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British Cycling mercilessly slammed for eight-year Shell deal; "Cyclists should be banned on environmental grounds"... car obsessive's mad mental arithmetic; Jeremy Vine's near miss compilation; New Forest NIMBYs + more on the live blog

Happy Monday! With our regular news team taking a well-earned rest Jack Sexty is blogging you through the start of the week
Mon, Oct 10, 2022 09:29
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British Cycling mercilessly slammed for eight-year Shell deal; "Cyclists should be banned on environmental grounds"... car obsessive's mad mental arithmetic; Jeremy Vine's near miss compilation; New Forest NIMBYs + more on the live blogshell british cycling - via British Cycling
10 October 2022, 15:40
Have a lovely evening folks

It was all so quiet until about an hour ago, minding our own business blogging about naughty cyclists going a bit off course in the New Forest. This is probably not the last on this, so until tomorrow folks... 

10 October 2022, 15:41
Full story on British Cycling hearts Shell...
10 October 2022, 15:27
Breaking: 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships to be shown in full on BBC
2022 Zoe Backstedt UCI Road World Championships © SWpix.com (t-a Photography Hub Ltd) - 1 (1).jpeg

We'll break off from British Cycling's whoopsie to tell you that the 2023 Worlds in Glasgow – that for the first time will bring together all cycling disciplines in one mega-event – will be shown in full on the BBC after it secured full broadcasting rights. That'll be all 13 events including road, mountain bike, BMX and velodrome action, all live on the telly between 3-13 August next year. 

The BBC's Director of Sport, Barbara Slater, said: “We are delighted to have such comprehensive coverage of a sport that continues to grow in popularity. Glasgow and the whole of Scotland are going to be a hub for cycling fans next August and we are proud to be the broadcast partner of the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championship and to showcase the event across the BBC.”

10 October 2022, 14:54
British Cycling and Shell partnership: how about Facebook?
British cycling Shell facebook comments screenshot

Nope still pretty scathing, although there are some less scathing comments to be found in the 300 or so left under British Cycling's post at the time of writing. 

One said: "Shell are big into alternative energy sources as well as fossil fuel, seems to be alot of fossils on this page"

Another added: "So all these people moaning about the new sponsorship do not use fossil fuels (or materials made using fossil fuels) as part of their everyday life (and all bike components). They must ride locally sourced wooden bike frames, willow wheels with twine as brake cables... Shell (whilst not perfect) like other fossil fuel companies are investing heavily in renewables and alternatives."

Of course this isn't the first time Shell have partnered with a cycling brand or organisation; for a time their logo was on the sleeves of that very famous Peugeot Michelin jersey worn by the likes of Stephen Roche, voted our second-favourite of all time, with BP and Esso also sponsoring the team before Shell did in the eighties. 

As promised already, our own Simon MacMichael will be publishing a full story soon with a little more context and possible explanation for British Cycling's decision... 

10 October 2022, 14:24
Just in: British Cycling signs eight-year deal with Shell (yep that Shell, and it's going, erm, great so far)

The good thing about British Cycling's announcement is that does appear to have united its members... but it's looking like it might not be massively good for British Cycling. In fact, initial impressions are that it's going down absolutely, massively bad... 

We've had a look for positive comments and couldn't find any, so we'll leave it to David Bunch, Shell UK Country Chair, who said this in the presser BC bashed out an hour ago: 
 
“We’re very proud to become an Official Partner to British Cycling. The partnership reflects the shared ambitions of Shell UK and British Cycling to get to net zero in the UK as well as encouraging low and zero-carbon forms of transport such as cycling and electric vehicles.
 
“Working together we can deliver real change for people right across the country, from different walks of life, and also apply Shell’s world-leading lubricant technology to support the Great Britain Cycling Team in their quest for gold at the 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games.” 

And we'll leave the rest to you. Full story and probably a fair bit more reaction coming soon! 

10 October 2022, 14:06
Paracycling world TT champion and triathlete George Peasgood suffers sever injuries during bike ride
George Peasgood - SWPix
SWPix

The 27-year-old – who is a multiple paracycling and paratriathlon world champion – suffered serious injuries in a "freak accident" during a ride with his partner Frankie Hall, and is currently undergoing treatment. 

Hall said in an Instagram post: "As many people already know, last Saturday on our ride, George suffered a freak accident on the bike [no other parties involved]. He has suffered severe injuries specifically a diffuse axonal injury, and is currently undergoing treatment in a neuro critical care unit.

"Since the accident and for the foreseeable future, I shall be based around the hospital and the rest of George’s family to help with the long recovery journey.

"We do not have any further information at this stage, we will know more once he regains consciousness, but we appreciate your respect and privacy at this time." 

Everyone at road.cc wishes George a speedy recovery. 

10 October 2022, 13:08
Use your noggin and light up your life with our latest competition! Well it will light up your life if you win anyway and you might not but ah well worth a shot...
10 October 2022, 13:08
10 October 2022, 10:29
New Forest unmarked cycle route row continues as Forestry England promises a review into "wayward cyclists"
komoot new forest 4

The popular New Forest national park has once again found itself in the middle of a squabble, as Friends of the New Forest claims its survey found 700 incidents of cyclists not sticking to designated routes in the beauty spot. 

This comes after the New Forest Association said that it had recorded 550 incidents of cyclists riding off designated tracks back in January of this year, blaming them for causing damage to wildlife in the New Forest. 

But are these cyclists doing anything wrong? David Orme, the chairman of Christchurch Cycling Club, told the Advertiser and Times that there was no evidence cyclists were disturbing animals or eroding the flora and fauna in the area, adding: "Whilst the current waymarked cycle tracks in the Forest could do with better signage, there are more important aspects to consider. Firstly, the existing ‘permitted’ cycle ‘network’ is wholly inadequate: it is not joined up, it doesn’t work as a network connecting centres of habitation, there are few safe crossing points of major roads (none for the A35) and it’s not logical as to which tracks are allowed or why.

“There are many miles of gravel tracks, used by motorised vehicles (FE and land owners) and also ancient rights of way which are not ‘permitted’. These points are acknowledged by the NPA and Forestry England.”

A Forestry England spokesperson commented: “We value local stakeholders’ opinions on this and are looking at how we can add to this and the best way to provide additional information and effective signage of our waymarked network of tracks.

“There are over 100 miles of waymarked cycle routes in the New Forest. Information about these is shared directly on our website, and in a cycle map available at key information points and cycle hire destinations right across the area.”

10 October 2022, 10:55
Now updated following the Italian's mind-boggling new Hour Record
10 October 2022, 09:10
The rim brake's not dead... it's good enough for the new Ironman World Champion

Another race with some cycling in it going on this past week has been the Ironman World Championships, and the men's winner Gustav Iden did the 112 mile bike leg on a Giant Trinity with... rim brakes!

Although triathlon was among the slowest cyclesports to adopt disc brakes, the rim brake is an increasingly rare sight at the top of the pro ranks as most of the latest top-of-the-range triathlon superbikes have all been revamped with discs. Iden hinted that he would be sticking with the humble rim brake for the big race in Hawaii back in July... 

Still, the fastest split of the day and new bike course record went to Sam Laidlow (on a disc brake-equipped Trek Speed Concept), who posted a blazing fast 4:04:36 for the 112 miles (180km), finishing second overall after the marathon run. In the women's race on Thursday, world championship debutant Chelsea Sodaro was the surprise winner with Briton Lucy Charles-Barclay finishing second, with Anne Haug in third. 

10 October 2022, 08:58
One ride, three appalling near misses for Jeremy Vine

The production values on Vine's videos of his bike rides in London continue to get better, and the quality of the driving he encounters appears to be getting worse. 

Many people commenting under the footage urge Vine to report the incidents, particularly the third "lunging" driver. Have you ever had a commute this bad? 

10 October 2022, 08:41
Pauline Ferrand-Prévôt wins Roc d'Azur mountain bike race... the day after winning the gravel world champs, after a six-hour drive through the night
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Roc d'Azur (@rocdazur)

Of all the cycling achievements that happened over the weekend, this one might be the most impressive of the lot. As mentioned in our article yesterday, Ferrand-Prévôt travelled through the night to arrive on the start line for Roc d'Azur, winning it just hours after bagging her fourth world title of the season at the inaugural Gravel World Championships. She'll be running out of space on her jersey to add any more rainbow stripes... 

10 October 2022, 08:31
Cycling in the UK

ITV's foremost cycling commentator is also a big active travel advocate (check out the Streets Ahead podcast with Ned, Laura Laker and Adam Tranter) and happened across this gem of a 10 metre-long cycle lane in the South West. And in a classic case of active travel juxtaposition, it's very close to the excellent Drake's Trail in West Devon. 

10 October 2022, 08:18
The "Stupid shit people say on Facebook about cycling" account might have just peaked

Unfortunately this person did not show their working, so we're just left with this incredible take on how motor vehicles pollute. There are various theories on how this wise statsmaster worked it out, we reckon this is probably the best guess so far... 

Jack Sexty

Jack has been writing about cycling and multisport for over a decade, arriving at road.cc via 220 Triathlon Magazine in 2017. He worked across all areas of the website including tech, news and video, and also contributed to eBikeTips before being named Editor of road.cc in 2021 (much to his surprise). Jack has been hooked on cycling since his student days, and currently has a Trek 1.2 for winter riding, a beloved Bickerton folding bike for getting around town and an extra beloved custom Ridley Helium SLX for fantasising about going fast in his stable. Jack has never won a bike race, but does have a master's degree in print journalism and two Guinness World Records for pogo sticking (it's a long story). 

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68 comments

Avatar
Sriracha replied to stonojnr | 2 years ago
2 likes

Maybe it's just their way of "reinforcing the point that bike racing isn’t exactly green":
https://road.cc/content/news/giro-ditalia-organisers-criticised-700km-tr...

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AlsoSomniloquism | 2 years ago
1 like

Re: Vines Lunger. I reckon his hand signal didn't help the situation. To Vine, he was showing the route he was taking. To the driver, was he stating come out across me?

The other two are normal occurences though, either to beat the "slow" cycles out or just force out into all traffic.

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Mungecrundle replied to AlsoSomniloquism | 2 years ago
4 likes

To be fair to the second one, the squeaker. Having just filled up, his wallet was significantly lighter in his pocket and therefore there was insufficient downward force to the brake pedal.

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brooksby replied to AlsoSomniloquism | 2 years ago
6 likes

The first one was the one you meet all the f-ing time, who waits until the last possible moment when they are absolutely certain that they will come into conflict with the oncoming cyclist before slooowly pulling out (to make sure we hit them?).

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Awavey replied to brooksby | 2 years ago
4 likes

not that I want to turn it into a contest of "who has the baddest commute" but if those 3 were all that troubled me on a ride, Id consider it a win.

Those first two especially are as common as anything, I remember one where the car edged out to join the lane next to me,so  blocks me obviously so I have to emergency stop and start shouting loudly about how terrible a driver they are, and the driver never once made eye contact or even acknowledged I was there.

just the 3 x close passes (2 borderline reportable) and 1 x MGIF today. so quite a quiet day

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AlsoSomniloquism replied to Awavey | 2 years ago
2 likes

Worst recent lunger (not for me but just in general) was one who decided to leave the area on the left to go straight across to the other carriageway (you can see drivers treat the hatched area as a turning area). She looked at me, then decided to go ahead of the "slow" bike and almost piled straight into the back of the car that already occupied the spot she was aiming for. Unfortunately she didn't hit them, I just went around the back and left the other cars to beep and report her for holding them up for longer then nine seconds. 

Did have the one MGIF here today on the way home. They were well behind me as i stopped in the ASL in Secondary. They then passed to plonk their back wheels on the ASL forward line about 5 seconds after I had stopped. Unfortunately my camera hadn't been activated when I left work otherwise it would have been reported. 

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IanMK replied to AlsoSomniloquism | 2 years ago
1 like

I did wonder about the non standard hand signal but, of course, as all drivers are fully conversant with the HC then they will know "Signals warn and inform other road users, including pedestrians (see ‘Signals to other road users), of your intended actions." 

 

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SimoninSpalding | 2 years ago
1 like

I saw this report on the Beeb.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c90gq03xjqlo

No knowledge of the circumstances but based on the report the "bike collided with a car", so presumably the car was parked at the time?

Condolences to Mr Simons' family and friends.

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Patrick9-32 | 2 years ago
0 likes

All it took was over £50,000 worth of bike, near infinite budget from ineos and a two time time trial world champion at the top of his form to beat a 12 year old record set by a 7 years retired national level semi-pro on a home made recumbent. (Aurielien Bonneteau in 2014)
He even managed to get close to the current record holder for an unfaired recumbent (57.6km by Matthias Konig in 2016)

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Patrick9-32 replied to Patrick9-32 | 2 years ago
0 likes

(I don't mean for this comment to seem like I am trying to take away from the incredible achievement of Ganna's distance. However, with the bike optimised to such an extreme extent it does take away from the spirit of the new UCI rules which were designed to unify the record and make it come down to only the rider's ability and effort. Without that being the basis of the record it may as well be opened up to any type of bike.)

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ubercurmudgeon | 2 years ago
10 likes

I've seen that argument, that cyclists are somehow responsible for motorists' fossil fuel consumption, before. It was on the internal staff message board of a particle accelerator research facility. Needless to say, it wasn't an assertion that was left unchallenged for very long. While there are some bonkers and/or greedy physicists on the payroll of oil companies, the bloke who posted it in that case was an accountant.

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cyclisto | 2 years ago
2 likes

The penny-farthing braking way is not dead... it's good enough for the new Track World Champion.

3 in a single ride was a good score Jeremy. And I thought  that two car bonnets in my ride were too many.

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levestane | 2 years ago
2 likes

8 mph in first would put most car engines near peak efficiency with minimum atmospheric drag, so environmentally the best.

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David9694 replied to levestane | 2 years ago
1 like

sounds like that's about all they are averaging down in Southampton and Bournemouth at the moment.  That poor flow doesn't stop the continual  flow of driver bullshit. 

I've noticed how terrified drivers are of trams and traction engines - can't be bullied out of the way. The sheer desperation for clear road space includes a wanting a tube system - for everyone else to use. 

There was also a spate of vandalism a few nights ago with a spray can and although untargeted, some parked cars got a custom shade applied.  Driver reaction? Waa waa waa as per Tyre Extinguisher activity - the same (well, not the exact same) drivers that daily are merrily barging VRUs off the road with so much as a care!

Oh, and "Lycra" AKA cyclists - I keep reminding my fellow posters that in terms of casual wear for the women and girls around them, the Lycra legging is near universal with only denim jeans for competition.

 

 

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wtjs | 2 years ago
1 like

These comments herald the beginning of a possible classic topic, and possible careers in the hyper-junk press for two of our alumni!

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Hirsute | 2 years ago
10 likes

""Cyclists slowing down cars make cars burn more petrol or diesel."

I'm still reeling from the concept that universities are 'decolonising thermodynamics' (according to the mail).
What do we want ?

A system's entropy approaching constant value as its temperature approaches absolute zero.

When do we want it ?

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chrisonabike replied to Hirsute | 2 years ago
17 likes

" 'Woke' physicist claims photons aren't limited to being either waves or particles - we explain how this will affect YOUR house prices".

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chrisonabike replied to chrisonabike | 2 years ago
2 likes

And:

https://cyclingfallacies.com/en/38/cycling-infrastructure-causes-pollution

...with a note to the thoughtful man's take on this:

https://invisiblevisibleman.blogspot.com/2017/01/a-smug-expectation-messy-reality-and.html

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ktache replied to chrisonabike | 2 years ago
1 like

I miss the invisiblevisible man

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mark1a replied to chrisonabike | 2 years ago
5 likes

"Visible portion of electromagnetic spectrum witnessed just before 1997 Paris tunnel crash"

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chrisonabike replied to mark1a | 2 years ago
3 likes

Too soon again!

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Kapelmuur replied to Hirsute | 2 years ago
7 likes

This reminds me of the online discussion I had on the subject of road tax with someone who argued that bikes did more damage to roads because the load transmitted to the road surface through bike tyres is greater than that of a typical 4 x 4 because of the footprint of a bike tyre being so small in comparison.

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wtjs replied to Kapelmuur | 2 years ago
5 likes

online discussion I had on the subject of road tax with someone who argued that bikes did more damage to roads because the load transmitted to the road surface through bike tyres is greater than that of a typical 4 x 4

You're never going to convince very stupid people with reasoned argument. The local message board here has just been reinfested with Anti-Vax nutters, and there's no point in discussing with them- just state 'Get the Vaccine' and leave!

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Rendel Harris replied to Kapelmuur | 2 years ago
5 likes

I think I remember that one and the other person involved, who thankfully is no longer around; didn't it end up with him claiming that jumbo jets would do proportionately less damage landing on a road than a bicycle would?

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Kapelmuur replied to Rendel Harris | 2 years ago
8 likes

My exchange of views was on a football club message board on a thread which included the usual 'Lycra clad cyclists who think they're in the TdF"

I had some fun pointing out that the stands were full of middle aged wannabes watching the game wearing replica shirts straining over their beer guts and at least those of us in Lycra were actually participating in the activity for which it was designed.

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Rendel Harris replied to Kapelmuur | 2 years ago
3 likes

Good point!

I must've misremembered slightly, there definitely was a discussion on here where one of the erstwhile trolls insisted that not only should bikes pay road tax because they damaged the roads but they should actually pay more than cars because they did more damage!

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chrisonabike replied to Rendel Harris | 2 years ago
2 likes

That was a bit of a classic, credit where it's due.  "But bicycles only have two wheels..."

Thinking about "small contact area" wasn't there also something about "bikes are proportionally more damaging when in collision with a pedestrian (at a given speed) because of their narrow wheels / tubes"?  Now there could be circumstances where that is true (forward-pointing un-capped tri-bars...?) but isn't one problem that when heavier vehicles transfer momentum to the pedestrian that doesn't bring them to a stop and they keep on going, sometimes hitting the vulnerable road user again or ending up on top of them?

Anyway I was observing two parallel lines of degraded tarmac following the line of a turn across a junction at the weekend, thinking "bloody cyclists again".

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Hirsute replied to Rendel Harris | 2 years ago
3 likes

They were utterly demolished by andystow.

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andystow replied to Hirsute | 2 years ago
2 likes

hirsute wrote:

They were utterly demolished by andystow.

yes

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IanMK replied to Kapelmuur | 2 years ago
1 like

This comes up all the time. Is the answer that the force that degrades the road is NOT compressive but shear? Or is it just that car/lorry tyres run much hotter and soften the surface? Long time since I did physics!

Just want to make sure I have my retort correct next time it comes up.

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