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“Miracles do happen”: Cyclists react to speeding ban despite exceptional hardship plea; Thousands of cycling protesters take over German motorway; More angry emails: Driver blasts “self-important” cyclist for riding primary + more on the live blog

The bank holiday weekend may be over, but at least Ryan Mallon’s back behind the keyboard for Tuesday’s live blog. That’s something, right?
Tue, Aug 30, 2022 09:41
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“Miracles do happen”: Cyclists react to speeding ban despite exceptional hardship plea; Thousands of cycling protesters take over German motorway; More angry emails: Driver blasts “self-important” cyclist for riding primary + more on the live blogwww.dpp-law.com/
30 August 2022, 15:42
“We’re going to fight to win this Vuelta”: Red-co Evenepoel destroys rivals on stage ten time trial

I know there’s a long way to go in this Vuelta, and that he’s not proven over three weeks, that an undercooked Primož Roglič may come good in the final week, bla, bla, bla…

But, boy, is Remco Evenepoel making winning a grand tour look easy.

The 22-year-old Quick Step-Alpha Vinyl star seemed impossibly cool in the sweltering Alicante heat this afternoon, storming his way around the only individual time trial of this Vuelta a España, a 31km pan-flat specialist’s course, to win the stage and put a further 48 seconds into closest rival Roglič and over a minute into everyone else.

Ineos Grenadiers’ Carlos Rodríguez – over a year younger than Evenepoel – also proved that the Belgian isn’t the only staggeringly talented kid on the block, finishing fourth to cement his hold on the same place on GC.

Solid performances against the clock by Simon Yates (who now sits fifth overall) and Tao Geoghegen Hart will prove a timely confidence boost ahead of another tough week (though the less said about João Almeida’s confidence, after the UAE Team Emirates rider’s wrong turn down the team car deviation, the better…).

All eyes, however, remain fixed on the former footballer from Aalst.

While the Vingegaard- Pogačar duel at last month’s Tour de France was reminiscent of the swashbuckling, all-out attacking racing of the 1980s, Evenepoel’s dominance (so far) of this year’s Vuelta evokes the all-conquering rider of the following decade: Miguel Induráin.

Just like Big Mig, Evenepoel deals with his opponents on the climbs with a steady but asphyxiating pace, before blowing them away in the time trials.

Whether he can emulate the Spanish star on Spanish roads for a whole three weeks, however, remains to be seen.

But, judging by today’s TT, I wouldn’t bet against it…

30 August 2022, 15:36
More Cav transfer goss...
30 August 2022, 15:27
Oops! João Almeida takes wrong turn in final kilometre of Vuelta time trial

That’s what they call in the business a Longo Borghini…

30 August 2022, 14:36
“Miracles do happen”: Cyclists react to ban for speeding driver despite ‘exceptional hardship’ claim

Ah, ‘exceptional hardship’, the loophole exploited by more than 8,000 law-breaking motorists a year to escape a driving ban.

According to figures made public by the DVLA at the end of last year, more than one in five motorists guilty of ‘totting up’ 12-plus penalty points in a three-year period were allowed to continue to drive by the courts after pleading mitigating circumstances.

> Parliament urged to close 'exceptional hardship' loophole that lets motorists who go on to kill keep licences

Unfortunately for Benjamin Brown, who according to the Daily Echo hit the 12-point mark after driving at 44mph in a 30mph zone (sure, what’s an extra 50 percent between friends?) in Chandler’s Ford, Hampshire, last August, the magistrates in Aldershot weren’t as willing as many of their colleagues to accept his plea that a driving ban would cause “exceptional hardship”.

Instead, they banned him from driving for six months and imposed a £660 fine.

The rather surprising news that actions can have consequences was welcomed by cyclists on Twitter, who called for “more of this please” from the courts:

Of course, some motorists were quick to weigh in… ‘But look, number plates!’:

Last year, Cycling UK published a report highlighting cases in which vulnerable road users were killed by motorists who had earlier managed to avoid being disqualified from driving after claiming that they would face “exceptional hardship” if they were banned.

One was that of 48-year-old father of two Lee Martin, who was killed in August 2015 by van driver Christopher Gard while riding his bike on the A31 in Hampshire in August 2015.

Gard, who was driving at 65mph and texting at the wheel, had escaped a driving ban just six weeks beforehand after amassing 12 penalty points in the space of 12 months, all related to using a mobile phone at the wheel.

The driver, who had other convictions for mobile phone use but had repeatedly been allowed to keep his licence, was jailed for nine years for causing the death of Mr Martin by dangerous driving.

30 August 2022, 13:58
More angry emails: Driver criticises ‘self-important, militant, strange beast’ cyclist riding in primary position… and praises himself for not hitting her

Following Dan’s rummage through the big road.cc bag of letters earlier, I thought I’d share another piece of fan mail we received recently.

This one’s from a motorist who described to us, in great detail, an encounter with a so-called “militant cyclist”.

From what I gather, the driver has taken umbrage to a cyclist adopting the primary position on the road, rather than allowing him to squeeze between her and an oncoming lorry at 60mph.

Have I got that right? To be honest, the whole email makes my head hurt.

Anyway, you can make your own minds up…

I have had an encounter with a militant cyclist and as a result I have some understanding of what goes on in the minds of these strange beasts.

I was on my way to Findhorn, a new age community on the Moray Firth (North of Scotland).

I was travelling in my car on a fast A road, and making good progress.  In the distance I see a bright yellow workman's jacket - it's a cyclist!  I believe a vulnerable young lady making slow but steady progress.  Good luck to her on this fast road.  I am doing about 70 mph.  I am not quite sure what the speed limit is.

The next thing I notice coming down the hill is a bright blue lorry, which totally takes up the lane going in the opposite direction.

The young lady anticipates a problem.  If I continue past her, I will have to navigate the gap between her and the lorry, while going around 60 mph for the sake of argument.

On reflection, she is not happy with this scenario.

What does she do?

She moves into the 'primary position'.

If I am to avoid hitting her, I have to brake from 60 mph to 10 or 20 mph.

Generally speaking, and the Highway Code will back me up, it is not a good idea to cause other road users to brake heavily.

Anyway, I did, and I passed her safely.  I also gave her a long blast of my horn.

Why?

She could have been so easily killed.

Like a lot of traffic situations, there are no easy answers.

Regardless of how self-important she might be and how certain of her rights, she remains a vulnerable road user.

This is the first time I have come across this particular situation.  Fortunately I saw her from some way off and I was able to anticipate a dangerous situation.

The road conditions were excellent, my car was roadworthy, I was awake and not distracted, and everything was as it should be.

She lived!

30 August 2022, 13:38
Perilous cliff edge or city commute?
30 August 2022, 13:13
Swooping magpie recons worlds course

While there won’t be any Irish riders in Wollongong at the end of September, every Australian cyclist’s worst nightmare – an aggressive magpie during nesting season – has been spotted swooping on riders on the upcoming world championships road race circuit:

Unfortunately for the riders aiming for the rainbow jersey, springtime in Australia coincides with the magpies’ nesting season, though thankfully for cyclists only nine percent of the birds, which generally populate urban and suburban areas, become aggressive.

Almost all attacking birds (around 99 percent) are male, and they are generally known to attack pedestrians at around 50m from their nest, and cyclists at around 100m.

Attacks – which tend to happen from behind, so many cyclists only become aware of them when they hear the bird’s wings or the sharp ‘clack’ of a beak near their ear – begin as the eggs hatch, increase in frequency and severity as the chicks grow, and tail off as the chicks leave the nest.

> Has an Aussie cyclist finally found the way to stop magpies attacking riders?

Long-time road.cc contributor John Stevenson, who lived in Sydney for a number of years, said last year: “From the Northern hemisphere being swooped by a magpie sounds faintly comical, but the Australian magpie Gymnorhina tibicen is quite a bit bigger than the Eurasian magpie Pica pica — the two are only very distantly related — and has a considerably beefier beak.

“The first you know of being swooped is when you hear a loud cracking noise by your ear. It’s startling as all hell, and it’s not unusual for the strike to draw blood. I had to change my route to work one year because it felt likely that the magpie that kept swooping me was sooner or later going to make me swerve under a truck.”

Well, that’s one theory as to why some riders and organisations are giving the worlds a miss this year…

30 August 2022, 12:56
Grab the popcorn and enjoy a deep dive into the road.cc inbox...
30 August 2022, 12:23
The curse of the salmon and champ: Bennett the latest rider to abandon Vuelta

What exactly did Mullen put in that parsley sauce?

UPDATE: It turns out it was Covid, of course, that’s prematurely ended Bennett’s green jersey campaign at the Vuelta, with what must have been a very last-minute lateral flow test.

“Unfortunately, Covid has caught up to him,” lead-out man and chef Ryan Mullen said after finishing his TT effort in provisional second place.

“It’s a massive shame. Sam is going to be disappointed. He deserves to be here, he’s put the work in and he’s showed he’s back to his best. I’m sure he would have won the green jersey.”

30 August 2022, 11:53
“This decision has not been taken lightly”: No Irish teams for road world championships in Australia

While Sam Bennett and Ryan Mullen are busy in the kitchen (and winning stages of the Vuelta of course), Cycling Ireland confirmed last night that there will be no Irish representation, in any category, at next month’s UCI road world championships in Wollongong, Australia.

Explaining the decision to end Ireland’s 46-year-streak competing for the rainbow jersey – as Sticky Bottle has noted, 1976 was the last year the green jersey was absent at a road worlds – the governing body’s High Performance director Iain Dyer said in a statement: “In the face of hugely increased costs for targeted High-Performance events already completed and planned for the remainder of 2022, competing in Australia will stretch our resources far beyond what has been anticipated this year.

“The UCI Road World Championships is also an event where success is far from assured. For the road riders, attending the European Championships in all categories this year was a significant commitment and one we felt we could manage effectively. The World Championships in Australia is a different proposition altogether.”

Possibly referring to British Cycling’s decision to not send a road team to the recent European Championships, Dyer continued: “We have already seen this year several nations make strategic decisions on attending events based on available resources and budgets, so clearly, we are not alone in this respect, and are managing it in a similar manner.

“It’s important we don’t turn the taps off in other areas of the high-performance activity and focus solely on the senior elites. It has been an essential part of our year to support Junior and U23 riders in events such as the Tour L’Avenir, the Rás and upcoming Rás na mBan or the Junior Track World Championships, where Irish athlete have shown great promise. That is where our next champions might come from.

“Equally, there may be other times where we dial up our activity in other disciplines or categories because strategy dictates it is a more appropriate use of resources.”

Cycling Ireland’s chief executive Matt McKerrow echoed Dyer’s aim to prioritise the organisation’s expenditure, adding that “This decision has not been taken lightly – and reflects the need to be certain we can stand over the value and benefit of expenditure right across the sport.

“With the exponential cost increases in attending events post Covid, including some we’ve experienced already this year where flights and accommodation have escalated by some 70-80 percent on previous editions, we’ve taken the decision to prioritise resources to other high-performance event and development activities at this time.”

The announcement comes hot on the heels of Ireland’s best ever showing at the Tour de l’Avenir, the prestigious U23 stage race traditionally viewed as a glimpse into the future of pro cycling, where Archie Ryan took fourth place overall after securing three top ten stage placings in the high mountains.

It’s safe to say that the decision hasn’t gone down too well with Irish cycling fans:

30 August 2022, 11:18
Cooking with Sam and Ryan

A fresh contender for ‘weirdest things sponsors make pro cyclists do’ here, though I doubt anything will ever beat the time Tom Boonen was forced to sit in a bath full of baked beans (don’t look it up, it’ll put you off your lunch):

Classic sprinter, Bennett, popping up at the end when all the hard work is done…

30 August 2022, 10:29
Thousands of cycling protesters take over German motorway

Fair Fuel UK’s ‘go-slowers’, take note – this is how you do a motorway protest: 

On Sunday, on the autobahn between the German cities of Frankfurt and Wiesbaden, there were bikes as far as the eyes could see, as thousands of two-wheeled protesters took to the motorway to call for improved cycling infrastructure.

According to local police, who authorised the event, 8,500 cyclists, wheelchair users, inline skaters and penny-farthing enthusiasts rode for 36 kilometres on the A648 and A66.

The mass protest was organised by Verkehrswende Hessen, a group which aims to improve road safety and protect the climate through an expanded active travel and public transport network in the German state of Hesse.

Along with the autobahn protest, prompted by the recent planned expansion of the A3, A5, A66 and A661 motorways, the group has submitted a petition containing 70,232 signatures to the state parliament calling for new legislation to combat climate change and create more space for cycling and walking.

The proposals include the creation of a Hesse-wide cycle network, expanded and widened bike and footpaths, quicker and safer crossings on wide streets, safe school routes and an expanded public transport service.

According to Hessenschau, if Verkehrswende Hessen’s proposals are deemed feasible by the state’s returning officer and a further petition attracts over 200,000 signatures, Hesse’s parliament must consider the draft law.

Now, that’s a protest. Though I’m sure we won’t have to wait too long for someone to point out that they weren’t using the available cycle lanes…

30 August 2022, 10:00
Vuelta rest day antics

It’s safe to say that Louis Meintjes thoroughly deserved a day of rest and recuperation – and this rather unusual recovery method – after his storming solo win on Les Praeres on Sunday…

It was an altogether more stressful rest day for Astana’s Alexey Lutsenko, who missed out on his scheduled massage to be there for the birth of his son:

Now that’s the kind of timing that can only be honed by years in the breakaway…

30 August 2022, 09:58
30 August 2022, 09:26
Bank holiday weekend roundup

While everyone was out enjoying the fading remnants of summer, before autumn’s golden glow forces us to dig out the mudguards, there was plenty going on news-wise here at road.cc over the bank holiday weekend.

Everyone’s favourite confused Transport Secretary Grant Shapps popped up on the homepage again, insisting that cyclists won’t need number plates (again, for the talkers at the back… cyclists WON’T need them), and that he’s a very keen and enthusiastic cyclist himself, thank you very much. Just don’t call him a MAMIL…

> Near Miss of the Day 816: Driver surrenders licence after sideswiping cyclist at 50mph

In Italy, the CEO of confectionary company and former Giro d’Italia sponsor Balocco, Albert Balocco, was tragically killed after being struck by lightning while out mountain biking.

Thanks to the help of the brilliant cycling community, Katie Archibald was able to track down the photographer who took a series of photos at the Berlin Six Day in 2020 of her and partner Rab Wardell, who sadly died last week after suffering a fatal cardiac arrest in bed, just 48 hours after winning the Scottish MTB XC Championship.

We had more from Surrey Police’s law-breaking driver-catching Brompton bike, while Liz Truss followed Tory leadership rival Rishi Sunak’s lead by claiming that she was “looking forward to working with the cycling community” to build new infrastructure.

On the pro scene, former Sky and Movistar, and current Israel Premier Tech rider Alex Dowsett decided to call time on his 12-year-long elite cycling career, which has included (among other things) an hour record, two Giro stage wins and six British TT champs. Not too shabby. GB’s current star, Tom Pidcock, however, was unable to add to his rapidly growing collection of baubles at the world mountain bike championships, where he finished fourth after crashing.

Seven months after her own potentially career-threatening crash – which saw her break her radius and patella after being struck head-on by an overtaking motorist – former Irish champion Imogen Cotter made her comeback to the peloton at a kermesse in Belgium. Onwards and upwards, Imogen.

> Near Miss of the Day 817: “Both drivers gave me a wide pass – shame about the cyclist coming the other way”

Finally, it didn’t turn out the most pleasant bank holiday Monday for some unlucky riders, who fell victim to a nefarious motorist’s attempt to ruin everyone’s day off by scattering hundreds of drawing pins along an Essex cycle lane – the scene of another tack-related attack earlier this year. One poor tubeless cyclist was even forced to take a taxi home after coming unstuck thanks to the downright dangerous anti-cycling sabotage.

But cyclists, eh?

30 August 2022, 08:58
Ethan Hayter out of Vuelta after Covid positive

The British stripes will be missing from today’s time trial at the Vuelta a España, as national TT champion Ethan Hayter has been forced to abandon the Spanish grand tour after testing positive for Covid.

The 23-year-old Ineos Grenadiers rider, who secured the overall win at the Tour of Poland earlier this month after a strong performance against the clock, had enjoyed a decent start to his debut grand tour, taking a top ten on the uphill sprint to Laguardia on stage four, as well as wearing the white young rider’s jersey for four days.

Hayter is one of four riders, all from different teams, who won’t start today’s 30.9km time trial from Elche to Alicante, a test the promising young British rider would have certainly marked on his calendar before the race.

Movistar’s Danish TT champion Mathias Norsgaard, Jumbo-Visma’s Edoardo Affini (another time trial aficionado), and Jarrad Drizners (Lotto-Soudal) all returned positive Covid tests over the rest day and will be making their way home as the Vuelta’s second week gets under way.

30 August 2022, 08:38
“A talented cyclist, a mentor and a friend”: Cycling world pays tribute to leading Kenyan cyclist who died after “high speed” crash at US gravel race
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Team AMANI (@teamamani)

The cycling world was in mourning over the weekend after the news broke that leading Kenyan professional cyclist Suleiman ‘Sule’ Kangangi died after a heavy crash during a gravel race in the United States on Saturday.

33-year-old Kangangi, a pioneering figure in Kenyan gravel racing after a decade of success on the road, was racing the Vermont Overland race as part of the newly formed Team Amani, a squad of off-road racers from Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda.

Kagangi was one of the driving forces behind both the Team Amani project and the growth of gravel racing in Kenya, spearheading the Migration Gravel Series, which has attracted the likes of Laurens ten Dam and Ian Boswell to the country’s off-road events, as well as mentoring and developing the talents of Kenya’s new generation of aspiring racers.

Before turning his attention to the dirt, Kangangi raced for UCI Continental squad Bike Aid on the road and finished on the podium of the 2017 Tour of Rwanda.

“I’ve always had a dream of going to the Tour de France,” he told VeloNews last year. “When I started cycling, that was the dream. But now I’m 32, that dream is fading quickly.

“But I realized, I’m used to these gravel roads, this is part of me. I don’t have to go find them. If I want to go training, I just take my gravel bike and I’m already there. It shows, you can always change your dreams. You start imagining yourself winning. Why not change my dream and go for something which is realistic for me?”

Team Amani yesterday paid tribute to their “giant” Kangangi following his tragic death.

“Sule is our captain, friend, brother. He is also a father, husband and son. Gaping holes are left when giants fall. Sule was a giant.

“Instead of leading us at the front of the pack, he will now lead us as our guiding pole star as we press forward in the realisation of his dream.”

Rachel Ruto, wife of Kenya’s president-elect William Ruto, tweeted: “My heartfelt condolences to his family, and the entire cycling community, that has lost a talented cyclist, a mentor and a friend. We will all miss him as an individual. Kenya has lost a champion. Rest in peace Sule.”

Leading pros, such as Kenyan-born Chris Froome and off-road star Lachlan Morton, who raced with Kangangi in multiple gravel and mountain bike events, also paid tribute:

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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54 comments

Avatar
AlsoSomniloquism replied to brooksby | 2 years ago
3 likes

Would illegal parking (and apparently not taxed) void any insurance claims? (Assuming insured).

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AlsoSomniloquism replied to Hirsute | 2 years ago
2 likes

Not double yellows (right on the cusp) and even though a solid cycling lane, it seems they allow parking on Sundays AND loading at certain parts of the day. Of course if taken today, still no parking. 

However look at the bit where the photographer is standing. Talk about risking cyclists lives......

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Hirsute replied to AlsoSomniloquism | 2 years ago
2 likes

Going by your streeet view, the back end of the car is past the lampost so over half the car is on double yellows.

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ShutTheFrontDawes replied to Hirsute | 2 years ago
4 likes

Ah but it's it an established double yellow? 3

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AlsoSomniloquism replied to Hirsute | 2 years ago
1 like

Benefit of the doubt that he was shunted forward. However even the controlled section would have been restricted if the time / date of tweet was withing 2 hours of photo being taken. 

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Hirsute replied to AlsoSomniloquism | 2 years ago
0 likes

Ah, yes good thinking.

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lllnorrislll replied to Hirsute | 2 years ago
1 like
hirsute wrote:

A bit of schadenfreude especially for wtjs.

Cycle lane, double yellows, double yellow dashes on kerb

https://twitter.com/mervcharles/status/1564533508726525952

//pbs.twimg.com/media/FbZW7PrWIAEbmTm?format=jpg&name=small)

How did that happen - surely cycling infrastructure is designed to be safe?

Must of have been the lack of high-Vis!

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IanMSpencer replied to Hirsute | 2 years ago
3 likes

How did the Merc hit it at 20mph?

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Hirsute replied to IanMSpencer | 2 years ago
4 likes

20 mph - you are an optimist !

On the phone, fiddling with the sat nav, drunk, on drugs etc etc !

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IanMSpencer replied to Hirsute | 2 years ago
3 likes

The compliance with 20mph by motorists is around the 20% mark I believe, yet I've seen plenty of examples where non-compliance is the problem.

Still, let's enjoy the moment.

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nosferatu1001 replied to IanMSpencer | 2 years ago
3 likes

Not even that high.  86% speed on 20 zones

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Awavey replied to nosferatu1001 | 2 years ago
1 like

which is a low estimate ime

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Rendel Harris replied to Awavey | 2 years ago
3 likes

Living in a London borough with a blanket 20mph speed limit, and with 20mph being my standard commuting/errand running flat speed, I probably have as many as two drivers a month who stay behind when I'm at the speed limit and it's safe to overtake (or at least, an overtake is available). It genuinely feels disconcerting when they do, one starts to wonder what they can be up to.

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ktache replied to nosferatu1001 | 2 years ago
2 likes

Goes up to 90% at the weekends.

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IanMSpencer replied to ktache | 2 years ago
1 like

On Knowle High Street it goes near zero compliance in the evenings when it is quiet - and the locals and ex-pats from the NEC are staggering from pub to pub. During the day compliance is high because of the 3 zebra crossings and doddery old ladies pottering around as if it is 1927 again.

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brooksby | 2 years ago
3 likes

Spat at, abused and run off the road: why do some people hate cyclists so much? (Grauniad)

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/aug/30/why-do-some-people-...

Quote:

“Six different British Cycling members in different parts of the country told us they had a copy of that Daily Mail held out of a window at them that day, as they were abused,” says [Nick Chamberlin, British Cycling’s policy manager]. “They were sworn at and in one case a lady was spat at, and there was various incomprehensible abuse of the ‘we’re going to get you’ type, and they had that paper waved at them.” 

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Hirsute replied to brooksby | 2 years ago
3 likes

I had a quick read of that but it didn;t seem to come up with anything that hasn't already been said. I was expecting more analysis.

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brooksby replied to Hirsute | 2 years ago
2 likes

True, but I guess that putting these stories out there might do something to mitigate the bile coming out of the more right wing end of the meeja...

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SimoninSpalding replied to brooksby | 2 years ago
4 likes

You think that the Mail would see this as anything other than a success??

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brooksby replied to SimoninSpalding | 2 years ago
0 likes

I said "might"

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giff77 replied to brooksby | 2 years ago
2 likes

Had a quick read too. Like hirsute felt it was a rehash of what we already knew. Though I think it was more deliberately a subjective piece to highlight what goes on. Especially from a woman's perspective. It also popped up on my FB feed. The comments were unreal. Pretty much like the DM readership had taken over the feed. All the usual rantings. 

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Awavey replied to giff77 | 2 years ago
1 like

I dont think our perspective is radically that different, maybe its more of a shock that women get treated that badly as cyclists as well, especially as the oft quoted (and flawed imo) survey Dr Walker published trys to paint a different picture.

but Ive had all those things happen to me on rides, and I bailed out of riding this weekend after far too many punishment passes and deliberate intimidation by drivers in the run up last week, made me feel far too vulnerable to feel it was safe with an influx of staycationers. I didnt have anyone shove a copy of the DM at me, or the Telegraph (again it gets the free pass in another article) for that matter but its hard not to think where did this sudden influx of hostility towards me just riding a bicycle come from ?

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chrisonabike replied to Awavey | 2 years ago
3 likes
Awavey wrote:

... but its hard not to think where did this sudden influx of hostility towards me just riding a bicycle come from ?

Gotta be CyclingMikey. Ashley Neal and a couple of posters here can't be wrong!

Avatar
giff77 replied to Awavey | 2 years ago
2 likes

This is something I've been trying to get my head around for a while now. I don't think I've seen as much anger and intolerance towards cyclists as I have in the last 10/15 years. It has always been challenging but that was mainly down to individuals ineptness when driving. Now motorists seem to have an axe to grind and many seem to drive in such a manner in order to bully you off the roads. I originally put it down to articles in the press years ago that possibly were written tongue in cheek without the realisation of the Pandora's Box they were opening.  Now I don't know. 

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