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Joe Biden's secretary of transportation Pete Buttigieg wants to build "culture of cycling"; Oprah interview déjà vu; Dunkin' Donuts' bike-thru for mid-ride carbs; Should Strade Bianche be a Monument?; Calls for bike hangars + more on the live blog

It's Friday and the weekend is almost in sight, Dan Alexander is here for the final live blog of the week...
05 March 2021, 16:35
Poll results
Poll results 5/3/2021

A comprehensive victory for those who think Strade Bianche should be the sixth Monument. The teams have been out reccying the route ahead of tomorrow's race and giving us an excuse to share some more blog-friendly clips from the white roads of Tuscany...

Turn the sound on for this one...Beautiful. 

05 March 2021, 16:02
Reaction to yesterday's Spectator story

Yesterday's blog story about Mary Wakefield's Spectator column bemoaning the 'war on cars' and LTNs got plenty of attention and the reaction has continued to rumble on today...Not least from Jo Rigby, a Labour councillor, who shared the view of Royal Mail workers who rely on cycling infrastructure to do their job safely...

05 March 2021, 15:56
"There is light at the end of the tunnel and I'm going for it": Fabio Jakobsen feeling positive about return to training
Fabio Jakobsen (from twitter)

Fabio Jakobsen is feeling positive about his return to the sport, seven months on from the horror crash at the Tour of Poland that put his career in jeopardy. Jakobsen said he is hoping that in another four or five months the implants and screws used to treat his facial injuries will have healed completely.

"On Monday the stitches will be removed and I hope to get back to training! In this way I would like to thank everybody that helped me get this far in my recovery process. There is light at the end of the tunnel and I’m going for it!" he wrote on Facebook.

05 March 2021, 15:46
Oprah interview déjà vu

Plenty of speculation today about the big interview coming this weekend with Oprah, Harry and Meghan...The cycling community is wondering if we could be in for a repeat of that other Oprah interview from 2013 that nobody talks about...For the sake of Monday's live blog just tell us you hate disc brakes, Harry...

05 March 2021, 15:14
Joe Biden's secretary of transportation Pete Buttigieg wants to build "culture of cycling"

After the past four years, it makes a nice change to be able to report on some positive political news from across the pond...Joe Biden's secretary for transportation Pete Buttigieg was speaking at the National Bike Summit this week and had plenty of nice things to say about his plans for the future of cycling in the States. Notably, emphasising that he wants to "build a culture of cycling".

"I come from an auto-making part of the country, and we're proud of it," said Buttigieg. "But we can definitely be more of a bicycling country. If you just get to a certain tipping point, and it's not much — about 2% in terms of the rate of people who commute to work by bike — you tend to see step changes in terms of safety probably because motorists are more conscious and aware of people on bicycles as a matter of routine. So it's building up that culture of cycling."

"What I can say is that whether it's hard resources or whether it's moral support, you're going to see a lot of energy coming from my office and my team to help move things along. We're going to be a better safer, cleaner, and greener country the more people have safe options to get around on two wheels."

Buttigieg also recalled how a 2014 trip to Copenhagen, Amsterdam and Oslo tilted his perspective towards the possibility of a greener future for the US, with cycling at its heart. "We came back from that really inspired," Buttigieg explained. "How great infrastructure and bike culture and conscious and intentional choices in countries that used to be as car-dependent as we are in many ways can keep people moving through winters."

The full talk is at the top of this story...

05 March 2021, 14:46
Un-Happy Meal
McDonald's bike thief

Detectives have released a picture of a man they want to speak to over a bike theft from a McDonald's branch in Northampton. The Northampton Chronicle and Echo reports the bike had its lock cut and was taken while it was parked outside the  Weston Favell fast food outlet. Police believe the man may have information which could help track down the offender.

A spokesperson for Northampton Police said: "We would like this man to come forward or, anyone who recognises him or has information about the theft, please call 101 using incident number 21000109046."

05 March 2021, 13:33
Bristol Cycling Campaign calls for 1,000 bike hangars
waltham forest bikehangar - via fredbikelondon

The Bristol Cycling Campaign has called on the city's council to install 1,000 bike hangars by May 2024 to help make cycling more accessible for people who can't store their bike at home. The steel pods usually have space for up to six bikes and provide secure, on-street parking. Currently, Bristol has only 15 hangars according to a recent report, but local survey data showed that demand for residential bike parking is likely to be in the tens of thousands. The report also proposed ways to simplify installation and cut costs by at least £1,500 per hangar.

05 March 2021, 12:28
Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games road race location revealed
St Nicholas Park Warwick (via Google Street View)

The 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games road race will be hosted by St Nicholas' Park in Warwick where the race will start and finish. The race is scheduled to take place on Sunday August 7 and will decide who will succeed Australian sprinter Steele Von Hoff, who won the event at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games three years ago. Geraint Thomas, Stuart O'Grady and Matthew Haymen are all former winners of Commonwealth road race gold.

05 March 2021, 11:27
Fernando Alonso "completely fit" after cycling crash
Fernando Alonso (via fernandoalo_oficial on Instagram).PNG

Autosport reports that Fernando Alonso is "completely fit" for the upcoming F1 season having recovered from injuries sustained when he was hit by a driver while cycling in Switzerland. The Spaniard needed surgery on an upper jaw fracture but has now returned to training, leaving Alpine F1's CEO Laurent Rossi confident he will be fit for the start of the season. 

"Fernando is doing very well," Rossi said. "He had a bad accident. A bike accident is rarely something that goes easy, but he was lucky, and he ended up only suffering from his jaw. So besides the necessary surgery and care on his jaw, the rest is totally fine. Fernando is completely fit. He is totally operational."

The two-time F1 world champion's former team boss Flavio Briatore has urged Alonso to give up cycling, saying "if you don't stop, I'll lock you in the garage."

05 March 2021, 11:06
Does Strade Bianche deserve to be a Monument?
 
Does Strade Bianche deserve to be a Monument?

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Created with PollMaker

The world champion has had his say, but what about you lot? Strade Bianche as the sixth Monument?  

05 March 2021, 10:43
Strade Bianche deserves to be a Monument according to Julian Alaphilippe
Julian Alaphilippe wins the UCI road world championship 2020 (picture credit Simon Wilkinson/SWpix.com)

It's one of our favourite races on the calendar tomorrow as the pros take on the white roads of Tuscany at Strade Bianche. World champion Julian Alaphilippe made the case for it being the sixth Monument and joining the pantheon of the sport's most prestigious one-day races. "It's a really beautiful race, always spectacular. It's maybe not a Monument but it deserves to be," Alaphilippe told reporters ahead of Saturday.

As for the other favourites for the win, Alaphilippe said he was looking forward to renewing his rivalry with Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel. The last time the three competed against each other was at the Tour of Flanders last autumn when the Frenchman crashed after colliding with a race motorbike.

"They are two of the big favourites, that's clear," Alaphilippe continued. "You can see the shape of Van der Poel from the last couple of races. And with Van Aert, he won last year and he's really strong. Even if this is his first race, he can still win. From my side, I'm just happy to take the start on Saturday with a big motivation. We have to be smart. It's a really hard race and the legs will talk. I'm happy to have good sensations, but I can't wait to win."

05 March 2021, 10:03
Hating on cyclists for doing nothing wrong

Helen went out of her way to take and share this video of two cyclists riding two abreast along the seafront. Noting to see here, right? Not for Helen, who tweeted: "Don't you just love cyclists not using the cycle lane & riding two abreast. At least it wasn't on the pavement. Wnkrs..." 

If only riding two abreast wasn't both perfectly legal and safe, as per yesterday's instruction from Roads Policing Scotland. And, as some replies pointed out, not using the cycle lane hasn't caused any congestion here. We can't see the cycle lane Helen talks of but maybe someone with local knowledge will enlighten us.

Someone called UKtizens replied to the video suggesting cyclists should pay 'road tax', a bicycle registration fee and MOTs...

A strong score from Rate My Rant, an account set up for 'rating the rant of bike bashers'...

05 March 2021, 08:42
Dunkin' Donuts opens bike-thru for those mid-ride carbs

Picture the scene. You're in the final stretch of a big weekend ride and haven't eaten since you scranned that last snack well over an hour ago. That all too familiar feeling of pedalling squares descends and all you can think about is food: Jelly Babies, Haribo, an entire packet of Jaffa Cakes...Anything, 'just give me sugar' your body screams...You grind over the crest of the next hill, and what meets your eye? A Dunkin' Donuts bike-thru...Is it a mirage? No, it's real. You're saved. You can gorge your bodyweight in carbs and roll home as a champion...

That's the good news, Dunkin' Donuts now has a bike-thru for cyclists to pick up on the go. The bad news is you'll need to ride to the other side of the world to use it because this game-changing service is only available at Dunkin' Donuts Philippines' Quezon City branch...

Hopefully it's a sign of things to come and the next time you bonk and crave all the donuts in the world, you won't have to slink out of a petrol station holding a box of 12 Krispy Kremes...Give the people what they want...

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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33 comments

Avatar
Tired of the tr... | 3 years ago
0 likes

What's going on in the picture with the bike hangar? Has a driver crashed their car into it? Does this relate to the story about Bristol or is it just a random photo of a damaged hangar?

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ktache | 3 years ago
2 likes

I have just fitted the Red Nose I got from Sainsbury's this morning to the front of my bike.  Always liked the car ones, but smaller from my bicycle.

When I showed people at work, especially the non plastic nature of it, the Guatemalan Postdoc pointed out the eyes and lips might not quite be culturally appropriate.

Of course from my position of White Privilege I had not noiced that the comedy Red Nose featured Blackface.

She might have had a point...

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mdavidford replied to ktache | 3 years ago
2 likes

Why does it have lips on the top of its head in the first place?

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Dicklexic | 3 years ago
11 likes

I recognise the road in Helen's video. It is the sea front in Aberavon, near Port Talbot in South Wales. There is a cycle path on the promenade, but it is one of those 'shared use' types with a painted line dividing pedestrians from cyclists. On a quiet day at a sedate pace (say for a leisurely ride with family) it is actually quite nice, but as soon as it gets any busier, or if you plan to hold a higher pace then it becomes unsuitable. The road on the other hand is a wide one, with single carriageways separated by a central reservation, and parking bays along most of its length. There are speed bumps/raised zebra crossings and a 20mph limit, although any sensibly driven car would do well to go over about 20mph unless they are happy to wreck their suspension and break the speed limit as well. In other words those cyclists would not have been holding anyone up, even if there were other cars behind them!

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Dhill replied to Dicklexic | 3 years ago
0 likes

Yes but she is right they are wnkrs. Has she spelled something incorrectly?

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Keesvant replied to Dicklexic | 3 years ago
0 likes

This might amze you, i live in the Netherlands. We have lots and lots of cycle lanes.
They are unsuitible for cycling above 30kph with a group of more then 6 people.
Therefore we have to cycle on the road, to not endanger ourselves and other cycle lane users.
Motorists do not understand that...

Avatar
Crumblingman | 3 years ago
7 likes

This is from Helens account....Old Soul. Loves animals,kind people, music, nature, being outdoors & having a good laugh. Happily married.                                                  So she loves animals what about the 100,000 plus that are killed each year by motor vecihles even 2 horses per week. Loves nature and being outside, stuck in a carpark with the windows down more like. 

 

 

 

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Sriracha | 3 years ago
5 likes
Quote:

Bristol has only 15 hangars according to a recent report, but local survey data showed that demand for residential bike parking is likely to be in the tens of thousands.

I think Mary Wakefield was making the same point in the Spectator only yesterday (https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-war-on-cars-is-backfiring ). But she has a far more obvious solution: more cars = fewer bikes = problem gone. In fact, if each car gets rid of space for 6 bikes, she could be on to a winner.  3

Avatar
Karbon Kev | 3 years ago
3 likes

Helen's a twat. A thick one, too.

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Dhill replied to Karbon Kev | 3 years ago
0 likes

she established that without you pointing it out. Let’s talk about Dunking Doughnuts. Let’s think of an inappropriate metaphor.

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Daveyraveygravey | 3 years ago
2 likes

Helen seems such a nice person...I "piled on" too.

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Hirsute replied to Daveyraveygravey | 3 years ago
0 likes

I managed to read about half of that. I don't understand why anyone would want to behave like that.

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Tired of the tr... | 3 years ago
9 likes

Is it really worth reporting that Helen on Twitter hates cyclists today?

Several times a day some angry busybody on Twitter posts a video of people cycling happily and legally along, not bothering anybody, upon which several people pile on trying to explain the highwaycode or the tax system. Sometimes it blows up and everybody shouts, and the arguments are always the same and they never get through to the hater.

We don't really all need to know about today's Twitter random idiot, do we? So could I suggest that road.cc just ignores them unless there's something noteworthy about them (e.g. somebody influential like a [local] politician or journalist, or a particularly weird example).

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Philltrz | 3 years ago
0 likes

Strade Bianche should be a monument as soon as RCS sort out some decent coverage. Last year's was pitiful, the women's race even more so.

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mattsccm replied to Philltrz | 3 years ago
0 likes

Making the SB a monumont is twaddle, brilliant event that it is. . You can't just slap a label like this on something. It's an evolution not a sharp cut. Bit like the idiots who decided that it's possible to call the Ride London event a Classic. You can't do that. Just plain daft.

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Dhill replied to Philltrz | 3 years ago
0 likes

Don’t make it a Classic. Classics have really history to them. We’ll have them damn Yanks and Yorkshire (folk) wanting their races to be a ‘Classic’ next, then a Monument, the tour of California and Yorkshire grand tours, where will it end? Tour of Pembrokeshire a race oh dear.

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Keesvant replied to Dhill | 3 years ago
0 likes

I still think the Yorkshire worlds parcour deserves a "classic" like lombardia in the bad weather to seperte the men from the boys ...

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Dhill replied to Keesvant | 3 years ago
0 likes

Modern day classic but not a classic classic like a 19th century novel. Need an alternative name.

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RobD | 3 years ago
10 likes

With the comments that always come up about paying 'Road tax' registration fees and having an MOT, I'd actually welcome it being introduced. I'll happily pay the ~£1 per year VED and a similar amount to register a bike when I buy it, as for an MOT, I'm pretty sure demonstrating at a bike shop once a year that the wheels go round and I have working brakes for them to stamp in a book wouldn't be a hardship.

In return I want to see a zero tolerance against any motorists found driving without insurance, an MOT, or while over the drink/drug limit. large fines, vehicle destruction and actual prison time. Hell I'd even pay the same £30 VED as I pay for my car if it actually got these implemented. I won't hold my breath though.

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WiznaeMe replied to RobD | 3 years ago
2 likes

Agreed. Makes sense, but it's not about common sense it's about intolerance. That won't change.

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brooksby replied to WiznaeMe | 3 years ago
1 like

Exactly.  If we all paid a registration fee, and we all sat exams in 'riding a bike', and we all had our LBS maintain the bike once a year, then it would just be something else.

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Scrapples replied to RobD | 3 years ago
1 like

Also, what if, as part of our 'tax' we got a camera that could link up to ANPR systems and send out automatic fines? 

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Simon E replied to RobD | 3 years ago
0 likes

RobD wrote:

With the comments that always come up about paying 'Road tax' registration fees and having an MOT, I'd actually welcome it being introduced. I'll happily pay the ~£1 per year VED and a similar amount to register a bike when I buy it, as for an MOT, I'm pretty sure demonstrating at a bike shop once a year that the wheels go round and I have working brakes for them to stamp in a book wouldn't be a hardship.

In return I want to see a zero tolerance against any motorists found driving without insurance, an MOT, or while over the drink/drug limit. large fines, vehicle destruction and actual prison time. Hell I'd even pay the same £30 VED as I pay for my car if it actually got these implemented. I won't hold my breath though.

Yes, yes, yes.

If this is the result then I would be more than happy to pay VED on my bicycles. With a total of 6 bikes in our household this is still great value.

TAKE MY SIX POUNDS, Mr Tax Man. Provided you can get the police to do the zero tolerance stuff then I promise to pay on time, every time.

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Kendalred | 3 years ago
14 likes

It is a rather fascinating phenomenon whereby proximity to the inside of a motor vehicle automatically reduces intelligence AND increases anger at the same time. They don't tell you that on the car adverts do they - "The new (insert make and model) has all the modern digital distractions from driving, along with an automatic IQ reduction of 53% and an anger boost of 174.5%, so you can feel overly entitled and persecuted AT THE SAME TIME!"

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Philh68 | 3 years ago
6 likes

I must have encountered Helen's Aussie twin recently. Yelling out the window telling me to get out of the middle of the road. That's the bus stop zone to my left in the pic. You could have driven another car between us! Honestly, driving must make people stupid and turn them into Mr Magoo…

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Awavey | 3 years ago
1 like

Sigh...the UCI have now added post victory hugging to the banned list, because it apparently sends the wrong message to cycling fans  2

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AlsoSomniloquism replied to Awavey | 3 years ago
0 likes

Same bans have been applied to post goal celebrations and end of game wins. Yes, they are in bubbles and tested and everything else but it kind of gives the wrong impression when you can't even hug your nan for example. 

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Secret_squirrel | 3 years ago
3 likes

I think the particularly twatish woman is equating the empty roadside parking bay to a bike lane.  It would be the crowning achievement of a spectactularly incorrect post.

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NPlus1Bikelights replied to Secret_squirrel | 3 years ago
0 likes

Secret_squirrel wrote:

I think the particularly twatish woman is equating the empty roadside parking bay to a bike lane.  It would be the crowning achievement of a spectactularly incorrect post.

I thought it was a troll account but if you check out a few of her tweets you were completely correct.

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