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Jeremy Vine nearly taken out by London cab driver on his morning commute; Pidcock deletes tweet questioning photo finish; Genius shipping trick reduces bike damage; Cav is back; Hi-vis bike thief; Gravel stories; Bike lane petition + more on the live blog

Happy Monday! It's the start of another week with Dan Alexander on the live blog...
Mon, Apr 19, 2021 09:06
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Jeremy Vine nearly taken out by London cab driver on his morning commute; Pidcock deletes tweet questioning photo finish; Genius shipping trick reduces bike damage; Cav is back; Hi-vis bike thief; Gravel stories; Bike lane petition + more on the live blogJeremy Vine black cab driver
19 April 2021, 16:01
No love for Moscon and questions asked about dangerous finish in Innsbruck

Just two of the many similar replies to Ineos Grenadiers' tweet congratulating Gianni Moscon on his win at the Tour of the Alps. It is not really a surprise that a rider with a racist abuse suspension on his palmares is not very popular...

 Elsewhere, Dan Martin had questions for the UCI about the safety of the finish, saying it was one of the scariest he has done for a while.

19 April 2021, 15:54
19 April 2021, 15:50
Monday...
19 April 2021, 15:31
The results are in: Cav's going to win another Grand Tour stage...
Poll results

We wanted to know if Cav will win another Grand Tour stage...We're impatient, you see. Last week has got us dreaming of the Manx Missile back to his best. However, unfortunately there's no road.cc crystal ball to take a peek into to find out what happens next. So we did the next best thing...Ask you lot, of course.

And...79 per cent of you think there is a 49th Grand Tour stage win coming soon...Let's hope you're right.

19 April 2021, 15:10
Tom Pidcock deletes tweet questioning Amstel Gold Race photo finish

Tom Pidcock was outspoken about the photo finish at Amstel Gold Race yesterday before quickly deleting his Tweet. Pidcock wrote: "There's been a lot of speculation on Twitter. A photo finish is used to verify a result. However yesterday's photo seems to have created more questions than have been answered. This isn't correct, photo finishes should be 100% accurate and should be in the future."

Some have speculated that Pidcock beat Wout van Aert by sharing different stills from the finish line, many of which were not the actual angle used by the comissaires for the photo finish. There was a long delay and some confusion in the moments after the finale before it was judged Van Aert had beaten the Ineos rider by 0.004 seconds. I wish I could be upset about losing to Wout by 0.004 seconds...

19 April 2021, 14:23
Bike porn

We don't even need to see the rest of the bike, just a glimpse at the paint job is enough.  

19 April 2021, 15:55
19 April 2021, 13:32
Gianni Moscon wins stage one of the Tour of the Alps

Gianni Moscon has probably just made himself the least popular winner of a bike race all year...The Ineos Grenadiers rider attacked on the final uncategorised climb before being joined by 21-year-old Uno-X rider Idar Andersen. Moscon beat the Norwegian in the sprint with the bunch, led by Alexandr Riabushenko, just behind.

A quick look in the archives will tell you why the Italian's victory hasn't been well received...Last week Kévin Reza called on the UCI to implement proper punishments for riders found guilty of racism. In 2017, Moscon was suspended for six weeks for racially abusing the Frenchman at the Tour de Romandie. He was also disqualified from Kuurne-Brusells-Kuurne last year after throwing his bike at another rider...

19 April 2021, 13:24
Cycle lanes as Muppets thread

Because I'm sure this is exactly what you need in your life... 

19 April 2021, 12:11
19 April 2021, 11:55
Gravel & Gratitude
Salsa Gravel & Gratitude

Gravel riding is fun. Whether you've got a gravel bike or, like me, just enjoy stretching the limits of 25mm tyres whenever you see an appealing looking track heading off into the hills. It's more adventurous than just sticking to the road, where everything links up and you know where you are. Plus, there aren't any cars.

To celebrate the spirit of getting off the beaten track, Salsa has released a four-part storyside focused on gravel riding and the way it makes people feel. Gravel & Gratitude shares the stories of three riders:  Krystal Salvent, Leonardo Brasil, and Brooke Goudy and has some cool photography to enjoy too. 

19 April 2021, 11:03
Protected cycle lane proposals

Coventry South's Labour MP Zarah Sultana encouraged her constituents to sign the online petition to show support for the proposed Binley Cycleway, a 6km (3.75 miles) segregated cycle lane to connect the city centre to University Hospital. The petition says that until recently, Coventry did not have any high-quality cycle lanes and that 60 per cent of journeys between one and two miles are still made by car.

Connecting the City Centre to Binley Business Park and University Hospital Coventry & Warwickshire, the route is described as "a real missing link for cycling" due to flooding in the winter and shared paths with pedestrians and dog walkers.

Anthony Webb offered some feedback to Sultana's message: "Very important thing that's always forgotten with these - rights of way at turnings etc often make it more dangerous to use the cycle lane than not to."

Nigel Depledge said: "Cycleways like this are brilliant, but with a few provisos. First, they have to go somewhere that people want to go (as opposed to some that just end when you get to a really busy main road). Second, there needs to be an actual physical demarcation between the bit that is allocated to bikes and the bit that's allocated to pedestrians. This drawing looks like it has a small kerb, but I don't think that's going to achieve anything. Some cycleways I've seen in the past were utterly useless because they were always covered in pedestrians."

Thoughts?

19 April 2021, 10:48
Hi-vis bike thief caught on camera
19 April 2021, 10:15
What's next for Mark Cavendish?
 
Will Cav win another Grand Tour stage?

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Created with Poll Maker

He's back. Four stage wins in eight days has got us dreaming of a return to the dizzy heights of 2011. Okay, maybe winning five stages at the Tour is too much to ask but what can we realistically expect from Cav this year? The last we heard was that he will not be going to the Giro d'Italia or the Tour de France. The Vuelta a España is a punishing race for any sprinter but may be Cav's only shot at a Grand Tour this year. With 48 Grand Tour stage wins already, we're asking will he get a 49th? Go on, vote yes, you know you want to...  

19 April 2021, 09:48
Cav on top of the world

Let's face it, none of us saw this coming. From the sounds of his Instagram post, not even Cav thought he would come away from the Tour of Turkey with four stage wins. The return of Fabio Jakobsen to the peloton was great to see too...

19 April 2021, 08:33
Shipping bikes in TV boxes reduces damage by 80%
bike box

Here's an interesting story from 99 per cent invisible who detailed the simple yet innovative idea from Dutch bicycle manufacturer VanMoof for getting its deliveries to customers in one piece. By shipping bikes in boxes with large, expensive TVs printed on the side, they cut damaged orders by 70-80 per cent overnight and experienced far more success than with tougher boxes, better packaging or changing couriers. Genius. Apparently companies beyond the cycling industry have taken note too. Desk manufacturer Uplift now ship products in boxes with electronics to camouflage orders and get better treatment from shipping companies.

19 April 2021, 07:56
Jeremy Vine nearly taken out by London cab driver on his morning commute

Happy Monday, Jeremy... the pedalling presenter's commute through Piccadilly this morning included this sketchy moment with a cab driver, who appeared to miss the oncoming cyclist completely. As Vine points out, it was silly of him to forget that road markings aren't operational and are presumably just there for a bit of decoration...

Jeremy's London cycling adventures, now captured in glorious 360, have acquainted him with many a dodgy driver, including this one spotted mounting the pavement and driving down the Hyde Park segregated cycle lane... 

And this all too familiar tale: impatient driver blasts the horn as they pass...only to get stopped at the next set of traffic lights...

Dan Alexander

Dan is the road.cc news editor and joined in 2020 having previously written about nearly every other sport under the sun for the Express, and the weird and wonderful world of non-league football for The Non-League Paper. Dan has been at road.cc for four years and mainly writes news and tech articles as well as the occasional feature. He has hopefully kept you entertained on the live blog too.

Never fast enough to take things on the bike too seriously, when he's not working you'll find him exploring the south of England by two wheels at a leisurely weekend pace, or enjoying his favourite Scottish roads when visiting family. Sometimes he'll even load up the bags and ride up the whole way, he's a bit strange like that.

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17 comments

Avatar
brooksby | 3 years ago
0 likes

Deliveroo investigating after picture emerges of food courier cycling along M32 motorway (Bristol Post)

https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/deliveroo-investigating-...

Deliveroo is investigating after an image shared online appeared to show an employee cycling along the motorway in Bristol.

A cyclist wearing the distinctive turquoise backpack with the food courier's branding was pictured riding on the hard shoulder of the M32.

The image was shared on social media platform Reddit on Wednesday night (April 14) with the caption: "Not everyday you see a Deliveroo rider on the M32."

It showed the rider about a mile before the turn-off for Fishponds and Horfield, despite it being illegal for cyclists to ride on motorways in the UK.

So....  That's the story (assuming its not all made up).  One of the first comments BTL is (as you can guess):

"This doesn't surprise me...cyclists make then own rules on the road..jump red lights ride faster than cars in a 20mph zone.. ride on pavements ride in and out of traffic hitting cars not giving a dam."

 

Avatar
mdavidford | 3 years ago
2 likes

Quite a smart choice for bike thievery - hi-vis will tend to draw away the attention of any witnesses and make them less likely to remember any actual identifiable details.

Of course, getting caught on video is rather less smart (though you can't make out a great deal from this clip).

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brooksby | 3 years ago
5 likes

Quote:

Anthony Webb offered some feedback to Sultana's message: "Very important thing that's always forgotten with these - rights of way at turnings etc often make it more dangerous to use the cycle lane than not to."

When North Somerset Council was proposing to put in a new shared-use cycle path alongside the A369 between Pill and Abbots Leigh, at the consultation I raised this very point.  I asked if they could put a give-way line set back from the main road on the side roads? (No) or at the very least some sort of warning sign to remind people that there was a cycle lane ahead (No).

We also couldn't get a light controlled crossing as it would hold up the traffic (?), so we got a refuge in the middle, to cross what was originally a 50mph commuter route (now dropped, supposedly, to 40 mph).  It can take 5-10 minutes to cross just two lanes of traffic, during morning rush hour...

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Surreyrider replied to brooksby | 3 years ago
6 likes

In Surrey, the council puts some metal staples at intervals on pavements and hey presto a cycle lane (that nobody uses). Or widens a cycle lane on a fast road where there were never any problems but ignores the roundabouts at either end and seems happy that bikes have to filter back into the traffic on the approaches (& of course drivers always allow that..). A five-year-old would do better in a primary school project. 

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IanMK replied to brooksby | 3 years ago
1 like

It'll be interesting to see how Rule H3 will change thinking on this:

You should not cut across cyclists going ahead when turning into or out of a junction or changing direction or lane, just as you would not turn across the path of another motor vehicle. This applies whether cyclists are using a cycle lane, a cycle track, or riding ahead on the road and you should give way to them.

I understand that most cycle lanes have a give way signs at junctions and this would negate rule H3 anyway. The ones I have seen are just painted on the tarmac. However, it's going to be difficult for drivers to know who has priority as they approach the junction if they can't see the cyclist specific give way sign. It's therefore surely better for most junctions to adopt rule H3 as default.

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HarrogateSpa | 3 years ago
4 likes

Coventry: the new Cycle Infrastructure Design LTN1/20 is very good - clearly written by people who know about best practice around the world.

Follow the guidance, and you won't go far wrong.

Avatar
hawkinspeter | 3 years ago
5 likes

For a moment, I thought Jeremy was turning his head to give the driver a 'hard stare' but he seemed to be staring for a bit too long and then did that owl trick of turning his head right round.

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GMBasix replied to hawkinspeter | 3 years ago
0 likes

which camera does he have, anybody know?

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Awavey replied to GMBasix | 3 years ago
2 likes

one of those Insta 360 cameras I suspect, could have done with one of those at the weekend as an SUV tried to drive through me but none of it captured on my forward facing camera

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hawkinspeter replied to GMBasix | 3 years ago
1 like

According to https://twitter.com/theJeremyVine/status/1375927773496233984, it's an Insta360: https://www.insta360.com/

Edit: I've been looking at their store and they look very impressive bits of kit. I think I'll have to wait for my Fly12 to finally break before I can justify getting one, though.

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Miller replied to hawkinspeter | 3 years ago
1 like

Looks like an Insta360 One X or the more recent One X2. I recently acquired a One X and it's a fascinating device although the battery life is poor and the device can be flaky. Here's a short video I made of a recent gravel sportive, it uses a mix of Insta and GoPro footage. 

https://youtu.be/SBenRQjbXHM

Avatar
hawkinspeter replied to Miller | 3 years ago
2 likes

Miller wrote:

Looks like an Insta360 One X or the more recent One X2. I recently acquired a One X and it's a fascinating device although the battery life is poor and the device can be flaky. Here's a short video I made of a recent gravel sportive, it uses a mix of Insta and GoPro footage. 

https://youtu.be/SBenRQjbXHM

Great footage, though I threw up in my mouth a little when I saw bikes being put upside down.

What we need is a full on Road.cc review of these as the stabilisation and choice of angles is superb, but if battery life is poor then they might not be best for commuters.

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Awavey replied to hawkinspeter | 3 years ago
1 like

Reviews have been mixed to be fair,its an interesting camera and great for video bloggers to get unique footage with. But to get that 360 look also requires some post processing I think, so Vine has edited the raw footage to display what's interesting, and I dont know how that works with submissions for police close passes.

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hawkinspeter replied to Awavey | 3 years ago
0 likes

If I got one, I'd be inclined to upload the raw footage and a suitably chosen angle or two to highlight the incident.

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Miller replied to Awavey | 3 years ago
4 likes

If you want a low maintenance way to record traffic around you, I wouldn't recommend a 360 cam at their current state of development. On the other hand, yes for getting a unique look in youtube videos. What I have: the One X camera itself and some spare batteries and assorted mounts. 360 stills or video recorded on the camera can be downloaded to your phone where you can use the Insta App to do some basic editing for export to social media. For more elaborate post-processing you can copy the source files to PC and then use Insta Studio to select angles of view and effects in your clip, then export the clips one at a time as either 360 video or flat non-360 video. Then you can assemble your clips into a final video, noting that although all video editors will of course handle flat video, only a couple of high-end video editors are able edit 360 video.

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Miller replied to Miller | 3 years ago
2 likes

Here's another little Insta360 video done for fun.

https://youtu.be/cr99lZEJ0Hs

Avatar
brooksby | 3 years ago
8 likes

Mr Vine is missing the point.  Those particular road markings signify 'give way', and any fule kno that you don't have to give way to cyclists!  The very thought!!

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