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Live blog
“Schrodinger’s bike bell”: Cyclists “can’t win” as Guardian writer asks for “just one ding from speeding cyclists” but others cite pedestrian conflict; Tour Brown Under: Lachlan Morton confesses “I sh*t myself three times” on Ride Around Australia + more
SUMMARY
Cyclists and pedestrians in Castle Park, Bristol (image: Adwitiya Pal)09:34
“Wheeled threats spoil serenity”: Guardian columnist wants “just one ding from speeding cyclists”, prompting discussion about shared paths, bells, and pedestrians “getting out of the way”
In the same week three cyclists in Adelaide were injured after hitting a wire trap strewn across a shared path, those very shared paths are now the centre of a raging online debate, with a column in Guardian Australia sharing (erm, no pun intended) a “petty gripe” with cyclists, or as they are described in the second paragraph: “wheeled threats” who can “spoil the serenity”.
What could possibly push someone to have such strong opinions about cyclists, you ask? Well, because according to the columnist, cyclists’ cardinal sin is not ringing bells when passing pedestrians on shared paths, turning “peaceful walkways into something more like racetracks”.
Viv Smythe, the columnist, however, specifies that it’s not all cyclists — it’s only the “subset who fly past pedestrians as if the shared pathway is a velodrome”. She adds: “It’s especially alarming when a cycling group whoosh-whoosh-whooshes past with never a bell sounded beforehand, nor a slowing of speed. Now I appreciate that they are forced to pursue their hobby in a city that hates cyclists. And that many cyclists believe pedestrians will respond poorly if they sound their bell as they approach.
“But I appreciate even more those cyclists who demonstrably know that the space is not for their exclusive use and take shared pathway safety seriously (unlike the retiree cyclist who berated my retiree husband for walking on a ‘bike path’).”
She ends the column describing her “favourite” kind of cyclists — “As they approach and slow for overtaking, the lead rider loudly calls something like ‘bikes coming through, six of us’ so pedestrians are alerted, and then as the first rider comes through they say ‘five more behind’, the next rider says ‘four more behind’ and so on, until the final rider says ‘last one’. We’ve been passed by several groups doing this now, and you are all awesome,” she concludes.
> Government rejects calls for cyclists to be required to use a bell
However, not many cyclists online seemed to agree with this sentiment of ringing their bells while passing pedestrians. Lawrence Davies wrote on Bluesky: “My wife stopped ringing her bell on shared paths when a guy started screaming at her for using it. Apparently the bell means ‘you need to get out of the way’.”
My petty gripe: I just want one ding from speeding cyclists. How hard can it be?
— Guardian Australia (@australia.theguardian.com) 16 January 2025 at 14:04
Another Bluesky user also seconded this opinion, saying: “Here's my experience: when I ring my bell on a shared path, I think I am saying, ‘I’m about to pass you.’ But what a significant percentage hear is ‘Get out of my way’, so they leap right into my path,” while one person wrote: “The people who write this need to go spend some time on a bike and experience how many people hear a bike bell and immediately jump into your path because they assume it means they're in the way and need to move.”
And then there was Lumberjack Wharfie (Bluesky username, of course), who replied: “Yeah buddy that’s nice and all until we get an article in the Guardian titled ‘My petty gripe: How dare you ding a bell at me?’”
So here’s my question to you, do you ring bells when passing pedestrians on a shared bike path, or do you rely more on your vocal chords to alert them that you’re coming through — or maybe you choose to do neither? Let us know in the comments what’s your usual go-to and why…
15:52
“Schrodinger’s bike bell”: Prof Ian Walker says “cyclists cannot win” in the to bell or not to bell debate
Professor Ian Walker, the environmental psychologist at Swansea University, most notably known for the studies involving driver behaviour when overtaking cyclists, has chimed in on the great old bike bell debate, writing: “Cyclists cannot win. For every ‘I want you to ring your bell at me’ there is an equal and opposite "How dare you ring your bell at me.’”
Cyclists cannot win. For every "I want you to ring your bell at me" there is an equal and opposite "How dare you ring your bell at me"
— Prof. Ian Walker (@ianwalker.bsky.social) 16 January 2025 at 15:01
And the tweet Bluesky post has resulted in even more cyclists coming forward and narrating their confusing experiences after ringing a bell when passing pedestrians.
George Morgan said: “A lot of people seem to interpret a Ding as always equavalent of an angry Beep. And it sometimes is but it’s more often a friendly, ‘Hey, just letting you know I’m here’. But they assume it’s the same as a car.”
Walker replied saying: “Exactly. Which is one reason articles like that one are so unhelpful.”
But a few have also come up with solutions, so to speak, on how to avoid such conflict.
Fernanda Ferreira said: “My strategy as a commuter cyclist is to say ‘ding ding’ in the friendliest voice possible and follow up with a thank you. A lot of pedestrians seem to find the bell aggressive, which makes no sense but the passing situation doesn’t allow for a conversation about it.”
16:50
Tour Brown Under: Lachlan Morton confesses “I sh*t myself three times” on Ride Around Australia
450km a day for a month, sweltering heat and headwinds, and dodging kangaroos and truck drivers… with poo running down your leg.
Sorry if I might make anyone uncomfortable during their afternoon tea and snacks (I certainly don’t have any appetite right now), but EF Education-EasyPost rider Lachlan Morton has confessed that he “sh*t” himself three times during his 14,210km long Ride Around Australia.
In what I think is a more tasteful video from a pro cycling team for a change, the team sat down its riders (erm, no pun intended) for a confessional — don’t ask my why — however, most riders came up with boring, vanilla confessions.
“I watched the Tour de France Femmes but not the Tour de France for men.”
“My record in a coffee shop is four cappuccinos and three cookies.”
“One time in a coffee shop, I had four cappuccinos and four cookies.”
“I do face and nose masks with my wife.”
Boooooring.
And then there’s Lachlan Morton, who launches an explosive (no, really, it’s unintentional) confession straight out of the gate: “I’m Lachlan Morton. It’s been 18 years since my last confession. This year I sh*t myself three times on the ride around Australia.”
To be fair, I’ll give it to Lukas Nerurkar, who manages to hold his own (okay last one, I promise): “I had six cappuccinos and six cookies and I sh*t myself four times.”
But perhaps the most relatable confession, at least for your live blog host, came from team manager Jonathan Vaughters: “I’m JV and I’m a really truly sh*t bike mechanic. Changing a flat tyre during a training ride? I need other people to help me.”
Ouch, remind me never to do confessionals.
17:57
“Bicycle Redistribution Point”: Spoof sign highlights train station’s bike theft problem, as designer slams police inaction and lack of security for cyclists
16:17
Cyclist, NHS worker, and Sheffield bike lane guardian, Helen, better known as ‘CyclingInASkirt’ on social media, reaches “end of treatment” for cancer
It’s a sad day for regulars of cycling Twitter and the community in general, as Helen, who you might know better as ‘CyclingInASkirt’, has reached the “end of treatment” for cancer.
A Sheffield resident, Helen was a regular of this very niche corner of social media. In September 2023, she announced that she was diagnosed with cervical cancer and would be starting daily chemo and radiotherapy for treatment.
Unfortunately, this morning, Michael, her husband shared the following message: “As some of you may know Helen’s last scan showed that the cancer has grown and is impacting kidney function. This means we have reached the end of the road for treatment and are focusing on keeping Helen comfortable.
“The boys and I are heartbroken but also surrounded by so much love and care, and St Lukes Hospice have just been off the scale brilliant every step of the way.
“Apologies for the blunt nature of this message. I’ve been dreading sending it and feel like I just need to put out the bare facts for now. Massive love to each and every one of you who have followed Helen’s journey, I know she has taken great strength from your support.”
Love and support to Helen from all of us at road.cc.
15:06
Women’s cycling team sports director banned for five years over “inappropriate” sexual and psychological behaviour towards riders
13:36
“It’s fair to say that Ineos don’t want to spend more money”: Ineos Grenadiers seeking a second title sponsor as team admits it’ll “take years before we’re back to winning Grand Tours”
It’s not unknown to any cycling fan by this point that the once world-beating squad of Ineos Grenadiers has been some way off the top in the last few years, failing to win a Grand Tour since Egan Bernal took the pink jersey at the Giro d’Italia in 2021.
With one of the team’s stars Tom Pidcock leaving on not-so-amicable terms to join Q36.5 Pro Cycling last month, it only looks like things will get more difficult before they get better for the British team — and the team’s new personnel, with Scott Drawer in his second year as the Performance Director, along with Zak Dempster and Kurt Arvesen coming in as directeur sportifs to replace the outgoing Steve Cummings, are not afraid to accept that.
Speaking to Cyclingnews, Arvesen said: “We need to come back and win bike races, start to win stages. Every race counts. It might take one, two, three or four years before we’re back, winning a Grand Tour, but I'm convinced we’re going to be.
“There are only three Grand Tours, there’s only only three winners, so it’s very difficult.”
But there’s still concern about team owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s commitment to funding the team — the British billionaire of course has another arguably more lucrative ‘sinking ship’ project to focus on in Manchester United with Portuguese manager Ruben Amorim at the helm.
Despite Ineos Grenadiers’ CEO John Allert confirming the team will exist until the 2028 UCI WorldTour and praising the owners for being “very passionate about this sport”, he confirmed the team was in fact, seeking out a second title sponsor.
“It’s fair to say that Ineos don’t want to spend more money,” Allert said. “So it depends entirely on what happens with this commercial activity. They very clearly do want us to be a super team and they know what it takes to be a super team. I'm not going to put a number on that, but it’s a number that's greater than what we're currently spending.
“You don’t need to be that clued-up to realise there’s a reason why we’re trying to bring other people on that journey with us. There’s value to be created for other brands and we don’t necessarily feel we have to, need to, or want to, go it alone.
“I’ve heard some bonkers rumours in the last couple of weeks about people buying us or investing in us or whatever else.
“We certainly have a commercial strategy that is an evolution of our strategy. We’ve appointed an agency and we're looking at commercial partnership opportunities, like most other teams are.
“It’s a very crowded market. We haven't signed anybody. I'm not aware of us imminently signing anybody.”
Drawer also spoke about the rapid pace at which the sport is changing, from the rise of Tadej Pogačar and other young riders to the growth of the big-budget super teams, and even new performance science such as the ability to ingest more carbohydrates during races and so race longer and harder.
He said: “Some of the most critical things that have probably shaped why we’ve reshaped ourselves are based on the changes that have really happened in the sport.
“I think the trends in racing, particularly pre and post-COVID have changed the nature of the type of cyclists that are now in the peloton. So we've restructured ourselves and set ourselves up to get ahead of that slightly for this year and for the future.
“Our motivation in our approach to racing is going to be very different, and then there will be a bigger investment in talent.
“It’s probably one that we've got behind the curve on, but one that we're really accelerating to get ahead of the curveball.
“You’ve heard some news, and there'll be a lot more news coming out around our importance in that space.”
13:23
“Finding a wolf in sheep’s clothing should not be a reason to attack sheep”
12:20
Team SDWorx is back… with the cringe-worthy cycling videos
The phenomenon of pro cycling teams and their obsession with making the most cringe-worthy, eye roll-deserving social media videos needs to be studied. Notable case studies can include Julian Alaphilippe channelling Celine Dion with bidons for microphone, and TBT-Unibet’s Eurotrash “bike reveal party”.
Now, Team SD Worx–Protime have submitted their entry to this lineage, with Marie Schreber, Julia Kopecky and Mischa Bredewold creating one of those “We are back baby” TikTok remixes with the M83 song Midnight City dubbed with audio from The Hangover.
11:55
“I lost a little bit of confidence after the last two years and, well, I was finally racing like I was 18 again”: Daniek Hengeveld bags unexpected solo victory at first stage of Tour Down Under
The road racing season is underway, and we already have a breakthrough winner in the first stage of the Tour Down Under, with Daniek Hengeveld winning thanks to an ambitious solo attack with 50 kilometres to go and holding on until the finish line, foiling any chances of a bunch sprint at the end.
The 22-year-old Dutch rider was ecstatic to win in her first race with Ceratizit-WNT, joining the team after leaving Team DSM-Firmenich PostNL. “I lost a little bit of confidence after the last two years and, well, I was finally racing like I was 18 again,” she told reporters after the stage. “I was like — Oh, this is why I race. It’s really nice.”
“At the end, I just heard my sports director in my ear, ‘Come on, come on, come on’. It’s like, ‘Oh, f***, maybe they’re really close!’ I appreciate that he was still cheering me on because it gave me the extra watts.”
#TourDownUnder 🇦🇺 - STAGE 1️⃣ HIGHLIGHTS
✅ Solo breakaway day for Polites
✅ Daniek Hengeveld attacks with 48km left to go, surprising the opposition and surviving till the finish
✅ Ally Wollaston sprints to 🥈, Kathrin Schweinberger 🥉pic.twitter.com/mMFHjXvy6o— Domestique (@Domestique___) January 17, 2025
11:37
Bike maintenance brand apologises to Sir Chris Hoy and removes video linking cycling legend’s cancer diagnosis to rival chain lube after legal action threatened
11:01
Can’t stop the wheeling: Justin Timberlake surprises 200 cyclists by joining Portland Bike Bus
We didn’t see this coming, but as proclaimed by the pop star all the way back in 2006, transitioning from a noodly-haired boyband star to a buzzcut-donning pop sensation, Justin Timberland is bringing sexy back — or should I say SexyBike?
Taking part in the Portland Bike Bus, Timberlake showed up as a special guest to surprise around 200 people, including families and their children for a half-mile ride down Northeast Klickitat Street to Alameda Elementary School, bumping his hits like Mirrors and Can’t Stop the Wheeling. I mean, Can’t Stop the Feeling.
The group, which organises the ride every Wednesday, went viral in October when they posted a plea on social media for the Memphis crooner to join them while in town for a concert, racking up over ten million views on TikTok and Instagram.
Samuel Balto, founder of BikeBusPDX and a former physical education teacher, said he had extended the invitation to Timberlake because “he’s awesome”. “I grew up listening to him. He’s got a lot of generational reach — everyone knows who Justin Timberlake is,” he said.
“I think that Justin Timberlake joining the Bike Bus would set a great example for how people can get around — on a bike — for everyday transportation.”
Given Timberlake’s conviction of drink driving last September, maybe he should steer clear of motor vehicles anyway and give bikes a spin. If he wants to go faster still, he can always put on a skinsuit… and tie.
10:09
Remembering a visionary, an icon, a legend — David Lynch
One of the reasons I fell in love with cinema was the vivid, audacious, and surreal worlds conjured by the silver-haired filmmaker from Montana, completely reshaping how I viewed the art form. So when I saw the news of David Lynch’s death — after walking out of the cinema with a heavy heart thanks to the (really great) movie A Real Pain, no less — let’s just say your live blog host found it difficult to focus on the doughnut instead of the hole.
Lynch, who became a Hollywood legend with his boundary-pushing works like Eraserhead, Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive, and the TV series Twin Peaks, passed away last night, aged 78, after being diagnosed with emphysema.
So to celebrate and remember the icon, truly one of the best to ever do it, here’s an image of Lynch riding a tandem with his high-school sweetheart.
(@TheFilmStage on Twitter)
Adwitiya joined road.cc in 2023 as a news writer after completing his masters in journalism from Cardiff University. His dissertation focused on active travel, which soon threw him into the deep end of covering everything related to the two-wheeled tool, and now cycling is as big a part of his life as guitars and football. He has previously covered local and national politics for Voice Cymru, and also likes to write about science, tech and the environment, if he can find the time. Living right next to the Taff trail in the Welsh capital, you can find him trying to tackle the brutal climbs in the valleys.
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50 comments
shared paths are just an excuse to avoid putting in proper infrastructure - anyhow used to have a bell and got fed up of people jumping into my path so....
I now have a very loud rear hub on my commuter - sounds like angry wasps - people then turn around to see wtf is heading in their direction - works well
Yes - or at best they bake in a low limit to active travel by a) giving authorities an excuse to limiting space and put infra "where it can be done" not where people want to go b) ensuring that as more people use it there will be more conflict between modes c) ensuring there will be conflict anyway.
Having said that the shared-use former railway lines around North Edinburgh are a great resource for me - because of (mostly) rather low use.
Once you work out how much time you spend sat not moving on urban roads (e.g. junctions, traffic lights, pedestrian crossings) you realise even slowing right down for a few walkers is not an impediment by comparison.
I usually avoid shared paths, except for easy leisure off road rides. Rather than use a bell, I shout "ding a ling a ling", when approaching pedestrians. It means I have both hands on the handlebars and can steer and brake more efficiently.
Ooh - that's a fancy bell noise
Weren't lepers (the "unclean" of society) required to carry bells in medieval times? Maybe that's why the progressively challenged are so keen on them for cyclists?
Shared paths are best avoided, although that's not always possible. Generally I'll ring my bell when approaching pedestrians. I haven't ever had anyone complain (I don't think a normal bell sounds in any way aggressive). Usually it works fine, but not always - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5j-ZmKqIDgM
I prefer to tell pedestrians what I am about to do.
Also, how many road.cc readers are getting up a midnight to watch the TDU so do not mind knowing who won by lunchtime the following day?
I now say 'on your right' when passing, although didn't work so well with the ped who was walking in the middle of the road in a rural area - "use your bell" was the response !
I've had people complain that ringing a bell is rude and "excuse me" would be more polite. I've had people complain that instead of "excuse me" I should ring my bell. Whatever you do someone won't be happy.
I very rarely cycle on shared paths as I prefer the slightly more predictable behaviour of drivers over pedestrians.
And when I first started cycling my bike didn't have a bell so I didn't get into the habit of using one.
I then got an Air Zound for use against drivers, but again I rarely use it unless the driver has been exceptionally silly.
I hang a bluetooth speaker from my handlebars and with my phone in my pocket play music through it.
This is my recommendation.
Unless the music is vulgar, no one should be bothered by it for a few seconds as I pass.
You mean like The Rite of Spring, or something?
A million years ago, as a London courier, I had a bell that ran off the front wheel, it had a trigger on the bars and like a dynamo contacted the tyre. It was loud, but I realised so very aggresive. Now I use the little brass ones from Lezyne, just because the sound is so gentle, but the best is just a "Good morning/afternoon"
I would just like to point out the irony of the headline claiming cyclists are spoiling the serenity by... (wait for it)... being too quiet.
One of the most humanising aspects of being a cyclist is that, unlike motorists, we aren't sworn to silence and need to communicate everything through an ambiguous system of honks and flashes. So i just say "heya, excuse me", it's worked pretty well so far.
The classic "I want cyclists to do what I want because I am clearly right". As everyone else is saying, you can't please so many people. Bells annoy more people than they placate. A bell to most people is "get out of my way".
On shared pathways around me I reckon about 70% of pedestrians are in the bike lane. If you say anything as you are about to go past people you will usually get one of a few reactions. If you're lucky they just acknowledge you and stay the course. If you are unlucky they will act shocked and angry or my personal favourite, move into your way when they were fine before.
If they are blocking the path I obviously slow right down, communicate and pass when they have moved over. If they are clearly walking to the side, aren't showing any signs of meandering or changing direction and there is plenty of space I will just go past them saying nothing as its by far the safest way unless I want to overtake at 5mph and make the overtake take 3x as long.
Am I the only one to think that this is utterly insane?
No.
If pedestrians are that interested in whether cyclists are about to pass them, then they can be attentive to sounds and possibly even look.
It's certainly extreme. That said, if it's a narrow path and a group of cyclists is a bit strung out, then calls of "there's a couple more still coming" or "that's all of us" can be sensible.
I regularly lead group rides, and I ask that who ever is at the front tells pedestrians that there is a group of [insert rough number] us.
I'll normally ask that the second from last tells the pedestrian that there is one more, and that the last one says that they are the last one ... quantified with "of us".
I've found that in narrow areas - especially towpaths and trails - this has been reasonably well received.
For the sake of a few words, it reduces the risk of collision with the peds who may change course thinking that the group is through.
Every rider saying it ... yeah, that's insane. But not first [middle] and last.
What? Were there Reavers riding bicycles? I missed that
Chapeau, sir
You can't stop the signal.
Everyone needs to taake care on shared paths. They aren't suitable for fast riding. I'm a jogger and cyclist and also a dog owner (no I don't use a long lead). I see this from different perspectives. On shared paths that are busy with cyclists I keep my dog on a short lead. When cycling along them, I go slowly and keep my wits about me.
I don't have a bell on my bike but the brake blocks came off one of my BMXs and make a shrieking noise, no matter how you adjust them. Just a touch of the back brake is sufficient to let anyone know I'm there, and this also avoids the pro and against arguments for bicycle bells.
So there's the answer, squeaky brakes.
Shared paths are the shrug-your-shoulders copout of transport infrastructure. No use to pedestrians, no use to cyclists. But great for drivers who don't have their precious road space impinged upon.
But squeaky brakes, and a freehub that sounds like a million angry hornets, are part of the solution
Amen! Although some of the ones I'm fortunate enough to live near allow me to travel for several miles in a few directions and are almost always faster than the roads (just due to having to wait e.g. a minute at traffic lights - get stopped by a few and this really adds up).
I'm conscious that's simply because they're mostly under-used though. Plus they're "wide" as these things go in the UK - so much so, the council is actively planning to reclaim them for "tram" * so as not to "cause disruption". AKA inconvenience drivers and have to deal with utilities, compensation etc. as happened with the last round of "tram" (at least in part due to sheer incompetence) (* Actually their plan better fits "light rail transit" as they don't go along the "main streets" or in fact near anyone wants to go for much of the route).
I always ring my bell when passing pedestrians on shared paths, although if they're busy then I tend to avoid them in favour of the road.
Most people are fine with it, and I always give a friendly wave and a thanks if people need to move or grab their dogs to allow me to pass. Sometimes people ignore me and then jump when I pass them. Sometimes people ignore me and then scowl or make some comment when I pass, you get dickheads everywhere.
Once or twice I've had dog walkers shout at me for not slowing down, even though I have slowed down and passed very carefully. These tend to be the people who decide that the place they want to stop and have a chat is on one of the main cycle routes through Southampton common and that it's perfectly fine to have their dozen dogs running around off leads on a shared path.
The only time I've really been given proper abuse was from a blind man. I rang my bell from a good distance so I was sure he knew I was there and passed with a lot of space. But he didn't like it and was very angry.
There are only problems when people misunderstood what the bell means. It isn't a demand. It's an alert. I'm going to be passing you and I'd rather you didn't suddenly change direction and step in front of me.
Voice is far more useful and flexible than a bell.
If you want to be polite (e.g. shared paths), then you can use a "excuse me please", "morning", "afternoon" etc. If there's a ped in the "wrong" place, then a spoken "beep beep" might be appropriate (alternatives such as "ding ding" are good too).
If a ped is about to step right into your way, then a shouted "Oi!" is really effective.
Meanwhile bells seldom get the wanted result and often annoy the peds.
This is what happens:
or the classic:
To be fair, most peds (and horse riders) are fine if you say "hi" or "OK if I pass?" (usually preceded by a very British "sorry") & then pass & say thanks as you go. As others have said though, there's dickheads everywhere.
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