Support road.cc

Like this site? Help us to make it better.

Back to news
news

“We’ll raise it at the next AGM”: Cyclists blast journalist’s call to “please do better” after “one of your number” jumped red light and hit her; New Richmond Park layout “increases danger for cyclists”; Brown shorts Valverde wins + more on the live blog

Happy Tuesday (and light jacket day) everyone! Ryan Mallon’s back at the keyboard for more bike news and nonsense on the Ben Healy Appreciation Page – sorry, I mean live blog…
Tue, Apr 25, 2023 09:21
51
“We’ll raise it at the next AGM”: Cyclists blast journalist’s call to “please do better” after “one of your number” jumped red light and hit her; New Richmond Park layout “increases danger for cyclists”; Brown shorts Valverde wins + more on the live blogLondon cyclists at traffic lights (copyright Britishcycling.org_.uk).jpg
25 April 2023, 08:07
London cyclists at Hyde Park Corner (copyright Britishcycling.org_.uk).jpg
“This should be raised at the next London Cyclists Committee meeting”: Cyclists blast journalist’s call to “please do better” after “one of your number” jumped red light and hit her

It looks like the fortnightly meeting of all London cyclists will have to be moved forward a few days, following an unsavoury incident involving a New Statesman journalist yesterday:

Rachel Cunliffe, the New Statesman’s senior associate editor, tweeted that a cyclist in the capital “just sped through a red light and hit me on a pedestrian crossing, then swore at me and sped into the distance as I stood there in shock.”

Now, obviously that particular cyclist is completely at fault here, and should be condemned for putting a pedestrian in danger.

However, it’s Cunliffe’s claim that, despite having “nothing against 99 percent” of London cyclists, the fact that “one of your number” put her in danger means they should all “please do better”, that has drawn the ire of cyclists online.

Oh, and she also noted in a separate tweet that “traffic lights are for bicycles too”.

While it seems to be waning in recent years in the halls of Westminster, as a politics journo Cunliffe should be well aware of the concept of collective responsibility – and how it can’t possibly apply to groups of road users.

As individual cyclist after individual cyclist lined up to tell her on Twitter, with varying degrees of wit, as we’re all individuals of course (cue Monty Python clip…).

“But what has it got to do with the 99 percent of cyclists who haven’t hit you?” wrote Stephen. “We aren’t some grand organisation who are responsible for each other.

“We’re just a bunch of people who share the same mode of transport – some legally, some not – just like any other cross section of society.”

“This type of behaviour is unacceptable by any road user,” noted Paul. “However I’ve had a word with every cyclist so everything should be good from now on.”

Fair play.

Others, meanwhile, noted the potential repercussions of Cunliffe’s call for cyclists to “do better”, following the actions of one.

“Thanks. My daughter is cycling home from school at this minute, and you’ve just made her journey more dangerous,” said Michael.

“Look at the replies. You are egging on the anti-cycling nutters, and they’re armed with two tonne vehicles. My daughter is only armed with a school uniform.

“I vent about dangerous driving when I encounter it but invoking collective responsibility puts other people on bikes at risk.”

> “Oh dear, can you imagine being a mum carting around children”: Bath’s bicycle mayor shuts down GB News producer’s claim that mums need cars

Meanwhile, others wondered whether the New Statesman journo had actually encountered the new five-abreast cavalcade of cyclists now accompanying Our Dear Leader – sorry, I mean Rishi Sunak.

Alright cyclists, time to stand in the corner and think about what we’ve done…

25 April 2023, 16:08
Cycling and collective responsibility: Who’s to blame?

Call off the search party, ladies and gentlemen, as road.cc reader Clem Fandango reckons they’ve found the cyclist accused of hitting New Statesman journalist Rachel Cunliffe on a pedestrian crossing, before swearing at her and riding off:

Boris Johnson (picture credit TfL).jpg

Makes sense...

However, IanMK has other ideas: “Was it an Uber Eats delivery cyclist? Surely if Amazon drivers are allowed to park where they want because ‘everybody needs Amazon deliveries’ then Uber Eats cyclists should be allowed to run through red lights because ‘nobody wants a cold McDonalds’.”

Looks like the investigation is set to drag on and on an on… But at least we’re all at fault this time, right?

25 April 2023, 15:31
Josef Černý narrowly beats world champion Tobias Foss in Tour de Romandie prologue

The bright sunshine that has finally managed to break through Soudal-Quick Step’s unhappy spring continued today in Switzerland, as Josef Černý added to Remco Evenepoel’s stunning Liege-Bastoge-Liege victory at the weekend by blitzing the Tour de Romandie’s opening prologue.

Černý, decked out in the Belgian team’s now obligatory Star Trek helmet plus snood attire, smashed his way around the flat 6.82km course in Port-Valais to beat Jumbo-Visma’s world TT champion Tobias Foss by the narrowest of margins.

The good news continued for Soudal-Quick Step, as Rémi Cavagna rounded off the podium, just behind his Czech teammate and Foss. Meanwhile, Ineos Grenadier Ethan Hayter, who won the opening TT at Romandie last year, finished in sixth, five seconds down.

25 April 2023, 15:20
25 April 2023, 14:40
Disaster for Rui Costa as chainring comes off on start ramp of Tour de Romandie prologue

There are few worse ways to start a week-long stage race than ripping your chainring off with your very first pedal stroke, before you’ve even descended the start ramp of the opening time trial.

But that’s how former world champion Rui Costa inauspiciously began his Tour de Romandie campaign this afternoon.

The Portuguese rider – who has finished on the Romandie podium three times during his career – also appeared to hurt his knee during his bike’s bizarre technical malfunction, which forced him to cruise in on his road bike, forlornly finishing over five minutes down on the frontrunners.

With the pan-flat 6.82km course around Port-Valais being completed by the powerhouse time trialists in around seven and a half minutes, it is highly unlikely that the Intermarché veteran will make the time cut.

Bad news all round for Costa then, who started 2023 with a bang, winning the Volta a Valenciana before taking top tens at the Volta ao Algarve and Strade Bianche. Unfortunately it looks like he won’t be able to add to that run in Switzerland this week.

Although at least he proved he had the watts to rip his chainring off anyway…

25 April 2023, 14:23
Ashley Neal does cycling

Thoughts/comments?

25 April 2023, 13:59
‘Stop giving them so much material then!’

Spare a thought for poor Matt here, who appears to be struggling with both how the law works and the definition of a ‘victim’:

Oh dear, talk about having a mare…

25 April 2023, 13:46
25 April 2023, 12:42
Cyclists and motorists use new Richmond Park layout (credit - Lauren O'Brien, Twitter)
“They are literally driving at cyclists!” Changes to Richmond Park road layout branded “unusable” as cyclists call for motorists to be banned

It’s time for another visit to a live blog favourite, Richmond Park, where a recent road layout change – designed to provide pedestrians with a safe, segregated walkway across a bridge – has seemed to have instead created carnage, queues of motorists, and lots of horn beeping.

> Cyclists blast proposals to introduce 10mph speed limit on Richmond Park hill

One video posted on Twitter today shows, according to cycling activists in London, the potential dangers posed to cyclists by the new narrow layout (and impatient drivers using the park as a cut-through)…

While in another clip, captured by cyclist and road safety campaigner Lauren in the London park, two motorists can also be seen failing to give way to a cyclist already crossing the bridge:

The changes have, unsurprisingly, been heavily criticised online today, with one cycle lane campaigner claiming that the new layout “doesn’t work for anyone and increases the danger for people cycling”:

Others, however, proffered a rather simple and elegant solution to the whole mess:

25 April 2023, 11:52
Hipsters, hipsters everywhere...
2023 Paul Smith and Rapha limited edition collection

> Rapha and Paul Smith unveil new limited edition collection

25 April 2023, 11:13
2023 Bridge Bike Works Carbon Bottom Bracket
Has Bridge Bike Works reinvented the bottom bracket? Here’s what you had to say…

The new ‘Integrally Threaded Carbon Bottom Bracket’ from Bridge Bike Works – which the Toronto-based component manufacturer says will result in no more dreaded creaks as the threads are moulded directly into the frame – prompted us to go all Jon Landau and ask an unsurprisingly controversial question: Does this new tech represent the future of bottom brackets?

2023 Bridge Bike Works Carbon Bottom Bracket

> Has Bridge Bike Works reinvented the bottom bracket? New tech sees BB threaded directly into carbon frames

Judging by some of your comments, the jury’s still out.

“This... will not age well,” wrote road.cc reader Paul J. “Or these even. These BB threads.”

“I’m not understanding how this combats corrosion between metal and carbon fibre – haven’t they just moved the interface between the two to be the threads?” asked hawkinspeter.

“I would think that would increase the surface area for corrosion and also the threads are much thinner than the traditional interface between push-fit BBs and carbon fibre frames.

“I'm also wondering how long the threads last as they don’t appear to be replaceable.”

“Bagsy not being an early adopter,” said a very pessimistic check12.

2023 Bridge Bike Works Carbon Bottom Bracket

Rich_cb was a little more positive, however.

“If this works, and lasts, it sounds like big progress,” they said. “It’s included on Bridge’s latest bike the Surveyor which, strange name aside, is a beautiful bit of kit in its own right. Not sure it’s beautiful enough for me to risk a few grand on an unproven BB though!

“Maybe it is impossible to create a threaded BB shell out of CF, maybe in a few years everyone will be doing it. Time will tell but kudos to Bridge for trying something different.”

All this engineering and carbon fibre talk is making my head hurt – is it nearly time for lunch?

25 April 2023, 10:51
Are gravel bikes old-school mountain bikes?

Speaking of gravel, over on off-road.cc today Liam Mercer is asking the question scholars have been pondering for centuries: Are gravel bikes really just old-school mountain bikes?

And, if so, is that such a bad thing?

2023 mondraker dusty riding 2

For more of Liam’s musings, and why he believes gravel is the best thing to happen to cycling in decades (decades!), read on:

> Are gravel bikes old-school mountain bikes?

25 April 2023, 10:25
Alejandro Valverde and his brown shorts win on racing comeback

Guess who’s back, back again… And he’s already back to winning ways.

Cycling’s very own Dorian Gray, Alejandro Valverde marked his return to racing following his long, long six-month spell in retirement by winning La Indomable on his gravel racing debut for Movistar’s new off-road team.

The 42-year-old decided to take a leaf out of those young whippersnappers Remco and Pog by attacking early on, eventually soloing to an impressive victory at the first UCI Gravel World Series event of the season in Berja at the weekend.

Valverde’s lone foray over the Andalusian gravel saw him beat fellow Spaniard Ismael Esteban Aguero and British cyclocross ace Cameron Mason by around five minutes.

Not bad for a retiree looking for a hobby. And it goes to show, those (terrible, awful, stinking) brown shorts didn’t hold him back…

25 April 2023, 10:06
Now, this is awkward…

Proving the old (alright 21st century) adage that ‘there’s always a tweet’, someone unearthed one of Rachel Cunliffe’s posts from 2021 which – despite her recent inclination to castigate all cyclists after being hit by a person on a bike – seems to suggest that she believes being killed by a motorist is just one of those things…

25 April 2023, 09:56
Driverwashing 101

Greenwashing, sportswashing, now driverwashing, I can’t keep up…

> Councillor cycling to road safety meeting left bloodied and bruised after being struck by alleged hit-and-run driver in bike lane 

Ryan Mallon

Ryan joined road.cc in December 2021 and since then has kept the site’s readers and listeners informed and enthralled (well at least occasionally) on news, the live blog, and the road.cc Podcast. After boarding a wrong bus at the world championships and ruining a good pair of jeans at the cyclocross, he now serves as road.cc’s senior news writer. Before his foray into cycling journalism, he wallowed in the equally pitiless world of academia, where he wrote a book about Victorian politics and droned on about cycling and bikes to classes of bored students (while taking every chance he could get to talk about cycling in print or on the radio). He can be found riding his bike very slowly around the narrow, scenic country lanes of Co. Down.

Add new comment

51 comments

Avatar
brooksby | 1 year ago
3 likes

Just watched Points West, the local BBC news programme- apparently 7-8 people die each year in accidents involving mobility scooters. Where's the tabloid outrage about that? (the article covered a fatal hit and run inside a supermarket...)

(edit) Found the story - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-65383596

and

https://www.judicialcareers.judiciary.uk/natalie-young-prevention-of-fut...

Quote:

... an independent (and somewhat spritely) 92 year old lady who had full mobility. On the 9th March 2022, Natalie was shopping on her own in a supermarket and was queued at the tills to pay for her groceries. Whilst she was waiting to be served, another shopper on a mobility scooter has joined the queue and was waiting, stationary.
 
Without warning the mobility scooter accelerated forward, ploughing into Natalie with some force and knocking her over. The forward propulsion of the mobility scooter was a conscious act of the driver/rider rather than an unforeseen mechanical or electrical fault.
 
On becoming aware of the injury caused to Natalie, the mobility scooter driver flees the scene and has not been identified or heard from since.

Avatar
giff77 replied to brooksby | 1 year ago
2 likes

Nearly sure I read somewhere that mobility scooter users were now to have a small test to determine their abilities.  I was always under the impression that they were to go no faster than walking pace. I'm a brisk walker and still get passed by them. 

Avatar
Rendel Harris replied to giff77 | 1 year ago
6 likes

Supposed to be 4mph on a pavement (still a pretty brisk walking pace). Class 2 scooters are limited to that and only allowed on pavements, Class 3 scooters that can do 8mph are allowed on the roads and pavements but users are supposed to flip the switch that limits them to 4mph when they join a pavement. Quite a lot seem to "forget" this requirement.

Avatar
Oldfatgit | 1 year ago
11 likes

Ashley N video ...

Well, his road positioning sucks big time.
Domestic dual carriageway and he's in the weeds ... why not take primary or even at worse, secondary.

Filtering the static traffic... squeezing is fine, but there are times where the right lane is empty... and yet he still hogs the left hand car.

Ride your bike like it needs the same space as your car - if you don't, sooner or later someone will have you off with a bad pass, or squeezing you out.

Avatar
TonyE-H replied to Oldfatgit | 1 year ago
9 likes

Terrible positioning at the start, then rides into danger by pulling and stopping alongside a bus indicating to pull out, quite possibly in the blind spot leaving the driver in an awkward position. Either stay behind the bus or filter past completely.

He doesn't know how to cycle safely on the roads, refuses to listen to advice from anyone else, his ego frankly can't accept he might not be right.

Avatar
Gus T replied to TonyE-H | 1 year ago
6 likes

Notice how at the beginning he is breathless although he's on an e-bike, he needs to get out of his car more

Avatar
giff77 | 1 year ago
3 likes

This will explain the lack of ambulances in London. They're all waiting to administer first aid to the protection detail when they finish. Especially the peeler at the end who looks like he's about to have a coronary and mumbling wait for me as he's trying to summon the energy to put one foot in front of the other. At least the Koreans looked fit and weren't breaking a sweat. 

Avatar
Matthew Acton-Varian | 1 year ago
4 likes

I'll be honest, I am not a fan of the idea of a carbon threaded bottom bracket shell. Any material that has poor resistance to abrasion or impact should not be tapped for threads. The probability of stripping the threads is much higher than in alloy and will also handle less torque as a result. It's longevity is a definite concern.

Avatar
NotNigel replied to Matthew Acton-Varian | 1 year ago
0 likes

From reading the article I'm guessing the threads are 'formed' in to the frame when molding which in general produces a much stronger thread than if it had been 'cut'.  Again, I'm guessing,  aluminium frames/inserts are finish machined once they've been welded up or bonded in place which will probably be a 'cut' thread.  Not being a boffin on carbon fibre it would be interesting to know the differences in strength between a formed thread in carbon and a cut thread in aluminium.

Avatar
Matthew Acton-Varian replied to NotNigel | 1 year ago
0 likes

Even when formed Carbon Fibre can rub away. People have put holes in carbon frames from poor maintenance where dirt sits between the frame and outer cables, which then grinds away at the frame. Or if your bike has carbon dropouts (for QRs) if you misalign or over/under tighten your axle, you can slowly rub away at the dropouts making them uneven and writing off your frame. Imagine getting dirt on the threads, or worse, cross-threading. Carbon is great for static loading and fatigue resistance. And yes, whilst metals are machined (Tapped) by cutting away material, it is much more forgiving and resistant to abrasion. Plus, if the threads do get damaged, your LBS will have the right tools to re-thread them easily and cheaply.

Avatar
IanMK | 1 year ago
8 likes

Was it an Uber Eats delivery cyclist? Surely if Amazon drivers are allowed to park where they want because "everybody needs Amazon deliveries" then Uber Eats cyclists should be allowed to run through red lights because "nobody wants a cold McDonalds".

Avatar
hutchdaddy replied to IanMK | 1 year ago
1 like

Does a cold McDonald's taste better?

Avatar
Clem Fandango replied to hutchdaddy | 1 year ago
4 likes

well the milkshakes do anyway

Avatar
Hirsute | 1 year ago
2 likes

Road.cc can you please contact Essex police
https://twitter.com/SaferEssexRoads/status/1650800017798471682
We accept these if they are reported by cyclists who record it in passing while on their commute but not from those who proactively seek out examples of poor driving.

https://saferessexroads.org/extra-eyes/

Avatar
Hirsute replied to Hirsute | 1 year ago
6 likes

Looks like Andy Cox has seen the tweet

https://twitter.com/AndyCoxDCS/status/1650827136163299328

I’ve seen tweets today re public reporting road crime. My view; Danger is danger however it is identified & reported. We should consider each case and take action as appropriate. Ultimately the driver is accountable for their actions. Our purpose is to reduce danger & save life.

Avatar
Rendel Harris replied to Hirsute | 1 year ago
2 likes

Seems to be a separate road safety group from the police, although partnered with them; as such I very much doubt they have the authority to say how the police will deal with video submissions?

Avatar
Hirsute replied to Rendel Harris | 1 year ago
1 like

This is the web page for submissions !

https://saferessexroads.org/driving-complaints-2020/

There is certainly an overlap.

Avatar
Rendel Harris replied to Hirsute | 1 year ago
3 likes

Worrying then, not only for the "we won't process it if you were looking for it" but also the "we won't process anything that's been on social media" restriction as well, neither of which are valid.

Avatar
TonyE-H replied to Rendel Harris | 1 year ago
2 likes

Essex have form for ignoring af much as possible. Report a dangerous close pass and they give the excuse, you can't judge the distance from an action camera.
But if you're very very lucky they might send a warning letter.

Irony is, that their reporting site via Extra Eyes is much better/simpler than Met Police, and you can look up the ref you were given to see the outcome offered, usually within a few days.

Avatar
Gus T replied to Hirsute | 1 year ago
4 likes

I wonder if Essex Police apply the same rules to the vigilante groups that go looking for paedophiles

Avatar
Kapelmuur | 1 year ago
0 likes

Is that Sunak thing real?   I thought it was one of those deep fakes.

Avatar
eburtthebike replied to Kapelmuur | 1 year ago
4 likes

Kapelmuur wrote:

Is that Sunak thing real?   I thought it was one of those deep fakes.

It could have been a body double, like Stalin used to do.

Avatar
chrisonabike replied to Kapelmuur | 1 year ago
1 like

Are you saying that's a fake Sunak there, or that the real Sunak is not genuine?

I certainly wonder about the latter, but then he's only just started.  They all look less glossy after a year or two.  Even Tony went grey by the end.

Avatar
ubercurmudgeon | 1 year ago
4 likes

I give credit to this journalist for addressing her tweet to "London cyclists" and not just "Cyclists". London contains a many arseholes. A minority of all Londoners, but a significant one. Some ride bikes selfishly, some drive cars selfishly, some use public transport selfishly. It is only my opinion, based on experience living there and elsewhere, that arseholes are drawn to London more than they are to cycling.

Avatar
Patrick9-32 replied to ubercurmudgeon | 1 year ago
7 likes

The difference is the selfish cyclists and public transport users are not responsible for over three thousand people being killed or seriously injured on London's roads. The drivers are. 

Avatar
I love my bike | 1 year ago
1 like

What's up with 'bi-weekly'? Is that 'fortnightly'? Anyway, I thought the meetings were oct-monthly (with the american ones being semi-annually) so they don't clash with the drivist ones?

Avatar
OnYerBike replied to I love my bike | 1 year ago
2 likes

https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/on-biweekly-and-bimonthly

I would normally go with bi-weekly for twice a week and fortnightly for once every two weeks. "Semi-weekly" as suggested by the post linked sounds odd to me - and also suggests the event occurs at exactly half-weekly intervals, which (with seven days in a week) is rarely true.

Avatar
ChuckSneed | 1 year ago
1 like

I do think we should hold each other accountable, rather than devolving into infighting. I've never gone through a red light myself, but I have riding buddies who do and I have no problem telling them not to. We can't pretend we're infallible. We can all work together to improve our images as cyclists.

Avatar
the little onion replied to ChuckSneed | 1 year ago
9 likes

Sure, happy to speak to my budies. But not to some random person who is also on two wheels.

 

For the same reason as I would speak to my mate if they were driving badly, or pedestrianing or train-riding irresponsibly, but not to a random driver or pedestrian. 

Avatar
ITK2012 | 1 year ago
2 likes

A cyclist does something wrong: "we are all individuals".

A car driver does something wrong: "all car drivers are a danger to more vulnerable road users".

Hilarious. 

Pages

Latest Comments