re thinking – it’s a bit cheeky of road.cc to criticise anyone for droning on about the Highway Code, though I’ll have you know that since the changes were introduced in January, it’s only appeared in 17.6 percent of our live blogs (source: madeupstats.org).

But this FaceyB post by the Daily Record takes the biscuit.

Last week, the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act came into effect. Among a number of other provisions, the Act features changes designed to tackle dangerous driving, including sterner sentences for causing death by dangerous driving or causing death by careless driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

“This Government is delivering on its commitment to make our streets safer,” said outgoing PM Boris Johnson of the changes. “We have changed the law so that dangerous criminals are given the sentences they deserve and kept behind bars, and we are backing the police with the powers they need to keep us safe.”

So, in a clear, completely unmuddied bid to tell their readers about the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act, the Daily Record posted the following, not at all confusing or misleading, image:

Ah, ‘centre of the road’, my old friend. How have you been?

Unsurprisingly, the usual suspects appeared in the comments, telling us that cyclists should have ID, pay road tax, have insurance, not be on the same roads as motorists, wear helmets, stop riding too close to their precious bits of metal, and that “they” should “just ban most of us from driving because that is where this is heading”…

And what did nobody in the comments mention? Ah, that’s right – the new law about dangerous driving…