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Traffic monitoring group apologises for telling cyclists not to ride at night; Tory politician demands "nonsense" Hyde Park cycle lane is axed; Giro queen stage; Snow joke; Bike hangars; And then there were two; Bicycle hospital + more on the live blog

It's the start of a new week and Dan Alexander will be getting you through Monday on the live blog...
Mon, May 24, 2021 09:01
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Traffic monitoring group apologises for telling cyclists not to ride at night; Tory politician demands "nonsense" Hyde Park cycle lane is axed; Giro queen stage; Snow joke; Bike hangars; And then there were two; Bicycle hospital + more on the live blogsouth_wales_avoid_riding_at_night_screenshot.PNG
24 May 2021, 16:19
Better coverage than the broadcasters
Giro Passo Giau live stream (via Igor Tavella Instagram)

Igor Tavella has single-handedly outdone all the broadcasters for race coverage today with his live stream from the top of Passo Giau...just look at that picture quality...

Over to Gennaro Gattuso to sum up the TV pictures...

24 May 2021, 16:06
24 May 2021, 15:52
How the pros dealt with the cold

We won't be updating our feature on cold weather riding with the Attila Valter method just yet. No gloves for George Bennett...hard as nails. Maybe that is what is in the musette?

These were the scenes at the top of Passo Giau...

24 May 2021, 15:51
24 May 2021, 15:25
Should Remco Evenepoel be pulled out of the Giro by Deceuninck-Quick-Step?

Remco Evenepoel's GC challenge disappeared up the road on the Giro d'Italia queen stage as Deceuninck-Quick-Step's wonderkid struggled in the dismal high mountain conditions. Two weeks of continuous racing off the back of a nine-month layoff after a shocking crash at Il Lombardia caught up with Evenepoel as the 21-year-old dropped 24 minutes to stage winner Egan Bernal and slumped to 19th on GC.

Is it fair to push Evenepoel through a third week? Should his development be prioritised over finishing the race for the sake of it? 

The Belgian rider's family said earlier in the Giro that they are just pleased to see him back racing after the horror crash last August which left him in hospital with a fractured pelvis and contusion to his lung. Was a Grand Tour first race back too big a challenge? 

24 May 2021, 15:16
Chris Hall announces second Nuts and Bolts attempt

Some nice news now...Chris Hall is having another crack at the Nuts and Bolts ride which involves cycling from England's most western point to the most eastern point as quickly as possible. Just over a month ago Chris ended his first attempt in Andover after being pushed off his bike by a gang of men.

"On the 29th May, I’ll be heading back down to Land’s End to have another crack," Chris explained. "Cycling from England’s most western point to the most eastern point, Ness Point as quick as I can to raise money for the incredible work carried out by Movember. If you are able to support in some way, it’s hugely appreciated. If I could ask you to do one thing, it’s to talk more. I hope by continuing these challenges, I can draw more attention to men’s mental health."

Good luck, Chris...

24 May 2021, 14:22
Egan Bernal wins shortened Giro d'Italia queen stage in the cold as Hugh Carthy jumps to third

Well, we didn't see much of it but we did catch the final 500m where the TV pictures were unaffected by the weather...

Egan Bernal has one hand on the maglia rosa after another incredible performance, and he wanted everyone to know it—stripping off his rain jacket for the winner's salute across the line. Romain Bardet and Damiano Caruso were 27 seconds behind. Caruso, enjoying the Grand Tour of his career, is now second on GC 2:24 behind Bernal. Hugh Carthy has jumped onto the podium at 3:40.

Simon Yates was one of the big losers on today's stage, getting dispatched on Passo Giau and limping home more than 2:30 behind the stage winner. Yates has now dropped to fifth. The stragglers are still making their way to the finish. Keep an eye on the live blog for all the reaction to a chilling day at the Giro...the riders have certainly earned their rest day tomorrow. 

24 May 2021, 12:59
Traffic Wales South apologises for telling cyclists not to ride at night

 Traffic Wales South deleted its tweet promptly after receiving a backlash for saying cyclists should avoid riding at night. The traffic monitoring group was accused of victim-blaming and missing the point over the list of 'five safe tips for being a bicyclist', which included: "avoid riding at night".

In response, the group apologised and said what they really meant was to "avoid cycling at night without lights".

"We sincerely apologise," Traffic Wales South tweeted. "We intended to say please avoid cycling at night without lights, high vis etc. We want to encourage all everyone to access our network safely by sharing safety advice that is useful for all road users."

The original tweet was ridiculed on Twitter and got plenty of attention in the comments on our original story too...

Wycombewheeler said: "I know Wales is further west than where I live, but I'm fairly sure people still finish work after sunset in the winter. Are these people suggesting cyclists should be allowed to leave work earlier, because they think it is impossible to keep the roads safe during the hours of darkness?"

hawkinspeter suggested some extra 'safe tips': "Ensure that drivers behind you are paying attention and aren't listening to music. Only cycle where there aren't any cars or lorries. If a car is behind you, carefully dismount and doff your cap as you allow them to speed past you."

24 May 2021, 13:48
Gorka Izagirre's incredible bike-handling to stay rubber side down on wet descent

No TV pictures from the Giro at the moment. We think Egan Bernal is alone at the head of the race and everyone else is scattered in ones and twos behind. The Colombian was certainly the first rider across the top of Passo Giau and should now be on the descent to the finish.

A bit earlier Gorka Izagirre showed some super bike-handling skills to stay upright on a slippy descent. Considering he probably stopped feeling his fingers hours ago, that's good going.

24 May 2021, 13:44
Stroud Canal cyclist-activated artwork
24 May 2021, 13:34
24 May 2021, 12:06
24 May 2021, 11:45
Giro d'Italia 1965
24 May 2021, 11:37
'A bicycle was airlifted to a hospital after being attacked by a car'...
Bicycle headline

Remind me to take my bike to hospital next time it needs some work...a peek at the road collision reporting guidelines wouldn't have done any harm here, and the original article that doesn't appear to have been put through some kind of thesaurus app doesn't fare much better. 

There's no update on the cyclist's condition yet from Local 10 news, but hopefully the victim, who was airlifted to hospital, recovers from the serious injuries sustained. 

24 May 2021, 10:45
Dangerous breakaway up the road on shortened queen stage
Giro weather

The weather is causing havoc with the TV pictures but we have a huge breakaway up the road...more than 20 riders have taken a gamble, including Dan Martin, Vincenzo Nibali, Davide Formolo and João Almeida. It looks like Ineos Grenadiers' domestiques will have some work to do...

Shout out to Harm Vanhoucke who is also in there. One half of the Lotto-Soudal last man standing challenge...

24 May 2021, 10:25
Lotto-Soudal down to two after Thomas De Gendt abandons

Lotto-Soudal are down to two riders after Thomas De Gendt said he would not start today's stage due to knee pain. De Gendt is the team's sixth abandon since stage eight and leaves just Harm Vanhoucke and Stefano Oldani on the team bus. On the bright side, think of how much less work the mechanics and soigneurs will have in this final week.

Caleb Ewan abandoned on stage eight, also with knee pain, prompting Eddy Merckx to accuse the sprinter of disrespecting the race and the sport. Jasper De Buyst and Tomasz Marczyński followed on stage nine. Youngster Kobe Goosens left on stage 12 after feeling the effects of a crash before Roger Kluge abandoned two days later, also suffering knee pain.

24 May 2021, 10:14
Hundreds of applications for new bike storage hangars in Glasgow

The Glasgow Times reports new bike hangars being installed in 60 locations across Glasgow have attracted huge demand, with hundreds of applications being sent so far. Each unit provides space for six bicycles and can be rented for £6 per month per bike. They are being installed as part of a pilot scheme ran by Cyclehoop and the city council.

After the first five days of the scheme more than 420 applications for the 360 spaces had been sent and 31 of the 60 hangars were filled by Thursday. The hangar on Arundel Drive in Battlefield got 22 applications, while nine others each received more than 10 applications.

"Interest in the Glasgow Bikehangar scheme has been incredibly positive," Cyclehoop's founder and design director Anthony Lau said. "I’m looking forward to seeing more people cycling, helping to decarbonise the city’s transport system. On Monday alone, we had an additional 1,700 visitors to our rentals websites, all of which we attribute to interest in the Glasgow scheme."

24 May 2021, 09:23
Giro d'Italia queen stage shortened due to bad weather

After a morning of confusion and rumours we have official confirmation that the Giro d'Italia's queen stage has been shortened due to bad weather. What was meant to be 212 kilometres and 5,700m of climbing through the Dolomites has been shortened to 153km with two less mountain passes.

Passo Fedaia and Passo Pordoi are out, meaning the riders will head straight to the Passo Giau after the opening climb of the stage. The Giau is also now the Cima Coppi, the highest point of the Giro, after the 2,239m Pordoi is being skipped.

Why the change? Well, that is all down to the weather. Both mountains were passable as of this morning, however, concerns over icy descents after more rain this afternoon forced the race's organisers to act.

Race director Mauro Vegni has explained the decision: "Our first objective is to ensure the riders reach Milan safely. The weather conditions could be good but we don't know how the forecast will go. We decided it was more important to do a shorter intense stage rather than face a complex situation, that’s why we’ve cut the two long descents.

"We can’t cancel all the stage, there’s always some risks involved in racing. The one condition we had during the talks and when accepting the changes was that the stage finished in Cortina."

Here's how the Giau looked a couple of hours ago...

24 May 2021, 07:44
Tory politician demands "nonsense" Hyde Park cycle lane is axed to "reduce congestion and improve air quality"

Readers might remember Tony Devenish as one of the Conservative politicians who stood on Kensington High Street before Christmas to record a video calling for the cycle lane to be ripped out. Now re-elected to the London Assembly, Devenish has set his sights on getting rid of the segregated cycle lane outside Hyde Park to..."reduce congestion and improve air quality".

Tagging Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, Devenish posted a picture of vehicles backed up next to the bike lane and wrote: "Park Lane chaos today. Surely now the election is over Sadiq Khan must accept that a cycle lane a few yards from one in Hyde Park is a nonsense. He must remove it to reduce congestion and improve air quality."

CyclingMikey was one of the many people who hit back at the politician's tweet...

Devenish, along with Kensington MP Felicity Buchan, were two of the most outspoken politicians against the cycle lane on Kensington High Street which was ripped out in December. In a joint statement at the time, Devenish and Buchan claimed the segregated lane had failed and that Kensington High Street was "not an appropriate location for a cycle lane, either for cyclists or all other road users." 

24 May 2021, 08:32
Park Lane before any "nonsense" cycle lanes started causing congestion
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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35 comments

Avatar
brooksby | 3 years ago
0 likes

Quote:

"We sincerely apologise," Traffic Wales South tweeted. "We intended to say please avoid cycling at night without lights, high vis etc. We want to encourage all everyone to access our network safely by sharing safety advice that is useful for all road users."

So, what?  They ran out of characters on twitter or something?

Avatar
wtjs | 3 years ago
7 likes

I'm surprised no-one has commented on the squalid weaselling from Traffic Wales- when they wrote 'avoid riding at night', 'don't ride at night' is what they meant. When Northumbria Police wrote 'don't ride at busy times', that's what they meant. They thought they could get away with it, and later be able to comment about cyclists killed or injured at night or at busy times in such a way as to make it clear that what they really mean is 'it's his own fault'. Writing what you mean is not that difficult when what you're writing about is clearly not a matter for levity in an official statement from an influential official organisation. Both the 'clarifications' from these organisations are really lies to avert further criticism.

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eburtthebike | 3 years ago
4 likes

None of Traffic South Wales "..five safe tips for being a safe bicyclist" are particularly going to make you safe e.g. I've never yet met a cyclist who didn't watch out for and avoid road hazards, and one of the problems is that we have to spend so much time looking out for potholes that we miss other things.

But they're only apologising for the last one, about riding at night.  Maybe they should forget the whole thing until they have a basic understanding of what makes cycling safe.

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AlsoSomniloquism | 3 years ago
1 like

Re: The Canal Artwork. 

How is it only cyclists that set it off as looks motion detecting to me.

How many cyclists might fall off / collide when distracted by it when the sounds start?

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eburtthebike replied to AlsoSomniloquism | 3 years ago
2 likes

AlsoSomniloquism wrote:

How many cyclists might fall off / collide when distracted by it when the sounds start?

The same thing occurred to me, and having something so distracting to cyclists next to a canal is clearly dangerous; clearly they didn't do a H&S assessment.  Would that be acceptable if it was on a road?

Anyone not expecting it would go "WTF", look around and go straight into the water.

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nniff | 3 years ago
8 likes

My bike, 'ambulance-lifted' to St George's A&E a bit over a week ago, and keeping me company.  Both feeling rather sorry for ourselves after we were 'attacked by a car'.  The doctor who discharged me many hours later used the words 'miraculous escape'.

If  a scissor-wielding para-medic hasn't turned a new pair of Assos bibs into a black mankini and a jersey into a boob tube while you are lying prostrate in the gutter, you have avoided one of life's more surreal experiences.  On the plus side, it wasn't raining

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hawkinspeter replied to nniff | 3 years ago
4 likes

Best wishes for a speedy recovery

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Hirsute replied to nniff | 3 years ago
2 likes

Chain doesn't look too happy !

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nniff replied to Hirsute | 3 years ago
4 likes

Bars, stem, shifters, RD and pedals not too happy and a big query over the forks.  Every item of clothing and shoes destroyed.  At that point, the elbow you see belonged to my sole functioning limb and that had a canula in it.  I entered with suspected broken femur, pelvis, wrist and neck, plus internal injuries and the usual cuts and grazes and limped out 9 hours later.  Back on the bike (a different one), but not pain free.

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Hirsute replied to nniff | 3 years ago
1 like

 " The doctor who discharged me many hours later used the words 'miraculous escape'. "

He wasn't kidding at all then !

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wtjs replied to nniff | 3 years ago
1 like

Back on the bike (a different one), but not pain free

It takes longer than you expect to recover from a heavy crash, even when there are no broken bones, disrupted tendons/ ligaments etc. My crash on ice on Christmas Eve was my own fault and there was very little effect on the bike. I managed to get home despite the pain in R hip/ pelvis and R shoulder. It got worse that evening but I did some riding every day afterwards- wary of another crash on the icy roads around Christmas/ New Year. I couldn't see any bruises but there must have been torn muscle fibres with blood collections etc. I had to manually lift my leg over the top tube to start. At least the L leg and arm were OK. It took about 4 weeks before I was almost back to normal. 

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ratherbeintobago | 3 years ago
0 likes

Is it not called the Glasgow Evening Times any more?

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Bentrider replied to ratherbeintobago | 3 years ago
0 likes

ratherbeintobago wrote:

Is it not called the Glasgow Evening Times any more?

No. It was rebranded the Glasgow Times in December 2019, although 'Evening' still appears on the logo/masthead/whatever.

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TheBillder | 3 years ago
5 likes

Could they just close the M25 or North and South Circular roads? On the face of it, pretty much parallel, seem to do the same job of vehicle storage.

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Steve K replied to TheBillder | 3 years ago
1 like

TheBillder wrote:

Could they just close the M25 or North and South Circular roads? On the face of it, pretty much parallel, seem to do the same job of vehicle storage.

Actually, a more specific example in the current debates around cycling infrastructure - doesn't this argument about the cycle lane in Hyde Park support the case for LTNs?  i.e closing some roads to through traffic because there are other roads cars can go on?

(Edit - I should read all the posts before commenting.  I see Little Onion has already made the same point.)

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TheBillder replied to Steve K | 3 years ago
1 like

My point really (could have been better expressed) is that just because there's something that looks a bit similar nearby, it doesn't mean that there is no need for an item.

As Rendel says, a shared use path in a park isn't often suitable for commuting. So both are probably needed.

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brooksby | 3 years ago
5 likes

Just been reading The Ranty Highwayman's blog at 

https://therantyhighwayman.blogspot.com/2021/05/earlier-this-week-i-gave...

Interesting factoid for you:

Quote:

One useful snippet from the CROW Manual is that every stop someone cycling has to make means they need to use the effort equivalent to cycling between 75m and 100m to get going again. Go and count the average number times you have to stop on a shared path route with side streets and signals - that's your comfort being wiped out a stop at a time! 

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EddyBerckx | 3 years ago
9 likes

So is Kensington High Street a free flowing traffic paradise now the cycle lane has been ripped out? Any data out there? 

Genuine question...thought we could all hazard a guess at the answer...

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Rendel Harris replied to EddyBerckx | 3 years ago
7 likes

EddyBerckx wrote:

So is Kensington High Street a free flowing traffic paradise now the cycle lane has been ripped out? Any data out there?

I haven't got any data but I do ride down it a couple of times a week around rushhour - same old snarled up shitshow as ever, not noticeably different from when the cycle lane was in situ.

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Captain Badger replied to Rendel Harris | 3 years ago
16 likes

Rendel Harris wrote:

...

I haven't got any data but I do ride down it a couple of times a week around rushhour - same old snarled up shitshow as ever, not noticeably different from when the cycle lane was in situ.

Yeah but the drivers haven't got any riders zipping past them anymore to remind them what mugs they are.

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nniff | 3 years ago
12 likes

As far as I can see, the proportion of Park Lane that is allocated to space-efficient and non-polluting forms of transport is working fine and is free flowing (bus and bike).  The part that is allocated to inefficient and polluting forms of transport, not so much.  The obvious thing, based on the evidence, is to increase the allocation to non-polluting and effcient modes of transport and use the available space well.  The stupid thing to do would be to allocate more to the inefficient forms in the vain hope that the extra space would overcome the inefficiency and pollution.  On cue, we have a dim-wit up on the stump calling for stupidity now. 

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jestriding | 3 years ago
1 like

"Tory Politician" really is the English press equivalent of "Florida Man".

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wycombewheeler | 3 years ago
2 likes

Not sure how I feel about this one, there is after all a cycle lane running paralell to park lane within the park.

However traffic on park lane is predominantly driver by how quickler cars can pass around the marble arch junction. At his junction no car capacity has been lost, so is the cycle really causing any delays at all to motorists? or just allowing cyclists not to choose between filtering through densely packed stationary traffic or dodging the pedestrians walking on the cycle path in the park?

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the little onion replied to wycombewheeler | 3 years ago
12 likes

I don't know this area, but I find it odd that politicians would say "we don't need a cycle path here because there is another one parallel to it" but aren't prepared to also say "we can easily close off one lane of this road to motorised traffic because there is another lane next to it, plus another road running parallel to it".

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eburtthebike replied to the little onion | 3 years ago
3 likes

the little onion wrote:

I don't know this area, but I find it odd that politicians would say "we don't need a cycle path here because there is another one parallel to it" but aren't prepared to also say "we can easily close off one lane of this road to motorised traffic because there is another lane next to it, plus another road running parallel to it".

Expecting logic or sense from our politicians was always a bit optimistic, but having Boris the Liar as PM seems to have given permission for them to dump the concepts completely; rather like Trump in America.

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Global Nomad replied to wycombewheeler | 3 years ago
7 likes

having used both directions on park lane and the route through the park I still find it odd that people don't understand that there can be different types of cycle lane - as there are roads - shared paths are often suited to slower /safer journeys/leisure , while segregated cycle routes can be efficient / quicker routes across longer distances..the new cycle lane along the a200 tooley street from tower bridge to southwark park is great..

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Rendel Harris replied to wycombewheeler | 3 years ago
4 likes

wycombewheeler wrote:

Not sure how I feel about this one, there is after all a cycle lane running paralell to park lane within the park.

However traffic on park lane is predominantly driver by how quickler cars can pass around the marble arch junction. At his junction no car capacity has been lost, so is the cycle really causing any delays at all to motorists? or just allowing cyclists not to choose between filtering through densely packed stationary traffic or dodging the pedestrians walking on the cycle path in the park?

The cycle lane through the park is a nightmare in normal (i.e. non-pandemic) times, absolutely packed with tourists ambling to and fro across it, free running dogs and kids etc. I often used to ride up Park Lane (even though a bit of a nerve-jangler even for a very experienced and fastish London cyclist), especially in summer, rather than risk hurting myself or others by cutting through the park. People can argue (if they must) that cars need more space, but the oft-stated claim (not by you) that there's a "perfectly good" cycle lane in Hyde Park simply isn't true, it's a poorly marked packed shared path.

Of course we could ask Royal Parks to create a properly-marked-separated-from-foot-traffic cycle lane, but given their general attitude to cycling not sure we'd get very far.

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Global Nomad | 3 years ago
9 likes

as well as the ignorance of what causes traffic seems odd that those same politicians who criticise unnecessary spending are happy to spend more money to remove something that is working. removing something will cost no less than putting it in...

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MattieKempy | 3 years ago
21 likes

How is it that these people can't understand that it's not bikes or bike lanes that cause congestion or pollution? It's cars!
How is it that they can't see that increasing cycling infrastructure and making it less and less attractive to drive when there are other efficient methods of getting places is the best way to reduce congestion and pollution?
Clearly idiocy is a part of the qualification for being a Conservative councillor.

Avatar
Boopop replied to MattieKempy | 3 years ago
15 likes

Populist politicians don't tend to have much time for logic or reasoned thinking sadly.

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