Police hunt for e-bike artist drawing 'explicit images' on the pavement; How to get your bike, money and left shoe robbed; Jeremy Vine writes Spectator article claiming cycling is right-wing; Fair Fuel UK get a lesson in polling + more on the live blog

Mario Cipollini is angry. Here he launches his water bottle (both bottles) at the race commissaire in the 2003 Ghent-Wevelgem. Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen were impressed by his accuracy. #cycling pic.twitter.com/vFUc6Uj4Y8

— Pro Cycling Memories (@ClipsCycling) December 15, 2020

Forbes published this article over the weekend which shows how a small number of individuals on Twitter can convince others and councils that their opinions are mainstream. Speaking to the website, social media analysis expert, Jimmy Tidey said: "Factions often present themselves simultaneously as an oppressed minority and the silent majority.

“The filter bubble phenomena makes users feel that every right-thinking person agrees with them, and factions can build self-reinforcing logic uninterrupted by interactions with people they disagree with.”

Using his own social media analytics tool LocalNets, Tidey collected data on LTN arguments. He found that 20 of the most engaged users were responsible for half of the total for and against activity about LTNs. The article also suggested that council's are being persuaded into acting on LTN complaints based off some of these accounts' posts.

"A small number of people can make a lot of noise," Tidey continued. "Some Twitter users engage in long threads with up to 40 users tagged in, allowing them to generate huge numbers of connections. Many anti-LTN campaigners couch their concerns in terms of their right to drive, or authoritarian threats to their freedom of movement."

After yesterday's shenanigans at this junction, this happened today.

I completely accept that they had priority I was happy to slow to let them have it, but the verbal abuse was totally unwarranted and unprovoked. pic.twitter.com/w4jaquAUtg

— Robert W (@Chutzpah84) December 15, 2020

I'm all for a bike hack and most of these seem like a bit of innocent fun, who hasn't considered sticking glow sticks to their spokes? But stashing a wad of notes inside your handlebars seems like a quick way to lose some money...

Using a Pringles tube as a bottle cage by cable tying your rear derailleur cable to the frame, instead of just buying a bottle cage was a personal favourite... I'll leave the rest to the Facebook comments...

Fabian Werner said: "Great idea, don't make your bike stand dirty, but run around with only one shoe."

Ainslie Holland commented: "Ok one, you now only got one shoe. Two, now if you lose that bike, you lose all that money. Three, why not lock the bike up outside, or carry it inside, they are not that heavy. Four, that mirror thing will block your vision for the front, that’s not good, and should have put it on the bike itself. Honestly don’t try this stuff. Lots of these things are just not good ideas, and many are definitely dangerous."

Diego Ulissi won two stages of the Giro d'Italia this year but has been forced to take a break from racing after doctors found an irregular heartbeat during a routine physical check up. The 31-year-old felt fine and had not been experiencing any issues but has been diagnosed with Myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle. As a precaution, the Italian will undergo a period of rest for several months while his condition is monitored.

Ulissi said: "I cannot hide the feeling of worry and anger. I’ve never had any sign of it, I’ve always felt good; Fortunately, the team’s medical staff were quick to act and discovered this abnormality. I will take a break now which I hope will be temporary, bearing in mind that the priority is health, because life does not end with cycling.

"I have just finished what has perhaps been my best season ever, with a consistent run of high level performances from January to October which also earned me the Top Ten in the UCI individual ranking. I was already beginning my preparation for 2021 with the desire to build on last years results. Now, however, I find myself facing this unexpected situation. I think my state of mind is understandable for everyone."

In January, Ulissi began the 2020 season with three top-tens and second place overall at the Santos Tour Down Under, before finishing ninth at the UAE Tour. After racing resumed in August, he impressed on home roads, with an 8th place at Il Lombardia before claiming two stages of the Giro.

Who is this absolute buffoon writing in the @spectator that cycling is right-wing? pic.twitter.com/GOcDkIOqyt

— Jeremy Vine (@theJeremyVine) December 13, 2020

Jeremy Vine's article in The Spectator certainly got people talking... The broadcaster and cycling activist wrote: "Cycling is right-wing. When you buy a bike you are throwing off the shackles of the state. No number plate, no insurance, no compulsory helmet.

"People think cycling is left-wing because a lot of left-wing people do it [...] Cyclists are acting out of primal selfishness — we want to travel quickly and keep fit. If people cycled 'to save the planet', that would be left-wing. But in my experience most of us do it to save ourselves." 

A second article, written by Paul Burke, was published yesterday on the topic. However, unlike Vine, Burke who also claims to be a cyclist — is far less comfortable with 'cycling being right-wing'.

Burke writes: "I’m mortally embarrassed by it. Cycling is the exclusive preserve of the very few and the very able. As for cycle lanes, which pander to a tiny and privileged elite at the expense of the vast majority, they’re undemocratic and wrong.

"This morning, as I sailed down a wide and empty cycle line, I again felt my rucksack weighing me down with guilt and shame at the sight of those poor people alongside me; squashed against their will into 50 per cent of the roads they paid for. Helpless, gridlocked and trapped by authoritarian policies which suggest that their time — their lives — aren’t as important as mine.

"I’ve often wondered who they are. Some might be teachers late for school or NHS workers trying to get home to sleep after an exhausting night shift. Sometimes I can see exactly who they are; firefighters, paramedics and delivery drivers prevented from carrying out vital, possibly life-saving work. But if you’re one of those right-wing cyclists, how much do you care? Isn’t shaving ten minutes off your journey time far more important?"

What do you think? Is cycling political? If it is, does it have to be classed as left-wing or right-wing?