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How do you solve a problem like close passes?; “Battle of Britain’s cycle lanes”? More anti-cycling nonsense in the Times; Cycle like the Dutch and save the planet; Bike lane or picnic spot?; Jumbo-Visma play swapsies at the Vuelta + more on the live blog

Happy Monday everyone! Ryan Mallon’s here with all the latest cycling news and views on the live blog, so you can start your week with the furious momentum of a Danny van Poppel lead out…
Mon, Aug 22, 2022 09:46
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SUMMARY

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How do you solve a problem like close passes?; “Battle of Britain’s cycle lanes”? More anti-cycling nonsense in the Times; Cycle like the Dutch and save the planet; Bike lane or picnic spot?; Jumbo-Visma play swapsies at the Vuelta + more on the live blogCyclist's close pass solution (Adam Bronkhorst, Twitter)
22 August 2022, 16:59
22 August 2022, 16:08
Distance radars and bike lane camping: Today’s reader reaction

Following this morning’s example of a new Highway Code-regulating overtaking wand, road.cc reader mattw came up with another potential Dragons’ Den pitch:

Remembering that Dr Ian Walker had an instrumented bike for his close overtaking studies, what are the chances of a 'distance radar' to combine with cameras to document close passes for PC Copper?

I can see it annoying all the right people.

Is one of the normal excuses for NFA the difficulty of judging close passes from the camera angle?

Kickstarter?

Dogless says that he “often thought about using one of those wand things but always a bit too scared. Every time I get a close pass off someone while riding with one of my kids on the back of my bike I vow to do it.

“What I did do was print out pictures of my small children and stuck them on the back of the child's seat with a request to pass safely. Don't know if it worked but hopefully made at least one person stop and think before squeezing past to get to the queue of cars up the road.”

“On the close passing thing,” brooksby writes, “As the tweeterer says, motorists will pass you. Unfortunately that person is missing the point, that when they do pass you it will be at clearance of two feet or so and above the safe speed limit…”

The cyclist’s 1.5m wand (Ooh, Matron!) also sparked a touch of nostalgia among some of our readers. Safety said: “I'm old enough to remember a safety campaign on an Esther Rantzen TV show (70s?) which prompted an, admittedly, small wand for bikes.”

“I remember those,” replied Rendel Harris. “Lots of my contemporaries cycling to school had them (I didn't because I didn't want to spoil the look of my beloved Raleigh Record Sprint!), orange wand with a round end with a red reflector? IIRC they were on a hinge so they would fold in if hit. Never see them these days though.”

Cycling wand (Live Blog comments)

Meanwhile, IanMK had a confession to make, prompted by the picture of the campervan driver (and his dog) enjoying the peaceful environs of the cycle lane:

When I was a nipper doing the Interrail thing, me and mate got to Dunkirk station late. We decided to walk to the ferry terminal sleep, there and catch the first ferry home.

After walking along the road in pitch black we gave up. Headed down the embankment, found some flat stoney land to pitch the tent and settled down for some kip. Woken in the morning to the sound of a cycle bell. We'd literally pitched on a cycle path.”

Now, that’s a good Interrail story…

22 August 2022, 08:43
“Chapeau of the highest order to this cyclist”: Now that’s one way to avoid close passes…

While doing my best to continue scrolling past the litany of tweets lambasting the Mail for its committed and oh-so-shocking anti-cycling editorial line (more on that later… maybe, if I feel like it), I stumbled across this post from active travel campaigner Adam Bronkhorst, which showcased a rather ingenious method of enforcing the Highway Code’s 1.5 metre passing guidelines:

Although, for safety reasons, I would probably warn against this particularly pointy alternative solution to the same problem:

Unsurprisingly, Adam’s tweet reeled in (geddit? Fishing rod, reeled in? Yeah?) a few of the usual suspects, after they had finished digesting the Mail’s latest scandalous revelations, of course.

Thankfully, the phones and thumbs of Cycling Twitter were at the ready with some well-rehearsed retorts:

22 August 2022, 15:43
‘Why don’t cyclists ride in cycle lanes?’, part 1,326
22 August 2022, 15:29
Return of the MVDP
22 August 2022, 14:55
Rising British star Thomas Gloag takes Tour de l’Avenir stage and yellow jersey

After Leo Hayter’s dominant ride at the Baby Giro, 20-year-old Thomas Gloag continued British cycling’s remarkable run of success at the big U23 races this year by taking the fourth stage and the leader’s jersey of the Tour de l’Avenir, the annual proving ground for the stars of the future.

Gloag, who joined Jumbo-Visma as a stagiaire earlier this month, outsprinted yesterday’s stage winner Adam Holm Jørgensen on the uphill drag to the line in Chaillac to move into the yellow jersey by three seconds ahead of German hope and fellow Jumbo-Visma rider Michel Hessmann.

“It’s been a tough year for me and we have an incredible selection of talent, so I’m really fortunate to be here today,” Gloag said after the finish.

22 August 2022, 14:30
22 August 2022, 14:27
Sir Jim Ratcliffe at Team Ineos launch (picture credit Simon Wilksinon, SWPix.com)
Ineos makes almost £500 million profit as energy prices soar

Ineos, the petrochemicals giant and sponsor of the 4x4 advertisement/pro cycling team formerly known as Sky, has made almost £500 million in profit thanks to soaring energy prices.

According to the Guardian, Ineos’ oil and gas division reported a profit of £474 million in 2021, compared to a loss of £226 million in 2020.

The company, owned by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, said that it has benefited from average gas prices rising by 264 percent to 91p per therm during that period, with prices continuing to rise since then.

No wonder Sir Jim has been recently angling to expand the Ineos sporting empire by potentially purchasing Manchester United from the much-maligned Glazer family – it’s not as if he’s lacking the funds.

Perhaps he could donate a few of Geraint Thomas’s gilets to anyone struggling to heat their home this winter?

22 August 2022, 13:42
Better facilities, like these in the Netherlands, woiuld encourage people to cycle more (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 licenced by MarkA:Flickr)
If everyone cycled like the Dutch, global carbon emissions would drop by nearly 700 million tonnes a year, new study says

A new study from researchers at the University of South Denmark has found that if cycling was embraced across the globe as it is in the Netherlands, global carbon emissions would drop by almost 700 million tonnes per year.

According to the study, which has compiled the first global dataset for bicycle ownership and use by country from 1962 to 2015, Dutch people cycle 2.6 kilometres a day. If that level of cycling was repeated worldwide, annual global carbon emissions would fall by 686 million tonnes.

The study also demonstrates that annual bike production has increased by over 100 million in the last sixty years – however, cycle journeys still account for just five percent of daily trips worldwide.

While recognising that not everyone lives in a bike-friendly place, the researchers have called for an “urgent” expansion of cycling infrastructure across the world.

“Lessons learned from successful experiences in countries like Denmark and the Netherlands, particularly on the city level such as Copenhagen and Amsterdam, would be essential,” the authors argue.

“These include but are not limited to, for example, proper bicycle lanes planning and construction, pro-bicycle education and culture, and policies to discourage car use through tax.

“A worldwide pro-bicycle policy and infrastructure development enabled modal shift like the Netherlands and Denmark can lead to significant untapped climate and health benefits,” the paper concludes.

22 August 2022, 13:06
Gateshead micropub regulars organise whip-round so Peruvian bikepacker could stay at hotel

Drinkers at a recently opened micropub in Gateshead all chipped in to ensure that a cyclist from Peru, currently in the middle of a bikepacking tour of the UK, had a comfortable stay in the north east thanks to some world-renowned Geordie hospitality.

Gary Moore, the owner of Microbus on Wellington Street, said his punters raised £108 on the “spur of the moment” so cyclist Philippe could get a good night’s kip at the Hilton after spending most of his tour sleeping on hammocks and in bus stops.

“One of our regulars apparently bumped into the cyclist on the Tyne Bridge, who had stopped to take some photos, and asked him where he was going,” Gary told the Chronicle.

“They got talking and he brought him in for a drink. [The cyclist] got chatting to some of the regulars in the pub and they asked him where he was staying for the night.

“He asked where he could put a hammock and I looked at one of the regulars, Dennis, and knew exactly what he was thinking. On the spur of the moment, we had a whip-round in the pub for him.

“He was overjoyed and very surprised. He said he had slept in a lot of churches, bus stops and had his hammock up on trees. He said no one had ever been so nice to him on his trip and was quite emotional.

“He said he would remember how people in Gateshead were really nice to him. He had a really positive, nice experience and we were chuffed [to do that for him].”

22 August 2022, 12:31
The perks of being a directeur sportif
22 August 2022, 11:59
“Please tell me more about how number plates stop wrongdoing…”
22 August 2022, 11:49
22 August 2022, 11:00
Vuelta weekend roundup: Bennett roars back, Valverde complains, and Jumbo-Visma play swapsies

Seven thirty seven comin’ out of the sky, won't you take me down to the Basque Country on a midnight ride?

By now, the pro peloton will be well and truly sick of grand tour ‘travel days’, as they leave the Netherlands for Spain after the third foreign grand depart of the season.

Sam Bennett and Bora-Hansgrohe, however, will be able to relax and enjoy the 1,300-kilometre trek to tomorrow’s start town of Vitoria-Gasteiz, following a successful opening weekend on the Dutch flatlands.

The Irish sprinter put a difficult 12 months behind with a stunning return to form on the Vuelta a España’s opening weekend, finishing off lead-out man extraordinaire Danny van Poppel’s impressive work to storm to two consecutive sprint wins, beating former world champion Mads Pedersen into second on each occasion.

While Bennett had plenty to smile about, the grand old man of cycling Alejandro Valverde wasn’t happy with the opening few stages of his last ever Vuelta attempt:

The 42-year-old criticised the technical and potentially dangerous nature of the route in the Netherlands, after Stef Cras and Michael Woods were forced to abandon the race after two hard crashes on stages two and three respectively.

“We’ve had a lot of scares in general, because, well, the route… Better first I have a shower, then we can talk, because if I say what I think now, better I say nothing,” Valverde said after the stage.

“Fine, we’ve got through it, and now we’re going to Spain, so bien.”

When asked what specifically annoyed him about the route, the Movistar leader replied: “The route? The route? Hey, come on, don’t fuck with me. Nope, I’m not doing to say anything because I’m going to get hot under the collar. Bien, that’s it.

“No, man, these kinds of circuits just can’t be. It’s as if we’ve gone through the same village seven times. I don’t think there were any more villages out there that we could have gone through… I’ve said more than enough.”

Another rider affected by crashes, Ineos Grenadiers’ outgoing GC hope Richard Carapaz, dismissed Valverde’s argument that the stages were overtly dangerous.

“I’m fine, it was quite a quick stage and a little bit dangerous, but we got through it okay and now we’re heading for Spain, which is territory we know a little better,” the Ecuadorian former Giro winner said.

“Sometimes the stupidest crashes are the worst, but this time I was fine, nothing bad happened at all, it was just a scare. The team could get me back up to the peloton fairly quickly. The important thing is that I’m feeling fine and we’re heading for Spain.

“At the end of the day, all the Grand Tours have a few stages like this. Sometimes you just have to get through them as best you can.”

Meanwhile, as their rivals do their best to avoid crashes and misfortune, Friday’s TTT winners Jumbo-Visma are having a whale of a time passing the red leader’s jersey around the team bus…

‘A red jersey for you, Robert Gesink, a red jersey for you, Mike Teunissen, one for you, Edoardo Affini, four for you Glen Coco…’

Now, wouldn’t it be very Jumbo-Visma of the team to hold the jersey all the way to Madrid?

22 August 2022, 10:07
The Mail: “Let’s whip up some anti-cycling hysteria”; The Times: “Hold my steering wheel”

It seems, from where I’m sitting, as if the Times and the Mail have been engaged in a race during the past week to rush out as many articles designed to whip up anti-cycling fervour among their car driving readership as possible.

During the past week, both papers prominently covered Grant Shapps’ pledge to introduce tougher cycling laws, albeit with slightly different approaches to reporting what the Transport Secretary actually said…

> Grant Shapps: Cyclists should have number plates, be insured and subject to speed limits

And you may have noticed yesterday – through reading road.cc, obviously – that a reporter from the Mail on Sunday spent a fair chunk of his Wednesday morning counting cyclists outside Buckingham Palace, in a bid to paint them as the red-light jumping scoundrels, or indeed ‘rats’, that they undoubtedly are in the eyes of the right-wing cognoscenti.

When he reported his findings through the medium of dog whistle, however, a number of cyclists on Twitter claimed that they were passing Ma’am’s house at the time of the Mail’s scientific survey, and pointed out that the road was closed to traffic and that some police officers told them to ignore the lights (as long as there were no pedestrians crossing, of course). None of which made it into the Mail’s article, of course.

> Cyclists blast Mail on Sunday’s “manufactured” and “dehumanising” ‘red light rats’ story

Well, not to be outdone, the Sunday Times offered a slightly different take on the whole ‘people not in cars are dangerous nuisances’ agenda, by aiming to divide and conquer the users of Britain’s “already crowded” cycle lanes.

Appealing to the kind of patriotic, flag-waving motorist who reminisces about the Second World War despite being born in 1972, the Times dubbed the so-called fractious relationship between those on two wheels the “Battle of Britain’s cycle lanes”.

Rather than focus on the need for an expansion of the country’s safe cycling infrastructure, the Times – which, ten years ago, launched an award-winning campaign to make Britain’s roads safer for people on bikes – claims that delivery, e-bike and e-scooter riders are “causing problems” and are “putting riders and pedestrians in danger”, despite the founder of cargo bike company Zedify pointing out that the UK’s narrow and “disjointed” cycle lanes have forced their employees to ride on the road.

Will it ever end?

22 August 2022, 09:28
Bike-friendly bus drivers

In happier news, thanks to a bike-friendly bus driver, transport journalist and road.cc contributor Laura Laker was able to make her meeting after all. More of this, please…

22 August 2022, 08:58
‘Why don’t cyclists ride in cycle lanes?’, part 1,325: Picnic edition

Now, here’s a bike lane obstacle you don’t see every day:

The Interneter of the Day award, however, surely goes to Bazza, for replying to Gaz’s tweet with this very topical and pointed pledge destined for the Mail’s front page (some of which he'll later backtrack on, I’m sure):

Rishi Sunak will be along any minute now, telling us that he’s ready to end the ‘war on cats’…

Ryan Mallon

After obtaining a PhD, lecturing, and hosting a history podcast at Queen’s University Belfast, Ryan joined road.cc in December 2021 and since then has kept the site’s readers and listeners informed and enthralled (well at least occasionally) on news, the live blog, and the road.cc Podcast. After boarding a wrong bus at the world championships and ruining a good pair of jeans at the cyclocross, he now serves as road.cc’s senior news writer. Before his foray into cycling journalism, he wallowed in the equally pitiless world of academia, where he wrote a book about Victorian politics and droned on about cycling and bikes to classes of bored students (while taking every chance he could get to talk about cycling in print or on the radio). He can be found riding his bike very slowly around the narrow, scenic country lanes of Co. Down.

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56 comments

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SimoninSpalding replied to eburtthebike | 2 years ago
7 likes

You clearly haven't been paying attention, none of the current sh!tstorm of issues is anything to do with the Tories, just ask Liz and Rishi, they both know how to solve it all, if only they were in power...

Avatar
eburtthebike replied to SimoninSpalding | 2 years ago
5 likes

SimoninSpalding wrote:

You clearly haven't been paying attention, none of the current sh!tstorm of issues is anything to do with the Tories, just ask Liz and Rishi, they both know how to solve it all, if only they were in power...

Just read that Rishi will make "political" prosecutions illegal or impossible, because those nasty people at GoodLaw keep showing them up for the shysters they are.  This is fascism, along with Dorries calling for the inquiry into Boris misleading parliament to be stopped, because it's a "witchhunt".

Avatar
hawkinspeter replied to eburtthebike | 2 years ago
1 like

eburtthebike wrote:

Just read that Rishi will make "political" prosecutions illegal or impossible, because those nasty people at GoodLaw keep showing them up for the shysters they are.  This is fascism, along with Dorries calling for the inquiry into Boris misleading parliament to be stopped, because it's a "witchhunt".

Well, at least we can go and protest...

Avatar
eburtthebike replied to hawkinspeter | 2 years ago
3 likes

hawkinspeter wrote:

eburtthebike wrote:

Just read that Rishi will make "political" prosecutions illegal or impossible, because those nasty people at GoodLaw keep showing them up for the shysters they are.  This is fascism, along with Dorries calling for the inquiry into Boris misleading parliament to be stopped, because it's a "witchhunt".

Well, at least we can go and protest...

Until Priti gets her bill through.  Another fascist. 

Soon you won't be able to protest about the government banning people from questioning government decisions, and the two prospective leaders have said they'll crack down on the right to strike too.

Matt Hancock was on the radio this morning, explaining why there are so many vacancies in the NHS; it's because they're hiring so many people.

Avatar
IanMK | 2 years ago
5 likes

Confession Time. When  I was a nipper doing the Interail thing, me and mate got to Dunkirk station late. We decided to walk to the the ferry terminal sleep there and catch the first ferry home. After walking along the road in pitch black we gave up. Headed down the embankment found some flat stoney land to pitch the tent and settled down for some kip. Woken in the morning to the sound of a cycle bell. We'd literally pitched on a cycle path cheeky smiley

Avatar
eburtthebike | 2 years ago
2 likes

‘Why don’t cyclists ride in cycle lanes?’, part 1,325: Picnic edition

Clearly he'd been moved on from picnicking on the motorway.

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AlsoSomniloquism | 2 years ago
2 likes

The cycle lane camp site.... At least they are a equal opportunites blocker and left the camper van on the road rather then also parking that on the cycle lane. 

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Richard D | 2 years ago
7 likes

The Times used to be quite sympathetic to cyclists after one of their journalists was very badly injured while riding her bike.
I guess that everyone in the news room who knew her has now moved on (obviously not to the Mail) or retired, though, as they no longer want to see people on bikes as people. 

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mattw | 2 years ago
3 likes

Been chatting around this this morning a little.

Remembering that Dr Ian Walker had an instrumented bike for his close overtaking studies, what are the chances of a 'distance radar' to combine with cameras to document close passes for PC Copper.

I can see it annoying all the right people.

Is one of the normal excuses for NFA the difficulty of judging close passes from the camera angle?

Kickstarter?

Avatar
EddyBerckx replied to mattw | 2 years ago
3 likes

mattw wrote:

Been chatting around this this morning a little.

Remembering that Dr Ian Walker had an instrumented bike for his close overtaking studies, what are the chances of a 'distance radar' to combine with cameras to document close passes for PC Copper.

I can see it annoying all the right people.

Is one of the normal excuses for NFA the difficulty of judging close passes from the camera angle?

Kickstarter?

I remember that bit of research he did.

Basically the result was that whatever type of bike you rode, whatever type of clothing you wore (normal to super high viz), whatever strategy of riding you took,  there was a persistant minority of motorists (1-2% I think) that would always close pass you.

Essentially, there's nothing you can do.

Avatar
ChrisB200SX replied to EddyBerckx | 2 years ago
3 likes

Although, less dangerous close passes if you wore a long blonde wig.

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SimoninSpalding replied to ChrisB200SX | 2 years ago
0 likes

I have some anecdata that suggests I get less close passes when cycling with the wife, who has long blonde hair(not a wig).

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chrisonabike replied to ChrisB200SX | 2 years ago
1 like

For that close pass research - it could be be skewed by a cultural memory which links long blond hair plus beard with "viking"?

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SimoninSpalding replied to chrisonabike | 2 years ago
0 likes

For clarity, my wife also has no beard.

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chrisonabike replied to SimoninSpalding | 2 years ago
1 like

Well, I guess that's just the fashion these days.

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PRSboy replied to ChrisB200SX | 2 years ago
0 likes

ChrisB200SX wrote:

Although, less dangerous close passes if you wore a long blonde wig.

My 16 yr old daughter has long blonde hair.  She informs me that when she cycles, drivers are generally idiots.

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hawkinspeter replied to PRSboy | 2 years ago
3 likes

PRSboy wrote:

ChrisB200SX wrote:

Although, less dangerous close passes if you wore a long blonde wig.

My 16 yr old daughter has long blonde hair.  She informs me that when she cycles, drivers are generally idiots.

Avatar
eburtthebike replied to hawkinspeter | 2 years ago
5 likes

Boris the squirrel; I can tell because he's lying.

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Safety replied to EddyBerckx | 2 years ago
4 likes

In replying to EddieBs message that nothing can be done, I have a suggestion. With the radar operated system incorporate a radar operated spray paint nozzle to dispense a line of orange paint. This would make them think.

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The Larger Cyclist replied to Safety | 2 years ago
2 likes

And speed camera's with paint ball guns!  

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Patrick9-32 replied to EddyBerckx | 2 years ago
8 likes

There is not much that an individual can do, that is true. There is something that can be done though and that is actually implement a "war on dangerous drivers" instead of just frothing up non-actions as a war on motorists. 

For instance: 

Using your car as a weapon should be assault with a deadly weapon at least and come with prison time and a lifetime, unappealable, driving ban. 

Leaving the scene of an accident should be treated as it is, an admission of guilt or wrongdoing or an attempt to evade breathaliser testing, it should come with prison time and a lifetime ban. 

Prosecutors should stop settling for lesser charges and push for causing death by dangerous driving as the default charge in cases where drivers cause death by driving dangerously. 

The number of points before losing your license should be lowered with retraining and retesting for those who go over being available in order to improve standards of poor drivers. 

Mandatory retesting every 5 years for all drivers should be implemented.

Driving without a license or insurance should be grounds for vehicle seizure for first offenders and prison time for repeat offenders. 

Average speed checks, the only speed monitoring which actually slows drivers down in my experience, should be implemented in more areas where collisions are prevalent.

People should be able to use the roads without fear of bad drivers. 

 

Avatar
eburtthebike replied to EddyBerckx | 2 years ago
0 likes

And if you wore a helmet, they tended to pass closer.

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Slartibartfast | 2 years ago
2 likes

I've often thought about using one of those wand things but always a bit too scared. Every time I get a close pass off someone while riding with one of my kids on the back of my bike I vow to do it.
What I did do was print out pictures of my small children and stuck them on the back of the child's seat with a request to pass safely. Don't know if it worked but hopefully made at least one person stop and think before squeezing past to get to the queue of cars up the road.

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IanMSpencer replied to Slartibartfast | 2 years ago
0 likes

That's a bit like the naivity of "Child on Board!" warnings, which presumed that somehow people consciously chose to drive like idiots and thought about their driving - and usually highlighted that you had a distracted, incompetent driver in front anyway (not that I am suggesting an analougous occurrence for cyclists mimicking of course 1 ).

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grumpyoldcyclist replied to IanMSpencer | 2 years ago
1 like

They are there for the emergencu services, to remind them in the eveny of an accident to look for a little person in the back seat, not just a driver. The idea was good, just long since passed into obscurity now.....

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brooksby | 2 years ago
3 likes

On the close passing thing: as the tweeterer says, motorists will pass you. Unfortunately that person is missing the point, that when they do pass you it will be at clearance of two feet or so and above the safe speed limit...

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