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"Half our enforcement is on cyclists", say Met Cycle Safety team; Wiggins on Brailsford cancer diagnosis; Netflix while driving; Cyclist killed trying to escape magpieattack; 25,000 protesters block Frankfurt car show +more in the Live Blog

All today's news from the site and beyond as we start a new week.....
UPDATED Tue, Sep 17, 2019 00:11
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"Half our enforcement is on cyclists", say Met Cycle Safety team; Wiggins on Brailsford cancer diagnosis; Netflix while driving; Cyclist killed trying to escape magpieattack; 25,000 protesters block Frankfurt car show +more in the Live BlogNew Scotland Yard sign.PNG
16 September 2019, 16:40
Sensible place to wear a helmet, there doesn't seem to be too much headroom there ...
16 September 2019, 16:08
40th birthday beer brewed for Bristol & Bath Railway Path

A limited edition beer is being brewed to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Bristol & Bath Railway Path.

The pale ale, called Route 4, is a collaboration between Sustrans, which developed the route as its first major infrastructure project, and Bath Brew House, and will be on sale there from 5 October.

Route_4_Beer_-_James_Cleeton_and_Max_Cadman1

Last week, James Cleeton, Sustrans England Director South, helped weigh out the ingredients and mix the mash for the brew, with 20p from every bottle sold at the Bath Brew House benefiting the charity.

“The Bristol and Bath Railway Path is a true community asset, loved by so many people,” he said. “Its development came about through grassroots action, and we’re dedicated to working with the community to maintain and enhance this green and biodiverse corridor for the benefit of current users and future generations.

“The £1.1 million Department for Transport funding we announced last week will enable us to do this.

“Developing this limited edition beer with The Bath Brew House is something fun we’ve been able to do to celebrate the path. I’m looking forward to sampling a pint when we launch it in October.”

Bath Brew House head brewer Max Cadman added: “I regularly use the Bristol and Bath Railway Path to commute from Bristol to Bath and am really grateful for having such an enjoyable way to get to work. It’s also a popular tourist attraction and we see many people in the pub who have been out enjoying the path for leisure.

Route_4_Beer_-_James_Cleeton_and_Max_Cadman2

“One day I was riding along the path and it struck me that I could help celebrate and promote the path to others by creating a beer in its honour. The 40th anniversary celebrations were just the excuse we needed to get the process started.”

16 September 2019, 15:37
Met Police Cycle Safety Team say half their enforcement is on cyclists in tweet

The Met Police Cycle Safety team have had their use of resources called into question, after they posted a tweet saying two officers had spent today dealing with cyclists going the wrong way down Beeston Place in central London. They also said in the thread that half of their enforcement is against cyclists, which led to further criticism... 

Do you think such enforcement is necessary, or wholly disproportionate? 

16 September 2019, 15:10
Vintage bike restorer opens pop-up shop in Edinburgh

An Edinburgh business that restores vintage and classic bikes has opened a pop-up shop in the city’s Stockbridge district.

Velow Bikeworks, which is based in Portobello, will be trading for the rest of September at Seventeen, 17 St Stephen Street.

The business restores and sells bikes from the 1950s through to the 1990s and founder Walter Hamilton told Edinburgh Live: "I got bitten by the cycling bug in 2013 and wanted to learn some basic bike maintenance skills.

“So I rescued an old steel bicycle that was bound for the bin, took it apart, cleaned it up and put it all back together.

"I soon realised that there was something very satisfying about bringing a discarded bike back to life and the idea for Velow was born.

“There's something very pleasing about classic steel bicycles both aesthetically and functionally.

"It's true that they don't make them like they used to and the bikes I bring back to life are not only nice to look at but great fun to ride and have so much life left in them.

“It's incredibly satisfying knowing that I'm keeping old bikes on the road and helping to get more and more people riding bikes."

16 September 2019, 14:18
16 September 2019, 14:17
Wiggins: Brailsford cancer diagnosis puts life into perspective

Sir Bradley Wiggins says that Sir Dave Brailsford’s cancer diagnosis puts life into perspective.

The Team Ineos principal revealed in an interview with the Times published on Friday that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer before the Tour de France and last month underwent a five-hour operation. He was due to receive the results of the operation last Saturday.

Sir Dave Brailsford at Team Ineos launch (picture credit SWPix.com (26)

Wiggins, who rode under Brailsford for Great Britain and was then recruited by him when Team Sky was set up in late 2009 said on his Eurosport podcast: "I've known Dave since I was 18.

“We've had an up and down [relationship], but one thing I've always considered is Dave as like a big brother to me. Someone you can have an argument or a fight with, fall out with - at times frustrating, at times we probably disliked each other, but I spoke to him at the Tour and he was very reflective and we had quite a nice moment actually.

"It puts things into perspective really, it just shows how delicate life is. We all wish him well. What he has done for this sport the last 10 years will never be fully appreciated,” Wiggins added.

"He has single-handedly made British cycling one of the biggest cycling nations in the world. His vision and drive has single handedly, I would go so far as to say, been the main reason behind the success of the sport in this country."

16 September 2019, 13:12
Owain Doull to partner Mark Cavendish at Six Day London

Olympic team pursuit champion Owain Doull, who yesterday completed his maiden Grand Tour as the Vuelta finished in Madrid, will next month partner Mark Cavendish at Six Day London.

The event takes place at the Lee Valley VeloPark from 22-27 October, and tickets are available here.

Doull said: “I can’t wait to race alongside Mark at Phynova Six Day London, he’s a British cycling legend and I’m sure we’ll perform well together. I’ve heard great things about Six Day and will be determined to bring it home for Wales under the lights.”

Other riders confirmed include Lotto-Soudal’s Caleb Ewan, winner of three stages at the Tour de France in July, and Deceuninck-Quick Step’s Elia Viviani, who beat Cavendish to Olympic gold at Rio 2016.

16 September 2019, 12:54
Bloody cyclists, helping a sporting legend back into her chair
16 September 2019, 11:48
"But no one uses the cycle lanes"...
16 September 2019, 12:06
Welsh rugby legend Gareth Thomas completes Ironman Wales

In a traumatic week for 45-year-old Thomas - who this week revealed that he is living with HIV after claiming that blackmailers threatened to expose his condition with his consent - he also smashed the notoriously tough Ironman Wales triathlon yesterday in a very impressive time of 12 hours, 18 minutes and 29 seconds. 

The course begins with a choppy 2.4 mile sea swim in Tenby and is known for its tough bike and run courses, with well over 2,000m of elevation on the 112 mile cycle. Riding a regular road bike with drop bars, Thomas completed it in an impressive 6:18:50 before completing the marathon segment in 4:17:49. 

16 September 2019, 10:49
A reported 25,000 people turned up to protest Frankfurt's IAA car show yesterday, with cyclists blocking the entrance

Sand im Getriebe, an environmental protest group, say an estimated 25,000 people turned out to protest against the German car industry at the International Motor Show in Frankfurt at the weekend, with protestors on bikes blocking the entrance on masse. With sales of large cars such as SUVs on the rise in Germany, Sand im Getriebe say on their website they are demonstrating against the damage caused to the environment by motor vehicles, and are campaigning for "car-free cities, more space for walking and cycling as well as developed and free public transport." 

The Frankfurt car show blockage was the latest in a number of protests that have taken place in Germany recently against pollution and the damage to the environment/danger posed by large vehicles such as SUVs. Berlin mayor Stephan von Dassel recently tweeted that "such tank-like vehicles (SUVs) have no place on our streets" after a driver ploughed into a crowd of pedestrians, killing four. It's also been reported that anarchists have been burning luxury SUVs around Berlin in protest. 

16 September 2019, 10:01
You've heard of mobile phones at the wheel. Now get ready for...

Words fail us. The cyclist who posted the photos to Twitter, who also happens to be the UK editor of YouGov, said he didn't get the number plate of the driver, but her face is pretty clear to see. 

16 September 2019, 08:03
Australian man dies in bike crash after trying to escape from swooping magpie attack

A 76-year-old man has died in Wollongong, New South Wales after veering off a path and crashing his bike while trying to avoid an attack from a swooping magpie. Wollongong Police said the man crashed into a fence post and suffered serious head injuries as a result. He was airlifted to St. George Hospital in Sydney and died later yesterday evening. 

Magpie attacks on pedestrians and cyclists have become notorious in Australia, particularly around springtime in September and October when the birds become more territorial to protect their young. After a spate of magpie attacks in August due to an early spring back in 2016, a behavioural ecologist said magpies could actually remember their victims if they think that person is a threat. 

Cyclists have been known to take precautions by attaching cable ties to their helmet pointing up vertically to stop magpies from getting their claws inside helmet vents. CNN report that there have already been 1,570 reported 'swoopings' already in 2019, with 189 resulting in injuries; incidents very rarely have fatal consequences.  

While magpies are a protected species and it's illegal to kill them, local authorities will act if one is particularly aggressive. Earlier this month, Hills Shire council shot a bird after receiving 40 complaints about it in three years.  

16 September 2019, 07:53
This has been coming for Primoz Roglic

Looking at these results together, the Slovenian was well overdue a Grand Tour win with that consistency over the last year and a half. Needless to say, the celebrations began last night after the victory was sealed...

16 September 2019, 07:48
Ask Matt anything with Bradley Wiggins

Eurosport's popular Vuelta segment saw Wiggo and Matt Stephens ponder life's great questions such as... which one is bigger, a Jumbo Visma or a Sunweb? Flake or Twirl? 

Jack Sexty

Jack has been writing about cycling and multisport for over a decade, arriving at road.cc via 220 Triathlon Magazine in 2017. He worked across all areas of the website including tech, news and video, and also contributed to eBikeTips before being named Editor of road.cc in 2021 (much to his surprise). Jack has been hooked on cycling since his student days, and currently has a Trek 1.2 for winter riding, a beloved Bickerton folding bike for getting around town and an extra beloved custom Ridley Helium SLX for fantasising about going fast in his stable. Jack has never won a bike race, but does have a master's degree in print journalism and two Guinness World Records for pogo sticking (it's a long story). 

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35 comments

Avatar
brooksby replied to Philh68 | 5 years ago
2 likes
Philh68 wrote:

Precisely my point, brooksby.

Sorry, Phil68, I misunderstood your post  yes

Avatar
brooksby | 5 years ago
1 like
Quote:

...the man crashed into a fence post and suffered serious head injuries as a result.

I'd thought helmets were mandatory in Oz?  So presumably this poor fella was wearing a helmet...?

(I think we need to ban magpies)

Avatar
Philh68 replied to brooksby | 5 years ago
5 likes
brooksby wrote:

I'd thought helmets were mandatory in Oz?  So presumably this poor fella was wearing a helmet...?

(I think we need to ban magpies)

yes, he was wearing a helmet. How much more horrendous could this have been without it. But eyewitness accounts say he wasn’t being swooped, the bird was preoccupied with another cyclist. The fear of being swooped was enough to result in a tragic accident.

Magpies are highly intelligent birds, we don’t want to ban them. We should be training them to swoop drivers who park in bike lanes, and to leave cyclists alone!

Avatar
brooksby replied to Philh68 | 5 years ago
7 likes
Philh68 wrote:
brooksby wrote:

I'd thought helmets were mandatory in Oz?  So presumably this poor fella was wearing a helmet...?

(I think we need to ban magpies)

yes, he was wearing a helmet. How much more horrendous could this have been without it. But eyewitness accounts say he wasn’t being swooped, the bird was preoccupied with another cyclist. The fear of being swooped was enough to result in a tragic accident.

Magpies are highly intelligent birds, we don’t want to ban them. We should be training them to swoop drivers who park in bike lanes, and to leave cyclists alone!

I get the impression that the result would have been exactly the same - the guy died 

Avatar
burtthebike replied to brooksby | 5 years ago
4 likes
brooksby wrote:
Quote:

...the man crashed into a fence post and suffered serious head injuries as a result.

I'd thought helmets were mandatory in Oz?  So presumably this poor fella was wearing a helmet...?

(I think we need to ban magpies)

A very sad case.  But it again demonstrates the massive limitations of helmets; in precisely the kind of accident for which they are supposedly designed, it still didn't work.  I bet this doesn't get anything like the publicity one of those mistaken "helmet saved my life" stories gets.

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