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Convicted fraudster targets speeding “Tour de France guys” with megaphone in Central Park; When Cav and Wiggo met Lance and Jan; Priest apologises for leading Mass in cycling kit; Van Vleuten reconsiders retirement; Remco's home + more on the live blog

It’s Tuesday, the pound is falling faster than Geraint Thomas at a grand tour, and Ryan Mallon’s back in the hotseat for the second live blog of the week
Tue, Sep 27, 2022 10:06
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Convicted fraudster targets speeding “Tour de France guys” with megaphone in Central Park; When Cav and Wiggo met Lance and Jan; Priest apologises for leading Mass in cycling kit; Van Vleuten reconsiders retirement; Remco's home + more on the live blogNYC activist targets speeding cyclists with megaphone (Instagram, whatisnewyork)
27 September 2022, 17:00
27 September 2022, 08:03
NYC activist targets speeding cyclists with megaphone (Instagram, whatisnewyork)
Convicted fraudster and ‘activist’ targets speeding “Tour de France guys” with megaphone in Central Park

I know it’s early on a Tuesday morning, the weather’s miserable (at least where I am), and the pound is falling faster than Geraint Thomas at a grand tour… but don’t worry, because it’s anti-cycling bingo time again!

And boy, do I have a rather unusual one for you this morning…

Over the weekend, the New York Post (basically the American Sun) interviewed a so-called activist who spends an hour every weekday and three hours at the weekend tracking the speeds of cyclists at a Central Park junction with a radar gun – before shouting at them through a megaphone.

“An aggravated activist is calling bull on Central Park’s spandex-clad ‘Tour de France’ bicyclists,” reads the Post’s opening paragraph. Line!

71-year-old Jerome Dewald told the paper: “If you’re in the crosswalk and these Tour de France guys come flying through, they can call you an a–hole, but by the time you say it back, they’re already 40 feet down the road. The bullhorn solves that problem.

“I’ve had a few guys assault me. One guy threw a bottle at me. One guy slapped the horn out of my hand.”

A video of the dandily dressed self-styled entrepreneur (we’ll get to that later) putting his megaphone to use managed to garner over 32,000 likes on YouTube last month.

Dewald says his campaign was inspired by the tragic death in 2014 of Jill Tarlov, who was killed in a collision with a cyclist at the junction. The cyclist was reported to have reached 35.6mph earlier in the day in Central Park. However, Tarlov’s widower told the Post that he has not spoken with Dewald and does not want to relive his wife’s death.

> NYC controversy: Cyclist not charged in Central Park collision that put pedestrian on ventilator

Nevertheless, the 71-year-old claims that things have got worse since 2014 and that “kids are going to get hurt, if not killed” by speeding cyclists in the park, unless better enforcement and infrastructure are introduced soon.

He continued: “It is not uncommon for the Tour de France guys, the guys with the $3,000 bikes and the $500 plastic pants, to come flying through here at a speed of between 28 and 33 miles an hour when people are in the crosswalk, even when the light is red. And they yell at you, too.”

Your bingo card may be filling up fast, but there’s a twist coming up that not even the caller saw coming.

In 2005, Dewald was convicted of fraud and larceny charges in Michigan for his role in organising two political-action committees during the 2000 presidential election – one which raised money for Democrat Al Gore, and one backing Republican George W. Bush.

“Dewald simply used the 2000 presidential election to create an air of legitimacy for his illegitimate objective: to funnel money to his for-profit consulting firm under false pretences,” Sixth Circuit Justice Ronald Lee Gilman, responsible for reinstating Dewald’s conviction after a successful appeal, said in 2014.

A later campaign organised by Dewald – this time focusing on marijuana legalisation – also came under scrutiny after other activists questioned his motives.

At least he’s worrying about “$500 plastic pants” now…

27 September 2022, 16:21
Central Park megaphone man reaction

Responding to this morning’s story about the 71-year-old New Yorker who spends his days shouting at what he believes to be speeding cyclists in Central Park, road.cc reader SimoninSpalding said: “I am not sure that any of those people on bikes were wearing "$500 plastic pants" or were even close to being "Tour de France guys".

“What I saw was a nice peaceful scene with no motor vehicles where cyclists and pedestrians were doing a decent job of sharing a space without conflict.

“Apart from the idiot in the hat with a megaphone.”

Awavey, however, urged caution to those condemning the megaphone wielding pensioner, writing: “From that scene alone yes, and not saying the crazy old guy is right at all, but I do know friends who have visited the park to ride, and it can apparently get a bit intense at times of the day, with lots of club style riding going on, and the NYPD/park enforcement officers are often very visible in their presence checking cyclists for speeding.

“So I'd be cautious to judge what's happening there off a 30sec clip from the other side of the Atlantic.”

Rendel Harris, meanwhile, questioned whether the Central Park ‘world’ on Zwift contributes to the sometimes-aggressive style of riding witnessed in the park, “with people seeing if they can match their virtual race times with real-world ones?”

In the end, Simon concluded by arguing: “If I was an ‘activist’ interested in improving road safety and could spare one hour a day to do it, I would probably focus my efforts where there was a problem to be solved rather than randomly abusing people riding bikes.”

27 September 2022, 15:39
Italian priest ordered to apologise... for celebrating Mass in cycling kit

It’s been quite the week for the Catholic Church’s relationship with cycling. Yep, you read that right.

First, the Vatican sent a rider to the world championships, purportedly to bless the passing of the rainbow jersey from Alaphilippe to Evenepoel (I may have made that bit up).

Now, an Italian priest has been forced to apologise for conducting Mass… in his cycling kit.

Father Fabio Corazzina was taking part in the Peace Walk, an annual pilgrimage where around 100 cyclists ride their bikes through Sicily in memory of those who stood against organised crime on the island.

However, Father Corazzina’s outdoor mass for the devout cyclists in Mazara del Vallo – an image of which was posted on social media – was heavily criticised by the Bishop of Brescia, Pierantonio Tremolada, who accused the bike riding priest of making a “joke” of the scared rituals of the Catholic Church, reports the Giornale di Brescia.

In a warning letter, Tremolada expressed his astonishment that Father Corazzina did not “think about the consequences of such an act, which was intentionally spread through social networks. How can one not realise the perplexity and pain that this would have caused, and has indeed caused, in so many people who deeply love the Eucharist and place it at the centre of their life of faith?”

Corazzina has since apologised for the impromptu Mass and has proposed fasting as a means of reconciliation (which should do wonders for his power-to-weight ratio… Sorry!).

27 September 2022, 14:57
Slightly uncomfortable cycling images

Maybe Tommeke was just giving Remco advice on how to deal with the pressures of being a young world champion?

At least there were no beans involved this time...

27 September 2022, 14:51
Party on, Remco!
27 September 2022, 13:55
Ah sure look, it’s all the lads: Wiggins and Cavendish join Armstrong, Hincapie and Ullrich for Mallorca podcast recording

Ah, Mallorca – a cycling paradise for everyone from winter training pros to ambling cyclo-tourists like myself… And it’s also the home of controversial podcasts, apparently.

This week, s̶e̶v̶e̶n̶-̶t̶i̶m̶e̶ ̶T̶o̶u̶r̶ ̶d̶e̶ ̶F̶r̶a̶n̶c̶e̶ ̶w̶i̶n̶n̶e̶r̶  Lance Armstrong’s The Move podcast has set up shop on the Balearic Island, where the former world champion (he gets to keep that one, right Travis?) is pretending to care about the well-heeled fans who have paid $50,000 to enjoy his famously affable and convivial company while trudging up the Sa Calobra.

As well as those super-keen amateurs with more money than sense, Big Tex has also been joined by a veritable who’s who of the mid-90s to early noughties peloton: Big George Hincapie, historically big but now quite lean Jan Ullrich, and even bigger Johan Bruyneel (sorry, I couldn’t resist) for a special live post-worlds edition of his long-running podcast.

Oh, and Bradley Wiggins and Mark Cavendish are there, too. And the internet isn’t happy.

While Ullrich (the subject of Daniel Friebe’s recent excellent biography) was and remains a more popular figure among cycling fans than his American counterpart – despite both riders being mired in the same murky depths – most of the online reaction has questioned why Cav and Wiggo (the former still makes his living from riding bikes, while the other has a high-profile punditry gig with Eurosport-GCN) would want to be associated with He Who Must Not Be Named:

Of course, Cavendish has in the past defended Armstrong’s character – if not his doping – citing the Texan’s personal support for and encouragement of the Manxman when he was at the start of his pro career.

Meanwhile, Wiggins’ attitude towards the American has oscillated as wildly as his own jiffy bag-encased reputation in recent years, from praising Armstrong in his first autobiography to calling him a “lying bastard” in the wake of his 2013 doping confession, and back to defending his “human side” and including him in his book of ‘Icons’ in 2018.

In any case, the condemnation of Wiggins and Cavendish’s stint in Mallorca (and even Armstrong’s continued status as persona non grata in a sport filled with the remnants of its not-so-distant past) highlights cycling’s ongoing struggle – almost ten years on from Oprah – to reconcile the apparent need for black and white narratives with its extremely grey reality.

27 September 2022, 13:44
27 September 2022, 13:03
“Unfortunately I can’t turn back time”: Van der Poel returns home after Wollongong assault conviction

On the same morning that a grainy eight-second video popped up online, appearing to show – albeit briefly – the incident which led to him being charged with assault the night before the world road race championships, Mathieu van der Poel returned home from Australia and told waiting reporters at Brussels Airport that he was aiming to “put this behind me and look forward again”.

The Dutch rider had been initially due to appear at Sutherland Local Court today, but the hearing was brought forward to yesterday to facilitate his flight home. He was fined A$1,500 (£909) after admitting two counts of common assault.

According to New South Wales Police, the 27-year-old pushed two teenage girls during a confrontation at the Grand Parade Hotel in Brighton-Le-Sands on Saturday night.

> Video footage of Mathieu van der Poel hotel incident appears online

Faced with a plethora of television cameras when he stepped into the airport today, Van der Poel admitted to the assembled crowd of journalists that he had made a mistake.

“Of course I am sorry. I should have handled this differently, but unfortunately it happened,” he said.

When asked whether he should have contacted the hotel reception or his Dutch team prior to the incident, the Alpecin-Fenix rider said: “It was already late and I wanted to sleep. I thought I could solve it myself, but that turned out wrong. Unfortunately I can't change that now.

“There were stories about pushing and stuff, but none of that happened,” he continued. “I had one girl by the arm, certainly not with the intention of hurting her. Anyone who knows me knows I’ve never hurt anyone.

“I’m trying to put this behind me and look forward again. I’m happy to be back in the country. Now I’m looking for the peace of mind from home. It’s up to the team to handle it.”

27 September 2022, 12:23
Ouch…

 But, but, tunnels…

27 September 2022, 12:15
Football meets cycling: Virgil van Bike

I think it’s fair to say that Van Dijk seems a touch sharper on two wheels than on the football pitch so far this season…

27 September 2022, 11:33
Sagan retires… No, not that one (yet)
27 September 2022, 10:52
Remco Evenepoel wins 2022 World Championships in Wollongong (@cauldphoto/Specialized)
Remco’s return: Evenepoel set for first race in rainbow jersey at Binche-Chimay-Binche

Another story from the ‘What are the world champions going to do next?’ category for you…

While Remco Evenepoel told reporters in Wollongong that the only race on his schedule after winning the rainbow jersey on Sunday would be one “through the night clubs” (ah, to be 22 again), it now seems that the newly crowned world champion will make his debut in cycling’s second most famous garment on 4 October, at Binche-Chimay-Binche.

The rolling, sprinter-friendly semi-classic, also known as the Memorial Frank Vandenbroucke after one of Belgium’s most precocious and tragic cycling heroes, will mark round two of Remco’s glorious homecoming parade.

Two days before the race, a public celebration will be held in Brussels’ Grand Place, in honour of the 22-year-old’s remarkable achievements this year: a dominant Worlds win, a first monument victory at Liège–Bastogne–Liège, and Belgium’s first grand tour triumph for 44 years, at the Vuelta a España. Not too shabby, eh?

While the crowds will gather in Brussels and on the lanes of Wallonia to sneak a glimpse of Belgium’s newest cycling hero, Binche-Chimay-Binche will also act as the farewell party for another of the country’s stars.

Philippe Gilbert – the last Belgian to win the worlds road race before Evenepoel, ten years ago – will hang up his wheels next week after what should be a rather fitting celebration of Belgium’s cycling past, present and future.

Now come on, Remco, stick around for Il Lombardia. You know you want to…

27 September 2022, 10:11
Just a couple of pommies enjoying a coldie at the end of the worlds…
27 September 2022, 09:30
Annemiek van Vleuten wins World Championships (Alex Broadway/SWpix.com)
Two more years! World champion Van Vleuten considers postponing retirement

On Saturday, when Annemiek van Vleuten launched an audacious late attack to win her second road race rainbow jersey – after a race spent working in the service of her Dutch teammates, just three days after fracturing her elbow during the mixed relay team time trial – the rest of the peloton must have been thinking: ‘Well, at least she’s retiring next year’.

That collective sigh of relief was stifled, however, when last night the 39-year-old superstar told Dutch talk show host Eva Jinek that she was reconsidering her plans to step away from the sport at the end of 2023.

The Movistar rider, who turns 40 in eleven days, admitted to the RTL 4 presenter that she believes that 2022 was her best season yet – backing up her high placing on road.cc's Cycling’s Greatest Seasons list (which reminds me, I should probably update that) – prompting her to “doubt” her decision to retire before the Paris Olympics.

When asked by Jinek whether she still had the desire and hunger to win, after accomplishing virtually everything there is to accomplish in cycling, Van Vleuten said: “Winning is not my drive, continuously improving myself is.”

If she continues to improve on her superlative 2022, the rest of the peloton are in for a rough year. Or two…

27 September 2022, 09:26
27 September 2022, 09:11
The future...
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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51 comments

Avatar
Rendel Harris | 2 years ago
3 likes

Given that Armstrong's admitted he started doping when he was 21 he's got a bloody cheek to have the rainbow bands on his sleeves, even if he hasn't officially been stripped of his 1993 title. 

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mark1a replied to Rendel Harris | 2 years ago
6 likes

He still thinks he has 7 TdF wins, when G had his trophy stolen, Armstrong tweeted him saying "have one of mine, I have 7." I have less of a problem with the doping, one could say it was a level playing field in that era, however it's the reputations and livelihoods (LeMond, Andreu, O' Reilly, etc) he destroyed along the way I find abhorrent. Sociopath. 

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Simon E replied to Rendel Harris | 2 years ago
2 likes

Rendel Harris wrote:

Given that Armstrong's admitted he started doping when he was 21 he's got a bloody cheek

I've removed the possibly superfluous words. He's like a stick of rock that has ARSEHOLE all the way through it.

Disappointing to see Cav & Wiggo happily rubbing shoulders with the biggest pair of unrepentant pathological liars that the sport has ever seen. I'm not sure what to think about Jan Ullrich, am tempted to buy Daniel Friebe's book.

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Roulereo replied to Rendel Harris | 2 years ago
0 likes

Some look at a bunch of guys having a ride together, a laugh and catching up, and think that's good. Good for their mental health (ie. Wiggo), and good to listen to their chat. 

Most don't care anymore who cheated (Lance, Jan), or who may have but not got caught. Instead of just turning off, or looking at something else, why grumble and whine constantly?

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Rendel Harris replied to Roulereo | 2 years ago
2 likes

Roulereo wrote:

Most don't care anymore who cheated (Lance, Jan), or who may have but not got caught. Instead of just turning off, or looking at something else, why grumble and whine constantly?

Who are the "most" of whom you speak? The public at large or those who are fans of cycling? If the latter, that's a rather presumptuous statement on your part and one which certainly doesn't accord with my experience in talking to other fans about it. However, I do sincerely apologise for not maintaining the shining standards of courteous positivity which are of course so noticeable in your posts, but if you disapprove of what I said, instead of just turning off, or looking at something else, why grumble and whine constantly?

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brooksby | 2 years ago
0 likes

"Just sit still, my boy: this won't hurt a bit..."

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hawkinspeter | 2 years ago
4 likes

Imma leave this here: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/sep/26/the-festival-where-everyones-welcome-so-long-as-their-names-nigel

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Steve K | 2 years ago
2 likes

I want that garage door remote.

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AlsoSomniloquism | 2 years ago
8 likes

E-Scooter rider jailed for Collision with Pedestrian.

Rightly so as well. Any vehicle who slammed into her like the footage showed should have been found guilty whether cycle, car or illegal road scooter. 

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essexian replied to AlsoSomniloquism | 2 years ago
1 like

Agreed but a little confused how he can be banned from driving?

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AlsoSomniloquism replied to essexian | 2 years ago
6 likes

E-sccoters are classed as motor vehicles. You need a provisional license minimum to use the hire ones in my city for example (or seemingly just use your parents driving license from the ones around). 

So he was charged with driving offences, hence ban on driving. 

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essexian replied to AlsoSomniloquism | 2 years ago
0 likes

Thanks. Everyday is a learning day so thanks for the information.

 

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AidanR replied to AlsoSomniloquism | 2 years ago
5 likes

Completely agree, but I can't help but think he would have got a lot less than 16 months in prison and a 3 year ban if he had been driving a car. Unless perhaps she'd been killed, which would be a lot more likely with a car.

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Tom_77 replied to AidanR | 2 years ago
1 like

AidanR wrote:

Completely agree, but I can't help but think he would have got a lot less than 16 months in prison and a 3 year ban if he had been driving a car. Unless perhaps she'd been killed, which would be a lot more likely with a car.

There are more details here - https://www.sussex.police.uk/news/sussex/news/court-results/e-scooter-ri...

"Paul Satchell had been stopped by PC Jason Kemp and PC Daniel Turk in Watermill Lane, Bexhill, after using the powered vehicle.

The officers were in a patrol vehicle that stopped to warn the 58-year-old that he need to stop riding, but Satchell ignored them, turned away from the police, and rode off."

So that would be an aggravating factor when it comes to sentencing. He also messed the court around by failing to attend on several occasions, which probably didn't do him any favours.

There's a picture of the scooter, don't know the exact make but I've seen similar ones advertised with top speeds of 50 km/h.

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brooksby replied to AlsoSomniloquism | 2 years ago
0 likes

How fast was he riding that thing (on the footpath...)?

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OnYerBike replied to brooksby | 2 years ago
4 likes

For clarity he was on the carriageway. As far as I can tell the speed limit on that road is 30. Given the very narrow camera angle it is hard to get an accurate impression of speed, but I'm certainly not convinced he was going faster than that and may well have been significantly under. I would find it plausible to suggest around 20mph. 

(A bit of sleuthing finds the location to be outside 5 Watermill Lane. The parked car in the video is parked on the grass verge - absent from Streetview although clearly evident from the damaged grass and visible in the satellite image of the same location. https://goo.gl/maps/EPfz1KM8Af4W2f9X8 )

Whilst I certainly don't object to the outcome in this case, I would echo the sentiment that the punishment does seem harsher than similar cases in which the offender was driving a car - including for example the porche driver yesterday who was found not guilty of causing death by dangerous driving (albeit yet to be sentenced for the admitted offence of causing death by careless driving).

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brooksby replied to OnYerBike | 2 years ago
0 likes

Oh, my mistake - I thought that dark line was the edge of the carriageway rather than a broken line in concrete or something...  So the victim was walking in the carriageway to get around the badly parked car, you think?

 

You do see a lot of these privately owned e-scooters nipping around roads in town (and on footpaths, too).

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OnYerBike replied to brooksby | 2 years ago
1 like

I wouldn't ascribe too much blame to the badly parked car - I don't think the pavement would have been blocked. It sounds from the various news reports like the woman was crossing the road. From the video it's clear she didn't cross in necessarily the shortest line across the carriageway and to some extent may have adjusted her path to avoid the parked car, but I'm sure we all sometimes follow indirect routes or desire lines when crossing quiet residential streets rather than going the absolute shortest route across. 

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AlsoSomniloquism replied to OnYerBike | 2 years ago
0 likes

I expect there might have been extras involved for the sentencing (no insurance, not road legal) and they also mention in the text he was "evading Police" at the time. 

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eburtthebike | 2 years ago
1 like

If Jerome Dewald was English, we'd dismiss him as a eccentric English duffer with nothing better to do, but he's American, so he's just demented.  Don't they have laws about disturbing the peace in New York?

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Rendel Harris | 2 years ago
10 likes

Just to be a real pedant, a widow is a woman who has lost her husband, a man who has lost his wife is a widower. All credit to him for not giving this idiot any credibility or further publicity; as the late great Linda Smith said, "They don't deserve the oxygen of publicity; actually they don't deserve the oxygen of oxygen."

 

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Ryan Mallon replied to Rendel Harris | 2 years ago
2 likes

Good spot! A spell in the corner for me (I'll blame my lack of coffee this morning...)

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IanMSpencer | 2 years ago
12 likes

It's not fair, I was only doing 35mph in a 30 like I always do.

https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/hundreds-of-thousands-of-drivers-fined-after-...

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Awavey replied to IanMSpencer | 2 years ago
16 likes

Steve McNamaras quote on it is a classic, some of his members who have been driving "professionally" for 35 years without a single point on their licence...have been getting 12 points within 3 weeks.

Erm... maybe they should drive to the limit then, just an idea. 🤔

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Sriracha replied to Awavey | 2 years ago
17 likes

So they've been speeding for the whole of their professional careers - because they knew they would not be caught? They respect only the penalty, not the law.

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brooksby replied to IanMSpencer | 2 years ago
12 likes

I read that article and honestly couldn't understand why the newspapers were actually (appearing to be) on the side of the poor beleagured motorists.

They haven't reduced the speed limit - they reduced the level at which they prosecute.  So all of those people who are complaining that they shouldn't have been charged and wouldn't have been under the old system, were still breaking the speed limit.

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IanMSpencer replied to brooksby | 2 years ago
12 likes

The 5mph is not insignificant. The InterWeb argues about the actual number but they all agree that the 5mph difference at least doubles the risk of killing someone. Given the propensity of pedestrians and cyclists to "appear from nowhere" so drivers take no evasive action, the difference is not trivial.

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SimoninSpalding replied to IanMSpencer | 2 years ago
6 likes

I'm confused.

Only yesterday we were being told that a proposal for a 15mph limit had been turned down due the the inability of speedometers display speeds accurately enough in increments of less than 10mph to make compliance possible. And yet today we are told that reducing the prosecution threshold from +6mph to +5mph (or +20% to +17%) is sufficient to cause lots of law abiding taxi drivers to get points.

Sounds like speedometers are plenty accurate to me, and the tolerance could be reduced even further.

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OnYerBike replied to SimoninSpalding | 2 years ago
1 like

My understanding is that speedometers must not under read but can overread by 10% + 6.25mph. So if the speedo says you're doing 20, you cannot be doing more than 20 but could be doing as little as 12.5mph. So there should be zero possibility of getting a speeding ticket provided your speedo is saying you are doing at or under the speed limit, and indeed when combined with the prosecution guidelines the speedo may well be displaying >10mph over the speed limit before you are prosecuted.

Although when it comes to 15mph, another issue may be that there is no "tick" mark at 15mph, so the driver is being expected to estimate half way between the 10 and 20mph tick marks, which is harder than basing speed on the tick mark itself. 

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I love my bike replied to OnYerBike | 2 years ago
0 likes

I wonder how many cars & taxis on the road have a mechanical speedo needle, rather than a digital display &/or satnav?

With a 15mph limit, what would the Police do about cyclists going over it? Would hire bikes need speedos? Maybe not, as 15mph + 10% + 2mph = 18.5mph.

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