"Thanks Essex, we love you, from Surrey x": NIMBY locals love RideLondon relocation; Lance's controversial Zwift ride; School run not LTNs the real traffic problem, says Cllr; Contador hails golden generation; But cyclists + more on the live blog

road.cc editor Jack here, having just joined in the first WEDU Wednesday Zwift ride led by a certain Lance Armstrong. For those who didn't know (myself included before I googled it) WEDU is a company founded by Armstrong and is "a content destination designed to provoke and equip people to embody an endurance lifestyle"... me neither. 

The ride was was supposed to be 'an easy 60 minute cafe ride' at 2.5 -3.1W/KG. I strongly suspect it was quite a bit tougher than this, so didn't really get close to Lance's avatar and the rest of the front group. There were surprisingly few digs about the Texan's past popping up on Zwift and the Discord chat open during the workout, with hundreds popping up to say hi to their hero. Things weren't quite so civil over on Twitter... 

Promote indoor cycling with the the biggest doper of all times. Well done @GoZwift someone from your marketing teams deserves a huge bonus!

— MK (@KempkaLeon) November 3, 2021

Lance gave us plenty of encouraging messages during the workout on Watopia's Flat Route Reverse, and also revealed on Discord that he was a Zwift newbie who was unfamilar with the Zwift Power website, or Zwift 'PowerUps' (the latter leading to a few disparaging comments). 

It seems that these rides will become a regular thing at 4pm on Wednesdays, if you want to join in next time. 

Come on let's have some more NIMBY moaning for your afternoon entertainment. Gorden Seth didn't actually mind the event, he just prefers playing bingo..."Don't mind this event, raises a lot for good causes just the massed groups of cyclists that go out week in, week out unsupervised that cause problems on Surrey's roads, especially at weekends."

Sounds like we need some of that Dubai AI monitoring cyclists over here...

Tasha Dykes was delighted at the move, saying it's finally a sensible decision from Surrey County Council. Michelle Bland isn't so sure and reckons it'll mean the potholes will be getting ignored...

Mohammed Humza Mazar took issue with the 'it's once a year' line and had a pop at anyone and everyone who cycles in the county..."People keep saying this is once a year but what about all the cyclists that spend weeks before the event trying to get used the route if you drive for a living and timing is important for your job you wouldn’t be happy with these wannabes ruining the road for everyone else."

And in the most bizarre response, Tony Stilwell was just glad he doesn't have to walk to the pub (for a non-alcoholic beverage we assume) and can drive as usual...

Once again, it wasn't all bad... Marie J Nicholls said her family loved seeing it come past their door, while Brenda Simmins called the haters "miserable".

On the SurreyLive story, one reply commented: "This is a huge world-facing event that raises a large amount of money for charity. It should be able to showcase Surrey but a number of miseryguts feel it inconvenient. Let's move the Epsom Derby to Kent shall we?"

Another added: "No other UK event provided a county with such valuable exposure, which was well worth a small element of inconvenience."

Maybe we'll try tracking down some welcoming Essex residents for their thoughts...

I know it's only Monday, but you should plan for this. Come ride @GoZwift with me this week for WEDŪ Wednesdays! @wedusport >> https://t.co/fvzA12tYh7 pic.twitter.com/tYP5O62M33

— Lance Armstrong (@lancearmstrong) November 1, 2021

Here's your one-hour warning if you want to ride with Lance Armstrong. The polarising former pro is hosting "an easy 60-minute cafe ride" on Zwift and what's more he'll have discord open if you want to drop him a message...

For some unknown reason Zwift hasn't promoted the ride on social media, but it's happening in just over an hour's time. Just don't get caught cheating if you've put your weight down as 34kg...get involved if you want, I'm sure it'll be dope.

Trying to understand how this can happen. The WTAF moment from this morning’s commute, in @LBHF. pic.twitter.com/k0puzVZjnO

— Jeremy Vine (@theJeremyVine) November 3, 2021

Jeremy Vine was one of the thousands braving the cold this morning. This driver seemed to think he should be on the bus instead... 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by John Caudwell (@johncaudwell)

Phones 4 U tycoon John Caudwell was left "badly smashed up" with a punctured lung, 12 displaced fractures in his left shoulder and ribcage, and a concussion after a cycling crash on holiday in Italy. Speaking to OK! magazine. The billionaire and husband to former Lithuanian Olympic cyclist Modesta Vžesniauskaitė's main gripe was the Italian hospital he was treated at.

Caudwell described the hospital as "barbarian"...

"I was in Italy for a week and then transferred to Monaco for a week," he explained. "It was horrendous because I was really badly smashed up – a punctured lung and all these fractures, and I still tested positive on a PCR test from Covid five weeks before, so they put me on a Covid ward.

"Everybody was dressed in hazmat suits and Modesta was not allowed to visit me, and very few people spoke a word of English. The Italian hospital, for lots of reasons, was a real nightmare. It felt quite barbarian. I’ve never been treated so badly in my life by a hospital or staff. I was in horrific pain."

Seven-time Grand Tour winner Alberto Contador sung the praises of the current state of pro cycling, saying it's a "golden generation" of talent. Speaking to Spanish newspaper Ultima Hora, Contador said that double Tour de France champ Tadej Pogačar is the standout performer, but stressed it will be hard to stay on top during an era with so many top riders.

"Cycling is living one of its best moments," Contador said. "We are before a golden generation. In whatever race or stage, we’re seeing ambition, with the big names fighting for victory. 

"Pogačar dominates the Tour and he’s the man to beat, especially after what he did last year. But every edition is different and there’s competition. Roglič had problems, so we’ll see how he is in 2022. But I see a very strong Pogačar, with room to improve, and becoming more confident by his results, and he shows a spectacular level when he tries to win."

The two-time Tour de France winner saved a special mention for the women's side of the sport, saying it's "booming" in terms of talent and media coverage. "In Spain we have the case of Mavi García," Contador continued. "She reflects that step forwards has been taken in Spain, and worldwide. The great professional teams have a female structure and there are more and better races shows the way and will surely motivate the younger riders."

Wiggle has opened a pop-up cafe for one day only where cyclists, walkers and kayakers can pick up coffees and cake...if they've ridden, walked or paddled far enough. The Wiggle Adventurer's Cafe is open for business today and has been devised by Great British Bake Off finalist and outdoor sports enthusiast Steph Blackwell. Payments will be charged in the form of miles travelled — the more distance travelled, the more snacks you'll get.

The cafe is at Boughton Mochelsea Place, Maidstone, in Kent and is sat "on its very own remote island in the middle of a lake" in the deer park here. Once at the lake, Wiggle teams will be on hand to provide attendees with their currency card, which will be stamped to validate the miles travelled and used as payment at the cafe. Wiggle will provide kayaks and paddleboards to those that use them, who can show they’ve earned their coffee and cake stop for the final leg of the journey.

Mysteriously, Wiggle hasn't told us how far you'll need to ride, so set off now and pray it's enough for more than a crumb of carrot cake...

I recorded the at about 8:30 this morning and the whole of Oxford was like a ghost town. 👻 pic.twitter.com/aOFr0QYlZE

— Cllr Tim Bearder (@timbearder) October 26, 2021

An Oxford councillor was so sick of people blaming the city's LTNs for traffic problems he went out for a little experiment...in the video shared to his Twitter followers Cllr Tim Bearder shows off the miraculously empty roads. He says, "It's half term week and those 'bloody LTNs' are ruining the traffic in Oxford.

"Hang on - there is no traffic in Oxford. Hmm, half-term, no traffic in Oxford. Is it really the LTNs? The LTN - we only have one LTN."

The video was recorded at 8.30am on a Tuesday, peak morning rush hour time, but Cllr Bearder said the city "was like a ghost town". 

We've covered Oxford's LTN struggles before...back in May a mystery music producer put up a £1,000 reward for the safe return of a garden gnome stolen from a planter. Scaramanga Silk put up the sizeable reward for the safe return of 'PC Plod'...who, as far as we know, was never returned.