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“The more bike lanes a city has, the more often this will happen”: Car passenger aims “vroom” taunt at cyclist… only to be caught and passed moments later; Valverde’s back on gravel, and with brown shorts + more on the live blog

It’s Tuesday and Ryan Mallon’s back for another daily helping of cycling news, views, and nonsense on the live blog
Tue, Apr 04, 2023 09:42
27
“The more bike lanes a city has, the more often this will happen”: Car passenger aims “vroom” taunt at cyclist… only to be caught and passed moments later; Valverde’s back on gravel, and with brown shorts + more on the live blogCar passenger aims “vroom” taunt at cyclist… only to be caught and passed moments later (credit - Stormont Cyclist, Twitter)
04 April 2023, 08:09
Car passenger aims “vroom” taunt at cyclist… only to be caught and passed moments later (credit - Stormont Cyclist, Twitter)
“They never caught up again”: Car passenger aims “vroom” taunt at cyclist… only to be caught and passed moments later

We’ve all known since we were children that bikes mean freedom, in the broadest sense: the freedom to explore, to see new places with your friends, even just to quickly nip down to the shops.

But as you grow older, and are forced to commute to work, you realise cycling – especially as more and more dedicated infrastructure pops up – also provides you with the freedom and ability to escape that most mundane of everyday occurrences: traffic.

However, for some reason, that realisation has yet to seep into the minds of many motorists, still revelling in the marketing-infused notion that cars are your ticket to freedom, even when you’re stuck in a massive city-wide rush hour jam, and not, as that TV ad informed you, on a wide open American highway.

That was certainly the case for this car passenger (note the R plates on the vehicle) who couldn’t resist the urge, as 17-year-olds are wont to do, of shouting “vroom” at a passing cyclist, who turned out to be Twitter user and regular uploader of close passes and bad driving, Stormont Cyclist.

Of course, we all know where this is going.

After directing their wholly original taunt out the car window, the poor passenger – travelling through Dundonald in the direction of Belfast, in rush hour, I’ll add – soon received a taste of his own medicine, with a good-natured but targeted wave from Stormont Cyclist as they continued on up the bus lane, never to be seen again.

‘Ha! Look at that silly cyclist, bet they wish they had your new car mate, they could get everywhere a lot fast-… oh.’

That wave has gone down well with many cyclists on Twitter, who have enjoyed their own spin by a taunting motorist in the past (you’d almost think that it happens all the time):

Though some focused on the serious side of the video, and the anti-cycling, car-brained, abusive attitudes which still prevail, unfortunately…

Amen.

Of course, those anti-cycling attitudes invariably popped up in the comments, with a few claiming that the rider was about to jump a red light at the end of the clip (because cyclists, apparently) – though Stormont Cyclist was, as ever, on the scene with a handy clip:

04 April 2023, 08:46
Movistar announce gravel squad and return of Alejandro Valverde (Movistar Team/GOBIK)
Valverde’s back… on gravel, and with brown shorts

In news that will shock absolutely nobody who’s been paying attention, cycling’s very own Dorian Gray, Alejandro Valverde, is set to make his return to racing this month… on gravel.

42-year-old Valverde – who only retired from his two decade long pro career (give or take a year or so in the middle for… reasons) last October following a string of top placings at the end-of-season Italian classics – spent most of the early part of this year teasing an immediate return to the Movistar squad, where he had in theory at least taken up a new staff-rider liaison role at the notoriously chaotic Spanish outfit.

But it seems as if the rumours of Valverde’s impending comeback to racing were at least half-right, as this morning Movistar announced that they were dipping their toe into the expanding world of gravel racing, with their ageless star acting as the venture’s poster boy.

Movistar announce gravel squad and return of Alejandro Valverde (Movistar Team/GOBIK)

(Movistar Team/GOBIK)

Valverde will make his debut for Movistar’s gravel squad later this month at La Indomable in Almería, a new UCI Gravel World Series event on the south side of the Sierra Nevada, which takes place on 23 April – two days before the 2009 Vuelta winner’s 43rd birthday.

He will be joined at La Indomable by the squad’s two female riders, 38-year-old e-sports and endurance rider Ana Dillana, and Hayley Simmonds, the two-time British national time trial champion who has represented Movistar in the virtual cycling world over the past few years.

The team’s fourth and (for the time being) final rider, classics star Iván García Cortina, will take to the gravel stage for the first time on 29 April at the Traka in Girona, alongside Simmonds and Dillana.

And while all the attention may focus on Valverde’s long-awaited (okay, five months) return to competitive bike racing, don’t think I haven’t noticed the big brown elephant in the room… Those shorts.

Movistar announce gravel squad and return of Alejandro Valverde (Movistar Team/GOBIK)

I’m not sure even sure Alejandro’s convinced…

Yikes. Surely they had to get permission from AG2R to use them?

What do you think? Is Valverde, blue, and brown a hit combo in your eyes? Or is it all one big racing and sartorial mistake?

04 April 2023, 16:17
Comment of the Day: The reviews are in for Valverde’s brown shorts
Movistar announce gravel squad and return of Alejandro Valverde (Movistar Team/GOBIK
Facebook comment - Valverde's brown shorts

 

04 April 2023, 16:07
Why don’t cyclists use the cycle lanes? Part 6,392
Talbot Road (@DomCycling)

> Council criticised after resurfacing entire road... except cycle lanes

04 April 2023, 15:35
Ide Schelling wins crazy, complicated downhill sprint at Tour of the Basque Country, after a brief touch of Landismo

Another day, another tough, grippy, and complicated stage at the Tour of the Basque Country.

Today, it was Bora-Hansgrohe’s Ide Schelling who took the stage win, and with it Ethan Hayter’s leader’s jersey, after powering to the front of the 30-strong group that survived the slog up the final climb, the Arkiskil, and the tricky, rapid, and downright dangerous descent that lasted almost all the way to the line, to see off Matteo Sobrero and David Gaudu with a monster sprint.

While the in-form Schelling proved the fastest of the daredevils in Leitza, 50 kilometres back down the road, Mikel Landa set Cycling Twitter wild with an audacious long-range attack.

Phwoar.

Granted, it came to little except for a few bonus seconds picked up at the intermediate sprint, but these days we’ll take all the Landismo we can get…

04 April 2023, 14:50
Elisa Balsamo starts some (very) early prep for next year’s Tour of Flanders

Just get a hose and throw on some massive stones, and it’ll be almost life-like…

04 April 2023, 14:20
Those of a nervous disposition, look away now
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Haulingcc (@hauling.cc)

Well, you can’t say it’s not ‘innovative’…

04 April 2023, 13:42
Is this the biggest bike symbol in the UK?

We love a pointless competition here on the road.cc live blog, so we thought we’d piggyback on this one, posted on Twitter by Active Travel England’s Brian Deegan, who asked: Where is the UK’s biggest cycle symbol?

Deegan’s entry, from Grove Street in Leeds, sure is a whopper:

However, it might be 10/10 for size, but we’ve been forced to score it a 0/10 for pedals, unfortunately.

Although some weren’t that impressed with other aspects of the design:

While Paul noted that Leeds, though boasting a massive bike symbol, also features this preposterously small ‘cycle lane’:

Nevertheless, Brian has certainly thrown down the gauntlet in the ‘Massive Cycle Symbols’ contest, prompting a few contenders to emerge from the shadows (though I think we might have to bring UKAD in to police this competition, as some of the below entries aren’t on the road, painted, or even in the UK…).

Does your local bike symbol have what it takes? Or will it need to adopt the Pogačar approach to Paris-Roubaix and gain a few kilos before it can compete with the very best?

04 April 2023, 13:09
Move over Roger and Tom, the real GOATs of Paris-Roubaix are hitting the cobbles

Warning: the following post may contain references to overused 21st century sporting acronyms (and photos of actual cute goats).

Is this the sight we’ll all be treated to when Tadej Pogačar finally takes on – and let’s face it, probably wins – the Hell of the North?

Meanwhile, Marianne Vos decided to check on her pavé form this morning with a pre-Roubaix test through the Arenberg Forest:

04 April 2023, 12:41
More post-Flanders analysis, this time from Luke Rowe on THAT crash, as well as DSM “taking the piss a bit”
04 April 2023, 12:14
Temporary changes set for Cycleway 3 during Coronation

Following the disruption caused last year by the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and, later, her funeral and the accompanying national period of morning, things look set to be a touch more straightforward for cyclists in central London during next month’s Coronation activities – unless British Cycling advises its members not to ride their bikes during King Charles’ big day (which, after last year’s almighty backlash, is highly unlikely. But not impossible, however. It is British Cycling after all).

> British Cycling removes advice telling members not to ride during funeral for Queen Elizabeth II

According to new guidance from Transport for London, from yesterday there will be temporary changes to Cycleway 3 around Buckingham Palace and Constitution Hill, lasting until Monday 15 May, in support of both the Coronation and the London Marathon.

The guidance says that, between Wellington Arch and Birdcage Walk, there will be changes to the key cycle route’s “layout and operation”, and that cyclists will be segregated from motor traffic and may need to follow the direction of stewards.

> Queen’s Platinum Jubilee forces six-week closure of key London cycleway

London’s walking and cycling commissioner Will Norman also tweeted that protected cycle lanes in the area will be maintained “for most of the time” during this period.

Meanwhile, there will be full day closures on Cycleway 3 on 22 April, 23 April, 5 May, and 6 May, with two additional overnight closures planned for Coronation preparations.

The measures have already been praised by cyclists, who have described them as “a huge improvement” over last year’s disruption to the cycleway.

Now, we just need British Cycling to intervene…

04 April 2023, 11:31
Pedal and Post e-cargo bike delivery
“It really is a no brainer to make the switch”: Shifting to cargo bikes could save English taxpayers £4bn, study finds

A recent study has found that if delivery companies switched to using cargo bikes instead of diesel vans for the first and last mile of deliveries, it would save the NHS and other government services over £4bn by reducing the costs of congestion and air pollution.

Researchers at London-based Just Economics, comparing the social, environmental, and economic impacts of diesel and electric vans with e-cargo bikes, concluded that diesel vans are 67 times more environmentally damaging when air, water, and noise pollution, as well as climate change, are taken into consideration.

When these environmental costs are combined with social costs, the report argues, the “hidden costs” associated with diesel van deliveries come to a staggering £2.46 billion annually in London alone.

According to Oxford courier firm Pedal and Post, if a third of those costs were saved from switching to zero emissions cargo bikes – the Department for Transport has claimed that 33 percent of urban deliveries could be managed by cargo bikes – the health and environmental savings could total £4.25bn across England.

“The potential to clean up our air and grow the UK economy is huge,” says Pedal and Post’s CEO Chris Benton, who is currently looking to expand the business through a crowdfunding campaign.

“Pollution from diesel van deliveries costs the NHS nearly £25,000 across the lifetime of the van, compared to around £150 for an electric cargo bike.

“We also know that cargo bikes can deliver more parcels per hour than the average van, and produce 92 percent less greenhouse gas emissions per delivery, so it really is a no brainer to make the switch.” 

> Transport for London launches Cargo Bike Action Plan, which aims to promote use of cargo bikes and address barriers that prevent shift from vans

The analysis comes just days after Transport for London launched a new initiative which will see it working with boroughs, businesses, and the freight and servicing industry to promote the use of cargo bikes and transform how deliveries and servicing trips are made in the capital.

According to TfL, cargo bikes could replace up to four percent of van kilometres by 2030, a figure that rises to 17 percent in central London.

The government’s Cargo Bike Action Plan, which was launched on Friday at the National Cargo Bike Summit in London, will aim to address the barriers that inhibit or prevent a shift from vans to two wheels.

04 April 2023, 11:05
Speaking of bike lanes and rush hour…
04 April 2023, 10:49
Five stars, Jeremy? That’s insane!

Looks like Kostüme’s Signature Bib Shorts impressed our reviewers, gaining that elusive, tantalising five-star rating (if I’m honest, I didn’t think it was possible to hit the five star button on our systems).

But what else would you expect from the “most supple, soft, and beautiful Lycra I've ever put between my thighs”? (Careful now, those are Jo’s words, not mine...)

Kostüme Men’s Bib Short

> Review: Kostüme Men’s Bib Short

04 April 2023, 10:18
The Women's Tour climbs Black Mountain in 2022 (SWpix.com)
Council “extremely disappointed” at Women’s Tour cancellation

The unfortunate cancellation of this year’s Women’s Tour – which will be the subject of an upcoming road.cc Podcast episode – has been greeted with dismay by a local council preparing to host the beleaguered Women’s World Tour stage race.

Stage two of this year’s race, cancelled on Friday amidst a maelstrom of increased costs, funding holes, and a challenging economic climate, was set to start in Northampton before taking in Daventry, Towcester, and Brackley on the way to Ampthill.

Grace Brown wins stage four of the Women's Tour (Simon Wilkinson/SWpix.com)

> Women's Tour cancelled for 2023, organisers cite lack of financial backing

West Northamptonshire Council, the local authority responsible for the towns hosting the opening part of the stage, has responded to the race’s cancellation by saying it is “extremely disappointed”, but that it will continue to commit to enhancing the area’s reputation as a “world-class sporting venue”, while repurposing the funding earmarked for the Women’s Tour towards other cycling initiatives.

“Whilst we are extremely disappointed we will not be hosting the Women’s Tour this summer for reasons beyond our control, it was an honour to be one of just nine locations chosen to take part,” Adam Brown, the council’s cabinet member for housing, culture, and leisure said in a statement.

“West Northamptonshire Council is committed to doing everything possible to encourage and promote increased participation in sport – particularly by women and girls, and we will continue to strive to bring world-class events to our area as we build a legacy for future generations and establish West Northants as a destination for sporting excellence.

“We will also be looking at repurposing funding for other cycling and sporting initiatives which play an important role in bringing communities together and inspiring people to take up sport and live a more active and healthier lifestyle.”

04 April 2023, 10:04
04 April 2023, 09:44
Why don’t cyclists use the cycle lanes? Part 6,391: Electric vehicle charger edition
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.

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27 comments

Avatar
AltBren | 1 year ago
1 like

This is interaction is usually less well natured. It usually involves a car accelerating past and then swinging into your braking space, cos how dare I leave enough space between me and the car Infront. It's always the same result, I immediately overtake them, and leave them stuck in traffic. "What was that about eh?" Is all I say..

Avatar
IanMSpencer | 1 year ago
6 likes

In other news - at last, what a lovely day for a bike ride - the Lenches were gorgeous today.

Avatar
JoanneH replied to IanMSpencer | 1 year ago
7 likes

Yes, it was gorgeous. Apart, on the route I chose, for way too many temporary traffic lights (and associated tailbacks); potholes galore; and quite a lot of close passes and one complete idiot who beeped his horn angrily at me and a slower cyclist as we left some red lights, then about a minute later overtook me and immediately turned left into a garage across the path of some pedestrians. But still, I had a nice ride.

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brooksby | 1 year ago
0 likes

I'm not sure about those brown shorts... 

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eburtthebike replied to brooksby | 1 year ago
4 likes

brooksby wrote:

I'm not sure about those brown shorts... 

They were black until he was told how much they cost.

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AltBren replied to brooksby | 1 year ago
0 likes

Reminds me of the old joke with the general and the red shirt.. the English (choose your own hero) general says fetch me my red shirt, so if I bleed the troops won't be disheartened!"
The French (choose your villain) general hears of this and says " excellent idea, fetch me my brown trousers!"

Sorry!

Avatar
chrisonabike | 1 year ago
4 likes

Pedantry RE London Cycles tweet "If you build bike lanes..." They mean "bike paths" or "separated cycle tracks". If you build bike lanes nothing much changes, although you may see more parked motor vehicles...

Avatar
chrisonabike | 1 year ago
1 like

In other news - not directly cycling - let's welcome our new robot bus overlords.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-65175447

I never caught one being tested but will investigate when I've an excuse to go that way. This one may be no drama as I believe the proposed route is almost entirely on roads I wouldn't cycle on. They're not pleasant and they either have passable cycle paths next to them (some OK, some just footpath with a sign but no pedestrians) or I'd go a different route for directness.

So this may be for the better although it depends on the code and training. At least initially (Stagecoach though...) they're not saving labour as there will be *two* staff - one to supervise driving (for legal reasons? ) and a ticket collector ("bus captain").

Avatar
mitsky | 1 year ago
8 likes

A lets not forget my own instance of a driver and passenger getting stuck in traffic...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7enDsD5bpc

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ChrisB200SX replied to mitsky | 1 year ago
5 likes

Idiots. Why are these people allowed outside?

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brooksby replied to mitsky | 1 year ago
4 likes

My favourite when someone raises "road tax" is to ask why electric cars are allowed on the roads, given that they don't pay "road tax"...

Avatar
Patrick9-32 replied to brooksby | 1 year ago
2 likes

Or "Can I pay 'Road Tax' on a shed I place on the public highway? - Is the cost of a 2m x 4m piece of maintained tarmac public land around £100 per year to rent? No? Then maybe vehicle duty isn't to rent the space your car takes up."

Avatar
Adam Sutton replied to brooksby | 1 year ago
5 likes

As well as that, I also either go with asking how do I go about getting a tax rebate, as I didn't know being a cyclist meant I don't pay tax, or point out the fact that like 80% of cyclists I am a driver and own a car, one that is subject to the additional premium rate, and therefore probably pay more "vehicle" tax than they do.

Avatar
Rendel Harris replied to brooksby | 1 year ago
9 likes

brooksby wrote:

My favourite when someone raises "road tax" is to ask why electric cars are allowed on the roads, given that they don't pay "road tax"...

I had the weirdest comeback I've had for a while on Twitter the other day on the subject:

Tweeter: You shouldn't be on the road because you don't pay road tax.

Me: If you mean vehicle excise duty, that's a tax on tailpipe emissions and bicycles don't have any.

Tweeter: Yes well that doesn't make you holy, I drive an electric Nissan Leaf so I don't have any tailpipe emissions either.

Me: So then you don't pay any tax to use the roads either, do you?

Tweeter: No but I pay tax on the electricity that charges my car and you don't pay tax on your fuel, which is food, so you contribute nothing.

I couldn't be bothered after that, it was only later that it occurred to me that I could have said I am mainly fuelled by beer (not before a ride of course), cake, café coffee and wine gums, all of which attract tax.

Avatar
IanMK replied to Rendel Harris | 1 year ago
9 likes

I survive on take aways so I'm paying 20% VAT whilst he's only paying 5%.

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

Rendel Harris wrote:

Tweeter: No but I pay tax on the electricity that charges my car and you don't pay tax on your fuel, which is food, so you contribute nothing.

Avatar
chrisonabike replied to Rendel Harris | 1 year ago
5 likes

If you were on the eBike it would be the same electricity - unless you're running "gravel-specific" electrons?

On my "funny bike" I get a fair few comments - some asking if it's electric.  I usually say it's powered by one of your suggested items.

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andystow replied to Rendel Harris | 1 year ago
7 likes

Rendel Harris wrote:

I couldn't be bothered after that, it was only later that it occurred to me that I could have said I am mainly fuelled by beer (not before a ride of course), cake, café coffee and wine gums, all of which attract tax.

I can't find a photo, but I used to have a large "POWERED BY ETHANOL" sticker on my touring bike.

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IanMSpencer replied to brooksby | 1 year ago
2 likes

I ask if they try to run electric cars off the road 'cos they use the roads for free too.

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quiff replied to mitsky | 1 year ago
6 likes

The audacity of lecturing you on road positioning while obstructing a 'keep clear' junction.

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eburtthebike | 1 year ago
9 likes

The pity is that the 17 year old shouter is unlikely to think "Why am I sitting in a car in a traffic jam, polluting the atmosphere, spending all my money on this stationary car when I could be riding a bike."

When I lived in Bristol, trolling up and down the Gloucester Road every day, I would pass the same hundreds of cars every day, but none of them seemed to change their behaviour because they realised the absurdity of their behaviour.

We have so far to go.

Avatar
wycombewheeler | 1 year ago
3 likes

Quote:

That was certainly the case for this car passenger (note the R plates on the vehicle) who couldn’t resist the urge, as 17-year-olds are wont to do, of shouting “vroom”

At least he wasn't called a bike wanker. 17 year olds probably too young to remember inbetweeners

Avatar
ChrisB200SX replied to wycombewheeler | 1 year ago
2 likes

wycombewheeler wrote:

Quote:

That was certainly the case for this car passenger (note the R plates on the vehicle) who couldn’t resist the urge, as 17-year-olds are wont to do, of shouting “vroom”

At least he wasn't called a bike wanker. 17 year olds probably too young to remember inbetweeners

About 10 years ago I was playing cricket at Reading Uni, I was fielding towards the boundary by the road, a car of students passed and one of them shouted "cricket wankers!"... it made me laugh, still makes me chuckle to this day.

Avatar
JustTryingToGet... replied to ChrisB200SX | 1 year ago
1 like
ChrisB200SX wrote:

wycombewheeler wrote:

Quote:

That was certainly the case for this car passenger (note the R plates on the vehicle) who couldn’t resist the urge, as 17-year-olds are wont to do, of shouting “vroom”

At least he wasn't called a bike wanker. 17 year olds probably too young to remember inbetweeners

About 10 years ago I was playing cricket at Reading Uni, I was fielding towards the boundary by the road, a car of students passed and one of them shouted "cricket wankers!"... it made me laugh, still makes me chuckle to this day.

I occasionally call my colleagues zoom wankers. About half of them get it.

My partner is regularly running wanker, gig wanker, crisps wanker and then for a bit of variety, tea bitch.

I am obviously a bike wanker, amongst other things.

Avatar
quiff | 1 year ago
0 likes

If that had been me, I would be regretting timing the exuberant wave just before a red light.  

Avatar
Beatnik69 replied to quiff | 1 year ago
2 likes

I used to work up there. It's 3.5 miles to the bottom of the road. I would often get passed by a car at the start of my ride, only to overtake them further down the road and get to the bottom before them and yes, I stopped for all the red lights.

Avatar
quiff replied to Beatnik69 | 1 year ago
1 like

I don't doubt it. I would just have found it an uncomfortable wait expecting some further unwanted interaction.

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