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“That’s how this idiot wastes our money”: Bike companies face backlash over ULEZ offers; Luke Rowe “f***ing gutted” to miss out on Vuelta; James Corden’s shoddy bike parking; Thomas Gloag hit by motorist; More useless bike racks + more on the live blog

It’s Tuesday, and Ryan Mallon is here with more news and views on the live blog. And I promise there’ll be no more references to loopholes, or anything like that (maybe)
Tue, Aug 22, 2023 09:47
43
“That’s how this idiot wastes our money”: Bike companies face backlash over ULEZ offers; Luke Rowe “f***ing gutted” to miss out on Vuelta; James Corden’s shoddy bike parking; Thomas Gloag hit by motorist; More useless bike racks + more on the live blogBrompton ULEZ advert
22 August 2023, 12:33
ULEZ signs - Licensed CC BY 2.0 by Matt Brown on Flickr
“That’s how this idiot wastes our money”: Bike companies face backlash over ULEZ offers

With the expansion of London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) set to come into force this time next week, a number of cycle companies have already begun to capitalise on the new regulations by offering those with non-compliant vehicles special offers on their bikes – a marketing campaign that hasn’t gone down well with motorists who believe that the scheme is simply a way to force them out of their cars.

Brompton ULEZ advert

Folding bike brand Brompton are one of the companies who have responded to the ULEZ expansion by partnering with Transport for London to offer people living within the zone 10 percent off one of their C Line models as part of mayor Sadiq Khan’s scrappage scheme.

Meanwhile, Dutch bike subscription company Swapfiets are running a special one-off introductory discount on their e-bikes, which the brand says will offer “savvy and sustainable Londoners the chance to bypass the new £12.50 daily ULEZ charge and cruise into work on an e-bike instead”.

> "Upholding ULEZ good news for all cyclists": Cycling groups welcome High Court ruling ULEZ expansion as lawful

However, the offers haven’t gone down well with some living in the soon-to-be-expanded ULEZ zone.

“Khan is contributing 10 percent of the cost of a Brompton to anybody who lives in the extended ULEZ zone,” wrote one Londoner on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. “These bikes range between £1,400 and £3,500. That’s how this idiot wastes our money.”

“That won’t help Arthur and Ethel much with their weekly shop,” agreed Mark.

“How many cyclists do you see around here, other than the Lycra weekend hobby cyclists? Hardly any,” another said. “Point is Khan doesn’t understand that and is prepared to spend our money on unlimited Brompton discounts.”

Stop ULEZ protest, London, 29 January 2023 (The Havering Daily)

> Whose ULEZ is it anyway? Political chicanery as clean air zone set to expand to outer London

What do you think? Are Brompton and Swapfiets’ offers an example of some savvy marketing? Will offers like these incentivise those impacted by ULEZ to ditch four wheels for two?

Or are these companies barking up the wrong tree? Have those Londoners open to cycling around the city already made the switch? And does this kind of messaging only add fuel to the fire of the shouty few who think it’s all a big conspiracy to change their way of life?

Let us know in the comments…

22 August 2023, 08:07
Luke Rowe, 2023 British national road race championships (Zac Williams/SWPix.com)
“I’ve gone all in for this Vuelta, and I didn’t make the cut”: Luke Rowe “pretty f***ing gutted” to miss out on Vuelta selection

Luke Rowe has revealed that he’s “pretty f***ing gutted” to not be shepherding fellow Welshman and podcast co-host Geraint Thomas around Spain for the next few weeks, after missing out on selection for the Ineos Grenadiers’ Vuelta a España, which starts on Saturday in Barcelona.

Thomas will instead attempt to avenge his last-gasp Giro d’Italia defeat at the hands of Primož Roglič in the company of Egan Bernal, Filippo Ganna, Thymen Arensman, Laurens De Plus, Jonathan Castroviejo, Omar Fraile, and Kim Heiduk.

Rowe’s snub means that the 33-year-old will miss out on riding a grand tour during a season for the first time since 2012, his neo-pro year at the then-Team Sky.

Since then, the Welsh road captain has been a key component of five Tour de France wins for the British team, including compatriot Thomas’ victory in 2018 (2023 also marked the first time since 2014 that Rowe wasn’t selected for the Tour).

Speaking to co-host Thomas on their Watts Occurring podcast, Rowe was typically forthcoming about his feelings concerning the team’s decision to snub him for the Vuelta, a race he says he’d been targeting for four months – a preparation process that even prompted him to recently shave his head (marginal gains, innit?).

“I’ll tell you what’s not occurring – me joining you on a lap of Spain, mate,” he told Thomas on the podcast.

“I’ve gone all in for this Vuelta, and I didn’t make the cut. If I’m honest, I’m pretty f***ing gutted, actually. For the last four months, it’s been all towards this. I’ve raced, done some nice races, I’ve trained really well, and all the signs were pointing in the right direction.

“But maybe it’s a bit my naivety, really, that I thought I was more in the door than I really was.”

He continued: “When they called me, your first reaction is, ‘Oh for f***’s sake’, and a bit of anger. I just said to [my wife] Cath, ‘I’m going to go to the fridge and open a bottle of wine and I’m going to drink it’ – well, with her, I wasn’t going to drink the whole thing. Then I’m going to go out on the town, and I’m going to send it. I got home in the early hours of the morning, had a hangover day, and the next afternoon, I was like, ‘Right that’s it now. That’s done. Get on with it now.’”

“You have setbacks in life and in sport, don’t you? I think what you have to remember is, it’s a bike race. Let’s keep things in context. But that being said, a career is full of highs and lows. You can be going really well, looking forward to great things, and then the next moment told you can’t do those great things and you can’t go on that mission.

“Deep down, it’s pretty gutting, and it does hurt not to make the cut. But, you know, they’ve got eight great blokes there.”

22 August 2023, 15:38
Bike hangars look like “pigsties” and are “discriminatory to the disabled”, disgruntled residents claim

Another day, another complaint about bike hangars…

Oxford bike hangar (@ReconnectingOx/Twitter)

> Bike hangars look like “pigsties” and are “discriminatory to the disabled”, disgruntled residents claim 

22 August 2023, 15:22
Cyclist closes down one motorway lane after being spotted on M60 between Bolton and Bury

It feels like ages since a cyclist was spotted riding on a motorway, but that sensible streak came to an end last week, when a foolhardy rider was seen on the M60 between Bolton and Bury, causing one lane to temporarily close.

The cyclist was seen riding between the junctions of Clifton Interchange and Whitefield Interchange on August 15, the Bolton News reports.

He was soon accompanied off the motorway by a National Highways traffic officer, with one lane closed to ensure his safety. The traffic officer then spent some time advising the man about the Highway Code.

A spokesperson for National Highways said: “Safety remains our priority at National Highways and we would like to remind people to familiarise themselves with the law to ensure they keep themselves safe.”

22 August 2023, 14:58
What, more riders?! Lidl-Trek establishes development team

Just when you thought Lidl-Trek couldn’t possibly announce the signing of yet another rider for 2024, the US-based team goes and unveils eight – eight! – new signings, as part of the squad’s new development programme for young riders.

Yep, as the Lidl revolution of the longstanding Trek setup continues at pace, the new development team – earmarked by the supermarket chain as one of its biggest priorities when it came on board – aims to “ring in some of the most promising young riders in the world and raise them under a patient, guiding hand at second- and third-tier events”.

The team will be managed by the team’s former Basque rider Markel Irizar, and among its eight original riders includes Irish prospect Liam O’Brien, Belgian Axandre Van Petegem (the son of Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix winner Peter), and European elimination champion Tim Torn Teutenberg, the son of former pro Lars, nephew of Flanders winner Ina-Yoko, and brother of Ceratizit rider Lea Lin.

So, they’re not short of pedigree, anyway…

22 August 2023, 14:14
“Stoking cyclist hate will get him more publicity”
driver on phone - via cycling mikey.PNG

> CyclingMikey hits back at Mr Loophole’s latest attack on “snitch society” camera cyclists

Ah, damn it! I promised I wouldn’t mention The Lawyer Who Must Not Be Named on today’s blog… But there’s always tomorrow, right? Now, what’s Jeremy Vine up to?

22 August 2023, 13:56
Lotto Dstny confirms Allan Davis departure

Lotto Dstny have confirmed that Allan Davis – the Australian sprinter-turned-sports director accused of sending numerous women unwanted messages and images online – has been let go by the Belgian team, after reports of his current employment status spread throughout the cycling world this morning.

Lotto Dstny said in a statement:

Allan Davis is no longer employed at Lotto Dstny. The collaboration with the Australian sports director was recently terminated.

Just before the Tour de France, Davis was hit by a personal affair. The team decided not to take him to the Tour to keep the peace, but did start an internal investigation into accusations regarding transgressive behaviour.

“Without going into details, it has been decided to stop the collaboration with Allan,” says CEO Stephane Heulot. “Lotto Dstny has its own values and standards which we apply in our daily work and in the team. We have a line that we do not deviate from and we require our employees to adhere to it. We prioritise the well-being and integrity of our team and a further collaboration was therefore impossible.”

In the meantime, the other sports directors are taking over Allan Davis’ duties and a solution is being sought for next season.

Neither the team nor its employees will make any further comments on this statement.

Ah, the old ‘hit by a personal affair’ chestnut. Just like being struck by a wayward golf ball, isn’t it?

Read more: > Lotto Dstny sports director Allan Davis fired after sending “inappropriate” messages to women

22 August 2023, 13:17
Toon Aerts, 2021 world cyclocross championships (Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com)
“The presumption of innocence simply doesn’t exist here”: Toon Aerts flips the UCI “a big and heartfelt middle finger” after doping ban

Belgian cyclocross star Toon Aerts, who earlier this week received a two-year doping ban after testing positive for the testosterone-boosting drug Letrozole, has launched a scathing critique of the UCI’s handling of his case, including sending the governing body a “big and heartfelt middle finger”.

The 29-year-old, a leading figure on the cyclocross circuit for much of the past decade, failed an out-of-competition test for Letrozole in January 2022, a week and half before he finished sixth at the cyclocross world championships in Fayeteville, Arkansas, won by Tom Pidcock.

On Friday, after a lengthy investigation, the UCI suspended him for two years, backdated to February 2022 (meaning he will miss the coming ‘cross season), and stripped him of any results obtained between 19 January and 5 February 2022.

Toon Aerts press conference 29 December 2022 (screengrab via Sporza)

> Toon Aerts set to receive two-year ban for positive anti-doping test

The substance Aerts tested positive for, Letrozole, is primarily used to block oestrogen during the treatment of breast cancer, but can be used in a sporting context to help boost the production of testosterone. It is regarded by the UCI as a specified substance, meaning it does not come with an automatic provisional suspension, though Aerts decided to suspend himself while he prepared his defence.

Despite claiming that he was a victim of contamination through a food supplement, the UCI ruled that “after a thorough examination of the case, including several expert reports submitted by the Belgian rider, the Tribunal considered that Toon Aerts had failed to establish how the prohibited substance entered his body.”

In a statement released last night, Aerts lambasted the governing body and its treatment of “flesh-and-blood people”.

“1.5 years I had to wait for this final verdict,” he said. “I may have typed in the word Letrozole on Google 5,000 times during this period… hoping to find the missing piece of the puzzle. But we didn’t find it. Now where on earth did it come from? I still don’t know exactly how this got into my body. But I can’t blame myself. I threw thousands of euros at it, visited several universities, had several reports written by experts… and in the meantime I just kept running, cycling, and teaching.

“Never was I invited by the UCI or given the chance to speak to anyone physically. Everything was via email or registered mail. We were always bound by tight deadlines to reply within a few days, which often included holidays. But on the other hand, we always had to wait weeks, sometimes months, before we could receive anything back.

“Waiting, waiting, waiting… I think they sometimes forget that riders are also just flesh-and-blood people.”

Toon Aerts, 2021 world cyclocross championships (Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com)

(Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com)

He continued: “It has also become clear to me over the past few months that the ‘presumption of innocence’ simply doesn’t exist here. I thought this was a basic right… We tried to explain everything we knew ourselves as transparently as possible and to substantiate it scientifically. This showed with 100 percent certainty that I am not a conscious doping user. You then at least hope for common sense from the people on the other side… But there just isn’t any. The legal framework is sacred.

“I never took doping and ever even considered it. After a year and a half in a legal tug-of-war, now portrayed as a cheater. Along with my entire family and surrounds suddenly labelled losers. It hurts and it doesn’t feel right.

“Well here UCI, a bit and heartfelt middle finger! You could have made us the happiest people on earth… But who is Toon Aerts in the big circus of cycling?”

> “It’s like being wrongly put in prison for murder”: Canyon-SRAM’s Shari Bossuyt protests innocence following doping positive

Aerts concluded by referencing the case of fellow Belgian rider Shari Bossuyt, who also tested positive for Letrozole in June, and who is currently suspended by her Canyon-Sram team as the investigation into her case continues. Like Aerts, the 22-year-old claims she is a victim of contamination.

“I only hope my case rings a bell with everyone,” he wrote, “because I am holding my heart for riders and athletes who may go through exactly the same thing. My heart is bleeding for Shari who is in the same situation.”

Aerts also confirmed he will “definitely be back” racing when his suspension ends on 16 February next year.

22 August 2023, 11:52
No Vuelta this year, but at least Rowe’s GCN poster boy status remains intact
22 August 2023, 11:26
And on the subject of James Corden…

I couldn’t possibly include a live blog story about ol’ Smithy without referring to one of my favourite ever tweets (or Xs, whatever) from back last year, when everyone was regaling us with their very true experiences of the much-maligned comedy actor:

Classic Corden. 

22 August 2023, 10:54
James Corden (screenshot The Sun video)
And the newest ambassador for Lime Bikes is… Oh, dear God: Everyone’s favourite celebrity James Corden receives telling off for leaving hire bike outside restaurant

The Lime cycle hire scheme has come in for criticism in recent months, after residents in the west London borough of Hounslow claimed that the ubiquitous green and white e-bikes were “deliberately” being left in “dangerous places”, and that it was only a matter of time before “somebody gets killed”.

So, in a PR coup that I’m sure will delight the company’s execs, everyone’s favourite celebrity James Corden found himself this week receiving a ticking off from the door man of a Mayfair restaurant, after the universally loved and not at all widely ridiculed comedian and actor parked one of the Lime bikes on the pavement outside the fancy establishment.

According to the Mirror, the doorman – who was “having none of it”, apparently – picked the bike up and handed it back to the Gavin and Stacey star, who rode off looking for a “more suitable” place to park the hire bike.

But, the newspaper noted, he “remained in high spirits”. Which I’m sure we’re all relieved to hear.

His shoddy Lime parking isn’t the first time, remarkably, that Corden has made headlines while riding a hire bike in London.

Last July, the host of the Late Late Show (the American version, not the Irish one where Stephen Roche was asked about doping back in the early 90s, I’m reliably informed) was left “fuming” after a cyclist “darted across the road” and knocked him off his Santander Cycles hire bike.

Corden has also long been a strong advocate for cycling and improved cycling infrastructure, even dedicating a segment of his show back in 2015 to criticise opponents of bike lanes in a Californian city.

Corden joked that Coronado was in “crisis” and “being ravaged... by bike lanes”. Following a short video piece which told viewers that in Coronado 70 percent of school students walk or cycle to school, Corden sarcastically commented: “What a truly horrifying place to live”.

“It looks like utopia, but there are actually people who have a problem with the number of bike lanes [...] it’s ridiculous. Who are these people? Who could possibly have a problem with bike lanes? Well, it’s the same people who always have a problem — rich, old, white ladies...”

Well, I suppose you can’t choose the people who are on your side, can you?

22 August 2023, 10:21
Allan Davis, 2009 Tour Down Under
Lotto Dstny sports director Allan Davis fired after inappropriate messages to women

Following his removal from Lotto Dstny’s Tour de France staff when the reports of unwanted messages and photos came to light, Davis was reportedly let go by the Belgian team on 10th August, three days after another woman wrote to both Lotto Dstny and the UCI with further allegations of inappropriate online behaviour by the retired Australian sprinter, a source told road.cc.

Read more: > Lotto Dstny sports director Allan Davis fired after inappropriate messages to women

22 August 2023, 09:58
Lidl-Trek keep it coming with the weird T-shirt announcements

I’m not going to lie, Lidl-Trek’s obsession with horrible, Photoshopped T-shirt-based transfer announcements has kept me going through the post-worlds malaise…

And it’s safe to say their social media team is showing no signs of slowing down with their Vuelta line-up news:

Though I feel like Julien Bernard’s image will haunt my dreams tonight…

22 August 2023, 09:28
Edinburgh: “Our cycle parking facilities are useless”… Brighton: “Hold my extremely light, easily unscrewed bike rack”

It turns out that Edinburgh isn’t the only place where cyclists have spotted some, ahem, clear issues with their cycle parking facilities.

> “They are supposed to keep bikes safe”: Councillor disappointed at “extremely light” cycle racks leading to bike thefts

Brighton’s bike racks also appear to match the ‘can be easily removed’ brief seemingly favoured by councils recently…

As Luke put it in the replies: “Why do these bloody cyclists insist on locking their bikes to the cast iron and concreted-in prom railings, and not the hollow tubed, bolted down Sheffield stands provided?”

Why indeed…

22 August 2023, 08:48
Thomas Gloag, 2023 Giro d’Italia (Zac Williams/SWpix.com)
Up-and-coming British pro Thomas Gloag injured after being hit by motorist during training ride

After a stellar, almost whirlwind start to life as a pro, promising young British rider Thomas Gloag’s end-of-season has unfortunately been derailed thanks to a collision with a motorist while out training this week.

The Jumbo-Visma rider was struck by the driver during a training ride, suffering a knee injury, the Dutch team announced in a short statement this morning. The injuries sustained in the crash required Gloag to undergo surgery, and he will “now focus on his recovery and next season”.

> Belgian pro cyclist placed in coma undergoes spinal surgery after training crash

The collision with the motorist brings an abrupt and untimely end to a promising first year in the pro peloton for Gloag, who only started racing late into his teenage years.

The 21-year-old from East Dulwich turned pro with Jumbo-Visma this year after impressing as a stagiaire for the Dutch outfit last autumn. He immediately proved his worth at the highest level, taking sixth overall and second a stage of the Volta a La Comunitat Valenciana, before taking another top ten on Jebel Jais, the key summit finish of the UAE Tour, finishing on the same time as Remco Evenepoel and Adam Yates.

Thomas Gloag, Sepp Kuss, and Primož Roglič, 2023 Giro d’Italia (Zac Williams/SWpix.com)

Riding on the wheel of team leader Roglič at his first ever Giro (Zac Williams/SWpix.com)

After another encouraging top ten on a summit finish at the Tour de Romandie – which helped secure him 11th overall – Gloag was drafted in as a last-minute replacement for the Giro d’Italia after injury and illness struck Jumbo-Visma’s squad just before the Corsa Rosa. And Gloag didn’t disappoint on his surprise maiden grand tour either, helping Primož Roglič in the mountains on his way to a last-gasp victory over Geraint Thomas.

After his mammoth lap of Italy, the youngster returned to action at last month’s Clásica San Sebastián, but now appears set to miss the rest of the season. Rest up, Thomas!

Ryan Mallon

After obtaining a PhD, lecturing, and hosting a history podcast at Queen’s University Belfast, Ryan joined road.cc in December 2021 and since then has kept the site’s readers and listeners informed and enthralled (well at least occasionally) on news, the live blog, and the road.cc Podcast. After boarding a wrong bus at the world championships and ruining a good pair of jeans at the cyclocross, he now serves as road.cc’s senior news writer. Before his foray into cycling journalism, he wallowed in the equally pitiless world of academia, where he wrote a book about Victorian politics and droned on about cycling and bikes to classes of bored students (while taking every chance he could get to talk about cycling in print or on the radio). He can be found riding his bike very slowly around the narrow, scenic country lanes of Co. Down.

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43 comments

Avatar
brooksby | 1 year ago
0 likes

Private Eye #1605 wrote:

Following an upgrade to Guardian News & Media's Cycle to Work scheme, staff are able to purchase an e-bike worth up to £5,000 while paying only a fraction of that.

Sadly, there is just one small stick in the spokes - due to the rules set by the landlord at Kings Place, the Guardian... headquarters, all e-bikes and e-scooters have been banned from the building due to potential fire risks!

Avatar
quiff | 1 year ago
4 likes

Eventful commutes today. Saw one bike on pedestrian crash (red light for cyclist) one bike on bike crash, and had a hairy moment when I had to come to a halt in the middle of the busy Embankment / Blackfriars cycle junction when I realised my shoe lace was loose and had wrapped itself around the pedal axle!

Avatar
Rendel Harris | 1 year ago
7 likes

Quote:

“That’s how this idiot wastes our money”

Except none of our money is going into it, TfL have just partnered with a range of bicycle manufacturers and other alternative transport providers who are offering discounts to people in the ULEZ zones; the discounts are coming out of the companies' profits, TfL are simply giving them free promotion.

Avatar
Trevor Anderson | 1 year ago
1 like

RE ULEZ expansion - I am not a supporter, why?  If the mayor Khan is not misleading us, then 90% of vehicles travelling in this zone already comply, therefore, the ULEZ will only have a marginal effect.  Plus, in a short space of time, these older vehicles will be scrapped anyway.

Air quality in London would be better improved by widespread, proactive enforcement of the speed limits.  Stopping drivers racing around urban/suburban roads at near motorway speeds will have a much more significant improvement in exhaust emissions.

Additionally, with widespread adherence to the legal speed limits, Councils could then remove much of the road humps and speed cushions they have installed, which are known to have significantly increased air pollution, in comparison with free moving traffic.

But OHHHHH!   Policing the speed limit is a "WAR ON MOTORISTS".  Fineing offenders is a "TAX ON MOTORISTS".

Just a thought.......

Avatar
Cocovelo replied to Trevor Anderson | 1 year ago
1 like

Stopping drivers racing around urban/suburban roads at near motorway speeds will have a much more significant improvement in exhaust emissions.

Councils could then remove much of the road humps and speed cushions they have installed, which are known to have significantly increased air pollution, in comparison with free moving traffic.

Are these statements based on evidence? They seem a bit iffy to me.

Avatar
Trevor Anderson replied to Cocovelo | 1 year ago
3 likes

Yes.

A study published about 10 years ago concluded there is a significant increase in air pollution caused by road humps and speed cushions.

Many newspapers then ran the headline "Councils to rip out speed ramps.." following publication.

A few years ago, at my instigation, my local Police and Council commissioned a speed survey in my road (30mph residential suburban road in London).  I received the data from that survey.

The Headline finding of that data is as follows:

[Note: ACPO guidelines suggest motorists exceeding 35mph in a 30mph limit should receive a FPN]

If two speed cameras were erected in my road, one for each direction of traffic flow, then according to the data, these cameras would generate a total of £1/4 million in speeding fines........

Not in one year....

not in one month.....

nor in one week, but in

a single day!!!!!!!

The speed detectors recorded 2,500 vehicles exceeding the ACPO guidelines on average every day.

Some of those vehicles exceeded 60mph

dozens per day exceeded 50mph.

But the stretch of road surveyed was only a few hundred metres long.

So these vehicles were accelerating up to 40-50-60mph then braking to a stand still by the end of the road.

That is a lot of excessive exhaust emmissions

Does that answer your question?

 

Avatar
eburtthebike | 1 year ago
10 likes

Isn't it odd: a relatively minor subsidy for a bicycle is criticised, but a much larger one to buy another car is praised.

We live in strange times, and they aren't getting any better.

Avatar
ubercurmudgeon replied to eburtthebike | 1 year ago
6 likes

"The old world is dying, and the new world struggles to be born: now is the time of monsters."

Avatar
peted76 | 1 year ago
3 likes

Regarding tHE laWER who cannot be named.. can we all just refer to him as 'ankles' from now on pleeeeease? Y'know.. because he's lower than a cnut. 

Avatar
David9694 | 1 year ago
8 likes

Dear Householder 

as you know, Big Cycle has won allthe arguments and the planned programme of private motor vehicle removal from homes is now underway.

For collection purposes have been grouped as follows:

Phase 1 - Stuipid Unnecessary Vehicles over 3.0l that never go off road and whose average trip is less than 15 miles.

Phase 2 - medium-sized cars that are moderately twatty due to modifications or usage pattern 

(etc)

as you own a Category 1 vehicle, a home visit has been booked for 20 September  between 10:04 and 11:04.

Please ensure the vehicle and keys are present at the property and that the V5 document is available. The collection crew will be in uniform and will present authorised credentials. 

there have been reports of vigilante cyclists attempting to make unauthorised collections so call this number if there is any doubt about a caller's identity. 

when the vehicle has been collected you may cancel its insurance and VED - the collection crew will leave you with the real ent section of the V5 so you can confirm that you are no longer the registered keeper.

You are eligible for a 30% discount at your local cycle store on a replacement e bike or cargo bike on production of this letter. A discount code for on line purchases is set out below.  

thank you for helping the environment, 

Big Cycle 

 

 

 

Avatar
Car Delenda Est replied to David9694 | 1 year ago
6 likes

Didn't expect to discover my genre of erotic literature on this site

Avatar
David9694 replied to Car Delenda Est | 1 year ago
2 likes

I'll tuck it inside your copy of Cycling Plus if it helps. There's a pair of socks free with next month's edition.

Avatar
Patrick9-32 replied to David9694 | 1 year ago
4 likes

Don't threaten me with a good time!

Avatar
IanMK | 1 year ago
3 likes

“Khan is contributing 10 percent of the cost of a Brompton to anybody who lives in the extended ULEZ zone,” wrote one Londoner 

Hahaha. Am I allowed to use this quote to stereotype ALL Londoners?

Wait 'til Londoners find out about Cycle to Work. Where actual money is removed from the public purse to pay for bikes that may cost even more and give the purchaser an even larger discount.

Avatar
Brauchsel | 1 year ago
9 likes

"the shouty few who think it’s all a big conspiracy to change their way of life?"

To be fair to them, that's exactly what it is. People need to be driving less, and driving less-dirty vehicles when they do, and disincentivising socially-negative behaviour is one of the bog-standard jobs of government. 

We tax cigarettes heavily and restrict where they can be used, because they kill people. This isn't vastly different, we're just not as far along the path of making (ICE, privately-owned) cars as socially-unacceptable yet. 

Avatar
ubercurmudgeon replied to Brauchsel | 1 year ago
9 likes

"How dare they force me to switch to a horseless carriage", says an irate equestrian a hundred years ago, when the London County Council started removing water troughs, in a blatant CONSPIRACY to rid the streets of horse dung. "That won’t help Arthur and Ethel much with their weekly shop", agreed a hansom cab driver.

Avatar
chrisonabike replied to Brauchsel | 1 year ago
2 likes

Brauchsel wrote:

"the shouty few who think it’s all a big conspiracy to change their way of life?"

To be fair to them, that's exactly what it is. [...]

The omission lies in not acknowledging that along with "change!" may come an improvement in their way of life [1] [2] [3].

However sometimes there is a kind of "tragedy of the commons" - because people can drive we all have to bear the costs.  The motor car is possibly worse than cigarettes in that respect - more harmful to bystanders than users.

Avatar
Brauchsel replied to chrisonabike | 1 year ago
1 like

Yep, and from my dimly-remembered economics studies the tragedy of the commons was an example of negative externalities: a way of eliminating those was to put a price on them and make those causing them pay it. You'd think the loudly-rightwing types who decry ULEZ would be in favour of some standard market economics being applied to a problem. 

Avatar
Tom_77 replied to Brauchsel | 1 year ago
5 likes

Conspiracy suggests some level of secrecy, the reality is that the government plan to get you out of your car is published on the DfT website.

 

Avatar
HarrogateSpa | 1 year ago
4 likes

I don't feel that 'I'm not going to lie' adds much value to speech or writing.

Avatar
Patrick9-32 replied to HarrogateSpa | 1 year ago
2 likes

I'm not gonna lie, you are probably right for written text. It definitely serves a purpose in speech though where it conveys that you either regret what you are going to say (giving an answer someone doesn't want to hear) or it is something that is usually out of character. For instance, when you agree with someone on an online forum when you are usually a curmudgeon you might say "I am not gonna lie, you are probably right..." 3 

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HarrogateSpa replied to Patrick9-32 | 1 year ago
3 likes

It's an expression that annoys me because I am 100 years old, and people have started (over-) using it in the last 50 years*.

*timings are approximate

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David9694 replied to HarrogateSpa | 1 year ago
0 likes

Gavin & Stacy vibe I think 

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peted76 replied to HarrogateSpa | 1 year ago
2 likes

HarrogateSpa wrote:

I don't feel that 'I'm not going to lie' adds much value to speech or writing.

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Rendel Harris | 1 year ago
4 likes

Sunak's LTN review could threaten not just recent schemes but traffic calming and quiet streets measures that have been in place thirty years or more:

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/aug/20/review-of-low-traffic-ne...

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chrisonabike replied to Rendel Harris | 1 year ago
8 likes

I reckon they should rip out those cul-de-sacs.  They're clearly stopping traffic flowing freely though our residential neighbourhoods and that'll stop ambulances getting through.  Plus the old or poor are disproportionately affected by having to drive further than they might to get to vital services (the corner shop) or social support (the bookies).

In addition they force more traffic onto main roads, increasing pollution.

And those quiet leafy streets (possibly in Essex)?  Apparently women don't feel safe on them, so we need to get more traffic going down them.

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Clem Fandango replied to chrisonabike | 1 year ago
11 likes

Railway lines too.  TrAiNS aRE WokE!!

I mean have you ever watched a railway line for any length of time? - EMPTY most of the time.  It's the wokerati that keep demanding alternative measures in their "war" on drivers & yet they don't use the trains that I PaY fOr!!  AND there was no consultashyun about putting them in.

Rip out the train lines & replace them with roads!!

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essexian replied to Clem Fandango | 1 year ago
4 likes

It was considered in 1957 and in the 1980's...

https://www.londonreconnections.com/2014/near-terminal-case-saving-maryl...

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chrisonabike replied to Clem Fandango | 1 year ago
2 likes

Clem Fandango wrote:

Railway lines too.  TrAiNS aRE WokE!!

Good point - there have literally been several times when I've got to a level crossing before a train did but had to wait just because they put barriers down and give priority to the train?  You can't have an ambulance, police car or a fire engine on a railway you know!

And another thing - the train comes nowhere near my house.

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muhasib replied to chrisonabike | 1 year ago
2 likes

Actually you can have a fire engine on a railway:

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