Cyclist donates €5 to anti-cycle lane fundraiser to tell them how he really feels; Kevin Hart on a bike; Cav's second debut; 80-year-old paperboy postpones retirement; NHS worker grateful for bike lane; Etape Caledonia postponed + more on the live blog

The folks in Sandymount arent really doing much to challenge the whole "wealthy elite protecting" their convenience narrative

They've raised €18,000 to object to a one way road

Dozens and dozens of people have donated individual amounts like €200, €500 and even a few €1000s pic.twitter.com/DBP31NwwJC

— Caoimhín (@yascaoimhin) February 13, 2021

A GoFundMe to mount a legal challenge against a new cycle lane in Sandymount in Dublin has almost raised €20,000. At the time of writing it was at €19,330, including €5 from a cyclist who just wanted to give the campaign a piece of his mind...

Johnnie Cyclist's donation came with the message: "I donated €5 because as a 63 year old who is looking forward to having a segregated cycle lane on Sandymount Road and being able to cycle safely into Dublin, I wanted to tell you all how I find your campaign and everything it stands for so reprehensible and so selfish. What other city in the world do a bunch of well to do well funded residents object so vehemently to a bloody bicycle lane. Or to have such engagement on real issues. Shame on the lot of you.

"I look forward to cycling past Sandymount — safely — on my bike soon. I want to say well done to Dublin City Council for having the guts to face down your lousy lying campaign. Do you have anything better to do with your lives in Sandymount? Dun Laoghaire is very lucky to have a forward looking council who pushed back early against this sort of NIMBYISM. Clearly we are not in this together. Buy yourselves 2 Flat Whites with my €5 donation. Don’t waste any more money donating. Your campaign will fail. On your bikes lads!"

The fundraiser has dozens of donations of €100 or more, including some up to as much as €1,000. The STC Residents Group set up the page and insist they support cycling and just want to ensure the path is implemented in the best possible way to avoid traffic congestion.

Fair play to whomever wrote this! pic.twitter.com/HUVr0sV81y

— Firas (@FortyCN) February 14, 2021

Training in Gran Canaria!

(Photos by @PaulineBallet)@BORAGmbH @Hansgrohe_PR @iamspecialized @sportful @ride100percent pic.twitter.com/AJWiQHzxTh

— Peter Sagan (@petosagan) January 29, 2021

Peter Sagan won't be racing at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad or Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne. The three-time World Champion tested positive for Covid last week while training on Gran Canaria, and despite now being out of quarantine, the impact on training means he will delay his race calendar. Sagan has surprisingly only won once at Opening Weekend and will likely now start his season at Tirreno-Adriatico instead.

One of Sagan's toughest rivals, Wout van Aert, has named the World Championships in Flanders as his biggest goal for 2021. Van Aert told Belgian TV channel RTBF that winning the rainbow bands on home roads would mean more than victory in the Classics, a green jersey at the Tour de France or Olympic gold in Tokyo.

"I’ll have three periods where I want to be in my best shape but if I have to choose one goal, I’d pick the World Championships in Belgium in Leuven. I’ll have three periods where I want to be in my best shape but if I have to choose one goal, I’d pick the World Championships in Belgium in Leuven," he explained.

Van Aert is set to renew his rivalry with Mathieu van der Poel in 2021, potentially for the first time at Strade Bianche on the first weekend in March. Van der Poel beat Van Aert at October's Tour of Flanders and the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships.

Etape Caledonia, due to take place on Sunday 16 May, has been postponed until Sunday 19 September because of the pandemic. Despite suggesting they might have been able to keep the original date in May with Covid restrictions, the event's organisers have decided to rearrange the event for later in the year. They have been advised by Perth and Kinross Council that Pitlochry, the event's start and finish town, has opened a community vaccination centre which will require three months of traffic restrictions around the area.

Etape Caledonia added that there is no guarantee the event will be able to be staged in September either, but said they felt more confident that rearranging for later in the year gives them the best opportunity to do so. All entries will be automatically deferred to September.

In a statement on their website, Etape Caledonia said: "We’d like to take this opportunity to once again thank you for supporting us. As a small business, your support and patience really has been invaluable as it has enabled us to continue to plan and prepare these world-class events for your participation. We really look forward to welcoming you to the start line on Sunday 19 September 2021 and celebrating your achievements together like never before!"

At £279.99 this OnBuy Peloton alternative comes in at a fraction of the price of the popular home training brand's bike and membership fee. It features an LCD monitor to track your stats, claims to be quiet enough to not disturb your family and can be easily adjusted to suit different riders. What's more it doesn't include classes led by an instructor who asked paying customers to think of their dead relatives while they trained... 

BZ Optics, the creators of the world's first bi-focal photochromic sports glasses, has a new model, the TOUR. Back in 2016 when we tested their PHO Bi-focal Photochromic Glasses our reviewer gave them four stars and said they're "a great choice if you need bifocal powers when out sporting in the light or dark." Now, the new TOUR model is almost ready for release and will be available via ISON Distribution in a couple of frame colours and lens options on February 22. They're designed to help riders who need glasses to read with all those tasks you forget can be quite difficult without them...reading GPS computers, ordering off the menu at the cafe stop...

Saddle manufacturer Brooks has released four new rivet colours for the C17 saddle, their most popular seat. Aimed at giving something for the purists and boundary pushers, the C17 is now available in silver, copper, octane blue and bronze orange.

The last we heard from George Bailey, he was considering packing the Headcorn paper round in having turned 80 in January. However, it seems one of Britain's oldest paperboys is not done yet...Thanks to Evans Cycles who provided George with a new Raleigh e-bike, the pensioner is set to postpone his retirement, saying it has given him a new lease of life. George delivers papers in the Kent town every day, including on his 80th birthday, on the same 2.5 mile route. Raleigh and Evans Cycles teamed up to gift George a new Raleigh Motus Crossbar e-bike to help make his round more enjoyable, especially on the cold, dark winter mornings.

"I’m truly thrilled with my new Raleigh e-bike. After celebrating my 80th birthday I was seriously considering whether it was time to now ‘hang up my boots’ and retire from the paper round," George explained. "Knowing I can now continue doing what I love - with a little help from modern technology - is fantastic, especially on a Raleigh; a brand I've always admired growing up! I might even still be doing this when I’m 90..."

Our sister site ebiketips has the full story...

Thankyou @LBofHounslow @HanifKhan_1 for the segregated cycle lane on Chiswick High Road. It help me feel safe on my commute (as a key worker). Thank you for showing you care about active, safe travel and reducing air pollution. @RBKC @LBHF @LDNbybike @_wearepossible @willnorman pic.twitter.com/RDJKcRsj0r

— Sarah Thomas (@SarahTh28528642) February 12, 2021

 NHS worker Sarah Thomas expressed her gratitude for Cycleway 9 in Chiswick, west London, which she says has made her feel safe on her commute. Having opened just before Christmas, the cycleway offers cyclists a segregated route on the busy High Road.

She tweeted: "Thank you London Borough of Hounslow and Hanif Khan (transport lead at the council) for the segregated cycle lane on Chiswick High Road. It helps me feel safe on my commute as a key worker. Thank you for showing you care about active, safe travel and reducing air pollution."

Khan replied: "It's a delight to see all are using C9." However, not everyone who saw the video was as pleased to see active travel infrastructure. Here are some of the replies...

What a waste of money motorways are... I still see drivers using non-motorway roads!

— London by bike (@LDNbybike) February 13, 2021

Bus Stop strategy changed years ago to help traffic flow. Nothing to do with bikes.

— kenstorrpfc (@kennethstorr) February 13, 2021