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Cyclist spells out 'Vote Labour' in London's West End - and posts ride on Strava

Chris Ward spent 45 minutes creating his election day message - why not hop on your bike and show who you support?

A cyclist has painted the town red to tell voters who he wants them to back in today’s general election – by riding round the streets of London’s West End to spell out “Vote Labour” on Strava.

Author and activist Chris Ward – who last year rode up Mont Ventoux six times in a day and is the organiser of the Coffee Stop Awards – also uploaded the image to Twitter with the hashtag #cyclingsocialists.

The 9.8km ride took him a little over three quarters of an hour to complete.

He told us: “In the interests of impartiality, there are other parties you can ride for,” adding, “it could encourage cyclists supporting other parties to start pedalling round their town.”

So whatever your political hue, why not get on your bike (to misquote a certain former cabinet minister) to show who you’re backing today and post the result in the comments below.

And if you’re aware of any other electoral or party political slogans that have appeared on Strava in the run-up to polling day, let us know.

If you haven’t cast your vote yet and are undecided about who to vote for, you can find our summary of the respective parties’ positions here.

Those harbouring suspicions about the BBC’s political impartiality may note that in the map of Chris’s Strava ride, the 'o' of Labour sits very close to New Broadcasting House.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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23 comments

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CXR94Di2 | 8 years ago
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Didn't Edd Balls get booted out by a newcomer?  21

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BIRMINGHAMisaDUMP | 8 years ago
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bye bye Farage.

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bikewithnoname | 8 years ago
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Looks like he wasted his time

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RedIndian replied to bikewithnoname | 8 years ago
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bikewithnoname wrote:

Looks like he wasted his time

Certainly did, they were well and truly shafted !! Thank God otherwise Ed Balls would have been the chancellor.

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Notgettinganyfaster replied to bikewithnoname | 8 years ago
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bikewithnoname wrote:

Looks like he wasted his time

Reverse psychology - worked a treat

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Jimbomitch | 8 years ago
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Is he out there now, spelling out 'Nobody Listened'?

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Mungecrundle | 8 years ago
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I think you are all being far too dismissive. It is obvious that at least as much effort and thought has gone into this as pretty much any Labour policy from the last 3 years. Result is about as coherent too.

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HarrogateSpa | 8 years ago
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Quote:

Isn't publishing this a little biased today?

Perhaps the article is balanced by the snarky comment about the BBC in the final paragraph? Albeit, personally I think if anything the BBC has been biased in favour of the Conservatives lately.

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Izaak30 | 8 years ago
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SDLP would be interesting...

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AJ101 | 8 years ago
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Someone's already done a UKIP one, I'm surprised you missed this

http://www.strava.com/activities/18625394

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bikebot replied to AJ101 | 8 years ago
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AJ101 wrote:

Someone's already done a UKIP one, I'm surprised you missed this

http://www.strava.com/activities/18625394

I thought that was a pothole?

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Leviathan | 8 years ago
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Isn't publishing this a little biased today? It may suggest road.cc editorial approval; not that I disagree with the sentiment myself. Though some gently misguided individuals have already shown their disapproval above.

Vote Philomena Cunk for Priministerman Woman!

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jasecd | 8 years ago
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Wonder if I have time for a "Fuck UKIP" ride later...

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Grizzerly | 8 years ago
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What a waste of good cycling time.

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Simon_MacMichael | 8 years ago
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Some of you may be seeing earlier version of this pic (which seems to show 'Labour' rather than 'LABOUR').

Screengrab was taken from Strava without being logged in - and if you're not logged in, you only get a rough outline of the ride, hence it looks a bit of a scrawl.

Being logged in, you get the sharper version that should now be showing above (you may still see older one due to caching issues).

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hatchet harry | 8 years ago
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The question everyone's asking is: why did he start in upper case letters and then finish with lower case?

Maybe it's a hidden message about the inconsistency of Labour's policies.  39

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Colin Peyresourde | 8 years ago
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He's missed out 'and screw up the economy'.....

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Jem PT | 8 years ago
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Imagine doing that to read "Vote Monster Raving Loony Party"? - Hard!

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vonhelmet replied to Jem PT | 8 years ago
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Jem PT wrote:

Imagine doing that to read "Vote Monster Raving Loony Party"? - Hard!

From the look of it, it was hard enough doing "Vote Lxoow".

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kie7077 replied to Jem PT | 8 years ago
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Jem PT wrote:

Imagine doing that to read "Vote Monster Raving Loony Party"? - Hard!

Or United Kingdom Independence Party.... Which is kind of the same thing  3

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Colin Peyresourde replied to kie7077 | 8 years ago
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kie7077 wrote:
Jem PT wrote:

Imagine doing that to read "Vote Monster Raving Loony Party"? - Hard!

Or United Kingdom Independence Party.... Which is kind of the same thing  3

Not the same thing at all. Giving student grants to any student named grant is one of the best manifesto ideas I have ever heard. That really doesn't say much about the political prospects of this country. But at least we can have a vote and not be stoned/beheaded/tortured for saying what a bunch of blathershites the political classes are....

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velobetty | 8 years ago
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The L isn't near BBC's Broadcasting House, but the o is quite close.

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Simon_MacMichael replied to velobetty | 8 years ago
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velobetty wrote:

The L isn't near BBC's Broadcasting House, but the o is quite close.

Oops, got off the Central Line a stop early, now fixed - thanks!

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