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Chris Froome drives Strava followers crazy with 99.4 mile ride; Someone is 'selling' a Zwift Tron bike for £1,000,000; Close passes bigger threat than speed, says Lawless; Charge resurface as e-bike brand; G takes up bikepacking? + more on the live blog

Friday's live blog is brought to you by Jack Sexty, with the odd contribution from the rest of the team...

SUMMARY

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26 June 2020, 15:35
Surrey's Road Policing Unit school driver complaining about cyclists being "in the middle of the road"

Couldn't have put it better ourselves. 

26 June 2020, 15:16
Someone is 'selling' a Zwift Tron bike
zwift tron bike screenshot - via facebook.PNG

Putting the asking price for his Zwift Tron Bike at £1,000,000, Paul Horsfall says it has "almost zero drag", a full Dura-Ace groupset and generously adds that he will post it anywhere in Watopia for an extra 25 quid. Snap this bargain up before it's too late folks...

26 June 2020, 14:39
Cars could be banned from Jersey's Green Lanes under new proposals
jersey green lane sign - via wiki commons.Jpg

If the proposals are passed, all non-essential car travel could be banned from Jersey's 'green lane' network to make them safer and more accessible to walkers, cyclists and horse riders, reports ITV. First introduced in 1993, the Green Lane network already has a 15mph speed limit for motor vehicles and drivers are actively discouraged from using the lanes, but this move could see it become a prosecutable offence with stricter enforcement. 

Deputy Robert Ward said: "It is about making these green lanes accessible and safe and actually useable and really emphasise the fact that these lanes are not for driving quickly along. People will encounter cyclists and walkers and so you need to be aware of it."

The proposition will be debated by Jersey's States Assembly on 14 July.

26 June 2020, 14:10
Peter Sagan stars in 'hilarious' new video to mark his Giro d'Italia debut

It's Sagan's first Giro d'Italia, not 'giro' (which means 'tour' in Italian) of a museum, is the basic gist of this new promo video. Which reminded us...

peter sagan pope mobile bike for auction - via charity stars.PNG

A few weeks ago you might remember we reported that a one-off Specialized Venge Sagan gifted to Pope Francis was getting auctioned to raise funds for Italy's pandemic response. Turns out after 60 bids it eventually fetched 30,000 euros (approximately £27,400) in the Charity Stars online auction... holy smokes! 

26 June 2020, 13:06
Has Geraint Thomas took up bikepacking?

It's a Team Ineos special today, as we've just been alerted to a photo posted by Geraint Thomas of a camping stove and a saucepan on top of a cliff... has the 2018 Tour de France champ gone all bikepacking-y on us? Hopefully he has adequate storage to carry around that cooking equipment, unless the Ineos training jerseys have particularly roomy back pockets...

26 June 2020, 12:46
Team Ineos rider Chris Lawless says driver education more important than speed limits to improve cyclists' safety
Chris Lawless at start of Stage 4 of 2019 Tour de Yorkshire (picture credit Alex Whiehead, SWPix.com).JPG

Speaking to the BBC following the news that the Isle of Man Cycling Association have called for reduced speed limits to aid vulnerable road users, the 2019 Tour de Yorkshire winner believes that better awareness is more important: 

"It is not speed limits that are the problem it is education", Lawless said. 

"Education is needed across the board so everyone is sharing the road together." 

He said that close passes pose a bigger threat and that his most dangerous moments were "not on unrestricted roads", adding that some drivers didn't accelerate quickly enough to pass cyclists before encountering oncoming traffic. 

The Isle of Man doesn't have a national speed limit, meaning a lot of its roads are derestricted. The Isle of Man Cycling Association said 20mph and 30mph limits on narrow rural roads needed to be introduced "as a matter of urgency" in their open letter to the Manx government. 

26 June 2020, 13:04
Bournemouth beach? It's cyclists on Box Hill that are the problem ya know

Outrageous. 

26 June 2020, 12:32
Miles or kilometres?

It's been suggested that for those who are peeved with Chris Froome stopping his GPS at 99.4 miles that it would be a lot less stressful to work in kilometres, because this actually makes it a nice round 160km. That calls for a poll...

 
26 June 2020, 10:29
Charge Bikes re-emerge as an e-bike brand in the US
Charge Plug 1 -Riding.jpg

You may be familiar with Charge as selling quirky-coloured road bikes and single-speeds like the popular Plug 1 above... however it appears they've done a complete U-turn, having resurfaced selling electric bikes exclusively in the US. 

Charge electric bike Comfort M6

This is rather surprising as Charge were founded in the UK in 2004; however they've been under the Dorel Industries umbrella that also owns Cannondale,  Schwinn and GT since 2009. This a complete departure from Charge bikes of yore, offering just three e-bikes in their new range simply called City ($1,499), Comfort ($1,499, shown above) and XC ($2,299). The popular Charge-branded tan coloured saddles are also nowhere to be seen on the new website either, although they are selling accessories from Fabric. According to Cycling Sports Group - Dorel's UK distribution arm - there are currently no plans to bring the bikes to the UK or Europe. The new website is here if you're US-based and fancy a browse though. 

26 June 2020, 09:37
99.42 miles = 160 kilometres

If Chris Froome's few hundred yards short of a 100 mile ride is making you anxious... well you could always just go metric!

26 June 2020, 08:43
Chris Froome sends OCD levels through the roof with 99.4 mile Strava upload
chris froome strava 26 june 2020.PNG

The four-time Tour de France champion has been uploading some monster rides to Strava recently as he gears up for his grand tour comeback... but some of his Strava followers who work in miles as opposed to kilometres have taken issue with his latest ride, because he stopped less than 0.6 miles short of a 100 miler. 

chris froome comments 1.PNG
chris froome comments 2.PNG
chris froome comments 3.PNG

Even so, the Team Ineos training jaunt took in over 13,000 feet (4,000 metres) of elevation, following on from similarly savage rides uploaded on Monday and Tuesday. We don't think Mr Froome has anything to prove, but would once more around the block have hurt? 

26 June 2020, 11:37
Bollard 1 - 0 Car

Spotted by a cyclist in Bridlington. We've been informed that no one was injured...

26 June 2020, 11:22
Volt shifting all manufacturing to the UK to meet surge in demand, and avoid "potential negatives" of Brexit
volt marvin rees 2019

After weighing up all the potential costs, the UK e-bike brand Volt have decided that the best course of action was to move all their production to the UK, and are now operating out of a 20,000 sq ft factory in Milton Keynes. They say this will create up to 30 jobs and also allow them to produce even more bikes, up to 25,000 a year - full story on eBikeTips

26 June 2020, 08:38
"People are scumbags": cyclist shows huge piles of litter collected from beach in Poole

Pictures emerged of thousands of people on Bournemouth beach yesterday, with the Health Secretary threatening to close beaches if social distancing isn't adhered to. Some national news sources claimed as many as 500,000 people were on Bournemouth beach, and a huge amount of litter was also left behind. The cyclist who posted the photo above has five huge bags of litter collected from the beach and Shore Road in Poole, which will unfortunately be the tip of the iceberg. 

26 June 2020, 09:17
"I can't quite see where the non-drivers go": Boardman takes issue with £1.4 billion junction

Chris Boardman and others are unhappy with the huge spend on this one junction compared to how much is spent on cycling and walking nationwide. According to Boardman, the overhaul will save drivers 8 minutes "until it's full up." 

Others have agreed with the opinion that allowing for increased traffic volume will just lead to more cars, and the money could be better spent elsewhere.

26 June 2020, 08:35
Aussie Grit Apparel to close down

The cycle clothing specialists - founded by former F1 driver Mark Webber - have announced their closure, citing COVID-19 as the reason. The company say they will cease web sales on 30th June and continue to provide product support through the month of July. 

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). 

Add new comment

44 comments

Avatar
David9694 replied to Dicklexic | 4 years ago
1 like

Don't Brompton get quite close?

Avatar
eburtthebike | 4 years ago
10 likes

"I can't quite see where the non-drivers go": Boardman takes issue with £1.4 billion junction.

Was it only yesterday Grant Shapps was telling us that unprecedented amounts were to be spent on cycling?  £2bn nationwide, so only a bit more than this single junction will cost, which will encourage driving.  With the rise in temperatures accelerating, it is more important than ever to reduce driving and to promote the alternatives, let alone all the other benefits a significant switch would provide.

This government and previous ones are getting it wrong, spending vast amounts on encouraging driving and comparitively little on the alternatives, despite all the rhetoric.

Avatar
hawkinspeter replied to eburtthebike | 4 years ago
12 likes

Yep, they just don't get the cognitive dissonance of proclaiming that people should be walking and cycling, whilst making sure that the car is king of the road.

Is it time for the revolution yet or do we have to keep believing the twaddle of the ruling class (going for a drive to test your eyesight)?

Avatar
brooksby replied to hawkinspeter | 4 years ago
6 likes

hawkinspeter wrote:

Is it time for the revolution yet or do we have to keep believing the twaddle of the ruling class (going for a drive to test your eyesight)?

I think it's the second point.

Dominic Cummings holds illegal street party to ‘test his hearing’

https://newsthump.com/2020/06/25/dominic-cummings-holds-illegal-street-p...

Disclaimer - this is not real news  3

Avatar
eburtthebike replied to hawkinspeter | 4 years ago
4 likes

hawkinspeter wrote:

Is it time for the revolution yet.......

I'm investigating a bulk order of pitchforks.

Avatar
MsG replied to eburtthebike | 4 years ago
3 likes

Check out Pitchfork Emporium https://www.reddit.com/r/pitchforkemporium/

Avatar
brooksby replied to eburtthebike | 4 years ago
3 likes

I reckon Cummings will be first up against the wall, come the Revolution...

Avatar
hawkinspeter replied to eburtthebike | 4 years ago
3 likes
eburtthebike wrote:

hawkinspeter wrote:

Is it time for the revolution yet.......

I'm investigating a bulk order of pitchforks.

Oh, you're one of those people. More of a flaming torch kind of guy, myself.

Avatar
eburtthebike replied to hawkinspeter | 4 years ago
2 likes

hawkinspeter wrote:
eburtthebike wrote:

hawkinspeter wrote:

Is it time for the revolution yet.......

I'm investigating a bulk order of pitchforks.

Oh, you're one of those people. More of a flaming torch kind of guy, myself.

Splitter.

Avatar
HarrogateSpa replied to eburtthebike | 4 years ago
2 likes

It has been 38C in Siberia, which is jolly hot.

I remain optimistic(ish) that sooner or later we'll start doing what we already know we have to do.

Avatar
Cargobike replied to HarrogateSpa | 4 years ago
1 like

HarrogateSpa wrote:

It has been 38C in Siberia, which is jolly hot.

I remain optimistic(ish) that sooner or later we'll start doing what we already know we have to do.

Bury our collective heads in the sand, as usual?

Avatar
mdavidford replied to Cargobike | 4 years ago
2 likes

Cargobike wrote:

HarrogateSpa wrote:

It has been 38C in Siberia, which is jolly hot.

I remain optimistic(ish) that sooner or later we'll start doing what we already know we have to do.

Bury our collective heads in the sand, as usual?

But the sand is too hot for burying heads in. 

Avatar
David9694 replied to eburtthebike | 4 years ago
1 like

and so the mass cave-in gathers pace: 

https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/18546017.hundreds-call-rethink-southamp...

From the postbag:

for several days now I have sat idling in the heat, air conditioning running, watching perhaps one bike every two minutes go past.

My 2 mile journey now takes 30 minutes instead of 20

there is so much traffic, it must be someone's fault, something should be done about it - hence this letter to you

Avatar
eburtthebike replied to David9694 | 4 years ago
0 likes

David9694 wrote:

and so the mass cave-in gathers pace: 

https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/18546017.hundreds-call-rethink-southamp...

From the postbag:

for several days now I have sat idling in the heat, air conditioning running, watching perhaps one bike every two minutes go past.

My 2 mile journey now takes 30 minutes instead of 20

there is so much traffic, it must be someone's fault, something should be done about it - hence this letter to you

And at least two "I'm a cyclist, but......" posts.

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