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news
"Touch my car again & I'll run you over": Taxi driver blocking cycle lane tells cyclist; Tory MP argues cycling spending shouldn't be government priority; Our fan mail; Kaitlin Armstrong trial date set; UK's busiest cycle crossing? + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Taxi driver video (credit: @righttobikeit/Twitter)10 November 2022, 16:25
"Touch my car again & I'll run you over": Taxi driver blocking cycle lane tells cyclist
This one intially came to our attention last week, but we've sat on it since then as the cyclist's footage of a separate incident (possibly coming to road.cc soon too) was subject to a court date and neither of us wanted to jeopardise the chance of getting a decent result, so their Twitter account went private.
Ultimately that case resulted in penalty points and a €300 fine despite the driver's solicitor's best attempts to suggest the experienced cyclist shouldn't have been on the road during rush hour.
Anyway, after that scene setting, here we are with this second incident...
Just a gentle knuckle tap and a hand gesture to push out of the bike lane brought out the very best in this professional driver. Corks finest. @IrishCycle @anneramsey740 @ShaneHoganD16 @conndonovan9 pic.twitter.com/YbTyDu9HSu
— Righttobikeit❤️Ukraine (@righttobikeit) November 2, 2022
Explaining it to road.cc, righttobikeit told us: "1. I was only alerting the driver he'd drifted into the bike lane. I wasn't that miffed about it
"2. I didn't stop to argue with him, I stopped because the BMW was worse and I couldn't pass which let to the confrontation
"3. I came back out of the bike lane (due to flooding/debris partially due to storm near mostly like that all the time) near the sharp bend ahead so I can maintain speed. I usually come out later but I figured the guy behind would box me in."
The shocking tap on their metal box had an enraging effect on the driver who, despite being calmly asked to move off the cycle lane, responded: "If you touch my car again I'll run you over".
Following another touch... "I'll give you a kick up the [...] you hit my car [...] I let a bus come up this way [...] you do that again I'll get out and I'll knock your head in, I'll knock your head in... I am threatening you. Get my number and go to the Garda..."
The events at the next red light speak for themself...
10 November 2022, 17:16
👀
It's funny because it's accurate #cycling pic.twitter.com/EVrO8hu6nq
— mistress of hellvetica (@sexandtheswiss) November 10, 2022
That last one is 'All our club rides are Zone 6 at 5am' ...
10 November 2022, 16:22
10 November 2022, 15:57
"Worst dating app photo of all time"
worst dating app photo of all time pic.twitter.com/6lHUatR07y
— David O'Doherty (@phlaimeaux) November 10, 2022
Ryan reliably informs me David O'Doherty is also doing Celebrity Mastermind this weekend, specialist subject the Tour de France. Superb stuff.
"Col de l'Iseran and Col du Galibier are famous examples of a Tour de France mountain (_____)?"
"Pass... no wait, I meant pass, not pass..."
10 November 2022, 15:05
10 November 2022, 14:43
Trentin approves
What a great thing https://t.co/d85n7DMTfh
— Matteo Trentin (@MATTEOTRENTIN) November 10, 2022
10 November 2022, 14:20
Kaitlin Armstrong trial date set
The murder trial of Kaitlin Armstrong has been set for next June following a judge dismissing two motions filed by the accused's defence team to stop certain evidence being used. The trial had been due to start last month but was delayed whilst judge Brenda Kennedy came to a decision on the motions. Kennedy concluded: "There was no evidence of any intentional disregard for the truth".
Armstrong's legal team had suggested some evidence should not be heard due to "factual errors" and "incorrect assertions" in the original affidavit, something the prosecutors now acknowledge too, but Kennedy decided the errors were unintentional and can be heard when the trial commences in June 2023.
Armstrong will stand trial having been charged with first-degree murder in connection with the shooting of gravel cyclist Moriah Wilson in Texas in May.
The New Yorker took a deep dive into events so far... and when I say 'deep' I mean 'go make a brew and take half an hour out of your day deep'... just the 8,500 words...but as comprehensive a look at what we know as you could wish to read...
10 November 2022, 13:59
10 November 2022, 12:45
Christmas gifts for cyclists 2022 — 20 money-no-object gifts for the cyclist in your life
It’s that time of year, folks – time for us to suggest some great Christmas gifts for cyclists, and if you really want to shell out, we've got some money-no-object ideas...
From a new pair of shades to... well, a whole new bike... here's what to buy the cyclist in your life if you happen to have won the lottery this year... (spoiler alert: it's not a 'I love cycling' mug with a punny caption)...
> Christmas gifts for cyclists 2022 — 20 money-no-object gifts for the cyclist in your life
10 November 2022, 12:00
10 November 2022, 11:22
How to wax(wing) a chain...
Came back to my bike to find a bird on my chain. They did not want to leave my bike pic.twitter.com/IyWxJ5Hkyb
— Austin Whitehead (@maustinw) November 9, 2022
The replies are saying it's a waxwing so let's run with that...
10 November 2022, 10:53
Conservative MP Kit Malthouse argues "lovely" cycling spending shouldn't be priority
EDIT: It's been a long month in politics... as rightly pointed out in the comments Malthouse is no longer Education Secretary and was replaced by Gillian Keegan.
Thanks to road.cc reader Richard for the heads up about former Education Secretary Kit Malthouse's comments in an interview with Andrew Marr on his Tuesday evening LBC radio show, during which he suggested "lovely though they might be"... cycling and walking projects "might have to go in the face of other, more pressing priorities".
Discussing next week's Budget announcement, unsurprisingly the former education minister Malthouse was keen to point out he wants more money going into schools and suggested active travel policies may need to make way...
"I heard a minister say the government was going to spend £9.9 billion on cycling and walking initiatives over the next few years," he told Marr. "That seemed, to me, not a great trade when schools are struggling [...] Cycling and walking, I'm afraid, lovely though they might be, and I was a cyclist myself for many years, might have to go in the face of other, more pressing priorities."
Kit had me worried for a second there that we weren't going to hear the "I was a cyclist myself" line...
It wasn't just cycling though, we should point out, with Malthouse suggesting business subsidies, Ministry of Defence spending and "quite a lot of areas" where spending could be tightened or ideally passed over to education.
Thoughts?
10 November 2022, 10:05
UK's busiest cycle crossing?
Is this the busiest cycle crossing in the UK? pic.twitter.com/Lqs05rdb5v
— Sam 🚴🌱🍻Ⓥ (@MCRCycleSam) November 10, 2022
road.cc Simon's encyclopedic knowledge of London informs me this one is on Embankment just west of Blackfriars Bridge, and the "key thing is that it is part of the set up where the two most popular routes in London meet — the EW Cycleway, which continues under the bridge, and NS which goes over the bridge and on towards Ludgate Circus."
"But vid was shot on north side of Embankment just to right of 'A1211' on the map, people switching NS-EW or vice-versa go up/down the bit marked 'Victoria Embankment'.
"Whether continuing eastbound along river or switching to NS though you have to cross the traffic lanes there (as EW switches from S side to N) compliance with traffic lights by cyclists is near as dammit 100 per cent.
"Classic example of 'build it and they will come'...(Much misquoted ... it's actually, 'If you build it, he will come')..."
10 November 2022, 09:48
John Lewis doing a Christmas ad about cycling?
It’s the things we do that mean the most. 🛹 #TheBeginner pic.twitter.com/pdtwAcaBDu
— John Lewis & Partners (@JohnLewisRetail) November 10, 2022
We saw the helmet, our heart skipped a beat, eyes widened... oh, never mind, it's about skateboarding...
10 November 2022, 08:58
"Who pays road tax? [Five-year-old] Cyclist or motorist?": More of our fan mail
In the good ol' days I'm sure these would land at road.cc Towers scribbled across the back of an empty pack of smokes...
Since we reported on the 'debate' surrounding the viral video of a driver continuing through a narrowing as a five-year-old cyclist rode towards him we've heard views from almost every possible angle: those, like journalist Mike Parry, who think the motorist should have stopped out of basic human compassion and it's irrelevant whether the child should have been on the road. Those, like Tory politicians Baroness Foster and Susan Hall, who (predictably) think the kid had no place on the road. And we've also heard just about every possible viewpoint in between.
And so we arrive at our email inbox, refreshed and keen for another day of cycling news...
Whilst all the arguments point to the motorist being in the wrong. WHO PAYS ROAD TAX .....CYCLIST OR MOTORIST.
Surely if cyclists are given rights of way then they should contribute by paying road tax...
It's those terrible kids again... not paying their taxes...
Maybe we'll get something constructive out of this next one...(*wishful thinking klaxon*)
Parent totally wrong to allow child on road.A busy road is not a nursery.Clearly the father is an attention seeker filming his son so he can be on TV.What an irresponsible WOKE.
Yes the driver should have stopped.And got out of his vehicle and taken child and bike off rd and called the police.
I'm starting to think someone's got more than one email address... anyway, that was just a bit of 'fun' for your Thursday morning, we won't feed the troll(s) again... strange the sheer anger at a five-year-old child riding a bicycle...
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.
Add new comment
93 comments
Hirsute
|
2 years ago
3 likes
Bloody cyclists blocking ambulances
https://mobile.twitter.com/jonburkeUK/status/1590742612860088322
eburtthebike
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2 years ago
7 likes
Kit Malthouse is clearly, ahem, misinformed, to say the least, but he is an MP, and ex-minister and therefore has some influence, and I'm pretty sure he's not alone in his party or parliament. That means that Active Travel funding is under threat, and, let's face it, it's an easy target. So we, cyclists and walkers, have to get agitating to stop the cuts.
I've already written to my MP, Mark Harper, co-incidentally the new Transport Minister, and it would really help if we all wrote to our MPs, especially anyone who lives in Malthouse's constituency.
Thinking about it again, I'll find out if I can go to one of Harper's surgeries and make my case in person; again, it would help if others could do the same with their MPs.
We fought hard to get that funding; let's not let it get snatched away by ill-informed petrolheads like Malthouse, even if he is an ex-cyclist.
EDIT: Harper was on Question Time last night, and when talking about his new brief as Transport Minister, he mentioned every form of transport, apart from what? Go on, have a guess.
I just used Nick Ferrari's home postcode - readily available on Companies House.
I was also surprised to see he had £3m in his company bank account - surprising given he spends most of his time banging on about overpaid politicians on £84k salaries he must be clearing a good £600-800k a year for spouting off on the radio and moaning that his chaeffeur driven car has been delayed by cyclists on Regent Street again.
Monito
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2 years ago
7 likes
Any chance you could draw some attention to this
https://twitter.com/CyclingUKScot/status/1590689287800250373
I'm surprised they are still allowed here. Although they have now abandoned the pretence they appeared to start with persona based on racial stereotypes. Surely the on line equivalent of 'blacking up'.
They've been banned previously for being a racist piece of shit, so it's just a matter of time until they're banned again.
Well being as the site were alerted it was definitely Boo / Nigel / Lance / EnjoyTheRide from his very obvious reply last night and he is still on here 24 hours later, I expect they won't as having the engagement is better for them then keeping the site clear of racists.
hanofgod13
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2 years ago
9 likes
The driver didn't have to stop for the child. It could have been prevented if they had the presence of mind to slow their speed, not even by much, and the child would have cleared the parked cars and been on a wider section of road.
Safety over Speed.
Unfortunately there are many on the road (on two or four wheels) with a selfish mentality.
Junia
|
2 years ago
6 likes
With regard to the 5 year old cyclist and road tax. First there is no such thing as Road Tax, it is Vehicle Excise Duty. This is not levied on every vehicle. For example it is not levied on bycycles or horsedrawn carts. Also some mortor vehicles are exempt. Second, in the UK there are no hypothecated taxes. All revenues raised from tax and duties go into the Exchequer from which public speding is financed. Third, children's toys are largely subject to VAT, so the 5 year old is making a contribution to the Exchequer and hence helps fund road maintenance etc.
The Accountant
|
2 years ago
1 like
Re: profligate cycling spending. The question is this: "Do you want real spending or woke spending"?
Splurging the thick end of £10bn on cycling and walking jollies is all very well in times of prosperity, but we have hundreds of billions to pay back courtesy of handouts to the furlough crowd.
Because of this, we need to tighten our belts (difficult for some people here admittedly), and priorise spending on health, education and pensions, not virtue signalling projects with zero net benefit.
I would suggest a good way to fund cycling would be to get fracking restarted . You could then have a special fund set up from levies generated to pay for new paths and the like. This would keep everyone happy, and would result in economic growth and prosperity for all.
Re: profligate cycling spending. The question is this: "Do you want real spending or woke spending"?
Splurging the thick end of £10bn on cycling and walking jollies is all very well in times of prosperity, but we have hundreds of billions to pay back courtesy of handouts to the furlough crowd.
Because of this, we need to tighten our belts (difficult for some people here admittedly), and priorise spending on health, education and pensions, not virtue signalling projects with zero net benefit.
I would suggest a good way to fund cycling would be to get fracking restarted . You could then have a special fund set up from levies generated to pay for new paths and the like. This would keep everyone happy, and would result in economic growth and prosperity for all.
You seem to be against 'woke' spending (whatever you think that means). I can only presume that you only want racist spending - lots more money going to already privileged white men (maybe a bit to white women and some to minorities that are already rich).
You're some kind of racist prick aren't you?
You seem to be against 'woke' spending (whatever you think that means). I can only presume that you only want racist spending - lots more money going to already privileged white men (maybe a bit to white women and some to minorities that are already rich).
You're some kind of racist prick aren't you?
Well let's see about that. The vast majority of cyclists are middle class white men. You want to divert spending which benefits all colours and creeds to primarily benefit middle class white men, yourself included.
Remind me again, who is the racist prick here?
That would be you. Learn some manners.
.
You speak for yourself, sunshine. You certainly don't speak for me, so - QED - you are wrong to say 'everyone wants...'.
.
See ya.
.
I'm glad to not be speaking for you as you just pop up, post some snark and disappear again. However, I wouldn't put you into the same category as a couple of the PBUs posting here and I'm sure you have posted the occasional amusing comment.
I'm sure that with your Manichean view of the world, you consider that my use of "everyone" must absolutely include every single person without exception, whereas most people would consider it a figure of speech, but then you're not practised at nuanced thinking are you?
One can only suppose critical thinking isn't one of your strengths "Rakia". If the U.K. were to build extensive cycle networks in our cities who would benefit the most from that?
We have very good evidence as to who benefits most and it isn't middle class white males.
Now while manners do maketh the man one must make exceptions, so please do fuck off you absolute fuckwit.
I'm amazed all these accounts haven't just suggested that we start knocking down houses to build more roads everywhere (like what almost happened in this place) - after all it's an economic benefit, will boost growth and will generate employment (for road workers, housing officers, vehicle recovery services, crash investigators...)
I'm always a bit confused by those who are all about "they're taking our liberties and interfering in our lives - it's a woke communist dictatorship" but are also happy to declare that cyclists should have number plates. (Bit like certain friends who're worried about the state spying on them ["chips"!] but are happy to carry around a mobile tracking device 24/7 and also video themselves / post what they're doing to facebook, instagram, snapchat, twitter...)
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