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Police close pass campaign met with the usual 'but cyclists' complaints; Cycling dictator back on the bike; Don't text while cycling; Is this the coolest jersey money can buy?; Fabio Jakobsen is back; Vote for Jumbo-Visma Tour kit + more on the live blog

It's Thursday and Dan Alexander is in the hot seat for all your live blog needs...
08 April 2021, 07:53
*Pinned post* Cumbria Police close pass campaign met with the usual 'but cyclists' complaints

A quick scan of Cumbria Police's tweets will tell you nothing gets the angry comments flooding in quite like asking motorists to give cyclists 1.5m space when overtaking...Once again, they got complaints from motorists about cyclists: two abreast, riding too fast, riding too slowly, red light jumping. Not the full set but most of the big ones...

In fairness, Cumbria Police also received lots of praise for being proactive about educating motorists. However, the majority were from people like 'Dashcam man' who chucked in his two cents...

Even more surreal was the reaction to the accompanying pictures of a close pass used to demonstrate the problem... 

Surely nobody could take issue with being asked not to drive like this...Or not...

08 April 2021, 15:36
Ion Izagirre pips Pello Bilbao to Itzulia Basque Country stage win

Ion Izagirre nabbed a stage win from under Pello Bilbao's nose on day four of Itzulia Basque Country. The two Basque riders came away with first and second from a six-man breakaway that formed over the final climb of the day. Brandon McNulty was third, Jonas Vingegaard fourth, Emanuel Buchmann fifth and Esteban Chaves sixth.

The 49 seconds the group took on the rest of the favourites puts McNulty into the leader's jersey for stage five tomorrow.

Any excuse to get this back on the live blog...That sprint was the best Izagirre/Bilbao link-up since this banger dropped...

08 April 2021, 09:14
Cycling dictator back on the bike

 President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov loves bikes...In 2013, he decreed a month of cycling and ordered the entire country to buy a bicycle...Although, as pointed out by John Stevenson in the original road.cc story, it helps when you're a totalitarian ruler backed up by a one-party state and 97 per cent of the electorate...

Berdimuhamedov is back with another of his 'low-key' bike rides this morning taking the applause of hundreds of 'adoring spectators'...

The UCI World Track Cycling Championships are to take place in the nation's capital, Ashgabat, later this year. Something that has been widely condemned by human rights groups who say Turkmenistan has one of the world's most repressive regimes.

Last June, the UCI defended its decision to honour the dictator with the UCI Order, the governing body's highest distinction, saying President Berdimuhamedov had shown "a particular commitment to cycling"...

08 April 2021, 15:23
Cue the memes...
08 April 2021, 14:07
Shimano poetry is back...now in print
Shimano 100th anniversary book

Shimano's 100-year anniversary book has landed in the road.cc offices today...Now, we'd rather have an update on the new Dura-Ace too, but this'll have to do...

It features a history lesson on the brand and just about everything else you could ever want to know about Shimano...

Shimano 100th anniversary book

It even has the infamous Shimano poetry in print...Because who doesn't want to read component-inspired lyricism?

Shimano 100th anniversary book

 

08 April 2021, 13:41
Child taken to hospital following collision with cyclist in Richmond Park

 MyLondon reports a 12-year-old child was taken to hospital following a collision with a cyclist just before 3pm on Wednesday April 7 at the Roehampton Gate area of Richmond Park. Paramedics treated the cyclist and the child at the scene before the child was taken to a West London hospital with injuries described as not life-threatening or life-changing. 

A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said: "We were called at 1.18pm today (7 April) to reports of a collision involving a cyclist and a pedestrian in Richmond Park. We sent two ambulance crews. They treated a child and a man at the scene, and one was taken to a hospital."

A Met Police spokesperson confirmed it was the child who was taken to hospital.

08 April 2021, 11:05
Don't text while cycling...

10/10. Solid impact, sticks the landing, takes the laughs from those watching...

On a more serious note, a few people in the comments talking about everyone's favourite topic – insurance...

08 April 2021, 11:54
Your unpopular cycling opinions

Roll up, roll up...Give us your most unpopular cycling opinions. Whether you think rim brakes are better than discs or the Tour de France is rubbish, let us know...

I'll get you started: Paris-Roubaix is overrated. There I said it. Too heavily influenced by the luck of crashes and mechanicals and not a proper climb in sight. Give me the Tour of Flanders over it any day of the year... 

08 April 2021, 10:44
Southampton crowned UK's lockdown cycling capital
MyProtein lockdown research

Myprotein has taken a look at people's lockdown exercise habits to put the increase in cycling during the past year into context. In a survey of 2,000 people they found that cycling was the fourth most popular form of lockdown exercise with almost 16 per cent of Brits using the bike to stay fit.

In the breakdown of UK cities, Southampton came out on top with 23 per cent saying they'd rode a bike during lockdown to keep fit. Second was Glasgow with 21 per cent, ahead of Bristol and Sheffield both on 20 per cent. Leeds was fifth at 18 per cent, London and Belfast had 17 per cent and Brighton, Birmingham and Norwich rounded out the top-10 with 16 and 15 per cent.

08 April 2021, 10:07
Vote for Jumbo-Visma's Tour de France jersey

You have the power to choose what jersey Primož Roglič and the rest of the Jumbo-Visma squad will be wearing at the Tour de France this summer. Well, the power to vote for one of three very similar dark-coloured kits would probably be more accurate...

All three designs came from fans and if you choose to pick up the winning effort then you'll get your name on the team's jersey this July. Currently, the grey design is beating the grey and black design with the black design in last. Yeah, there's not too much choice here...

Vote here if you've got a favourite...

08 April 2021, 09:58
Fabio Jakobsen will return to racing at next week's Tour of Turkey

I'm sure cycling fans everywhere will be glad to see Fabio Jakobsen back in the peloton next week at the Tour of Turkey. He'll be making his long return from the serious injuries he sustained on the opening stage of the Tour of Poland. Now more than nine months on, Jakobsen will be joined by a strong Deceuninck-Quick-Step sprint line-up including Mark Cavendish and Alvaro Hodeg as well as lead out men Shane Archbold, Iljo Keisse and Stijn Steels...

"We are happy and excited to have Fabio back with the team. Of course, he was with us at the winter training camp, but now it’s different and we are glad to see that the progress he has made over the past months has brought him here, at the start of his first race since last August. It goes without saying that the most important thing for him will be to take it day by day, find his rhythm again and ease back into racing after the long break he had," said team sports director Rik Van Slycke.

08 April 2021, 08:50
Is this the coolest jersey money can buy?
Bicycles Change Lives jersey

Feast your eyes on this beauty...What a kit. The Qhubeka Assos Bicycles Change Lives limited-edition jersey features artwork from a contest winner and is available for pre-order or from Assos' London store from 3 May. All you need now is a reason to justify dropping €150 (£130) on it...So very tempting.  For every five jerseys sold, one bicycle will be donated to the Qhubeka Charity and €60 of every purchase will go directly to the Qhubeka Charity, supporting their aim of changing lives with bicycles.

The striking design was the idea of competition winner Gianluca Tirassa who says, "the patterns and colours of the African fabrics have inspired the design of the jersey, with the hand serving as the icon of the Qhubeka Charity." 

"I can imagine riders going on training rides and smiling when they see another person in the same jersey knowing that they are connected by a common purpose to mobilise people on bicycles in South Africa. By owning one of these you are truly changing lives with bicycles," said Qhubeka Assos team principal, Doug Ryder.

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.

Add new comment

47 comments

Avatar
wtjs | 2 years ago
2 likes

There is only one way to deal with the stupidity and malevolence of the idiots who protest at these close passing campaigns, and that is prosecution for the offences they are likely to be committing every day. The problem we have is that the police don't believe their own campaigns, and simply refuse to believe any close passing, no matter how well documented, is a real offence if there is no blood on the road. I know from my own experience that Lancashire Constabulary does not believe that close passing exists even when the cyclist is hit. We recently heard the same about West Yorkshire Police, Essex Police wrote that a pass couldn't have been too close because the cyclist 'didn't wobble or brake'. etc. etc. Last year's 'consultation' on passing distances was worthless because the police were laughing at it and have no intention of enforcing any passing distance minimum. I know people are tired of me writing this, but the police are the enemy!

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mdavidford | 2 years ago
5 likes

I love how the texter's first instinct after face-planting into the van seems to be... 'must finish my text'.

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Hirsute replied to mdavidford | 2 years ago
1 like

I turned into the wrong drive and hit a van that shouldn't have been parked there.

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Steve K replied to Hirsute | 2 years ago
0 likes

hirsute wrote:

I turned into the wrong drive and hit a van that shouldn't have been parked there.

I think the Jasper Carrot quote was "I inadvertently turned into the wrong drive and hit a tree I haven't got".  

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brooksby replied to mdavidford | 2 years ago
3 likes

Do you reckon that was a real event, though, or just a comedy set-up for the likes?

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OnYerBike | 2 years ago
8 likes

On a more serious note, a few people in the comments talking about everyone's favourite topic – insurance...

FFS why is that the first thing that springs to some people's minds? If this were in the UK (comments suggest it is from NL) then yes the cyclist would be liable for any damage done and could be sued (if indeed any damage was done). That would amount to at most a few £00's for a replacement bumper?

The reason motorists are required to have insurance is the regularity with which motorists cause £10,000's and upwards worth of damage - the sort of figures that the average person isn't going to be able to pay out of their own pocket. And there's a certain irony to the fact that most of that is due to damaging other people's expensive motor vehicles.

Not to mention many cyclists will in fact have liability insurance through home insurance policies or cycling-specific insurance policies.

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GMBasix replied to OnYerBike | 2 years ago
5 likes

You're right: the insurance avenue is a dead end, or a red herring. Perhaps a dead herring. Smells fishy, anyway.

Some interesting comparisons though:

  • Typical houshold liability insurance cover (inc. if I'm on a bike):  £5m
  • CyclingUK membership liability insurance cover: £10m
  • British Cycling membership liability insurance cover: £15m
  • Road Traffic Act minimum motor vehicle insurance cover ('RTA' insurance*): £1m

(* This is the minimum insurance cover that a motorist is required to have for damage to property; injury/death is unlimited.)

So, if the insurance can be stacked, I typically pedal out with 30x the cover a motorist is required to have, at no additional premium cost to me.

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Mungecrundle | 2 years ago
9 likes

I find it difficult to comprehend that someone is able justify willfully dangerous driving around person A (who happens to be riding a bicycle) on account of they once saw (or heard about) Person B doing something illegal on a bicycle.

It would be similar to setting fire to some random stranger's car after every close pass. Or randomly castrating a man after every rape. It might work, but not really very fair.

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brooksby replied to Mungecrundle | 2 years ago
4 likes

Mungecrundle wrote:

I find it difficult to comprehend that someone is able justify willfully dangerous driving around person A (who happens to be riding a bicycle) on account of they once saw (or heard about) Person B doing something illegal on a bicycle.

And yet people do it all the time.

In most arguments about cycling, in my experience it is the first subject to come up ("You're complaining about being close-passed on the road?  Well, only last week somebody passed me on a shared-use path at high speed!  No, my dog wasn't on a lead, but why is that relevant...?")

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efail | 2 years ago
12 likes

I live in Carlisle, Cumbria, and cycle almost every day. I will happily accompany any motorist on a cycle ride, to count the number of cycliststs they see jump a red light. At the same time, we can count the number of motorists that do the same thing. 

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markieteeee replied to efail | 2 years ago
4 likes

The same would work in South London. in fact, setting off from my house taking my usual commute, if you count going over the ASL into the cycle zone, they'll see more cars going through red lights at the very first t junction we encounter than they'll see cyclists doing so combined for the rest of the route there and back.  

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brooksby | 2 years ago
15 likes

My favourite 'whatabout' on there is

Quote:

Difficult one really, looks very close, but how wide is the road, was there oncoming traffic and car pulled back in ?, plus cyclist is the the cyclist too far out for the road ? Need more info to decide who's in the right or wrong.

I love how a driver hypothetically being so incompetent as to not see oncoming traffic is somehow the cyclist's fault and also a defence of said motorist...

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AlsoSomniloquism replied to brooksby | 2 years ago
6 likes

Then you also had the one that maybe the cyclist had undercut the car at some lights. The Police have stated it was stills from a video clip of an exceedingly close pass and still people are arguign the the pics don't give the story. Although as others on there have pointed out, the Police didn't state what prosecution was done against this motorist which might have either hammered home the seriousness or the offence or the actual care most Police actually take in these situations. 

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brooksby replied to AlsoSomniloquism | 2 years ago
4 likes

I did like the one who couldn't work out whether the twitter photo was showing the front or back wheel of the bike...

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Hirsute replied to brooksby | 2 years ago
4 likes

It was a unicycle !

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Velophaart_95 | 2 years ago
16 likes

Entitled motorists, and maybe lack of awareness......?? I'm trying to be generous, but really.  It's all in The Highway Code, but how many know what's in it? Very few, I reckon; which is why we hear complaints from drivers about, for example;

Cyclists riding two abreats on the road - It is allowed.

Cyclists not using cycle paths - They don't have to, it's not compulsory.

Cyclists taking primary postion - Again, in the The Highway Code.

If they can't be bothered to read it, maybe we need public information films on prime time TV.

As for close passes - we need all the Police on this, not a select few, it has to be nationwide.

Yes, I know - it's not happening.

 

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HoarseMann replied to Velophaart_95 | 2 years ago
7 likes

Velophaart_95 wrote:

If they can't be bothered to read it, maybe we need public information films on prime time TV.

Daytime TV for this demographic I would have thought - and perhaps the darkest corners of Facebook.

Avatar
brooksby replied to HoarseMann | 2 years ago
2 likes

HoarseMann wrote:

Velophaart_95 wrote:

If they can't be bothered to read it, maybe we need public information films on prime time TV.

Daytime TV for this demographic I would have thought - and perhaps the darkest corners of Facebook.

That's a bit unfair.  Maybe prime time on Channel 5...?

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IanMK replied to brooksby | 2 years ago
3 likes

I've got a new TV format

"How to understand the Highway Code and drive better"

I reckon it's 8pm of Channel 5. Now who's going to host it?

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Captain Badger replied to IanMK | 2 years ago
5 likes

IanMK wrote:

I've got a new TV format

"How to understand the Highway Code and drive better"

I reckon it's 8pm of Channel 5. Now who's going to host it?

Nick Ferrari and Lawrence Fox.....

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brooksby replied to IanMK | 2 years ago
3 likes

IanMK wrote:

I've got a new TV format

"How to understand the Highway Code and drive better"

I reckon it's 8pm of Channel 5. Now who's going to host it?

I don't know, but I bet it would be narrated by John Thomson or Jamie Theakston...

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ktache replied to brooksby | 2 years ago
0 likes

My vote would be for John "wrong'uns" Thompson.

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Safety replied to Velophaart_95 | 2 years ago
5 likes

"The Highway Code, but how many know what's in it? Very few, I reckon; which is why we hear complaints from drivers "
I could not agree more. At a (pre lockdown) family get together I mentioned the 1.5m rule. A relative was unaware and genuinely shocked that this was the law. Guess what she drives? A sodding huge Rangerover!

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brooksby replied to Safety | 2 years ago
7 likes

To be clear, it's not the law.  I think many people would like it to be, but it isn't.

(The law simply says something like "give as much room as you would when passing another car" which is kind of meaningless...).

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mdavidford replied to brooksby | 2 years ago
4 likes

brooksby wrote:

To be clear, it's not the law.  I think many people would like it to be, but it isn't.

(The law simply says something like "give as much room as you would when passing another car" which is kind of meaningless...).

I'm not sure the law even says that. The Highway Code says it, but it's a SHOULD, rather than a MUST, so doesn't appear to be based on a legal requirement.

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Bungle_52 replied to mdavidford | 2 years ago
1 like

But it is a rule in Ireland and many other European countries. The highway code is being reviewed at the moment. The consultation finished Oct 2020. One of the proposals is :

"give motorcyclists, cyclists, horse riders and horse drawn vehicles at least as much room as you would when overtaking a car (see Rules 211 to 215). As a guide:

─ leave a minimum distance of 1.5 metres at speeds under 30 mph

─ leave a minimum distance of 2.0 metres at speeds over 30 mph

─ for a large vehicle, leave a minimum distance of 2.0 metres in all conditions

─ pass horse riders and horse-drawn vehicles at speeds under 15 mph and allow at least 2.0 metres space

─ allow at least 2.0 metres space where a pedestrian is walking in the road (e.g. where there is no pavement) and you should pass them at low speed"

This is where the 1.5m comes from but it is not yet in the highway code and I suspect is the reason so many police forces find it difficult to prosecute close passes.

As usual the government doesn't seem to be any rush to get this change made.

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Sriracha replied to Bungle_52 | 2 years ago
3 likes

Remember how long it took to get seat belt wearing to be accepted? And that was the law, and it was manifestly for their own good.

Still it took a hard hitting emotive campaign on our TV screens, at a time when there were only two other channels to watch.

So what chance is there for safe-passing cyclists, with the occasional 'jobsworths' reading the Highway Code at you? (no disrespect to the police only doing their best here).

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hawkinspeter replied to Sriracha | 2 years ago
4 likes

Most drivers don't have a problem with it. That's one thing I look out for when looking at my cam footage when deciding whether to submit a close pass or not. There's typically good overtakes by lots of vehicles and then a noticeable difference with the poorly skilled driver not changing their line to give me room.

A lot of drivers will tend to copy how other drivers behave and the majority are careful and considerate. It's just a matter of getting through to the minority who don't understand why their driving is so sub-standard.

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Sriracha replied to hawkinspeter | 2 years ago
6 likes

Absolutely, it's only a very small minority of drivers, most are golden. It's not even all the close passes, some would be mortified by the consequences of their own lapse of competence.

It's the ones who know exactly what they are doing and feel justified, would be happy to tell anyone listening down the pub about the idiot cyclists they'd just had to educate, again.

But given the numbers, a very small percentage still means too many.

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FrankH replied to Sriracha | 2 years ago
3 likes

Sriracha wrote:

Remember how long it took to get seat belt wearing to be accepted? And that was the law, and it was manifestly for their own good. Still it took a hard hitting emotive campaign on our TV screens, at a time when there were only two other channels to watch.

God bless Jimmy Savile.  3

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