Support road.cc

Like this site? Help us to make it better.

news

Furious Mark Cavendish berates Tour of Britain motorbike rider; Toronto's horse poo bike lane problem; Was the double cleat horror set-up was real?; ITV's cheery ads; NYC cops remove "illegally" locked bikes; Pedal Me's round + more on the live blog

Happy Friday! Dan Alexander will be seeing you through to the weekend with the final live blog of the week
10 September 2021, 15:08
Toronto cyclists and walkers fed up with dodging horse poo...

We're no strangers to crap cycle lanes here at road.cc...Mike brought this amusing BlogTo piece of Friday news to our attention. Toronto Police's horses have been defecating in bike lanes and parks...pissing off/shitting on (choose your toilet-related word play) locals.

Photos of grassy areas covered in the stuff have emerged online, prompting some to call for the police to clean up after themselves. Disgruntled residents said the problem isn't just in the parks...and has spread to bike lanes and pavements, causing cyclists and motorists to spend their time dodging dung.

10 September 2021, 14:51
Wout van Aert wins his third stage of this year's Tour of Britain

Once Cav was finished bollocking the motorbike rider, the break traversed the Pennines - but was caught before the run into Gateshead. A big attack from Wout van Aert took the strongest riders to the head of proceedings: Julian Alaphilippe, Ethan Hayter, Michael Woods and Dan Martin amongst them.

Ultimately none of the group could make a gap last longer than a couple of minutes and it came down to a reduced bunch sprint. Van Aert was clearly the strongest, muscling his way past race leader Hayter in the final couple of hundred metres. Alaphilippe took third. The Belgian has cut his deficit to just two seconds ahead of the final couple of stages this weekend.

Tomorrow should be a sprint in Edinburgh. Sunday, a rolling run to Aberdeen. What may complicate things is the early climb of Cairn O'Mount and its 3.3km at 9.4 per cent. Will anyone try launching an ambush?

10 September 2021, 13:40
Vintage Cav...furious Manx Missile rages at Tour of Britain motorbike rider

Here's the vid of Cav's rant we referenced earlier...

The Deceuninck-Quick-Step sprinter was in unfamiliar territory today, up the road in the breakaway on stage six of the Tour of Britain. Mark Donovan's presence in the break meant the escape was never likely to succeed due to his threatening position on GC. So, when the break attacked the DSM rider in attempt to get rid of him, and Donovan received some timely help in the slipstream of one of the race motorbikes - Cav lost it... 

Calling the motorbike up for a word...the 34-time Tour de France stage winner screamed, "You're helping them! What's wrong with you?"

Before taking a moment to talk down the camera..."For all you people at home, these motorbikes have a bearing on the race. The guys are sat on them." It was at this moment, perhaps wisely, the TV director cut back to the peloton.

It seems part of the Cav brand to occasionally get caught having a pop...his 2016 rant at a Tour de France cameraman shadowing him while he dropped out the peloton for a slash remains undefeated..."I went for a piss"...followed by an oh too familiar gesture. 10/10.

10 September 2021, 14:09
Pedal Me gets the beers in
10 September 2021, 13:27
what3words helped emergency services find pro mountain biker Gee Atherton after remote Snowdonia crash
Gee Atherton what3words

Pro mountain biker Gee Atherton was filming in remote Snowdonia for his YouTube channel, hence the quality of the shots, when he suffered the biggest crash of his career. Emergency services and the Welsh Air Ambulance Service used the global addressing technology what3words to locate him.

The tech splits the world into a grid of three-metre squares and gives each square a unique three word address - for example the public car park at the National Trust Powys Castle and Garden in Wales is limits.pads.rust. The service helps emergency services locate casualties, particularly in remote or heavily forested areas, far off the beaten track.

10 September 2021, 12:44
Tour of Britain farmyard bingo continues

We've had sheep and cows aplenty...now you can tick horse off your farmyard bingo cards...it makes for less stressful playing than anti-cyclist bingo...

10 September 2021, 11:32
Plans for new cycling and walking cafe in Suffolk scuppered by traffic safety fears
Fox Hall Suffolk (Google StreetView)

Plans to create a new cafe marketed at cyclists, runners and walkers have been withdrawn due to objections over traffic. The cafe was to be built as part of the conversion of former farm buildings at Foxhall Hall, plans which included an orthodontic centre and conference room available for hire by local groups and businesses. 

However, Foxhall Parish Council objected to the plan, saying: "We believe that Hall Road is unsuitable for the additional regular traffic that this development will generate. This is a remote location which will be principally accessed by motor vehicles along a single-track road.

The Ipswich Star reports a new application has been submitted with scaled down use of the buildings. The primary use as an orthodontics centre remains, but the cafe has been removed from the plans.

10 September 2021, 10:51
Tour of Britain stage six: Cav's in the break...and he's angry

Lovely to see Cav screaming at motorbike riders out on the course this lunchtime...the Manx Missile had a momentary aside with the TV camera to tell viewers at home how the moto's slipstream can impact the racing after the breakaway split and he was forced to chase back on...

Cav's up the road with Deceuninck-Quick-Step teammate Tim 'The Tractor' Declercq, Jumbo-Visma's George Bennett and a few others. Interestingly, four of the seven escapees have finished in the top five of a sprint stage this week. Let's see how they fair in the 'high mountains' of the Pennines...

10 September 2021, 10:13
ITV's cheery Tour of Britain ads

I think they might be saying something about the sort of people who like cycling... 

10 September 2021, 09:34
Brace yourselves for another look...we spoke to the mechanic from THAT double cleat horror set-up

Let's end the week how it began...grimacing at that punter's cleat set-up from hell. We heard the naysayers and doubters questioning whether it's a hoax, so got in touch with the bike shop mechanic unfortunate (or fortunate, depending on your point of view) enough to be handed the double cleat disaster...they confirmed to us, "the fail was, sadly/joyously, all too real!"

I could tidy up the reply and split it down for quotes, but I'm going to leave the thrilling storytelling, with all its local charm, to our bike shop friend...strap yourselves in...

"The day started off normal - overcast, with a chance of light rain. Business was steady, and uneventful. The fail-party began when two middle-aged gentlemen rolled up on road bikes - the second guy pedalling all sortsa funny. First fella asks if I can help his buddy out with a cleat issue - cause he's 'tired of pedalling on his toes'. I think nothing of it, and ask him to hand me his shoes, so I can get a look at the problem.

"He does so, and, as mentioned in the post, I flipped them over and just stared, seemingly for ever. I was wearing a bucket hat and, as I talked with the guys, I was peering out from under the brim, studying their faces, to see if they were messing with me, since I was having a really hard time believing the cleat placement was naively intentional. There was nothing about their facial expressions, body language or vocal tones that indicated it was all a joke.

"The fella that had been wearing the shoes/cleats like that - for God knows how long asked me if there was any way I could mount the road cleats in the location of the mountain bike ones. I said no, not on the spot and, if there are adapters out there somewhere, we didn't have any on hand. The solution was to swap out his road pedals for some cheap mountain bike ones, and when I went back into the shop, to get the pedals - I kid you not, my hands were shaking! - I, excitedly, ran around and showed the shoes to all my coworkers. Jaws were straight droppin', left and right!

"At this point, it probably sounds somewhat sad that I'd get so excited over some silly cleats - but hey, you gotta get your thrills, when and where available, and this was basically bike-fail-manna-from-heaven! 

"One cleat was mounted to the front holes of its backing plate, the other to the rear, and neither was even remotely straight - to the point where I don't see how they really could have worked at all properly. There are a few other kinda quirky details to the story but that's the important stuff.

"Hopefully that helps dispel the naysayers' assumption that that bonkers cleat arrangement was a fishing prank! I could honestly give a crap about likes. At the end of the day, I/we here at Trench Tails are just looking for a nice, virtual group hug. It can be cold and dark, here in the trenches..."

Maybe that allays your doubts, maybe it doesn't...I hope you had as much fun reading it as I did when that literary masterpiece dropped into the DMs...

10 September 2021, 08:44
Josh Quigley set for second attempt at breaking seven-day cycling distance world record

Josh is back for another shot at the record. At the end of April he abandoned his first attempt due to an knee injury. That's healed now and he's hoping to better the 1,2000 miles he rode in five days during the first effort. To beat the record, Josh will have to cover 2,177 miles in the week over slightly altered Aberdeenshire circuit that readers might remember from April. All the best, Josh...we'll keep you updated on his progress on the live blog next week.

10 September 2021, 08:14
Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games tickets go on sale
Birmingham 2022 logo.JPG

Tickets for the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham next year went on sale this week. A ballot system is being run until the end of September when applicants will be told if they've been successful. If it's track cycling tickets you're after, just remember that confusingly the Birmingham event's venue is in London.

Lee Valley Velopark is staging the track cycling as the second city doesn't have a suitable facility. I'd rather watch them race through the Bullring to be honest...but then again, there's a reason I'm not in charge of these things...

10 September 2021, 07:25
NYC cops slammed for removing "illegally" chained bicycles...against their own advice
NYPD remove chained bicycles (Image: NYPD 107th Precinct/Facebook)

I guess we'll never know what reaction NYPD's 107th Precinct expected when it uploaded these pictures of a solid night's work removing "illegally" chained bicycles. The station's Facebook page proudly wrote about how its officers had removed multiple bicycles "chained illegally" to NYC DOT sign posts because it "can be hazardous to pedestrians"...

However, as some have pointed out, here's the NYPD's own flyer on bike safety...including a section encouraging riders to lock their bikes to metal posts of no parking and stop signs.

NYPD flyer

The reaction has been something of a PR firestorm. Several people have accused the cops of stealing bikes...

Alison Mc wrote: "Cars (and I am a car owner) can just be parked and left on public streets belonging to everyone, while there are not even a fraction of enough bike racks in this city yet you steal the bikes people legally park and lock up…and then lie and say it’s a public safety issue. What a crock of shit this is."

Chris O'Leary shared the photo of the contradictory flyer..."'Securing your bike to these signs is illegal.' Oh, is that so? Then why does this NYPD flyer on bike safety specifically encourage people to lock their bikes to these signs? You just straight-up stole bikes. You should be ashamed of yourselves."

Peter W. Beadle added: "Instead of wasting time, energy and money harassing people with bikes, have your officers stop parking on sidewalks and in bike lanes. The hypocrisy is unbelievable."

And just when you think it couldn't get much worse for them...

NYPD remove chained bicycles (Image: NYPD 107th Precinct/Facebook)

 

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
Rik Mayals unde... | 2 years ago
0 likes

Having been unfortunate enough to have recently been in hospital for an operation, the past month has seen me lying on the sofa watching wall to wall cycling on Eurosport every day. Great, especially as a lot of the cycling has been ad free. 

Fast forward to this week and watching the tour of Britain on ITV4. Every ten mins there has been an ad break, all the same ads for funerals, cremations, life insurance every single ad break. They must think that all people watching daytime telly are coffin dodgers just sat there waiting to die. It's been infuriating, and has really put me off watching it. I'm all for ads, and realise the need for them, but have some different ones!

Avatar
eburtthebike replied to Rik Mayals underpants | 2 years ago
1 like

biker phil wrote:

Fast forward to this week and watching the tour of Britain on ITV4. Every ten mins there has been an ad break, all the same ads for funerals, cremations, life insurance every single ad break.

Or it could be that they've bought into the myth that riding a bike is so dangerous, it's equivalent to a death sentence.yes

Avatar
ktache | 2 years ago
3 likes

Comments were closed on this story, and rightly so, but here is an update.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/sep/10/ex-police-officer-jailed...

I'm guessing he will not enjoy his three months on the nonce wing.

Avatar
ktache | 2 years ago
3 likes

https://singletrackworld.com/2021/09/lego-meets-mtb-in-this-stop-motion-...

It's a beauty and I've finally figured out how to copy and paste web addresses using the tablet. Pictures next...

Avatar
mdavidford replied to ktache | 2 years ago
1 like

Can any of them land a front flip though?

Avatar
riggbeck | 2 years ago
0 likes

If you watched the Tour of Britain on German Eurosport today you will now know where to get help for a willy that only flops and placed a few bets.

The drooping battering ram metaphor had one of my kids asking questions.

Avatar
MattieKempy | 2 years ago
9 likes

I found the comments of the guy who saw the double-cleat nightmare a bit sniffy and cyclist-snobbish. Sure, it's a ridiculous set-up but surely gently pointing out the error rather than running off to colleagues, desperate to laugh at the expense of the shoes owner would be a better, kinder response and would encourage the shoes owner to keep riding.

Avatar
Captain Badger replied to MattieKempy | 2 years ago
3 likes

MattieKempy wrote:

I found the comments of the guy who saw the double-cleat nightmare a bit sniffy and cyclist-snobbish. Sure, it's a ridiculous set-up but surely gently pointing out the error rather than running off to colleagues, desperate to laugh at the expense of the shoes owner would be a better, kinder response and would encourage the shoes owner to keep riding.

I'm in agreement

I'm more than happy to have a snigger at this kind of thing, but I'm also a little conflicted about the fact that someone is being ridiculed and shamed. They cocked up, so what? It's not as if they threatened anyone with 40t of steel. They had a go at a bit of DIY, and learned how not to do it. They'll know next time, and no harm done.

Avatar
Steve K replied to MattieKempy | 2 years ago
4 likes

Ned Boutling and David Millar did a bit on a similar theme on their pod recently - saying cycling twitter could be a bit vicious on people making innocent mistakes.  I tend to agree - though at least in this case the person hasn't been identified in any way.

Avatar
brooksby | 2 years ago
6 likes

Example of how seriously drivers are treated by the courts, taken from the Sun (sorry!)

Quote:

A PENSIONER drove home and made a cup of tea after running over a schoolboy in her car, a court has heard.

Muriel Jaap, 84, has now been fined £300 after leaving the 13-year-old lad with a broken collarbone and pinky.

Jaap stopped her car to let an ambulance pass, but when she started driving again she hit the teen who had started to cross the road.

The boy, who has not been named, was “projected into the air” - but Jaap did not stop her car, reports The Daily Record.

She fled the scene in Bothwell, Lanarkshire, and headed home where she treated herself to a cup of tea.

The teenager was rushed to hospital on a spinal board - but has now made a full recovery.

Police eventually caught Jaap, who has been driving for 50 years, 10 days after the incident in April when her registration was spotted on CCTV.

She appeared at Hamilton Sheriff Court yesterday where she admitted failing to stop her vehicle, and not reporting the accident to the police within a 24-hour period.

Sheriff Moira MacKenzie fined the pensioner £300 and added six points to her licence.

Kris Kane, defending, said: "This was a ghastly incident and she extends her apology to the victim who has now made a full recovery.

"She has 50 years of driving experience without any blemishes on her record and was given a chance to plead to this matter early and has done so.

"She simply can't explain what happened and events overtook her.

"She was shocked, stunned and panicked and drove herself home and made herself a cup of tea and for that she is deeply ashamed and continues to feel she must face the consequences for her actions.

"The car is used sparingly for socialising and for shopping and if it was taken away from her she would become somewhat isolated."

surpriseno

Avatar
Hirsute replied to brooksby | 2 years ago
8 likes

The SUN ??!!

"The car is used sparingly for socialising and for shopping"

Get a taxi instead of having a car. Must be £700 to have a car before driving any miles so that would buy quite a few fares plus no doubt there are free bus fares.

Avatar
Captain Badger replied to Hirsute | 2 years ago
10 likes

hirsute wrote:

The SUN ??!!

"The car is used sparingly for socialising and for shopping"

Get a taxi instead of having a car. Must be £700 to have a car before driving any miles so that would buy quite a few fares plus no doubt there are free bus fares.

One of my elderly relatives got rid of her car, and I was worried that she would become isolated.

As she pointed out to me the start-up costs for a car were more than it would cost her in taxis per year (for the amount she uses her car - y'know, sparingly...), and she didn't have to worry about driving, or maintaining a vehicle. 

And as you say, she also uses the bus

Avatar
Hirsute replied to Captain Badger | 2 years ago
6 likes

Just had the MOT and a colleague asked how many miles we had done. When I checked it was about 4200 and 4500 for the last 2.

It's near the point where having a car isn't worth it. The benefits of carrying bikes and kayaks plus any youth work (risk assessments require someone to have a car) just about outweigh the costs.

Avatar
Awavey replied to Hirsute | 2 years ago
0 likes

4200/4500 in the last two years respectively or do you mean only 300 ?

I think in each of the last 3 years I've cycled more miles annually than I've driven, and I really dont cycle lots of miles compared to most.

Avatar
Hirsute replied to Awavey | 2 years ago
1 like

4200 last year, 4500 year before.

Going to try out  a trailer now for the weekly shop !

Avatar
brooksby replied to Hirsute | 2 years ago
2 likes

hirsute wrote:

The SUN ??!!

The Grauniad is my main news go-to site.  But I look at the Sun and Metro as well as the various local news sites and the Slate (for US stuff).

I find most of the content on the Sun and Metro utterly detestable, but I think it's important to try and read stuff that's outside my bubble <shrug>.

Avatar
Hirsute replied to brooksby | 2 years ago
3 likes

As long as you don't read the Mail !

Avatar
brooksby replied to Hirsute | 2 years ago
2 likes

hirsute wrote:

As long as you don't read the Mail !

I have some standards!  Although I don't actually read the Standard  3

Avatar
grOg replied to brooksby | 2 years ago
0 likes

I never admit to reading the Guardian; don't want people thinking I'm a raving lefty..

Avatar
grOg replied to Hirsute | 2 years ago
0 likes

Yep.. it's a common sight; someone clearly feeble from old age and/or infirmity, driving slowly to the shops and back, cops turning a blind eye, until one day, they accidentally hit the juice pedal instead of the brakes and launch through the scenery, whether that's people, building or another vehicle.

Avatar
Captain Badger replied to brooksby | 2 years ago
3 likes

brooksby wrote:

.......

The boy, who has not been named, was “projected into the air” - but Jaap did not stop her car, reports The Daily Record.

......

Jesus H, how fast the fack was she going to do that??? The whole thing screams that she was going ridiculously fast, was not paying attention, did not stop to assist the person that she hit - which she must have known was likely to be seriously injured.

Unblemished record???

What, cos the rozzers had refused to action the numerous NMOTD vids that had been sent them????

Avatar
wycombewheeler replied to Captain Badger | 2 years ago
1 like

Captain Badger wrote:

brooksby wrote:

.......

The boy, who has not been named, was “projected into the air” - but Jaap did not stop her car, reports The Daily Record.

......

Jesus H, how fast the fack was she going to do that??? 

brooksby wrote:

Jaap stopped her car to let an ambulance pass, but when she started driving again she hit the teen who had started to cross the road

Did she pull away like Lewis Hamilton in order to follow the ambulance on blue lights?

Avatar
Rendel Harris replied to Lance ꜱtrongarm | 2 years ago
14 likes

Nigel Garrage wrote:

I understand people's complaints about the sentence, but it's important to note that for many old people their car is their only means of independence, and taking it away would isolate them and make them lonely, potentially condemning them to an early grave.

If you extended the same empathy to the whole of society that you show for any car driver accused of virtually any offence, you would be a lovely person, you really would. As it is…

Failing to stop at the scene of an accident is an incredibly serious offence and can (and has) cost lives due to the perpetrator failing to summon medical assistance in a timely manner. This woman not only did that (which could be attributable to panic) but failed to own up to what she had done until she was caught by CCTV. Leaving the scene of an accident ought to be a minimum year's ban no matter what the hardship defence. Sure, the situation of older people could be taken into account as mitigation in less serious cases, e.g., if she had four cases of being caught 5 mph over the speed limit I wouldn't complain if mitigation was considered, but not in this case. Would you argue for her being able to keep her licence if she had been drink-driving? Well leaving the scene of an accident without summoning assistance is just as bad as that.

Avatar
wycombewheeler replied to Rendel Harris | 2 years ago
7 likes

Rendel Harris wrote:

[....... Would you argue for her being able to keep her licence if she had been drink-driving? Well leaving the scene of an accident without summoning assistance is just as bad as that.

Worse, because here there is an actual victim who needs help, whereas many people get away with drunk driving daily.

Avatar
Rendel Harris replied to wycombewheeler | 2 years ago
1 like

Indeed - and though I'm not suggesting it was a factor in this particular case (although it could've been) the lower penalties for driving away from the scene of an accident have been used by drink drivers to get away with their offence, in some cases (this happened with someone who nearly killed a cousin of mine) driving home then reporting themselves to the police, saying that they've had several large drinks once they got home because they were so shocked. I believe in some jurisdictions in America if you leave the scene of an accident you are given exactly the same penalty as you would receive for drink-driving (on top of any other penalty) on the basis that you have, de facto, refused to take an alcohol test by driving away.

Avatar
brooksby replied to Lance ꜱtrongarm | 2 years ago
2 likes

How about:

...

Nope - I tried to edit it down for 'fair use' but if you strip it down it doesn't actually make any sense.  I suspect that the copywriters at the Sun already try and simplify stuff down for people who are not used to doing 'the long read'...

Avatar
chrisonabike replied to Lance ꜱtrongarm | 2 years ago
11 likes

Nigel Garrage wrote:

it's important to note that for many old people their car is their only means of independence, and taking it away would isolate them and make them lonely, potentially condemning them to an early grave.

I'm only smiling at this because it's you writing - after all this is exactly what lots of people think (especially juries / judges...). No doubt if you live in Caithness there's a chance it could be inconvenient. However for the vast (suburban) majority of us it is not the case now and we can easily improve people's independence going forward. I call fallacies 5 and possibly 6:

https://cyclingfallacies.com/en/5/elderly-people-cant-cycle

https://cyclingfallacies.com/en/6/people-with-physical-disabilities-can%E2%80%99t-cycle

What could things be like?

https://bicycledutch.wordpress.com/2011/10/13/safe-cycling-for-8-to-80-year-olds/

Ooh go on, do quibble about the hills, the weather, the cheese...

Some graphs? (apologies - this is from a decade ago but I suspect the numbers have gone up rather than down):

https://www.aviewfromthecyclepath.com/2011/02/who-cycles-in-netherlands.html

Maybe you really do need your own mechanical assistance?  Try a microcar:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9ly7JjqEb0

https://expatinfoholland.nl/help-guides/transport-mobility/dutch-mini-micro-moped-cars/

Avatar
wycombewheeler replied to Lance ꜱtrongarm | 2 years ago
9 likes

Nigel Garrage wrote:

Strikes me that giant copy and paste might just stretch the definition of "fair dealing" a bit far! I understand people's complaints about the sentence, but it's important to note that for many old people their car is their only means of independence, and taking it away would isolate them and make them lonely, potentially condemning them to an early grave.

so we can't stop people who work from driving dangerously as it would impact their livelihood, but we can't stop retiured people from driving dangerously as it might leave them isolated.

Cost of using a car 'sparingly' is likely higher than taxis as and when required.

Also I note that while she had an unblemished record, she has clear form here for hit and run, so we do not know whether or not she had done this sort of thing before and simply not been caught.

Avatar
EddyBerckx replied to wycombewheeler | 2 years ago
9 likes

wycombewheeler wrote:

Nigel Garrage wrote:

Strikes me that giant copy and paste might just stretch the definition of "fair dealing" a bit far! I understand people's complaints about the sentence, but it's important to note that for many old people their car is their only means of independence, and taking it away would isolate them and make them lonely, potentially condemning them to an early grave.

...

Also I note that while she had an unblemished record, she has clear form here for hit and run, so we do not know whether or not she had done this sort of thing before and simply not been caught.

This for literally EVERY case where a solicitor/judge gives some bullshit about a driver in a serious incident who simply hasn't been caught before by our near non existent traffic police...

Avatar
Captain Badger replied to EddyBerckx | 2 years ago
2 likes

EddyBerckx wrote:

........ who simply hasn't been caught before by our near non existent traffic police...

SSSSSHHH...... you'll wake wtjs......

Pages

Latest Comments