CyclingMikey confronted by angry passenger for stopping corner-cutting cabbie; Grant Shapps' strange Fix Your Bike promo vid; Gridlock traffic chaos replaces LTN; Rwanda World Champs?; Incredible KHS scenes; Spring sunshine + more on the live blog

Today I’ve launched another round of Fix Your Bike vouchers- 150,000- to help you get your bike fixed this Spring 🚲🛠

Here I am, talking about how I repaired my bike and what I love about cycling in my local area 👇 pic.twitter.com/b0zDaJo8EE

— Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP (@grantshapps) March 30, 2021

It's become clear over the last year or so that certain members of the Cabinet are partial to the odd photo/video op to further their cause... and the latest release of 150,000 Fix Your Bike vouchers afforded the Secretary of State for Transport his opportunity to take centre stage. 

We're introduced to Shapps kneeling next to a knackered Baracuda bike, which he admits is in "a bit of a state"... yet in the next frame, Shapps' bike has turned into a slightly less battered white, red and black Probike hybrid. He says he "just changed" the front brake caliper, put some oil on the chain and changed an inner tube and he's good to go. Revealing himself to be a pretty handy mechanic, perhaps it'll be Shapps himself who will be repairing your bike if you're lucky enough to have nabbed one of the £50 vouchers. 

We then see our man set off (helmetless) and then in the next frame skid to a stop (helmet on) to deliver his outro. Shapps says he doesn't wear Lycra, and just "grabs the helmet" (or helment according to the subtitles) when he goes for a ride. 

Not all of his words and actions are questionable, however, with Shapps outlining some worthy reasons to choose bike: ..."Active transport, getting on a bike from A to B doesn't just get you there, it's also of course great for people's health, it's something we want to see continue in the future." 

And that concludes our snap late night analysis of this clip, which we've taken roughly seven minutes to write in tribute to how long we reckon Shapps' team took to edit and slap it on his Twitter page.

the peloton going up their second category one climb of the day in the heat of july at the tour de france pic.twitter.com/svhZrXxwuF

— Robyn (@robynjournalist) March 30, 2021

The Platzhirsch 3D-printed e-bike beat 18,000 submissions to win the Red Dot Award for best Bicycle Design. It is the second time the work of Sebastian Meinecke has earned a Red Dot Award after his Stadtfuchs won the Product Design Best of the Best in 2019. The Platzhirsch, 3D-printed in Magdeburg, benefits from a partnership with MAHLE ebikemotion who provided the electric components. It can produce 40Nm of torque at the rear wheel and has a discreetly hidden battery in the down tube with an 80km range.

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 https://t.co/4WfT8uYT6N

— Sam Bennett (@Sammmy_Be) March 28, 2021

Sam Bennett put his Gent-Wevelgem sick day down to overeating. Funnily enough that's what I put my bad days on the bike down to as well. It also gives you another reason to stuff yourself at the cafe knowing you've got a handy excuse for later on...

The Irishman said he was so preoccupied with making sure he didn't bonk during the 250km race that he overate.

"I went a bit too much into the red and although I managed to hang in, I paid for this later as my legs were full of lactic acid," Bennett explained."I also made a mistake, as I ate a lot during the race so I didn't want to run out of fuel, but I overdid it and had too much in my stomach inside the final hour of racing, which everybody could see when I threw up.

"Because of this and the effort I put in during the day, it just happened and I ended up going from one extreme to another, as after this I was completely empty and had no more energy left."

Is it too hot?

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In tribute to one of the finest pieces of British culture and the fact we could be in the Med with our temperatures today, help us settle an age-old question....Is it too hot today? Are you feeling like Julian or Davide Ballerini?

Ballerini represents a rider from Norway riding in 17 degrees.

Alaphilippe represents a rider from southern Spain riding in 17 degrees.

☀ https://t.co/1TUxLfj6e6

— La Flamme Rouge (@laflammerouge16) March 30, 2021

Water, sun cream and all that good stuff if you're out and about today...We've waited all winter for some nice weather.

Also, check out our survival guide and top tips for looking after your skin when riding in the sun...

But don't just look after yourself. The turn of the seasons is a great time to take a look at your bike and get all that harsh winter riding cleaned up. It'll stop excessive wear to your components and get everything looking shiny and ready for a summer in the lanes...

Maybe I'm getting ahead of myself with April not yet here, but why not plan ahead and take a look at our buyer's guide of the best summer cycling jerseys for beating the heat?

All readers from warmer climates can stop rolling their eyes now.

Find out more about why we urge @MayorofLondon and @grantshapps to collaborate and stop this rogue borough from leaving cyclists exposed to preventable road danger https://t.co/Kjl7aw5jCY

— London Cycling Campaign (@London_Cycling) March 30, 2021

British Cycling asked cyclists to treat 15-person group rides as a maximum not a target now that the lockdown rules have eased slightly. British Cycling-affiliated clubs can go out with up to 15 riders, with the rule of six in play elsewhere. We're interested to hear about your plans, especially having heard concerns 15-person rides might be mistaken for rule breaking by those not in the know...

Most of you said you'd stick to riding on your ones for now.

So, so lovely. Meanwhile in Wandsworth, this is one of the LTNs that they cancelled and this was our normal evening traffic. pic.twitter.com/AFaZYXv3mX

— Sasha Brendon 💙 (@SashaBGood) March 29, 2021

Heavy traffic and congestion in your area? Step one: blame low traffic neighbourhoods. Step two: get low traffic neighbourhoods removed. Step three: return to traffic-free, empty streets...Oh, hang on a second...

Some scenes from Wandsworth last night where an LTN scheme was removed after complaints. Wandsworth Labour active travel and transport cabinet speaker, Jo Rigby, commented on the video saying: "'‘Open our roads’ they demanded. Chances are that every single one of these drivers signed a petition to end the LTNs."

One local disputed Rigby's claim, arguing that the problem is that, "that particular road was narrowed last year which was not reversed. As a local driver, I have been stuck here too and believe that is the reason for the build up, nothing to do with LTNs."

However, as Steve Morgan pointed out: "Reason for the build up is the cars. The cars that are blocking the road for...other cars. If the road has been narrowed and some parked cars have blocked the road. Then the reason is...cars."

By contrast, elsewhere in London...

Just a reminder that the London Fields Low Traffic Neighbourhood was implemented on 9 September 2020.

As of today it has been in place for 6 months and two weeks.pic.twitter.com/rAGOyl3yVw

— London Fields #LTN (@enjoyLDNfields) March 29, 2021