Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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13 comments
I got left-hooked by a Tesco delivery lorry earlier this year.
Police response was to be that because he didn't hit me, even though I might have had to slow down a bit to avoid a collision, they weren't going to take any action.
Tesco were initially sympathetic, but rapidly descended into various excuses of inability to view the video footage, despite various attempts to post it for them, and then just stopped replying all together!
Anyone from Road.cc want to post it for me?
That Rock Bar looks just the thing for balancing the weight of my daughter's rear-mounted bike seat and making the bike a bit less wheelie-prone when I'm wheeling it around.
Oooh, I've got some stories for Cycling UK Got a letter this week from the Met, they won't be investigating the taxi that hit me then made off... Even though I caught up, stopped him and took pictures, etc. As I was calling the police because he was refusing to give details, he tried to beat a hasty retreat and smashed into the taxi behind him. That karma cheered me right up. He gave his details to the other taxi driver, but still refused to give me his details.
Is it usual for the riders on a LCC Protest ride to ignore pedestrian crossings?
I'm desperately hoping there was a police officer out of sight waving them through. Otherwise this footage looks pretty awful for cyclists - those pedestrians were completely ignored!
Just as an aside, I was in Cornwall for a week long break with the family a couple of weeks ago. There were plenty of people on the beaches we went to. In fact, Cornwall is chock-a-block with tourists right now and the beaches are crowded. Of note is that many were doing active sports and as you can probably guess, surfing is uppermost amongst those.
There were quite a few cyclists. But although we took our bikes, we hardly used them. Keen cyclists though we are, the thought of riding some of those twistry and narrow country roads along which the locals race in their cars didn't seem very appealing.
That rock bar looks like a liability. Handling would go to pieces.
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Can't be repeated often enough!
As has been demonstrated time and again, TfL is run by a bunch of idiots who are not fit for purpose.
Or are benefiting from a powerful transport lobby, which is not benefiting the people they represent.
Breathing in all those fumes must be affecting decisions they're making.
You couldn't make it up
The rock bar isn't a very smart idea. Placing extra weight on the bars won't help high speed handling. I discovered this the hard way on a descent on my heavily laden bike while cycling in the Picos in Spain. Luckily the shimmy I experienced was a lazy fishtail type rather than a bar slapper.
It hasn't been well thought through. Its designer appears to have no understanding of the importance of correct weight distribution on a bicycle and how this affects handling. Don't buy one. Use saddlebags with the weight low down or use a diver's weight belt instead.
So flexible articulated lorries? I'm sure they won't have any blind spots at all. If we're lucky, they'll put a yellow "cyclists don't go anywhere near this vehicle" sticker on the back.
That Rock Bar is quite simply the most pointless thing I've seen in ages. Couldn't you just drink the same weight of water and carry the weight in your stomach? Wear a backpack? Reduce tyre pressure?